Indian sports wrap, June 19: Bengaluru to host BJK Cup Playoffs in November

TENNIS

Bengaluru to host BJK Cup Playoffs in November

India has been clubbed with the Netherlands and Slovenia for the Billie Jean King Cup World Group play-off women’s tennis tournament to be staged from November 14 to 16.

India has also got the hosting rights for the event, on the outdoor hard courts of the SM Krishna Tennis Stadium in Bengaluru. This will be the first time that the Billie Jean King Cup playoffs will be held on Indian soil.

The three teams will play on a round-robin league format and the topper will make it to next year’s Qualifiers. Like in the regional competition earlier, matches will feature two singles and a doubles. All matches will be played on best of three tie-break sets.

Susan Lamens (70), Arantxa Rus (91), Arianne Hartono (188) and Anouk Koevermans (190) are the top ranked players of the Dutch. They have the 18th ranked doubles specialist Demi Schuurs and the 91st ranked Isabelle Haverlag as well.

Slovenia has Veronika Erjavec (172), Tamara Zidansek (206), Kaja Juvan (239) and Dalila Jakupovic (319) as the best ranked players.

Similarly, three teams each will compete in six other venues, leading to seven qualifiers overall. The rest of the teams will return to group-1 in their respective zones.

India qualified for the playoffs after finishing second behind New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Group I tournament held in Pune in April. The five-member Indian team that featured in the event included Ankita Raina, Sahaja Yamalapalli, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Vaidehi Chaudhari and Prarthana Thombare.

“Hosting the prestigious BJK Cup playoffs at the S.M. Krishna Tennis Stadium will be a historic moment for us at KSLTA. We believe it will elevate India’s profile in global women’s tennis,” Priyank Kharge, KLSTA Senior Vice President, said.

“There is a lot of promise with young tennis players performing exceptionally well, and a home playoff tie can be a huge fillip in boosting the growth of the sport particularly in the grassroots and also inspire potential talent,” Sunil Yajaman, Hon. Joint Secretary of KSLTA and Tournament Director of the event, said.

– Team Sportstar

Queen’s Club Championships: Bhambri-Galloway pair knocked out in first round

Yuki Bhambri in partnership with Robert Galloway got a second chance as lucky-loser but went down fighting to Taylor Fritz and Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 1-6, [8-10] in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the €2,522,220 ATP tennis tournament in London.

Yuki and Galloway had lost the first round of the qualifying event to Rohan Bopanna and Sander Gille. The Indo-American pair did not win any ATP point but pocketed € 10,820.

– Team Sportstar

Jaidip Mukerjea to organise a camp in Assam for youngsters

The former Davis Cup captain Jaidip Mukerjea, along with Somdev Devvarman and Prajnesh Gunneswaran, will hold a week-long camp for young tennis players in Assam from July 21.

“We will have a high performance camp for players in the 11-15 age group. The boys and girls will be from Assam, Bengal and Chennai. The idea is to educate the young players, and guide them to tackle problems,” said Jaidip.

A stalwart of his times, the 83-year-old Jaidip holds the unique record among Indian players, of having reached the fourth round of all four Grand Slams.

Jaidip keeps track of Indian tennis, even as he runs an academy in Kolkata. He plans to do a series of camps to help budding talent.

“We are a huge country. We need to have five-six top quality academies across the country,” said Jaidip.

– Team Sportstar

AITA Championship series juniors: Ayaan reaches under-16 boys’ final in Chandigarh

Ayaan Chandel eased past Japnit Charaya 6-1, 6-1 in the under-16 boys semifinals of the AITA Championship series junior tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex in Chandigarh on Thursday.

In the final, Ayaan will play Sangram Bhadury.

Ayaan also won the doubles title in partnership with Gaurish Madaan, beating Mahijith Kaura and Sangram Bhadury 10-7 in the super tie-break.

– Team Sportstar

ESPORTS

S8UL qualifies for grand finals in three titles at Esports World Cup 2025

Indian esports organisation S8UL has officially qualified for the grand finals of Apex Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), and EAFC 25 at the upcoming Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Featuring a record-breaking prize pool of USD 70 million (approx. INR 598 crore), the EWC 2025 will be one of the biggest esports events in history.

S8UL’s Apex Legends squad, featuring Rick Wirth (Sharky), Benjamin Spaseski (Jesko), and Tom Canty (Legacy), qualified for the EWC 2025 through the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) 2025: Split 1 Pro League for APAC South.

