Page 10 - Sports

WTT Champions: Indian star Manika Batra advances to pre-quarterfinals

India's table tennis star Manika Batra produced a dominant performance to defeat America's Lily Zhang 3-0 to advance into the women's singles pre-quarterfinals of the WTT Champions here on Wednesday. Manika, who made history in Paris Olympics to become the first-ever Indian to reach the singles pre-quarterfinals, took less than 22 minutes to cruise to a 11-4, 11-8, 12-10 victory. The four-time Olympian Zhang, who also had a pre-quarterfinal finish in Paris, fought hard to come back in the third game but Manika's consistency and precision saw her through. The Indian won a total of 34 points, compared to Zhang's 22 and she was especially strong on her opponent's serve, winning 14 points off the Chinese-American. Manika will face the winner of eighth seeded Romanian Bernadette Szocs and Orawan Paranang of Thailand. Sreeja Akula is the second Indian in the main draw and she will take on Pan American champion Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico later in the day.

That's her personal opinion, I don't agree with that: Vinesh on Sakshi

Star wrestler and Congress MLA Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday disagreed with Sakshi Malik's view that her and Bajrang Punia's decision to accept exemption from the Asian Games trials last year undermined their protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Olympic bronze-winning wrestler Sakshi, one of the three prominent faces of the prolonged protest against the former WFI chief, had claimed in her recent book that Vinesh and Bajrang's decision made their movement seem "selfish". "That is her personal opinion. I don't agree with that. Unless I am weak, the fight cannot be weak. This is my belief. Till the time Sakshi, Vinesh and Bajrang are alive, the fight cannot be weak," Vinesh told PTI Video. "Those who want to win should never be weak. They should always choose to fight on the field. For that you will have to be tough and face the obstacles. And we are ready for fight." In her recently-released book 'Witness', Sakshi said their protest developed cracks when "people close to" Bajrang a

Sports fraternity helpless as medal-yielding sports excluded from 2026 CWG

India's leading sportspersons and administrators expressed surprise and helplessness after the country's medal prospects took a hit with the exclusion of hockey, shooting, cricket, badminton and wrestling from the roster of a heavily scaled-down 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Relocated to the Scottish capital after Victoria's withdrawal as host due to an increase in projected costs, the Games will feature just 10 events, which is nine less than the previous edition held in 2022 in Birmingham. Table tennis, squash and archery are also not part of what will be a massively pruned down Games. The organisers have said having lesser events at just four venues will ensure that the showpiece is able to manage the financial and operational risks involved. But the roster has stunned the Indian sports fraternity. "It's a shocking news and very disappointing but it's not in our hands," said Harmanpreet Singh, under whose captaincy the Indian men's hockey team won a bronze medal at the Paris

Deepika Kumari secures her fifth silver medal at the Archery World Cup

India's premier recurve archer Deepika Kumari won her fifth silver medal at the World Cup Final after losing the summit clash 0-6 to China's Li Jiaman, here. Returning to the World Cup Final after three years following the birth of her daughter in December 2022, four-time Olympian Deepika was seeded third in the eight-archer field. She had a smooth run through the semifinals but probably the pressure of gold medal match got to her against fourth-seed Li Jiaman, a team silver medalist from the Paris Olympics. It was Deepika's ninth appearance at the World Cup Final where she has also bagged a bronze. Dola Banerjee is the only Indian archer to have won a gold in the World Cup Final, having topped the podium in Dubai 2007. In the men's recurve section, Dhiraj Bommadevara, despite leading 4-2, could not hold off the challenge from South Korea's Paris Olympics bronze medallist, Lee Woo Seok in the opening round and made an early exit . The pressure once again seemed to affect the Indi

PKL 2024 today's matches live timings, streaming and telecast details

The second round of fixtures will see Pawan Sehrawat's Telugu Titans going up against the Tamil Thalaivas in the first match.

PKL 2024 today's matches live timings, streaming and telecast details

The live streaming of PKL 2024 today's matches will be available on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website in India.

Shooting World Cup: Vivaan wins silver while Naruka claims bronze medal

Vivaan Kapoor claimed silver in men's trap event after compatriot Anant Jeet Singh Naruka's bronze in the men's skeet competition, taking India's tally to four medals at the ISSF World Cup Final here on Thursday. Vivaan shot 44 in the final to finish behind gold medal winner Ying Qi of China. Turkey's Tolga N Tuncer won the bronze medal with a score of 35. Vivaan had come up with a score of 120 out of 125 in the qualification round to enter the six-man finals. Earlier, Naruka, the 26-year-old from Rajasthan, shot 43 in the six-man final, earning third place, while Italy's Tammaro Cassandro and Gabriele Rossetti took home the gold and silver with scores of 57 and 56, respectively. Naruka made it to the finals by scoring 121 out of 125 in the qualification round. Sonam Maskar had won a silver in the women's 10m air rifle on Tuesday and Akhil Sheoran clinched a bronze in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions on Wednesday. Naruka and Maheshwari Chauhan had settled for a fourth-place finish

Top Indian paddlers all set to take part in UTT National Ranking TT

India's top paddlers including Manav Thakkar, G Sathiyan, Ahyika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee will be in action in the season's second UTT National Ranking Table Tennis Championships beginning here on Friday. In the senior men's side, the top-seeded Manav, fresh from a stellar performance at the Astana Asian Championships, will lead the charge alongside Sathiyan (PSPB) and Manush Shah (RBI). Both Achanta Sharath Kamal and Harmeet Desai have decided to skip the event. In the women's section, Ayhika and Sutirtha, who created history by winning a women's doubles medal and contributed to India's bronze-medal finish in team events of the Asian Championships, will look to extend their winning streak. With the top-ranked Sreeja Akula and Manika Batra missing the tournament, the stage is open for the likes of Diya Chitale to shine again. The tournament will also feature competitions in U-19, U-17, U-15 and U-13 categories.

