Indian Sports Wrap, May 17: Delhi GM Open 2025 to take place from June 7

CHESS

Delhi GM Open 2025 to take place from June 7

The 21st edition of the Delhi International Open Grandmasters Chess Tournament will be held from June 7 to 14 at Tivoli Gardens, Chattarpur, New Delhi.

This year, the Delhi GM Open will host over 2,500 players from more than 15 countries, including 20 Grandmasters, competing across three rating-based categories. The prize pool of INR 1.21 crore marks a 168 per cent increase from last year’s edition. 

Category A carries a INR 51 lakh prize pool and is open to internationally rated players. Categories B and C, for players rated below 1900 and 1700, respectively, will offer INR 35 lakh each. All matches will follow FIDE rules and the FIDE Swiss System format, with 10 rounds in every section.

Past winners of the event include GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM Aravindh Chithambaram while World Champion D. Gukesh earned his final GM norm here to become a Grandmaster. 

Delhi Chess Association President Bharat Singh Chauhan said, “Over the past two decades, the Delhi GM Open hasn’t just kept pace with the rise of chess in India, but has helped drive it. We’ve seen the sport move from the margins to the mainstream, and this tournament reflects that shift in every sense, from the scale of participation to the depth of competition and the infrastructure supporting it. With every edition, we’re strengthening the foundations for a sustainable, high-performance chess culture in the country.”

Category A games will follow a classical time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one, with the top three prizes set at INR 7 lakh, INR 6 lakh and INR 5 lakh respectively. The top 10 finishers in this category will each receive INR 1 lakh or more, while special prizes of INR 1 lakh each will be awarded to the Best Female Player and Best Foreign Player.

Category B and C games will follow a 60-minute-plus-30-second time limit and 30-minute-plus-30-second formats, respectively. Entry is free for Grandmasters, International Masters, Women Grandmasters, and Women International Masters.

– Team Sportstar

Karnataka’s Avani emerges champion in All India Masters

Karnataka’s Avani Udipi emerged champion on the basis of superior tiebreaker score over Mayuresh Parkar of Maharashtra in the All India Chess Masters FIDE rated tournament in Mumbai on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Avani, who finished with identical seven points with Parkar, was declared winner by chief arbiter Ajinkya Pingale.

Avani secured a tie-break score of 36.5 as against 32 of Parkar, which was the decisive factor in the Karnataka girl being named victor.

Avani, who has a FIDE rating of 1669, pocketed the top prize of Rs 30,000, while Parkar (FIDE rating 1757) received Rs 20,000 for his second place finish.

– PTI

TENNIS

Bhambri-Galloway pair reaches semifinals of Bordeaux Challenger

India’s Yuki Bhambri and his American partner Robert Galloway moved into the semifinals of the Bordeaux Challenger with a straight-sets win over unseeded French pair of Quentin Halys and Albano Olivetti on Saturday.

The second-seeded Indo-American pair registered a 7-5 6-3 win over its unseeded rival in one hour and eight minutes. It will next take on third seed Brazilians Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo.

India’s other contenders have exited the tournament.

N Sriram Balaji and his Mexican partner Miguel Reyes-Varela had lost the doubles quarterfinal and in the singles draw, Sumit Nagal had suffered a first-round defeat.

-PTI

SHOOTING

Indian juniors brace up for year’s first World Cup in Suhl

A first batch of 40 Indian shooters and support staff will leave for the blue-riband event of the junior international shooting calendar, the ISSF World Cup, in Suhl, Germany, on Saturday.

The official arrivals are scheduled for May 19 while competitions begin from May 20 and will conclude on May 26.

India, which finished on top in two of the three ISSF junior events last year, has fielded the largest contingent of 57 shooters, who will be accompanied by 21 officials, including coaches and support staff.

A second batch of 38 members (28 shooters and 10 support staff) will leave for Germany on Sunday.

Suhl, a small city with around 40,000 residents right in the centre of Germany, has long been the driving force of the junior international shooting circuit and attracts the best of the future stars in the sport.

Many Olympic and world champions have been unearthed in Suhl. After an absence in the Olympic year last year, the Suhl junior world cup is back with a bang attracting over 630 athletes from 59 countries, including all the strong nations of the sport.

The 50m rifle prone event for junior men and women kicks off the competitions on day one. The trap mixed team final will be the last medal event of the tournament.

Olympian Raiza Dhillon (skeet) and mixed team trap bronze medallist in the recently concluded Nicosia Shotgun World Cup, Sabeera Harris, will be among the most prominent names in the strong Indian side.

Others include Naamya Kapoor, who was a junior world champion at 13, reigning double junior world champion Divanshi (25m pistol), reigning junior world champion in the 25m pistol Mukesh Nellavalli, Asian junior champion Harmehar Lally (skeet) and multiple junior ISSF medallists Shubham Bisla (air pistol) and Abhinav Chaudhary (air pistol), among others.

India had emerged on top of the last Suhl Junior World Cup in 2023 with six gold, six silver and three bronze medals.

One of the coaches leaving on Saturday, double Olympian and multiple-time ISSF medallist Sanjeev Rajput, spoke about the squad’s preparations.

