Indian sports wrap, March 4: India to host 2nd Asian Yogasana Championship

YOGASANA

India to host second Asian Yogasana Championship in March

A total of 16 countries will participate in the second Asian Yogasana Championship, scheduled to be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi from March 29 to 31.

The championship, being organised in collaboration with the Sports Ministry and Yogasana Bharat, aims to showcase Yogasana at the international level while embracing its rich heritage and deep-rooted cultural significance.

The event, being supported by the Olympic Council of Asia, World Yogasana, Asian Yogasana and Yogasana Indraprastha, will also help create a roadmap towards inclusion of the discipline in the Olympic curriculum.

“India, the birthplace of yoga, is honoured to host the 2nd Asian Yogasana Championship. This event is more than just a competition; it is a celebration of our ancient wisdom evolving into a modern competitive sport,” Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a release.

“We are committed to making Yogasana a global sporting discipline, and this championship is a significant step toward that goal. Through this event, we will showcase not just the athleticism of Yogasanas but also its power to transform lives, both physically and mentally.” Asian Yogasana president Sanjay Malpani emphasised the championship’s impact, saying, “The Yogasana Championship is a defining moment in our mission to establish Yogasanas as a globally-recognised sport. We are witnessing the fusion of tradition with modern athletic excellence.

“This championship is proof that Yogasana is not just a practice but a competitive sport that demands precision, endurance, and artistry. With every athlete who competes, we take one step closer to Yogasanas’ rightful place on the world stage.” World Yogasana secretary-general Jaideep Arya added, “The championship in New Delhi marks a significant milestone in our mission to promote Yogasana as a global competitive sport.

“This championship brings together exceptional athletes from across Asia, showcasing the strength, flexibility, and discipline that define this ancient practice. We are proud to witness the growing enthusiasm for Yogasana and remain committed to its development as a mainstream sporting discipline.” Yogasana Bharat president Udit Sheth said India is committed to shaping the future of the ancient sport.

“Our mission is to provide young athletes with a platform to shine, to elevate Yogasanas to premier sporting events, and to reinforce India’s commitment to sharing this invaluable heritage with the world.”

– PTI

HOCKEY

Senior women national championship: Uttarakhand, Chhatisgarh secure wins

Hockey Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Chandigarh secured wins in their respective games of Division ‘B’ in the senior women national championship on Tuesday.

In the first match of the day, Hockey Uttarakhand defeated Telangana Hockey 1-0. Vartika Rawat (45’) scored the only goal of the match for Hockey Uttarakhand to take the lead against Telangana Hockey.

Chhattisgarh Hockey defeated Delhi Hockey 2-1 in a close game.

Sonali (8’) scored the first goal of the match for Delhi Hockey. In response, Leena Kosare (22’) and Lahare Mamteshwari (43’) scored two goals for Chhattisgarh Hockey to take the lead and secure their second win in the tournament.

In the other matches, Hockey Chandigarh defeated Hockey Himachal 4-1. Sonu (30’, 42’) scored a brace whereas Raveena Rani (17’) and Captain Rakhi (59’) scored one goal each to take the total to four goals at the final whistle.

On the other hand, Bhumika Chauhan (36’) scored the consolation goal for Hockey Himachal.

-PTI

TENNIS

ITF women’s tennis tournament: Aditi Rawat loses to Haruka Kaji in first round

Fourth seed Haruka Kaji of Japan proved too hot for wild card entrant Aditi Rawat as she cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the first round of the $30,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the Tennis Project, Baliyawas, on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old Aditi was playing in only her sixth ITF women’s event.

She had done well to qualify in one of those five earlier tournaments held at home. In those tournaments spread across Indore, Mysuru, Solapur, Delhi and Ahmedabad, Aditi had won some good matches to elicit confidence about being a deserving candidate for a wild card.

A fluent left-hander, Aditi had the game and the temperament, but not the experience against the crafty Japanese, to be able to fight on even terms.

Earlier, Shruti Ahlawat served and stroked with assurance to beat fifth seed Akiko Omae of Japan 6-3, 4-6, [10-8] in the third and final qualifying round, to earn herself a berth in the main draw.

After having missed more than two years of tennis owing to a back injury, Shruti, well guided by coach Namita Bal, has bounced back into the circuit in a strong way.

The 18-year-old Shruti will face the reigning national champion Vaidehi Chaudhari in the first round. Shruti had played two ITF women’s events three years back in Jhajjar and Gurugram, and had lost both times in the final qualifying round. She has already bettered her record and will be keen to assert her ability in the main event.

Pooja Ingale also qualified as Akanksha Nitture retired early in the second set owing to a bout of sickness. Pooja will challenge the eighth seed Amandine Hesse of France.

In doubles, fourth seeds Shrivalli Bhamidipaty and Vaidehi Chaudhari scored a 4-6, 7-6(4), [10-3] victory over Priska Nugroho and Ikumi Yamazaki.

Akanksha Nitture and Soha Sadiq also made the doubles quarterfinals, and so did the top seeds Riya Bhatia and Ekaterina Yashina.

