TENNIS<\/h4>\n
Top-seeded Bax saves four match points to scrape past Mukund at the MSLTA $25K ITF Men\u2019s Tournament<\/b><\/p>\n
Top seeded Florent Bax of France saved four match points to overcome seventh seed Sasikumar Mukund 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) in a marathon contest lasting over three hours to enter the mens singles semifinals at the MSLTA $25,000 ITF Men\u2019s Tennis Tournament, organized by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association at the Dr. G.A. Ranade Tennis Centre.<\/p>\n
In the semifinals, he took on India\u2019s Sidharth Rawat, who made a strong statement, and ousted fourth seed Italian Alexandr Binda 6-4, 4-0 before the latter was forced to retire.<\/p>\n
Fifth seed Philip Sekulic registered a solid 7-5, 6-3 win over Timofei Derepasko of Russia. Sekulic will take on Sweden\u2019s Leo Borg, who delivered a dominant performance, toppling second seed Luca Castelnuovo 6-0, 6-2 in under an hour.<\/p>\n
In the doubles semifinals, the top-seeded Indian pair of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Ramkumar Ramanathan cruised past Alexandr Binda and Timofei Derepasko 6-3, 6-4 to enter the final. The Indian top seeds will take on the duo of Leo Borg and Yurii Dzhavakian, who also progressed to the final with a 6-3, 6-2 win, stopping the good run of local wildcards India\u2019s Anup Bangargi and Nirav Shetty.<\/p>\n
\nResults: Singles: Quarterfinal Round:
\n<\/h5>\n
Florent Bax(1)(Fra) bt Sasikumar Mukund(7)(Ind) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3); Sidharth Rawat(Ind) bt Alexandr Binda(4)(Ita) 6-4, 4-0; Philip Sekulic(5)(Aus) bt Timofei Derepasko 7-5, 6-3; Leo Borg(Swe) bt Luca Castelnuovo(2)(Sui) 6-0, 6-2;\n<\/p>\n
\nDoubles: Semifinal Round:
\n<\/h5>\n
\nJeevan Neduncehzhiyan\/Ramkumar Ramnathan(Ind)(1) bt Alexandr Binda(Ita)\/Timofei Derepasko 6-3, 6-4; Leo Borg(Swe)\/Yurii Dzhavakian(Ukr) bt Anup Bangargi\/Nirav Shetty(Ind) 6-3, 6-2;\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
BADMINTON<\/h4>\n
Tanvi beats Nidaira to storm into semis at Orleans Masters<\/b><\/p>\n
India\u2019s Tanvi Sharma stunned Japan\u2019s sixth seed Natsuki Nidaira in straight games to storm into the semifinals of Orleans Masters Super 300 badminton tournament on Friday.<\/p>\n
The 17-year-old, who is a silver medallist at the BWF World Junior Championships, registered a 21-14, 21-14 in 43 minutes in the women\u2019s singles quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Tanvi, who is the youngest Indian to reach a BWF World Tour final at the 2025 US Open Super 300, will take on either former World champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan or Vietnam\u2019s Nguyen Thuy Linh next.<\/p>\n
In the men\u2019s doubles quarterfinals, Leo Carnando and Bagas Maulana of Indonesia ended the campaign of Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun with a 21-12, 22-20 win.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, Isharani Baruah and Malvika Bansod will lock horns in an all-Indian quarterfinal clash.<\/p>\n
-PTI<\/i><\/p>\n
-Team Sportstar<\/i><\/p>\nGOLF<\/h4>\n
Aditi has slow start in California<\/b><\/p>\n
India\u2019s Aditi Ashok opened her campaign at the Fortinet Founders Cup with an even-par 72 to be placed tied 60th, nine shots behind leader Hyo Joo Kim here.<\/p>\n
Ashok began her round in the back nine and made one birdie and one bogey before the turn and another birdie and a bogey on the front nine.<\/p>\n
The birdies were made on the 17th and third holes, while the bogeys came on the 11th and sixth holes.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old is playing her second event of the year and would be looking to continue her fine form from China, where she finished in the top five.<\/p>\n
Hyo Joo Kim leads the field by two strokes after carding 9-under 63 on the first day.<\/p>\n
-PTI<\/p>\n
CRICKET<\/h4>\n
Top stars to turn out for Dr. Vece Paes Cup<\/b><\/p>\n
Cricketers Kapil Dev, Karsan Ghavri, Yusuf Pathan and Kirti Azad along with tennis legend Leander Paes will be part of the Dr. Vece Paes Cricket Cup, featuring a match between CCFC and Dr. Vece Paes XI, to be held here on Sunday. Other well known cricketers such as Arun Lal, Ashok Malhotra and Manoj Tiwary will also be seen in action.<\/p>\n
-Team Sportstar<\/i><\/p>\nATHLETICS<\/h4>\n
7th Indian Open 400m to feature competitve men\u2019s field with Asian Games in sight<\/b><\/p>\n
The 400 metres is one of India\u2019s strongest events at the\u00a0continental level. In an Asian Games year, the 7th Indian Open 400m meet, which will be held at the LNCPE Athletics Stadium, gets special attention and will be the testing ground for the country\u2019s leading quarter-milers.<\/p>\n
The season\u00a0opener has evoked strong interest in the men\u2019s category with 67 entries. V. Mohammed Ajmal, Mohamed Anas, T.S. Manu Amoj Jacob are some experienced runners who will be participating in the men\u2019s event, while a few youngsters like T. Shar who graduated from the Under-20 category will be competing\u00a0in the men\u2019s event for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The focus will also be on the national campers attached to NCOE in Thiruvananthapuram and the event will be an opportunity for the coaches to\u00a0assess their\u00a0fitness and progress.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s event has attracted a significantly lesser number of entries with only 27 runners in fray.<\/p>\n
Hima Das, R. Vithya Ramraj, Dandhi Jyothika Sri, Prachi, Gowrinandan, Anu Raghavan and Poovama Raju are some of the prominent\u00a0runners taking part in the event.\u00a0Competition will also be held in Under-20 and Under-18 categories for boys and girls respectively.<\/p>\n
-Team Sportstar<\/i><\/p>\n
Published on Mar 20, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n