Indian Sports Wrap, May 24: Hitaashee rises to fourth at Jabra Ladies; Shubhankar, Veer miss cut in Belgium – Sportstar

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Published : May 24, 2025 17:02 IST , Chennai – 11 MINS READ
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Hitaashee with 72-66 was four-under and three behind the leader, Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland, who had rounds of 67 and 68. | Photo Credit: Instagram/Hitaashee Bakshi
Rookie Hitaashee rises to fourth with day’s best round
Indian rookie Hitaashee Bakshi registered her best round on the Ladies European Tour as she played five under 66 to rise to tied fourth on the second day of the Jabra Ladies Open 2025 here.
Hitaashee with 72-66 was four-under and three behind the leader, Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland, who had rounds of 67 and 68.
Hitaashee’s 66 was the best card of he day.
As Hitaashee moved into contention, the other three Indians Diksha Dagar (71) at T-30, Avani Prashanth (72) at T-35 and Tvesa Malik (70) at T-43 also made the cut. That made it four out of four Indians into the final round.
Playing her first season on a limited card, Hitaashee, who was T-12 at Dutch Ladies Open last week, landed six birdies against one bogey.
Hitaashee started on the 15th, which is the start of the back nine of the Evian Golf Resort, with a birdie and added one more on the 17th. She birdied the first and the third and again the sixth and eighth. Her sole bogey came in between on the fourth.
Diksha, who had a Top-10 last week, played an even par round of 71 with four birdies and four bogeys for the round. with a total score of one-over par for two days.
Avani Prashanth played one-over par 72 for the second day in a row to close the day at 2-over for two days and was T-35. Avani had a double bogey on the first, which was her 14th hole and a birdie on the fourth, which was her 17th hole.
The leader after two days is Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland. Chiara after a 68 has a total score of seven under par.
-PTI
Shubhankar, Veer miss cut in Belgium
Indian golfers Shubhankar Sharma and Veer Ahlawat have failed to make the cut at Soudal Open 2025 here.
It was a rough two days for the Indians as Ahlawat improved on his first 74 with a 69, but still fell short of the cut which was set at one-under. Sharma carded 74-72 and totalled 4-over, way off the cut mark of one-under.
Ahlawat had five birdies against three bogeys and Sharma had three birdies against four bogeys.
At the end of the second round Ewen Ferguson of Scotland led the field by three shots with a total score of 11 under par.
-PTI
Aditi Ashok tied 25th at halfway mark in Mexico
India’s Aditi Ashok played a second straight round of even par 72 to stay in tied 25th place at the Mexico Riviera Maya Open on the LPGA Tour in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.
The 27-year-old Indian, who has had a very modest season, had three birdies and three bogeys in the round.
Aditi has played six events prior to this week and made the cut in four of them, but has not finished in Top-30 with the best being a tied 31st at Black Desert Championship.
Meanwhile, LPGA rookie Jenny Bae made it through an up-and-down stretch around the turn with a birdie on the par-5 18th hole for another 3-under 69, giving her a one-shot lead going into the weekend.
The tournament is the last one before the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills.
-PTI
All three Indians miss cut in Korea
In a disappointing outing for Indian golfers, the trio of Yuvraj Sandhu, Jeev Milkha Singh and SSP Chawrasia missed the cut at the Kolon Korea Open on the Asian Tour in Incheon on Saturday.
Sandhu (73-77) was tied 94th, Jeev (77-80) was tied 125th and Chawrasia withdrew in the second round after a first round 81.
Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, one of the shortest hitters in the field playing one of the longest and toughest courses of the season, took the third-round lead.
Poom, a four-time winner on the Asian Tour, returned a two-under-par 69, and was helped by a brilliant day on the greens, to lead by one, on seven under.
-PTI
Saptak Talwar makes cut, lies 36th in Denmark
Indian golfer Saptak Talwar shot an eagle on a Par-4 on way to a 3-under 69 as he made the cut comfortably at the Danish Golf Challenge at Bogense Golf Club.
