Maharashtra: Paddlers Kushal, Sayali U-17 champs

PUNE: Kushal Chopda and Sayali Wani lifted the Under-17 boys’ and girls’ singles trophies in the Maharashtra State ranking table tennis tournamnet in Nagpur on Friday. Kushal overcame a fighting Swastik Athanikar 11-7, 11-9, 11-8, 9-11, 4-11, 11-6 while Sayali clinched a thrilling see-saw battle against Risha Mirchandani 11-8, 7-11, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9 in their respective finals.
Nilisha, Rutuja star in Warriors’ draw
Puneri Warriors played out an exciting 2-2 draw with Footie First in the Maharashtra State women’s football league at the Cooperage football ground.Warriors scored through Nilisha Sanket and Rutuja Gunwant while Preetha Nayak and Nahida Khatoon scored a goal each for Footie First.
Results: Footie First 2 (Preetha Nayak 16, Nahida Khatoon 65) Puneri Warriors 2 (Nilisha Sanket 37, Rutuja Gunwant 60); PIFA Sports (Colaba) FC 4 (Akanksha Kandalkar, Mamta Kumari, Dolly Kumari) beat Kenkre FC 0.
Kadam in final in Thailand
City-based World No. 4 Sukant Kadam reached the final in the men’s singles SL-4 at the Thailand Para Badminton International competition in Pattaya. Kadam defeated local favourite Siripong Teamarrom 21-10, 21-16 in the semifinal and will play southpaw Lucas Mazur of France for the title. Earlier, he had beaten Guillaume Gailly, another Frenchman, 21-18, 21-16 in the first round. Kadam is returning to action after a three-month break owing to professional commitments.
DG ‘A’ men enter final
Rajinder Singh notched up 21 points as Deccan Gymkhana ‘A’ men scored a domineering 65-59 win over BEG Senior to enter the final of the Akshay Bhosale senior basketball championship at Deccan Gymkhana on Thursday. tnn