Indian Sports Report, April 25: Abhay Singh loses to former world No. 1 Gawad in Zurich thriller

SQUASH

Abhay Singh loses to former world number 1 Gawad in the Zurich thriller

India’s Abhay Singh lost to Egyptian former world number 1 and world champion Karim Gawad in a thriller in the men’s quarter-finals of the Grasshopper Cup, a PSA Gold level event, in Zurich.

World No. 24 Singh recovered from 6-0 down to force the opening match into a tie-break, and went toe-to-toe with World No. 4 Gawad in the second match, before the Egyptian second seed won the match 12-10, 11-9.

«The pace was very fast, we have only played twice but I feel we have played more. In Qatar (2025) he (Singh) beat me in four and today I came on the field thinking I don’t want to lose again,» Gawad said.

«In the best of three with one of the smartest and talented players on Tour, you can never tell what he is thinking about the next shot or the next rally. He can come back with crazy points, as you saw in the first game when I was 7-0 up and he came back out of nowhere (and) in less than three minutes we were level,» the Egyptian added.

– Team Sportstar

GOLF

Singapore Open: Bhullar remains in Top 5 despite tough third round

In difficult conditions, Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar shot one-over 72 in the third round, but remained in the Top 5 at the Singapore Open on Saturday.

Korea’s Jeongwoo Ham tops the leaderboard at the $2 million International Series event, having led all three days after posting a score of 68.

In energy-sapping conditions, including Sentosa Golf Club’s formidable Serapong course, Bhullar held on bravely to shoot 1-over 72 on a moving day in a round that was all about minimizing damage and staying in the mix.

Bhullar is currently tied for fifth at 6-under 207, a position he shared with Thai Jazz Janewattananond (68-66-73) and Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig (69-71-67), who was one of the standout performers of the day with an eagle and two birdies.

Bhullar encountered a nasty double bogey early on on the third hole, which threatened to derail his progress.

«That was a shame. I made a good drive, it was in the first cut and the lie was fine. I had about 210 yards with a five-iron, but made a bad swing and pulled it to the left.

«From then on, I found myself in a tricky spot near the bunker without the right stance for my fourth shot. I managed to get it to about 10 feet but I missed the putt,» Bhullar said.

He immediately got a stroke back on the fourth and then also birdied the ninth. He had hoped to go low on the back nine to move up the leaderboard, but ended up making 8 pars and a bogey after the turn.

Bhullar is currently seven shots behind leaders Ham but remains hopeful.

“Overall, with 18 holes to go, I’ll keep my head down, get some lunch and spend some time working on my putting.”

Young Pukhraj Singh Gill (71-70-72), playing on an International Series invitation, played steady again.

The Ludhiana player is at level and is ranked Tied-45.

The other Indian to make the cut, Karandeep Kochhar, had a rather forgettable performance today, carding a 6 over 77 to lie at T-67.

Ham has a four-shot lead over Australian Cameron John, who returned a 67, the joint lowest round of the day, along with Baig and Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, while Japan’s Tomohiro Ishizaka is third, another stroke back, after a 70.

Ham was unflappable again on Saturday, leading a putting exhibition.

– PTI

Diksha drops to shared 16th place in Cape Town, three Indians are eliminated

Indian golfer Diksha Dagar gave away two crucial shots towards the end to drop to 16th at the end of the second round at the Investec SA Women’s Open in Cape Town. She shot a 1-under 72 and was now 6-under for 36 holes.

Diksha dropped five spots after being T-11 on the first day when she shot 68.

Diksha opened with a bogey at the 10th, but birdies at the 11th, 16th and 18th provided a good recovery. On her second nine, however, she bogeyed the third, but not before getting the shot back on the fifth.

Back-to-back bogeys at the eighth and ninth dropped her from the top 10 to a tie for 16th.

Pranavi Urs (73) was seeded T-43rd, while Avani Prashanth (71) just got through the weekend with a late birdie on the seventh, her 16th hole that squeezed inside the cutline.

Avani birdied the 11th and 14th and bogeyed the 18th, but on her second nine she parried all but birdie the seventh, surviving the cut.

The three other Indians in the fray, Vani Kapoor, Tvesa Malik and Hitaashee Bakshi missed the cut.

– PTI

CUE SPORTS

Kothari survives Chulho’s fright; Advani starts in style

Reigning champion Sourav Kothari survived a scare before beating Hwang Chulho in his opening match of the IBSF World Billiards Championship that kicked off in Carlow, Ireland.

The Indian ace defeated South Korean Chulho 305-238 after trailing by more than 120 points with around 30 minutes to go.

Former champion Pankaj Advani’s runaway 1003-54 win over Isle of Man’s Michael Crook was the highlight of the day.

Dhruv Sitwala, seeking his first world title, started his campaign with an expert 645-115 victory over Austria’s Carl-Walter Steiner in a Group ‘C’ match.

Seasoned Alok Kumar scored a lopsided 502-202 win over Ireland’s Aonghus McAnally in another Group ‘C’ match.

– PTI

INDIAN FOOTBALL

India U-17 men held by Qatar

The Indian men’s under-17 team drew 1-1 against Qatar in the first of two behind-closed-doors friendly matches at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Denny Singh Wangkhem opened the scoring for the Blue Colts in the 67th minute before the hosts equalized in the 82nd.

– Team Sportstar

Published on April 25, 2026