Indian sports wrap, September 15: Mumbai Cricket Association honours female Indian captains with special gesture

CRICKET

MCA honours female captains with special gesture as ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 trophy arrives in Mumbai

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) today unveiled a special wall at the MCA Sharad Pawar Indoor Cricket Academy and Recreation Centre in Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, featuring photos of Mumbai’s women captains to honour their significant contributions to the city’s and India’s cricketing legacy.

Inaugurated in the presence of MCA President Ajinkya Naik, members of the Apex Council, along with international and domestic women cricketers from Mumbai, this gesture not only recognises these trailblazers but also aims to inspire the next generation of women cricketers.

The unveiling coincided with the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 Trophy Tour with DP World in Mumbai as the MCA welcomed the trophy, celebrating Mumbai’s rich cricketing legacy and enduring passion for the sport.

Mumbai has always been at the forefront of Indian women’s cricket. When India competed in its first-ever Women’s World Cup in 1978, the team was led by Mumbaikar Diana Edulji. Continuing that proud tradition, Jemimah Rodrigues will represent India in the upcoming 13th edition of the tournament, with Sayali Satghare also named among the reserves.

Players and officials posed with the World Cup trophy, creating memorable moments that reflected the pride and excitement for the global event, which has returned to India after 12 years.

Speaking on the occasion, MCA President Ajinkya Naik said, “Mumbai has always been a cradle of talent for Indian women’s cricket, producing leaders and match-winners who have made a lasting impact on the game. From Diana Edulji ji leading India in the first World Cup to today’s stars like Jemimah Rodrigues, our players have carried the city’s legacy with pride. This special wall is a tribute to our women captains, whose contributions will continue to inspire generations. The arrival of the World Cup trophy in Mumbai makes this occasion even more special and strengthens our commitment to supporting women’s cricket at every level.”

-Team Sportstar

ATHLETICS

Hans Raj, Stanzin Chondol claim full marathon titles at 12th Ladakh Marathon

The Ladakh Marathon capped its record-breaking 12th on Sunday

In the Full Marathon, spanning 42 kilometres, Jammu & Kashmir’s Hans Raj crossed the line first in 2:47:41, while Ladakh’s Stanzin Chondol stormed to victory in the women’s field with a time of 3:13:00—a run that also placed her sixth overall among men and women.

Rita Satish Patkar delivered one of the standout performances of the weekend, becoming the rare runner to claim victories in both the Khardung La Challenge and the Full Marathon within just two days; the Bengalurean finished top in the veteran female category of both races. In the Half Marathon on Sunday, Tsetan Namgail took top honours in the men’s race with a time of 1:13:10, while Stanzin Dolkar led the women’s field, finishing in 1:30:14.

In the 11.2 km category, Skarma Idong Lanzes clinched the women’s open title with a time of 47 minutes and 30 seconds, while Sonam Stanzin took top honours in the men’s section, crossing the line in 42 minutes and 39 seconds. He finished just 10 seconds clear of runner-up Furboo Tundup, making it one of the closest contests of the edition.

In the veterans’ categories, Tsewang Dorjay topped the men’s field while Sarah Hanan-Bajwa claimed the women’s crown in the 11.2K Run. The Half Marathon titles went to Arvind Basaiawmoit in the men’s section and Shilpa Phadke in the women’s section. In the Full Marathon veterans, Shyamapada Das emerged victorious in the men’s category, complementing Patkar’s win in the women’s race.

Earlier on Friday, five-time Guinness World Record holder Sufiya Sufi and Ladakh Scouts’ Tsewang Kundan emerged as champions of the Silk Route Ultra, the centrepiece of the 12th Ladakh Marathon. Shabir Hussain and Namgyal Lhamo topped the men’s and women’s standings, respectively, in the gruelling Khardung La Challenge (72 km).

-Team Sportstar

TENNIS

Zeel Desai top seed at $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Baliawas

Zeel Desai will be the top seed in the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament to be played at the Tennis Project, Baliawas, from Tuesday.

