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          Indian Sports highlights, March 9: Parvej Khan reached final at NCAA Indoor championships

          Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost their third consecutive final, going down to world champions Seo Seungjae and Kang Minhyuk in the 2024 India Open. BAI Media
          • ESPN staffMar 9, 2024, 03:00 AM

          Here at the ESPN daily blog, we bring you all the news from the dynamic world of Indian sports, from the wide variety of Olympic sports to franchise leagues.

          March has plenty of sporting action taking place - which you can find listed out in ESPN India's sporting calendar.

          Here are the key events from Saturday, March 9:

          French Open: Satwik-Chirag reach 3rd straight final

          It was a mixed day for India at the French Open Super 750 as top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty reached their third straight final of the BWF Tour in 2024 while Lakshya Sen's encouraging run came to an end in the semifinals.

          Satwik-Chirag beat reigning world champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae 21-13, 21-16 in just 40 minutes, avenging their India Open final loss at home. The world No 1 pair didn't let the Koreans' defence get going in the fast conditions and set the pace of play on their racquets for a comprehensive win.

          Their final opponents are yet to be decided but the Indians will be raring to win their first title of 2024 after two in very rare runner up finishes at the Malaysia Masters and Indian Open in January.

          Lakshya, however, couldn't sustain his momentum going down to reigning world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 20-23, 21-13, 21-11. Despite the result, this Paris outing has plenty of positives to take back, chief among them being a much-needed return to form with some big wins under his belt.

          Read more details about the matches in our French Open live blog here

          ISL: Hyderabad beat Chennaiyin 1-0 for first win of the season

          It took them 19 games, but Hyderabad FC finally have a win in this ISL season, after a 90th-minute winner from Sajjad Hussain gave them a 1-0 success away against Chennaiyin FC.

          It's a massive blow for Chennaiyin's playoff hopes, but they remain just three points adrift of sixth, with four games left to play this season.

          NCAA Indoor championships: Parvej Khan makes the final

          Here's a brilliant story to get you going on a Saturday: India's Parvej Khan has only become the first runner to compete at the NCAA Indoor championships, but he's also through to the men's 1600m final. Earlier this morning in Boston, Parvej, representing the University of Florida, produced a fantastic kick [burst of speed at the end of a race] to finish third in his heat and clinch an automatic berth in the final.

          Parvej, who won gold in the men's 1500m at the 2022 National Games, is all of 19 and could become the first Indian runner to medal at the NCAA Indoor championships.

          For International Women's Day, ESPN's Zenia D'Cunha wrote an essay on the inherent gender bias in Indian sports and how women in Indian sport want to be seen, heard and accepted as equals.

          "This invisible bias comes in many forms in a male-dominated sector like sports; the feeling of being treated as inferior, of not being heard or valued because of gender even after climbing to the top of the pole, of fielding inappropriate questions, personal and professional, of having to continuously convince people of your merit or choices. Gaslighting, ghosting, invisibilising - women in sport are given the full treatment."

          Read the full essay here.

          Boxing Olympic Qualifiers: Muhammad Hussamudin makes first-round exit

          Muhammad Hussamudin could not get past the first round of the Olympic Qualifiers as he lost to 2022 Commonwealth Games champion Jude Gallagher in the men's 57kg category. This means only one Indian is now in the fray for an Olympic quota here: Nishant Dev.

          He beat Georgia's Eskerkhan Madviev 5-0. to move into the pre-quarterfinals of the men's 71kg category and is two wins away from booking his berth at the Paris Olympics.

          What's on today?

          • Badminton: The 2024 French Open continues with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in semifinal action, along with Lakshya Sen.

          • ISL: Chennaiyin FC face Hyderabad FC at home.

          • PVL: Kochi Blue Spikers face Hyderabad Black Hawks.

          • Boxing: Indian boxers are in action at the Olympic qualifiers.

          What happened yesterday?

          • Badminton: Lakshya Sen and Satwik-Chirag won their French Open QFs, PV Sindhu lost.

          • Football: Mumbai City FC drew 1-1 with Jamshedpur FC in the ISL. But Jamshedpur could face a 0-3 result against them after breaching player composition rules.

          • Tennis: Sumit Nagal lost to Milos Raonic at Indian Wells

          • PVL: Chennai Blitz beat Bengaluru Torpedoes; Calicut Heroes beat Ahmedabad Defenders

          • You can find more details of yesterday's events, here.