Gymnast Dipa finishes impressive fourth at Apparatus World Cup
New Delhi, April 19: Star India gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Friday signed off with another creditable fourth place finish in women’s vault final at the FIG Apparatus World Cup, a Paris Olympics qualifying event in Doha. The 30-year-old, who had finished fourth at the Baku Apparatus World Cup in Azerbaijan last month, once again missed out on a medal by a whisker after coming up with a score of 13.333. Panama’s Navas Karla (13.850) claimed the gold medal, while An Chang Ok of Korea (13.833) and Georgieva Valentina (13.466) won the silver and bronze respectively. Dipa had finished sixth in the qualifying round of the Paris Olympics qualifier. The other Indian in fray, Pranati Nayak had failed to qualify for the final after finishing 11th in the qualifying round. Dipa, who battled two knee operations in 2017 and 2019 due to ACL tears and a 21-month suspension due to a doping violation, thus failed to qualify for the Paris Games in vault. (PTI)
Esha, Bhavesh take day one honours at Oly Selection Trials
New Delhi, April 19: Esha Singh topped the women’s 25m pistol qualification while Bhavesh Shekhawat led the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol charts on day one of the Olympic Selection Trials here on Friday. Esha totalled 585 across her precision and rapid-fire rounds in the women’s sport pistol T1 qualification, to steer two points clear of Simranpreet Kaur Brar, who finished second. Manu Bhaker (582) was a close third while Abhidnya Patil (577) and Rhythm Sangwan (574) were fourth and fifth respectively at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range. In the men’s rapid-fire pistol, Bhavesh (580) took the top billing as he was rewarded for being the most consistent shooter through the day. However, Vijayveer Sidhu (579) and Anish (578) as the quota holders in the event will feel satisfied with the day’s work. But Adarsh Singh (572) and Ankur Goel (564) were not as good as they would have liked to. All 10 shooters will come back on Saturday for the finals and will be eager to earn crucial podium points, which can be the clincher in the final calculations. (PTI)
Akanksha exits World C’ship Asian Qualifying squash
New Delhi, April 19:Indian squash player Akanksha Salunkhe bowed out in the women’s singles quarterfinals of the World Championship Asian Qualifying event in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Salunkhe, 2023 National Games champion, was shown the door by lower-ranked Sehveetrraa Kumar of Malaysia. World no. 71 Akanksha, seeded second here, lost 6-11, 5-11, 8-11 against her Malaysian opponent in just 34 minutes. (PTI)
Goalkeeper suspended, fined for pointing laser at rival in Mexico
Mexico City, April 19: Nahuel Guzmán, a goalkeeper for the Mexican club Tigres of Nuevo Leon, was suspended 11 games and fined for pointing a laser at fellow goalie Esteban Andrada during a tournament match last weekend, Liga MX announced Thursday. The 38-year-old Guzmán is recovering from right knee surgery and was in the visiting team’s box at the BBVA Stadium in Monterrey last Saturday during the first half when he pointed the laser in the direction of Andrada, a fellow Argentine and the starting goalkeeper for Rayados. Monterrey’s sports president, Jose Antonio Noriega, went to the box and took away the laser in the first half of the match, which ended in a 3-3 draw. In addition to the suspension and fine, Guzmán must do unspecified community work. This is the first time in the history of Mexican football that a player has been sanctioned for pointing a laser at a rival. The 2014 Apertura final between América and Tigres was stopped momentarily because a fan was aiming a laser at players. Guzmán, who was on Argentina’s roster for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, will miss the rest of the Clausura tournament because of the suspension. It’s not clear when he will be healthy enough to play. The fine of Guzmán was one of several stemming from the match. Tigres was fined an unspecified amount for the behaviour of its fans. A Tigres fan could be seen urinating in a glass and throwing it on Rayados fans in video posted on social media. Andrada received a fine for a post on his Instagram account in which he made homophobic comments about Guzmán. And Monterrey was also fined over fan behaviour. A video posted on social media showed a Rayados fan throwing liquid at forward André-Pierre Gignac and making an obscene gesture. Without revealing names or the teams they supported, the Disciplinary Commission of Liga MX said two fans would be banned from attending league matches, although it did not say for how long. (AP)
Group condemns ‘humiliating searches’ by security at Barcelona
Paris, April 19: The director of a group that advocates for female sports fans says she and other Paris Saint-Germain supporters were subjected to “abusive” searches while entering Barcelona’s stadium for a Champions League match earlier this week. Anoush Morel, the director of Her Game Too France, told L’Equipe and RMC Sport that her breasts, buttocks and groin were touched by a female security officer during a pat-down at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night. Other women reported similarly aggressive searches, she said. In a letter Thursday, the organization condemned the practice and called on “relevant authorities” to take action. The group said there have been similar complaints at other stadiums in Europe, usually impacting visiting fans. It called on teams, organizers of the games and stadiums to ensure their security protocols avoid the “unfair treatment” of supporters. (AP)
Barcelona fined for fans making Nazi salutes, monkey gestures
NYON (Switzerland), April 19: Barcelona was fined 25,000 euros by UEFA on Thursday for Nazi salutes and monkey gestures by fans at a Champions League game against Paris Saint-Germain last week. UEFA said the proven charge of “racist behaviour” followed images circulating of misconduct by some fans at Parc des Princes on April 10. UEFA also deferred a one-game ban on selling tickets to Barcelona fans for an away game in the Champions League next season for a probationary period of one year. Barcelona also was ordered to compensate PSG for damage to seats by fans and pay additional fines totalling 7,000 euros. (AP)