Indian sports activities wrap, February 21: Pune Half Marathon winner Pradhan Kirulakar fails dope take a look at

ATHLETICS

Final yr’s Pune Half Marathon race title winner Pradhan Vilas Kirulakar has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after failing a dope take a look at.

Kirulakar, who had received the Pune Marathon in December 2024 with a time of 1 hour 4 minutes and 22 seconds, examined constructive for performance-enhancing drug meldonium.

“A discover of allegation has been issued after his dope pattern confirmed the “presence/use of a prohibited substance (Meldonium) (Article 2.1 and Article 2.2),” the AIU stated.

The AIU is the impartial company of the World Athletics which manages all features of the anti-doping programme for worldwide stage athletes.

Using Meldonium got here to mild after tennis star Maria Sharapova examined constructive for it and bought suspended in 2016.

Meldonium is prescribed by physicians to assist shield coronary heart tissue by regulating metabolism. It has additionally been utilized by neurological clinics to deal with sufferers who’ve asthenia — an irregular lack of vitality.

Final month, the AIU had introduced the provisional suspension of one other Indian lengthy distance runner Madhuri Kale for the “presence/use of a prohibited substance Mephentermine.”

– PTI

BASKETBALL

FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers: Iran thrashes India 106-55 in Tehran

India remained on the third spot in Group E of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers after shedding 106-55 to higher-ranked Iran in Tehran.

Mohammad Amini (33 factors) did the majority of the scoring for the house crew. For India, Amritpal Singh (18 factors) was the highest scorer.

India’s group additionally has Qatar and Kazakhstan.

India has six factors whereas Iran is on the high of the group with 9 factors after 5 rounds. Each Qatar and Kazakhstan have a recreation in hand.

India will probably be up in opposition to Qatar in Doha on Monday.

India wants to complete within the high two of its group to ensure a spot within the 16-team Finals. If India locations third, it’ll enter a playoff spherical with the 5 third-placed groups from the opposite teams for the remaining 4 spots.

– Workforce Sportstar

INBL Professional League: Chennai Warmth dominates Mumbai Titans

Chennai Warmth got here up with a dominant efficiency to outplay Mumbai Titans 86-69 after main 46-32 at halftime within the INBL Professional basketball league on the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Friday.

It was a outstanding reversal for Chennai, which had misplaced to Mumbai earlier within the league by 15 factors.

With its fifth victory in 9 matches, Chennai joined Gujarat on high of the desk with 10 factors. Punjab, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi groups had been locked within the second place with eight factors every.

– Workforce Sportstar

TENNIS

Qatar Open 2025: Bhambri-Dodig pair knocked out in semifinals

Yuki Bhambri, in partnership with Ivan Dodig of Croatia, was overwhelmed 7-6(3), 6-3 by Julian Money and Lloyd Glasspool of Britain within the doubles semifinals of the ATP 500 occasion in Doha, Qatar, on Friday.

Yuki and Dodig received 180 ATP factors and $45,750.

– Workforce Sportstar

Pune Open ATP Challenger 2025: Jeevan-Vijay pair reaches doubles ultimate

Alexis Galarneau of Canada edged out defending champion Valentin Vacherot of Monaco 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) within the quarterfinals of the Pune Open ATP Challenger tennis match on the Balewadi Stadium on Friday.

Within the semifinals, Galarneau will play Brandon Holt of USA who knocked out Billy Harris, the highest seed and finalist of the final match in Delhi, in three units.

The opposite semifinal will probably be between Khumoyun Sultanov of Uzbekistan and Dalibor Svrcina of the Czech Republic.

The Indian curiosity was saved alive as high seeds Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Vijay Sundar Prashanth made the doubles ultimate, beating Niki Poonacha and Courtney Lock in straight units.

The Indian pair will play second seeds Blake Bayldon and Matthew Romios of Australia within the ultimate on Saturday.

