
Chandigarh: Day 2 of Coal India Open ‘25: Amardeep grabs lead, Angad close behind
Angad Cheema (69-67) of Chandigarh, who was the overnight joint leader along with Malik, posted a 67 on day two to be placed second at eight-under 136.
Delhi's Shaurya Bhattacharya (71-66) shot a 66 on day two to be placed third at seven-under 137.
The halfway cut fell at five-over 149. Fifty-three professionals and one amateur made the cut.
Amardeep Malik began the day with a 15-feet birdie conversion on the 10th. He then went on to pick up four more birdies from a range of eight to 20 feet on the back-nine. Amardeep's hot streak with the putter continued on the front-nine as he sank birdies from 25 feet and a mammoth 50 feet on the first and third holes respectively. Malik, a two-time winner on the PGTI, capped his round with a bogey and birdie on the fifth and sixth.
Angad Cheema, who recently played the qualifying event for The Open in the UK, came up with a 40-feet eagle conversion on the sixth along with five birdies and two bogeys.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh's Karandeep Kochhar was fourth and another city golfer Yuvraj Sandhu was placed fifth after day 2.
The Coal India Open carries a shared prize of ₹1 crore and is scheduled to conclude on August 8.

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


New Indian Express
9 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Gill's vehicle breaks down, hopes to finish strong on Sunday
MEDAN (INDONESIA): After the first two stages on what was a bright sunny morning in Parapat, it looked like three-time APRC winner Gaurav Gill was going to run away with the Sumatera Utara Rally title. He had cruised with a lead close to 30 seconds and was ready to carry the momentum into the third stage. However, an unexpected mechanical failure at the start of special stage 3 meant he had to retire for the day on Saturday. The brand-new Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, which Gill was driving, came to a stop about 300 meters into SS3 when a throttle body failed. "We were fastest on SS1, and there was good rhythm and precision for me in stage 2 as well, which worked well. We made some changes to the tyres and suspension. After stage 2, we had almost 38 or 39 seconds lead, quite a big lead. Unfortunately, at the SS3 start, the mechanical failure happened, just 300 metres into the round,' a disappointed Gill said, sitting next to his teammates. The rare mechanical failure dampened the mood a little in the Gill camp, but the Arjuna Award winner is confident of making a comeback and scoring some crucial leg points. "We can have some penalties added to the time format that runs, and we are eligible to continue all day tomorrow. If we can put in some really good time, we can actually be top-3. So I won't be surprised if we end up in a good position,' said Gill. Former rally champion and Head of Operations, JK Motorsports, Hari Singh echoed the sentiment. "Obviously, a big setback for us after putting in so much effort and the cars arriving at the very last minute. It is disappointing when we have a winning car and a winning driver. The combination was perfect, but that's rallying. You win some, you lose some," said Hari Singh, who is JK Racing's team manager at this event. Meanwhile, Nikeetaa Takkale, India's only female driver at the event, had a good day on the track. Competing in Indonesia for the first time, the Pune-based driver delivered a faultless performance and is on course for a rare triple podium in the third round of the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship's (APRC) Asia Cup, held about 32 kilometres from Parapat. She is leading her class, the RC4 and the Ladies class. She is also likely to bag a podium in the Junior APRC. In RC3, Goa's Vaibhav Marathe, co-driven by experienced Ashwin Naik of Mangaluru, topped his class in a Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo, finishing seventh overall. Bopaiah KM was the best Indian finisher and sixth overall. Provisional results (Saturday Leg 1): APRC Overall and RC2 Class: 1. Ryan Nirwan/ Adi Indiarto (01 hour, 01min, 43.7seconds); 2. Musa Arjanshah/ Mohamad Herkusuma (01:02:05.8); 3. Aldio Oeken/ Respati Adhi (01:02:18.5); RC2 Class Indians: 6. Bopaiah KM/ PV Srinivasa Murthy (Kodagu/Bengaluru) (01:09:27.9); 8. Abhin R Rai/ Srikanth Gowda (Kodagu/Chikkamagaluru) (01:14.55.4); 10. Gaurav Gill/ Florian Barral (Delhi/France) (1:25:27.8) (DNF in SS3) (Penalty awaited). APRC RC3: 1. Vaibhav Marathe/ Ashwin Naik (Goa/Mangaluru) (01:14:15.6); APRC RC4: 1. Nikeeta Takkale/ Sudhindra Gopalakrishna (Pune/Bengaluru) (01:21:20.3); Ladies Class: 1. Nikeetaa/Sudhindra.


