Indian Sports Report, May 5: India U-18 men’s and women’s hockey teams play series against Australia in Bhopal

HOCKEY

India U-18 men’s and women’s hockey teams will play series against Australia

The Indian men’s and women’s U-18 hockey teams will take on their Australian counterparts in a four-match series in Bhopal from May 15 to 20, as part of their preparations for the Asia Cup.

The exposure series that follows the U-18 National Coaching Camp, which began on April 19 at SAI Bhopal, will serve as vital preparation for the U-18 Asia Cup in Kakamigahara, Japan, starting later this month.

Men’s coach Sardar Singh highlighted the progress made during the camp and the importance of the upcoming matches.

“A key focus during this camp has been to strengthen their basic skills in all positions so that they are better prepared for the demands of modern hockey and can progress steadily to senior level. The upcoming matches against the Australian U18 teams are an important step in our preparation.

«It is a valuable opportunity for the group to experience high-quality international competition, test combinations and build match temperament. With the U18 Asia Cup on the horizon, these matches will play a key role in identifying the best possible squad to represent India,» Sardar said.

Women’s coach Rani Rampal echoed a similar sentiment.

«The matches against the Australian U-18 team will give them a great opportunity to play at a higher level and prepare for the U-18 Asia Cup. It is an opportunity for each player to showcase their abilities and what they have learned,» Rampal said.

-PTI

TENNIS

Madhurima Sawant leads the strong show by Indian players in Tumakuru Open

Madhurima Sawant scored a gritty three-set victory over Maria Mikhailova to lead an impressive show of Indian players in the opening round of the ITF W35 Tumakuru Open.

Madhurima showed a fine mix of control and fighting spirit as he defeated Mikhailova 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.

Meanwhile, in an all-Indian clash, Sandeepti Singh Rao defeated Yashaswini Panwar 6-3, 6-4. Pooja Ingale also came through a difficult three-setter to get past Danica Fernando 7-5, 1-6, 6-4.

Sonal Patil pulled off one of the most dominant wins of the round, brushing aside qualifier Snigdha Kanta 6-0, 6-3 to advance to the last 16 stages.

Among the visitors, Ksenia Laskutova recorded a remarkable victory over seventh seed Michika Ozeki 6-3, 7-6(2), while fifth seed Elina Nepliy advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Harshini N Nagaraj.

The Indian momentum continued in the 16th round of women’s doubles.

Top seeds Vaidehee Chaudhari and Zuzanna Pawlikowska were in excellent form as they defeated Mikhailova and Sandeepti 6-1, 6-2.

Fourth-seeded all-Indian duo Sravya Shivani Chilakalapudi and Zeel Desai were equally clinical as they cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Yashaswini Panwar and Bela Tamhankar.

In one of the standout doubles results, Aishwarya Jadhav and Aakruti Narayan Sonkus upset the second-seeded pair of Arina Arifullina and Ekaterina Yashina 6-4, 7-5.

The only setback for the home side came when Shreeniti Chowdhury and Meghana GD lost to Ksenia Laskutova and Elina Nepliy.

– PTI

TO SHOOT

Skeet shooters miss out on final spots in ISSF World Cup Shotgun

Indian clay pigeon shooters missed out on a spot in the finals of both the men’s and women’s events in the ISSF World Cup Shotgun at the Asanov Shooting Club in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Olympians Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Raiza Dhillon finished highest among the Indians.

Mairaj, who started day two in 26th place after shooting 71 out of 75 on Monday, scored 23 and 25 in the final two heats and finished the qualifying stage in 18th place with a total of 119. Bhavtegh Singh Gill, who was battling for ranking points, was the next best performer, also with a final score of 119 (24,24,23,24,24) and finished one place below Mairaj in 19th.

Olympian Anantjeet Singh Naruka started the fourth series with a perfect 25 and followed it up with a series of 23, finishing his first World Cup of the season in 38th place with a final score of 117.

The third Indian in the fray, national champion Gurjoat Singh Khangura, finished in 54th place with a score of 115 after shooting 22 and 23 in his last two series. Abhay Singh Sekhon, also battling for ranking points, shot 23 and 20 in the fourth and fifth series for a total of 113 to finish in 71st place.

In the women’s race, Ganemat Sekhon, who finished day one, could only place one place among the top eight, managing only 22 and 20 in her last two heats and dropping to 33rd place with a total score of 112. Dhillon finished in the best place among the Indian athletes with a score of 115 (22,23,24,23,23) in 17th place.

Parinaaz Dhaliwal finished one place above Ganemat at 32nd with a score of 112 after shooting 24 and 22 in the last two series. Competing for ranking points, Vanshika Tiwari and Rashmmi Rathore finished at 29th and 47th position with scores of 112 and 102 respectively.

– Team Sportstar

Ganga wins 50m Rifle 3P title, Kamaljeet-Surbhi wins senior mixed team gold

Army Shooter Ganga Singh clinched the gold medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men’s event at the 24th Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship held at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy in Bhopal.

