ATHLETICS

Ethiopians Jemal Mekonen and defending champion Alemaddis Eyayu headline at Delhi Half Marathon

FILE PHOTO – Ethiopia’s Alemaddis Eyayu in action during Delhi Half Marathon 2024.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Defending champion Alemaddis Eyayu, along with her Ethiopian teammate Jemal Mekonen, will headline the 20th edition of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, scheduled to flag off on Sunday, 12th October 2025.

Jemal Mekonen, a key member of Ethiopia’s victorious team at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, will headline the men’s elite line-up at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon. Making his debut on Indian soil, the soon-to-be 29-year-old brings extensive international experience, including multiple sub-60-minute finishes and a personal best of 58:33.

– Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Prajwal Dev advances to semifinals

Prajwal Dev beat Koki Matsuda of Japan 7-6(3), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the $30,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Bali, Indonesia, on Friday.

Prajwal, however, in partnership with Nitin Kumar Sinha, was beaten in the doubles semifinals, by Mitsuki Leong and Koki Matsuda, 10-2 in the super tie-break.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Gaganjeet Bhullar wins inaugural IGPL tournament

Gaganjeet Bhullar asserted his class by clinching the trophy in the inaugural Rs. 1.5 crore IGPL golf tournament at the Chandigarh Golf Club on Friday.

The 37-year-old Gaganjeet overcame an early bogey on the third and final round to register a two-under 70 for the day, and an overall five-under 211, that fetched the winner’s purse of Rs. 22.5 lakh.

“IGPL is a new chapter in Indian golf, and I am proud to be part of it as the first champion. This one is for the history books,” said a proud Gaganjeet.

He was confident that a lot of young Indian golfers would benefit from the IGPL Tour and strengthen the Indian presence on the Asian Tour as was the case in the past.

M Dharma was two shots behind Gaganjeet in the second place that won him Rs. 15 lakh. Veer Ganapathy, Kartik Sharma and Shaurya Binu were joint-third and pocketed Rs. 8.7 lakh each.

FOOTBALL

Bengaluru FC unveils new training facility at Centre of Sports Excellence

Bengaluru FC on Friday announced the opening of its state-of-the-art training Centre of Sports Excellence here, marking a major milestone in the club’s journey to develop world-class football infrastructure in India.

The Blues, who are set to regroup ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, will begin their preparations on what is India’s first-ever hybrid training pitch, the club said in a statement.

A surface that combines natural grass with synthetic reinforcement to ensure consistency and durability throughout the year, the hybrid pitch sits alongside a natural grass nine-a-side pitch, providing the first team and youth squads with varied training environments that replicate competitive conditions.

The centre goes far beyond playing surfaces, with a fully-equipped gymnasium allowing for strength and conditioning programs tailored to the team’s need, while two purpose-built dressing rooms provide the squad with professional matchday and training environments.

Recovery is an equally important focus, with ice-baths and recovery rooms installed to help players recuperate after sessions.

Club owner Parth Jindal said, “Amid all the turmoil that Indian football finds itself in, our effort to drive its development has been steadfast since the founding of Bengaluru FC. Our new training facility reiterates that intent.

“The national team trained at the facility in the build-up to what was a successful CAFA Nations Cup outing, and we hope the venue becomes the preferred training venue for Team India in the future too.

“The club had as many as six players in the Indian squad for the CAFA Nations Cup, and seven players in the U23 squad for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, and we will keep contributing to the nation’s cause.” In addition, the centre has been designed to foster a sense of community and belonging for the squad. A kitchen and pantry serve the dining area, where nutrition-led meals are planned for players and staff.

Away from the pitch, a recreation room gives the team space to unwind, while a dedicated meeting room serves as the hub for tactical discussions, video analysis, and team briefings.

– PTI

SQUASH

PSA Challenger: Tanvi Khanna beats Amina in the final

Sixth seed Tanvi Khanna beat top seed Amina El Rihany of Egypt 11-9, 11-6, 1-11, 11-8 in the final of the HCL $9,000 PSA Challenger squash tournament at the Otters Club on Friday.

It was a commendable fare from Tanvi, who had finished runner-up in the last Challenger event in Jaipur.

It became a double delight for India, as top seed Veer Chotrani cruised past fifth seed Chi Him Wong of Hong Kong in 26 minutes in the men’s final.

