TENNIS
Vaidehee reaches W35 quarterfinals in Burnie
Vaidehee Chaudhari progressed to the quarterfinals of the ITF W35 event in Burnie, Australia, on Thursday.
Fourth seed Vaidehee defeated local wildcard Belle Thompson 7-6(4), 6-3 in their second-round clash in an hour and 48 minutes.
In the quarterfinals, World No. 470 Vaidehee will be up against Chinese World No. 717 Chengyiyi Yuan.
At the W15 event in Gurugram, Zeel Desai beat Yashaswini Panwar 6-2, 6-1 in the second round. Zeel, the only Indian left in the draw, will face fifth-seeded Japanese Michika Ozeki for a place in the semifinals.
– Team Sportstar
GOLF
Abhishek produces tournament low of 64 to win DP World PGTI NexGen
Abhishek Kumar fired a tournament-low, bogey-free eight-under 64 in the third and final round to script a sensational come-from-behind victory at the Rs 25 lakh DP World PGTI NexGen event in Faridabad on Thursday.
The Panchkula-based gofler (72-73-64), who was overnight tied 10th and eight shots off the lead, delivered eight birdies in the last round, including five on the trot, to outshine all his rivals as he ended the week with a tournament total of seven-under 209.
The two-shot triumph accounted for Abhishek’s maiden professional win.
Aditya Raj Singh Chahal (69-68-74), the overnight leader by five shots, carded a 74 in round three to finish second at a total of five-under 211 at the NexGen season-opener played at the Aravalli Golf Club.
Jujhar Singh (72) took third place at two-under 214.
Abhishek said, “My aim at the start of the day was to shoot a five-under to give myself a chance. But after that run of five consecutive birdies in the middle of the round followed by a great par save on the 12th , I gained in confidence and sensed a good opportunity of winning.
“Following the birdies on the 16 th and 17 th , I knew that I had to only make par on the 18 th to win and I managed to do that. My driving, iron shots and chipping were just outstanding.
“After my poor performance at the DP World PGTI Qualifying School in January, this win gives me a lot of self-belief.”
– PTI
No 1 Thitikul struggles in first round of LPGA Singapore led by Kim
Top-ranked Jeeno Thitikul struggled during the first round of the HSBC Women’s World Championship on Thursday in Singapore, shooting a 1-over 73 to trail the leader by seven strokes.
Thitikul won last week’s tournament in her native Thailand and is among nine out of the top 10 players entered in the Singapore LPGA stop on the Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong course.
American Auston Kim birdied two of her final three holes for a 66 and a one-stroke lead over China’s Yan Liu. Five players were tied for third with 68s, including No. 12-ranked Haeran Ryu. Defending champion Lydia Ko had a 70, as did Brooke Henderson.
Kim said she opened with a 78 at the Singapore tournament last year.
“When I think about my game and myself as a golfer since last year … I mean it obviously feels great to score well. But I just I feel like I can handle things a lot better and I’ve been talking with my mental coach, as well,” Kim said.
“There are a lot of things that I’ve changed and a lot of things I feel like I’m doing better. Today was a testament to what we’ve been working on, and I’m working hard on what I can control.” Joining Thitikul among the top-ranked players well out of the lead were third-ranked Charley Hull and fourth-ranked Minjee Lee, who each shot 72.
No. 2-ranked Nelly Korda is the only player from the top 10 not in Singapore. The tournament is the second of three stops on the LPGA’s early year Asian swing, with the final one next week at Hainan Island, China.
– PTI
TENNIS
Felix Gill knocks out Sumit Nagal at PMRDA Powered MahaOpen ATP Challenger 75
Britain’s Felix Gill knocked out India’s top singles player Sumit Nagal in a gripping three-set contest to enter the quarterfinals of the PMRDA Powered Maha Open ATP Challenger 75 men’s tennis championship in Pune on Thursday.
Gill prevailed 7-6(4), 0-6, 6-3 in a marathon encounter that lasted two hours and 37 minutes at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.
Nagal twice broke serve in the opening set but failed to consolidate the advantage, allowing Gill to force a tie-break. The Brit held his composure to take it 7-4. Nagal, however, responded emphatically in the second set, handing the 300th-ranked Gill a bagel to level the match.
With the contest finely poised at one set apiece, Gill regrouped in the decider. He secured the crucial break and maintained his edge to seal a hard-fought win, avenging his defeat to Nagal in Chennai two weeks ago.
Eighth seed Edas Butvilas of Lithuania advanced with a dominant 6-3, 6-0 victory over qualifier Tung-Lin Wu in just 58 minutes. Butvilas dictated play from the baseline and did not allow his opponent to settle, especially in a one-sided second set.
The biggest upset of the day came when Japanese qualifier Masamichi Imamura stunned second seed Jay Clarke 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 19 minutes. Imamura played aggressive tennis and capitalised on key break-point opportunities to secure a straight-sets win.
