Ruthvika, mixed doubles pair win Russian Open Grand Prix
VLADIVOSTOK: Indian shuttlers signed off an impressive campaign at the Russian Open Grand Prix, notching up the women’s singles as well as the mixed doubles titles on Sunday.
Fourth seed Ruthvika Shivani Gadde emerged triumphant in the women’s singles event, beating local favourite Evgeniya Kosetskaya 21-10, 21-13 in 26 minutes. In the mixed doubles final, N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Chopra edged past the Russian duo of Vladimir Ivanov and Valeria Sorokina 21-17, 21-19 to claim the top honours. However, it was heartbreak for Siril Verma who lost 21-16, 19-21, 10-21 to Malaysia’s Zulfadli Zulkiffli in the men’s singles final.
SOUTH ASIAN JUNIOR ATHLETICS PUT OFF LUCKNOW: The South Asian Junior Athletics Championship has been postponed till December in the wake of strained Indo-Pak ties. The UP Athletics Association on Sunday confirmed that following an official request for postponement from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the organising committee decided to postpone the event, which was scheduled on October 19 and 20.
“The Pakistani squad had confirmed entries of a 48-member squad, but in such a tense situation holding the event was almost impossible as there are chances of protests here,” said UPAA’s secretary PK Srivastava. ANINDITH, TERRY GRANT STEAL THE SHOW COIMBATORE: Anindith Reddy of Hyderabad emerged as a star, springing to the top of the ladder in the Euro JK16 event at the 19th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship here on Sunday. He now shares the lead with Ananth Shanmugam in the tussle for the title with 76 points. LGB Formula 4 racer Vishnu Prasad and JK Touring Cars star Asish Ramaswamy too made it a special weekend for themselves, winning all their races over the two days and consolidating their championship positions.
The day, however, belonged to internationally renowned stunt driver Terry Grant, who along with India’s Hari Singh, Rohitaaz Singh and Sunny Kumar, performed a series of stunts that had the Kari Motor Speedway arena asking for more.
IRAN THRASH THAILAND AT KABADDI WORLD CUP AHMEDABAD: Iran continued their impressive run at the ongoing 2016 Kabaddi World Cup with a comfortable 64-23 win over Thailand on Sunday.
Iran produced a masterclass performance as they thrashed minnows Thailand. The result was never in doubt, as Thailand had no answer to the superiority of their opponents.
Iran, on the other hand, underlined their credentials as title contenders with a second consecutive victory. Iran inflicted six all outs on Thailand and look like the team to beat in the World Cup as they sit atop Group B with 10 points.