Indian sports wrap, June 13: Rookie Avani placed second in Women’s Open

GOLF

Hulencourt Women’s Open: Rookie Avani placed second in Belgium

Indian rookie Avani Prashanth equalled her best start of the season with a 4-under 68l that gave her a solid tied second position after the first round of the Hulencourt Women’s Open.

Playing in one of the late groups in the afternoon, Avani had seven birdies against three bogeys in an action-packed round.

Australia’s Kelsey Bennett topped the leaderboard after day one with an opening round of 67 (-5). Avani shared the second place with Germany’s Helen Briem as they carded 68 each.

Avani is one of the seven Indians in action this week on the Ladies European Tour.

The seasoned Diksha Dagar began with a modest even par 72 in the first round of the event and was T-22 when the round ended.

Amandeep Drall, who recently picked a win on her home Tour, the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, is playing her first LET event this season, and Sneha Singh is featuring in her second event. The duo shot 2-over 74 each and were T-58th.

Tvesa Malik carded 76 as did Vani Kapoor, a four-time winner at home on WPGT, and both were T-89 while Hitaashee Bakshi struggled to 79 and was T-125th.

Avani began on the first and picked two early birdies on the second and the third. Then she had two bogeys on the fifth and the seventh with one birdie in between. A birdie on the ninth meant she turned in 2-under 34.

A par on the tenth was followed by three birdies in a row from the 11th to the 13th and a bogey on the 14th. Four pars over the last four holes meant she finished at 4-under for the day.

“I think it was a very good day from start to finish,” said Avani.

“The putter was really hot all day. I love quick greens so this is definitely one of my favourite golf courses so far. I was reading putts perfectly and I’ve been working quite a bit on my putting the last two days, so I’m glad it all came together.” At just 18-years-old, Prashanth is feeling good about her opening round.

“I’m feeling pretty good about it and I’m just glad that I finally got the good first day that I wanted. Things are off to a good start and let’s see how the week goes.

“I think the game plan was pretty much the same as last week, despite being very different courses. I just had to work on getting my speed in control, but besides that, it’s been the same,” continued the teenager.

Diksha, who has been in fine form this season and has been in the Top-10 of the Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit, had three birdies and as many bogeys in her round.

She started on the back nine and bogeyed the 14th, but turned in one-under with birdies on the 16th and the 18th. A bogey on the second followed by a birdie on the third meant she was still under par. A bogey on the seventh, which was her 16th hole, saw her finish at even par.

– PTI

Bhatia, Rai struggle along with Scheffler; injured Theegala skips US Open

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot 3-over 73, his highest ever score in the US Open, as he trailed surprise leader, J.J. Spaun (66) by seven shots while Indian-origin golfers struggled in the US Open at the Oakmont Country Club.

Indian-American Sahith Theegala, who has had a very disappointing season, pulled out before the event because of a ‘neck injury’ that is taking more time than expected to heal.

Another Indian-American, Akshay Bhatia, had a rough time with his 76 with seven bogeys and one solitary birdie.

Indo-British Aaron Rai (72) was T-33 with three birdies against five bogeys.

– PTI

Saptak Talwar tied 78th in Czech Republic

Indian golfer Saptak Talwar carded a one-over 72 to be placed tied 78th after the opening day of Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge.

Talwar is eight shots off the lead and has to pick up the pace if he hopes to make cut.

Talwar began his round on the back nine and had bogeys on the 13th and 17th holes.

On the front nine, he was able to recover a shot on the fourth hole to gain back some ground.

Jovan Rebula of South Africa, a nephew to four time Major winner Ernie Els, leads after the first round by one stroke.

Jackson Palmer of USA and Sebastian Garcia of Spain are placed tied second after playing a round of six-under 66.

– PTI

Umed Kumar clinches PGTI NEXGEN title

Umed Kumar scored a steady one-over 63 in the third and final round to cinch the title with a par 190 in the PGTI NEXGEN golf tournament at the Forest Hill Golf and Country Club on Friday.

