131 contenders for natl sailing c’ship
Hyderabad: A record number of 131 sailors will be taking part in the 26th laser national championships beginning at the picturesque Hussainsagar lake here on Monday. Jasvir Singh, Gajender Singh and Jitesh will be top contenders for the coveted title this edition in the absense of top sailors Rajesh Chaudhry and BK Rout who are missing this edition due to back injuries. Rajesh Chaudhry was the regular sailor in this lake since 1994 and winner of 14 titles is undergoing rehabilitation and expected to lead the Indian challenge in the coming international sailing. B K Rout has slip disc, is also undergoing rehabilitation. This year the number of entries touched a record 131 beating previous record of 84 entries in the year 2008. Number of entries in the laser standard is 33, while laser radial attracted 50 entries and 4.7 class attracted 32. Four women sailors would be taking part in the 4.7 class while 12 girls are taking part in the 4.7 class junior event. (UNI)
Indians lose in World junior boxing
Astana (Kazakhstan): Three Indian pugilists — Shyam Kumar Kakara (46kg), Abhay Singh (54kg) and Malkhan (60kg) — went down fighting in the quarterfinals on the second day of the second AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships here on Sunday. Shyam Kumar lost to Dmytro Zamotayev of Ukraine 15:12. It what was another hard fought contest when national champion in the light weight category Malkhan locked horns with Fraser Gorn of Scotland. After three rounds of intense action it was the Scottish boxer who triumphed with a score of 13:12. Abhay Singh, the last Indian in the fray on Sunday suffered similar fate against Samuel Ball also of Scotland in the bantam weight division. (PTI)
India’s Armaan finishes 6th in F2 race
Brands Hatch (UK): India’s Armaan Ebrahim completed a profitable weekend with a sixth place finish in the 10th round of the FIA Formula 2 championship here on Sunday. The 22-year old Armaan, who had secured a ninth place and two points in Saturday’s ninth round, collected eight more points on Sunday. He has a total of 16 championship points, including the six he had secured in the second round at Silverstone in April. Armaan was made to work hard for his sixth place as he was under constant pressure from Switzerland’s Christopher Zanella, winner of two races this season and currently second in the championship standings. The two crossed the finish line with very little separating them. Earlier, in the qualifying session, Armaan had a good run as he posted eighth quickest time for a grid position ahead of Zanella. (PTI)
Japanese upsets Chinese in Asian TT
New Delhi: Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura was the only paddler to break the Chinese domination as he emerged champion in the boy’s event but the Asian gaints swept all the other finals at the 17th Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships here on Sunday. Yoshimura beat Yin Hang 13-15, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8, 11-13, 14-12 in a hard-fought battle in the finals of the boy’s singles event at the Tyagaraj Stadium here. Yoshimura, after losing the first game at 13-15, was all over his Chinese rival. Employing his back hand to greater effect he blocked whatever came from the Chinese racquet. Forcing Hang on the back foot, Yoshimura displayed his rallying power and shot making even at crunch situations to surprise his opponent. Though the Chinese never gave up, taking the fifth game, he found very little answer to the Japanese scorching serves. (PTI)