Shooter Anish Bhanwala wins bronze and Paris quota place
NEW DELHI, Oct 30: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Anish Bhanwala bagged India’s 12th Paris Olympic quota in shooting as he clinched a bronze medal in the men’s 25m rapid pistol fire event at the Asian Championships in Changwon, Korea on Monday.The 21-year-old from Karnal, who had 28 hits in the final, lost a shoot out to Japan’s Dai Yoshioka, who won the silver medal.Local favourite Lee Gunhyeok took home the gold with a score of 34 in the eight five-shot rapid-fire series decider.Bhanwala fetched the quota for the Paris Games by ending the qualification stage in third place with a score of 588, just one behind China’s Wang Xinjie who topped the field.Three Chinese made the six-man final as the Indian took the third qualifying spot behind world champion Li Yuehong on countback.It was enough to give him one of the two available 2024 Olympics spots, given that China had exhausted their quotas and Lee and Dai had also secured their Paris Games berths in earlier competitions. (PTI)
Leipzig midfielder Dani Olmo out with shoulder injury
BERLIN, Oct 30: Leipzig will likely have to cope without Dani Olmo until the new year after the Spain midfielder injured his shoulder, coach Marco Rose indicated Monday.Olmo separated the acromioclavicular joint between his collarbone and shoulder blade shortly after coming off the bench in Leipzig’s 6-0 win over Cologne on Saturday.It was only Olmo’s third appearance since returning from a knee injury picked up while playing for Spain in early September and came three days after he scored against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.“I have great trust in the guys, in the squad, in our quality. It’s a shame that he’s not here and now we just need to keep it together without him until shortly before Christmas,” Rose said, calling Olmo an “irreplaceable key player”. Olmo is also likely to be unavailable when the Spanish national team plays Cyprus on Nov. 16 and Georgia three days later in qualifying for the European Championship. Leipzig next plays Wolfsburg in the German Cup on Tuesday and its last game before the winter break is Dec. 19 against Werder Bremen. (PTI)
WTA Finals: Sabalenka topples Sakkari to make winning start
CANCUN (Mexico), Oct 30: World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus eased past No.8 seed Greek Maria Sakkari to win her round-robin opener at the WTA Finals. In the 10th meeting between the familiar rivals, Sabalenka needed 74 minutes to win 6-0, 6-1.Sabalenka came into the match with a 6-3 advantage in the head-to-head, including a 2-0 record this season. But Sakkari owned a 2-0 record against Sabalenka at the WTA Finals, having notched victories in Guadalajara and Fort Worth, WTA reports.A runner-up last year, Sabalenka has a chance to become the first player to make back-to-back finals at the year-end championships since Serena Williams in 2013 and 2014. She is also working to hold off Iga Swiatek and finish the year as the 16th WTA year-end No.1.In the women’s doubles, No.1 seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula suffered loss at the hands of Reigning US Open champions Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe 6-7(2), 3-6 in group play.Dabrowski and Routliffe are at the top of the Mahahual Group with a 1-0 record, while Gauff and Pegula begin 0-1. The other teams in the Mahahual Group are No.4 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova and No.6 seeds Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva. Earlier on Sunday, No.3 seeds pair Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara of Japan defeated No.5 seeds Desirae Krawczyk and Demi Schuurs 7-5, 6-2. In the opening match of the 2023 season-ending championships, it was the all-Japanese pair, who prevailed in 1 hour and 36 minutes. Aoyama and Shibahara saved 10 of 12 break points in the doubles showdown.Aoyama and Shibahara begin the round-robin with an early 1-0 lead in the Maya Ka’an Group, while Krawczyk and Schuurs start 0-1. Also in the Maya Ka’an Group are No.2 seeds Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens and No.8 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez. (IANS)