Competing in a challenging triple round-robin format against 30 of the best teams from the region, the squad clinched its EWC spot by finishing in the top five with 109 points.

The all-Australian line-up has a strong competitive track record, having competed at the inaugural EWC and several ALGS Championships, with team captain Sharky notably winning the ALGS Championship in 2022.

The team now advances to the ALGS Midseason Playoffs, set to take place at the EWC from July 10 to 13, where 40 of the world’s best teams will compete for a $2 million (INR 17.2 crore) prize pool.

S8UL will also be representing India in EAFC 25 through Germany’s Jonas Wirth (Jonny), who secured his spot by finishing in the top four of the Virtual Bundesliga 2024–25.

After winning three of his four group stage matches, Jonny advanced to the playoffs, where he dominated the round of 16 and quarterfinals before narrowly missing out in the semifinals.

A seasoned veteran, Jonny was the champion of both the Virtual Bundesliga and the eChampions League last year. He will now compete in the FC Pro 25 World Championship at the EWC from August 7 to 10, where 32 of the world’s top players will battle for a $1.5 million (INR 12.5 crore) prize pool.

Meanwhile, S8UL’s Aaron Rivera (Happy) qualified for the FC Pro 25 Play-Ins following a dominant run in the LATAM North region, where he won three consecutive FC Pro 25 Open Cups.

He will compete against 47 other top players for the four remaining spots at the EWC.

S8UL’s MLBB roster qualified for the MLBB Mid Season Cup (MSC) at EWC 2025 after a commanding victory in the NACT Spring Season.

The team, featuring Michael Cosgun (MobaZane), Ian Hohl (FwydChickn), Jang Seong-hun (Hoon), Ziameth-Jei Caluya (ZIA), Vo Trung (Shark), and Carlos Ortega Vega (Bestplayer1), was dominant throughout the tournament, defeating Area 77 with a 4–2 scoreline in the grand finals to secure their berth.

WRESTLING

Grapplers strike gold in Asia U-23 Championships

Indian wrestlers won five gold medals, including four in women’s section, at the Asian under-23 wrestling championships Vung Tau, Vietnam, on Thursday.

Priyanshi Prajapat (50kg), Reena (55kg), Srishti (68kg), Priya (76kg) claimed gold medals, while Tanvi Gundesh Magdum (59kg) took a silver in women’s competitions. Priyanshi defeated Mongolia’s Munkhgerel Munkhbat 4-2, Reena beat Kyrgyz Aruuke Kadyrbek Kyzy 13-4 and Srishti outsmarted Chinese Yuqi Liu 10-0 in their respective finals.

In a field of four, Priya won her three round robin matches to secure the top honour.

In Greco Roman, Sumit (63kg) also won his three round robin matches to clinch the gold. Ankit Gulia (72kg) and Nitesh (97kg) picked up bronze.

– YB Sarangi

BOXING

640 boxers to compete in Junior Boys and Girls’ Nationals in Rohtak

Around 640 up-and-coming pugilists from across the country, including 350 boys and 290 girls, will face off in the sixth Junior (Under-17) Boys and Girls National Championships at the National Boxing Academy in Rohtak, Haryana, between June 19-26.

Both the Junior Boys and Junior Girls competitions will feature 13 weight categories each, ranging from 44-46 kg to 80+ kg. The Services Sports Control Board will look to defend its title from the fifth Boys’ Nationals, while Haryana enters as the defending champion in the Girls’ category.

“The Junior National Championship is a crucial platform for young boxers to showcase their skills in front of national selectors and coaches. It plays a key role in helping BFI identify and nurture future talent. I am happy to see strong participation from all teams as we look to discover the next generation of Indian boxing stars. Many of these young boxers will represent India in the 2032 and 2036 Olympic Games, and therefore, this championship is of great importance,” said Ajay Singh, Boxing Federation of India (BFI) president-chairperson, Interim Committee.

“This championship also comes before the Asian Youth Games in October this year, where, for the first time, boxing has been included. The winners from here will go on to represent India at these Asian Games, where 14 medals will be up for grabs. With robust systems already in place, BFI is committed to supporting these young athletes in realising their full potential,” he added.

The gold and silver medallists of the REC Combined Talent Hunt (Junior Boys and Girls) held in October 2024 would be eligible to participate in the National Championships under the REC banner, provided they fulfil the eligibility criteria of being born between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010.

The championships will be conducted as per the World Boxing Technical & Competitions Rules, wherein each bout will consist of three rounds of two minutes each, with a minute’s rest in between. A ten-points-must scoring system shall be followed.

