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Liz Young wins Hero Women’s Indian Open

By Deepak Arora

GURUGRAM, Oct 27: Liz Young of England won her second Ladies European Tour title as she took the US $ 400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open by one stroke at the DLF Golf and Country Club on Sunday.

Never having missed the cut in eight previous visits, Young extended that streak to nine as she shot 72 and totalled 2-under 286 to win by one shot over four others who tied for second.

Young amateur Mannat Brar (76-75-71-70) had the double honour of top amateur and was also the best-finishing Indian in tied 11th place on 4 over par 292, with professionals Pranavi Urs and Hitaashee Bakshi tied for 15th two strokes behind the teenager. They were 6-over 294.

Tvesa Malik was T26 on 9 over 297 while Ridhima Dilawari and Vani Kapoor shared 31st place on 10 over 298.

The 42-year-old from Southampton totalled 2 under par 286 to add her name to a list of British winners of the Hero Women’s Indian Open that includes England’s Dame Laura Davies (2010) and Becky Morgan (2018) of Wales who are also the two past champions older than the 2024 winner.

Young’s only other title on the Ladies European Tour came at the VP Bank Swiss Ladies Open after 13 winless years on the tour since turning professional in 2009. The Hero Women’s Indian Open was her 248th start on the LET. A third place at the Dutch Ladies Open in July was her previous best finish of the season.

Young (74-73-67-72) fought off all challenges from Manon De Roey (74-74-65-74) of Belgium and compatriot Alice Hewson (72-70-71-79) and a host of others including Morocco’s Maha Haddioui (71-77-71-69).

 

At the 18th tee, Young was a shot ahead of De Roey with Hewson having fallen off the pace and De Roey being her main challenger. Young found the water and bogeyed, but De Roey was unable to make par to force a play-off.

Hewson finished with a triple-bogey eight to fall out of the top 10.

De Roey with bogeys on 17 and 18 fell into shared second with Singapore’s Shannon Tan, Frenchwoman Agathe Sauzon and Momoka Kobori of New Zealand at 1-under 287.

Only five players broke par for their final score in a week when the golf course tested the player to the fullest.

Young received the winner’s cheque of US$ 60,000 from Dr. Pawan Munjal, Executive Chairman, Hero MotoCorp.

Speaking to the media after the win, a beaming Young said, “I think I'll take a couple of days to sink in but it was it was a close battle all day. Me and Manon as good friends. She was playing well all day and I just happened to hole a good birdie putt on 15 that tied us up and I managed to make it interesting on the last for everybody.”

On her frame of mind after finding the water on hole 18, Young added, “It was a good shot but went into the water. And that putt was a very similar putt to the one I held in Switzerland in my first win, so I was just thinking of that.

“The week has been great. I've enjoyed it. It's been a really tough challenge mentally and physically. Especially today, it was really hot out there and humid. Every shot out there, you've got to think your way around. Every putt, you can't let up on. So it's very mentally and physically exhausting, but I feel I did a good job with it this week.

“I've always played well here. This type of golf course suits my game. Every year it's always on my mind that this is a good one for me to have a go at, but this year it's finally come true.”

Frenchwoman Perrine Delacour had the day’s only effort-free card, her 5 under 67 studded with three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15 helping her into a share of sixth place. In all, there were 15 sub-par rounds on Sunday, the most in the four days of competition at the testing DLF course.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya Completes Ironman Challenge

PANAJI, Oct 27: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya completed the Ironman 70.3 challenge today. The triathlon challenge that was held in Goa comprised 1.9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling, and 21.1 km of running with the participants travelling up to 113 kilometres (or 70.3 miles) during the whole event.

With the feat, the 33-year-old became the first parliamentarian to participate in the event.

The Bengaluru South MP credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Fit India' movement as the inspiration that led him to take up the challenge. The achievement drew praise from Modi himself who wrote on X, "Commendable feat! I am sure this will inspire many more youngsters to pursue fitness-related activities".

Surya said he trained rigorously over the last four months to improve his fitness.

"As a young nation chasing big ambitions, we must nurture our physical fitness and become a more healthier nation. An endeavour to become fit also makes you more disciplined and confident, which improves chances of your success in any venture that you undertake," he posted on X.

