Bhullar hangs in with 73, Shubhankar falters

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar carded a modest 1-over 73 in tough conditions while his compatriot Shubhankar Sharma faltered with a disastrous 5-over on the back nine to be placed tied-45th and 101st, respectively, after the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic golf here today.

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Sharma is in danger of missing the cut, which looks likely to fall at 2-over as only 29 players went under par. That was the lowest number with under-par scores in the first round of the tournament in 30 years since 1990.

With thick rough, firm fairways and doglegs in swirling winds, the players struggled even as 10th tee starter Belgian Thomas Pieters led with a 5-under 67. Pieters overcame a 3-shot hit on the first and second, right after the turn. He was chased by American David Lipsky (68).

Shaun Norris at 6-under through 12 had five more pars, but a triple-bogey finish on the ninth saw him finish at 69 in a bunch of 12.

Sharma picked up a birdie on the second but gave it back on the eighth. On the back nine as the winds became stronger, he dropped shots on 10th, 12th, 15th and 17th and had a double-bogey on the par-4 14th. The birdie on the par-5 18th was a small consolation.

Bhullar started on the 10th and picked up a birdie on the 11th, only to give it away on the 16th. He missed a birdie putt from inside eight feet on the 18th but hung in there with pars right till the last hole. There Bhullar pulled his tee shot into thick rough and ended with a bogey.

“It was tough with the thick rough, narrow fairways and the wind. Something or the other was waiting to get you, so pars were welcome. I had a couple of chances but that last bogey was disappointing after holding out for so long,” said Bhullar.

Pieters turned in a flawless 67 after starting from the 10th. He was set to blaze the Emirates Golf Course before a double on the first and a bogey on the second set him back. He fought back with three birdies from fifth to seventh for 67.

Norris, with a win, four second places and five other top-10 finishes in his last 15 events worldwide, looked like the man to catch before a trip to the water on his closing hole, the ninth, brought him grief with a triple.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau shot a 2-under 70 but last week’s winner Lee Westwood ballooned to 78. Tommy Fleetwood carded 75 and Shane Lowry was even par.

Major champions Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington and Louis Oosthuizen carded 71 each, while Henrik Stenson, who said he had played in this course more often than any other in his life, shot a 72. — PTI

Paddlers one win away from securing Tokyo Olympics berths

Gondomar (Portugal), January 23

India’s men and women table tennis players are just one win away from securing their maiden qualification for the Olympics following their contrasting victories against Luxembourg and Sweden, respectively, in the Team qualifiers.

G Sathiyan took some time in adjusting to the pimpled rubber on the bat of Luka Mladenovic, but other than that, it was a straightforward tie for the fifth-seeded Indian men. They will play 11th seeds Slovenia in the all-important Round of 16 clash tomorrow. A quarterfinal finish will guarantees them qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. India has never qualified as a team in the Olympics history, limiting its participation to the individual events.

Sharath Kamal and Harmeet Desai got India off to a winning start, beating Gilles Michely and Eric Glod 11-9 16-14 116 in the opening doubles.

In the subsequent singles, Sathiyan lost the first two games against Mladenovic before fighting back to prevail 8-11 9-11 11-3 13-11 11-6. Sharath conceded a game to Glod but eventually won 11-3 11-3 12-14 11-5 to complete a 3-0 victory.

The seedings suggest that India are a much better side than Slovenia but Sharath said it will be a 50-50 contest. “They have a pretty balanced team,” he said, referring to the presence of world No. 40 Darko Jorgic and No. 62 ranked Bojan Tokic in the Slovenian camp. Slovenia beat Iran 3-1 in their Round of 32 match. — PTI

The Indian women too are one win away from creating history. The 17th seeds pipped 11th seeds Sweden 3-2 after Archana Kamath saved a match point to beat Linda Bergstrom in the fifth and deciding rubber. She won 11-8 8-11 9-11 11-7 13-11. Manika Batra won both her singles matches, beating Bergstrom and Christina Kallberg 3-1 and 3-2, respectively.

Sonia Lather in semis, Nikhat bows out

Strandja Memorial

New Delhi, Jan 23

Sonia Lather (57kg) entered the semifinals to be assured of a medal but defending champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) bowed out of the Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia.

Lather clinched a 3-2 win over Ireland’s Michaela Walsh in a hard-fought contest. However, Nikhat was beaten by a similar margin in her last-8 stage clash against American Christina Cruz. Nikhat had claimed gold at the previous edition of the event.

Among the men, Shiva Thapa (63kg), Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg) will compete in the quarterfinals.

India offers to host Olympic qualifiers after Wuhan cancellation

New Delhi: The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has offered to host next month’s Olympics qualifying tournament, which has been cancelled in the Chinese city of Wuhan following the outbreak of Coronavirus. The qualifiers are scheduled from February 3 to 15 but the schedule has now become uncertain following the health crisis in Wuhan, which has so far claimed 17 lives and infected over 550 people. “…due to any reason, if the event is to be shifted to a different country, BFI would be willing to host this Asian and Oceania Qualification Event 2020,” BFI president Ajay Singh stated in a letter to the chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s Task Force (Boxing), Morinari Watanabe. — PTI