Shekhar, Shruti bag All India Ranking Tennis titles

Patna, April 16, 2016: Shekhar Jaiswal of Maharashtra beat Rupesh Roy of West Bengal 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to win the men’s singles title of the 2^nd Vital All India Ranking Tennis Tournament at the Patliputra Tennis Centre court here on Saturday.

Shruti Gupta of West Bengal clinched the women’s singles crown defeating her state mate Adrija Biswas 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a grueling three setters.

Renu Sinha, member, State Consumer Forum, Government of Bihar and Amit Raj,  MD, Vital Industries distributed the prizes. Dr AB Prasad, secretary BLTA welcomed the guests. Kunal Aikat, chief coach BLTA proposed a vote of thanks.

Results: Men’s singles (final): Shekhar Jaiswal (MAH) bt Rupesh Roy (WB) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3

Men’s doubles (final): Rupesh Roy (WB) & Shekhar Jaiswal (MH) bt Anurag Mishra (UP) & Adarsh Anand (BR) 6-3, 6-4

Women’s singles (final): Shruti Gupta (WB) bt Adrija Biswas (WB) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Women’s doubles (final): Adrija Biswas (WB) & Shruti Gupta (WB) Aditi Shreya (BR) & Monika Kumar (WB) 6-2, 6-3

Rupesh meets Shekhar, Shruti faces Adrija in finals

 Adrija Biswas

Rupesh Roy

Patna, April 15, 2016: Rupesh Roy of West Bengal will take on Shekhar Jaiswal of Maharashtra in the men’s singles final of the 2^nd Vital All India Ranking Tennis Tournament at the Patliputra Tennis Centre courts here.

In the women’s final, Shruti Gupta (west Bengal) will face her state mate Adrija Biswas.

Results:

Men’s singles (semifinals): Rupesh Roy (WB) bt Abhinav Mahajan (PB) 6-3, 6-0; Shekhar Jaiswal (MAH) bt Hursh Pandole (MP) 6-4, 6-1.

Men’s doubles (semifinals): Anurag Mishra (UP) & Adarsh Anand (BR) bt Shaik Osama (AP) & Chiranjiv Sahu (CG) 6-4, 6-4; Rupesh Roy (WB) & Shekhar Jaiswal (MH) bt Harsh Pandole (MP ) & Abhinav Mahajan (PB) 7-5,  6-4.

Women’s singles (semifinals): Shruti Gupta (WB) bt Sofia Khan (BR) 6-2, 6-0; Adrija Biswas (WB) bt Aditi Shreya (BR) 7-5, 6-2.

Women’s doubles (quarterfinals): Megha Roy (WB) & Ishika Gupta (WB) bt Sofia Khan (BR) & Kirandeep Kotade (GJ) 6-2, 6-3; Naziya Ahmed (AS) & Aashi Kapoor (UP) bt Lavanya Hanshi (BR) & Tanmaya Khushi (BR)  6-2, 6-4; Aditi Shreya (BR) & Monika Kumar (WB) bt. Shweta Paswan (DL) & Priyam Kumari (BR) 6-4, 4-6, (10-6); Adrija Biswas (WB) & Shruti Gupta (WB) bt. Meenu Pandey (UP) & Sudeshna Sen (WB) 6-0, 6-2.

Women’s doubles (semifinals): Aditi Shreya (BR) & Monika Kumar (WB) bt Naziya Ahmed (AS) & Aashi Kapoor (UP) 6-2, 6-1; Megha Roy (WB) & Ishika Gupta (WB) Vs Adrija Biswas (WB) & Shruti Gupta (WB). This match is unfinished and the score was 6-3on favour of Adrija & Shruti. In the second set Megha & Ishika was up 1-0.

Motivated Sharath, Mouma too book Rio berths

 Achanta Sharath Kamal 

Sharath and Mouma Das

New Delhi, April 16: Brushing aside his four-year-old London disappointment and the third-place finish in the South Asia Zone qualifiers just a  couple of days ago, Achanta Sharath Kamal fought his way back well in the decisive final round contest in Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth Stadium to grab the second men’s slot today.

At the Asian Olympic Games Qualification tournament’s Stage 2 men’s singles event, the Indian defeated Iran’s Noshad Alamiyan 4-3 (12-14,11-6,3-11,7-11,11-4,11-7,11-6), much to his own relief and that of his teammates for whom he has been an iconic player.

Sharath, who made his first Olympic appearance at Athens in 2004, will be at the Riocentro in Barra da Tijuca, the table tennis venue, in August in the company of Soumyajit Ghosh, Manika Batra and Mouma Das, who also made her first Olympic appearance at Athens.

A maximum of two players per National Olympic Committee is allowed to compete in both the singles event at the Games. And, for the first time, India will be represented by a full four-member squad at Rio.

Testing contest

After spending a relaxed night following his tough win over Saudi adversary Ali Alkhadrawi, Sharath knew it was going to be a testing contest against the 25-year-old Alamiyan. His pre-match calculations proved right as Sharath was down 1-3 after the fourth game and all hopes of his third appearance at the Games seemed dissipated.

“When I was trailing 1-3, my mind was all about the next match that I will have to play if I lose this one. If I had lost, I would have to play against Jiang Tianyi (of China) and I’m not fit because of my back injury,” admitted Sharath.

It was then the 34-year-old Indian brought to the fore his grit and experience and putting them together went on a rampage. Unable to withstand Sarath’s combination drives—his backhand worked very well today—the Iranian wilted under pressure as the Indian went from strength to strength to win the next three games.

“My back is totally plastered and I’m in pain everywhere, I couldn’t afford to lose and play one more match,” said Sharath. “I seemed to have lost my motivation but in the fifth game I made a good start and the tide changed, I started to dominate the match.”

