Bengaluru, July 26 (IANS) Vidhatri Urs cruised ahead of the field with a bogey-free 3-under 69 in the second round of the 10th Leg of the Women’s Pro Golf Tour at Prestige Golfshire here on Friday. The newly minted pro, who already has a win in her three pro starts, indicated she was about to add to that as she took a two-shot lead over the up-and-coming professional Jasmine Shekar (74-72), who was searching for her maiden success.

Vidhatri, who shot a 3-over 75 with three bogeys and no birdies on the first day, reversed that with three birdies and no bogeys with Jasmine as her playing partner.

On a day when play was delayed because of rain, Vidhatri parred her first four holes and then found her first birdie on the fifth. She added ten pars after that to be 1-under after 15 holes. She then added birdies on the 16th and the 18th for a steady and superb round of 69. Jasmine had four birdies and four bogeys in her 72 that followed her first-round effort of 74.

Sneha Singh, last year’s Hero Order of Merit winner, had a six-shot improvement on her first-round score of 77. She carded 1-under 71, the only round other than that of Vidhatri that was under par. Sneha was tied third at 2-over 146 and four behind the leader.

Hitaashee Bakshi, the first-round leader slipped back to tied third with a second-round card of 78 with just one birdie against one double and five bogeys. Sneha and HItaashee were tied for third with Khushi (74-74) and Amandeep Drall.

The experienced Amandeep Drall, who slipped after a first-round 72, had four birdies against six bogeys and one double bogey for a second-round 76. Rhea Jha (76-73) was seventh, while Saanvi Somu (78-72) was the top amateur in the eighth spot.

Another amateur Mannat Brar (74-77) was tied for ninth with Neha Tripathi (73-78), who is coming back from an injury.

A total of 27 golfers made the cut at 161 in the Rs.13 lakh event and the prominent players to miss the cut included Durga Nittur.

–IANS

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Brampton (Canada), July 26 (IANS) Australia’s David Warner is excited to be part of another season with the GT20 Canada as his franchise Brampton Wolves begin their 2024 campaign against Surrey Jaguars on Friday. The Australian great said the GT20 Canada is an opportunity for people in the country to fall in love with the game and allows fans to support some quality cricket.

“I’ve played here before and the importance of it is great. It just gives them an opportunity to support teams and shows how good the cricket actually is, and that the people can come out there and support it is fantastic.

“And it’s not just for the players, it’s for everyone in Canada, in general, to fall in love with our game and the importance of having this tournament will just show that and bring that to light and yeah, I’m really excited to be part of that,” said Warner, who will be leading a squad including fellow Australian international Andrew Tye and 2016 world champion Carlos Brathwaite.

Over the years, the GT20 Canada has become North America’s marquee cricket league and Warner said that it had developed a rousing fanbase.

“The fan base is exciting. I’ve seen a lot of stuff on social media. I’ve had a lot of chats with people who played here previously, and they absolutely love it. So, I think the evolution of it is going to be great,” Warner said.

Having been part of the inaugural edition of the GT20 Canada in 2018, Warner said it was up to veterans such as him to return to the tournament and further enhance the excitement quotient.

“And it’s important for people like me to come back. It’s upon me to try and do my best over here and make it as exciting to watch as possible,” Warner said.

–IANS

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Paris, July 26 (IANS) The first shot at a medal by the 117-member Indian contingent will come in “far away” Chateauroux, a small town of under 50,000 citizens, approximately 300 kms south of Paris, when India’s 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team pairings of Olympian Elavenil Valarivan and Sandeep Singh and Ramita and Arjun Babuta, take aim on Saturday.

The qualification rounds begin at 12:30 pm Indian Standard Time (IST) and the top four combined scores after each of the two shooters in a team fire 30 shots each, make it to the medal rounds at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre.

The two Indian pairs will be up against it as there are several strong teams in the 28-strong detail including the crack Chinese pairing of Du Lingshu and Han Jiayu, who would be looking to defend the title for their national. Mary Carolynn Tucker of the USA, the silver medallist from Tokyo will be with a new partner in Ryan Kissel, while the hosts France, with Manon Herbulot and Romain Aufrere in their ranks, is also sure to come hard.

