Shooter Maheshwari locks 21st Paris quota place with a silver in Doha
New Delhi, April 28: Shooter Maheshwari Chauhan on Sunday sealed India’s 21st quota place for the Paris Olympics by winning a silver medal in the women’s skeet event on the concluding day of the ISSF Final Olympic Qualification Championship Shotgun in Doha. Maheshwari, competing in her maiden ISSF Final, lost 3-4 to Chile’s Francisca Crovetto Chadid in a shoot-off for gold, after both were tied at 54 hits in the 60-shot final. It is India’s second Paris quota place in the women’s skeet. (PTI)
Senthilkumar enters Batch Open squash final
New Delhi, April 28: National champion Velavan Senthilkumar brushed aside Hong Kong’s Andes Ling to enter the final of the Batch Open squash tournament in Paris. Senthilkumar, who is ranked 58 in the world, won his semifinal match 11-2, 11-1, 11-6 in 22 minutes on Saturday night. The Indian will face Frenchman Melvil Scianimanico for the title. Senthilkumar had earlier defeated Jakub Solnicky of the Czech Republic in his quarterfinal match 11-5, 11-6, 11-2 in 37 minutes in the USD 12,000 PSA Challenger Tour event. (PTI)
AICF exploring all options to host FIDE World Championship tie
Chennai, April 28: The All India Chess Federation (AICF) is exploring all options before taking a call on bidding for the FIDE World Championship match between India’s D Gukesh and Ding Liren. “We are internally assessing everything required to bid for it – understanding things like logistics, commercials and everything. Once we have a deeper understanding and a huge clarity on the dynamics, then we will be able to take a call,” AICF president Nitin Narang said on Sunday. Narang added that a call on the host city will only be taken after getting clarity on whether to go ahead with the bidding or not. (PTI)
Jadumani, Akash enter quarters of ASBC Asia Youth Boxing C’ships
Astana (Kazakhstan), April 28: Mandengbam Jadumani Singh (51kg) and Akash Gorkha (60kg) entered the quarterfinals of the ASBC Asian U22 & Youth Boxing Championships here on Sunday. Jadumani Singh outperformed Aldarkhishig Battulga of Mongolia by winning the bout with an RSC (Referee Stop Contest) decision in round two in U-22 category. Akash, on the other hand, faced a tough challenge against Mongolia’s Ganbaatar Gan Erdene but made a remarkable comeback after losing the first round to win the bout 4-1. Both the boxers will play their quarter-final bout on Tuesday. (PTI)
Hima to return to action after NADA panel’s go-ahead
New Delhi, April 28: Star India sprinter Hima Das will return to action at the Indian Grand Prix 1 on Tuesday in Bengaluru after a disciplinary panel of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) gave the green signal to her following a hearing last month, according to sources. The 24-year-old Hima was last year provisionally suspended by the NADA for three whereabout failures in 12 months. Her name figured in the women’s 200m race entry list for the IGP 1 on April 30, prepared by the Athletics Federation of India. “She was set free in a hearing by the NADA Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel last month,” an Indian athletics team source said on conditions of anonymity. The source did not elaborate about how the NADA disciplinary panel cleared her to compete again. The runner from Assam was not named in the Hangzhou Asian Games team last year due to an injury she had sustained earlier this year. She last ran a race – a 200m – during the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru in April last year, where she won a gold with a time of 23.77 seconds. (PTI)