Indian sports wrap, February 13: Karnataka blind cricket team crowned national champion, 72-The League auction on Monday

GOLF

Avani Prashanth top Indian at 22nd in Riyadh

A solid round of four-under 68 lifted Avani Prashanth to Tied-22nd with one round remaining in the PIF Saudi Ladies International Championship at Riyadh Golf Club.

Avani (69-71-68) had five birdies against one bogey and has a chance to make further improvement.

Her other two Indian colleagues, Aditi Ashok (72-69-71) was T-54, while Pranavi Urs (73-69-71) was T-57.

The other two Indians, Diksha Dagar and Hitaashee Bakshi had missed the cut.

First round leader, Hye-Jinn Choi of Korea returned to the top with a round of 65 and she is now 15-under and tied with Japan’s Rio Takeda (69-66-66).

South African Cassandra Alexander (67-67-68) is sole third, while second round leader Mimi Rhodes slipped to T-13 with a card of even par 72 and she is 11-under.

-PTI

170 golfers, 60 contracts: PGTI’s 72-The League auction set for Monday

The league, which was launched by PGTI in partnership with Game of Life Sports (GOLS), will begin on February 21, with the finals scheduled on March 6.
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Special Arrangement

As many as 170 professional golfers from 11 countries will go under the hammer in New Delhi on Monday for the inaugural ‘72 The League,’ a flagship league of the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

A total of 60 spots will be up for grabs for golfers in the league, as each of the six franchises will pick 10 for their respective teams, for a total auction purse of ₹6 crore.

The league, which was launched by PGTI in partnership with Game of Life Sports (GOLS), will begin on February 21, with the finals scheduled on March 6.

For the auction, the 170 golfers who have put up their names will be graded into three categories—Platinum, Gold, and Silver.

The top 30 among them, according to the PGTI’s 2025 Order of Merit, will be in the Platinum category, while Gold will comprise players from the 31st to 60th positions, and the rest of the golfers will be in the Silver category.

The inaugural season will take place across three of the Delhi NCR’s most prestigious golf venues—Classic Golf Country Club, Jaypee Greens, and Qutab Golf Course.

The league will feature a fast-paced match-play format, designed specifically for television and digital platforms.

-Press Trust of India

CRICKET

Karnataka crowned national champion in blind cricket

In one of the most electrifying finishes in Indian blind cricket history, Karnataka was crowned national champion after a jaw-dropping Super Over victory by just one run against Delhi in the grand finale of the eighth edition of the IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium.

The tournament was organised under the aegis of the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) and powered by the relentless efforts of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled.

-Team Sportstar

PARA SWIMMING

MP’s Satendra Singh Lohiya becomes first Asian para-swimmer to cross Cook Strait

India’s Satendra Singh Lohiya has become the first Asian para-swimmer to cross the Cook Strait in New Zealand.

The 38-year-old Lohiya, who hails from the Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh, was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2024.

“Historic Achievement — Cook Strait New Zealand Victory. One of the world’s most challenging sea routes, Cook Strait, New Zealand, after successfully crossing it with my team, today I feel deeply emotional and immensely proud….for the first time in Asia, a differently-abled swimmer has crossed the Cook Strait,” Lohiya posted on social media on Friday.

The para swimmer, according to officials, arrived in New Zealand in the third week of January and began training in the extremely cold waters of the Strait to prepare for the attempt.

Lohiya swam for 23.6km in nine hours and 22 minutes to accomplish the feat, officials said.

“Padma Shri and Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awardee, Madhya Pradesh’s international para swimmer Shri @SatendraSLohiya, has created history by successfully crossing New Zealand’s Cook Strait, one of the toughest sea channels in the world,” said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

“With this remarkable achievement, he becomes the first para swimmer from Asia to conquer the Cook Strait. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to him on this extraordinary feat.

“This proud moment for the nation and for Madhya Pradesh reflects his indomitable spirit and unwavering determination, which will continue to inspire generations to come,” he added.

Both of Lohiya’s legs were disabled in infancy due to a lack of proper treatment for diarrhoea.

He began his journey of open-water sea swimming in 2017. In 2018, he crossed the English Channel along with an Indian para-swimming team with a timing of 12 hours and 26 minutes, covering a distance of 34km.

In the 2022 National Paralympic swimming championships at Guwahati, he won a gold medal in 100m backstroke. He has participated in 11 National Paralympics swimming championships in which he has won 23 medals, including four Gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals.

He has also participated in three International Paralympic swimming championships in which he got one gold medal, two silver and one bronze medals.

-PTI

Weightlifting

Martina Devi claims titles

Martina Devi aggregated 249kg to claim the women’s +86kg elite and junior titles at the National weightlifting championships in Modinagar on Friday.

-Team Sportstar

Published on Feb 13, 2026