
Golf: Avani Prashanth finishes creditable T5 in LET event
It was slightly bittersweet in the end for the teen from Bengaluru who played excellent golf across the first three rounds to card 68-69-69, but a final day 3-over 75 as part of the lead group pulled her down from pole position.
This though was Avani's best finish as a professional – she had tied-5th and lower finishes as an amateur at the Hero Women's Indian Open – after turning pro last October and earning her LET card for this season in December.
The last round blip notwithstanding, the overall performance in Belgium has only boosted the belief of India's previously top ranked amateur woman golfer that she has it in her to compete among the pros and fight for bigger things.
'It's my first one (top-5 finish) as a professional, so of course I'm really happy with this,' Avani told HT after the final round. 'It's just a reassurance that I know I can compete and beat the best.'
Avani certainly flaunted that mindset on Saturday, securing four birdies on a windy course to lead the field by one shot after the third round. Looking ahead to the final round, Avani had spoken of 'some nerves' and her love for playing 'under pressure' and while 'chasing'. Being chased on the final round, therefore, was slightly different territory for her.
She began with a couple of bogeys and could never really bounce back from that stutter. The youngster also bogeyed the par-five 9th to slip further. A birdie on the par-5 13th lifted her but a bogey on the 18th after a wayward tee shot saw her sign off with a 3-over 75. Avani finished tied-5th with Lauren Walsh of Ireland on 7-under 281, having started the round on 11-under.
Darcey Harry, 22, of Wales, shot an excellent final round 68 to win her first LET title at 13-under 275.
Avani, the first Indian to win the Queen Sirikit Cup and who played in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games at 17, was gutted about the final round, yet pleased about her overall tournament.
'It's been a great week, but I expected it to end a lot better than it did,' she said. 'I played some great golf over the past three days, so really, besides the final round, I have no complaints.'
Diksha Dagar finished tied-23rd (1-under 287) while Tvesa Malik was tied-48th (5-over 293).
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Indians in County Championship: Tilak Varma scores hundred for Hampshire vs Nottinghamshire
Indian middle-order batter Tilak Varma scored a hundred for Hampshire against Nottinghamshire in a Division One match in the County Championship on Thursday. Tilak's century kept his team in pursuit of Nottinghamshire's first-innings total of 578/8d. The left-handed batter scored 13 fours and two sixes before being dismissed for 112. Left-arm spinner Sai Kishore, representing Surrey, added a wicket to his overnight tally to finish with figures of two for 119 against Yorkshire. Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed claimed a wicket against Sussex, as his team Essex closed in on a win. Yuzvendra Chahal's torrid game against Middlesex continued as he followed up wicketless first-innings spell with a golden duck for Northamptonshire.


Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Flat Jasprit Bumrah, tired Mohammed Siraj, nervy Kamboj, how India's nightmarish day unfolded at Old Trafford
India could blame the weather but that would still sound like an excuse. When England bowled in the morning, there was cloud cover and rain. Late in the afternoon when Indians got the ball in hand there was bright sunlight. Data also showed that the swing and seam movement dropped drastically as the day progressed. Indian pacers surely didn't get favourable conditions but they didn't help their cause by having their worst day of the tour. Pedestrian first spells by the entire pace unit helped England to pull away. The 166-run opening-wicket stand between Ben Duckett (94) and Zak Crawley (84) at over 5 runs per over tilted the balance of the game on England's side. At 225/2, England trail by 153 runs. By the end of the day, India's first innings total of 358 looked insufficient on this track that kept changing its character based on the cloud cover and sunshine. This clearly was a game of two halves. After the engrossing session-and-half in the afternoon, the evening lacked drama or intrigue. Jasprit Bumrah had an off-day—he was off-target and his pace too was off. Debutant Anshul Kamboj didn't live up to his promise of being accurate and owner of the 'heavy ball' that troubles batsmen. Mohammed Siraj lacked sting. Shardul Thakur was ineffective. After the pace department had collectively failed and were wicketless in the early part of the England innings, captain Shubman Gill threw the ball to Ravindra Jadeja. On the second ball of India's spinner-in-chief's first over, England opener Crawley stepped down the surface and smashed the ball over long-on for a six. It was at this point, probably for the first time in the series that India looked deflated. Nothing seems to be working for them. The England opening pair of Crawley and Duckett hadn't looked this solid in the last three Tests like they did at Old Trafford. Forget getting them out, they weren't even beaten in the first couple of hours of their stay. Like was the case when the Indians batted, there was hardly any play and miss. But for a couple of balls that Bumrah bowled from round-the-wicket and beat Duckett's bat, it was the case of tight batting against undisciplined bowling. Bumrah bowled to a packed off-side field to Crawley. The plan was to invite him to swing his bat freely and try one of his booming drives. It wasn't that the England opener had gone into the shell, it is just that most times the ball was