Sapporo to bid for Winter Olympics
Tokyo: The Japanese city of Sapporo announced Thursday that it would bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Games while Japan also hosted the 1998 edition in Nagano, reports Xinhua. A recent survey showed about two thirds of Sapporo residents are backing the idea to host the Olympics.
Wawrinka heads Chennai Open field
Chennai: World No.4 and defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland will headline a strong field in the Aircel-ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament to be held here from Jan 5 to 11 next year. Wawrinka, who won the Australian Open within a few after capturing the Chennai Open title last year, has for company World No.14 Feliciano Lopez, Roberto Bautista Agut (15), and former champion Janko Tipsarevic who will be returning to competitive tennis after heel surgery and was granted a wild card.
Sindhu, Prannoy in Macau Open quarters
Macau. Two-time World Championships bronze medallist P.V. Sindhu and male shuttler H.S. Prannoy entered the quarter-finals in the singles competitions of the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion here Thursday. While defending champion Sindhu beat World No.33 Lindaweni Fanetri Indonesian 21-16, 16-21, 21-19 in an hour and five minutes, the World No.26 Prannoy beat the World No.127 Lin Yu Hsien of 17-21, 21-19, 21-14 in 56 minutes.