Sindhu, Srikanth, Sai in Singapore QFs
Singapore: Teen sensation PV Sindhu entered the quarterfinals with a victory in the women’s singles, but it was young Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who created a flutter at the Singapore Super Series with a stunning win over world number 10 Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam here on Thursday. Another Indian youngster, Sai Praneeth B, also made the last-eight stage by registering a straight-game win over Zi Liang Derek Wong of Singapore. The 18-year-old Sindhu, who won the Malaysia Open and Macau Open last year besides the prestigious World Championship bronze, prevailed over Japan’s Shizuka Uchida 21-17, 17-21, 21-16 in a women’s singles match. The Indian will next take on World No. 3 Yihan Wang on Friday. After three first-round exits in the All England, Swiss Open and India Super Series, Srikanth finally found his form back as he notched up an upset 18-21, 21-15, 21-8 win over the World Championships bronze medallist. World number 50 Sai Praneeth gave a good account of himself as he managed to prevail over his opponent from Singapore, ranked 43rd, 24-22, 21-19. He will be up against world No. 7 Chinese Du Pengyu in the quarterfinals. Du Pengyu, earlier on Thursday, posted a hard-fought win over India’s HS Prannoy 21-17, 18-21, 21-12. Meanwhile, it was also curtains for PC Thulasi, who lost to world number two Chinese Yihan Wang 19-21, 7-21 in a second round women’s singles match. (PTI)
Asafa Powell fails drug test
Kingston: Jamaica’s former world 100m record holder Asafa Powell has been slapped an 18-month ban for failing a dope test. Powell, 31, took the banned stimulant oxilofrine at last year’s national championships, but the suspension has been backdated and will end on December 20. Powell described the decision “unfair and unjust”, and said a legal supplement he took, Epiphany D1, was contaminated. He plans to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Fellow sprinter Sharone Simpson was also banned on Tuesday by the Jamaican anti-doping disciplinary panel. Simpson, an Olympic 4x100m relay gold and silver medallist, is a training partner of Powell and took the same substance at the same meet. Another Jamaican, Olympic discus thrower Allison Randall, was also handed a two-year ban for using a prohibited diuretic. (IANS)
Hulkenberg keen to make amends in China
New Delhi: The Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend was the best-ever race for Force India but it still left their highly-rated driver, Nico Hulkenberg, “disappointed”. Sergio Perez pipped Hulkenberg to record Force India’s second-ever podium finish at a floodlit Sakhir Circuit. Perez, who had scored a point to Hulkenerg’s 18 in the first two rounds, beat his team mate and Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo to finish third in a thrilling 57-lap race. “It was a great result for the team but personally it was disappointing to finish fifth. I made a mistake in the qualifying and that cost me eventually,” Hulkenberg told PTI from Zurich. The German driver, who finds himself in a “surprising” third place in the drivers’ standings with 28 points, had started 11th on the grid to Perez’s fourth. Hulkenberg said the two-day testing event in Bahran after the race went well, although there was still scope for improving the car further. The F1 caravan now heads to fourth round of the championship in Shanghai from April 18-20. (PTI)
ICC paves way for Associates to play Tests
Dubai: The ICC paved the way for Associate Members to earn Test status by introducing the ICC Test Challenge, which will take place every four years between the lowest-ranked Test team and the winner of the ICC Inter-Continental Cup. The decision, taken at the ICC’s Executive Board meeting on Thursday, will effectively mean that one among Bangladesh and Zimbabwe – the two lowest-ranked Test teams – will have to fight it out with the likes of the Netherlands, Ireland or UAE for Test status. “The proposal is that the 10th ranked side on the Reliance ICC Test Team Rankings on 31 December 2017, or at the conclusion of any series in progress at that time, will play two five-day matches at home and two five-day matches away against the winner of the upcoming ICC Intercontinental Cup, with the inaugural Challenge scheduled to take place during 2018,” the ICC said in a statement. (PTI)