In Friday’s quarterfinals, Indian interest will centre on local wildcard Manas Dhamne, who is scheduled to face Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic at 3 pm.
Results
Main Draw: Second Round: Singles:
Edas Butvilas [8](Ltu) bt [Q] Tung-Lin Wu (Tpe) 6-3, 6-0; (58 minutes)
Felix Gill (Gbr) bt Sumit Nagal (Ind) 7-6(4), 0-6, 6-3; (2hour 37 minutes)
[Q] Masamichi Imamura (Jpn) bt Jay Clarke[2] 6-2, 6-4; (1hour 19 minutes)
Doubles: Quarterfinal Round:
[4] Jisung Nam (Kor) / Patrik Niklas-Salminen (Fin) bt Ryuki Matsuda (Jpn) /Ilia Simakin 6-3, 6-3;
Yuta Shimizu (Jpn) / Seita Watanabe [3] (Jpn) bt [Wc] Saketh Myneni (Ind) / Digvijaypratap Singh (Ind) 6-4, 6-4;
Pruchya Isaro (Tha) / Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (Ind)[2] bt Jay Clarke (Gbr) / Michael Geerts (Bel) 1-0 retd.
-Team Sportstar
BADMINTON
Dev, Tamang, Durga advance in Dutch Junior International
Indian shuttler Dev Ruparelia advanced to the round of 32 with a straight-game victory over compatriot Pranit Somani at the Dutch Junior International here on Thursday.
Dev dominated the rallies from the start and maintained the pressure to comfortably seal the match 21-9, 21-6 in just 24 minutes.
Dev will next face Clement Massias of France.
Samuel Tamang in the men’s singles and fifth seed Durga Esha Kandrapu in the women’s singles also progressed to the round of 32. Tamang outwitted Axel Boesen of Denmark 22-20, 16-21, 21-11, while Durga prevailed 21-16, 21-9 over Olga Szwarowiecka of Poland.
Akhil Reddy Bobba, Nishchal Chand, and second seed Tanvi Reddy Andluri are scheduled to play in the latter half.
-PTI
KABADDI
UP, Maharashtra among teams to make kabaddi senior National quarters
Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Services, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Indian Railways and Bihar advanced to the quarterfinals on the third day of the 72nd Senior Men’s National Kabaddi Championship here on Thursday.
Sixteen teams were in action across eight knockout matches, battling for a place in the next round.
UP caused a major upset by defeating the defending champion Services 55–51.
Arjun Deshwal, who also captains Tamil Thalaivas in the Pro Kabaddi League, starred for Uttar Pradesh with an impressive 19-point haul.
Maharashtra recorded a 53-38 win over Himachal Pradesh with Ajit Chouhan and Aditya Shinde leading the raiding unit, with scores of 14 and 12, respectively.
The knockouts also saw another major upset as Tamil Nadu advanced to the quarters by defeating one of the strongest teams of the tournament, Haryana, in a tie-breaker, after both teams ended the contest with a score of 35–35 tie.
Chandigarh registered a dominant 45–26 victory over Madhya Pradesh, with the lead Indian player, Pawan Sehrawat, scoring a total of 10 points. This was followed by Maharashtra’s convincing 69–21 win over Pondicherry.
In one of the standout contests of the day, Himachal Pradesh emerged victorious 56–53 over Rajasthan, as two of their star raiders- Pappu Kumar and Mayank Saini scored 15 and 14 points each.
Uttar Pradesh continued their impressive run with a commanding 65–24 win over Jammu & Kashmir.
In another one-sided clash, Services defeated Goa 51–22, with star raider Devank Dalal scoring 10 points, while Ankit led the defence, scoring 4 points.
Bihar defeated host Gujarat 38–34 in a closely contested match, while Indian Railways rounded off the pre-quarterfinals with a solid 57–38 victory over Karnataka.
-PTI
MORE SPORTS
Udhayanidhi Stalin distributes financial assistance to national-level athletes under the TN Champions Foundation
The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu on Thursday distributed financial assistance and sports equipment worth Rs 28.93 lakh to 35 athletes under the Tamil Nadu Champions Foundation.
The assistance covered participation in international competitions, purchase of equipment and support for medal winners at national events.
A total of Rs 24 lakh was presented to 29 neurodivergent athletes who secured medals in national-level taekwondo, athletics, swimming and football competitions.
Judo athletes A. Akash Raj and A. Eswar Moorthy from the Sports Hostel of Excellence at Chennai’s Nehru Stadium received equipment worth Rs 45,000 each. International para cricketer A. Shanmuga received equipment worth Rs 1.28 lakh.
Fencer T. Darshini and swimmer N. Harsha received Rs 1 lakh each to purchase equipment, while Silambam athlete M. Hariharan was given Rs 75,000 to compete in an international event in Malaysia.
Officials from the Youth Welfare and Sports Development Department and representatives of sports associations attended the event.
-Team Sportstar
Published on Feb 26, 2026
