Lucknow, Gorakhpur to vie for state handball trophy

Lucknow: Host Lucknow secured a place in the final with a thrilling win over Varanasi in the semi-final of the Senior State-Level Invitation Men's Handball Championship at KD Singh ‘Babu' Stadium on Tuesday. Lucknow will now face Gorakhpur in the title clash. Lucknow defeated Varanasi 26-25 in the first semi-final, played at Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Multipurpose Hall, with Ankit leading the way for the hosts with seven goals. Anurag scored five goals, while Shubham, David, and Pravesh netted four goals each. For Varanasi, Ajay Yadav, Anish Yadav, and Ayush Kumar scored seven, six, and four goals, respectively. In the second semi-final, Gorakhpur defeated Mau 22-21. Manvendra scored a match-high seven goals in Gorakhpur's victory. He was well supported by Manish (6), Pawan (5), and Dheeraj (3). Kapil wins bronze Paralympian Kapil Parmar won the bronze medal in the IBSA Judo World Cup underway at Tbilisi in Georgia. Kapil defeated opponents from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Brazil to clinch the medal.