Already two rounds of qualification has witnessed intense battles. Zeel will get an opponent from the bunch of qualifiers who will be dealing with their last round on the morrow.

The wild cards have been given to Laxmisiri Dandu, Sandeepti Singh Rao, Aarnavi Tomar Aura, and the player who returns to the circuit after a break, the power player Shruti Ahlawat.

While Shruti will await a qualifier, Aarnavi will challenge second seed Michika Ozeki of Japan. Sandeepti has drawn Maria Mikhailova while Laxmisiri will play Paavanii Paathak.

Elena Jamshidi, Paola Lopez, Vlada Mincheva and Carolann Delaunay are the other foreign players who have got the seeding. Akanksha Nitture and Soha Sadiq have been seeded third and eighth respectively.

With back to back tournaments over a fortnight at the venue, it will be a good opportunity for the players to focus on their game and garner invaluable WTA points.

-Kamesh Srinivasan

GOLF

Diksha stays in Top-20 of LET Order of Merit at Swiss Ladies Open

Golfer Diksha Dagar continues to be the top Indian on the Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit in the 19th place after the Swiss Ladies Open.

The two-time LET winner, who took a month-long break, skipping three events, is still well-placed in the Merit list with half a dozen events left on the schedule.

Diksha, who has five Top-10s this season, including a runner-up place, will play in France next two weeks before coming back home for the Indian Open, where she has finished in Top-3 in the past.

Next behind Diksha in the Order of Merit is rookie Avani Prashanth (43rd) and she also skipped Swiss Ladies Open and will play the La Sella Open in France and the Lacoste Ladies Open de France and the Indian Open.

Other Indians on the Merit list are Pranavi Urs (86th), Hitaashee Bakshi (107th), Vani Kapoor (109th), Aditi Ashok (128th), Tvesa Malik (145th), Ridhima Dilawari (149th), Sneha Singh (168th) and Amandeep Drall (178th).

The remaining events on the LET are La Sella Open, Lacoste Ladies Open de France, Hero Women’s Indian Open, Wistron Ladies Open, Aramco China Championship and Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open de Espana.

-PTI

Bhatia produces 6-under 66, rises to Tied-11th at the finish in Procore

Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia produced a brilliant front nine with six birdies for a card of 6-under 66 to end within touching distance of a Top-10 finish at the Procore Championship.

Bhatia, who was T-30 after three rounds, finished T-11 in the first event of the Fall season after the Fedex Cup play-offs.

Fellow Indian-American Sahith Theegala, still trying to find his rhythm back, shot 3-under 69 after 68-70-75 on the first three days. At 11-under total he finished T-38th, his best since T-29 at the Masters, following which he withdrew once and missed the cut four times.

Scottie Scheffler, who decided to play Procore to tune up for the Ryder Cup, produced another super finish of a 5-under 67 for a one-shot victory over Ben Griffin.

Bhatia went on a birdie spree on the front nine with six in the first nine holes.

On the back nine, he birdied the 10th. Birdies on the first, second and the fifth were followed by four in a row from the seventh to the 10th at which point he was 7-under. He dropped his only shot of the day on the 14th.

-PTI

Rayhan Thomas secures Top-20 Finish at Simmons Bank Open

Indian golfer Rayhan Thomas made good progress on the Korn Ferry Tour with a tied 20th finish at the Simmons Bank Open, part of the Korn Ferry Finals, at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.

The Dubai-raised 24-year-old golfer delivered a week of consistent golf to close at 11-under par, ensuring a good pay cheque of just over USD 17,000 and valuable points in his pursuit of a PGA Tour card. He shot 65, 66, 71 and 68 for the week.

He had a roller-coaster of a final round with a birdie start and an eagle on the 17th and three other birdies. He also gave away four bogeys as he carded two-under 68.

With three more events, including the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, he can retain his Korn Ferry card or even go on to make the elite ranks of the PGA Tour.

Zach Bauchou produced a composed display to win the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation. The American closed with a 23-under total of 257, finishing two strokes clear of Austin Hitt.

