FOOTBALL
Chennaiyin FC signs Lalrinliana Hnamte from Mohun Bagan Super Giant
Chennaiyin FC has roped in central midfielder Lalrinliana Hnamte ahead of the 2024–25 season.
The 21-year-old has signed a three-year contract with the Marina Machans, becoming the third midfielder to join the club this summer after Lukas Brambilla and Jitendra Singh.
Chennaiyin also handed a contract extension to Yumkhaibam Jiteshwor Singh last month.
The Mizoram-born Hnamte has been considered one of the brightest talents in Indian football. He made his Indian Super League (ISL) debut at the age of just 18 for East Bengal in 2021.
This signing underlines Chennaiyin’s commitment to invest in young talent and nurture them to contribute in shaping the future of Indian football.
“With the ability he possesses we haven’t seen as much of Hnamte as we should’ve in the league. He’s a fantastic young boy who will offer something different to our midfield options,” said head coach Owen Coyle.
Before joining Chennaiyin, Hnamte was part of Mohun Bagan Super Giant set-up for three seasons. He won the Durand Cup (2023), the ISL title (2023) and the League Shield (2024) for them.
Hnamte made 43 appearances in the ISL, spending more than 1300 minutes on the field. In the last season of the league, he recorded an impressive passing accuracy of 83 percent in 13 matches.
-Team Sportstar
Kerala Blasters FC signs goalkeeper Nora Fernandes-
Kerala Blasters Football Club has signed goalkeeper Nora Fernandes on a three-year contract, until 2027.
Prior to joining the Blasters, Nora was with I-League side Aizawl FC. In what can be considered a break-through season, the 25-year-old goalkeeper made 17 appearances, impressing with his commanding presence in the penalty area, his strong reflexes, and his overall short-stopping abilities.
Born in Goa, Nora started his youth and professional career at Salgaocar FC, having joined the U18 team. He represented the side in the U18 I-League, and the Goa Professional League, before making the switch to Churchill Brothers in 2020.
Fernandes becomes the club’s third domestic signing of the summer and the second goalkeeper after Som Kumar.
-Team Sportstar
SQUASH
Agarwal, Aadya & Gowshika enter semis in Asian Junior squash
Shiven Agarwal, Aadya Budhia and Gowshika M moved into the semifinals in their respective age categories at the 31st Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships in Islamabad on Thursday in what was a mixed day for Indians.
Second-seeded Agarwal beat local challenger Abdul Ahad Butt 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 in the boys’ U-15 quarterfinals, while Aadya and Gowshika, the second and fourth seeds in the girls’ U-13 section, put it past Mahnoor Ali (Pak) 11-4, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6 and Makaela Lin Cassidy (HK) 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 respectively.
Meanwhile, five Indian players lost in the quarterfinals, with Nirupama Dubey going down in a five-game thriller in the girls’ U-19 section.
Other Indian results (quarterfinals):
-Team Sportstar
HOCKEY
Punjab Hockey League to start from June 29
The Punjab Hockey League (PHL), featuring six teams in the junior section, will be organised by the Roundglass Academy from Saturday.
Matches will be staged over the week-end on a home and away basis at prominent grounds in Jalandhar, Mohali, Ludhiana and Jiwan Nagar.
The inaugural match will be between Surjit Hockey Academy, Jalandhar and Namdhari Sports Academy. SGPC Academy, Amritsar, PIS Mohali, PIS Ludhiana and Roundglass Academy will be the other teams.
The league will carry a prize pool of Rs.5.5 lakh.
“Exposure to competitive matches is very important for the development of youth players. The Junior PHL aims to do that. The league format will help coaches to experiment with different strategies as each team is assured of 10 matches. We hope the league will be a landmark in our efforts to promote hockey at the grassroots in Punjab”, said Dronacharya awardee and Technical Lead of Roundglass Academy, Rajinder Singh.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
TENNIS
Kashish beats Himaanshika to storm into women’s final in Jaipur
Top seed Kashish Bhatia fought her way past Himaanshika Singh 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Rs.100,000 AITA women’s tennis tournament at the SKIT Campus in Jaipur on Thursday.
In the final, Kashish will face qualifier Avani Chitale who beat second seed Divya Bhardwaj for the loss of five games.
The results
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Vaidehi Chaudhari sails into final eight in WTA Chinese Taipei
Vaidehi Chaudhari overcame a sedate start to beat Sohyun Park of Korea 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the pre-quarterfinals of the $25,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Taipei, Taiwan, on Thursday.
The results:
-Kamesh Srinivasan
CRICKET
Murshidabad Kings set up final against Malda; Murshidabad Kueens to face Kolkata Tigers in women’s final
Tithi Das’ unbeaten 30-ball 47 helped Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers to record a 34-run win over Shrachi Rarh Tigers in a rain-affected women’s semifinal match of the Bengal Pro T20 League at the Jadavpur University ground here on Thursday.
Murshidabad Kueens won the other semis encounter.
In the men’s competition, Murshidabad Kings set up a title clash with Sobisco Smashers Malda.
Both the finals will be played on Friday.
The scores:
-Y. B. Sarangi
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