GOLF
Diksha makes great final charge but loses play-off, Avani finishes 16th
India’s Diksha Dagar came within striking distance of winning her third Ladies European Tour title, before losing a play-off at the Lalla Meryem Cup golf tournament in Rabat.
The 24-year-old, starting the day at 3-under total and in tied-14th place, made a great charge in the final round with a superb 6-under 67 card that helped her set the clubhouse target of 9-under.
Cara Gainer of England joined her there later as Nuria Iturrioz, who at one stage reached 10-under, and Shannon Nan fell back.
Diksha gave it her best and it was still a good start to the season. Having started the day in T-14 spot, she made seven birdies across the last 18 holes, and dropped her only shot of the day on hole 14.
Diksha will now travel to Saudi Arabia for next week’s PIF Saudi Ladies International, along with Gainer.
Golfer Avani Prashanth.
| Photo Credit:
MURALI KUMAR K / The Hindu
Golfer Avani Prashanth.
| Photo Credit:
MURALI KUMAR K / The Hindu
Debutant Avani Prashanth dropped three bogeys in the middle of the round with some errant shots and a three-putt on the ninth but managed to shoot 70 and made it to the top-20, finishing tied-16th.
She does have top-10 finishes on the LET but those came when she was still an amateur.
The third Indian in fray Tvesa Malik missed the cut.
Diksha birdied second, fourth, eighth, 11th, 13th at which point she was 5-under for the day. She dropped a shot on the 14th but got back birdies on the 15th and the 17th for a 6-under.
Gainer secured her first Ladies European Tour (LET) victory as she won in a play-off against Diksha after moving ahead on a crowded leaderboard.
Going into the final day, only a two-shot difference separated the top 10, making it a tight leaderboard with lots of players in contention to win the season opener.
The 29-year-old rolled in birdies on holes two, four and eight, before another three off the bounce on the back nine. She dropped her only two shots of the day on the front nine.
Sweden’s Kajsa Arwefjall finished as the highest rookie in tied-eighth spot and marks a solid start to her first LET season.
Tan, who came into the final round with a one-shot lead, finished eight-under-par after 54 holes. The Singaporean, who won the season opener last year in Kenya, had back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, with a further birdie on 15.
The 20-year-old dropped two shots on the front and back nine to finish in third place.
Two players — Ireland’s Lauren Walsh and Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz — finished in a share of fourth place on seven-under-par after three rounds. Walsh had a round of 68(-5), one shot behind the clubhouse record, as she climbed 17 places on the final day.
Iturrioz is familiar with this course and has a good track record in this tournament having won in 2016 and 2019.
Next week, the LET heads to Riyadh for the PIF Saudi Ladies International which takes place from February 13-15.
-Press Trust of India
HOCKEY
Kolkata’s Salt Lake hockey stadium gets FIH Category 2 certificate
Kolkata has become the latest international hockey venue in India after the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangana, Salt Lake has been granted Category 2 certificate by the world body (FIH) for hosting national and international matches.
“Congrats to Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangana, Salt Lake, Kolkata for earning the FIH Category 2 Certificate! A big step forward for hockey excellence,” Hockey India posted on ‘X’.
As per the FIH Field Certification, at the time of the event the field shall be certified as an FIH Category 1 or Category 2 field.
FIH Category 1 fields are designed primarily to host top-level international hockey tournaments, while FIH Category 2 fields are designed to host top-level national tournaments and international matches.
Kolkata has joined the club of cities like Bhubaneswar, considered as India’s hockey hub, Raipur, Ranchi, Chennai and New Delhi among others to get the green signal for hosting international matches.
In its certification to the venue, the FIH stated: “FIH is pleased to confirm that this hockey field has been tested and shown to comply with the requirements of an FIH Category 2 hockey field.”
The certification of the venue is valid until December 13, 2027.
-Press Trust of India