The Hindu
9 hours ago
- The Hindu
A fitness festival born in OMR grows bigger
In 2018, OMR-based startup Fionis organised a fitness festival that brought gated communities in the region together in a spirit of friendly competition. The festival featured a host of sports and allied activities. The following year, they organised 'Happy Feet Run'. Both events sought to strengthen bonds among gated communities to build a fitness culture. Saravanan Kandan and S. Anu, co-founders of Fionis and residents of two gated communities on OMR, are back with their next big fitness event, this time covering a wider canvas spread across Chennai and for a cross-section of people. Organised in association with Sathyabama University, Rotary Club and Federation of OMR Resident Associations, Fitness Fest 2025 is a community-wide mission to make fitness accessible, enjoyable and inclusive for all, says a press release. More than 50 gated communities and 25 schools in Chennai will be taking part in a series of events scheduled for September. 'We have already started small events at gated communities and schools to build momentum for the big events happening in September,' says Anu. A line-up of events Children can participate in 'Happy Feet Run', a 5K family-friendly run inside a secure, traffic-free campus; and 'Obstacle Run', an adventure-themed physical challenge tailored for different age groups. Inflatable run, rock climbing, Parkour, calisthenics, gymnastics, karate, judo and Olympic-style weightlifting demonstrations are among the highlights. A 'Special Kids Run' is dedicated for children with special needs. A social cause A key component of this year's edition pertains to building awareness about health and preventive care. A 'Free CPR training for more than 100 volunteers to raise emergency response awareness' will be conducted. 'Support for Olympic Aspirants' is another social gesture where children from humble backgrounds, training for international competitions, will be given exposure and support. In the press note, the organisers pointed out Fitness Fest is a movement to inspire families to make fitness part of their lifestyle by making it fun and engaging for children and families. The finale on September 21 will have music, food, community stalls and competitions. For details, visit or call 8807651175


Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Indian Express
Panchkula's Angad Cheema continues top form, wins PGTI's main tour title in Ahmedabad
Months after he won the Rs 2-crore Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational 2025 at Bengaluru, Panchkula golfer Angad Cheema added another feather in his cap as he won his fourth professional and third PGTI main tour title in Ahmedabad on Friday. Cheema, 35, carded a final round score of two-under-70 and an overall score of 13-under-275 to edge out Noida golfer Amardeep Malik by four shots to win the Rs 1-crore Coal India Open played at Kensville Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad. The golfer had won the Bengaluru title after the end of the first half of the PGTI calendar. 'Winning back-to-back PGTI titles is a special feeling. It gives me a lot of confidence for this year. I was all about winning and believing in myself this whole week and I am glad that I could win the title here. The course here was playing long as it was raining most of the time. The fairways were also slow and I had to adjust my game accordingly. To win the title here with a four-shot lead will give me a lot of confidence,' shared Cheema while speaking with The Indian Express from Ahmedabad. The Panchkula-based golfer, who had become the All India Amateur Champion by winning the 111th edition of the All India Amateur Golf Championship at Chandigarh Golf Club in 2012, started playing the sport at the age of 13 with his father Brigadier A S Cheema sending him to Army Golf Course at Wellington, a city where he was also posted during that time. In 2011, Cheema was a part of the Indian team that won a bronze medal in the Nomura Cup in Fiji after a gap of 18 years and was also instrumental in helping the Indian team win the SAARC Golf Championship in Jaipur the same year. He had won his first PGTI title as a professional in the form of Dialog Enterprise Invitational on the PGTI tour apart from winning the Jaipur PGTI Feeder Tour event the same year. Last year, the golfer won a PGTI title after a gap of 11 years when he had won the Vizag Open. Earlier in April this year, Cheema won the Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational 2025 with a score of 20-under-196 after the end of three rounds. It was his biggest win in terms of prize money as he pocketed a cheque of Rs 30 lakh. Cheema said that winning the title at Vizag last year gave him a lot of boost in terms of motivation as well the winning edge on the professional circuit. 'Working with my coach Jesse Grewal and trainer Lavish Chaudhary also meant that I was in good shape. The Kapil Dev Grant Thornton Invitational was played under a new format with three rounds including 60 men and 12 women apart from amateur golfers, and the win was special in my career too as it came in a new format,' the golfer further said. Post the win in April, Cheema also played in one of the Final British Open Qualifiers at West Lancashire and finished tied 43rd. While Cheema currently does not have an Asian Tour or DP World Tour card, the PGTI title win this year means that he will most likely play in the DP World Tour's inaugural India Championship in October in Delhi — an event where five-time major winner Rory Mcllroy will also be playing. 'Playing in the British Open Final Qualifiers helped me a lot in terms of understanding the different conditions. I will be playing on the PGTI tour including the Trident Open to be played in Chandigarh in November later this year. I hope I will be able to play in the DP World Tour's inaugural India Championship in October too based on my PGTI Order of Merit points and I will then decide at the year end to go for Asian Tour or European Tour qualifying,' Cheema concluded. Nitin Sharma is an Assistant Editor with the sports team of The Indian Express. Based out of Chandigarh, Nitin works with the print sports desk while also breaking news stories for the online sports team. A Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award recipient for the year 2017 for his story 'Harmans of Moga', Nitin has also been a two-time recipient of the UNFPA-supported Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity for the years 2022 and 2023 respectively. Nitin mainly covers Olympics sports disciplines with his main interests in shooting, boxing, wrestling, athletics and much more. The last 17 years with The Indian Express has seen him unearthing stories across India from as far as Andaman and Nicobar to the North East. Nitin also covers cricket apart from women's cricket with a keen interest. Nitin has covered events like the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2011 ODI World Cup, 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2017 AIBA World Youth Boxing Championships. An alumnus of School of Communication Studies, Panjab University, from where he completed his Masters in Mass Communications degree, Nitin has been an avid quizzer too. A Guru Nanak Dev University Colour holder, Nitin's interest in quizzing began in the town of Talwara Township, a small town near the Punjab-Himachal Pradesh border. When not reporting, Nitin's interests lie in discovering new treks in the mountains or spending time near the river Beas at his hometown. ... Read More