Indian Sports Wrap, March 5: India U-20 scores five against Swedish club Älvsjö AIK

FOOTBALL

India U-20 scores five against Swedish club Älvsjö AIK

The India U-20 women’s national team defeated Swedish club Älvsjö AIK 5-2 in a friendly match at the Bosön National Sports Center in Lidingö, Sweden, early on the morning of Thursday, March 5.

Lhingdeikim scored a hat-trick, scoring in the first minute, the 20th minute (penalty kick) and the 59th minute. Cindy Colney (34′) and Sulanjana Raul (90′) scored one each to make it five for India.

Young Tigresses head coach Joakim Alexandersson made two changes to his starting XI, bringing in goalkeeper Monalisha Devi and winger Bhumika Devi.

-Team Sportstar

TENNIS

The Karnataka trio will lead the Indian squad for the ITF Asia U-14 Development Championship Finals in Colombo

Three players from Karnataka have been selected to represent India at the ITF Asia 14 & Under Development Championship 2026 Finals, to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from March 29 to April 10.

Three of the four spots in the Indian squad have been secured by players from Karnataka. Srishti Kiran and Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar will compete in the girls’ category, while Puneeth Manohar has been included in the boys’ line-up alongside Punjab’s Taanish Nanda.

-Team Sportstar

Balaji-Oberleitner advances to semi-finals in Thionville Challenger

Indian N. Sriram Balaji and his Austrian partner Neil Oberleitner qualified for the semi-finals of the Thionville Challenger in France on Thursday.

Balaji and Oberleitner, the top seeds, won 6-4, 6-1 against Israel’s Daniel Cukierman and American Trey Hilderbrand, setting up a last-four clash with third-seeded British-French duo Joshua Paris and Luca Sanchez.

In Kigali, Siddhant Banthia and his Bulgarian partner Alexander Donski, and all-Indian duo SD Prajwal Dev and Nitin Kumar Sinha also advanced to the semi-finals.

– Team Sportstar

BOXING

India names a 10-member squad for the World Boxing Futures Cup

India has selected a 10-member team for the World Boxing Futures Cup to be held in Bangkok from March 8 to 15.

The event will give young boxers international exposure in the run-up to the Dakar Youth Olympics, scheduled from October 31 to November 13.

-Team Sportstar

GOLF

Diksha is best Indian after first day at Australian Women’s Classic

Diksha Dagar shot a three-under 69 to finish 20th as the top-seeded Indian at the Australian Women’s Classic that kicked off on the Ladies European Tour in Magenta Shores.

The top Indian star had two bogeys on her front nine as she started from the back nine of the Magenta Shores course.

She had a bogey start but recovered with three birdies in the next four holes, making bogey on the 18th to reach 1 under. On the second nine she birdied twice and finished with a 69.

Among the other Indians, Pranavi Urs (72) was the next best at T-52 and she had a rollercoaster of a round with two birdies, an eagle, a bogey and a double bogey.

Avani Prashanth (77) at T-118 and Hitaashee Bakshi (82) struggled in the first round.

-PTI

Indian Anirban Lahiri closed with a birdie-birdie finish to finish at 4 under and in 16th place at the LIV Golf Hong Kong, where soft conditions led to low scores at the par-70 layout in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Torque GC’s Carlos Ortiz finished the round on top after firing a 10-under 60. The Mexican made nine birdies, one eagle and one bogey on his way to the lowest round at LIV Golf.

Close on Ortiz’s heels is Dean Burmester, who finished second in Hong Kong last year behind Sergio Garcia. The Southern Guards GC star shot an 8-under 62 and made just one bogey on the day.

Garcia is also off to a strong start in his bid to win the tournament in back-to-back seasons. The Fireballs GC captain shot a stress-free and bogey-free 63, hitting every green in regulation in the process.

Garcia has now completed 63 consecutive holes at Fanling without making a bogey.

Garcia is currently tied for third place alongside Smash GC captain Talor Gooch, Korean Golf Club’s Younghan Song and wildcard player Scott Vincent.

-PTI

Rajesh triumphs in three-way play-off to win DP World PGTI NexGen Phillaur Open

Rajesh Kumar Gautam won the DP World PGTI NexGen Phillaur Open at Ranjitgarh Golf Club in a three-way play-off on Thursday.

Rajesh (70-67-70), an army man from Lucknow, defeated Pankaj Maandiya (68-70-69) and Aditya Raj Singh Chahal (69-69-69) in a play-off that went to three extra holes after the trio finished the regular 54 holes with a match total of six-under 207.

Rajesh, the overnight joint leader, hit a one-under 70 with three birdies and two bogeys in the final round before emerging victorious on the third playoff hole with a birdie.

Pankaj and Aditya, both in third place overnight, one shot off the lead, shot two-under 69 in the final round to join Rajesh in the play-offs.

Aditya’s challenge ended on the first playoff hole where he made par while the other two players made birdies.

Rajesh and Pankaj made pars on the second play-off hole, but on the decisive third play-off hole, Rajesh triumphed with a birdie when Pankaj made par after finding the rough twice.

Rajesh’s second NexGen win saw him bag the winning check worth Rs 3,17,875, which took him to the third position in the DP World PGTI NexGen Order of Merit.

Aditya, who finished second along with Pankaj in Phillaur, now leads the NexGen Order of Merit with a season’s earnings of Rs 4,87,000. Sunny Singh finished fourth with three under 210.

Rajesh, a winner at the 2025 NexGen when he also finished fourth on the NexGen merit list, had an up-and-down final round before entering the playoffs.

Gautam dropped an early bogey on the second hole but came roaring back with three consecutive birdies from the sixth to the eighth thanks to his great iron shots.

He ultimately dropped a bogey on the 15th but stayed in the hunt with pars on the final three holes.

Phillaur-based professional Swatanter Kumar finished tied for 36th with seven over 220.

– PTI

Published on March 5, 2026