Talking on his first and fourth games, Sharath said: “In the first game, I was up 8-5 and lost 14-12. That put more pressure on me. In the fourth, I was 6-2 up and lost eight points in a row. Those games made a big difference and if I had won them, it would have been an easier match. But, of course, if it was easy it wouldn’t have been fun.”    

Incidentally, this was Sharath’s fifth win over Alamiyan and the Indian rated this as a huge one. “After all, this was Olympic qualification and this would be there at the top of all my wins against him,” said a completely drained out Sharath.

Never-say-die Mouma

Despite losing her final round in the morning to North Korean Ri Myong Sun in straight games of 3-11, 9-11, 10-12, 5-11, Mouma had her chance in the losers final. And, as expectd, the 32-year-old did not disappoint. She defeated Rimma Gufranova of Uzbekistan 4-1 (11-13, 11-9, 13-11, 11-7, 12-10) to book one of the two Games slots.

For Mouma, it will be her second Olympics as she had first competed in the singles event at Athens along with Sharath in 2004.

“Though I was a bit nervous, I knew I can beat my opponent. After the first game got extended, I was more determined. But she was really good and challenged me at every stage. The win in the third game was crucial and despite losing two match points in the fifth, I was sure I am close to clinching the berth,” said the five-time national champion and the most capped Asian in world championships.

President of the Table Tennis Federation, Prabhat C.Chaturvedi, in his congratulatory message to the paddlers wished them well for the Olympics. “We are really proud of your achievements. You have taken Indian table tennis to new heights. You proved it during the world championships at Bangkok in February and now again in Hong Kong. These are good sings, indeed,” said Chaturvedi in his message to the team members.  

TTFI Press release and photographs 

Sharath, Mouma one step away from Rio berths

New Delhi, April 15, 2016: Achanta Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das reached the final rounds in Stage 2 of the Asia Olympic Games Qualification tournament in Hong Kong today and enhanced their chances of making it to the Rio Games.

The Stage 2 of the Asia Qualifiers offers a total of 12 qualifiers each—five from region tournaments and seven from the main event.

With five regions throwing up five qualifiers in each section, which included Indians Soumyajit Ghosh and Manika Batra, the remaining players were divided into four groups in each category to compete among themselves—the winners of each group making the Olympics cut.

Drawn in group B and given a first-round bye, Achanta Sharath Kamal took on Ali Alkhadrawi of Saudi Arabia in the semifinals. The top-ranked Indian in the world made a short work of his Saudi opponent to beat him 4-3 (9-11, 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 11-6, 12-14, 11-9) to move into the last round where he will take on Noshad Alamiyan from Iran tomorrow. This match in group B will decide the seventh qualifier.

The Iranian, who scored a hard-fought first round win (4-3) over Libya’s Dauud Cheaib, defeated Indonesia’s Ficky Santoso 4-2 (11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-3) in the second round.

Though Sharath and Noshad have not met each other in recent times they have played against one another five times before between 2010 and 2014 with the Indian having a 4-1 win-loss record over the Iranian.

Tough for Mouma

Mouma, drawn in group A, had an easy passage into the final round where she will meet North Korean Ri Myong Sun tomorrow. The Indian had received byes in the first two rounds while Ri, who had a first-round bye, defeated Sewer Abuyaman of Jordan in straight games in round two. In a head-to-head match-up, the North Korean has an upper hand over the Indian, having beaten her once in the Asian Championships in 2011.

But Mouma need not despair because she will still get a chance in the Qualifiers 11-12 and Reserve spots of 1-2, which will be played on progressive knockout.   

TTFI Press release

Ghosh, Manika book Rio Olympic berths

 Ghosh and Manka with coach Bhawani Mukherjee

New Delhi, April 14, 2016: Soumyajit Ghosh and Manika Batra booked their Rio 2016 Olympic Games berths when they emerged winners of their respective groups last night in the Asia Olympic Games Qualification tournament in Hong Kong.

With no other countries from the region participating in the South Asian Zone qualification event, the competition was restricted to the Indian paddlers alone and the four players in each section had to play again one another to grab a spot each.

Ghosh, keeping a clean slate and having won against Sharath Kamal, Anthony Amalraj and Harmeet Desai, topped the group to go through while Manika and K. Shamini had two wins each. However, Manika edged out Shamini having beaten her in the group match.

It was a bit of a shock as Sharath managed just one victory—he beat Harmeet Desai 11-6, 11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5—but Ghosh (11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7) and Anthony Amalraj (7-11, 4-11, 11-9, 9-11, 18-16, 11-6, 11-7) won their respective matches against the ace Indian.

Impeded by injury and with lack of movements hampering him, Sharath was not at his best. On the other hand, Ghosh apart from winning against Sharth, he accounted for Harmeet (11-6, 11-9, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5) and Amalraj (11-8, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7).

Manika started very badly losing the opening contest to Pooja Sahasrabuddhe 7-11, 9-11, 12-10, 10-12, 11-5, 7-11, but recovered well to down Shamini (4-11, 11-9, 11-3, 15-13, 8-11, 11-9) and Mouma Das (11-5, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-6).

Shamini beat Mouma Das 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5 and then Pooja 11-9, 11-6, 11-2, 13-11. But what hurt her chances badly was the loss she suffered to Manika in the second group match.

Sharath still has a chance

Yet, all is not last for Sharath who will be competing in the main Asian qualifiers which begin after the conclusion of other Zone qualifiers. With other Zones throwing up winners, he would have a reasonable field to compete against in Hong Kong. But for Mouma, who too is participating, it will be difficult for her to make the Olympic cut.