The runners-up of the last tournament, Ankita Raina and Vaishnavi Adkar ran into the second seeds Ekaterina Makarova and Ekaterina Reyngold and managed to win four games.

The results:

Singles (first round): Haruka Kaji (Jpn) bt Aditi Rawat 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Riya Bhatia & Ekaterina Yashina bt Zeel Desai & Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-3, 6-3; Polina Iatcenko & Mariia Tkacheva bt Humera Baharmus & Diva Bhatia 6-3, 7-5; Kristina Dmitruk & Kira Pavlova bt Akiko Omae (Jpn) & Sohyun Park (Kor) 6-2, 7-5; Rinon Okuwaki & Michika Ozeki 9Jpn) bt Funa Kozaki & Kanako Morisaki (Jpn) 5-7, 6-4, [10-4]; Antonia Schmidt (Ger) & Clara Vlasselaer (Bel) bt Smriti Bhasin & Sravya Shivani 6-4, 6-2; Shrivalli Bhamidipaty & Vaidehi Chaudhari bt Priska Madelyn Nugroho (Ina) & Ikumi Yamazaki (Jpn) 4-6, 7-6(4), [10-3]; Akanksha Nitture & Soha Sadiq bt Diana Marcinkevica (Lat) & Francesca Pace (Ita) 6-2, 3-6, [10-7]; Ekaterina Makarova & Ekaterina Reyngold bt Vaishnavi Adkar & Ankita Raina 6-1, 6-3.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

BOXING

BFI to hold elections on March 28

A day after the Delhi High Court stayed the Indian Olympic Association’s decision to replace the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) with an ad-hoc committee for not holding its elections in time, the BFI on Tuesday decided to conduct its polls in Delhi NCR on March 28. 

“The 10th Annual General Meeting of the Boxing Federation of India will be held under the chairmanship of Mr. Ajay Singh, President, Boxing Federation of India on the 28th Match, 2025 from 10.30am at Delhi NCR,” the sport’s apex governing body in the country said in a statement signed by its secretary general Hemanta Kumar Kalita.

On the agenda will be the election of office bearers and other members of executive council of BFI for the tenure 2025-29.

The BFI has also asked its affiliated state units to send the names of the representatives who will be attending the AGM by March 10.

-Team Sportstar (With inputs from PTI)

MORE SPORTS

SAI’s Mumbai regional centre seeking CSR support for developmental plan

The Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) regional centre which has been working on the development of hockey players and wrestlers is open to CSR support for building its facility in Kandivali.

The officials at the centre on Tuesday introduced programs for the Fit India and Khelo India initiatives besides showcasing their progress in areas of sports science, training and recovery of the athletes and other functions.

The SAI had earlier signed a MoU with the Maharashtra government last October which will allow them to develop the site, spread across 37 acres of land, as the current infrastructure is in need of redevelopment.

“For 36 years, there was some or the other misunderstanding and we could not develop this prime land. For the next 30 years, we have got a lease agreement to develop this academy,” said regional director Pandurang Chate.

“We have prepared a masterplan, which should come to around Rs 500 crore. We have sent it to the head office of SAI. Here we will focus on 10-plus disciplines, where we will focus on Olympic events and a few indigenous sports.”

“The landscape will change in the next 3-4 years. The sports minister had visited and he also mentioned that Mumbai lacks sports infrastructure. Considering Mumbai, the talent and the exposure all our athletes are getting, we have miniscule infrastructure.” He added, “We are open to CSR funding as well. The main motive is to develop this academy and start it as soon as possible.” An official from the centre said it is looking for CSR partners owing to the budget estimates.

“We are also looking at private CSR partners who are ready (to chip in). Let’s say someone will come and say, ‘I will build the hockey turf’, or someone will come and say, ‘I will build tennis courts’… That way, the academy can be built at one go,” he said.

The official said they are waiting for the approval from the ministry on the master plan which could host 300 athletes at a time. The plan was submitted in late January.

-PTI

Men’s world number two, current national champion to feature in India Paddle Festival

The India Paddle Festival, the country’s only international stand-up paddling event, will return for its second edition, featuring World No. 2 Christian Andersen, former World Champion Daniel Hasulyo, and four-time World Champion and the Defending Women’s Champion Esperanza Barreras.

Leading India’s charge will be the formidable Sekar Patchai, reining national champion and 25-time title-holder. The second edition of the India Paddle Festival is set to take place from March 7 to 9, 2025, at the scenic Sasihithlu Beach, Mangalore, and Karnataka.

The event is sanctioned by the Association of PaddleSurf Professionals (APP) World Tour, the official World Championship Tour for stand-up paddling.

The Women’s category will see the return of defending champion Esperanza Barreras from Spain, a four-time International Surfing Association (ISA) SUP World Champion. She will be joined by South Africa’s rising star Chiara Vorster and Korea’s SUP champion Lim Sujeong, among others in a bid for supremacy on Indian waters. 

The Men’s category at the India Paddle Festival promises an intense contest, featuring top global athletes like Spain’s Antonio Morillo, who narrowly missed the title last year, and Denmark’s Christian Andersen, the current World No. 2.

