Indian sports wrap, November 11: Anahat Singh begins Chin...

SQUASH

China Open: Anahat makes winning start; Abhay, Senthilkumar bow out

Reigning women’s National champion Anahat Singh made a winning start at the China Open in Shanghai on Tuesday, while compatriots Velavan Senthilkumar and Abhay Singh lost in the men’s opening round.

The 17-year-old Anahat, ranked 38 in the world, beat Egypt’s Menna Hamed 11-6, 11-8, 11-3 in the Round of 32 of the PSA Gold event, and will next meet Egyptian eighth seed and world No. 15 Sana Ibrahim.

Abhay lost to Baptiste Masotti, the French world No. 17, winning 11-8, 11-7, 11-4, while Senthilkumar went down to higher-ranked Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar 8-11, 12-14, 6-11.

-Team Sportstar

MOTORSPORT

Indian racing prodigy Atiqa Mir stormed to a historic pole position before finishing third on the podium in the opening round of the Formula 1 Academy-backed COTFA UAE karting series in Abu Dhabi.

The 10-year-old is the first Indian to be supported by Formula 1. Already part of the Champions of the Future Academy (COTFA) international series, Atiqa, last month, was picked by Formula 1 Academy for the two-round COTFA UAE championship.

With more eyeballs on this championship, there was additional pressure to deliver and Atiqa did not disappoint.

She clinched the pole position, becoming the first-ever female in the world to achieve this feat in the COTFA mini class before adding a heat win to a successful weekend.

She capped off a memorable week by finishing third in the final.

Atiqa was coming into the weekend after a stellar October when she secured multiple podiums across championships including a race win at the RMC Championship.

“It was a great weekend for me speed-wise, I got pole in qualifying. I wanted the win in the final but came away with 3rd, I will learn from this weekend and try and improve,” said the fast learning racer from Jammu and Kashmir.

The COTFA series is run on equal equipment and engines to ensure a level playing field for all drivers, empowering the real talent to shine through.

-PTI

BADMINTON

Teen shuttler Naishaa loses in Kumamoto Masters Japan qualifiers

Teenage Indian shuttler Naishaa Kaur Bhatoye failed to qualify for the main draw of the Kumamoto Masters Japan after suffering a straight-game loss to New Zealand’s Shaunna LI in the qualifiers on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old Indian went down 17-21, 18-21 to her higher-ranked opponent in 32 minutes in the women’s singles qualification round of the Super 500 tournament.

India will thus have no representation in the women’s singles event, while Lakshya Sen and HS Prannoy will begin their men’s singles campaign in the USD 475,000 event on Wednesday.

-PTI

FOOTBALL

Indian midfielder Rivka Ramji joins Singapore’s Lion City Sailors

Indian midfielder Rivka Ramji has signed with Singapore top-tier side Lion City Sailors, the club announced on Tuesday.

The teenager was part of the India Under-19 team that won the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-19 Women’s Championship last February, and featured in the Indian Women’s League with Sethu FC in the 2024-25 season.

Rivka is one of four foreign signings made by the Sailors, as they prepare for their maiden AFC Women’s Champions League (AWCL) group stage campaign in Vietnam.

The three-time Women’s Premier League champion (Singapore) will face Australia’s Melbourne City on November 13, before taking on host Ho Chi Minh City Women’s FC on November 16 and Philippines’ Stallion Laguna on November 19.

-Team Sportstar

GOLF

Vani Kapoor eyes sixth win of the season

Vani Kapoor will strive to complete a six title haul when she tees up at the 15th Leg of the Women’s Pro Golf Tour this week at the Jaypee Greens Wishtown Golf Course.

A five-time winner this season, Vani is well ahead of the field in the Order of Merit, and she is also seeking back-to-back wins at the Rs. 17 lakh event.

Vani, with earnings of Rs. 18,86,167, has a big lead over her friend and closest rival, Amandeep Drall (Rs. 15,08,467). While Vani has five wins in 11 starts this season, Amandeep has two wins in 13 starts.

