Page 3 - Indian Sports

Indian Street Premier League: Toss to Powerplay - rules, format explained

Major rules which are different from normal cricket are the 50-over, street nine runs and Tape-ball overs along with a unique combination of playing 11

Khelo India medal winners now eligible for government jobs: Anurag Thakur

Medal winners in all Khelo India competitions will now be eligible for government jobs as per a revised criteria, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Wednesday. Thakur said the move is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "vision of a robust sports ecosystem, nurturing talent at grassroots level and turning sports into a lucrative and viable career option." He said the department of personnel and training, in consultation with the sports ministry, has made "progressive revisions to the eligibility criteria for sportspersons seeking government jobs." "This groundbreaking step now extends eligibility to medal winners from the Khelo India Games -- Youth, University, Para and Winter Games -- to be eligible for government jobs. Additionally, games and events have been clearly defined to ensure inclusivity across various sports," Thakur said in his post on X. "These revised rules mark a significant stride in supporting our athletes in making Bharat a sporting superpower," he

Olympic Boxing Qualifier: Horrid run for India, 4th boxer out in 1st round

Reigning national champion Lakshya Chahar became the fourth Indian boxer to crash out in the opening round of the first World Olympic Boxing Qualifier here. Competing in the men's 80kg event, Chahar was knocked out in the third round by 2021 Asian Championships silver medallist Gheshlaghi Meysam of Iran here on Monday. Having lost the first round 2-3, Chahar got himself back in the game by taking the second round 3-2. He was level on three cards before he suffered a knock out in the final round. All four Indian boxers, who have taken the ring here, have failed to move to the second round. World Championships bronze medallist Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal (+92kg) and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jaismine Lamboria (60kg) all lost their respective first rounds. Five Indian boxers, including world championships bronze medallist Mohammed Hussamudin and six-time Asian Championships medal winner Shiva Thapa, are still in the fray for earning Pa

Sports ministry revokes Paralympic Committee of India's suspension

The Sports Ministry on Tuesday revoked the suspension imposed on the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) after the body initiated the process for its long-pending elections in which multiple-time Paralympic medallist Devendra Jhajharia is set to be elected President. On February 2, the ministry terminated PCI's recognition for "intentional delay to elect a new executive committee" as per the National Sports Code. The PCI had postponed the elections, which should have been held before January 31 this year, to March 28 because of the impending Para Shooting World Cup from March 6-15. After its suspension, the body proposed March 9 as the new date to elect governing body members and began the process of nominations. Most of its top posts are set to be filled without any contest. The ministry said that the "main ground for suspension of government recognition" has been addressed. "...since the election process has reached the stage where the nominated candidates have been deemed to be

WPL 2024 RCB vs GG Highlights: Mandhana, Molineux maul Giants in Bengaluru

WPL 2024 RCB W vs GG W Highlights: Smriti Mandhana hit 43 off 27 as Royal Challengers Bangalore chased down 108 with 8 wickets and 45 balls to spare. Sophie Molineux had picked 3 wickets for RCB

Avalanche hits Gulmarg, all Khelo India Winter Games athletes safe

All the athletes competing in the 4th Khelo India Winter Games here are safe following an avalanche that left a Russian skier dead on Thursday afternoon. The avalanche happened "away from the field of play" and has not resulted in any change in schedule of the KIWG that began on Wednesday and will conclude on February 25. "The avalanche that hit Gulmarg earlier this afternoon has not impacted athletes at the Khelo India Winter Games 2024 at Kangdoori Phase 1," said a Khelo India official. He added that all necessary precautions were in place for the safety of athletes and officials. "The avalanche happened at Phase 2 beyond the ridge and away from the field of play. All necessary precautions have been taken for safety," he added. Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council secretary Nuzhat Gull also said all athletes participating in the KIWG were safe. "All Khelo India athletes are safe after the avalanche hit Khilanmarg area of Gulmarg... All the fixtures are being run as per ...

