Indian sports wrap, August 23: Kajal becomes U-20 Wrestling World Champion; Double gold for in youth archery

WRESTLING

Kajal crowner under-20 World Champion in 72 kg category

Showing superb consistency through age groups, Kajal, a World under-17 champion in 69kg last year and a silver medallist in 73kg last month, defeated China’s Yuqi Liu 8-6 in a hard-fought summit clash to emerge as the 72kg champion at the World under-20 wrestling championships in Samokov, Bulgaria.

Hailing from a wrestling family of Lath village in Sonipat district of Haryana, 17-year-old Kajal – who took to wrestling after getting inspired by her uncle and former international wrestler Krishan Donchak – relied on her strong defence to thwart a late fightback from Yuqi in the last minute to add another gold to her Asian under-20 crown in 76kg in July.

Switching weights between 76kg and 72kg, Kajal has bagged two gold and two silver medals in Asian and World-level competitions within two months.

Shruti (50kg) and Saarika (53kg) claimed bronze medals as the Indian women’s team finished second, with two gold, three silver and two bronze, behind Japan, which won five gold and two bronze.

-Team Sportstar

Greco Roman wrestlers’ poor run continues at U20 Worlds

India’s Greco-Roman wrestlers continued to disappoint at the U20 World Championships as four more bowed out in the early stages of the competition, here Saturday.

The only chance for India to add another medal to their tally is through Anil Mor, who will fight for bronze against Japan’s Daisuke Morishita later in the day.

The only Greco-Roman wrestler to win a medal at the tournament so far is Suraj, who pocketed a bronze in the 60kg weight class.

– PTI

ARCHERY

India U-18, U-21 win clinch gold at World Youth Archery Championships

Indian compound men’s under-21 and under-18 teams have claimed gold medals at the World Youth Archery Championships in Winnipeg, Canada.

Five Indians, Sharvari Shende (recurve under-18 women), Taniparthi Chikitha (compound under-21 women), Yogesh Joshi (compound under-18 men), Prithika Pradeep and Surya Hamsini Madala (compound under-18 women), entered the semifinals of individual events to keep their medal hopes alive.

– Team Sportstar

HOCKEY

Hockey Haryana clinches junior Men’s National title

Hockey Haryana emerged as champion of the 15th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2025 after defeating Hockey Association of Odisha 3-2 in Jalandhar, Punjab.

Hockey Punjab won its 3rd-4th Place match against Uttar Pradesh Hockey 4-3 via a shootout after a 3-3 draw, clinching the bronze medal. 

Odisha enjoyed a 2-goal lead after the third quarter but Haryana turned the game on its head in the final quarter to win 3-2.
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

In the second quarter of the final, Odisha showcased brilliant skill by converting two successive penalty corners courtesy of Deepak Pradhan (17’) and Pratap Toppo (19’) to take a comfortable lead in the final. The scores remained the same in the third quarter, but Haryana turned the game on its head in the final quarter of the match.

Chirag (50’) scored his side’s first goal through a penalty corner, and in the very next minute, his teammate Nitin (51’, 60’) scored a field goal to level the game.

In the final minute of the match, Nitin skillfully dribbled past two defenders and fired a shot from distance to score the winning goal for Hockey Haryana and claim the championship. 

– Team Sportstar

FOOTBALL

Reliance Foundation’s Naupang League Season 4 begins

The Reliance Foundation Young Champs (RFYC), in collaboration with the Mizoram Football Association, today launched the fourth season of RFYC Naupang League. 

Spanning nine months, this season is projected to feature over 2,600 matches across the four districts of Aizawl, Champhai, Kolasib, and Lunglei. 

Speaking on the launch of the new season, Mumbai City FC & Indian national football team’s Mizo star Lallianzuala Chhangte said, “Mizoram’s love for football runs deep – it’s part of our identity. From streets to schools, passion, discipline, and community support push young players forward.

“A consistent, well-structured league like RFYC Naupang League gives kids a platform to grow in a competitive yet safe environment, helping them develop confidence, discipline, and a lifelong love for football. I’m happy the RFYC Naupang League is giving them this opportunity!”

– Team Sportstar

GOLF

Aditi makes cut, lies 21st on LPGA

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok added two-under 69 to her first round of 71 to ensure the halfway cut at the CPKC Women’s Open on the LPGA Tour in Mississauga, Canada.

At 2-under for two rounds, she is tied-21st and trails the leader, Akie Iwai (64-69) by seven shots.

Indian-American Gurleen Kaur, who was runner-up a week ago also, made the cut with 74-68 and was T-45 but Savannah Grewal (75-73) missed the cut.

Aditi dropped two early bogeys on the second and fourth and then picked up five birdies on fifth, ninth, 12th, 15th and the 17th before dropping a shot on the 18th for a 69.

-PTI

Talwar fires 2-under 69, tied 11th at Dutch Futures

Saptak Talwar holed two late birdies in the last six holes to ensure a solid 2-under 69 in the second round of Dutch Futures in Spijk, Netherlands.

Going along with his first round 70, he is now 3-under for two rounds and placed Tied-11th, up 14 places on the leaderboard from the first round.

This gives him a chance to play for his first top-10 finish of the season. Talwar began from the tenth and shot three birdies and one bogey in the second round.

He birdied the 15th, fourth and he sixth and dropped his only bogey on the second.

-PTI

Indian-American Bhatia is tied-seventh at Tour Championship

Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia rode a five-hole stretch with four birdies in the middle of the round and added 3-under 67 to his first round 66 to get to 7-under to be placed tied-seventh at the Tour Championship in Atlanta, USA.

Bhatia parred seven holes and then birdied the seventh with an eight-foot putt. He holed a 22-footer on the 11th and then two 13-footer for birdies on the 12th and the 13th to get to 4-under.

Back-to-back bogeys on the 13th and the 14th set him back but he closed the day with two good shots to 28 feet and two-putted for a birdie on the par-5 18th.

-PTI

Avani, Sneha make decent starts in Sweden

Avani Prashanth produced a birdie-birdie effort to shoot one-over 72 and was tied-21st after the first day at the Hills Open in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Sneha Singh (72) was also tied 21st as the two golfers were the best among the seven Indians who teed off in windy and testing conditions.

Among the other Indians, Hitaashee Bakshi, playing in the same group as Sneha, shot 74 and was tied-48, while Pranavi Urs (76) was tied-71st.

Amandeep Drall (77) at T-86, Tvesa Malik (79) at T-107 and Vani Kapoor (82) at T-123 were way behind.

Avani had a rough start with three bogeys against one birdie in the first six holes.

She rallied well with a string of eight pars. Another bogey on the 15th made it 3-over for her, but she birdied the last two holes for a respectable 72 in tough conditions.

Sneha had four birdies against five bogeys in her 72.

-PTI

Published on Aug 23, 2025