Women's T20 WC 2024: Why did Indian women's cricket team fail in UAE?

While misfields and dropped catches have been a common sight with the Women in Blue recently, the teams were automatically given the edge, which eventually cost India the matches as well.

New Delhi to host first-ever Kho Kho World Cup in January next year

The first-ever Kho Kho World Cup will be held at the Thyagraj Stadium here from January 13 to 19 next year, the tournament organisers said on Wednesday. The event promises to showcase India's indigenous sport on the global stage. During the announcement ceremony, an exhibition match between Team Maharashtra and the Rest of India was played, in which the former emerged 26-24 winners. The World Cup's official logo and tagline #TheWorldGoesKho was also unveiled during the function. The tournament will feature an impressive line-up of 24 nations, with both men's and women's teams competing for supremacy. The meet includes 16 teams in each division, setting the stage for an intense battle. "Kho Kho is a sport of our country's mud. So, we are very proud to bring this sport to the mat. A big thank you to the federation which has worked hard to ensure that Kho Kho becomes an international sport," Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) president Sudhanshu Mittal said. "We first brought the s

PKL 2024: Tamil Thalaivas full schedule, SWOT analysis, live streaming

With a star player set in every position on the mat, Thalaivas will be the strong favourite to win the PKL 2024 title

PKL 2024: Telugu Titans full schedule, SWOT analysis, live streaming

Pawan Sehrawat will be the only in-form player in raiding for Telugu Titans ahead of PKL 2024

Messi equals Ronaldo's record, check full list of most int'l hattricks

An all-round performance from the talisman saw him registering 2 assists along with his hattrick to complete a five-star performance on the night.

UEFA Nations League Highlights: France beat Belgium, Germany win at home

The win took the Italians straight to the top of the table with 10 points in Group 2. They are followed by France and Belgium with 9 and 4 points respectively.

PKL 2024: UP Yoddhas full schedule, SWOT analysis, live streaming

With new faces mixed with some old players, UP Yoddhas will aim to win their maiden PKL title during season 11

Asian TT Championships: India win historic bronze in women's doubles event

India wrapped up their campaign at the Asian Table Tennis Championships with three medals, including a historic bronze in the women's doubles, after Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee's dream run ended in the semifinals here on Sunday. The world No. 15 pair, who stunned the reigning world champions from China en route to a bronze at the Asian Games last year, fell to Japan's Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kihara, 4-11 9-11 8-11 in under 30 minutes in their last-four clash. Prior to that, the Indian duo had defeated South Korea's Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye in the quarterfinals to secure India's first-ever women's doubles medal at the Asian meet. The Indian women's team had earlier clinched a historic bronze in the team event. The trio of Manika Batra, Ayhika Mukherjee, and Sutirtha Mukherjee secured the country's first-ever medal in the women's team category since the competition began in 1972, though they eventually lost 1-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the men's category, India .

India's Ayhika, Sutirtha get historic 1st ever medal in women's doubles

Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee achieved another first for Indian table tennis by assuring themselves of a medal at the Asian Championships here on Saturday. The Mukherjees, who had beaten the world champions from China on way to a historic bronze at Asian Games last year, bounced back to beat South Korean of Kim Nayeong and Lee Eunhye 10-12, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 in the quarterfinals here. The world number 15 pair from India faces Japan's Miwa Harimoto and Miyuu Kishara in the semifinals on Sunday. The final is also scheduled for Sunday. Ayhika plays with an anti-spin rubber that helps her slow down the game for Sutirtha, who uses a short pimpled rubber, to attack on the following return. Manav, Manush stun higher-ranked South Koreans =============================== In the men's singles, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah exceeded expectations to reach the pre-quarterfinals. Manav, ranked 60th, recorded one of the biggest wins of his career by upsetting world number 14 Jang Wooji

IOC withholds Olympic Solidarity fund for IOA amid internal conflict

The infighting in the IOA has prompted the International Olympic Committee to withhold the Indian body's share of the Olympic Solidarity grants meant for athlete development programmes, triggering a fresh war of words between its embattled President P T Usha and treasurer Sahdev Yadav. The IOC took the decision in its Executive Board meeting on October 8 and communicated it to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) in a letter on Friday. "There are obvious ongoing internal disputes and governance issues facing the IOA, including a number of reciprocal allegations which have been raised within the Executive Council," said the letter sent to Usha and Executive Council members by James MacLeod, NOC Relations and Olympic Solidarity Director. "This situation creates a lot of uncertainty and needs clarification and therefore, until further notice, the IOC and Olympic Solidarity will not make any payments to the IOA, except for direct payments to athletes benefiting from Olympic ...

HIL 2024-25 auction dates, venue, time, live streaming and telecast details

For the first time ever, the HIL will feature both men's and women's leagues running side by side, in what is a big step for women's hockey in the country.

Rafael Nadal announces retirement from professional tennis at end of season

The winner of a staggering 22 Grand Slams will be making his final appearance at the Davis Cup in Malaga next month