Panghal makes a comeback amidst drastic changes for Olympic qualifier in Bangkok
S. Mohammed Ibrahim (six for 17) starred in Syed Ammal ASC’s eightwicket win over Luminous in the RDCA second division league.
The scores: I div.: ARS 269 in 44.4 overs (S. Vigneswaran 47, S. Subramani 88, C. Mohanraj 3/29) bt Sundaram Memorial 79 in 18.3 overs (S. Terance 3/30, S. Vigneswaran 3/10).
Nethaji 192/5 in 40 overs (S. Manikandan 51, U. Dinesh 58) bt Grandslam 160 in 32.3 overs (P. Nisanth 41, S. Manikandan 3/39). II div.: Rainbow KTKM 200/7 in 25 overs (P. Rabinkumar 48, R. Roshan Cibi 32, M. Dinesh 40) bt Mamannar Maruthu Pandiyar 150/8 in 25 overs (S. Mahendran 3/22).
Luminous 134 in 22.1 overs (N. Vijay Sadhanandh 45, S. Mohammed Ibrahim 6/17) lost to Syed Ammal ASC 137/2 in 22.4 overs (N. Srimukilan 75 n.o., K. Kabilesh 37).
Mithran Sports Club 163/6 in 25 overs (M. Sivaramakrishnan 65) bt Syed Ammal EC 59 in 15.2 overs. Ramnad Sun Risers 196 in 25 overs (A. Arun 83, M. Karthick 31) bt Kalaipuli 114 in 22 overs (A. Arunpandiyan 44, G. Boobalan 3/22, K. Ajith 3/24).
Following the Indian boxers’ disappointing performance in the Olympic qualifying event in Busto Arsizio, Italy, where they could not win a single quota place, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has changed six boxers in the squad for the second World Olympic qualifier in Bangkok, the last qualifying event, from May 25 to June 2.
After BFI’s assessment, done by coaches Dmitry Dmitruk, C.A. Kuttappa and Dharmendra Yadav, former World championships silver medallist Amit
Panghal, who won a gold medal in the Strandja Memorial event in Sofia in February last, was the biggest name to make a comeback. He replaces Worlds bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria in 51kg.
Former World junior champion Sachin Siwach Jr., another Strandja gold medallist, has taken the place of another Worlds bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin in 57kg.
The biggest surprise was the absence of seasoned boxer Shiva Thapa, who placed third in 63.5kg. Abinash Jamwal emerged as the top boxer in this category, followed by Vanshaj, who managed to recover from a bout of tuberculosis.
Young boxer Abhimanyu Loura, a former National champion, took the number one slot in 80kg.
Worlds bronze medallist Nishant Dev (71kg), who lost in the quarterfinals and narrowly missed an Olympic quota place in Italy, Sanjeet (92kg) and Narender Berwal (+92kg) retained their top spots.
Among women, Ankushita Boro, who represented the country in 66kg in Italy, came down to 60kg and claimed the number one position ahead of Jaismine Lamboria.
Arundhati Choudhary was the best in 66kg.
It is learnt that stress was given to boxers’ ability to win matches in international events. The boxers will travel to Bangkok on May 10 to train there prior to the competition.
So far, four women boxers — Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg), Parveen Hooda (57kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) — have won quota places in the Paris Olympics.
The squad: Men: Amit Panghal (51kg), Sachin Siwach Jr. (57kg), Abhinash Jamwal (63.5kg), Nishant Dev (71kg), Abhimanyu Loura (80kg), Sanjeet (92kg), Narender Berwal (+92kg). Women: Ankushita Boro (60kg), Arundhati Choudhary (66kg).
The Masters was poised for a second round thriller ith LIV Golf standard bearer Bryson DeChambeau sitting one shot clear of topranked Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods searching for some of his old major magic.
A marathon day at Augusta National began early on Friday with 27 golfers pulling double duty by finishing up weatherdelayed first rounds before heading right back out onto a sun bathed layout. With the first round complete, the stage was set for plenty of golfing drama up and down the leaderboard.
DeChambeau used a sizzling burst of late birdies to muscle his way to sevenunder 65 on Thursday