"As a finisher in this daunting challenge, I can attest to the young folks that fitness goals really push your boundaries, and make you a better individual. I appeal all fence sitters and perpetual planners to hop onto this journey and make progress," he added.

In 2022, Tejasvi Surya participated in the Ironman 70.3 Goa as part of a relay team, completing the 90 km cycling segment.

The premier event for athletes and fitness enthusiasts has attracted athletes from more than 50 countries. This year's race also featured over 120 competitors from Central and State Government services, with women making up 12-15 per cent of the athlete base. Remarkably, over 60 per cent of this year's participants are first-time competitors, underscoring the event's significant role in expanding the triathlon community in India.

De Roey, Hewson lead Hero Women’s Indian Open on Day 3

By Deepak Arora

Alice HewsonGURUGRAM, Oct 26: Overnight joint leader Alice Hewson of England stayed on top of the standings on day three of the US $ 400,000 16th Hero Women’s Indian Open. She was joined by Belgium’s Manon De Roey on 3 under par 213 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Saturday.

De Roey, second on the Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit, was one of two players to master the difficult DLF course on Moving Day, returning a 7 under 65 along with Austria’s Emma Spitz.

In all, 13 players broke par on the third day of the only LET event in South Asia, and only the two leaders and the third-placed player are under par after 54 holes.

England’s Liz Young (74-74-67), who was 8-under through 15 holes, was two clear at one point. Then, she dropped a shot each on her final three holes to come down to 67. She held sole third place on 2-under 214, up nine places from her overnight 12th spot.

While De Roey (74-74-65) moved up from tied 16 into a share of first place, Spitz (76-75-65) – who claimed a rare eagle on the par-4 17th hole – was the day’s other big mover, climbing from tied 35th to sole fourth, three strokes behind the lead pair.

After 54 holes, DLF player Hitaashee Bakshi (80-68-73) in tied 15th at 5 over 221 was the best-placed of the nine Indians to have made the halfway cut.

Manon De RoeyBakshi was a stroke ahead of impressive amateur Mannat Brar (76-75-71, T21) on a day the home challenge all but faded away.

Pranavi Urs, tied seventh after 36 holes, returned a 77 on Saturday that included a triple bogey, a double and three bogeys against three birdies and dropped to T-21st.

Ridhima Dilawari slipped from tied 12th overnight to shared 35th with a 7 over 79. DLF players Tvesa Malik and Vani Kapoor were tied 35th and 41st respectively.

Vani Kapoor (75) was T-41, Ananya Garg (75) was T-48, amateur Janneya Dasannjee (76) was T-51 and Diksha Dagar (80) was T-55.

The impressive Mannat Brar was the only Indian to return a sub-par card on Saturday that included four birdies against three dropped shots. Earlier this year, the 17-year-old became the first Indian to reach the semi-finals of the R&A Girls Amateur Championship and on the testing DLF courses had rounds of 76 and 75 for the first two days.

Hewson 27, kept herself in title contention with a steady 71 on Saturday and will line up for a shot at her second title of the year after victory at the VP Bank Swiss Open while co-leader De Roey, 32, is also a winner this season at the Investec SA Open and warmed up for Sunday with the day’s only clean card that was studded with seven birdies.

Yashasvi Jaiswal Records 30 Test Sixes In Calender Year

PUNE, Oct 26: Yashasvi Jaiswal was the only batter to cross 50 as India slumped to a second successive home defeat against New Zealand and theriir first home series defeat since 2012.

Despite India losing by 113 runs, Jaiswal had provided India the perfect platform to chase down a daunting target of 360. He slammed 77 runs in just 65 balls, lacing his innings with nine boundaries and three sixes. During the innings, he became the first-ever Indian to notch up a special record.

Jaiswal became the first-ever Indian batter to hit 30 Test sixes in a single calendar year in the 92-year history of Indian Test cricket, having done so in 2024. The year has turned out to be a dream one for Jaiswal, as he has slammed over 1,000 Test runs.

In fact, Jaiswal's three sixes took his tally to 32 for the year, leaving him only one behind the all-time record sixes hit in a calendar year. That milestone is held by New Zealand great and current England Test coach Brendon McCullum, who hit 33 Test sixes in 2014.