The 24-year-old Umed was two shots behind the lead at the end of the second round to eventually emerge champion with a three-shot margin over overnight leader Mari Muthu.

The champion won Rs.2,54,300.

“I am delighted to have won my first tournament as a professional. It is a big confidence booster,” said Umed.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

Saptak Talwar lies tied 78 in Czech Republic

Indian golfer Saptak Talwar carded a one-over 72 to be placed tied 78th after the opening day of Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge here.

Talwar is eight shots off the lead and has to pick up the pace if he hopes to make the cut.

Talwar began his round on the back nine and had bogeys on the 13th and 17th holes.

On the front nine, he was able to recover a shot on the fourth hole to gain back some ground.

Jovan Rebula of South Africa, a nephew to four-time Major winner Ernie Els, leads after the first round by one stroke.

Jackson Palmer of the USA and Sebastian Garcia of Spain are placed tied second after playing a round of six-under 66.

-PTI

CHESS

Abhijeet Gupta beats Mihail Nikitenko to take sole lead at Delhi GM Open chess tournament

Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta scored a spectacular victory over Grandmaster Mihail Nikitenko to stay in sole lead at the end of the ninth and penultimate round with eight points in the 21st Delhi GM Open chess tournament at the Tivoli Gardens, Chhattarpur, on Friday.

Abhijeet came up with a flurry of sacrifices, including a fresh minted queen, to light up the end game, forcing the joint leader to resign after 48 moves.

International Master Aronyak Ghosh of the Railways was up by three pawns in the endgame against Viresh Sharnarthi to secure full points. With 7.5 points, Aronyak was in joint second place with Grandmaster Aditya Samant.

Aronyak will challenge Abjijeet Gupta in the tenth and last round of the tournament on Saturday.

Aditya rallied his forces nicely with the black to have a rook and three minor pieces against two rooks of Grandmaster Aleksej Aleksandrov.

Aditya will play top seed SL Narayanan in the final round. There were 13 players with seven points, including Narayanan, who split points against Grandmaster Mamikon Gharibyan.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

KHO KHO

Ultimate Kho Kho Season 3 to commence from November 29, announced by KKFI President

In a major development for the globalisation of Kho Kho, the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) announced that for the first time, international players will be eligible for inclusion in the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) players’ auction for the upcoming third season.

The announcement was made by KKFI president Sudhanshu Mittal during a press conference held at Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tercentenary (SGT) University on Friday (June 13). He also confirmed that the third season of Ultimate Kho Kho will commence on November 29, 2025.

The press conference was held in the esteemed presence of Gaurav Gautam, Minister of State for Youth Empowerment & Entrepreneurship (IC), Sports (IC), Law & Legislative (Attached), Government of Haryana who appreciated the efforts done by KKFI for promoting Kho Kho on a global stage and improve the state of sports development in Haryana.

Other members who attended were Dr. Hemant Verma, vice chancellor, SGT University, Amrit Singh Chawla, Member, Governing Body, SGT University, and Jawahar Singh Yadav, President, Haryana Kho Kho Federation, who promised that Kho Kho will be promoted extensively in Haryana and more Kho Kho players will be promised more facilities and job opportunities.

The announcement came alongside the Advanced Level III A Training Programme for Coaches and Technical Officials, which is currently underway at the SGT University campus.

Additionally, the Kho Kho Federation of India and SGT University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen the commitment to developing educational and scientific resources for all indigenous sports, including Kho Kho.

-Team Sportstar

ESPORTS

S8UL signs three of India’s Asian Games participants to compete in League of Legends

S8UL Esports officially announced its entry into League of Legends (LOL) by signing one of South Asia’s leading rosters.