Talwar, who is dividing his time between the Hotel Planner Tour — the second level Tour to the DP World Tour — and the Indian Tour, had an eagle and three birdies against two bogeys in his card of 69. He had a 73 in the first round and at 2-under, he was Tied-36th.
Calum Fyfe took a two-stroke lead heading into the weekend. The Scotsman fired an impressive eight-under par 64 on day one and went on to sign for a five-under par second round of 67, which included six birdies, to get to 13 under par for the tournament.
-PTI
Junior World Cup: Shambhavi, Ojasvi make it 1-2 for India in women’s 10m air rifle
India recorded a stunning 1-2 finish in the women’s 10m air rifle final after two 16-year-old shooters — Shambhavi Kshirsagar and Ojasvi Thakur — were engaged in a keen tussle in the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, on Saturday.
Their efforts helped India regain the top spot in the standings with two gold, three silver and three bronze medals.
Shambhavi scored 253.0 in the 24-shot final for gold while Ojasvi was 1.2 behind in second place. Early leader Carlota Salafia of Italy was third with 230.5, bowing out after 22 shots.
It was a fruitful day for India as Naraen Pranav won bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle and Mukesh Nelavalli followed it up with a third-place finish in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol.
In the morning, the two Indians topped the 60-shot qualification round with super-hot scores. Shambhavi shot 633.1 in the first relay as Ojasvi trumped her with a 633.2 to top the field.
With a finals field comprising world number one and double Paris medallist Huang Yuting of China besides Olympian Manon Herbulot of France, it was going to be a tough final.
The two Indians, however, shot like a dream, consistently firing high 10s.
The duo was joint second after the first five-shot series, first and third respectively after the second and by the 12th single shot was 1-2 but with the field still closely huddled.
While Shambhavi never let go of her lead, Ojasvi did go down to fourth momentarily after the 16th shot but a perfect 10.9 in her 17th took her back to third.
Shambhavi herself was in tremendous form, firing a 10.9 in her 16th and by the end of the 18th, the two Indians were firmly back in gold and silver positions.
To her credit, Carlotta did pose a late challenge to Ojasvi but it was duly buried as the Indians closed out with five high 10s in their last eight shots collectively. The lowest they had shot over 48 attempts was a 10.0, never going into the 9s even once.
The gold in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol went to Thomas Chinours of France after he overcame Lukasz Kopiwoda of Poland in the second shoot-off round. Both had tied for 26 hits after the eight series of five rapid-fire shots.
The bronze was picked up by India’s Mukesh Nelavalli who shot 22, bowing out after the seventh series.
After starting at 13th on the grid following a sedate precision round on Friday, Mukesh shot a 289 in the second rapid-fire round on Saturday morning to log 573 as his final total. He then had to wait till the last group to finish to confirm his place among the top six.
Despite four athletes ending on the same score of 573, Mukesh scraped through to clinch the sixth and final spot, on higher count of hits in the inner 10 ring.
The final proved to be even more pulsating. At the outset, the complex electronic scoring system malfunctioned and it was difficult in the initial stages to gauge the exact score of the six athletes.
As things settled from the third series, it turned out that Mukesh had been among the slow starters with one of the two Hungarians Mate Redecsi leading in the early stages before Chinours and Kopiwoda caught up with him.
A perfect five in the fourth series redeemed Mukesh and he followed it up with a four-hits series as the Kiril Tsukanov became the first to be eliminated with the Akos Karoly Nagy following suit.
Another five in the sixth series tied him at 19 hits with Mate and the duo went to the match’s first shoot-off. One round would not be enough as both shot three greens, but the Indian shot three again in the second shoot-off round as the Hungarian succumbed with two hits to his name.
India’s sixth medal and second of the day was assured.
– PTI
Pranjal Bhumij extends stay at Rajasthan United till 2027
Rajasthan United FC midfielder Pranjal Bhumij has extended his contract with the club until 2027, the club announced on Friday.
The former Mumbai City FC, Odisha FC, and Punjab FC player from Assam joined the club in 2024 and became a first team regular for the I-League side.
I’ve played for some big clubs in India, but Rajasthan United feels like home. The vision here is clear, and the environment is all about growth and unity,” Bhumij said.
