Briefly: Sonam guides India to win over Pak in U19 Asia Cup
Riding on a brilliant four-wicket haul by 17-year-old spinner Sonam Yadav and entertaining batting by G Kamilini, India thrashed Pakistan by nine wickets in a Group A match of the U19 Women’s T20 Asia Cup. Left-arm spinner Sonam delivered her best international bowling figures of 4/6, helping India restrict the arch-rivals to just 67/7 in 20 overs. The total was then overhauled in 7.5 overs, with Kamilini playing a stroke-filled, unbeaten knock of 44 runs off just 29 deliveries.
Kolkata
Mumbai City FC edge past 10-man Mohammedan
Title-winners Mumbai City FC had to dig deep to secure a narrow 1-0 victory over 10-man Mohammedan SC in the Indian Super League. Despite playing with a numerical advantage for nearly an hour after Mohammed Irshad’s red card in the 35th minute, the Islanders struggled to break through until Vikram Partap Singh’s 49th-minute strike sealed the hard-fought win.
Pune
Jaipur knock out Thalaivas, keep Panchkula playoffs hopes alive
Jaipur Pink Panthers produced an impressive all-round display to eliminate Tamil Thalaivas from the playoffs race with a 34-27 win in the Pro Kabaddi League. In the other match, UP Yoddhas beat U Mumba 30-27.
Cuttack
Rithvik wins first Super 100 title, Tanvi misses out
India’s Rithvik Kumar capped off an impressive week by claiming his maiden BWF Super 100 title after defeating compatriot Tharun Mannepalli in the men’s singles final at the Odisha Masters. The 21-year-old triumphed 21-18 21-16. In the women’s singles final, 15-year-old Tanvi Sharma lost 14-21 16-21 to Chinese qualifier Cai Yan Yan in just 35 minutes.
New Delhi
India to host World Athletics Tour event next year
India will host its maiden World Athletics Continental Tour event — a bronze level global meet — in Bhubaneswar on August 10 next year, the national federation said. The announcement was made by the Athletics Federation of India while releasing the competition calendar for 2025. The Continental Tour is an annual series of track and field competitions and forms the second tier of international one-day meetings after the prestigious Diamond League.
New Delhi
US, England confirmed for inaugural Kho Kho World Cup
The US, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil are among the teams that have confirmed their participation in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup, which India is hosting from January 13 to 19. As many as 24 countries have already confirmed their participation in the week-long event, which will be organised at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here and at the Noida Indoor Stadium.
Hamilton
New Zealand take charge as England wilt in heat
Kane Williamson scored a 38th half-century as New Zealand took charge on the second day of the third Test by dismissing England for 143 and making 136/3 at close of play for an overall lead of 340. England have already secured series honours after big wins in Christchurch and Wellington but were on the back foot from the very start of a hot day at Seddon Park as they tried to finish off New Zealand’s first innings.