But Sharath, whether or not he makes the grade in the Hong Kong event, the Indian should automatically qualify for the Games based on his Olympic rankings which the ITTF will release in the first week of May after all qualification tournaments end this month.   

Photo and release:TTFI

Bihar boys Rewant, Swapnil advance into second round

 Madhu Jaiswal

 Lavanya Hanshi

Patna, April 11, 2016: Rewant Raj and Swapnil Sinha (both Bihar) moved into the second round of the 2nd Vital All India Ranking Tennis Tournament at the Patliputra Tennis Centre courts here on Monday.

Rewant fought hard to dispatch Chiranjiv Sahu (Odisha) 6-4, 7-6 while Swapnil got the better of his state mate Kanishka Singh 6-1, 6-0.

In women’s singles first round, Bihar’s Madhu Jaiswal tamed other Bihar lass Arya Singh 6-0, 6-0 to advance into the second round.

Earlier, Amit Raj, MD, Vital Industries inaugurated the tournament. Dr Akhouri B Prasad, secretary Bihar Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) welcomed the guests and Kunal Aikat, BLTA chief coach proposed a vote of thanks.

 

Results (men’s singles first round): Rupesh Roy (Bengal) bt Pushkar Singh (Bihar) 6-0, 6-0; Utkarsh Tiwari (MP) bt Adveya Sharma (Bihar) 6-2, 6-2; Ashutosh Das (Odisha) bt Mohd Sahil Khan (Rajasthan) 7-5, 6-0; Osama Shaik (Aandhra Pradesh) bt Nishit Kishor (Bihar) 6-0, 6-0; Saneesh Mani Mishra (UP) bt Balmukund Bardhan (Bihar) 6-2, 6-0; Harsha Vardhan (Karnataka) bt Akshansh Kumar (Bengal) 6-3,7-6; Shekhar Jaiswal (Maharashtra) bt Shubham Raj (Bihar) 6-0, 6-2; Rewant Raj (Bihar) bt Chiranjiv Sahu (Odisha) 6-4,7-6; Anurag Mishra (UP) bt Dushyant Verama (MP) 6-2, 6-3; Hursh Pandole (MP) bt Govind Prasad Maurya (UP) 6-3, 6-2; Vishvendar Singh (Delhi) bt Sanoj Kumar (Bihar) 6-2, 6-3; Swapnil Sinha (Bihar) bt Kanishka Singh (Bihar) 6-1, 6-0.

Women’s singles (first round): Mariyam Khan (UP) bt Shweta Paswan (Delhi) 6-2, 6-1; Madhu Jaiswal (Bihar) bt Arya Singh (Bihar) 6-0, 6-0; Monika Kumar (Bengal) bt Lavanya Hanshi (Bihar) 6-3, 6-1.

Eight TT players leave for Olympic qualifiers

New Delhi, April 11, 2016: An eight-member team has left for Hong Kong to participate in the Asian Olympic Qualification event to be held between April 13 and 17, 2016.

The team is led by ace Indian paddler, Achanta Sharath Kamal, who is currently placed at No. 61. The other men’s team members are Soumyajit Ghosh, Anthony Amalraj and Harmeet Desai. The women’s squad consists of Manika Batra, Mouma Das, K. Shamini and Pooja Sahasrabuddhe.

Bhawani Mukherjee and Arup Basak will the two coaches accompanying the team for the five-day event.

The Indian team members, after the world championships appearance in Kuala Lumpur in February-March, had been participating in different leagues abroad and training specifically at their base. According to Coach Bhawani Mukherjee, all players are in match-fit condition and in better frame of mind.

As per Olympic qualification norms, only two men and two women per country can make the cut. All the eight players will be first competing in the South Asian region qualification, which is Stage 1 of the event. The South Asian region countries comprise Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and India. Since our supremacy is too well known in the region, India are assured of two Olympic berths (one man and one woman) from this event.

But for the other two berths (one man and one woman) the next opportunity for the rest the squad members comes from Stage 2 which is the Asian Qualifiers.

With 22 players getting direct entry based on individual’s singles Olympics rankings, Sharath Kamal stands a very good chance. However, with the ITTF making it mandatory from this year for all players to take part in qualification events, Sharath cannot take any chances and wait for the ITTF’s announcement which will come after the world rankings in May.

TTFI Press release

Three Bihar players qualify for the main draw

 Pushkar Singh 

Swapna Yadav 

Patna, April 10, 2016: Anurag Mishra,  Govind Prasad Mourya (both UP), Rewant Raj,  Pushkar Singh (both Bihar), Chiranjiv Sahu (Odisha), Adveya Sharma (Bihar), Mohd Sahil Khan (Rajasthan) and Utkarsh Tiwari (MP) qualified for the main draw of the 2^nd Vital All India Ranking Tennis Tournament at the Patliputra Tennis Centre courts here on Sunday.

In the women’s section, Swapna Yadav (UP) booked her berth in the main draw.

Results: Men’s singles (final qualifying round)

Anurag Mishra (UP) bt Akshansh Kuamr (WB) 6-2, 6-4; Govind Prasad Mourya (UP) bt Nishit Kishor (BR) 6-0, 6-1; Rewant Raj (BR) bt Akshat Kuamr (UP) 6-1, 6-2; Pushkar Singh (BR) bt Zeeshan Kaif (Jharkhand) 6-2, 7-6(2); Chiranjiv Sahu (Odisha) bt Kanishka Singh (BR) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(5); Adveya Sharma (BR) bt Kanhiya Kumar (Jharkhand) 6-2, 6-3; Mohd Sahil Khan (RJ) bt Sanoj Kumar (BR) 6-3, 6-4; Utkarsh Tiwari (MP) bt Shubham Raj (BR) 6-1, 6-0.

