PADEL
Two new franchises add to excitement of season three of the World Padel League
A glimpse of last season’s WPL summit clash.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A glimpse of last season’s WPL summit clash.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
After making a successful India debut in February this year, the World Padel League (WPL) announced its return for the third season. The league, supported by the Indian Padel Federation, is set to take place between August 12-16 at the Nesco Center in Mumbai, promising fans world-class action.
In the upcoming season, WPL is set to grow from four franchises to six, with two new teams joining the mix.
In the past year, India has witnessed over 2x growth in padel participation and infrastructure development, signalling the country’s growing appetite for the sport.
The previous season in February had seen 32 international players battle it out for the trophy. Expressing excitement for the upcoming edition, Hemali Sharma, the league’s co-founder, said, “The growth of padel in India has been a journey to watch out for. Just six months since our last edition, Season 3 of the WPL marks a major milestone as we expand the scale of competition and set new benchmarks for the sport. India is fast emerging as a high-potential growth hub for padel. Our ambition goes beyond fostering the sport as we aim to craft a dynamic, world-class sporting experience that captivates seasoned fans and first-time audiences alike.”
The last edition culminated with the SG Pipers Cheetahs clinching the title by defeating the Vernost Jaguars in a thrilling final.
-Team Sportstar
CHESS
Local teen Maniar holds GM Mikulas to a draw
Thirteen-year-old Hriday Maniar, a promising local talent, held seasoned Slovak Grandmaster Manik Mikulas to a surprise draw, in the first round of the Aurionpro International Grandmaster Chess Tournament in Mumbai at the World Trade Centre.
Despite a rating difference of nearly 500 points, Hriday played with remarkable poise and accuracy, showcasing flawless technique against his far more experienced opponent. The result is being hailed as one of the biggest upsets of the opening round.
The nine-round Swiss tournament has drawn 293 players from 18 countries, all competing for a total prize fund of Rs. 25 lakh. The tournament is organised by Indian Chess School under the aegis of the All India Chess Federation.
Key Results – Round 1
Levan Pantsulaia (1) beat Raman Siddharth B (0)
Petrosyan Manuel (1) beat Gada Om (0)
Paichadze Luka (1) beat Shubh Kapur (0)
Nikitenko Mihail (1) beat Gogte Soumil (0)
Lalit Babu M R (1) beat Ayaan Trikha (0)
Gharibyan Mamikon (1) beat Chavan Aditya (0)
Savchenko Boris (1) beat Advik Reddy (0)
Panesar Vedant (1) beat Saranya Devi (0)
Sanikidze Tornike (1) beat Bhavya Gupta (0)
Deepan Chakkravarthy J. (1) beat Shahan Vohra (0)
Davtyan Arsen (1) beat Arjun Singh (0)
Nguyen Duc Hoa (1) beat Parkar (0)
Slizhevsky Alexander (1) beat Patlolla Indra Reddy (0)
Aleksandrov Aleksej (1) beat Shitiz Prasad (0)
Fedorov Alexei (1) beat Vageesh Swaminathan (0)
Budhidharma Nayaka (1) beat Raj Kapoor (0)
Budhidharma Nayaka (1) beat Raj Kapoor (0)
Neelotpal Das (1) beat Karthik Gopal G (0)
Nithin Babu (1) beat Mithilesh P (0)
Nguyen Van Huy (1) beat Laddad Aadhavan Atish (0)
Nguyen Van Huy (1) beat Laddad Aadhavan Atish (0)
Tologon Tegin Semetei (1) beat Gnanaseelan (0)
Gochelashvili Davit (1) beat Aabhas Kumar Srivastava (0)
Saravana Krishnan P. (1) beat Jagesia Daksh (0)
Manik Mikulas (½) drew Hriday Maniar (½)
– Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Bopanna and Gillle enter quarterfinals in London
Rohan Bopanna in partnership with Sander Gille beat Jakun Mensik and Holger Rune 7-6(1), 6-7(5), [10-6] in the doubles pre-quarterfinals of the €2,522,220 ATP tennis tournament in London on Tuesday.
The Indo-Belgian pair had made two rounds of the qualifying event, including a win over Yuki Bhambri and Robert Galloway, to make the main draw.
