Indian sports activities wrap, March 23: India qualifies for FIBA Asia Cup 2025; Mohun Bagan beat East Bengal, wins Calcutta League

BASKETBALL

India qualifies for FIBA Asia Cup 2025 with thrilling win over Bahrain

India pulled off a coup, displaying spunk and glorious end-game expertise to outwit Bahrain 81-77 in a thriller on Saturday night time to qualify for the FIBA males’s Asia Cup 2025.

India will now journey to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the Continental match to be held from August 5 to 17.

Definitely not the favorite, India outplayed Iraq 97-77 after which Bahrain within the Qualifying match for the third-placed groups in Group-H. India led 39-38 towards Bahrain at half time after which pulled away within the third, taking a 62-55 lead. It held its personal within the fourth and closing quarter to clinch a well-known victory. The final time India beat Bahrain was in 2013.

Harsh Dagar was the star of India with 28 factors with 6-3 pointers. He had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Gurbaz Sandhu was the following top-scorer with 15 factors. Kanwar Sandhu did his half to perfection, scoring 15 factors whereas Pranav Prince and Hafeez picked 11 factors every. One of many principal causes for India’s victory was its three pointers, which India’s head coach Scott Flemming has been harping on. It transformed 14 occasions out of 29 makes an attempt.

Getting into the fourth quarter, India appeared to have the match in its management, having taken a 62-55 lead. Nonetheless, Bahrain fought again to grab two-point lead at 77-75. Arvind Krishnan produced a three-pointer for 78-77 with only one minute and 38 seconds left. It was a tense previous couple of seconds as each groups fought laborious. Within the dying seconds, Prince compelled a turnover when he deflected Mosti Rashed’s inbound go. After the ultimate whistle, the group erupted in pleasure.

India has now certified the Asia Cup for the eleventh straight time- a streak that dates again to 2001.

“Actually pleased with our guys coming in right here and successful two video games when it simply may’ve gone the opposite approach. That is now our third win within the Asia Cup Qualifiers and these are uncharted areas that we haven’t had for a very long time in India. It’s all about them. I’m simply attempting to place them able to win and so they take over from right here. We nonetheless have issues to work on … actually glad, actually pleased with these guys. We’re going to the Asia Cup,” stated Flemming.

– Staff Sportstar

Nationwide under-23 Basketball Championship 2025: Tamil Nadu edges previous Kerala to make it to closing

Prime-scorer Nikitha A. (28 factors) helped Tamil Nadu beat Kerala 70-61 in a closely-fought semifinals and e-book a spot within the ladies’s closing of the Nationwide under-23 basketball championships on the Sarusajai Stadium, Guwahati, on Sunday.

Tamil Nadu will face Karnataka, which bought previous Delhi within the different semifinal, within the closing.

Haryana rallied within the fourth quarter to beat Karnataka, which led in third and fourth intervals after sharing honours within the first, 84-70 and arrange a summit conflict with Punjab, which defeated Rajasthan, within the males’s part.

– Staff Sportstar

WEIGHTLIFTING

Jaspreet Kaur breaks powerlifting nationwide file at Khelo India Para Video games 2025

Punjab powerlifter Jaspreet Kaur grabbed the highlight as she bettered her personal the nationwide file in 45kg class to win the gold on the fourth day of the Khelo India Para Video games (KIPG) 2025 in New Delhi on Sunday.

The 31-year-old Kaur lifted 101kg to grow to be the primary athlete in KIPG 2025 to interrupt the nationwide file.

Kaur, who had additionally gained the gold medal in the identical occasion within the 2023 version, broke her personal earlier nationwide file of 100kg.

“I wished to carry out even higher this time round. Shattering a nationwide file has additionally helped me climb up the nationwide rankings,” she advised SAI Media.

Lifting 16kg extra in lower than two years was no simple feat. Kaur went by way of intense coaching, researched varied new methods, and made modifications to her weight loss plan to retain health.

However the largest problem to surpass was coping with the anxiousness points.

“I made my debut in 2022 on the nationals. So, I all the time felt I used to be fairly new to the game. It took me some time to understand that to develop power and muscle, it might take time.

“It doesn’t occur in a single day. It took me three years to ship such performances,” stated Kaur, who had polio on the age of three.

– PTI

HOCKEY

Mohun Bagan beats East Bengal to win Calcutta Premier Hockey League

Mohun Bagan defeated East Bengal 3-1 within the closing to assert the Calcutta Premier Hockey League crown on the Dumurjala Hockey Floor in Howrah on Sunday.

