Indian to play friendlies against Bahrain, Belarus
New Delhi, Feb 4: The Indian senior men’s national football team will play two international friendlies against Bahrain and Belarus on March 23 and 26 respectively, the sport’s apex body announced on Friday. Both the matches will be played in Manama, Bahrain. The matches are part of the preparation for the national team campaign in the 2023 AFC Asian Cup third round qualifiers, which is scheduled to be held in June. Bahrain are placed at 91 in the FIFA rankings, while Belarus are on 94. India’s current ranking is 104. The last time India played any UEFA member association was more than a decade ago in February 2012 against Azerbaijan, a match which the rivals won 3-0. (PTI)
Selection trials for rifle, pistol shooters in March and April
New Delhi, Feb 4: With COVID-19 cases starting to decline across the country, the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has decided to hold the selection trials for rifle and pistol shooters in March and April this year. The selection trials – one and two – for rifle will be held from March 8 to 21 in Bhopal and the pistol trials in Delhi. The selection trials – three and four – will be conducted from March 26 to April 7 for rifle in Delhi and pistol in Bhopal. (PTI)
Suhana bags bronze at WTT Youth Contender Tunis c’ship
New Delhi, Feb 4: Indian paddler Suhana Saini claimed a bronze medal after losing to Romania’s Elena Zaharia in the under-19 girls semifinals at the ongoing WTT Youth Contender Tunis 2022 championships in the Tunisian capital. The Haryana girl fought hard against her Romanian opponent before losing 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, 11-13. In the third and fourth games, the Indian had the opportunity to make a comeback, but the U-19 world no 1 Elena held her nerves to outwit Suhana. (PTI)
Aditi starts with an even par at Drive On Championship
Fort Myers (US), Feb 4: Indian golfer Aditi Ashok made a modest start with an even-par 72 that placed her tied 63rd after the opening round of the LPGA Drive On Championship here. Aditi, who finished a solid T-13 last week, had three birdies and three bogeys at a course which afforded a lot of scores. At even par, the Indian golfer was T-63 in the 54-hole event. Japan’s Nasa Hataoka and American Marina Alex topped the leader board after the first round with scores of 7-under 65 each. (PTI)
Para shuttlers Bhagat, Kadam start training in Paris for Oly
New Delhi, Feb 4: Top Indian para shuttlers Pramod Bhagat and Sukant Kadam have begun their preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games with a 10-day training stint in Paris. “We wanted to get acclimatized to the conditions of courts and weather in Paris as the 2024 Paralympics is going to be held here and that is the final goal and I am working towards the same. We also wanted to understand the thought process and strategy these players use,” World No 1 Bhagat said in a release. Sukant hoped the training stint will help their Olympic preparations. (PTI)
Police raid football fan clubs after deadly attack
Thessaloniki (Greece), Feb 4:Police raided multiple football supporters’ clubs in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki in the wake of an attack linked to violent fan rivalry that left a 19-year-old man dead. The raids were carried out at 13 venues suspected of being used for organizing attacks late on Thursday, and police set up roadblocks in the surrounding areas. Two people were arrested during the searches. Thessaloniki resident Alkis Kambanos died after being stabbed and severely beaten late on Monday. Two others were also injured in the street attack by a group of young men, police said. The killing, in a city which has a heated rivalry between local teams PAOK and Aris, has shocked the country and drew strong condemnation from political leaders. (AP)