National women chess competition from Oct 25
Sangli: National women chess competition will be held from October 25 to November five at Hotel Ambassador, organised by Nutan Chess Mandal with jointly cooperation of All India Chess Federation, Mahaashtra Chess Association and Sangli District Chess Association. In a press statement, Rajbhau Shirgaonkar said for the first time Sangli district got the honor of organising the competetion which will distribute a total of Rs Six lakh prizes to winners including Rs 1.75 lakhs for first winner while Rs one lakh for the second. Mr Shirgaonkar said national and international chess grand masters including Nisha Mehta, Mery Anna Gomas, Vijaylaxmi Subramhanyam, Hinduja Reddy, Padmini Raut, Bhakti Kulkarni, Ivana Furthonda, Swati Ghate, Laxmi Pranita, Nimi George, V Varshina and others will participate in this twelve day long national chess competition. (UNI)
Srikanth, Kashyap move high in BWF rankings
Kuala Lumpur: Indian men shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap jumped seven places each in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday while Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal moved up one spot to the sixth. Srikanth is lying 16th while Kashyap is 21st in the rankings. Srikanth started the week at 23rd spot and was rewarded for his quarter-final appearance at the Denmark Open. Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap, who defeated World No.3 Jan O Jorgensen on his way to his entry into the semi-final of the tournament in Odense, started the week at 28th place. Saina also made the quarters of the Denmark Open, which has helped her gain one place as rising P.V. Sindhu remained at 10th position. P.C. Thulasi was the next best-placed Indian women singles player at 41st.
Advani, Kothari in World Billiards semis
Leeds: Indian ace Pankaj Advani and Sourav Kothari set the green baize on fire to ensure a semi-final clash between themselves after registering resounding wins in their last-16 and quarter-finals clashes respectively in the 150 up format of World Billiards Championship underway here. Former champion Advani, who has already pocketed eight world billiards titles, first eased past another ex-champ David Causier 4-0 in the last-16 match to be one of the four Indians to enter the last-8. Kothari and Punjab cueist Alok Kumar also got past their respective opponents without losing a single frame in the pre-quarterfinals. Maharashtra ace Dhruv Sitwala though had to work hard for his 4-2 win against fellow country and state mate Nalin Patel. Kolkata’s Kothari also continued his surge as he made short work of Ian Williamson 4-0 to set up a last-4 clash with Advani. (PTI)
Durand Cup: Opera brace grounds Air Forcea
Margao: Tuff Laxmi Prasad’s N D Opera scored a brace to down Air Force 2-1 in the Preliminary Qualifying round of the 127th Durand Cup played at the Signals ground here today. Tuff Laxmi Prasad, who led 1-0 at half time scored through Opera (21st, 65th). Air Force improved their game in several notches in the second half and reduced the margin in the 50th minute. Opera put his side in the lead in the 21st minute when he received the ball on the left and raced into the box before beating rival keeper Shibin Raj with a deft placement. Tuff Laxmi Prasad had the lion’s share of possession that could have led to a bigger lead in the first half but Seriton Kundaikar and Opera twice missed open chances. Air Force found the equaliser in the 50th minute when Vivek headed the ball into the net from inside the box off a cross from Shahbaz M. Tuff Laxmi held midfield superiority in the second half once and again took the lead in the 65th minute when Opera shot home after beating rival keeper off a through a pass from Marcus Mascarenhas. (PTI)
Sporting Clube de Goa unveils new marquee player
Margao: Sporting Clube de Goa recruited Trinidad and Tobago international Anthony Wolfe as its new marquee player at the Models office in Panjim, here on Thursday. “I am delighted to have signed for one of the most exciting teams in Indian professional Football,” expressed Wolfe, moments after signing on the dotted line for Sporting Goa. Wolfe was part of the Trinidad and Tobago squad that qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. “Going to the World Cup is a dream for any footballer. It is an experience that I will never forget,” reasoned Wolfe. Trinidad historically became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a population of around 1.3 million people, which is even smaller than the beautiful Indian state of Goa. During his time with the national team, Wolfe worked under legendary Dutch Coach Leo Beenhakker, who has won titles with Real Madrid, Ajax and Feynoord. (PTI)