Local favorite and India’s top-ranked stand-up paddler, Sekar Patchai, will spearhead the Indian contingent. A 25-time National SUP Champion, Patchai is determined to make a mark on his home waters. He will be joined by Manikandan, one of India’s fastest-rising stand-up paddler, as they take on the international competition.

The India Paddle Festival 2025 will feature multiple SUP race formats, including sprint, technical, and distance races, pushing the endurance and agility of the athletes. Over 40 stand-up paddlers will be competing across four different categories – Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Junior U-16 Boys, and Girls.

-Team Sportstar

Send off ceremony for India’s Special World Winter Games team on Wednesday

A send off ceremony for the 49-member Indian team, which will be competing in the Special Olympics World Winter Games, will be held on Wednesday.

Sports Minister Mansukh Mandivya will attend the ceremony.

The Games will be held in Turin, Italy, from March 7 to 17.

The special athletes will be competing in six disciplines – alpine skiing, cross country skiing, floorball, short speed skating, snow boarding, and snow shoeing.

The Indian team comprises 30 athletes, three officials and 16 support staff, including coaches.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) provided 11 national coaching camps for these athletes in various Indian cities – Chandigarh, Narkanda, New Delhi, Gwalior, Noida and Gurgaon – to help them prepare well.

Additionally, SAI provided equipment support for training and competition.

The sports ministry also sanctioned money towards airfare, boarding and lodging for the participation of Indian contingent in World Winter Games.

-PTI

POLO

Simran Shergill scores thrice for Jindal Panther against Patron’s Polo Club

Simran Shergill scored three goals in helping Jindal Panther to a 5-3 victory over Patron’s Polo Club in a league match of the Radha Mohan Rajinder Mohan Gold Vase polo tournament at the Army Equestrian Centre, Delhi Cantonment, on Tuesday.

The results:

Jindal Panther 5 (Simran Shergill 3, Siddhant Sharma, Hurr Ali) bt Patron’s Polo Club 3 (Naveen Singh 2, Chris Mackenzie).

-Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Ahmedabad Open: Sri Lanka’s N Thangaraja takes lead on opening day

N Thangaraja of Sri Lanka took the opening day’s honours with a seven-under 65 in the Rs.1 crore Ahmedabad Open golf championship at the Kensville Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.

Michele Ortolani of Italy, fresh from being runner-up on the Asian Development Tour, followed second with a four-under 68.

The 43-year-old Thangaraja, third last week in Raipur, said that he was carrying on with the confidence of the good performance in the Chhattisgarh Open.

“It was a very windy day, but I handled it well. I hit 13 greens in regulation and my putting was excellent. Scoring 65 in such tough conditions adds to my self-belief going forward in the tournament,” said Thangaraja.

The leading scores:

1. N Thangaraja 65; 2. Michele Ortolani 68; 3T. Kapil Kumar, Harendra Gupta, Anshul Kabthiyal 70; 6T. Ankur Chadha, Ravi Kumar, Rohan patil; 9T. Pukhraj Singh Gill, R Mari Muthu, S Chikkarangappa, Yashas Chandra, Badal Hossain 72.

WUSHU

BSF jawan wins silver in global Wushu tournament

Durgeshwar Singh, a constable with the Border Security Force (BSF), has won a silver medal at the Acropolis International Wushu Open Tournament in Athens, Greece.

Singh, competing in the under-85 kg weight category, secured the medal on Monday.

“Constable Durgeshwar Singh of BSF Wushu team secured silver medal today in Acropolis International Wushu Open Tournament-2025 being held at Athens, Greece,” BSF said in a statement.

The tournament took place in Athens from February 28 to March 2.

Singh expressed his pride in representing India on the global stage, thanking his coach, the Wushu Federation, and the BSF for their support.

The BSF, with a personnel strength of about 2.65 lakh, is primarily responsible for guarding India’s borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, in addition to performing a range of internal security duties.

-PTI

SNOOKER

Kadian beats Bagri 4-0 in CCI Snooker Classic

Haryana’s Digvijay Kadian got the better of Anurag Bagri 4-0 in a second-round match of CCI Snooker Classic, showing impressive potting skills as he constructed breaks in all four frames, on Wednesday.

The former junior national champion started with breaks of 48 and 60 in winning the first frame and then rolled in breaks of 50 and 53 in the next two, before producing a solid effort of 125 in the fourth frame to complete a 108-17, 69-32, 80-52 125-2 win.

Mumbai’s Rahul Sachdev struck top form to beat Kreishh Gurbaxani 4-3 (63-33, 0-80, 85-1, 82-38, 53-79, 116-0, and 63-11).

The left-handed Sachdev compiled breaks of 42 (4th frame), 116 (6th) and 59 (7th), while Gurbaxani rolled in efforts of 80 and 85 in the second and third and 63 in the fifth.

Meanwhile, Abhishek Bajaj and Nikhil Saigal scored contrasting wins to secure their berths in the round of 32. Bajaj blanked qualifier Abhijeet More winning 4-0 (53-5, 70-15, 65-44, and 74-5), while qualifier Saigal defeated Nikhil Ootam 4-2 (39-43, 66-53, 53-39, 55-50, 32-63, and 62-44).

-PTI