With India set to play five more Test matches in 2024 -- one more against New Zealanda and four against Australia -- Jaiswal has a great chance of overtaking McCullum's record.

New Zealand clinch historic Test series win in India

PUNE, Oct 26: New Zealand completed a historic first Test series victory in India with a 113-run win in the second Test that ended the hosts' 12-year unbeaten streak.

The triumph in Pune gives the Black Caps an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and ends India's remarkable run of 18 consecutive home series wins since Alastair Cook's England clinched a famous 2-1 triumph in December 2012.

After New Zealand were bowled out for 255 on the third morning, India were set 359 to win and maintain their proud unbeaten home record.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's half-century gave them hope but that was soon extinguished by Mitchell Santner, who took 6-104 to finish with 13 wickets in the match.

India were eventually bowled out for 245 in the evening session.

"Every time you take wickets, you get a little more confident," said Santner, who had never taken a Test five-for before this match.

"I felt that. Every time I got a wicket, it got a little better."

The hosts had made a rapid start thanks to Jaiswal's quickfire 77, but, having taken seven wickets in the first innings, Santner began to work his magic again.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Jaiswal all fell to the left-arm spinner before Santner ran out Rishabh Pant and he proceeded to claim the key wicket of Virat Kohli as India collapsed to 147-5.

"It is a collective failure," said India captain Rohit. "The team has failed to accept the challenge thrown at us."

There was some resistance from Ravindra Jadeja but the all-rounder was the last man out for 42, leaving New Zealand to celebrate a comprehensive, famous victory.

Alice HewsonTan, Hewson share lead after Round 2 at Hero Women's Indian Open

By Deepak Arora

GURUGRAM, Oct 25: Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Alice Hewson of England led the US $ 400,000 16th Hero Women’s Indian Open after 36 holes at 2-under par 142 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Friday. On a day when scoring was tough, Tan and Hewson were the only ones in the field with sub-par tournament aggregates.

Domestic tour Order of Merit leader Hitaashee Bakshi, who calls DLF her home course, bucked the prevalent trend of high numbers with the day’s best card, a 4 under par 68 that lifted her into a share of 16th place. The 20-year-old was in fact one of just nine players to break par on the day which included the two joint leaders.

Shanon TanBakshi had opened the event with an unexpected 8 over 80 on Thursday but bounced back strongly on the second day even as pre-event favourite and LET Order of Merit leader Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland continued to struggle on the firm DLF greens to card a 9 over 81 on Friday after opening with a 74 on Thursday.

Ladies European Tour regular Pranavi Urs (74-71) was the best-placed Indian in the 114-strong field in a share of seventh place on 1-over 145 with Ridhima Dilawari (76-73) tied for 12th on 3-over 147.

With the cut falling at an unprecedented 10-over 154, nine Indians went through to the weekend including two-time Ladies European Tour winner Diksha Dagar (78-72, tied 24th) besides amateurs Mannat Brar (76-75; T35) and Janneya Dasanniee ((76-77, T-49). DLF player Vani Kapoor (75-77) was T45 and another DLF player, Tvesa Malik, also made it to the money rounds right on the bubble at 10 over 154 (77-77).

Sara Kouskova leads by one on Day 1 of Hero Women’s Indian Open

By Deepak Arora

Sara KouskovaGURUGRAM, Oct 24: Sara Kouskova of the Czech Republic led the field by a stroke after a testing first day at the US $ 400,000 Hero Women’s Indian Open. She carded a 3 under par 69 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here on Thursday.

The 25-year-old was one of just seven players in the 114-strong field to break par and led Mireia Prat of Spain, Florentyna Parker of England, and France’s Perrine Delacour, who returned matching 2 under 70s, by a shot on a day that did not see a single bogey-free round.

Sharing the fifth place were Singapore’s Shannon Tan, Maria Hernandez of Spain and WGAI invitee Maha Haddioui of Morocco on 1-under 71 each while there was a five-way tie for eighth place on even par 72 between Agathe Sauzon of France, Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord, Momoka Kobori of New Zealand, Australian Kirsten Rudgeley and Alice Hewson of England.