The standard rivals had arrange the Kolkata derby title conflict after securing the highest two locations on the factors desk.

Bagan earned a prize cash of INR 3 lakh, whereas the runner-up, EB, bought INR 2 lakh. Highest scorer of the league, Abharan Sudev of Bagan, and finest participant, Atul Deep of EB, obtained ₹10,000 every.

– Staff Sportstar

TENNIS

Miami Open 2025: Yuki Bhambri set to interchange Rohan Bopanna as India No. 1 in doubles

Yuki Bhambri and Portugal’s Nuno Borges defeated Rohan Bopanna and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig 6-4, 3-6, [10-7] within the opening spherical of males’s doubles on the Miami Open on Saturday.

With this end result, Bhambri is about to interchange Bopanna as India No. 1 in ATP Doubles Rankings.

Bopanna, with Australia’s Matthew Ebden, had gained the title in Miami final 12 months. Nonetheless, on account of his first-round loss, the 45-year-old has dropped from twenty first to forty third within the reside rankings. Then again, Bhambri has jumped from thirty seventh to twenty ninth.

Bhambri and Borges will face the Czech-British pair of Adam Pavlasek and Jamie Murray for a spot within the quarterfinals. Murray and Pavlasek beat the fourth seeds, Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina, 10-7 within the tremendous tie-break.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

ITF males’s match: Prime seed Jay Clarke beats Italian Alexandr Binda

Photograph of Alexandr Binda and champion Jay Clarke within the ITF males’s
tennis match in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association

Prime seed Jay Clarke of Britain beat second seed Alexandr Binda of Italy 6-3, 7-6(4) within the closing of the $15,000 ITF males’s tennis match on the Gujarat College Tennis Academy on Sunday.

It was the second successive title for the 26-year-old Jay, following his title final week in Chandigarh.

It was the 14th profession singles title for Jay, who had competed within the 4 Challengers in India earlier this season in Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune and Delhi, however had managed to win solely three matches in all.

Jay, ranked a career-best 153 in 2019, had dropped just one set in two weeks within the ITF occasions, and that was to Aryan Shah within the semifinals within the present occasion.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Girls’s NSW Open: Diksha finishes eleventh, Pranavi 14th as Mimi Rhodes wins in Australia

Diksha Dagar and Pranavi Urs dropped essential photographs close to the end and missed ending within the top-10 of the Ford Girls’s NSW Open in Australia.

Diksha and Pranavi shot 1-over 72 every to complete T-11 and T-14, whereas one other Indian Avani Prashanth additionally had a tricky end with a triple bogey on the 18th to complete T-Thirty sixth.

Australian Mimi Rhodes rode on her two early birdies on second and the fourth and parred the remainder of the best way for 2-under 69 for a 17-under complete that gave her a maiden Women European Tour title.

The 23-year-old rookie was adopted by Kirsten Rudgeley (68) and Italian Alessandro Fanali (70) who have been tied for second at 15-under.

Diksha, who started with six pars, suffered again to again bogeys on the seventh and the eighth.

Nonetheless, she made up for it with birdies on tenth, eleventh and the 14th.

A top-10 end was in sight until she double bogeyed the sixteenth to complete 1-over and had a complete of 8-under.

– PTI

Quim Vidal reigns supreme over defending champion Joshua England in Delhi Problem

Spaniard Quim Vidal gained the play-off on the third gap to beat the champion of the final match Joshua Berry of England after the 2 tied for the highest spot with 18-under 270 within the USD 300,000 Delhi Problem golf match on the Traditional Golf and Nation Membership on Sunday.

Quim Vidal felicitated with the prize cash within the USD 300,000 Delhi Problem golf match on the Traditional Golf and Nation Membership.
| Photograph Credit score:
Particular Association

It was a superb end by Vidal. After beginning the day with a three-shot lead, Vidal needed to make a 30-feet eagle putt on the 18th to power the play-off with a one-under 71 for the fourth spherical.

Joshua had six birdies and two bogeys for his spherical of 68.

Arjun Prasad made six birdies and a bogey in his fourth spherical of 67 to be the perfect Indian performer at tied sixth place with 15-under 273.

The champion gained INR 41,28,000 and the runner-up INR 28,38,000. Arjun pocketed INR .7,53,360.

“I knew I needed to make an eagle to get within the play-off. I used to be so focussed on making that putt. It was most likely the one lengthy putt I made all day. It was particular,” stated Vidal who finally clinched the title with a superb birdie on the third play-off gap.

“The play-off was so robust. I didn’t know the way it was going to finish,” conceded Vidal.

-Kamesh Srinivasan