TENNIS
$25,000 ITF women’s tournament
Shrivalli Bhamidipaty beat Sai Samhitha 6-2, 6-3 to make the main draw of the Balaji Amines $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament at the District Sports Complex in Solapur on Monday.
In the main event, Shrivalli will face second seed Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers of Spain in the first round.
Ankita Raina has been seeded No.1 in the tournament and will open against qualifier Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand. The top quarter also features Sharmada Balu, Zeel Desai, Sahaja Yamalapalli and Vaishnavi Adkar among Indians. Ankita has been seeded No.1 in doubles as well, in partnership with Prarthana Thombare.
National champion Vaidehi Chaudhari will play third seed Anastasia Kulikova of Finland in the first round. Riya Bhatia, Rutuja Bhosale, Jennifer Luikham and Sowjanya Bavisetti will be the other prominent Indian players in action.
The results:
Qualifying singles (second and final round): Katarina Kozarov (Srb) bt Soha Sadiq 6-2, 6-1; Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Tha) bt Elena Jamshidi (Den) 6-2, 7-5; Lanlana Tararudee (Tha) bt Smriti Bhasin 6-0, 7-6(4); Shrivalli Bhamidipaty bt Sai Samhitha 6-2, 6-3; Jennifer Luikham bt Teja Tirunelveli (USA) 6-4, 6-4; Ines Murta (Por) bt Sravya Shivani 6-4, 4-6, [10-8]; Gio Jang (Kor) bt Humera Baharmus 0-6, 6-4, [10-6]; Sharmada Balu bt Shreya Tatavarthy 1-6, 6-1, [10-8].
The seedings: 1. Ankita Raina, 2. Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers (Esp), 3. Anastasia Kulikova (Fin), 4. Diana Marcinkevica (Lat), 5. ValeriyaStrakhova (Ukr), 6. Ekaterina Yashina, 7. Conny Perrin (Sui), 8. Priska Madelyn Nugroho (Ina).
– Kamesh Srinivasan
CHESS
Mumbai boy Aryaveer wins silver in Bangkok Rapid Chess
Eight-year-old Aryaveer Pittie claimed a silver medal in the under-8 category at the Bangkok Rapid Chess Championship.
Aryaveer of the American School of Bombay (ASB) finished second with a creditable score of four points out of possible six at the Prasarnmit Plaza Sukhumvit on Sunday. Thailand’s Suthiponpaisarn Proudpitcha won the gold with five points.
“We are proud of his victory and he indeed played this championship extremely well and look forward to more victories in future,” Aryaveer’s mother Neesha Chhabria said in a release. Aryaveer is a student of SMCA and trains under coach Durga Nagesh Guttula. He is currently preparing for the International rating chess championships to be held in New Delhi.
ESPORTS
Inaugural Asia Open Esports Championship from January
Gamers from across 40 countries in Asia and the Middle East will compete in the inaugural Asia Open Esports Championship (Asia Open) to be held from January 30 to March 15 next year.
The inaugural edition, to be held online, will feature four esports titles, including eFootball game and PES. The gamers will be able to compete in three categories — amateurs, mid-core and professionals.
A joint venture between the International Esports Federation (IESF) and India’s Big Bang Media Ventures (BBMVPL), the event will provide gamers with a platform to compete and build communities internationally.
President of the IESF Vlad Marinescu said the event could be taken beyond Asia and the Middle East in the years to come.
“The championship reaffirms our collective commitment to making esports immersive and inclusive and provides every gamer the opportunity to compete with the best. IESF is excited at the possibilities this event could create even beyond the vibrant regions of Asia and the Middle East,” he said in a release.
BBMVPL will also launch multiple large-format tournaments to grow the esports market in partnership with gamers, creators, designers and coders.
– PTI