Vani has divided her time between the Ladies European Tour and the Women’s Pro Golf Tour this season as she has been trying to find her form on the international scene this year.

She did have a top-10 at the Women’s Indian Open in October, but is now looking at the 2026 season.

Jasmine Shekar, who has played all 14 events on the schedule so far this season, has earnings of Rs. 13,43,000 and has won once this year. She is lying third on the Order of Merit, while Sneha, one of the three multiple winners in 2025, is fourth with Rs. 12,81,900.

Apart from Vani, Amandeep and Sneha, the other leading contenders will include Ridhima Dilawari, Heena Kang, Khushi Khanijau, Neha Tripathi, Vidhatri Urs and Lavanya Jadon.

The event has 36 players including three amateurs, Saanvi Somu, Mahreen Bhatia and Shambhavi Chaturvedi.

-PTI

Shubhankar lies tied 6th in DP World Tour Qualifying School

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma was placed tied sixth after the fourth round of the DP World Tour Final Stage Qualifying School at Infinitum’s Lakes and Hills courses.

With rounds of 70-69-66-67, he was 14-under but eight shots behind the leader, Zander Lombard. There are two more rounds left in the six-round final stage of the Q-School.

Sharma, who has had a difficult 2025 season on the DP World Tour this year, has previously been ranked as high as 64th on OWGR. This year he missed 17 consecutive cuts after the Hero Indian Open held in March.

The season saw him lose his tour card and return to the Q School in a bid to retain playing privileges.

The 29-year-old, who has previously won two titles on the DP World Tour, stated during the DP World India Championships that he has struggled with equipment changes throughout the year and was yet to find a combination that worked for him.

Things have looked better this week, though 36 holes remain to be played.

-PTI

Manu posts 66 for clubhouse lead on day one of Trident Open

Manu Gandas produced a six-under 66 to take the lead on the opening day of the inaugural Rs. 1 crore Trident Open at the Chandigarh Golf Club.

The seasoned Shamim Khan, the winner of PGTI’s last event Shaurya Bhattacharya, and Bangladesh’s Md. Somrat Sikdar were all tied for second place at four-under 68.

The first round could not be completed on Tuesday as play was suspended due to fading light at 5:30 p.m. local time. Twelve players out of a total of 126 were not able to finish their first round.

Akshay Sharma was the highest-placed among the Chandigarh-based players as he returned a 69 to be tied fifth in the clubhouse.

PGTI Ranking leader Yuvraj Sandhu and Angad Cheema, two of the top names in the field who are also playing at their home course, carded scores of 72.

Gandas, the 2022 PGTI Order of Merit champion, won his last title in early 2024. However, he has shown signs of getting back to winning ways with a number of good results in recent times.

The Gurugram-based golfer, currently 14th in the PGTI’s merit list, has posted six top-10s, including two runner-up finishes in his last seven starts on the PGTI.

-PTI

ATHLETICS

Inaugural edition of National Indoor Athletics Championships to be held in Bhubaneswar in January

The inaugural edition of the National Indoor Athletics Championships will be held in Bhubaneswar in January.

The state-of-the-art facility at Kalinga Stadium Complex in the Odisha capital will host the event, though the exact date is yet to be decided.

“The National Indoor Championships was on cards and we have incorporated it in the 2026 domestic calendar,” Athletics Federation of India (AFI) President Bahadur Singh Sagoo said.

The addition of the National Indoor Championships, for the first time in the athletics calendar, is in line with the AFI bidding for the 2028 Asian Indoor Championships.

According to Sagoo, apart from the National Indoor Championships, the AFI also plans to conduct separate indoor competition in pole vault (men and women) and heptathlon.

Events for the indoor heptathlon for men, to be held over two days, will be 60m, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m.

The first four events will be held on the first day, while the remaining three events will be held on day two of the competition.

-PTI