– Workforce Sportstar

AITA Rating Match: Jaya, Dalwinder clinch titles

Qualifier Jaya Kapoor capped her advantageous run by beating Vidula Amar 6-4, 6-4 within the girls’s ultimate of the HPCL-Mittal Rs.200,000 AITA rating tennis match on the CLTA Advanced in Chandigarh on Friday.

Former nationwide champion Dalwinder Singh beat Vatsal Manikantan 6-1, 7-5 for the boys’s title.

– Workforce Sportstar

Asian under-14 match: Kabir, Khushi topped champions

Kabir Parmar beat Naman Borah 6-3, 6-1 within the boys’ ultimate of the Asian under-14 tennis match on the Gujarat College Tennis Centre in Ahmedabad on Friday.

Khushi Kadian received the women title.

– Workforce Sportstar

GOLF

Ahlawat shoots 70 to lie forty fifth in Kenya

Indian golfer Veer Ahlawat was cruising alongside when three late bogeys noticed him card a one-under 70, leaving him tied for forty fifth after the opening spherical of the Magical Kenya Open on the DP World Tour in Nairobi.

The Indian, who’s a rookie on the Tour, was cruising at four-under by means of his first 9 holes on the Muthaiga Golf Membership, however bumped into three bogeys within the final 4 holes.

India’s different consultant within the subject, Shubhankar Sharma (71). was Tied sixty fifth.

John Parry and Benjamin Hebert posted rounds of bogey-free eight-under par rounds of 63 to take a share of lead.

Ahlawat had an awesome first 9, which was the again stretch of the course. He birdied the tenth, 14th and fifteenth earlier than touchdown an eagle on the 18th. In between he dropped a shot on the sixteenth. He was 4-under for the again at 4-under 31.

Nonetheless, all that good work went in useless as Ahlawat dropped 4 bogeys together with three in final 4 holes. He additionally picked a birdie at seventh gap and totalled 1-under 70.

Shubhankar had 4 birdies in opposition to 4 bogeys.

England’s Parry, who has already received on the 2025 Race to Dubai, set the goal early within the day and it was solely matched by Hebert, who birdied his ultimate gap to affix him on eight beneath, one away from South Africa’s Jayden Schaper.

Schaper was additionally bogey-free in his seven-under 64, with Denmark’s Jacob Skov Olesen and Korean Wooyoung Cho sharing fourth on six beneath.

– PTI

Bogey-free Sneha pips Vani with a 25-foot putt to win third leg of Hero WPGT

Sneha Singh performed a superb bogey-free five-under 66 to pip Vani Kapoor on the end line within the third leg to seize her second straight title within the 2025 Hero Ladies’s Professional Golf Tour in Pune on Friday.

Vani, who had the same 66 a day earlier, faltered within the ultimate spherical with a one-over 72 on the Poona Membership Golf Course.

Sneha, who trailed by 5 firstly, capped the week with a monster 25-footer for the fifth and profitable birdie of the day.

For Sneha, who’s coached by her father Sanjay, it was a milestone as she received her tenth title on the WGAI.

“Attending to 10 (titles) is certainly nice. To win twice in three begins is a giant morale booster,” stated Sneha.

Sneha birdied the primary and the ninth as Vani had three bogeys and two birdies. On the flip, Sneha from being 5 pictures behind firstly, had reduce the result in simply two.

With not one of the others making a cost, Sneha saved closing in on Vani with a birdie on the 10h and there was only one shot between them. When Vani dropped a shot on the twelfth, they had been stage at 4-under for the match.

Sneha moved forward for the primary time with a birdie on the 14th, however Vani caught up on the very subsequent gap, the fifteenth to tie for the lead. The duo parred the sixteenth and the seventeenth.

At the same time as a play-off appeared possible, Sneha holed a 25-feet uphill putt for a ultimate birdie. Vani managed solely a par. That gave Sneha a second win in as many begins.

Whereas Sneha and Vani had been battling it out for the highest prize, Amandeep Drall (75) slipped to tied fifth, and Hitaashee Bakshi with a bogey free 2-under 69 completed sole third.

Vidhatri Urs (70) completed sole fourth with three birdies in opposition to two bogeys.