so wide outside off stump that the batsman wasn't tempted. The famous Bumrah consistency was missing and even his pace seemed to have dropped. When attempting to change his line, he would often drift down the leg-side. Siraj looked tired. There was nothing amiss in his action, his stride had the usual rhythm, the jump too was also in place but the balls lacked the zip. Like most bowlers with diminishing energy levels, Siraj's effort balls would tail on the leg of the batsmen, making the off-side heavy field redundant. England commentator Nasser Hussain made a sharp observation about the two England openers Duckett and Crawley. He said they both had it in them to punish the bad balls but Duckett was more focused and apt in dealing with the good balls. But at least in this Test, Crawley's shot-selection had improved. There was a Thakur over where he bowled a couple of great balls—they came in, bounced and seamed away. These balls he left and when the bowler erred in his length he pulled it to square leg for a boundary. Duckett, like he always does, jumped on loose balls and there were many. If a ball was marginally short on the off-side, he would bring out his tight jab to the cover region. When the ball was short, he didn't go blind to the fielders on the fence, like the Indians. India's two left-handers Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar were both out to Stokes' leg-side trap. He would bowl a sharp short ball that climbed towards the head of the batsmen. Sudharsan and Washington both ended up guiding the ball into the hands of the lone fielder on the fine-leg boundary. India too tested Duckett with the short ball but he had control over his shot, he kept it down and played square of the wicket. Both Duckett and Crawley missed their centuries. First Crawley edged a Jadeja ball to slips and Duckett was out flashing at a Kamboj short ball outside the off-stump. They certainly weren't top wicket-taking balls but they got the batsmen to commit unforced errors. As the day ended and players were in the dressing room, two worried men, in India blues, walked up to the pitch. After a brief inspection, coaches Gautam Gambhir and Shitanshu Kotak walked on the turf, talking while staring at the grass blades. India might be feeling the ground under their feet shaking.


Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Gautam Gambhir hugged Rishabh Pant for playing 27 balls with fracture; India keeper refused help: 'Main kar lunga'
The legend of Rishabh Pant today expanded beyond imagination. Not because of his batting. Well, he has already reached that status despite spending just 7 years in Test cricket, but because of the heart he put on display on Day 2 of the 4th Test between India and England at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium. Pant cracked his right toe when a yorker from Chris Woakes hit him flush on his foot. As Pant was driven out in an ambulance, you knew his participation in the remainder of the Test match was going to be dicey. Rishabh Pant and Gautam Gambhir have fun in Manchester(AFP) Team India's worst nightmare came true around 12 PM on Thursday when sources confirmed to the BCCI that Pant has indeed picked up a fracture and is asked to rest for between 6 and 8 weeks, pretty much ruling him out of the series. The chances of Pant playing any part in the Manchester Test were as good as Mohammed Siraj hitting Jofra Archer for 6 sixes in an over. Exactly. Zero. But when the BCCI sent out a post on X saying, Pant can bat depending on the team's requirements, the first thing that came to mind was 'You've got to be kidding me'. Well, turns out the board wasn't. Pant indeed walked out to bat at the fall of Shardul Thakur and India's sixth wicket to one of the loudest cheers ever by an English crowd ever reserved for an Indian batter. Limping out to bat, Pant practically batted on one leg, completing his fifty and ensuring India breached 350 to eventually finish on 358. Also Read: 'You've handed Rishabh Pant's runs back to England', Nasser blasts Shubman Gill after England openers run riot During his stay at the crease, Pant smashed a six off Jofra Archer and a four against Ben Stokes. England, sensing blood, went for the jugular, darting more yorkers at Pant's injured toe, which the batter saw off carefully. In the end, a peach from Archer uprooted Pant's off-stump, sending it cartwheeling. Pant's innings was over, but his stature as a never-give-up cricketer had grown by leaps and bounds. Pant refuses teammates' help As Pant made his way back to the Old Trafford dressing room, a couple of his teammates, Akash Deep and Kuldeep Yadav, had sprinted near the boundary to help him. However, as they tried to assist Pant in climbing the change room stairs, Pant said a defiant 'No'. "Main kar lunga," (I'll do it myself), he could be heard saying. Pant gingerly, but more importantly, climbed the stairs all by himself. It took him time, but the moment he approached the dressing room, there they were, head coach Gautam Gambhir and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, offering Pant a big, warm hug. Pant had played 27 balls with a fractured foot. Cricket has seen several heroic knocks. Who can forget Graeme Smith walking out with a fractured arm, or Brett Lee bleeding after suffering a cut on his head against India during the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal? And hey, is there a better courageous effort ever seen in world cricket than Anil Kumble bowling with a broken jaw, sending down 14 consecutive overs and picking up the wicket of West Indies legend Brian Lara. Irrespective of the outcome of this match – Manchester Test at Old Trafford has, in all likelihood, cemented Pant as a bonafide legend.