TENNIS
Poonacha-Isaro pair bows out of Australian Open with opening-round defeat
India’s Niki Poonacha and his Thai partner Pruchya Isaro exited the men’s doubles event at the Australian Open after suffering a narrow straight-sets defeat against Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar in the first round in Melbourne on Tuesday.
The Indo-Thai wild card pair lost 7-6(3), 7-5 to the Spanish pair in one hour and 51 minutes at Court 14.
There was not much to separate between the two pairs but Poonacha and Isaro could convert only one of the three break chances and dropped their serve twice in the match.
Indian challenger is still alive in doubles as Yuki Bhambri is set to compete with Swedish partner Andre Goransson. They have been seeded 10th and will open their campaign against local wild card entrants James Duckworth and Cruz Hewitt, son of former world number one Lleyton Hewitt.
-PTI
MOTORSPORT
Indian Racing Festival set for street race debut in Goa on February 14–15
The Indian Racing Festival will make its Goa debut with a Street Race Weekend scheduled for February 14–15, as Round 4 of the championship unfolds at the Manohar International Airport. The event was announced by the Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant.
Following a thrilling Round 3 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, the championship now heads west as the title battle intensifies. The spotlight shifts to Goa, which will host a historic FIA-grade street circuit making its debut spanning 2.064 km.
-Team Sportstar
Published on Jan 20, 2026