Kouskova, who has five top 10 finishes in the season so far including third place at the La Sella Open in Alicante, Spain, picked up two early birdies on the 11th and the 12th, before she dropped a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 13th hole. She quickly made up as she holed from 85 yards for the day’s only eagle A bogey on the 16th saw her turn in even par.

Speaking after her round, Kouskova said, “The front nine was wild. But we were like, ‘ok, this is DLF,’ this is what can happen. We stayed very positive. I hit a really really good shot on 15. I thought it was a really good distance and it ended up pitching just short and going in the hole. I didn’t see it go in because it was behind the ridge. I heard a couple of cheers!

On her second nine, she had three birdies on third, sixth and the ninth and no bogeys for a good 3 under 69 aggregate for the day.

On her heels were the trio of Prat, Delacour and Parker. Prat in fact had one of the better cards of the opening day with a single bogey against three birdies, all of which came on the front nine.

Delacour and Parker had more eventful rounds, the Frenchwoman balancing five birdies against three dropped shots and Parker mixing four bogeys with six birdies, including three in her last five holes.

Ridhima Dilawari and Pranavi Urs led the home challenge with 2 over par 74s in a big group that was tied for 17th place with promising amateur Zara Anand a shot behind in shared 34th place with fellow-amateurs Mannat Brar and Janneya Dasanniee a further stroke behind in tied 41st position.

Diksha Dagar struggled through the day to 6 over 78 that contained five bogeys, a double-bogey on the par-5 8th hole and the two-time LET winner needed a closing birdie to salvage her round. Tvesa Malik was a shot ahead of Dagar on 5 over 77 along with Khushi Khanijau in tied 56th place.

India's Diksha leads team to Pro-Am victory

By Deepak Arora

Diksha DagarGURUGRAM, Oct 23: After winning the Hero Shot Skill challenge on Tuesday, India’s Diksha Dagar guided her team to victory in the morning Hero Pro-Am ahead of the 16th Hero Women’s Indian Open 2024 at the DLF Golf and Country Club here.

Diksha, playing with former Army chief General Manoj Naravane, Air Marshal R.K. Anand and her father, Col Narinder Dagar, secured victory with a score of 26 under par while the team of Mike Clarke, Kanav Monga and Kartik Mohindra with Norwegian professional Dorthea Forbrigd took second place with a 24 under.

In third place at 23 under were R.S. Rawal, J.C. Pegu, Vijay Sharma and Swiss pro Elena Moosmann.

Individual prizes went to Rajiv Puri (closest to pin, 12th hole), Dhruv Pal Singh (closest to pin, 16th hole), Naseem Shaikh (straight drive) and Mahreen Bhatia (Cobra longest drive).

In the evening WGAI Pro-Am, the team of Rishab Bhatia, Neeraj Sachdeva, Dheeraj Sachdeva and Alexandra Swain (Pro) emerged winners with a 43-under score. Taking second place was the team of Karan Chaudhri, Rajat Kumar, Atul Vashisth and Stacy Lee Bregman (Pro) of South Africa with 35 under par. Third place went to Rohan Khattar, Vihaan Reddy, Nalin Sayal and Shannon Tan (Pro) of Singapore on 33 under.

The evening’s individual prizes went to Rajive Mohindru (closest to pin, 12th hole), Rahul Agarwal (Closest to Pin, 16th Hole), Sandeep Bansal (straight drive) and Rohan Khattar (Cobra long drive).

Top 12 Golfers Among 114 Vie To Lift Hero Women’s Indian Open At DLF Golf Club

By Deepak Arora

GURUGRAM, Oct 23: Six winners from the current season and another six from 2023 feature in the field of 114 players from 31 countries at the 2024 edition of Hero Women’s Indian Open, which gets underway at DLF Golf and Country Club here on Thursday.

Only one among the dozen has bagged more than one title – Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland - and she could do it once again this week at the US$ 400,000 Ladies European Tour event.

The goal for Tamburlini is a fourth title in 2024 and to seal the LET Order of Merit come Sunday.

At 69th position, she is the highest world ranked player in the elite field that also features 27 Indians, including five amateurs.