The results:
€2,522,220 ATP, London, Britain Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Rohan Bopanna & Sander Gille (Bel) bt Jakub Mensik (Cze) & Holger Rune (Den) 7-6(1), 6-7(5), [10-6].
€181,250 Challenger, Nottingham, Britain Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Nicolas Barrientos (Col) & Rithvik Bollipalli bt Blake Bayldon (Aus) & Reese Stalder (USA) 6-3, 6-4.
€145,250 Challenger, Poznan, Poland Singles (first round): Sumit Nagal bt Alan Wazny (Pol) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
$15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia Singles (first round): Dev Javia bt Liam Delicata (Mlt) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF men, Nyiregyhaza, Hungary Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Attila Boros & Bence Boros (Hun) bt Rethin Pranav & Milan Zavaczki (Hun) 6-1, 7-6(3).
$30,000 ITF women, Chinese Taipei Singles (first round): VAidehi Chaudhari bt Junri Namigata (Jpn) 7-5, 6-0.
$30,000 ITF women, Tauste, Spain Singles (first round): Ankita Raina bt Menuha Popovici (Rou) 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Rutuja Bhosale & Ankita Raina bt Vaishnavi Adkar & Mana Kawamura (Jpn) 7-5, 1-6, [10-7].
– Kamesh Srinivasan
Ayaan Chandel advances to quarterfinal AITA junior series
Second seed Ayaan Chandel beat qualifier Divyansh Kamboj 6-4, 7-6(4) in the under-16 boys pre-quarterfinals of the AITA Championship series junior tennis tournament at the CLTA Complex on Tuesday.
The results (pre-quarterfinals):
Under-16 boys: Yatharth Wadhera bt Prabhsaran Lakra 6-2, 6-0; Harman Singh bt Sohraab Dhillon 6-4, 7-5; Sangram Bhadury bt Udayjot Singh 6-4, 6-2; Vrishin Awasthi bt Gurnawaz Bhullar 7-65), 6-0; Arjun Sharma bt Mohit Singh 6-2, 6-4; Japnit Charaya bt Tanishq Makhija 6-2, 3-6, 6-1; Pranay Sharma bt Charchit Boora 7-6(4), 6-3; Ayaan Chandel bt Divyansh Kamboj 6-4, 7-6(4).
Under-16 girls:Yuvika Gorshi bt Ditti Prajapat 4-0 (conceded); Avni Uttam bt Divnoor Kaur 6-4, 6-0; Japleen Kaur bt Kritika Sharma 6-2, 6-0; Avika Sheoran bt Asveen Pardal 6-2, 6-2; Tanya Bhatnagar bt Fiona Bradha 6-1, 6-1; Ekam Shergill bt Harshita Vig 6-4, 6-4; Jiana Chawla bt V Khushman 6-3, 6-3; Priyanshi Katial bt Japleen Kaur 6-1, 6-1.
– Kamesh Srinivasan
RUGBY
Rugby Premier League: Hyderabad Heroes registers biggest win of tournament so far; Chennai Bulls stays top
Chennai Bulls and the Hyderabad Heroes put in commanding performances on Tuesday evening, at the Shahaji Raje Bhosale Sports Complex during Season 1 of the Rugby Premier League.
While the Chennai Bulls won by a scoreline of 21-7 against the Delhi Redz, the Hyderabad Heroes trounced the Bengaluru Bravehearts 43-7, which is the biggest margin of victory, so far in the inaugural season.
The Heroes led from the get-go, and their overseas contingent outshone the opposition. The Heroes moved to second on the points table with the dominant win.
| Photo Credit:
Rugbypremierleague
The Heroes led from the get-go, and their overseas contingent outshone the opposition. The Heroes moved to second on the points table with the dominant win.
| Photo Credit:
Rugbypremierleague
In the first game of the day, the Bulls were showing off their fantastic form yet again, and dominated the contest from the get-go. The Redz were hardly attacked in the early exchanges, and were further pegged back by two tries from Vaafauese Maliko, and Joaquin Pellandini’s consequent conversions. At half-time, the Bulls were cruising with a 21-0 lead.
In the second match of the day, the Heroes crushed the Bravehearts with an excellent performance. The Heroes led from the get-go, and their overseas contingent outshone the opposition. The Heroes moved to second on the points table with the dominant win.
– Team Sportstar