“Absolutely elated to win my first tournament after returning from an ACL injury. It has been a long eight months, waiting for this moment”, said Tanvi, understandably proud to have fought her way back so well.

“My coach Dhruv Dhawan and I have spent hours discussing training, figuring out the missing links. Finally, today it clicked. I feel it is the beginning of many great things to come. With squash in the Olympics and the Asian Games coming up next year, I feel things are moving in the right direction for me, and the rankings will reflect that soon,” said Tanvi.

– Team Sportstar

TABLE TENNIS

Soham’s fightback, Riana’s flair seal U-17 titles

West Bengal’s Soham Mukherjee produced a stirring comeback in the Under-17 boys final, rallying from two games down to edge out Ritvik Gupta of Jammu and Kashmir 3-2 and lift the title at the Table Tennis National Championships on Friday.

Earlier, seventh-seeded Riana Bhoota stunned top-seeded Divyanshi Bhowmick to clinch the U-17 girls crown in straight games, displaying both grit and control to deny her fancied rival.

Ritvik had surged into a 2-0 lead in the boys’ summit clash, but Soham refused to buckle. After pushing hard in the second game, he shifted gears in the third with aggressive shot-making to reduce the deficit.

The fourth, narrowly secured, proved the turning point as the Bengal paddler gained belief and sealed the decider with clinical precision to complete a remarkable turnaround.

In the end, the left-hander prevailed as Riana twice fought back to assert her authority in the final against Divyanshi, who had raced to a 6-1 lead in the opening game.

Riana mounted a fine recovery, earning a game point before Divyanshi forced deuce. But on her second chance, the left-hander closed it out.

With growing confidence, Riana surged ahead in the second game, as Divyanshi’s usually reliable blocks faltered and sailed long, giving Riana a commanding 2-0 cushion.

In the third, Divyanshi appeared back in control and led 9-5, but her pimpled rubber and relentless backhand attack by Riana turned the tide. She drew level at 9-9 and then sealed the match in style, reeling off six straight points.

In the boys’ section, Jammu and Kashmir’s Ritvik proved too strong for Odisha’s Sarthak Arya in a gripping semifinal battle, where the momentum swung wildly.

Ritvik began confidently and looked in control, but Sarthak showcased his trademark resilience, pushing the match into the decider as both traded games.

In the fifth, Ritvik surged ahead early and maintained the lead to seal his place in the final with authority.

In the other semifinal, West Bengal’s Soham overcame Tamil Nadu’s Nikhil Menon.

The opening game went down to the wire, with Soham capitalising on deuce to win 12-10. From there, he shifted gears and never allowed his opponent to recover, wrapping up the contest in straight games.

In the girls’ category, Divyanshi and Ananya Muralidharan engaged in a see-saw semifinal.

Ananya started well but trailed 1-2 by the third game. Though she levelled the score, Divyanshi raised her game at the crucial juncture to finish the match in style.

The second semifinal saw Riana upstage West Bengal’s Avisha Karmakar. After taking the first game 13-11 on deuce, the left-hander pressed on the accelerator, leaving Avisha struggling to keep pace despite some resistance in the third game.

– PTI

CRICKET

Thimmappiah Memorial tournament: Mohsin Khan takes six as KSCA Colts beat Andhra

Mohsin Khan scalped six wickets (6/73) as KSCA Colts defeated Andhra by 141 runs in the KSCA-Dr. (Capt.) K. Thimmappiah Memorial tournament match at the SJCE grounds in Mysuru on Friday.

Chasing a mammoth 417, Andhra, after starting the final day’s play from 90 for two, reached 171 without further loss, kindling hopes of survival.

But three wickets for just seven runs – all three for Mohsin – scuttled Andhra’s plans. The two set batters in Maheep Kumar (93, 180b, 14×4, 2×6) and Ashwin Hebbar (38, 70b, 2×4, 1×6), and S.V. Rahul were all sent back as Colts scented victory.

Lower-order resistance from M. Hemanth Reddy (41, 44b, 3×4, 3×6) and P. Girinath Reddy (43, 62b, 5×4, 2×6) did not amount to much, and it did not help that KSN Raju was unable to bat, as the Colts ensured that Andhra made just 275 second-innings runs.

– N. Sudarshan

Published on Sep 12, 2025