 Women’s singles (final qualifying round): Swapna Yadav (UP) bt Arya Singh (BR) 6-2, 6-2

Qualifying round matches of 2nd Vital All India Ranking Tennis Championships begin

Patna, April 9, 2016: Qualifying round matches of the 2^nd Vital All India Ranking Tennis Championships organized by The Bihar Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) began at the Patliputra Tennis Centre courts here on Saturday.

BLTA chief coach Kunal Aikat said a large number of players had confirmed their participation from all over India. Rupesh Roy, Anshuman Gulia, Chandra Shekhar Mohanty, Sunny Dahiya , Avilash Mishra, Anshumat Srivaistava  in the men’s section and Sanya Madan, Mahrukh Kokn, Sofia Khan and Aditi Shreya  in the women’s section were among the seeded  players who would fight it out for the crowns, he said.

The main draw matches would start from April 11, he added.  Amit Raj, MD, Vital Industry would inaugurate the championships at 11amon April 11, Kunal said.

Results (men qualifying round): Shubham Raj (BR) bt Harsh Pratap Yadav (BR) 8-3,

Rewant Raj (BR) bt Navdeep Kumar (BR) 8-0, Pushkar Singh (BR) bt Balmukund Bardhan (BR) 8-4, Kanishka Singh (BR) bt Shivam Khandelwal (BR) 8-5, Anurag Mishra (UP) bt Deepankar Suman (JH) 8-0 and Nishit Kishor (BR) bt Pratik Kumar (BR) 8-2.

Harendra Gupta steals the show at Pune Open with final-hole heroics; bags ninth title

Harendra Gupta receives the winning cheque from Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI (centre) and Mr. Rohan Seolekar, Director, Oxford Golf Resort, in Pune on April 8, 2016


Pune, April 8, 2016: Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta literally ‘pulled a rabbit out of the hat’ on the final day of the inaugural Pune Open as he conjured two late birdies to dash to the finish line ahead of Sri Lankan Anura Rohana and Delhi’s Rashid Khan. Gupta, who shot a final round of five-under-67, ended the tournament with a total of 15-under-273 to bag his ninth professional title.

Rohana, who came up with the day’s best effort of eight-under-64, had to settle for tied second place at 14-under-274 along with Rashid, who also fired a 67 in round four of the Rs. 30 lakh event.

Harendra Gupta (72-65-69-67), lying overnight tied second, one off the lead, made a steady start to the day with three birdies on the first 11 holes, to keep himself within striking distance of the leaders Rashid Khan and Anura Rohana. His first three birdies were all on the par-5s, fourth, ninth and 11th where he made some good chip-putts.

Gupta was one stroke behind Anura and Rashid at 13-under when he stepped on the 16th tee. At that stage Rohana and two-time Asian Tour winner Khan seemed all set to battle it out in a playoff.

However, Gupta, who won his last event in Hyderabad in February 2015, had other plans. He first tied the leaders by converting a crucial 10-footer for birdie on the 16th, yet another par-5. The 31-year-old then overhauled his nearest rivals by putting his way to the title with an unbelievable 20-feet birdie conversion on the 18th. Harendra’s curling downhill putt stopped at the lip for a second before falling in.

The dramatic final-hole birdie sparked off wild victory celebrations by Gupta and his friends who joined him on the green to do the ‘champion’ dance which is currently the flavour of the season thanks to the West Indies’ win at the World T20.

Harendra took home the winner’s cheque worth Rs. 4,50,000 and as a result climbed from 21st place to sixth position in the Rolex Ranking.

An ecstatic Gupta said, “I had a feeling that I can make that long putt on the 18thsince I was due for one long conversion, having missed all day. When it did fall in, my emotions got the better of me. It’s great to win it like this, coming from behind right at the end. I’m happy to win after over a year.

“The tough 10-feet conversion on the 16th set it up for me. Since I have the best playoff record on the PGTI, having won three and lost none, I knew I had a good chance even if there was a playoff between Anura, Rashid and myself. I attacked the pin for birdie on the 17th as well but just missed out.

“I had set a target of five to six under for the day and was looking to play my own game and not follow the leaderboard.  My approach shots were excellent today. I would like to thank my friend and fellow professional Md Sayum for helping me sort out issues with my swing last week. His advice played a major role in my win this week.

“Last evening, I had decided along with my friends Vinod Kumar and Maniram Sharma, that if I win, we would all do the ‘champion’ dance together just like the West Indian cricket team did after their World T20 win last week.

“I would now look to contend in the race for the Rolex Player of the Year. Qualifying for the Asian Tour next year is also another major goal,” added Gupta, who took home a bicycle from Starkenn as his prize, in addition to the winner’s cheque.

Anura Rohana’s 64 featured an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey. It would’ve been a totally different story had Rohana’s chip for eagle not lipped out on the 16th. He also missed a birdie on that hole from a mere three feet.

“It was a great putting day for me as I sank as many as five birdie putts from a range of seven to 10 feet. However, the birdie miss from short range on the 16thproved costly. Nonetheless, I’m pleased with the final round comeback.  The runner-up finish here strengthens my position in the rankings as I move up from sixth to fourth,” said Rohana, who had started round four in tied ninth place.

Rashid Khan, who like Harendra, shot a bogey-free 67 on Friday, shared second place with Anura.

Round three leader Shamim Khan of Delhi slipped to fourth place at 11-under-277 after a final round of 72.

Chandigarh’s Ajeetesh Sandhu (10-under-278) was fifth, rookie Veer Ahlawat (nine-under-279) of Delhi was sixth while round two leader Mandeo Singh Pathania (eight-under-280) of Greater Noida finished seventh.

Kapurthala’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane were joint 10th at six-under-282.