Speaking ahead of D-day, Dr. Pierre Beauchamp, the High-Performance Director of the team, said, “The team is in a good space and have been training and preparing hard. I don’t see any reason why we should not have a bright start to the Paris Games.”

The qualification round will be followed by the bronze medal match between the third and fourth-placed teams (2 pm IST) and then the top two meet for the gold.

Air Pistol shooters to also begin campaign

Day One of the shooting competitions will also see four other Indians in action when Manu Bhaker and Rhythm Sangwan and Sarabjot Singh and Arjun Cheema shoot the qualification rounds of the women’s and men’s 10m Air Pistol respectively. Those two finals are lined up for Sunday.

The 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event will give out the first medals of the Paris Games, where shooting will be making its 28th appearance. A total of 170 men and 170 women athletes will be vying for 15 gold medals across the Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun disciplines, where no country can field more than two athletes/teams per event. There are 12 individual events and three mixed team events, which will start on Saturday and continue till August 5.

India have a squad of 21 shooters at the Paris Games with a total of 26 starts.

–IANS

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Pallekele (Sri Lanka), July 26 (IANS) Ahead of their T20I series against India commencing on Saturday, Sri Lanka have brought in off-spinner Ramesh Mendis as a stand-by player due to fast-bowler Binura Fernando being hospitalised.

A statement from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Friday said left-arm fast-bowler Fernando has been hospitalised because of a chest infection. Subsequently, they have now brought Mendis into the Charith Asalanka-led T20I squad as a standby player.

Fernando had earned a return to Sri Lanka’s T20I squad by picking up 13 wickets across eight games at a miserly economic rate of 6.81 for Colombo Strikers in the 2024 Lanka Premier League (LPL). Mendis, the stand-by player, has only played two T20Is for Sri Lanka, picking just one wicket.

The development is another blow to Sri Lanka after Dushmantha Chameera was sidelined from the series due to him still recovering from bronchitis and respiratory infection, followed by Nuwan Thushara being ruled out because of a fractured left thumb. In place of the two, Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka were drafted in as replacements.

India begin their tour of Sri Lanka with back-to-back T20Is on July 27 and 28, followed by the third game on July 30 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. The scene then shifts to the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo hosting three ODIs on August 2, 4 and 7 respectively.

–IANS

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Paris, July 26 (IANS) India’s ace shuttler P.V Sindhu shared her excitement of being the flag-bearer of the country in the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday and said it is “one of the greatest honours” of her life. Sindhu is one of the two flag-bearers of the country along with experienced table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal for the historic event along the river Seine in Paris. Taking to X, Sindhu also posted pictures of herself in a tricolour-inspired saree for the glittery ceremony.

“Paris 2024, flag bearer—one of the greatest honours of my life to hold our country’s flag in front of millions,” Sindhu wrote on X, hours before the Opening Ceremony in Paris.

The duo will lead 78 sportspersons and officials from 12 disciplines in the iconic first-ever outdoor Opening Ceremony in the history of the Games.

In the unique ceremony, thousands of Olympic athletes will travel on around 100 boats, cruising along the Seine and passing by some of Paris’ most iconic landmarks, including the Notre Dame, Pont des Arts and Pont Neuf.

India has sent a contingent of 117 sportspersons to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, aiming to surpass the historic seven medals won at the previous edition in Tokyo. Indian athletes will compete in 16 out of the 32 sports featured in this edition of the Olympic Games.

As many members of the Contingent have competitions on Saturday morning, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has been respectful of their decision to prioritise preparation and not take part in the Opening Ceremony.

Among those who have been exempted from participating in the Parade include rower Balraj Panwar, who has his race on Saturday morning, members of the air rifle and air pistol shooting teams, who have their events on Saturday, too have decided to skip the opening ceremony.

India will be opening its campaign in shooting, badminton, tennis, rowing, archery and hockey on the first day of competitions on Saturday.

Meanwhile, members of the athletics, weightlifting and wrestling squads are yet to reach Paris and therefore will miss the opening ceremony. All others who have made themselves available will be part of the Parade.

–IANS

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