“I’m proud to be part of this journey and want to give everything for this club and its incredible fans & want that trophy home this season.”
-Team Sportstar
Karan Singh beats Kriish Tyagi in ITF men’s semifinals in Tashkent
Top seed Karan Singh beat compatriot Kriish Tyagi 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals of the $15,000 ITF men’s tennis tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Saturday.
In the final, Karan, who had won the title last week in Iran, will play Renta Tokuda of Japan.
In the $30,000 ITF women’s event in Orlando, USA, Dasha Plekhanova of Canada stopped Riya Bhatia in three sets in the quarterfinals. Later, Dasha partnered with Jenny Duerst to beat Riya and Elena-Teodora Cadar in the doubles semifinals.
It was a hard day for Indian doubles, as two teams lost Challenger finals, and one lost the ITF men’s final, all in the super tie-break.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
T20 Mumbai League ticket sales begins online: MCA
Sale of tickets for T20 Mumbai – a franchise league that will witness some of Mumbai’s leading T20 stars in action – has begun online, the Mumbai Cricket Association announced on Saturday.
According to the statement, the tickets for the 23 matches – to be played at the Wankhede Stadium and Dr. D.Y. Patil Stadium from June 4 to 12 – have been priced at Rs. 100, Rs. 300 and Rs. 400 each. The tickets can be purchased through District by Zomato website or app.
T20 Mumbai will return after a six-year hiatus, with the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, and Prithvi Shaw set to lead various teams. The tournament will feature eight teams, with each team playing five league games before the semifinals and the final.
– Team Sportstar
Thailand Open: Sanju MS, Pawan Bartwal advance
Indian boxer Sanju MS (Second from right) after her first-round win at the Thailand Open in Bangkok on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
National Games bronze medallist Sanju MS and silver winner Pawan Bartwal won their respective bouts at the 4th Thailand Open International Boxing tournament in Bangkok on Saturday.
Sanju relied on her aggression to decimate her Japanese opponent Sarii Kokufu 5:0 and reach the quarterfinals of the women’s 60kg weight category while Army man and national silver medallist Bartwal mixed his aggressive intent with quality defence to get the better of local challenger Thanarat Saengphet 4:1 in the opening round of the men’s 55 kg bout.
India has fielded a 19-member contingent for the tournament, held under the aegis of World Boxing, and which has boxers from powerhouses like China, Kazakhastan, Uzbekistan, South Korea and host Thailand.
Sanju, who has made a shift to traditional boxing after winning laurels in kick-boxing, went all guns blazing from the first round itself against Kokufu.
The 25-year-old Indian landed a flurry of punches on the Japanese’s face in the second minute of the first round and the referee had to call for time out.
The Japanese was then given a countdown at the end of the second round and Sanju just had to maintain her upper hand in the third to advance to the next round.
In the first bout of the day, Bartwal began cautiously in the opening round and his slightly passive approach meant that despite landing a few blows, Saengphet looked ahead after the first round.
But the Indian changed gears in the second round, landing a flurry of his one-two combination punches to unsettle his opponent and gain the upper hand.
Both the boxers came out swinging at the start of the third and final round but Bartwal soon took control by counter-attacking every time the Thai dropped his guard to win a 4:1 verdict.
In the day’s other matches, Nikhil (60kg), Amit Kumar (65kg) and Hemant Yadav (70kg) were knocked out in the opening round.
– Team Sportstar
CUSAT chess: Winning start for GM Mikulas
Slovakia’s Manik Mikulas, the first Grandmaster to play in the CUSAT all-India FIDE-rated chess tournament, opened his campaign with a win over Kerala’s Abid Naazim Abdulla at the CUSAT campus in Kochi on Saturday.
Later, in the evening, the top-seeded Mikulas prevailed over Puducherry’s Aravind Dhavantri in the second round. 
– Stan Rayan
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Diksha Dagar /
Tvesa Malik /
Avani Prashanth /
Shubhankar Sharma /
Veer Ahlawat /
Rajasthan United FC
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