Sagar Raghuvanshi was the highest-placed among the Pune professionals. He secured tied 39th at six-over-294.

PGTI Press release

Shamim Khan fires course record 63 to snatch round three lead

Shamim Khan 

Pune, April 7, 2016: Delhi's Shamim Khan fired a course record nine-under-63 at the Oxford Golf Resort to snatch the round three lead at the inaugural Pune Open on Thursday. Khan's immaculate third round effort pushed his tournament total up to 11-under-205 that placed him one shot ahead at the Rs. 30 lakh event.

Chandigarh's Harendra Gupta and Mandeo Singh Pathania of Greater Noida were tied second at 10-under-206 as they recorded third round scores of 69 and 71 respectively.

Shamim Khan (70-72-63), who was overnight tied 13th, lying seven behind the lead, climbed atop the leaderboard in round three courtesy a phenomenal bogey-free round of 63 which broke the previous course record of eight-under-64 of Bengaluru’s Abhishek Jha. Jha had posted the previous record score during the PGTI Players Championship in 2011.

Shamim went on a birdie-blitz early in his round, picking up strokes on the second, third, fourth, sixth and ninth. On the front-nine, the 2012 Rolex Ranking champion, drained three birdie putts from nine to 12 feet and also chipped it to within inches of the cup for birdies on two occasions.

Khan, a winner of 11 titles, kept hitting it close on the back-nine and thus pocketed four more birdies. One of the highlights of his day was the 20-feet birdie conversion on the 14th. The 37-year-old, one of the most consistent performers on the PGTI, is now well-placed to win his first title in over a year.

“I just kept setting up birdie opportunities for myself through the day thanks to some accurate hitting. My chipping was top-class and my putting also clicked for the first time this week. Importantly, I kept the errors out.

“I had dropped shots towards the end of the round on both day one and day two, but I didn’t repeat that today. My best birdie of the day came on the 14th where I sank a tough sideways putt from 20-feet. That conversion gave me the confidence to finish the round well as I added another birdie on the closing 18th,” said Shamim.

He added, “At this course, it takes a lot to keep your focus going, as walking on the undulating fairways can be quite draining. That’s why it’ll be imperative to concentrate harder in the final round. I’ll have to judge the lines and the speed on the greens well in order to stay ahead on the last day. I’ve already had four top-10s from five starts this year and this is a great opportunity for me to finally win a title at Oxford, a course where I’ve come close to winning earlier.”

Harendra Gupta (72-65-69), who was overnight sole second, ended round three in tied second place to keep himself in contention. Gupta was in trouble early on as he found bunkers on every hole till the sixth. On that stretch, he suffered two bogeys but also managed to salvage a birdie and three pars as a result of some brilliant bunker shots.

Harendra picked up pace from the ninth by adding four more birdies to his card. He produced his best birdie of the day on the 16th where he once again came up with a spectacular bunker shot.

Gupta said, “I’ve kept myself in the reckoning thanks to my good recoveries from the bunkers today. I could’ve been in deep trouble had I not got those early birdies from tough positions. I had a far better back-nine as I was more relaxed after having negotiated the front-nine without much damage.

“I was drawing most of my tee shots today. I’ll have to rectify that if I want to be in contention in the last round,” added Harendra.

Mandeo Singh Pathania (69-66-71), the round two leader, slipped to joint second place after a score of 71 that featured two birdies and a bogey. Pathania had an ordinary day with the putter having totalled 36 putts.

“I’m right there in the mix but I need a few more putts to fall. I felt I was trying a bit too hard on the greens today and that resulted in a number of missed putts. Hopefully, a hot putter in round four will put me back on track,” said Pathania.       

Delhi’s Rashid Khan struck a 65 on Thursday to climb from tied 13th to fourth at nine-under-207.

Gaganjeet Bhullar was placed tied ninth at six-under-210 after his third round of 71.

Pravin Pathare was the highest-placed among the professionals from Pune. He closed round three in tied 27th at even-par-216.

PGTI Press release

Mandeo Singh Pathania powers ahead with a 66, Bihar's Aman Raj makes the cut

Pune, April 6, 2016: Mandeo Singh Pathania of Greater Noida powered two shots ahead in round two of the inaugural Pune Open after he carded a sublime six-under-66. Pathania’s second round effort took his total to nine-under-135. Chandigarh’s Harendra Gupta shot the day’s best score of seven-under-65 that propelled him to second place at seven-under-137 at the Rs. 30 lakh event.

Mandeo Singh Pathania (69-66), lying overnight tied fifth, posted a bogey-free 66 to take pole position at the halfway stage. The 33-year-old from the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort picked up three strokes from a range of six to 10 feet and also capitalized on three of the four par-5s with birdies.

Mandeo, a former winner on the PGTI, who spent most of last year playing professional golf in Canada, could’ve drained an eagle as well had he not missed a five-footer on the fourth. Pathania, known for his long-hitting is using the opportunity of playing at the Pune Open to tune his game before he heads back to Canada to play pro golf in the summer.

Mandeo said, “It was a perfect day of golf for me. I didn’t spray the ball and didn’t commit any errors. I was consistent off the tee and holed a lot of putts. Another round of six-under tomorrow would be ideal as it would place me in the lead going into the final day.

“The weather-break today didn’t really bother me as I’ve got used to such things having played in Canada last year. I’m now looking forward to going back and playing on the Canadian Tour in the summer. However, my target this year is to make it to the Web.com Tour with a good performance at the qualifiers later this year.

“This round has really lifted my confidence and will help me sharpen my game further in what is an extremely important season for me.”

Harendra Gupta (72-65), who began the day in tied 30th seven off the lead, climbed into contention on Wednesday thanks to his improved ball-striking. The 31-year-old made good use of the advice he received on his swing from Bangladeshi professional Md Sayum last week in Dhaka.

