ATHLETICS
The nation’s rising monitor and discipline skills will likely be put to the take a look at when the three-day Nationwide Junior (Below-20) Athletics Federation competitors will get underway on the Mahatma Gandhi Stadium in Tumkur, Karnataka, on Friday, with many eyes on a future in India colors.
With an eye fixed on subsequent month’s Asian U-20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, the competitors is predicted to be intense, particularly after the Athletics Federation of India introduced stringent qualification requirements for the continental meet, elevating the stakes for younger athletes desperate to show their credentials on the nationwide stage.
The primary medal occasions on day one would be the 5,000m races in each the boys’s and girls’s sections, however the focus will firmly be on the 100m dash, the place promising Jharkhand sprinter Parth Singh will take a look at his mettle towards Odisha’s Pratik Maharana, amongst others.
Parth loved a powerful season final yr and will likely be eager to stamp his authority on the occasion, which has drawn a staggering 79 entries, whereas the boys’s 200m has attracted an equally crowded discipline of 93 opponents.
The meet may also function a really perfect platform for Odisha’s worldwide 400m runner Bapi Hansda, who’s making a comeback after a prolonged damage layoff sustained in the course of the 2025 Nationwide Video games in Uttarakhand.
Kerala’s rising quarter-miler Mohammed Ashfaq has additionally confirmed his entry and will likely be desperate to cement his place within the nationwide staff for the Hong Kong meet, with as many as 89 athletes within the fray.
The opening day may also crown the quickest feminine athlete, with the ladies’s 100m drawing 37 entries.
Medals may also be determined within the girls’s pole vault and discus throw. In all, 1,059 opponents, together with 709 males, have confirmed their participation within the meet, which concludes on Sunday.
-PTI
TABLE TENNIS
Priyanuj, Ritvik emerge U-19 and U-17 nationwide champions
Assam’s Priyanuj Bhattacharya staged a outstanding comeback to defeat Tamil Nadu’s P. B. Abhinand within the Below-19 Boys’ Singles ultimate, denying his opponent a 3rd gold on the Junior and Youth Nationwide Desk Tennis Championships right here on Thursday.
In a gripping summit conflict that lived as much as expectations, Abhinand surged to a commanding 2-0 lead, showing firmly on the right track for the title.
Nevertheless, Bhattacharya responded with grit and composure, turning the match round with 4 consecutive video games. The Assam paddler shut the door on any comeback, sealing a 4-2 victory to lastly declare a long-awaited nationwide crown — a becoming reward for his persistence.
The Tamil Nadu pair of P.B. Abhinand and M.R. Balamurugan capped off a dominant run by clinching the title with a commanding 3-1 victory over compatriots S.Okay. Mehan and Umesh Kumar within the ultimate.
In a gripping Below-17 Boys Singles ultimate that swung forwards and backwards with momentum shifts, Ritvik Gupta of J&Okay edged previous Odisha’s Sarthak Arya in a hard-fought seven-game battle, successful 4-3.
Sahil Rawat and Dhairya Rawat of PSPBA emerged champions after a hard-fought five-game victory over fellow PSPBA duo Trishal Raj Kumar and Rushikesh Jagtap. The ultimate ebbed and flowed, with each pairs buying and selling momentum, however Sahil and Dhairya held their nerve within the decider to shut out the match 11-7 and carry the title.
-PTI
GOLF
DP World Gamers Championship: Dhruv Sheoran opens three-shot lead
Dhruv Sheoran fired a six-under 66 to open up a three-shot lead at 15-under 201 after spherical three of the DP World Gamers Championship on the Traditional Golf & Nation Membership in Nuh, Haryana.
The 31-year-old delivered his second consecutive 66 to take management heading into the ultimate day. His error-free third spherical (69-66-66) was constructed on a blistering begin, as he reeled off 4 consecutive birdies from the second to the fifth to grab early momentum. Dhruv maintained that management by the spherical, including two extra birdies on the tenth and eleventh to remain forward of the chasing pack.
Sunit Chowrasia (70-66-68), who returned from a protracted damage lay-off earlier this yr, climbed into the second spot at 12-under 204 after a gentle four-under 68 that featured 5 birdies and a lone bogey.
Akshay Sharma (70-65-70) and Jamal Hossain (67-70-68) are tied third at 11-under 205. The previous adopted up his tournament-low 65 in spherical two with a composed two-under 70, whereas the latter returned a 68 to stay in competition.
Mani Ram (69-68-70) occupies the fifth place at nine-under 207 after a spherical of 70 that included an eagle on the par-5 14th together with two birdies and two bogeys.
-Crew Sportstar
Printed on Apr 23, 2026