Pune Open 2024: Poonacha stuns top seed Sumit Nagal in Pune ATP Challenger

Indian wildcard entry Niki Poonacha pulled off a stunning victory over top seed and compatriot Sumit Nagal to move to the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger 100 international tournament here on Thursday. Poonacha joined Sasikumar Mukund in the quarterfinals after he defeated the much-fancied Nagal 6-4, 6-3, their clash lasting over one hour and nine minutes. In the contest played at the Mahalunge Balewadi Stadium, Nagal was leading 4-2 in the first set before Poonacha came back fighting to level the scores and eventually clinch a famous win for himself to make his first-ever quarterfinal at this level. In the quarterfinals, Poonacha, who made his debut in India's recent Davis Cup fixture against Pakistan in Islamabad, will take on seventh-seeded Dave Sweeny from Australia. Sweeny defeated Poland's Maks Kasinowski 6-4, 6-1. Two Indian pairs qualified for the doubles semifinals. The duo of Arjun Kadhe and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan notched up a 6-4, 7-6 win over Jakob Schnaitter and Ma

Indian men, women lose R-16 in World TT, likely to qualify for Paris 2024

The Indian men's and women's teams came up short in the pre-quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis Championships here on Wednesday but their performance, in all likelihood, will be enough to send them to the Paris Olympics. The Manika Batra-led women's team lost 1-3 to Chinese Taipei in the round of 16 while the men were blown away by South Korea for the second time in the competition, losing 0-3. The event offered Olympic quotas to the quarterfinalists but the men and women from India are likely to make the cut through their world rankings. The final announcement will be made on March 5 after including the points from the World Championships. The women's team is currently ranked 17th and the men 15th. "In all likelihood, the men and women have qualified for the Olympics but we will have to wait till March for official announcement," said a Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) official. In the women's pre-quarterfinal, Manika put India ahead with a tense 11-8, 8-11, 4-11, 11-

Asian Indoor Championships: Lane infringement costs Gulveer 3000m gold

India's Gulveer Singh lost his men's 3000m gold medal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships here after he was disqualified for 'lane infringement'. Gulveer had clocked 8 minutes 07.48 seconds to finish on top of the podium in the 3000m final, a non Olympic athletics event, late on Monday. He was later disqualified for lane infringement and a late night 'appeal' by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) was also rejected. "Yes, it was ruled that Gulveer committed lane infringement. Of course, AFI protested but the protest was rejected," a coach, who is with the team, told PTI. "The jury said they have enough evidence to conclude that Gulveer made lane infringement." Various clauses of technical rules 17.2 and 17.3 provides for how an athlete can commit lane infringement and under what circumstances he or she may not be disqualified. Technical Rule 17.2.3 says: "In all races run in lanes (or any part of a race run in lanes), each athlete shall keep within their allocated lan

Pune Open Challenger: Nagal, Ramanathan advance to pre-quarterfinals in

Top seeded Sumit Nagal and wildcard Ramkumar Ramanathan on Tuesday entered the pre-quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger 100 international tournament after winning their respective round of 32 matches here on Tuesday. Nagal defeated Chinese Taipei's Yu Hsiou Hsu 7(6)-6, 6-4 at the centre court at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Stadium. Nagal, who won the ATP Challenger in Chennai and reached the semifinals in Bengaluru, came back from a break down in the second set to record his win in two hours and five minutes. On the other hand, in a thrilling contest which lasted one hour and 55 minutes, Ramanathan scored a 7-6(5) 7-6(5) win over 160th ranked Stefano Napolitano, who won the Bengaluru Open last week. The 101-ranked Nagal will now take on compatriot Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha for a spot in the quarterfinals, while Ramanathan will lock horns with Russia's Alexy Zakahrov. Also moving to the round of 16 was Australia's Adam Walton, who recorded a 7-6 (1), 6-2 win over Belgian qualifier ..

Badminton Asia Team C'ships: Indian women face Thailand for gold medal

Indian women shuttlers' dream run continued as they progressed to their first-ever final at the Badminton Asia Team Championships after edging out two-time former champions Japan 3-2 in a thrilling semifinal here on Saturday. World No. 23 pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, world No. 53 Ashmita Chaliha and the 17-year-old Anmol Kharb registered stunning wins in the first doubles and second and deciding singles to take India through to the summit clash. India will face Thailand in the final on Sunday. Though Japan were without their world No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi, world No. 7 pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota and world No. 8 combination of Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, they were still a formidable side, making it a tough battle for India. Returning from a long injury layoff, Sindhu had enjoyed wins against China's Han Yue and Hong Kong's Lo Sin Yan Happy but she couldn't produce her best against the left-handed Aya Ohori, going down 13-21, 20-22 in the first single

