Indian sports news wrap: March 24

BOXING

Haryana boxers confirm 19 medals at 3rd Sub Junior National Championship

Continuing its dominant show in the tournament, 19 Haryana boxers entered semifinals and confirmed their medals at the 3rd Sub Junior National Championship at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida.

The girls from Haryana managed to secure 10 medals while the boys sealed the semifinals berth in nine categories to assure themselves of at least bronze medals.

Bhoomi (35kg) and Nischal Sharma (37kg) started the day for Haryana in girls with contrasting victories. Bhoomi thrashed Delhi’s Apeksha in a bout that ended with the referee stopping the contest in round three whereas Nischal had to work hard against S Sarah of Tamil Nadu during her thrilling 3-2 win.

Diksha (40kg), Diya (61kg), Sukhreet (64kg) and Manshi Malik (67+kg) clinched identical wins with a unanimous 5-0 decision.

Rakhi (43kg) and Navya (55kg) won their respective bouts with RSC decisions. Rakhi faced Mizoram’s Malsawmdawngkimi while Navya was up against Andhra Pradesh’s Naga Navya.

Khushika (49kg) and Naitik (52kg) were the other Haryana boxers to progress into the semifinals.

Extending his winning form in the boys category Uday Singh (37kg) grabbed an easy 5-0 win over Mizoram’s Jerry Varte.

Nitin (40kg), Ravi Sihag (49kg), Naman (58kg), Siddhant (61kg), and Kartik Dagar (70kg) also won their respective quarterfinals bout with a similar 5-0 decision.

Sanchit Jayani (46kg), Lakshay (52kg) and Anmol Dahiya (64kg) from Haryana also made their way into the semifinals with a win.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand’s six pugilists entered the boys semifinals and eight girls from Delhi confirmed medals after winning their quarterfinals bout.

– PTI

FOOTBALL

Barboza’s twin strikes give Delhi FC 2-0 win against Gokulam

Twin strikes in the second half by substitute Brazilian striker Sergio Barboza helped Delhi FC register a 2-0 win over a 10-man Gokulam Kerala FC in an I-League match here.

The home side was reduced to 10 men in the 40th minute when a rough tackle from Mashoor Shereef on Balwant at the edge of the box earned the defender a red card late on Saturday.

Following the win, Delhi FC is now seventh on the table with 26 points from 21 games. Gokulam Kerala is in fifth spot with 36 points from 22 matches.

Gokulam wingers were guilty of wasting several opportunities in the first half following which Delhi FC slowly grew into the game and even threatened the rival citadel through a solo effort from former India international Balwant Singh.

Having fallen out of the title race too seemed to have dampened the spirits of Gokulam forwards as they lacked the killer touch.

The man advantage after the 40th minute red card gave Delhi the impetus in the second half with Barboza, who was introduced in the 55th minute, showing his Brazilian flair to torment the Gokulam defence.

After having been played through by a fellow substitute Tondomba Naorem, Barboza outpaced his markers and slotted his shot into the bottom corner to give Delhi the lead.

Barboza scored the second goal with three minutes of regulation time left, latching on to Hudson Dias’ through ball before blasting it in.

– PTI

TENNIS

ITF men’s tournament: Khumoyun Sultanov beats second seed Ramkumar Ramanathan

Top seed Khumoyun Sultanov of Uzbekistan beat second seed Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the HPCL-Mittal $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Sunday.

It was the sixth singles title in the professional circuit for the 25-year-old Sultanov, who converted three of five break points in the match.

The 29-year-old Ramkumar had won the title in the $25,000 event in Delhi last week, but could not convert any of the seven break points that he forced this day. Ramkumar served 11 aces in the match that spanned an hour and 33 minutes.

The defeat apart, it was a commendable effort from Ramkumar, as he had competed in four Challengers earlier after having played the Davis Cup in Islamabad against Pakistan. In between, he had also competed in the PSPB inter-unit tournament.

After eight weeks of continuous tennis, Ramkumar had done well to play five matches of singles on a wild card, as he had not originally entered the event.

The results (final): Khumoyun Sultanov (Uzb) bt Ramkumar Ramanathan 6-4, 6-2.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Arjun and Jeevan lose final

Arjun Kadhe and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan were beaten 7-5, 6-1 by the top seeds Theo Arribage and Victor Cornea in the doubles final of the €74,825 Challenger tennis tournament in Murcia, Spain.

The champion team collected $4,250 and 75 ATP points. The Indian pair won $2,450 and 50 points.

The results:

€74,825 Challenger, Murcia, Spain

Doubles (final): Theo Arribage (Fra) & Victor Cornea (Rou) bt Arjun Kadhe & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 7-5, 6-1.

-Kamesh Srinivasan