-Team Sportstar

ARCHERY

Indian junior archers enter three finals at Asia Cup Stage 2

The Indian junior archers continued their dominating run by storming into three team finals at the Asia Cup Stage 2 in Singapore on Thursday.

The Indian men’s recurve team, seeded second, defeated fifth-seeded Bangladesh 5-1 in a one-sided semifinal to set up a summit clash with third seeds Japan.

The trio of Vishnu Choudhary, Paras Hooda and Juyel Sarkar dominated from the outset, taking the opening set 55-48.

Although the second set was tied at 55-55, the Indians bounced back strongly, dropping just one point in the third set to win it 59-56 and seal the issue.

In the recurve mixed team event, Vaishnavi Pawar and Vishnu Choudhary defeated Singapore’s Tabitha Ern Lin Yeo and Yue Long Li 5-3 to enter the final.

The Indian pair won the first set 37-35, tied the second 37-all, and lost the third 36-38 to make it 3-3. But Pawar and Choudhary held their nerves to close out the match with a commanding 38-34 win in the final set.

India also assured itself of a medal in the compound men’s team event after the trio of Kushal Dalal, Ganesh Thirumuru, and Mihir Apar edged past fifth-seeded Australia in a tense semifinal decided by a shoot-off (30-29) after both teams were tied at 232 after four sets.

India will take on Kazakhstan in the final.

The top-seeded Indian compound women’s team, comprising Shanmukhi Budde, Tejal Salve, and Tanishka Thokal, defeated fourth-seeded Kazakhstan 230-229 in a nail-biting semifinal to ensure another medal. They will meet Malaysia in the final.

The top-seeded Indian compound mixed team pairing of Shanmukhi and Kushal also confirmed another medal by defeating Indonesia’s Nurisa Dian Ashrifah and Prima Wisnu Wardhana 155-154 in a nail-biting semifinal.

They will face third-seeded Kazakhstan in the final.

However, there was heartbreak for the Indian women’s recurve team. Seeded fifth, the troika of Vaishnavi Pawar, Kirti, and Tamanna lost a thrilling quarterfinal to fourth seeds Japan 4-5 (26-28) in the shoot-off after a five-set battle.

They lost the opening set 47-49 and slumped further after managing only 34 in the second set to Japan’s 55. But the Indians showed great resilience to take the third set 55-53 and level the scores 4-4 after claiming the fourth set 54-52.

In the shoot-off, Japan edged ahead by just two points.

Indian archers are also in the hunt for four individual medals on the concluding day on Friday. The women’s compound final will be an all-Indian affair, with Shanmukhi set to face Tejal for gold. In the men’s compound section, India will be in the hunt in both the gold and bronze medal matches. Kushal will face Joshua Mahon of Australia for the gold, while Sachin Chechi will take on Himu Bachhar of Bangladesh for bronze.

-PTI

CHESS

12 share lead in Junior event

The race for the top honours in the Aurionpro International Junior Chess Tournament intensified as the lead narrowed to just 12 players at the end of Round 3 at the World Trade Centre.

In the junior event, on the top board, top-seed FIDE Master Aansh Nerurkar was made to work hard by Mysha Parwez. Playing with the black pieces, Aansh navigated a challenging Catalan Opening to eventually outplay his opponent and secure a full point.

Meanwhile, the foreign Grandmasters continued to assert their dominance in the GM category with yet another commanding display in Round 3.

Top seed GM Levan Pantsulaia, second seed GM Manuel Petrosyan, and third seed GM Luka Paichadze all registered confident victories over their respective opponents, reaffirming their billing as tournament favourites.

– Team Sportstar

HOCKEY

Hockey India Masters Cup 2025: Haryana, Punjab win in women’s event; Maharashtra, Odisha win in men’s

After the power packed first day of the Hockey India Masters Cup 2025, it was Punjab and Haryana in the women’s category to register win in their respective games on Day-2, while Maharashtra and Odisha had a successful outing in the men’s category.

In the first match today, Punjab defeated Odisha 3-1 in the women’s category. Sangita Minz (3’), Captain Amandeep Kaur (5’) and Niti (26’) scored for Hockey Punjab while Ranjita Beck (50’) could only score the consolation goal for Odisha.

