Indian athletes to skip Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan events
New Delhi, June 9: Star sprinters Hima Das and Dutee Chand will get one more domestic event in their bid to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics as the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Wednesday announced that it will host the Indian Grand Prix 4 on June 21 in Patiala. The decision to hold the fourth series of the Indian GP was taken after the AFI’s efforts to send a 40-member team, including Hima and Dutee, for competitions in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan could not achieve success due to “changed quarantine rules” in those countries. “AFI took this decision to provide additional competition to Indian athletes as the 40-member team will not be participating in the T Kolpakova International Competition in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and the Qosanov Memorial in Almaty (Kazakhstan) later this month in view of the changed quarantine rules in those countries,” the AFI said. (PTI)
Maurizio Sarri could become Lazio’s next coach
ROME, June 9: Lazio appeared to name Maurizio Sarri as its new coach on Wednesday, when the Italian club strongly hinted at the appointment with a series of cryptic posts on social media. Lazio first put simply an emoji of a cigarette and then wrote in Italian “who has a light?” It then posted a collage of pictures including a bank and a hand holding a cigarette. Sarri, who is a notorious smoker, is a former banker. Italian media reported that the former Juventus coach signed a two-year contract at Lazio. (AP)
Wrestler Punia to miss Poland Open due to injury
New Delhi, June 9: Olympic Games bound freestyle wrestler Deepak Punia has pulled out of Poland Open Ranking Series in Warsaw due to minor injury that resurfaced prior to his bout, said a Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) official on Wednesday. Punia was directly seeded into quarterfinals was scheduled to face Zahid Valencia of America. “Punia who was carrying a niggle in the left hand withdrew from the men’s 86kg freestyle event at the eleventh hour as there was possibility of injury being aggravating during the bout,” WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar told IANS. (IANS)
Nagar allotted Paralympic Games quota place
New Delhi, June 9: Krishna Nagar, a para badminton player from Jaipur in Rajasthan, was allotted Paralympic Games quota place in men’s singles short stature 6 (MS SH 6) category on Monday by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). “It is a big achievement for me. I have been training hard for the past one year and earning a ticket for the Tokyo Paralympic Games is like a dream come true,” the 22-year-old Nagar told IANS from Lucknow. Nagar said he will continue to train hard to achieve good results in Japan. “I am attending a camp in Lucknow. The facilities are good in the camp and I hope rigorous training sessions in coming weeks would further polish my skills,” he said. (IANS)