The major developments from the world of sports on August 4 where Indians took part are as follows:
CRICKET
Abhishek Nayar on Women’s Premier League
Former India all-rounder and Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach Abhishek Nayar is glad that he could work with the Women’s Premier League side UP Warriorz at the off-season camp, now in progress at Bengaluru.
“I have been tracking the progress of women’s cricket in India over the past few seasons and am now excited to work with the players from the UP Warriorz squad, especially brilliant youngsters such as Parshavi Chopra, S. Yashasri and Shweta Sehrawat, who have already showcased their immense potential,” said Abhishek. “The camp also presents me with an excellent opportunity to interact with seniors like Deepti Sharma and Rajeshwari Gayakwad to understand their psyche and motivations that allow them to perform at an elite level.”
He said the WPL would transform the women’s game not just in India but globally as well. “The IPL transformed the game on a global level by packaging itself as the most exciting league in the world,” he said. “The WPL possesses the same potential and will provide a much-needed platform for women’s cricket in India. The league has also helped shine the spotlight on the country’s women’s game, allowing female cricketers to become household names.”
– P.K. Ajith Kumar
MOTORSPORTS
MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 Round-3
Rajiv Sethu, pole position in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Rajiv Sethu, pole position in the Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open category.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Chennai ace Rajiv Sethu and Hyderabad’s Vignesh Goud, both looking to extend their unbeaten run, qualified for pole position in their respective categories as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2023 commenced at the Madras International Circuit in Chennai on Friday.
The 24-year-old Sethu (RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate), winner of all four races so far this season, showed impressive pace in the latter half of the 15-minute qualifying session for pole position in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category, clocking a best lap of 01 minute, 50.457secs, to finish ahead of Petronas TVS Racing team’s threesome of Jagan Kumar (01:50.787), Deepak Ravikumar (01:50.845) and Pune youngster Sarthak Chavan (01:50.849).
Later, 19-year old Vignesh Goud (Race’ists Motorcycle Club) from Hyderabad, who is unbeaten in the Novice (Stock 165cc) category after four races over two rounds, put in a best lap of 02:08.750 for pole position, ahead of Bengaluru’s Savion Sabu (Axor Sparks Racing, 02:09.170) and Chennai rider Sangeeth S (ACCSYS India Rookie Racing, 02:09.753).
The results (Qualifying – Top 3 Best laps):
National Championship – Pro-Stock 301-400cc Open:
1. Rajiv Sethu (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (01 min, 50.457secs); 2. Jagan Kumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:50.787); 3. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai, Petronas TVS Racing) (01:50.845).
Novice (Stock 165cc):
1. Vignesh Goud (Hyderabad, Race’ists Motorcycle Club (02:08.750); 2. Savion Sabu (Bengaluru, Axor Sparks Racing) (02:09.170); 3. Sangeeth S (Chennai, ACCSYS India Rookie Racing) (02:09.753).
Support Event – Stock 301-400cc (Novice):
1. S Rohit Lad (Bengaluru, Pvt) (02:04.718); 2. Aldrin Babu (Thrissur, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (02:04.786); 3. Anand N (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate) (02:05.181).
Petronas TVS One-Make Championship: Open (RR 310):
1. Senthilkumar C (Coimbatore) (01:54.221); 2. Alwin Sundar A (Chennai) (01:54.871); 3. Chiranth Vishwanath (Bengaluru) (01:54.961).
Girls (Apache RTR 200):
1. Nadine Faith Balaji (Chennai) (02:14.670); 2. Nithila Das (Bengaluru) (02:15.534); 3. Sarah Khan (Mumbai) (02:15.751).
– Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Ankita goes down fighting
Lucky loser Ankita Raina went down fighting 6-1, 5-7, 1-6 to fourth seed Linda Noskova in the pre-quarterfinals of the $259,303 WTA tennis tournament in Prague, Czech Republic.
The 30-year-old Ankita, who had earlier beaten Barbora Strycova, collected 42 WTA points and $3,920.
In the $946,975 ATP event in Los Cabos, Mexico, Saketh Myneni in partnership with Luis Martinez was beaten 3-6, 6-3, [10-5] in the doubles quarterfinals by Andrew Harris and Dominik Kopefer. The quarterfinal entry fetched 45 ATP points and $7,900.
Results
$946,975 ATP, Los Cabos, Mexico
Doubles (quarterfinals): Andrew Harris (Aus) & Dominik Koepfer (Ger) bt Luis Martinez (Ven) & Saketh Myneni 3-6, 6-3, [10-5].
€145,000 Challenger, Porto, Portugal
Doubles (quarterfinals): Toshihide Matsui & Kaito Uessugi (Jpn) bt Niki Poonacha & Divij Sharan 6-4, 6-4; Rithvik Bollipalli & Arjun Kadhe bt Steven Diez (Can) & Nicolas Mejia (Col) 6-3, 6-4.
$259,303 WTA, Prague, Czech Republic
Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Linda Noskova (Cze) bt Ankita Raina 1-6, 7-5, 6-1.
$25,000 ITF men, Astana, Kazakhstan
Doubles (semifinals): Siddhant Banthia & Sai Karteek Reddy bt Parikshit Somani & Khumoyun Sultanov (Uzb) 6-4, 6-2; Quarterfinals: Parikshit & Khumoyun bt SD Prajwal Dev & Ajeet Rai (Nzl) 6-4, 6-0.
$15,000 ITF men, Raanana, Israel
Singles (quarterfinals): Jordan Hasson (Isr) bt Rishab Agarwal 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
$25,000 ITF women, Foxhills, Britain
Doubles (semifinals): Destanee Aiavva (Aus) & Rutuja Bhosale bt Lauryn John-Baptiste & Amelia Rajecki (GBR) 3-6, 6-4, [10-7]; Quarterfinals: Destanee & Rutuja bt Naho Sato & Eri Shimizu (Jpn) 6-3, 3-6, [10-6].
$25,000 ITF women, Astana, Kazakhstan
Doubles (semifinals): Shrivalli Bhamidipaty & Vaidehi Chaudhari bt Ekaterina Maklakova & Elena Pridankina 4-6, 6-3, [10-5].
$15,000 ITF women, Tbilisi, Georgia
Doubles (semifinals): Luliia Ludenko & Lidiia Raskovskaia bt Riya Bhatia & Ashmitha Easwaramurthi 6-4, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia
Singles (quarterfinals): Zeel Desai bt Ekaterina Shalimova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
– Team Sportstar
BASKETBALL
Assumption College beats Mar Ivanios College
CHANGANASSERY
Sreelakshmi, Olivia Shaibu and Swapna Mariam Jiju sparkled as Assumption College defeated Mar Ivanios College 74-50 and won the women’s title in the CBC all-India basketball tournament at the SB College indoor stadium in Changanassery on Friday.
The women’s event was a two-team affair.
The result: Women: Assumption College, Chgy 74 (Sreelakshmi 26, Olivia Shaibu 16, Swapna Mariam 14, Akshaya Philip 13) bt Mar Ivanios College, Tvm 50 (Krishna Priya 14, Chinnu Koshy 13).
– Stan Rayan