The team features captain Akshaj Shenoy (Kat Bot), Aakash Shandilya (Infi), Ahmed Shahid (Nero), and Mihir Ranjan (Angelslotus) from India, along with Mehrab Uddin Ahmed (RTO) from Bangladesh and Tharuka Fernando (KratoZ) from Sri Lanka. The core roster has already established itself as a dominant force in South Asia.

In a milestone achievement, Akshaj, Aakash, and Mihir represented India in LOL at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, where esports debuted as an official medal event. After topping the regional qualifiers, they advanced to the quarterfinals and secured a commendable fifth-place finish, competing against the best teams in Asia.

In 2024, under the banner of Temple of Kings, the roster won major titles, including the Skyesports WD Black Cup 1 & 2, Pro League, and the SMG South Asia Cup 1, 2, and 3, in addition to TEC’s July and August Opens. In 2025, they continued their winning streak with four tournament victories under Asterisk. The team now joins S8UL with a proven record of success.

The team is set to compete in Legends Ascend 2025, India’s first publisher-driven amateur LOL tournament. With a total prize pool of INR 10 lakhs, the tournament will culminate on August 3, and its champion will earn a coveted spot in the LOL Championship Pacific (LCP) Wildcard Playoffs, which is the gateway to LCP’s promotion and relegation tournament.

With this, S8UL strengthens its competitive roster portfolio, now fielding top-tier lineups across 12 premier esports titles. These include Apex Legends, Battlegrounds Mobile India, Call of Duty: Warzone, Chess, EAFC 25, Fatal Fury, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Pokémon UNITE, StarCraft II, Tekken 8, VALORANT, and now League of Legends.

As the first and only Indian organisation set to compete at the upcoming Esports World Cup in Riyadh, S8UL continues to build on its legacy of pioneering global representation for Indian esports.

-Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Sahaja beats Thasa in third round of Santo Domingo ITF women’s tournament

Sahaja Yamalapalli beat Thasa Pedretti of Brazil 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the $30,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

A doubles champion last week, Sahaja, however, lost the doubles quarterfinals with Hiroko Kuwata of Japan.

Siddharth Vishwakarma and S Mukund made the singles semifinals of the $15,000 men’s event in Luan, China.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

BASKETBALL

U-23 National 3×3 basketball c’ships: TN, Kerala and Karnataka enter men’s quarterfinals

Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh entered the men’s quarterfinals of the first under-23 National 3×3 basketball championships at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Friday.

The host Kerala men brushed aside Andhra Pradesh 19-6 to top Group ‘B’ while TN beat Odisha 21-17 in Group ‘C’.

In the women’s section, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were among the teams to move to the quarterfinals.

-Stan Rayan

MOTORSPORT

Muskaan Jubbal scripts history with Podium finish at Asian Auto Gymkhana Championship 2025

In a landmark moment for Indian motorsport, Muskaan Jubbal, an alumna of Shiv Nadar School, Faridabad, has scripted history at the Asian Auto Gymkhana Championship (AAGC) 2025, becoming the first-ever female driver from India to secure a podium finish in the Female Solo category.

Held on May 31 and June 1, 2025, at the Sokol Race Track in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the event was organised under the FIA Sport Grant Programme and hosted by FAMS Kyrgyzstan in association with AMFK Kazakhstan.

Representing India under the banner of FMSCI, Muskaan made a sensational debut on the international Gymkhana stage, achieving third place in female solo (making her the first Indian female podium finisher in AAGC history in this category) and third place in mixed doubles (alongside seasoned racer Vidit Jain) and Youngest Driver at the event, across all participating nations. Despite this being her international and Gymkhana debut, she delivered two podium finishes and stood out as the youngest competitor in the championship.

The championship saw participation from eight countries — India, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong, and Singapore — under the FIA umbrella.

Looking ahead, the Indian team is gearing up for the next round of the Asian Auto Gymkhana Championship, scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka this September. With momentum on its side and a powerful combination of experience and emerging talent, Team India is poised to make an even deeper impact on the Asian motorsport scene.

-Team Sportstar