Badminton is most flourishing sport in India: Gopichand
New Delhi: The inspiring success of P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal at the global level has made badminton the most flourishing sport in India in the last decade, national chief coach P Gopichand said on Sunday.Gopichand said when he started coaching in 2004 with 25 trainees, including Sindhu, Saina and K Srikkanth in Hyderabad, nobody thought India would produce such world class players. “I can say, this is the sport (badminton) which has developed the most in the country in these past 10 year or so. When I started my coaching career in 2004, there were just 10 good courts in Hyderabad but now there are more than 1000,” he said during a webinar. (IANS)
Harikrishna wins Chess960 event
Chennai: India’s Grandmaster P Harikrishna finished on top in the ACCENTUS Chess960 tournament, part of the 53rd Biel Chess Festival 2020, with 5.5 points from seven rounds. Harikrishna (Elo 2690) remained unbeaten through the seven rounds and benefitted from the loss of Poland’s Radoslaw Wojtaszek in the final round to Swiss player Noel Studer to claim the top spot late on Saturday. German Vincent Keymer, 15, was the surprise package in the Chess960 event (also known as Fischer random chess), claiming second spot with five points. Wojtaszek, with 4.5 points, took the third spot. Harikrishna started with a draw against England’s Michael Adams and posted wins over Alexander Donchenko and Noel Studer of Switzerland in the second and third rounds respectively. The 34-year old Indian then settled for draws against Keymer and Wojtaszek in rounds four and five before victories in the next two rounds over Romain Edouard and Spain’s David Anton Guijjaro, the highest ranked player in the tournament, saw him emerge triumphant. (PTI)’
Figueiredo claims UFC flyweight title
Abu Dhabi: Deiveson Figueiredo won the vacant UFC flyweight championship Sunday, finishing a dominant performance against Joseph Benavidez with a rear naked choke with 12 seconds left in the first round. Jack Hermansson also stunned Kelvin Gastelum with a first-round submission by heel hook in the penultimate bout of the third UFC show in eight days from Fight Island, the UFC’s base of operations on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Figueiredo (19-1) became just the third 125-pound champion in UFC history by thoroughly dominating his second victory in five months over Benavidez. The Brazilian veteran knocked down Benavidez three times with punches and barely missed on several choke attempts before finally landing a choke that appeared to render Benavidez unconscious. “I knew that my time was going to come, and this is my time,” Figueiredo said through a translator. (AP)