On the dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, Kamaljeet Choudhary and Surbhi Rao of Haryana emerged victorious in the 10m Air Pistol senior mixed team ISSF event.

Ganga shot a total of 357.8 in the final to finish at the top of the podium. Railways’ Arjun Babuta secured the silver medal with 356.9, while fellow railway shooter Swapnil Suresh Kusale claimed bronze with 343.7.

In the 10m pistol mixed team event, the Haryana pair topped the qualifying round with a score of 576-17x before clinching the gold medal in the final with a score of 476.6. Karnataka’s Mamith N Gowda and Divya TS, who had qualified fourth with 573-17x, settled for silver after scoring 472.5 in the final. ONGC’s Amanpreet Singh and Shweta, who also shot 573-17x in the qualification, secured the bronze medal with a score of 409.3.

Adriyan Karmakar of West Bengal clinched the title in the Men’s Junior 50m Rifle 3 Positions with a score of 360.2 in the final. Haryana’s Rohit Kanyan secured the silver medal with 350.5, while Rajasthan’s Prince took bronze with 336.1.

The 10m Air Pistol junior mixed team ISSF event saw Rajasthan’s Yogesh and Mohini take the gold medal with a score of 478.6 in the final after qualifying fourth with 576-21x (293-12x, 283-9x).

Haryana’s Shiva and Navya topped the qualifying round with 581-22x (293-14x, 288-8x) but finished with bronze after scoring 417.7 in the medal match. Karnataka’s Avanthika and Jonathan, who had qualified second with 580-17x (292-11x, 288-6x), claimed silver with 478 in the final.

In the 10m Air Pistol youth mixed team ISSF event, Rajasthan’s Girish and Bhavya shot 575-21x (289-13x, 286-8x) in qualifying to top the field and continued their excellent form in the final to take gold with a score of 479.1.

Tanish and Manyata from Delhi qualified second with 575-13x (289-7x, 286-6x) and took silver after scoring 472.6 in the final. Yugpratap and Aaradhya of Madhya Pradesh, who had qualified fourth with 572-13x (287-6x, 285-7x), went on to win bronze with a score of 413.3.

– Team Sportstar

BOXING

Asian U-15 and U-17 Boxing Championships 2026: Indian boxers continue to perform strongly

India’s young boxers delivered another day of impressive performances at the 2026 Under-15 and Under-17 Asian Boxing Championships, recording multiple victories in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

In the U-15 boys competition, Nongpoknganba Meitei Oina (46kg) recorded a convincing 5:0 victory over Abdurakhman Vushanlo of Kazakhstan, while Parshant (49kg) reflected the result with a dominant 5:0 victory against Bakdaulet Akhmet.

Mohd Yasser (58kg) stood out with an impressive performance, sealing his fight via RSC in the first round against Kyrgyzstan’s Akbarzhan Nabidzhanov. Nivesh Pal (54kg) also impressed with a 5:0 win over Adilet Galiyev of Kazakhstan, while Ranveer (66kg) progressed after a walkover win against Ying-Chieh Chen of Chinese Taipei.

In other fights, Lilmani Singh Lukram (61kg) fell via RSC in the third round to Uzbekistan’s Azizbek Egambanov, and Mehul Rana (70kg) suffered an RSC opening round loss to Kazakhstan’s Ayan Bauyrzhan.

In the U-17 boys’ evening session, Pal Nivesh (54kg) continued his strong form with another 5:0 win over Adilet Galiyev of Kazakhstan. Ranveer (66kg) registered an ABD victory against Ying-Chieh Chen of Chinese Taipei.

Lakshay Phogat (75kg) put in a dominant performance to earn an RSC first round win against Sri Lanka’s Ranchigodagama Arachchila.

However, Pradeep (63kg) and Hanjra Jaideep Singh (80kg) faced tough opponents and fell 0:5 to Rushen Saydullaev of Uzbekistan and Alibek Alpamys of Kazakhstan respectively.

– Team Sportstar

INDIAN FOOTBALL

SAI seals place in the quarter-final of the Men’s U-20 Nationals

SAI sealed their spot in the quarter-finals of the Under-20 Men’s National Championship, while Mizoram put themselves in an impressive position with their respective wins against Telangana and Madhya Pradesh.

SAI registered a comprehensive 3-0 win against Telangana at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground 2 with Pangai Konyak scoring either side of half-time. Ashad M added a third in the 81st minute to complete the victory.

In Group G, Mizoram defeated a 10-member Madhya Pradesh 10-0 at the RKM Ashrama Ground. Mesak C Lalringheta and Rothangpuia, meanwhile, scored one goal each.

Arunachal Pradesh dented Uttar Pradesh’s chances of advancing to the quarter-finals, beating the latter 3-2. Hanu Tari scored two in the first half and awarded a late penalty in the second to complete his hat-trick. Vihan Khanna and Gaurav Chauhan scored one in each half for Uttar Pradesh.

– Team Sportstar

Published on May 5, 2026