Indian Sports Report, October 24: India A men remain undefeated; women show fighting spirit in China

HOCKEY

India One man remains undefeated; women show fighting spirit in China

India A men’s and women’s hockey team ended their respective international tours in China on a high note, showing promising performances and gaining valuable experience against competitive local opposition.

The India A men played a four-match series against Gansu Club in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, recording emphatic victories in all their matches.

The men’s side started the series in dominant fashion with a 7-0 win, thanks to goals from Varun Kumar and Selvam Karthi, who each converted a penalty corner, while Uttam Singh and Venkatesh Dhananjay Kenche scored field goals. However, Angad Bir Singh stole the show with a hat-trick.

In the second encounter, India defeated A Gansu 2-1 with Selvam Karthi and Aditya Arjun Lalage scoring a goal each.

The visitors continued their good form and stormed to an 8-0 win in the third match, with Poovanna Chandura Boby converting a penalty corner while Aditya Arjun Lalage, Maninder Singh, Selvam Karthi and Venkatesh Dhananjay Kenche scored field goals. Captain Sanjay also added to the scoreboard, achieving success from a penalty corner, while Mohammed Raheel Mouseen added a brace to round off an impressive performance.

The series concluded with another high-scoring affair as India A defeated Gansu 8-3 in the final match. Rajkumar Pal, Uttam Singh and Venkatesh Dhananjay Kenche scored a field goal each, while Amandeep Lakra converted a penalty corner. Aditya Arjun Lalage scored two field goals, and captain Sanjay, who was consistent with his drag moves throughout the tour, converted two penalty corners to seal a clean sweep for the visitors.

Aditya finished as the top scorer with a total of four goals in as many matches, closely followed by Sanjay, Selvam Karthi, Venkatesh and Angad, who scored three goals each in the series.

Meanwhile, the India A women played a five-match series against Liaoning at the Liaoning Sports Center in Dalian. The young side showed strong determination throughout the tour, finishing with four draws and one defeat.

In the opening match, India A held Liaoning to a 1-1 draw with Albela Rani Toppo finding the back of the net. In the second match, the team lost 1-3, despite a fantastic goal from Manisha Chauhan.

The women’s team recovered with consecutive draws: 1-1 in the third match, with Manisha Chauhan on the scoresheet again. During the 2-2 draw in the fourth, Baljeet Kaur and Manisha found the back of the net once each.

In the fifth and final match, both teams played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, with goals from Kajal Sadashiv Atpadkar, Pooja Yadav and Deepika Soreng ensuring the team ended the series on a positive note.

-Team Sportstar

BADMINTON

Asia Junior Championships: Lakshya, Diksha, Shaina in quarter-finals

India’s Lakshya Rajesh, Diksha Sudhakar and Shaina Manimuthu stormed through to the girls quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Under-17 and Under-15 Championships on Friday.

Sixth seed Diksha showed her composure to beat Chinese Taipei’s Pin Hsuan Chiang 21-19 21-15 to secure a place in the last eight in the U-17 segment.

Lakshya also advanced to the U-17 quarter-finals with a strong 21-16 21-11 win over Korea’s Lee Yun Seo. In the U-15 pre-quarter-finals, top seed Manimuthu ousted China’s Li Man Lin 21-17 21-16 with impressive control from start to finish.

In the girls’ doubles, Aditi Deepak Raj and BV Ponnamma Vriddhi held their nerve to get past Korea’s Lee Yun Seo and Park Yoo Jeong (17-21, 21-15, 21-17).

In the boys’ doubles, Charan Ram Thippana and Hari Krishna Veeramreddy recorded a clinical 21-14 21-8 victory against Japan’s Kosuke Shinohara and Hiroto Nakatsuka.

Jagsher Singh Khangurra passed Malaysian Winson Choh 21-12, 21-17 in the singles.

In the U-15 boys’ singles, Wazir Singh narrowly missed out on a spot in the quarter-finals after a brave 19-21, 22-20, 22-24 loss to seventh seed Revan Adrilleo Saputra of Indonesia.

FOOTBALL

Punjab FC sign sign defender Pablo Renan Dos Santos

Punjab FC on Friday signed experienced Brazilian centre-back Pablo Renan Dos Santos on a one-year deal ahead of the Super Cup, which starts in Goa this weekend.

The 33-year-old joined the club on a free transfer and brings with him a wealth of experience from global football.

In 2017, the defender moved to Europe and signed for Portuguese Primeira Liga club CS Maritimo, where he made 25 appearances. His strong performances at the club earned him a five-year contract with SC Braga in 2018.

While under contract with Braga, Pablo gained valuable experience through several high-profile loan spells with Rubin Kazan in Russia, Hatayspor in Turkey and Moreirense in Portugal.

After his time in Turkey and Portugal, Pablo moved to the Middle East, where he played for Al Raed in the Saudi Pro League in the 2022-2023 season.

Most recently he played for FC Noah of the Armenian Premier League, where his attacking performances were remarkable. He scored four goals in 13 appearances before joining Punjab FC.

– PTI

Published on October 24, 2025