Indian sports wrap, October 7: India U-17 men’s football team chalks up fluent victory over Myanmar

The victorious India U-17 team. | Photo Credit: AIFF Media

FOOTBALL

Clinical India U-17 men cruise to win over Myanmar

The India Under-17 men’s team rounded off its friendly tour of Myanmar with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over the host in the second match at the StarCity Sports Club in Thanlyin, Myanmar, on Wednesday.

Captain Dallalmoun Gangte put the Blue Colts ahead in the first half. An own goal by Kyi Thar doubled the lead before Kamgouhao Doungel and Hrishikesh Charan Manavathi found the net once each to complete the tally.

This was Mehrajuddin Wadoo’s first win as India U-17 men’s head coach.

Both sides, preparing for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers, had played out a 1-1 draw in their first meeting three days ago.

India will now return home to continue its preparations for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers that will take place next month in Malaysia.

MOTORSPORT

146 athletes from 21 countries line up at Indian Supercross Racing League Season 3

India accounts for 30 registrations across the newly introduced 250cc – Group ‘A’ Foreign Bikes only, as well as the 250cc India Asia Mix category. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL), the world’s first franchise-based Supercross league, has officially closed rider registrations for Season 3, attracting 146 athletes from 21 countries across its four racing categories.

The line-up brings together established international contenders and India’s leading Supercross riders, raising the level of competition while creating a stronger platform for the development of Supercross in India.

India accounts for 30 registrations across the newly introduced 250cc – Group ‘A’ Foreign Bikes only – Indian Futures category as well as the 250cc India Asia Mix category.

The international rider pool is led by France with 32 registrations, followed by Australia 20, and United States 18, with further participation from Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, Canada, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Mongolia.

Spread across 40 riders in the 450cc International category, 54 in the 250cc International category, and 26 in the 250cc India Asia Mix category, the registrations reflect the championship’s increasingly diverse and competitive field.

The Season 3 rider pool brings together some of the sport’s most recognised names. The 450cc International category includes Season 2 champion Matt Moss, Jordi Tixier, John Short, Anthony Bourdon, Gregory Aranda and Ryan Breece, Luke Clout, Anthony Rodriguez, while the 250cc International class features Reid Taylor, Calvin Fonvieille, Justin Rodbell and Nico Koch.

In the 250cc India-Asia Mix category, riders such as Witsarut Salangam, Thanarat Penjan, Athison Ruadreo, Nakami Vidi Makarim, Ben Hallgren, and Muhammad Athar Alghifari further add to the depth of international competition.

Representing India will be some of the country’s most accomplished Supercross riders, including Rugved Barguje, Prajwal Vishwanath, Shlok Ghorpade and Ikshan Shanbhag.

TENNIS

Top seeds Manish Sureshkumar, Vaidehee Chaudhari reach quarterfinals at Fenesta Open

Pranav Karthik caused a major upset on Wednesday at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Pranav Karthik, the 21-year-old from Tamil Nadu, caused a major upset on Wednesday at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship, rallying from a set down to defeat No. 4 seed Udit Kamboj in the second round.

Kamboj won the first set 6-1 and was neck-and-neck with his younger rival in the second set, which went to a tiebreak. Karthik won the tiebreak 7-3 and carried that momentum into the decider to win 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in 2 hours and 31 minutes.

Meanwhile, men’s top seed Manish Sureshkumar had little trouble defeating Lakshit Sood 6-0, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. He was joined in the last eight by No. 6 seed Maan Kesharwani, No. 8 seed Rohan Mehra and Suraj Prabodh, who knocked out second seed Aditya Balsekar in the previous round on Tuesday. Sureshkumar and partner Nitin Sinha are also top seeds in the men’s doubles draw and are scheduled to play their quarterfinal match later in the evening.

Also the top five players in the women’s singles draw booked their spots in the quarterfinals, with Vaidehee Chaudhari defeating 16-year-old Ahaan Ahaan 6-4, 6-1, while Shruti Ahlawat beat Parthsarthi Mundhe 6-2, 6-2.

Third seed Akanksha Nitture also advanced, coming back after dropping the second set to defeat Yubrani Banerjee 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

There was also a big upset in the Boys U-18 singles draw, as top seed Praneel Sharma was bundled out 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 by Veer Jiten Madam. Fourth seed Om Ramesh Patel and fifth seed Aditya Mor won their third-round matches in straight sets to join Veer in the quarterfinals.

In the Girls U-18 event, top seed Savitha Bhuvaneswaran was stretched to the limit by 14th seed Aahida Singh. The two battled for 2 hours and 45 minutes before Singh was forced to retire, with Bhuvaneswaran leading 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-0. Bhuvaneswaran was joined by second-seed Parthsarthi Mundhe and third-seed Shreeniti Chowdhury in the quarterfinals.

GOLF

Indian Golf Premier League: Bhullar, Muniyappa, Aryan, Rohit and Grenville-Wood share top spot

Gaganjeet Bhullar in action. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Five players packed the top of the leaderboard at 5-under 65 on day one of the India Golf Premier League’s Hyderabad leg at the Golf Club on Wednesday.

Four-time IGPL winner Gaganjeet Bhullar, former Indian Open champion C. Muniyappa, Aryan Roopa Anand, Rohit Baisoya and UAE’s Joshua Grenville-Wood all shared the top spot.

Punjab Raptors and Chennai Lions GC shared the team honours at 9-under, with Bhullar showing the way for the latter and Muniyappa spearheading the former.

For Lions, all four players were under par, with Bhullar at 5-under, Samarth Dwivedi and Yashas Chandra at 4-under, and Harshjeet Sethi at 3-under.

For Raptors, Muniyappa was the top man at 5-under, while Harendra Gupta carded 4-under and Karandeep Kochhar was 3-under.

-Anirudh Velamuri

HOCKEY

Roundglass Hockey Academy completes hat-trick of titles at SNBP U-16 Tournament

Roundglass Hockey Academy continued its dominance in national hockey, completing a hat-trick of titles at the 10th SNBP All India Hockey Tournament (Under-16 Boys) with a tightly fought 3-2 victory over Major Dhyan Chand Sports College at the Balewadi Mahalunge Sports Complex in Saifai, Uttar Pradesh.