-PTI

Top Indian golfers to feature in Chennai Open

Top Indian golfers, including Olympian Udayan Mane, will be vying for honours when the INR 1 crore Chennai Open tees off at the Cosmo TNGF Golf Course in Chennai on Tuesday.

The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) event returns for its fourth edition after a three-year gap and will feature leading names such as Arjun Prasad, Kshitij Naveed Kaul, Shaurya Bhattacharya, defending champion Manu Gandas, and Om Prakash Chouhan.

The foreign challenge will be spearheaded by Sri Lankans N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Bangladesh’s Jamal Hossain and Badal Hossain, Italian Federico Zucchetti, Nepal’s Subash Tamang, Uganda’s Joshua Seale, and American amateur Vikram Chatterjee.

The local hopes rest on Chennai-based professionals S John Royan, L Gopi, and S Prasanth.

“Chennai has emerged as an important stop on the PGTI in recent years… the breathtaking performances so far this season have set the bar high and we can now look forward to another enthralling contest this week,” PGTI CEO Amandeep Johl said in a release.

Meanwhile, the Pro-Am event played on Sunday was won by the team led by Karan Pratap Singh, which returned a nett score of 55. The team comprised amateurs Murali Vijay, Aarav Mammen, and Ashwath Achanta.

-PTI

MORE SPORTS

TN Bhavani wins historic FIS medal

TN Bhavani won a bronze medal in the 5km distance discipline at the FIS cross-country skiing competition in Chile, with a time of 21:04. The Reliance Foundation athlete’s win is the first-ever international FIS medal for India in the women’s category in cross-country skiing, making the achievement particularly significant.

– Team Sportstar

Chinkara Cup polo tournament: Jaipur Polo beats Kognivera Stallions 8-7

Lance Watson asserted his fluent play, scoring six goals spread over all four chukkers, to help Jaipur Polo to a thrilling 8-7 victory over Kognivera Stallions in the final of the Chinkara Cup polo tournament on Sunday.

Bautista Aliberdi was the best performer for Kognivera with five goals.

The Jaipur team had won three matches on the way to the final, with a comfortable margin.

– Team Sportstar

-Kamesh Srinivasan

HOCKEY

Punjab Hockey League: Roundglass beats Namdhari in second phase

Table topper Roundglass Academy continued from where it had left as it beat Namdhari Academy 2-1 in the second phase of the Punjab hockey league at the Surjit Singh Stadium on Monday.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) team from Sonipat also recorded a 4-2 victory over Naval Tata Academy, to stay close to the leader in the eight-team competition.

– Team Sportstar

WRESTLING

Sujeet and Vicky qualify for repechage round

Freestyle wrestlers Sujeet Kalkal (65kg) and Vicky (97kg) got a second lease of life as they made it to their respective repechage contests and stayed alive for podium finishes at the World Wrestling Championships in Zagreb on Monday.

Sujeet got past Turkey’s Cavit Acar 15-5 and North Korea’s Kwang Kim 9-2 but suffered a narrow 5-6 defeat in a hard-fought quarterfinal bout to Olympics silver medallist and former World champion Rahman Amouzadkhalili. When the Iranian reached the title clash, the Indian got another shot at the medal.

Vicky rode his luck to enter the repechage. In his first bout, Vicky was trailing 9-11 when his Azerbaijani opponent Magomedkhan Magomedov, an Olympics bronze medallist, gave up in the last minute due to an injury. The Indian then beat Aliaksandr Hushtyn 11-1 in the pre-quarterfinals before losing to another Olympics bronze medal winner Amirali Azarpira of Iran 0-10 in the quarterfinals. As Amirali entered the final, Vicky got another chance.

Women wrestlers Nishu (55kg) and Sarika (59kg) saw the end of their campaign after losing to World Under-20 champion Sowaka Uchida of Japan and European champion Anastasiia Sidelnikova by 8-4 and 12-0 margins respectively in the round of 16.

-Team Sportstar

Published on Sep 15, 2025