Maini, Rajeev and Madesh crowned in national karting
Bangalore, Jan 12: Formula 2 racer Arjun Maini, Rishon Rajeev and Ishaan Madesh emerged champions in the MECO-FMSCI National Karting Championship 2020 (Rotax Max), sweeping all the titles on offer. The championship drew to a close with three rounds being held back-to-back at the same venue to ensure safety and convenience of all drivers and teams in the middle of a raging pandemic. India’s first Formula 1 driver, Narain Karthekeyan drove in a few races as a guest driver. (PTI)
Ankita advances, Ramkumar out of Oz Open qualifiers
Melbourne, Jan 12: India’s top-ranked women’s player Ankita Raina moved to the final round of the Australian Open Qualifiers with a gutsy three-set win over world number 118 Katarina Zavatska but it was curtains for Ramkumar Ramanathan in the men’s singles. (PTI)
Isner to skip Australian Open because of COVID-19
Delray Beach, Jan 12: John Isner says he’ll skip the Australian Open because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Isner disclosed his decision Monday night after losing to fellow American Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Open. (AP)
Sabalenka into Abu Dhabi final with 14th straight win
Abu Dhabi, Jan 12: Aryna Sabalenka swept into the final of the Abu Dhabi Open with her 14th consecutive win, beating Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday. Sabalenka hit eight aces to book a final against Veronika Kudermetova or Marta Kostyuk in the first WTA tournament of the year. (AP)
CAF to elect new president, executive committee members
Accra (Ghana), Jan 12: The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said the process leading to the election of a successor to outgoing president Ahmad Ahmad and executive committee members is in place. The Governance Committee of CAF met in Cairo on January 5 and 6 to carry out eligibility checks of candidates for the positions of CAF president and its executive committee members. (IANS)
F1 season to start in Bahrain after Australian GP postponed
London, Jan 12: The start of the Formula One season has been delayed a week and will start in Bahrain after the Australian Grand Prix was postponed from March to November because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australian race in Melbourne, initially set to open the season on March 21, has been rescheduled to November 21 with F1 organizers citing “the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19. (AP)
Nishchal wins T2 women’s 50m rifle 3P trials
New Delhi, Jan 12: Haryana’s Nishchal won the T2 women’s 50m rifle 3 position trials, outgunning a quality finals field at the Dr. Karni Singh shooting range here on Tuesday. After finishing third in the T1 trials earlier, Nishchal shot 459.1 to beat T1 winner Tejaswini Sawant, who had to settle for the second place with 458.1. The day also saw the commencement of the T1 trap trials. Lakshay Sheoran and Rajeshwari Kumari were leading after the first three rounds of day one, in the men’s and women’s sections respectively. Aakash Khushwaha and Kirti Gupta were ahead in the junior men’s and women’s sections (PTI)
Drall, Hitaashee lead field in 1st leg of Hero WPGTl
Bengaluru, Jan 12: Seasoned Amandeep Drall, who led the Hero Order of Merit at the end of the ninth leg, which was the final event of last year in the Women’s Pro Golf Tour, will lead a 35-player field in the first leg of 2021, starting here from Wednesday. (PTI)