Midfielder Anirudh Thapa rejoins team ahead of Bangladesh match
Doha, June 6: India midfielder Anirudh Thapa, who tested positive for COVID-19 a few days back, on Sunday rejoined the team after being cleared by the organising committee doctor ahead of the World Cup qualifiers match against Bangladesh. The 23-year-old Thapa had tested positive for COVID-19 on June 3 and had been under quarantine in a separate room in the team hotel here since then. “Anirudh Thapa who was in isolation on advice of LOC medical team since June 3 has been cleared by the LOC Doctor to rejoin the team after subsequent tests, and being under observation,” the All India Football Federation said in on its Twitter handle. Thapa had missed India’s match against Asian champions Qatar on Thursday which they lost 0-1 in the joint World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers. He had featured in the Indian team that lost 0-6 to the UAE in the international friendly in March. The Chennaiyin FC player has played more than 20 matches for India. (PTI)
Roger Federer withdraws from French Open
Paris, June 6: Roger Federer withdrew from the French Open on Sunday to give himself a chance to recover after emerging from a tight third-round victory that lasted about 3 1/2 hours. “After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it’s important that I listen to my body and make sure I don’t push myself too quickly on my road to recovery,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said in a statement released by the French tennis federation. “I am thrilled to have gotten 3 matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on court. Federer, who turns 40 on Aug. 8, was competing in his first major tournament since the 2020 Australian Open. Shortly after that event, he had the first of a pair of operations on his right knee. He had played just three matches this season before arriving in Paris for the clay-court Slam, which he won in 2009. (AP)
Bopanna-Skugor advance to French Open quarterfinals
Paris, June 6: India’s Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Franko Skugor advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open after receiving a walkover from their opponents here on Sunday. The Indo-Croat duo got a walkover in its men’s doubles pre-quarterfinal clash against Netherlands’ Matwe Middelkoop and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador. Bopanna and Skugor will now face the Spanish pairing of Pablo Andujar and Pedro Martinez in the quartefinals. The unseeded Bopanna and Skugor had notched up a straight set win over Americans Frances Tiafo and Nicholas Monroe in the second round earlier this week. The 41-year-old Bopanna, ranked 40 in the world needs to earn points since this is his last chance to improve his ranking. (AP)
Milkha showing improvement, wife battling‘bravely’
Chandigarh, June 6: Indian sprint icon Milkha Singh is showing “continuous improvement” as he battles COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit of PGIMER hospital, the facility’s spokesperson said on Sunday. The 91-year-old is being closely monitored by a medical team at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). “Legendary sprinter Shri Milkha Singh ji, who has been admitted in the ICU of NHE Block of PGIMER since June 3 and getting treatment for COVID-19, is showing continuous improvement,” hospital spokesperson Prof Ashok Kumar stated. Milkha’s family also issued a statement through a spokesperson stating that the iconic athlete is improving and his condition is stable. His COVID positive wife Nirmal Kaur (82), however, “continues to battle it out bravely,” according to the spokesperson. (PTI)
England players to take a knee at Euros despite fans’ booing
LONDON, June 6: England players will take a knee at the European Championship despite fearing an adverse reaction after the anti-racism gesture was booed by their own fans before a warm-up game against Austria. Fans had been shut out of England matches since 2019 until the 1-0 win against Austria in Middlesbrough, where the pre-match gesture was met by loud booing that was swiftly drowned out by the applause of others. “In essence, people are booing their own team,” England manager Gareth Southgate said Saturday. “I don’t really understand that. If you don’t agree with the situation then perhaps you don’t have to applaud or you don’t have to do anything. But to boo your own team is a very strange response in my mind. I wanted to gauge that the players were happy to continue.” Players started taking a knee last year as part of calls to eradicate racial injustice in society following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. (AP)