GOLF
Rookie Hitaashee rises to fourth with day’s best round
Indian rookie Hitaashee Bakshi registered her best round on the Ladies European Tour as she played five under 66 to rise to tied fourth on the second day of the Jabra Ladies Open 2025 here.
Hitaashee with 72-66 was four-under and three behind the leader, Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland, who had rounds of 67 and 68.
Hitaashee’s 66 was the best card of he day.
As Hitaashee moved into contention, the other three Indians Diksha Dagar (71) at T-30, Avani Prashanth (72) at T-35 and Tvesa Malik (70) at T-43 also made the cut. That made it four out of four Indians into the final round.
Playing her first season on a limited card, Hitaashee, who was T-12 at Dutch Ladies Open last week, landed six birdies against one bogey.
Hitaashee started on the 15th, which is the start of the back nine of the Evian Golf Resort, with a birdie and added one more on the 17th. She birdied the first and the third and again the sixth and eighth. Her sole bogey came in between on the fourth.
Diksha, who had a Top-10 last week, played an even par round of 71 with four birdies and four bogeys for the round. with a total score of one-over par for two days.
Avani Prashanth played one-over par 72 for the second day in a row to close the day at 2-over for two days and was T-35. Avani had a double bogey on the first, which was her 14th hole and a birdie on the fourth, which was her 17th hole.
The leader after two days is Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland. Chiara after a 68 has a total score of seven under par.
-PTI
Shubhankar, Veer miss cut in Belgium
Indian golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat have failed to make the cut at Soudal Open 2025 here.
It was a rough two days for the Indians as Ahlawat improved on his first 74 with a 69, but still fell short of the cut which was set at one-under. Sharma carded 74-72 and totalled 4-over, way off the cut mark of one-under.
Ahlawat had five birdies against three bogeys and Sharma had three birdies against four bogeys.
At the end of the second round Ewen Ferguson of Scotland led the field by three shots with a total score of 11 under par.
-PTI
Aditi Ashok tied 25th at halfway mark in Mexico
India’s Aditi Ashok played a second straight round of even par 72 to stay in tied 25th place at the Mexico Riviera Maya Open on the LPGA Tour in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.
The 27-year-old Indian, who has had a very modest season, had three birdies and three bogeys in the round.
Aditi has played six events prior to this week and made the cut in four of them, but has not finished in Top-30 with the best being a tied 31st at Black Desert Championship.
Meanwhile, LPGA rookie Jenny Bae made it through an up-and-down stretch around the turn with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole for another 3-under 69, giving her a one-shot lead going into the weekend.
The tournament is the last one before the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills.
-PTI
All three Indians miss cut in Korea
In a disappointing outing for Indian golfers, the trio of Yuvraj Sandhu, Jeev Milkha Singh and SSP Chawrasia missed the cut at the Kolon Korea Open on the Asian Tour in Incheon on Saturday.
Sandhu (73-77) was tied 94th, Jeev (77-80) was tied 125th and Chawrasia withdrew in the second round after a first round 81.
Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, one of the shortest hitters in the field playing one of the longest and toughest courses of the season, took the third-round lead.
Poom, a four-time winner on the Asian Tour, returned a two-under-par 69, and was helped by a brilliant day on the greens, to lead by one, on seven under.
-PTI
Saptak Talwar makes cut, lies 36th in Denmark
Indian golfer Saptak Talwar shot an eagle on a Par-4 on way to a 3-under 69 as he made the cut comfortably at the Danish Golf Challenge at Bogense Golf Club.
Talwar, who is dividing his time between the Hotel Planner Tour — the second level Tour to the DP World Tour — and the Indian Tour, had an eagle and three birdies against two bogeys in his card of 69. He had a 73 in the first round and at 2-under, he was Tied-36th.
Calum Fyfe took a two-stroke lead heading into the weekend. The Scotsman fired an impressive eight-under par 64 on day one and went on to sign for a five-under par second round of 67, which included six birdies, to get to 13 under par for the tournament.
-PTI
FOOTBALL
Pranjal Bhumij extends stay at Rajasthan United till 2027
Rajasthan United FC midfielder Pranjal Bhumij has extended his contract with the club until 2027, the club announced on Friday.
The former Mumbai City FC, Odisha FC, and Punjab FC player from Assam joined the club in 2024 and became a first team regular for the I-League side.
I’ve played for some big clubs in India, but Rajasthan United feels like home. The vision here is clear, and the environment is all about growth and unity,” Bhumij said.
“I’m proud to be part of this journey and want to give everything for this club and its incredible fans & want that trophy home this season.”
-Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Karan Singh beats Kriish Tyagi in ITF men’s semifinals in Tashkent
Top seed Karan Singh beat compatriot Kriish Tyagi 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
In the final, Karan, who had won the title last week in Iran, will play Renta Tokuda of Japan.
In the $30,000 ITF women’s event in Orlando, USA, Dasha Plekhanova of Canada stopped Riya Bhatia in three sets in the quarterfinals. Later, Dasha partnered with Jenny Duerst to beat Riya and Elena-Teodora Cadar in the doubles semifinals.
It was a hard day for Indian doubles, as two teams lost Challenger finals, and one lost the ITF men’s final, all in the super tie-break.
Results
€91,250 Challenger, Skopje, North Macedonia Doubles (final): Andrew Paulson & Michael Vrbensky (Cze) bt Sriram Balaji & Miguel Reyes-Varela (Mex) 2-6, 6-4, [10-6].
$60,000 Challenger, Tbilisi, Georgia Doubles (final): Masamichi Imamura & Naoki Tajima (Jpn) bt Siddhant Banthia & Ramkumar Ramanathan 1-6, 6-3, [10-5].
$15,000 ITF men, Tashkent, Uzbekistan Singles (semifinals): Karan Singh bt Kriish Tyagi 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles (final): Lorenzo Lorusso (Ita) & Maxim Shin (Uzb) bt Ishaque Eqbal & Nitin Kumar Sinha 6-4, 6-7(6), [10-6].
$30,000 ITF women, Orlando, USA Singles (quarterfinals): Dasha Plekhanova (Can) bt Riya Bhatia 6-3, 6-7(10), 6-3.
Doubles (semifinals): Jenny Duerst (Sui) & Dasha Plekhanova (Can) bt Riya Bhatia & Elena-Teodora Cadar (Rou) 4-6, 6-4, [10-4].
-Kamesh Srinivasan
CRICKET
T20 Mumbai League ticket sales begins online: MCA
Sale of tickets for T20 Mumbai – a franchise league that will witness some of Mumbai’s leading T20 stars in action – has begun online, the Mumbai Cricket Association announced on Saturday.
According to the statement, the tickets for the 23 matches – to be played at the Wankhede Stadium and Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium from June 4 to 12 – have been priced at Rs. 100, Rs. 300 and Rs. 400 each. The tickets can be purchased through District by Zomato website or app.
T20 Mumbai will return after a six-year hiatus, with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, and Prithvi Shaw set to lead various teams. The tournament will feature eight teams, with each team playing five league games before the semifinals and the final.
-Team Sportstar