FILE PHOTO: Diksha, currently in the top 10 of the LET’s Order of Merit with two top-10 finishes from six starts, will be joined by fellow Indians Avani Prashanth, Pranavi Urs, Hitaashee Bakshi and Tvesa Malik, a former winner on the Sunshine Ladies Tour. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

GOLF

Diksha leads group of five Indians

Golfer Diksha Dagar will spearhead a five-member Indian contingent at the Joburg Ladies Open, co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and the Sunshine Ladies Tour, starting in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Diksha, currently in the top 10 of the LET’s Order of Merit with two top-10 finishes from six starts, will be joined by fellow Indians Avani Prashanth, Pranavi Urs, Hitaashee Bakshi and Tvesa Malik, a former winner on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.

Making her debut in South Africa, Hitaashee has rediscovered form after four missed cuts, finishing tied ninth at the Australian WPGA Championship, the fourth event of the Australian swing.

Avani, after a good rookie season in 2025, has had a modest season with three cuts in five starts, but her best finish had been a tied-39th at the PIF Saudi Ladies International at the start of the season.

Tvesa, who lost her card last season, will be making her first LET start in 2026, and a good week will give her confidence for the upcoming Investec Women’s South African Open at Royal Cape.

Tvesa will be the first Indian to tee off alongside Ana Dawn of Isle of Mann and Kaiyuree Moodley of South Africa, while Pranavi will play with Emma Spitz of Austria and Marta Martin of Spain.

Diksha will tee off with Luna Sobron Galmes of Spain. Avani plays with Alice Hewson of England and Patricie Mackova of Czech Republic and Hitaashee has been grouped with Alexandra Försterling and England’s Annabell Fuller.

- PTI

Shubhankar opens two-shot lead at Boulders Classic

Shubhankar Sharma carded a second consecutive six-under 66 to take a two-shot lead after round two of the inaugural Rs 1 crore Boulders Classic here on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Shubhankar (66-66), a six-time DP World PGTI winner, is playing his first event on the tour since the Tour Championship in Jamshedpur in December 2021.

He moved to the top of the leaderboard at 12-under 132 with a steady and controlled display over the first two days.

36-year-old Divyanshu Bajaj (69-65) of Kolkata produced an error-free seven-under 65 to climb from tied 14th to solo second at 10-under 134.

Overnight leader Vishesh Sharma (65-70) of Hyderabad slipped to third at nine-under 135 after a round of two-under 70 at the Boulder Hills Golf & Country Club.

Honey Baisoya, a winner on the DP World PGTI this year, broke the course record with an immaculate round of eight-under 64 that propelled him 38 spots from overnight tied 42nd to tied fourth at a total of eight-under 136.

Ajeetesh Sandhu (68) and Anshul Kabthiyal (67) shared fourth place with Baisoya.

Shubhankar fired seven birdies against a lone bogey, closing strongly with back-to-back birdies to build on his opening-round momentum.

Yuvraj Sandhu, one of the pre-tournament favourites, followed his opening round of 73 with a four-under 68 to be placed tied 27th at three-under 141.

The cut fell at even-par 144, with 53 of 131 players advancing to the last two rounds.

- Team Sportstar

TABLE TENNIS

TN, Bengal, Delhi storm into pre-quarters of Jr and Youth National TT

Powerhouses Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Delhi stamped their authority early on, cruising into the pre-quarterfinals from their respective groups in the Under-19 girls’ team event at the UTT Inter-State Junior and Youth National Table Tennis Championships in Dehradun.

With just one round of league matches remaining — Telangana vs Punjab (Group A), Uttarakhand vs Assam (Group B), and PSPBA vs Chandigarh (Group C) — the outcomes will have little impact on the three dominant leaders, who have already sealed their spots.

However, the final round will determine the second qualifiers from each group, adding intrigue to the closing league fixtures.

Elsewhere, Maharashtra (Group D), Uttar Pradesh (Group E), NCOE (Group F), Karnataka (Group G), and Gujarat (Group H) have virtually secured their pre-quarterfinal berths.

Yet, the race for the remaining knockout spots remains intense, particularly in Groups E and F, where the battle for the second qualification place is expected to go down to the wire.

Placed in a tough Group C, hosts Uttarakhand lost their match to West Bengal 0-3, but they can redeem themselves when they take on Assam in their last-round tie later today.

- PTI

FOOTBALL

FC Goa marches into RFDL Final, to face Bengaluru FC

FC Goa officially confirmed its place in the Reliance Foundation Development League 2025-26 final. Despite a narrow 2-1 loss to Punjab FC in the semifinal second leg at the GMC Stadium, in Goa, the Gaurs progressed on aggregate 5-2. 

Punjab’s Vishal Yadav opened the scoring in the 2nd minute, but Goa’s Kavya Sunil Katkar equalised in the 24th. Konsam Sanathoi Singh restored Punjab’s lead late in the 83rd minute, however, it wasn’t enough to overturn the deficit. The match ended with Sitroy Carvalho receiving a red card in stoppage time.

FC Goa now clashes against Bengaluru FC in a highly anticipated final on Saturday.

- Team Sportstar

India U-17 men’s team to play friendlies against United Arab Emirates in Thailand

The Indian U17 men’s team will play two friendly matches against United Arab Emirates on April 17 and 21, in Samut Prakan, Thailand.

The friendlies, part of India and UAE’s preparations for the AFC U17 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026, will be played behind closed doors. Both matches will kick off at 16:30 IST at the Windmill Football Club in Samut Prakan, near Bangkok. The 24-member Blue Colts’ squad arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, April 15.

Last month, Bibiano Fernandes’ side had played three friendlies against Thailand (2-2), Indonesia (3-0 win) and Korea Republic (1-2 defeat) in Lopburi, Thailand. Following the games, the Blue Colts continued their training camp in Kolkata.

- Team Sporstar

Published on Apr 15, 2026