Men’s draw wears open look

Bengaluru: The biggest names in Indian tenpin bowling have descended on the country’s mecca of tenpin bowling for the ARC 32nd National Tenpin Bowling Championships that gets under way at the Amoeba Bowling Centre here on Monday. In all, 118 men, including seven former champions, and 35 women will battle it out for top honours in the six-day extravaganza that carries a total purse of Rs 9 lakh.Unlike in the past, the men’s draw wears an open look, while Tamil Nadu’s Sabeena Athica, winner of a whopping 12 titles, will start as the favourite in the women’s section. Sumathi Nallabantu and Anukriti Bishnoi are the other former champions in the field.Telangana’s Naveen Siddam, the surprise package last year in the men’s section, will look to prove that his triumph last year was not a flash in the pan. However, the 29-year-old spin bowler hasn’t set the lanes on fire in recent times.Although he is as focused as he was last year, Siddam revealed that he was going to take it one game at a time and was not looking too far ahead.Local hope Akaash Ashok Kumar, who was denied a hat-trick by Siddam last year, will look to set the record straight. With other commitments eating into his practice time, the 36-year-old two-time champion has struggled for consistency this season. Having settled into some sort of rhythm in the last two-three weeks, Akaash will look to go all the way.So too will Dhruv Sarda, the four-time champion from Delhi. Like Akaash, Dhruv’s training time has reduced considerably, but the 35-year-old said he felt his game was beginning to look up and has set his sights on reclaiming the title he last won in 2017.Tamil Nadu’s three-timechampion Shabbir Dhankot, SA Hameed from Delhi, two-handed hook bowler R Kishan and his fellow Karnataka spin bowlers, Parvez Ahmed and Girish Gaba, too will be watched with interest.

16-year-old net bowler Sameer Khan earns praise from Aussies

Sameer Khan, a 16-year-old student from Kapurthala, impressed during Australia's net session ahead of their opening ODI against India. Standing at just five feet tall, Sameer troubled the 6'4" tall Marcus Stoinis with his slow left-arm orthodox spin. Sameer has been included in Punjab's U-19 probables' list and has been given the opportunity to bowl at Australian batters. He has also played in the Punjab T20 League and received compliments from the Australian players.

Two assault 39-year-old at womens hostel, booked

A 39-year-old woman in Gurgaon has filed a complaint alleging physical assault by two other occupants at a women's hostel. The complainant, Sonu Singh, stated that she had been verbally abused and physically assaulted by the duo for the past year. Singh has submitted CCTV footage and other evidence to the police. An FIR has been registered, and Singh also mentioned that she had previously complained to the Red Cross Society but no action was taken. The accused are employed at the Red Cross Society.