Chikka on course to extending his reign
Bangalore teenager faces Thangaraja in semifinal
S Chikka-rangappa made a strong statement of intent about holding on to his all-India amateur golf title, scoring contrasting victories to march into the semifinals of the 110th edition here on Friday.
Having coasted past Rahul Ravi 6&4 in the morning pre-quarterfinal clash, the all-India Junior champion was made to sweat in the hot afternoon sun by Armyman Sanjay Lakra, but the teenager held fort in fine style to carve out a fighting 3&2 victory at the Karnataka Golf Association.
Chikkarangappa will lock horns with Sri Lanka’s N Thangaraja in the last-four clash on Saturday, while KGA’s Pritam Haridas will face City-mate Udayan Mane in the other semifinals. In an all-KGA quarterfinal clash, Haridas outsmarted Saqib Ahmed 3&2, while Thangaraja outlasted Raghav Wahi in a play-off.
Although the 17-year-old Chikkarangaappa defeated Ravi with four holes to spare, he definitely would have known that the 41-year-old Lakra, who upset Asian Games silver medallist Abhijit Chadha 2&1 in the pre-quarters, could be a tricky customer.
The teenager appeared well prepared, rectifying the opening blues that have tormented him throughout the event, to go 2-up after three holes.
A bogey on the fourth cut his lead to a hole and it was all square after the eighth when he found the water body to drop a stroke for the second time.
Just when it seemed as if a Lakra fightback was on the cards, Chikkarangappa bounced back in sizzling style to go 3-up, seizing the ninth, 10th and 11th.
But the contest offered one more twist when Lakra holed a long birdie on the 12th and won the 13th too to be just one hole down. Having endured many such nervous battles, Chikkarangappa kept his calm, winning the 14th and 15th before halving the 16th to seal a deserved victory.
Aditi on a roll
Young Aditi Ashok continued to impress, setting up a mouth-watering semifinal clash against Gauri Monga in the 94th Ladies amateur championship at the Bangalore Golf Club.
The 12-year-old defeated Amandeep Drall 4&3 while Gauri outclassed Tavleen Batra 7&6.
All-India Junior champion Gurbani Singh defeated Millie Saroha 3&2 and defending champion Shreya Ghei ground out Amrita Sarna 2&1.
Results: Men, quarterfinals: Pritam Haridas bt Saqib Ahmed 3&2; Udayan Mane bt Bhanupratap Singh 2&1; S Chikkarangappa bt Sanjay Lakra 3&2; N Thangaraja bt Raghav Wahi via play-off.
Pre-quarterfinals: Saqib bt Raja Sardar 4&3; Pritam bt Aditya Bhandarkar 4&3; Bhanupratap bt Gagan Verma 1-up; Udayan bt Samaresh Sardar 1-up; S Lakra bt Abhijit Chadha 2&1; Chikkarangappa bt Rahul Ravi 6&4; Raghav bt Marimuthu via playoff; Thangaraja bt Modh Nazim 3&1.
Ladies, quarterfinals: Aditi Ashok bt Amandeep Drall 4&3; Gauri Monga bt Tavleen Batra 7&6; Gurbani Singh bt Millie Saroha 3&2; Shreya Ghei bt Amrita Sarna 2&1.