Indian women clinch historic gold in Badminton Asia Team Championships

Anmol Kharb yet again performed when it mattered, winning the decisive fifth rubber to lead Indian women to a historic Badminton Asia Team Championships title with a tight 3-2 victory over a depleted Thailand, here Sunday. The young sprightly group of Indian women's team, led by seasoned PV Sindhu, defied all expectations to come up trumps against two-time bronze medallists Thailand. It is first-ever major title for Indian women in Team championships and provides a big boost to the team ahead of the Uber Cup, which is set to be held in Chengdu, China from April 28 to May 5. India had won two medals in the past with the men's team claiming bronze medals in the 2016 and 2020 editions. "It is a great moment for Indian badminton. I give a lot of credit to these youngsters. They displayed great spirit, they were supporting each other and the atmosphere was just like it was when India won the Thomas Cup. So this is a special moment for India," former India coach Vimal Kumar told PTI. Th

Indian men's team beats Chile 3-0 in World TT Team C'ships opener

The Indian men's team secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Chile to open its World Table Tennis Team Championships campaign on a winning note here on Saturday. Star Indian paddler Sharath Kamal, ranked 95, started off the proceedings in dominant fashion, racing to a 11-5 11-8 11-6 win over world number 53 Nicholas Burgos. India's top-ranked paddler and reigning national champion Harmeet Desai continued the momentum, beating the lowly-ranked Gustavo Gomez for a facile 11-8 11-7 11-6 win. G Sathiyan was stretched in the first game by Olivares Felipe but the Indian paddler battled it out to seal the tie with a 12-10 11-8 11-8 victory. The win has taken India (2 points) to third position in Group 3 behind South Korea (4 points) and Chile (3 points), who have played two ties each. The Indian men's team will take on Poland on Sunday followed by South Korea on Monday and New Zealand on Tuesday. The Indian women's team will also be in action on Sunday against Hungry. On Friday, Ayhika

Asian Indoor Athletics Championships: Toor, Jyothi, Harmilan bag gold

Ace shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and hurdler Jyothi Yarraji rewrote their national records, while long distance sensation Harmilan Bains sizzled on the track as India grabbed three gold medals on the opening day of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships here on Saturday. Two-time Asian Games gold medallist Toor hurled the shot put at a distance of 19.72 metres in his second attempt for a new national indoor record. Kazakhstan's Ivanov Ivan (19.08m) and Iran's Mehdi Saberi (18.74m) took the silver and bronze medals respectively. Earlier, Jyothi Yarraji marginally bettered her own national record by clocking 8.12s in the women's 60m hurdles to win the gold. The 2022 Asian Games silver medallist in the 100m hurdles had the previous best timing of 8:13s at the same event last year which had earned her a runner-up finish. The 24-year-old athlete topped her heat with a timing of 8:22s and in the final she did better to finish ahead of Japan's Asuka Tereda (8.21s). Lui Lai Yiu o

Bengaluru Open: Nagal out in semis, Ramkumar-Saketh pair wins double title

Sumit Nagal could not handle the cunning approach and nerve of Italy's Stefano Napolitano as the second seeded Indian bowed out of the Bengaluru Open with his semifinal defeat here Saturday. Napolitano, the seventh seed, overwhelmed Nagal 7-6 (2), 6-4 after an intense 2 hour and 17 minutes match. He will face ninth seed Seongchan Hong of South Korea in the title clash on Sunday. In the first semifinal match, Hong defeated eighth seed Spaniard Oriol Batalla 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. India's Ramkumar Ramanathan and Saketh Myneni clinched the doubles crown after defeating Maxime Janvier and Constantine Kouzmine of France 6-3, 6-4 in the final. It was the second title in a row for Ramkumar and Saketh as they had won the title in Chennai last week. As is his wont in this tournament, Nagal began the match with an early break in the second game to establish a 2-0 lead in the opening set, which he soon swelled into 4-1 after holding his serve in the third and fifth games. Everything was functioning