Behind the fifth positioned Amandeep was Kriti Chowhan in sixth place and Seher Atwal was seventh.

Novice Mannat Brar and Agrima Manral had been tied for eighth and 4 gamers together with first spherical chief, Shweta Mansingh, Durga Nittur, Shagun Narain and Neha Tripathi rounded off the High-10.

Sneha was tied fifth within the opening occasion of the season in Golmuri after which received the second leg in Tollygunge. She is now on high of the Hero Ladies’s Order of Advantage with winnings of Rs 4,48,400 and Rhea Purvi, who was seventeenth this week in Pune, was second with Rs 2,73,000.

Vani Kapoor, Amandeep Drall and Kriti Chowhan are positioned third, fourth and fifth respectively.

The fourth leg will probably be held on the Bombay Presidency Golf Membership, Mumbai subsequent week and Sneha will probably be on the lookout for a hat-trick of wins.

– PTI

Queens of Golf to be held on March 8

As many as 20 skilled girls golfers will crew up with identical variety of senior company executives and sports activities celebrities in the course of the inaugural Queens of Golf, a Ladies’s Movie star Professional-Am Golf occasion, to be held on the Ladies’s Day, March 8.

Hosted in partnership with the Ladies’s Golf Affiliation of India, the one-day occasion will probably be held on the Basic Golf & Nation Membership in Gurugram, that includes a singular Professional-Am format, the place individuals could have the chance to crew up with an expert girl participant for a spherical of golf.

Moreover, skilled girls golfers will compete in a stroke-play format for particular person awards, showcasing their abilities and aggressive spirit.

“We’re certainly delighted to associate with the Queens of Golf for the inaugural version of the Ladies’s Movie star Professional-Am, to be staged fittingly on Ladies’s Day. This isn’t only a golf occasion, it’s a celebration of ladies’s empowerment by means of sport and a way to showcase the immense depth of their expertise,” Ladies’s Golf Affiliation of India President Kavita Singhsaid in a launch.

“It is usually heartening to see the regular enhance within the variety of company sponsors stepping ahead to assist the reason for girls’s golf in India. I want the occasion all success and am certain this would be the first of many extra to observe.”

– PTI

Gujarat Open: Sandhu wins second title in two weeks

Yuvraj Sandhu unleashed a flawless seven-under 65 fare on the ultimate day to bag the title within the INR 1 crore Gujarat Open golf match on the Glade One Golf Resort in Ahmedabad on Friday.

It was the second title in two weeks for the Chandigarh professional, following his triumph within the season opener in Kolkata. It was one other cheque of INR 15,00,000 that put him on high of the Order of Advantage.

The 27-year-old Yuvraj had led by one shot in a single day, and made seven birdies within the final spherical to beat Saptak Talwar of Delhi by a five-shot margin. Saptak pocketed INR 10,00,000.

In profitable again to again titles on the PGTI, Yuvraj adopted Manu Gandas who had achieved the feat final in December 2022.

“The important thing to my efficiency within the first two weeks has been staying calm. I’ve been engaged on this side for a while now”, stated Yuvraj.

Yuvraj’s room mate Arjun Prasad shot 9-under 207 within the 54-hole competitors, which featured 9 holes within the first two rounds, to be joint third with Kshitin Kaul. The 2 received INR 5,49,800 every.

“Arjun has been my room mate for the final two years. Having him on my facet as my enjoying associate at the moment made me very comfy. We had been chatting from tee to inexperienced, sharing meals and having enjoyable,” stated Yuvraj.

– Kamesh Srinivasan

POLO

Gen. Sparrow Cup: Jindal Polo Property beats Military Service Corps

Siddhant Sharma scored six objectives to information Jindal Polo Property to a 7-6 victory over Military Service Corps (ASC) within the Gen. Sparrow Cup polo match on the Jaipur Polo floor on Friday.

Within the ultimate, Jindal Polo Property will play Jindal Panther on the Jaipur Polo floor at 4 p.m. on Sunday.

– Workforce Sportstar