Indian sports wrap, November 6: Velavan Senthilkumar enters London Open quarterfinals

File photo: Velavan Senthilkumar will play French world No. 99 Amir Khaled-Jousselin in the quarterfinals of London Open. | Photo Credit: PTI

SQUASH

Velavan Senthilkumar advanced to the quarterfinals of the London Open squash after beating Paraguay’s world No. 124 Francesco Marcantonio 11-5, 11-7, 14-12 on Thursday.

The Indian world No. 42 received a first-round bye at the USD 18,000 PSA Challenger event, where he is the second seed.

Senthilkumar, who has won two PSA Copper-level tournaments this year, will play French world No. 99 Amir Khaled-Jousselin next.

Meanwhile, Indian world No. 167 Ayaan Vaziralli lost to higher-ranked Ben Smith in the opening round, the Englishman recovering to win 6-11, 13-11, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7.

FOOTBALL

Double Titles for JRK Football Academy; Sporting Groots Crowned U8 Champions in Chennai Leg of Reliance Foundation Youth Sports

The Chennai leg of the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) ended on Friday at Vels Thalambur, with JRK Football Academy winning two age-group titles and Sporting Groots taking the Under-8 crown.

Sporting Groots beat A J Poul Young Star FC 2-0 in the Under-8 final, and Abhimanyu Chakravarty was named Player of the Match.

JRK won the Under-10 title after a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Chennai Intercity FC on the final day.

They completed the double in the Under-12 category, coming back from two goals down to beat Thadam FC 3-2. Rihaan S was Player of the Match.

This season has 54 RFDL teams and more than 500 RFYS teams across the country, with over 5,500 matches. The pathway runs from the U8-U12 league to the U14-U18 league, then to the U21 development league, the main bridge to senior national team and club football.