Treesa-Gayatri enter semifinals of Singapore Open
Singapore, May 31: Rising Indian women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand registered yet another upset win as they beat the sixth-seeded South Korean duo of Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong in a tight contest to enter the semifinals of Singapore Open here on Friday. The unseeded Indian duo came back from behind to notch 18-21, 21-19, 24-22 win in the quarterfinal that lasted one hour and 19 minutes. The world number 30 Indian duo thus made amends of their defeat to the same opponents at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. On Thursday, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist duo of Treesa and Gayatri had stunned world number two Korean pair of Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee in the round of 16. Treesa and Gayatri will be up against fourth-seeded Japanese pair of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in the semifinals on Saturday. (PTI)
Top players for FIDE World Junior Chess Championship
Gandhinagar, May 31: The youngest Grandmaster ever Abhimanyu Mishra, representing the USA, Indian GM Pranav Anand and International Master Divya Deshmukh will be among the leading contenders who will be vying for honours when the FIDE World Junior Chess Championship commences here on Saturday. The 230 chess prodigies from 46 countries, including several GMs, will compete in the prestigious two-week tournament, which will conclude on June 14. The championship, being organised by the Gujarat State Chess Association at the GIFT City here, aims to promote the sport and provide a platform for young talent to shine on the international stage. Dev Patel, secretary, All India Chess Federation, said the event will showcase the wealth of talent in chess across the world. (PTI)
Rathika exits in quarters of Hong Kong Challenge squash
New Delhi, May 31: India’s Rathika Suthanthira went down meekly to Malaysian third seed Sehveetrraa Kumar in the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong PSA Challenge Cup. The sixth-seeded Rathika, who won her maiden Professional Squash Association Tour title at the HCL Squash Tour at Indore last weekend, lost 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 to her higher-ranked opponent in the fourth leg of this tournament. (PTI)
Focus on Indian shooters in World Cup ahead of Paris Olympics
Munich, May 31: Away from the oppressive Indian summer, the country’s shooters would be hoping to further fortify their preparations ahead of the Paris Olympics when the ISSF World Cup (Pistol/Rifle) commences here on Saturday. Several shooters, who recently appeared in the gruelling nearly month-long trials in New Delhi and Bhopal, were keen to skip the World Cup because of “fatigue” and to focus on their Olympic preparations. But with the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) making participation in WC compulsory, and also reportedly thrashing out the contentious issue of personal coaches with the shooters, the Paris-bound pistol and rifle marksmen would like to use this last competitive outing to gauge their preparations for the Olympics. The issue of personal coaches had become a major point of contention. The shooters felt that there was little “flexibility” being given to them vis-a-vis personal coaches at the national camp. Though the issue seems to have been sorted for now, many personal coaches would not have accompanied their wards as the federation’s decision came on the day the shooters were leaving for Munich. With several shooters having displaced the original Paris quota winners in the national squad following a series of four Olympic Selection Trials (OST), the federation would also be keen to see how they perform in the World Cup. (PTI)
Govt approves Neeraj’s training stint in Europe with coach, physio
New Delhi, May 31: The Sports Ministry on Thursday approved reigning Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra’s plan to train in Europe for 60 days along with coach Klaus Bartonietz and physio Ishaan Marwaha as preparation for the upcoming Paris Games. The ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) also agreed to Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat’s proposal to include strength and conditioning coach Wayne Patrick Lombard for the international training camp in Hungary from June 10 to 21. Chopra, who created history by becoming the first Indian to win a track and field medal at the Olympics in Tokyo three years ago, will be training at different venues in Europe May 29 to July 28. (PTI)
Zverev’s trial for allegedly causing bodily harm to a woman begins
Berlin, May 31: German tennis player Alexander Zverev’s trial for allegedly causing bodily harm to a woman began Friday, German news agency DPA reported. Zverev, who is playing at the French Open, was not present for the first day of the trial. The prosecution accuses Zverev of pushing his ex-partner against a wall and choking her during an argument in Berlin in May 2020, DPA reported. The trial comes after Zverev contested an earlier penalty order issued on October 2, including a requirement for Zverev to pay fines amounting to 450,000 euros). Penalty orders are used in Germany as a means of resolving some criminal cases without going to trial if the suspect does not contest the order. Zverev has previously denied the allegations. His defence sought Friday to cast doubt on his ex-partner’s statements, DPA reported. (AP)
16 pugilists to feature in inaugural Global Boxing Series on June 1
Mumbai, May 31: Sixteen pugilists will feature in eight fights at the inaugural edition of the Global Boxing Series, to be held here on Saturday. Most of these 16 boxers in action at the Jade Garden Banquets in Worli will be making their pro-boxing debut. Among these boxers are Ishan Rawat, known as Knucklehead Warrior, and Tayne de Villiers, whose father has been a trainer for various MMA champions. Maharashtra’s Malhar Bhosale and Rajkumar Wagh, Hyderabad’s Jayanth Gunji, Suresh Pasham and Samuel, Tamil Nadu’s Hashir and Pradish as well as Paras Chauhan from Gujarat are the other boxers. (PTI)