Indian sports wrap, October 29: National Junior Squash: Nafees, Unnati claim maiden U-19 titles

Winners of the Sub-Junior and Junior National Squash Championship pose with their trophies. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

UP’s Nafees, Unnati win National Junior Squash crowns

Uttar Pradesh’s Yusha Nafees and Unnati Tripathi won their maiden boys’ and girls’ U-19 titles, respectively, at the Sub-Junior and Junior National Squash Championship in Jaipur on Thursday.

Nafees, the second seed and last year’s runner-up, defeated Maharashtra’s top seed Purav Rambhia in straight games to clinch the boys’ title.

In the girls’ final, third-fourth seed Unnati overcame top seed Akanksha Gupta of Maharashtra, who had finished runner-up in the previous edition, in four games to secure the crown.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Hridhaan Shah defeated Tamil Nadu’s Shiven Agarwal in a closely contested five-game final to win the boys’ U-17 title.

In the younger age categories, West Bengal’s Alia Kankaria claimed the girls’ U-13 title, while Rajasthan’s Inaya Andrabi emerged victorious in the girls’ U-11 competition. Both players defeated their respective top-seeded opponents in five-game contests.

Final Reuslts:

Boys — U-19: 2-Yusha Nafees (UP) bt 1-Purav Rambhia (MH) 11-9, 11-6, 11-6; U-17: 5/8-Hridhaan Shah (MH) bt 5/8-Shiven Agarwal (TN) 11-8, 8-11, 11-2, 9-11, 11-2; U-15: 1-Dhruv Johri (HR) bt Vedant Agarwal (JH) 11-6, 11-8, 11-4; U-13: 1-Aaron Arambhan (MH) bt 5/8-Aryan SK (KA) 11-1, 11-7, 12-10; U-11: 1-Agastya Uppal (DL) bt 3/4-Yuvaan Verma (RJ) 11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-6.

Girls — U-19: 3/4-Unnati Tripathi (UP) bt 1-Akanksha Gupta (MH) 8-11, 11-8, 11-2, 11-5; U-17: 2-Saanvi Kalanki (MP) bt 5/8-Riyansika Verma (KA) 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7; U-15: 3/4-Divyanshi Jain (RJ) bt 1-Anika Kalanki (MP) 11-8, 11-2, 11-8; U-13: 2-Alia Kankaria (WB) bt 1-Riyaa Dalal (MH) 11-13, 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7; U-11: 3/4-Inaya Andrabi (RJ) bt 1-Gaurvi Ajmera (RJ) 12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 5-11, 11-7.

TABLE TENNIS

WTT Feeder Chennai 2026: Rupam-Subhankrita stun top seeds; USA’s Armaan knocked out

Rupam Sardar and Subhankrita Datta upset top seeds Aaron Farias and Suhana Saini to enter the mixed doubles main draw of the WTT Feeder Chennai 2026 at the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University on Thursday.

The 14th-seeded pair secured a 3-2 (4-11, 11-6, 11-2, 8-11, 11-8) victory in the final qualifying round and will face Manav Thakkar and Taneesha Kotecha in the Round of 16.

Rupam also defeated seventh seed Swarnendu Chowdhury 3-1 to finish atop his men’s singles qualifying group.

Meanwhile, second seeds Mehan Senthil and Ananya Muralidharan advanced to the mixed doubles main draw after beating Punit Biswas and Ditsa Roy 3-1.

Shridhar Joushi and Pritha Vartikar ended the qualifying campaign of Neil Mulye and Tanishka Kalbhairav with a straight-games victory.

In the men’s singles qualifying, USA’s second seed Armaan Dalamal was eliminated following a 3-2 defeat to Vaibhav Bhavani. Dalamal had earlier lost to Rajdip Dey, who topped the group.

Third seed Arnav Karnavar also exited after losing 3-0 to Sounav Barman.

In women’s doubles, Avisha Karmakar and Aarushi Nandi qualified for the main draw with a 3-0 win over Ranjini Saha and Archismita Mahato.

The main draw begins on Friday.

BASKETBALL

Youth National Basketball Championship: Madhya Pradesh boys, Kerala girls register convincing wins

Madhya Pradesh boys and Kerala girls registered comfortable victories on the third day of the 41st Youth National Basketball Championship at the Chondhe Patil Sports Complex in Pune.

In the Level 1 boys’ Pool A, Madhya Pradesh defeated Punjab 95-41, with Akshay Khanchi leading the scoring with 41 points. Prashanth Singh contributed 22 points, while Anshul Singh Sikarwar added 17. Amrinder Mohan Singh scored 20 points for Punjab.

In the girls’ section, Kerala secured its third consecutive victory with a 74-39 win over Gujarat. Subhadra Jayakumar scored 20 points, while Malavika added 10. Kerala had earlier defeated defending champion Maharashtra 62-45.

Kerala joined Tamil Nadu and Karnataka among the unbeaten teams in the girls’ competition, while Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan maintained their perfect records in the boys’ section.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh defeated Gujarat 89-48 in boys’ Pool B, with Tejas Baliyan and Pawan Pachauri scoring 21 points each.

In a closely contested girls’ Pool B encounter, Telangana edged Uttar Pradesh 73-70. Saanvi Kolishetty led Telangana with 24 points, while Charitha Sree contributed 18.

In the Level 2 boys’ competition, Uttarakhand beat Goa 86-29, while West Bengal defeated Assam 78-60. Chandigarh overcame Jammu and Kashmir 91-70.

In the girls’ Level 2 matches, Rajasthan defeated Uttarakhand 77-40, while Andhra Pradesh registered a 64-22 victory over Bihar.