Harendra, a winner of eight professional titles, got into his rhythm with the eagle on the par-5 ninth where he found the green in two and converted a 15-footer. Gupta thereafter accumulated five birdies on the back-nine by landing it within six feet on most occasions.

Gupta, who has a top-5 finish and two other top-20s to his credit so far this season, said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so good about my hitting and iron-play. I wasn’t in good hitting form till recently since there was something troubling me about my swing. But I got some sound advice from my friend and fellow professional Md Sayum during the event in Dhaka last week that helped me sort out the issue.

“Sayum pointed out that I needed to make a slight change in my position during impact with the ball. I made the necessary change and have since been striking it well. I’m also feeling mentally stronger this week having addressed the problem with my swing.

“Once I was two-under at the turn today, I knew a score of five to six-under would put in a good position. I just kept hitting it close to set up birdies on the back-nine.”

Pratap Atwal, the round one leader, followed up his opening round 65 with a 73 in round two, to slip to tied third at six-under-138. Pratap sank an eagle and a birdie but also dropped two bogeys and a double-bogey on Wednesday.

Ranjit Singh shot a second straight 69 courtesy his sharp chipping and putting to join Atwal in tied third. Ranjit, who made four birdies and a bogey on day two, chipped-in for birdie on the second and almost holed it from the bunker for eagle on the fourth.

Gaganjeet Bhullar’s second round 71 placed him fifth at five-under-139. Chiragh Kumar returned a 74 in round two to be placed tied 11th at three-under-141. Rashid Khan’s 71 meant he was a further shot back in tied 13th.

Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane, Delhi’s Himmat Singh Rai were in tied 21st at one-under-143. Rookies Aman Raj of Patna and Noida-based Samarth Dwivedi, both playing their first professional event, also took a share of 21st place.

Pravin Pathare and Sagar Raghuvanshi were the highest-placed among the Pune golfers. Pathare and Raghuvanshi closed round two in tied 27th place with totals of even-par-144.

     

The day witnessed a 40-minute weather suspension due to lightning between 1520 hrs and 1600 hrs local time. The cut fell at two-over-146. Fifty professionals made the cut.  

PGTI release

Pratap Atwal takes first round lead with sizzling 65

Pratap Atwal

Pune, April 5, 2016: Delhi’s Pratap Atwal took the first round lead at the inaugural Pune Open with a sizzling error-free seven-under-65 at the Oxford Golf Resort. Chiragh Kumar of Delhi and Kapurthala’s Ashbeer Saini were in joint second with scores of five-under-67.

The 24-year-old Pratap Atwal, playing his second season as a professional, had a fruitful front-nine thanks to three birdies. He further accelerated on the back-nine adding four more birdies to his card. Pratap, who has two top-20s in his five starts this season, made birdies on all the four par-5s and also had two long birdie conversions on the fifth and 15th. Atwal established his two stroke lead with a tap-in birdie on the par-3 17th.

“I placed my shots really well today even though I didn’t hole too many putts. I struck my long-irons well. I played decent last week in Bangladesh so that gave me a lot of confidence coming here. I capitalized on all the four par-5s with birdies,” said Atwal.

He added, “The game plan was to hit fairways, not get too aggressive and play to my strength which is hitting long. I took it one step at a time and it all fell in place for me. After the turn, I was aware that I was well-placed, so I kept it simple by looking for the safe side of the fairways.

“A good first round always sets you up well for the week, so I’m quite pleased with the start.”

Chiragh Kumar, a winner on the Asian Tour last year, too had a bogey-free opening round. Chiragh left himself two short conversions for birdie and also sank a 25-feet birdie putt on the fifth.

Chiragh said, “I was pretty solid off the tee and hit my irons well. Importantly, I didn’t make any mistakes today. I was a little disappointed that I made birdie on just one of the four par-5s since the par-5s provide good scoring opportunities here.

“My birdie on the 17th, where I landed my tee shot three feet from the pin, really got me going today. Another score of five-under would be great in round two but I’ll just focus on sticking to my game plan.

“I found my rhythm at the back end of 2015 with a win and a runner-up finish on the Asian Tour. So far 2016 has been up and down with just a couple of decent finishes. I feel I’m playing well at the moment but the results haven’t been there for me. It’s now a matter of trusting my game plan and putting together four good rounds,” added Chiragh.

Ashbeer Saini, on the road to recovery from a wrist injury, produced his best round of the season thanks to some brilliant putting to share the second spot with Chiragh. Saini drained three putts from a range of 15 to 30 feet including a 20-footer for eagle on the closing ninth.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, playing at the Oxford Golf Resort after five years, had a four-under-68 to show for his opening day effort. He occupied fourth place.

Aditya Bhandarkar was the highest-placed among the Pune-based professionals in the field. Bhandarkar fired a 69 to share fifth place with Sri Lankan Anura Rohana, R Murthy of Bengaluru, Greater Noida’s Mandeo Singh Pathania, Delhi’s Veer Ahlawat and the Chandigarh duo of Gurbaaz Mann and Ranjit Singh.

Pune golfer Pravin Pathare was a further shot back in tied 12th along with eight others.

PGTI release

India's No 1 amateur golfer Aman Raj makes professional debut today in Pune Open

Pune, April 4, 2016: The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the official sanctioning body of professional golf in India, will be staging the inaugural Pune Open at the picturesque Oxford Golf Resort from April 5 – 8, 2016. The Pune Open, the sixth event of the PGTI’s 2016 season, carries a prize purse of Rs. 30 lakh. The Pro-Am event is scheduled for April 9.

