Asian Games: Pranavi Urs stars in golf as India face mixed fortunes in cycling, canoeing

Pranavi Urs made an impressive start to the Asian Games golf competition, firing a four-under 66 to sit second in the women’s individual standings at Kasugai Country Club on Wednesday.

Pranavi is three shots behind leader Shannon Tan of Singapore, who carded a nine-under 63. India’s other two women, Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, both shot one-over 71 and were tied 18th.

With the best two scores counting towards the team competition, India posted three-under to sit tied sixth. Singapore led on eight-under, while Korea, China and Chinese Taipei were tied second on four-under.

In the men’s event, Saptak Talwar also carded a four-under 66 to sit tied third, one shot behind co-leaders Kazuki Higa of Japan and Wang Wei-Hsuan of Chinese Taipei. Yuvraj Sandhu and Veer Ahlawat both shot 71 as India sat tied fifth in the team standings.

Talwar's round included five birdies and a late bogey. The PGTI Order of Merit leader said he was pleased to finally make his Asian Games debut after missing out in 2022-23.

India endured a difficult day in cycling. Ronaldo Singh Laitonjam and David Beckham Elkatohchoongo progressed through qualifying in the men’s sprint but both exited in the 1/16 finals and then finished second in their respective repechage heats.

In the women’s keirin, Sarita Kumari finished fifth in her heat while Keerthi Chikka Rangaswamy was fourth, with both failing to advance.

Canoeing also produced mixed results. Pradhyumna Singh Rathod finished sixth in the men’s single kayak final with 125.21, while Hitesh Kewat failed to qualify for the final.

Pallavi Jagtap was disqualified in the women’s canoe single final after a 10-second time penalty. Rina Sen also failed to make the final.