football
Manipur reaches Rajmata Jijabhai semi-finals; Odisha hosts Tamil Nadu
Defending champions Manipur used a dominant second half to beat Jharkhand 5-0 on Monday to seal their place in the semi-finals of the 29th National Women’s Football Championship in the Rajmata Ji final at Naraipur Rajmata Jijabai Trophy.
Naorem Priyangka Devi (50′, 70′) and Dangmei Grace (58′, 86′) scored two goals each while Asem Roja Devi (84′) added another goal to help Manipur win 9 in three games. Ranked first in Group A.
It also has a match against Tamil Nadu.
In the other match, Odisha drew 1-1 with Tamil Nadu.
Sandhiya Ranganathan scored for Tamil Nadu in the 12th minute and Malati Munda equalized in the 24th minute.
The draw helped Odisha consolidate their position and finish the group stage with 7 points with 2 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw.
While Odisha are second in the group behind Manipur, the other team Tamil Nadu has four points from three games.
The final game was against Manipur, with Tamil Nadu needing to win by four goals to advance.
-PTI
shooting
Riya Shirish Thatte wins 25m pistol event
Aurangabad teenager Riya Shirish Thatte made the stars gather as she won the women’s 25m pistol event at the 67th National Shooting Championship (NSCC) in New Delhi on Monday.
Riya beat Punjab’s Simranpreet Kaur Brar 7-2 in the five-wicket decider of the eight-match series in which both had 31 hits each. , won the gold medal. Olympian and former Asian Games champion Rahi Sarnobat ranked third with 25 hits.
Simranpreet capped off a great year on the day by winning the junior women’s title and adding to her silver medal tally in the senior category. This time, Simranpreet clinched the gold medal by defeating Haryana’s Payal 5-2 in the decider after both sides shared the top spot with 34 hits. Riya won the bronze medal in this category with 30 hits.
Leah’s father Shirish, himself a former national-level shooter and her first coach, said: “She had tears in her eyes. There was no training ground in Aurangabad and we used to drive 250 km to the Balewadi training ground in Pune, Akshay Ashtaputre, also Swapnil Kusale mentor, who has been there to guide her for the past five years. She wants to shoot for India and win honours.”
Apart from Simranpreet and Rakhi, the senior finals squad also includes top former internationals such as Sheena Sidhu and Annu Raj Singh.
Earlier, Simranpreet topped both qualifying stages with the same 584 points. Riya placed second in the junior qualifying round but made it to the finals, earning the eighth and final qualifying spot with 576 points.
-PTI
golf
Rayhan Thomas gets card on Korn Ferry Tour
India’s Rayhan Thomas has emerged as the domestic circuit champion and has qualified for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour.
The Dubai-based Indian turned pro earlier this year.
In the final stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School, Thomas shot 70-72-71-68, with a total score of 281, 1 over par, and tied for 26th.
The top five qualified for the PGA Tour.
Thomas would make 12 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour before the reshuffle. He will be the only Indian to qualify on the Korn Ferry Tour, a lower level than the PGA Tour.
In addition to winning in India, he also finished in the top 10 in the international series in Thailand and Morocco.
-PTI
Kolkata teen wins All India Amateur Golf Championship
Kolkata teenager Anshul Mishra beat Karnataka’s Varun Muthappa to include his name in the iconic All India Amateur Golf Championship in Chandigarh List of outstanding winners.
In the 123rd edition of this tournament, one of the oldest in the world, 16-year-old Mishra defeated Muthappa on the 4th and 3rd holes of the 36-hole final. That meant he was four shots ahead with three holes remaining.
The All India Amateur Championship is the largest amateur tournament under the umbrella of IGU.
Watching him win was Chandigarh golfer Shubhankar Sharma, the 2012 All India Amateur Champion;
Mishra first started playing golf at Inderjit Bhalotia’s Royal Calcutta Golf Course and now trains with Jesse Grewal . He plans to try out for American college golf.
-PTI