In the second match, Haryana defeated Tamil Nadu 8-4 in the women’s category. Suresh Rasna Babu (2’, 20’) scored a brace for TN, joined by Christy Elena Edward (40’) and Saumya (56’) also scored one goal each. For Haryana, both Chingshubam Sanggai Ibemhal (3’, 10’, 13’) and Sonika Yadav (32’, 49’, 51’) scored a hattrick to take the game away from their opponent. Suman Lata Chumbak (26’) and Neetu Kumari (44’) also scored one goal each to confirm the first win in the tournament.

In the men’s category, Maharashtra defeated Manipur 7-1. Captain Dhananjay Mahadik (34’, 36’) lead from the front and stood out to be the top goal scorer with two goals in the game. Dadasaheb Prakash Ghumbre (12’), Vikram Pillay (14’), Leonard Keith Pereira (19’), Shakti Bharatsingh Thakur (24’) and Harish Padinjarethil (54’) also contributed for Maharashtra with one goal each. In response, Sorokhaibam Bidyakumar Singh (25’) scored the only goal for Manipur.

Odisha won 6-3 against Le Puducherry. Harikrishnan S (17’) scored the opening goal of the match for Le Puducherry joined by his teammates B Adhikesavan (23’) and Delhiganesh (58’) who also scored goal each in the second and fourth quarter respectively. On the other side for Odisha, Santiel Mundu (32’, 41’, 43’) scored a hattrick further joined by Captain Lajrus Barla (19’), Ladhu Ekka (52’) and Bernard Lakra (59’) who also contributed one goal each to affirm their first win in the tournament.

– Team Sportstar

RUGBY

RPL Season 1: Hyderabad Heroes completes hat-trick of wins, Bengaluru Bravehearts picks up second victory

The Bengaluru Bravehearts registered its second victory, and the Hyderabad Heroes maintained its winning streak, completing a hat-trick of wins during the GMR RPL (Rugby Premier League) Season 1 at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex (Andheri Sports Complex) in Mumbai.

The Bravehearts saw off the Mumbai Dreamers in a low-scoring thriller, winning 12-7. Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Heroes won comprehensively, with a scoreline of 43-12.

In the first game of the day, the Bengaluru Bravehearts started brightly, with Akuila Rokolisoa scoring a try and then converting his kick after that to give his side the lead. However, the Mumbai Dreamers, which was still looking for its first win, equalised when Waisea Nacuqu cancelled out Akuila Rokolisoa’s try and conversion.

The Dreamers were doing their best to keep their opposition at bay, but just before half-time, the Bravehearts got their noses out in front again with Scott Curry’s important and decisive try. From then on in, the Bravehearts managed the contest brilliantly against the spirited Dreamers, coming away with a crucial win.

In the second match of the day, the Kalinga Black Tigers, which needed a win, drew first blood against the Hyderabad Heroes. The Tigers had Perry Baker getting the first try of the game, leaving the Heroes a little surprised.

From then on in, the Hyderabad Heroes showed why it is in the top half of the table, as it cranked up the intensity and roared back into the game. Tries from Motu Opetai and Javed Hussein were crucial for the Hyderabad side, which was further aided by Terio Tamani’s two conversions. Before the half-time break, Deepraj Rajabhosale bagged a crucial try, and Maurice Longbottom’s conversion meant the Tigers trailed by two points and had two quarters to go.

After that, the Hyderabad Heroes thwarted the Tigers’ attack with its own moves. Terio Tamani, Max Roddick and Joji Nasova added a try each, and Tamani added six more points to his conversion tally. With four minutes to go, the Heroes led 33-12.

In the final quarter, Manuel Moreno and Joji Nasova added a couple of more tries to seal the game. The Heroes won by a margin of 43-12.

-Team Sportstar

SQUASH

Senthilkumar enters Asian Squash Championship semifinals

Velavan Senthilkumar, the lone Indian left in the fray, entered the men’s singles semifinal at the Asian Squash Championships 2025 with a straight-game win here on Thursday.

Senthilkumar, ranked 45th in the men’s singles chart, beat Malaysia’s Joachim Chuah, the current world No. 196, 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-6) in the quarterfinal. The Indian hasn’t dropped a game yet in this championships.

Senthilkumar will next play second-seeded Lau Tsz Kwan of Hong Kong in the semifinal.

The Indian had won a silver medal at the last edition of the continental meet in 2023 after losing to Malaysian Ng Eain Yow.

The victory on Thursday confirmed a medal for Senthilkumar as both the losing semifinalists will secure a bronze.

Among other Indians in the fray, Diwarkar Singh and Rahul Baitha had failed to progress beyond the men’s round of 32, while Suraj Chand exited in the pre-quarterfinal.

– PTI