The tournament will see some of India’s leading professionals in action such as Asian Tour regulars Gaganjeet Bhullar, Rashid Khan, Chiragh Kumar and Himmat Singh Rai as well as other top names including Udayan Mane, Mukesh Kumar, Shamim Khan, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Ashok Kumar and Abhijit Singh Chadha, to name a few. The foreign challenge will be led by the Sri Lankan duo of N Thangaraja and Anura Rohana. Pune’s Gurki Shergill (winner of 8th TATA Open 2009) will be one of the prominent professionals from the host city taking part in the event.

Aman Raj of Patna, PGTI’s 2016 Qualifying School champion and India’s number one amateur in 2015, will be making his professional debut at the Pune Open along with another leading Indian amateur Samarth Dwivedi.

This is a 72-hole stroke-play tournament featuring a field of 120 players which would include 120 professionals and six amateurs. The cut will be applied after the first 36 holes. The top 50 players and ties will make the halfway cut and continue to play for another 36 holes.

Mr. Uttam Singh Mundy, Director, PGTI, said, “The city of Pune is fast emerging as an important golfing centre in the country. The Pune Open has been launched with the objective of tapping into the local talent and further promoting the sport in the city. We thank the Oxford Golf Resort for partnering with us in staging the Pune Open and look forward to a successful inaugural edition.”  

The venue for the tournament, the magnificent Oxford Golf Resort, is a 7020 yard, Par 72 championship course. The course is built on 136 acres of land that is Horseshoe shaped and surrounded on three sides by the Sahyadri Hills that give the course a stunning aura. The award-winning course is known for its well-maintained fairways and greens. The sparkling bunkers with gleaming white sand twist and turn their way across fairways and alongside greens. Breeze is a big factor and so are changes in elevation across the course. That coupled with the multitude of hazards and bunkers make it a challenging course for most golfers.

PGTI Press release

Siddikur prevails in playoff against compatriot Sajib; bags inaugural BTI Open

Dhaka, April 2, 2016: Bangladeshi golfing superstar Md Siddikur Rahman’s experience and persistence saw him through in the final round of the inaugural BTI Open as he lifted the trophy after a magnificent playoff victory over compatriot Md Sajib Ali at the Kurmitola Golf Club (KGC) on Saturday.

Md Siddikur Rahman (66-70-66-71) and Md Sajib Ali (66-68-73-66) headed for the playoff after ending the regulation 72 holes with matching totals of 15-under-273 at their home course. Siddikur finally prevailed with a birdie on the first playoff hole at the INR 35 lakh event.

Sujjan Singh finished third, the best among the Indians in the field, at 14-under-274. India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu was fourth at 12-under-276 after he carded the day’s best score of seven-under-65.

Siddikur, who began the final round as the joint leader along with Sujjan, had a rather sedate last round as compared to his superb 66 in round three. The 32-year-old Rahman, managed just two birdies against a bogey on the front-nine and briefly conceded the sole lead to Sujjan for a stretch of three holes.

However, Siddikur, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, kept it tight on the back-nine with a birdie and a bogey to take the match into a playoff.

Even as Sujjan dropped out of contention with a lone birdie and two bogeys on the back-nine, Md Sajib Ali, who was overnight tied fifth, lying five off the lead, emerged as the new challenger to Siddikur thanks to his seven birdies from the sixth to the 18th. Sajib’s inspiring 66 helped him join Siddikur in the playoff.

Siddikur brought all his experience to the fore to come out on top against rookie Sajib in the playoff and thus registered his fifth win on the PGTI. Siddikur walked away with the winner’s purse of INR 5,25,000.

Siddikur said, “I’m delighted to win in front of my home crowd. I wasn’t having a great day but I didn’t lose focus and played a steady round of golf. My years of experience at the highest level saw me through today. This is a good morale-booster for me for the forthcoming events on the Asian Tour.

“Sajib played some fantastic golf today. The emergence of players like Sajib augurs well for the future of golf in Bangladesh. The BTI Open has been a great initiative for the further growth of Bangladeshi golf. Tournaments such as the BTI Open help bring more local talent in the limelight. I look forward to the next edition of the BTI Open,” added an elated Siddikur.

Md Sajib Ali, who was one-over through four holes, made a brave charge with seven birdies on the last 13 holes before being edged out by Siddikur in the playoff.

Sajib, Bangladesh’s leading amateur in 2015, said, “It was a learning curve for me. I’m quite pleased with the way I fought back today. I’m still in my first season as a professional so this performance gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”

Sujjan Singh was in with a chance for most part of the day but his two bogeys on the last four holes put him out of the race. He shot a final round of 72 to claim third place. The Chandigarh golfer ended the week one stroke behind Siddikur and Sajib.

Ajeetesh Sandhu, another Chandigarh-based professional, secured fourth place at 12-under-276 after he posted the day’s best score of 65 which featured an eagle and five birdies.

India’s Deepinder Singh Kullar came in fifth at 10-under-278.

Udayan Mane of India, who was overnight third, finished tied eighth at eight-under-280.

PGTI Press release

Sujjan, Siddikur well-placed for final day showdown

 Md Siddikur Rahman

Sujjan Singh

Dhaka, April 1, 2016: A fascinating Indo-Bangladeshi contest is set to unfold in the final round of the BTI Open on Saturday at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka.

India’s Sujjan Singh and Bangladesh’s Md Siddikur Rahman were well-placed for the final day showdown as the two golfers ended round three as joint leaders at 14-under-202.

Udayan Mane (12-under-204) and Deepinder Singh Kullar (10-under-206) occupied third and fourth place respectively and ensured a strong Indian presence at the top.

Sujjan Singh (69-68-65), lying fifth and three off the lead after the second round, came out firing on all cylinders in round three as he knocked down five birdies on the first 10 holes.

