Gangjee improves to 15th spot; Jeev Milkha out
OSAKA (JAPAN): Rahil Gangjee rode on a tidy one-under 69 to move to T-19 at the midway stage of the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup here on Friday.
Gangjee, who is 15th on the Order of Merit, is seeking to get into the top-10 over the next few weeks to qualify for the lucrative CIMB Classic, sanctioned by PGA and Asian Tours.
The only other Indian of the seven who started this week, was Himmat Rai who added a 71 to his first round 70 and was tied39th. Jeev Milkha Singh, who was tied-34th alongside Gangjee and Himmat at the end of first round, ended with a 75 in the second round to exit the tourney.
Also missing the cut were Chiragh Kumar (74-73), Gaganjete Bhullar (77-70), Arjun Atwal (72-77) and Jyoti Randhawa (75-75). SANIA-BARBORA ENTERS DOUBLES FINAL
TOKYO: Sania Mirza and Barbora Strycova entered the women’s doubles final of the Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-5 win over Gabriela Dabrowski and Maria Jose Martina Sanchez.
The Indo-Czech pair took an hour and 18 minutes to emerge victorious after winning 66 of the total 121 points played.
They earlier registered a commanding 6-2,6-2 victory over Miyu Kato and Yifan Xu in the quarter-finals and beat Misaki Doi and Kurumi Nara 6-7 (3),75,10-8 in the first round.
INDIANS JUMP NINE SPOTS IN GOLF MEET
RIVIERA MAYA (MEXICO): The Indian team improved their overnight position from 44th to 35th at the end of the second round of the 30th World Amateur Team Championship (WATC) late on Thursday.
India’s star on Day 2, Arjun Prasad, shot even par 71 to rank as the best Indian in individual standings after two days. The other Indian score that was counted for the day was a 73 from Naved Kaul, while first day’s best performer Indira Lakshminaryana Aalaap shot 75.
ADITI IMPROVES HER POSITION
MARBELLA (SPAIN): Aditi Ashok displayed a lot of calm to overcome a tough first nine to return with a card of two-over 73 at the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open de Espana Femenino on Thursday.
Aditi, who is 43rd on the Order of Merit, is third in race for the Rookie of the Year. LEANDER-BEGEMANN STORM INTO QUARTERS
ST PETERSBURG (FLORIDA): Indian tennis ace Leander Paes and his German partner Andre Begemann have stormed into the semifinals of the St Petersburg Open after clinching a straight-sets victory in the men’s doubles event on Friday.
The Indo-German pair booked their place in the last four after sweeping aside the Indian duo of Purav Raja and Divij Sharan 6-3, 7-5 in a one-sided quarterfinal contest. TANNER APPOINTED BFI ELECTION OBSERVER
NEW DELHI: The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has deputed its Oceania zone vice-President Edgar Tanner as observer for the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) elections set to be held on Sunday in Mumbai.