Ashmita, Malvika through to Thailand Open main draw
BANGKOK, May 17: Indian shuttlers Ashmita Chaliha and Malvika Bansod entered the women’s singles main draw at the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament here on Tuesday. While Ashmita beat USA’s Jennie Gai 21-16 21-18, Malvika defeated fellow Indian Anupama Upadhyaya 21-18 21-8 in their respective opening round matches. However, Priyanshu Rajawat, Kiran George and Subhankar Dey failed to cross the second qualification round. Priyanshu disposed off France’s Christo Popov 21-17 21-16 in his opening qualification round, only to go down 10-21 24-22 12-21 to China’s Li Shi Feng. Kiran, Odisha Open champion, beat Denmark’s Victor Svendsen 21-19 13-21 21-13 before losing 17-21 21-14 16-21 to Germany’s Kai Schaefer, while Subhankar defeated France’s Arnaud Merkle 21-16 17-21 21-17 but suffered a narrow 14-21 21-18 7-21 loss to Denmark’s Mads Christophersen. (PTI)
English footballer Jake Daniels comes out openly as gay
LONDON, May 17: English footballer Jake Daniels said he is gay in a trailblazing moment for the European men’s game. The 17-year-old forward on Monday made the announcement. “This season has been a fantastic one for me on the pitch,” he said in a statement. “But off the pitch I’ve been hiding the real me and who I really am. I’ve known my whole life that I’m gay, and I now feel that I’m ready to come out and be myself. “It’s a step into the unknown being one of the first footballers in this country to reveal my sexuality.” At the weekend, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye was left out of the matchday squad for a game at Montpellier amid reports he refused to wear a team jersey with a rainbow-colored number. (AP)
Asian Para Games postponed following Covid state in China
BEIJING, May 17: The Asian Para Games, which were scheduled to take place from October 9 to 15 in Hangzhou, China have been postponed due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers officially announced on Tuesday. “The Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games organising committee (HAPGOC) and the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) today announced the postponement of the 2022 Asian Para Games, originally scheduled to take place from 9-15 October 2022,” Asian Paralympic Committee said in a statement. The decision, though inevitable, comes less than a fortnight after the Hangzhou Asian Games, which were scheduled to be held from September 10 to 25, were postponed indefinitely on May 6. (PTI)