The Chandigarh lad, a winner of three titles including one on the Asian Development Tour, suffered a minor blip on the 13th where he dropped his only shot of the day. The 36-year-old however, rallied with three consecutive birdies from the 15th through the 17th to end the round with a flourish.

Sujjan, who shot the best score of round three, said, “I struck it well today and also converted as many as four birdie putts from about 15 to 20 feet. I’ve made three consecutive birdies on four occasions so far this week.

“I didn’t play too well at the Indian Open and as a result made a few changes in my swing. I feel those changes are now shaping up well and producing the desired results. I’ll have to be at the top of my game to outscore Siddikur in the final round. He will have the advantage of the local support. Udayan will also be one to watch out for as he has been playing well of late. I’ll give it my best shot.”

Md Siddikur Rahman (66-70-66), who was tied third after the second round, produced a bogey-free 66 in round three, to share the lead with Sujjan at the end of the day. Two-time Asian Tour winner, Siddikur, goes into the final round as the favourite as he is playing in his backyard, the Kurmitola Golf Club (KGC).

“I’ve not had a great first few months in 2016. I’ll look to turn it around here with a good final round. It’ll be highly satisfying to win in front of my home crowd once again. I have the advantage of local knowledge here but Sujjan and Udayan are also in good form and therefore would provide tough competition on the final day,” said Siddikur.

Bengaluru’s Udayan Mane (67-68-69) dropped from second place in round two to third place after his third round of 69 that included four birdies and a bogey.

Gurgaon’s Deepinder Singh Kullar (68-70-68) sank an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys during his third round of 68 to be placed fourth, four behind the leaders.

The Bangladeshi duo of second round leader Md Sajib Ali and Md Dulal Hossain occupied tied fifth place at nine-under-207.

Earlier in the day, the 57 players who couldn’t complete their second round on Thursday due to the weather delay, resumed their unfinished rounds. Once the second round was completed, the cut was declared at three-over-147. Fifty-six professionals and one amateur made the cut. Bangladesh’s Md Sajib Ali was the round two leader at 10-under-134 while India’s Udayan Mane was a stroke behind in second place.

PGTI Press release 

Md Sajib Ali holds advantage on weather-affected second day

Md Sajib Ali 

Dhaka, March 31, 2016: Bangladesh’s Md Sajib Ali held the clubhouse lead at 10-under-134 at the end of the weather-affected second day of the inaugural BTI Open being played at the Kurmitola Golf Club in Dhaka.

Sajib followed up his opening round 66 with a four-under-68 on day two to be two ahead of nearest rival and compatriot Md Dulal Hossain at the INR 35 lakh event. India’s Sujjan Singh was a further shot back, placed third in the clubhouse.

Play was suspended at 1300 hrs local time due to lightning. The break due to suspension lasted two and a half hours as play resumed at 1530 hrs local time. As a result of the suspension, only 63 golfers out of a total of 120 could complete their second round on Thursday. The remaining 57 players will commence their second round at 0700 hrs local time on Friday morning. The cut will be declared after the completion of round two on Friday. The third round will begin soon after the cut is declared on Friday.

Sajib, who was overnight tied second, one off the lead, began his day with a sensational birdie chip-in on the first hole.  The 27-year-old, playing his first season as a professional, gathered three more birdies till the seventh to take the lead early in the day.

Sajib, winner of the Bangladesh Amateur title last year, seemed to be heading for a big lead when he tapped-in for birdie on the 14th, but his tee shot found the trees on the very next hole and resulted in a double-bogey to put the brakes on his round. However, Sajib did manage to pull one shot back with a long birdie conversion on 17.

Sajib, one of Bangladesh’s leading amateurs till 2015, said, “The chip-in on the first was a real morale-booster. Thereafter, I struck my irons well and didn’t leave myself any long putts. The only error was on the 15th. I know another good score of four to five under in round three would make me a top contender.

“The BTI Open is an important tournament for me as I only recently turned professional. A good performance this week will give the much-needed impetus to my fledgling pro career. My hitting has been my strength in the tournament so far but I feel the mental aspect of my game will be tested over the next two days as some of the top Indian and Bangladeshi golfers will make the charge for the title,” added Sajib, who idolizes Phil Mickelson for his brilliant short-game.

Bangladesh’s Md Dulal Hossain (65-71), the first round leader, ended day two in placed second in the clubhouse at eight-under-136 after a second round of 71.

Udayan Mane of India, who completed only 13 holes on Thursday, was also at eight-under. He was three-under for the day with five birdies and two bogeys. Mane dropped a bogey on 13 just before walking off the course as fading light led to close of play for the day.

India’s Sujjan Singh (69-68) produced a hat-trick of birdies for the second straight day to occupy third place among all those who completed their rounds. He made a total of five birdies against a lone bogey on Thursday to take his total to seven-under-137. Sujjan sank a 35-footer on the 13th during round two.

“I got some momentum going with a great par-save on the closing ninth in round one. I had found the water there but recovered really well with a chip-in for par. That was a key moment. I’ve kept the errors down since then in round two,” said Sujjan, a winner on the Asian Development Tour.

The Indian duo of Pratap Atwal and Deepinder Singh Kullar were tied fourth in the clubhouse along with local lad Md Zamal Hossain Mollah at six-under-138.

India’s Ranjit Singh shot the day’s best score of 66 to be tied seventh in the clubhouse at five-under-139 along with compatriot Wasim Khan who fired a 67.

Bangladesh’s top professional Md Siddikur Rahman could only complete 12 holes on day two. He was joint eighth on the leaderboard at five-under. Siddikur was one-over through 12 on Thursday with a birdie and two bogeys.