Ayhika, Sreeja do the unthinkable; scare China by beating World No 1 and 2

Ayhika Mukherjee and Sreeja Akula stunned the world's top two players, Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi, in their respective singles matches to rattle the mighty China before the Indian women's table tennis team narrowly fell short in the World Team Championships here on Friday. Ranked a lowly 155, Mukherjee played the match of her life to pull off a stunning 12-10 2-11 13-11 11-6 win over world number one Sun in the opening singles of the group stage contest. It was the first ever loss for Sun at the team event of World Championships, summing up the enormity of Ayhika's achievement. The unexpected win provided a massive boost to Sreeja, who made the day even more memorable for Indian table tennis by blanking world number 2 Wang Yidi in straight games 11-7 11-9 13-11 in the third singles. However, star player Manika Batra losing both her singles and Ayhika going down in the fifth and deciding singles meant India lost the rubber 2-3. Nonetheless, it was a red letter day for the game in Ind

Gymnastics World Cup: Dipa Karmakar, Pranati Nayak qualify for vault final

Star Indian gymnasts Dipa Karmakar and Pranati Nayak qualified for the vault final of the FIG Apparatus World Cup, a Paris Olympics qualifying event, here on Friday. Dipa, who had finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, scored an aggregate of 13.449 points to finish third in the qualification round and seal her spot in the finals. Pranati qualified for the final after finishing seventh with a score of 13.166. The top eight finishers in the qualification round made it to the finals. Last month, the 30-year-old Dipa returned to the National Championships to win gold in all-round event and a silver each in the vault and uneven bars. Dipa had returned to action in July last year after serving a 21-month suspension for a doping violation. She missed the Hangzhou Asian Games despite topping selection trials in her event as she didn't fulfil the sports ministry criterion. Pranati had won gold in the vault and bronze in balance beam in the National Championships.

IPC rejects sport ministry's suggestion to form ad hoc committee to run PCI

The world governing body for para sports has rejected sports ministry's suggestion for forming an ad-hoc panel to run the affairs of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) after the government suspended the national body for not holding elections on time. While suspending the PCI on February 2, the ministry had directed the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to co-ordinate with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to form an ad-hoc committee "to undertake the tasks performed by PCI" and "conduct free, fair and transparent elections". But, the IPC has categorically told the sports ministry that "the current governance situation of the PCI does not require an intervention by the IPC". The IPC also said that the PCI "is currently not in breach of any of its member obligations". The current PCI dispensation, under Deepa Mehta, had claimed that the elections were postponed in view of the Para Shooting World Cup to be held in India from March 6 to 15. "We are not in a position to form

India can beat Sweden on clay surface in Davis Cup: Ramkumar Ramanathan

Ramkumar Ramanathan says Indian Davis Cup team is well-equipped to tackle the challenge of Sweden even if the hosts choose to play on clay courts in the September tie. Indian team will travel to Sweden, hoping to get its first win over the European nation in the sixth clash between the two sides. Ramkumar said their familiarity with the game style of Sweden players will also stand them in good stead. India qualified for the World Group after beating Pakistan 4-0 recently in the playoffs held in Islamabad. "I am sure they are going to play on clay. But we have been playing some unbelievable tennis and then there is Sumit Nagal, and I think he can grind them off, and I am sure he is very fit too," Ramkumar told media here during the felicitation ceremony of Davis Cup players organised by the KSLTA. "Rankings don't matter on court because it comes down to how well we play on that particular day. You have seen how Aisam (ul-Haq Quershi of Pakistan) performed (in the Davis Cup), right?

Bengaluru Open: Ramkumar Ramanathan beats top seed Nardi, enters last 8

Indian Davis Cupper Ramkumar Ramanathan made a remarkable comeback to shock top seeded Luka Nardi to enter the singles quarterfinals of the Bengaluru Open here on Wednesday. Ramkumar, a wildcard entrant, prevailed over the Italian 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in little over two hours in their pre-quarterfinal match at the KSLTA Stadium. The match began on an ominous note for the Indian star as Nardi broke his serve in the very first game of the opening set. From that point onwards, Ramkumar was not able to offer any kind of fight to his higher-ranked opponent, who used a heavy first serve and precise ground shots to choke his opponent. While Nardi landed a whopping 86 percent of his first serve inside the box, Ramanathan barely managed to cross the 50 percent mark. But Ramkumar seemed a totally transformed player in the second set as he engaged Nardi more effectively in rallies, exploring the deeper areas of the court to keep the Italian pinned on the baseline. After the first four games went b