Shorts: Junior boxers bag 21 medals at Asian C'ships

Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday

Indian boxers packed quite a punch at the Asian Junior Championships, clinching a bumper tally of 21 medals, including six gold and nine silver, to end with the best medal haul among 26 competing countries in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

The Indian men's squad fetched two gold, three silver and an equal number of bronze, while the women claimed four gold, six silver and three bronze medals to round off a stupendous performance on Thursday.

The team ended top in terms of medals won but finished second behind Uzbekistan (20) which had a better gold count of eight.

The gold-medallists among men were Vishvanath Suresh (46kg) and Bishwamitra Chongtham (48kg).

The top women finishers for the country were reigning national champion Kalpana (46kg), Preeti Dahiya (60kg), Tanshbir Kaur Sandhu (80kg) and Alfiya Tarannum Pathan (+80kg).

The silver medals were claimed by Yogesh Kagra (63kg), Jaydeep Rawat (66kg) and Rahul (70kg).

Among the women, Tamanna (48kg), Tannu (52kg), Neha (54kg), Khushi (63kg), Sharvari Kalyankar (70kg) and Khushi (75kg) picked up silver medals.

The bronze-medallists' list for women comprised Rinku (50kg), Ambeshori Devi (57kg) and Mahi Lama (66kg).

Vijay Singh (50kg), Victor Singh Shaikhom (52kg) and Vanshaj (60kg) claimed bronze in the men's competition. 

An unprecedented 26 countries competed in the continental event, which was open only to boxers born in 2003 or in 2004.

The number of participating pugilists stood at 239, including 170 men and 69 women.

Aurangabad teen wins silver at junior Asian boxing

Aurangabad's Sharvari Kalyankar has won a silver medal at the Junior Asian Boxing Championship held at Fujairah in the UAE.

The 15-year-old is the first boxer from Maharashtra's Marathwada region to win a medal at the competition, district boxing association secretary Pankaj Bahrsakhle wrote in a statement on Friday.

The Indian team won four gold, six silver and three bronze medals and also bagged the championship cup at the 10-day sporting event, which concluded on Thursday.

Sharvari, who took part in 67-70 kg weight category, lost the final bout to Kazakhstan's Valeriya Semyonova by 5-0, bagging the silver medal.

The teenager was selected for the championship after she won the gold medal (67-70 kg category) in the 3rd Junior Womens National Boxing Championships held in Rohtak, Haryana, last month.

Sharvari, who practices at the Aurangabad centre of the Sports Authority of India, is being trained by coach Sunny Gehlavat.

"Her success will encourage budding boxers in the region," Gehlavat said.

Manpreet, Rani to lead Indian hockey teams at Olympic Qualifiers

Hockey India named an unchanged women squad, to be led by Rani Rampal, along with the men's team for the upcoming FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers.

The 18-member men's squad will be captained by Manpreet Singh and seasoned forward S V Sunil will be his deputy.

Goalkeeper Savita will be the vice-captain of the women's squad.

The two teams are scheduled to take part in the two-legged FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers in Odisha where the World No 5 Indian men's team will be up against World No 22 Russia, while the World No. 9 women's hockey side will face World No 13 USA.

The men's team has two goalkeepers in P R Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak.

Captain Manpreet leads the forward line which also includes Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, and Ramandeep Singh.

"After a good preparation tour in Belgium, it was always going to be a very difficult decision to pick the best 18 players for this tournament. We have chosen a well-balanced side with a number of good flexible options," said men's chief coach Graham Reid.

"We now need to focus on strategies against Russia, and ensure we are at our best when we step onto the field on 1st and 2nd November."

The women's team remained unchanged from its tour of England. Experienced Goalkeepers Savita and Rajani Etimarpu will guard the goal, while drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur, Sushila Chanu, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur and Sharmila Devi will serve as the outfield players.

"We have a good balance and mixture of players in the squad. It is important to stay in the rhythm with the same players who performed well in the preparatory tour. We now focus on making sure that we leave no stone unturned when we take on USA in the two matches," said women's team coach Sjoerd Marijne.

The winners of the Qualifiers will ensure place in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Men's Squad: Manpreet Singh (C), PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Gurinder Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Amit Rohidas, Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, SV Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Simranjeet Singh.

Women's squad: Rani Rampal (C), Savita, Rajani Etimarpu, Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Neha Goyal, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo, Vandana Katariya, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur and Sharmila Devi.

Ronaldo Singh wins gold medal in Asian Track Cycling Championships

Indian cyclist Ronaldo Singh bagged a gold medal in the men's junior Keirin event at the Asian Track Cycling Championships being held at Incheon in South Korea.

Apart from Ronaldo, James Singh also brought laurel for the nation as he clinched a bronze medal in the event. The men's and women's junior sprint team won two bronze medals.

Sports Authority of India (SAI) took to Twitter and congratulated all the athletes.

"Ronaldo Singh won the gold medal in men's junior Keirin event at the Asian Track Cycling C'ships in Incheon, Korea. James Singh got bronze in the same event. India also secured 2 bronze medals in men's and women's Jr. sprint team. Congratulations to all," tweeted SAI.