“The entire squad has been training very hard at the national camp, and it is good that some of them are now seniors in the junior circuit.

“Their experience will help those who are making their first trip to such a big tournament and imposing venue. The youngsters are otherwise excited and raring to go,” he said.

A total of 36 shooters are going on government costs, while 21 will go at their own cost.

Each country can have only three shooters contending for a medal in an event, while two teams each are allowed in mixed team competitions. The others will shoot for ranking points only.

-PTI

GOLF

Jeev tied fourth at Irish Legends golf

India’s Jeev Milkha Singh carded the joint-lowest round of the second day at five-under-par 67 and was placed tied fourth after two rounds of the Irish Legends golf tournament here.

His rounds have been 70-67 and he is 7-under and four behind the leader Keith Horne (65-68) at 11-under.

A year ago, Jeev finished tied eighth at the same event.

“I am really happy with my game – I hit a lot of greens and holed a lot of putts,” said the four-time DP World Tour winner.

A trio of Tour winners – Peter Baker, Jeev and Mikael Lundberg – are tied for fourth, one further back at -7, after a testing day in Kilkenny.

Despite the tricky conditions at Mount Juliet, Horne, the South African, once again capitalised on the par-fives.

Having made two eagles and a birdie on day one, he birdied all four in the second round in a battling four-under-par round that established a commanding position with 18 holes left to play.

Hend had an up-and-down round that included five birdies, an eagle and four bogeys. The Australian is tied for second with Lawrie at -8.

-PTI

Diksha shoots 70, rises to tied fourth in Dutch Ladies Open

Indian golfer Diksha Dagar, who finished late in the first round for a 1-under 71, was back early on the second day and shot 2-under 70 to get into the top five of the Dutch Ladies Open here.

The second round was still in progress, but Mimi Rhodes of England, who has been having a great season, was on the top with 69-69 at 6-under and two ahead of Diksha.

Avani Prashanth, in her rookie season, had a 73 on the first day. In the second round she was 2-under through 17 holes. At 2-over total she has a chance of making the cut.

The 2024 Hero Women’s Order of Merit winner, Hitaashee Bakshi (71), was in Top-20 at tied 17th but was yet to begin her second round.

Tvesa Malik was 2-over 74 in the first round and Pranavi Urs had an off-day with a 77 and withdrew with an injury.

Diksha had two birdies against one bogey in round one, but on the second day, she had five birdies against three bogeys. She was tied fourth with Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands, who had rounds of 72-69.

Four other players — Maha Hadioui, Hannah Screen, Amelia Garvey and Laura Fuenfstueck — were also at 3-under with Diksha. But three of the four had not started their second round, and Maha had three more holes to play in the second.

As Mimi Rhodes moved ahead, Denmark’s Sofie Kibsgaard and Poland’s Dorota Zalewska, the overnight co-leaders with 68 each, were tied second. They were yet to start their second round. The pair opened with rounds of four-under 68 at Goyer Golf & Country Club.

It was a tight leaderboard on Day 1, with Sofie Kibsgaard and Dorota Zalewska at the top with 4-under 68 each.

There were five players in third place. England’s Hannah Screen and Mimi Rhodes, New Zealand’s Amelia Garvey, Germany’s Laura Fuenfstueck, and Sweden’s Lisa Petterson, all fired rounds of three-under par for round one.

-PTI

MOTORSPORT

Noah returns to action at South African Safari

Indian bike rider Harith Noah will return to competitive racing after four months when he participates at the inaugural South African Safari Rally, which is Round 3 of the FIA FIM World Rally-Raid Championship, beginning Sunday.

Noah was forced to exit Dakar 2025, in which a crash left him with a fractured wrist.

“After Dakar, I needed time to recover from the injury, but everything went well and I’m back to full fitness now. This is my first race since the crash, so there are definitely some nerves, which is normal,” said Noah.

“But the South African Safari Rally is a new challenge for everyone, the route is unfamiliar territory across the board. The key is to stay calm, get used to the bike again, and take it one kilometre at a time,” added Noah.

South African Safari Rally brings the W2RC to South Africa for the first time and with extreme terrains and rapidly changing climates, it is tipped to be a standout fixture on the W2RC calendar.

The 2025 W2RC season features five rounds across three continents, pushing riders through a wide spectrum of terrains and conditions.

The year kicked off with the legendary Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Now, the championship heads into uncharted territory with the debut of the South African Safari Rally.

The final two rounds will take riders to Portugal for the BP Ultimate Rally Raid in September, before culminating with the iconic Rallye du Maroc in October.

-PTI

CRICKET

Jhulam Goswami, Umesh Yadav league ambassadors for inaugural Vidarbha Pro T20 League

The Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) announced that the inaugural edition of the Vidarbha Pro T20 League is scheduled to take place from June 5 to 15, 2025.

All matches will be hosted at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur. The league will feature six franchise teams for men and three for women.

The VPTL has India pacer and Vidarbha cricket stalwart Umesh Yadav and former India women’s team captain and pace legend Jhulan Goswami were named as the league’s ambassadors.

– Team Sportstar