Meanwhile, the entire Indian contingent, barring Diksha Dagar is knocking on the doors of a maiden LET win. A win would put them in a club that only has Aditi Ashok (5 LET wins) and Diksha Dagar (2 wins) as its members. Incidentally, Aditi remains the only Indian winner at this premier women’s golf tournament, when she grabbed the title back in 2016.

Though defending champion Aline Krauter is not in the field, this year will see three past winners line up on Thursday that includes Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall (2011), Frenchwoman Camille Chevalier (2017), and Austria’s Christine Wolf (2019).

Much of the attention though will be on Tamburlini, who flew into Delhi after recording her third win of the season in Taiwan two weeks ago to follow earlier victories in Joburg Ladies Open and Open de France.

The 24-year-old is on the threshold of sealing this year’s honours and needs only to finish ahead of second placed Manon De Roey of Belgium to make sure of topping the rankings with two events still to go in Saudi Arabia and Spain.

In what is one of the strongest Hero Women’s Indian Open field for some time, there are two players from the top 100 in the world rankings in Tamburlini and France’s Perrine Delacour, and nine ranked between 101 and 200.

Leading the Indian challenge will be two-time LET winner Diksha Dagar, who sits 22nd in the Order of Merit after a bright start to the season, and has underlined her determination to win her National Open.

The left-hander said, “I’m excited to be back here. Every year when I play here it brings back wonderful memories. It would mean a lot to win. It is on my bucket list. It is one of my biggest goals. I have wanted to win this for long and it would be amazing to win this at my home. I would love it to happen.”

Dagar is also a two-time Olympian having played at the Tokyo and Paris Summer Games. On Tuesday, she emerged winner of the Hero Shot skills challenge, underlining her determination to go for the big prize this year.

The 24-year-old Dagar was a sole third-place finisher last year and in keen to go better than that this time. She will tee off for the first two days alongside Tamburlini and De Roey while LPGA star Maria Fassi of Mexico starts out with past winners Wolf and Chevalier.

Also hoping to make a mark on home soil during her notable LET debut season will be Pranavi Urs, while Tvesa Malik, Vani Kapoor and domestic Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour leader Hitaashee Bakshi make a trio of DLF players who have a solid record at their home course. Amandeep Drall, who was joint second two years ago will be hoping to find some elusive form at a venue she has dominated in the past.

Another exciting talent on her first visit to India is Sweden’s Kasja Arwefjall, a two time winner on the LET Access Series this year and the feeder tour’s Order of Merit topper, who will be playing on a WGAI invitation having secured her LET playing rights for next year.

“I had so many highlights in 2024. Since it was my last semester of college (in the United States), I would have to say [one highlight] was winning conference with my team. And winning as an individual was also super fun,” Arwefjall ahead of the tournament.

“I would also add playing the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Playing the last round there with my dad and coach as a caddie and then on the Access Series my two wins were super fun, too.”

Diksha Dagar wins ‘Hero Shot’ skills challenge ahead of Hero Women's Indian Open

By Deepak Arora

GURUGRAM, Oct 22: Two-time Olympian Diksha Dagar emerged winner of the US $10,000 Hero Shot skills challenge at the DLF Golf and Country Club here today beating seven challengers who are part of the Hero Women’s Indian Open that begins on Thurday.

The Tokyo and Paris Olympian came through the quarter-finals in second place with 175 points behind England’s Alice Hewson who scored an impressive 300 points in the challenge that needed participants to put the ball as close to the pin on the 18th hole with three scoring circles around the flag hitting from 80 yards out.

Spain’s Nuria Iturrioz with 165 points and Tvesa Malik were the two others to enter the semi-finals at the expense of Hitaashee Bakshi, former HWIO champion Christine Wolf of Austria and another past winner, Caroline Hedwall of Sweden.

Diksha and Tvesa then won through in the semi-finals over Hewson and Iturrioz with the distance increased to 100 yards before the final that was set from 110 yards saw two-time Ladies European Tour winner Dagar get the better of Malik.

Dagar walked away with the winners prize of US$ 4,000, while Malik picked up US$ 2,000. The two losing semi-finalists earned US$ 1,000 each while $500 went to the losing quarter-finalists.

Dr Pawan Munjal, Executive Chairman, Hero MotoCorp, gave away the prizes.

 



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