Esha Singh enters 25m pistol final at Munich World Cup
Munich, June 2: Indian shooter Esha Singh qualified for the women’s 25m pistol final at the ISSF World Cup after scoring 293 in the qualification round here Sunday. Esha ‘s effort placed her sixth but compatriot Rhythm Sangwan, who finished second in the 10m air pistol trials, could shoot only 281 to be placed 68th on day one of the competition. Sandeep Singh, who had topped the national trials in 10m air rifle, narrowly missed qualification after finishing ninth with a score of 631.4. Divyansh Panwar was 12th with 631.2 while Rudrankksh Patil shot 630.7 to take 17th spot. The best Indian on show however was Arjun Babuta, who shot 635.1 while shooting for ranking points only. His was overall the second-best score of the day in the event. In the women’s air rifle, Ramita continued to impress with a 633.0 to make the final in fourth spot. Tilottama Sen and Elavenil Valarivan, the other two Indian contenders shot 629.3 and 628.3 to finish in 30th and 45th spots respectively. (PTI)
Adhikari, Rathi impress in inaugural Global Boxing Series
Mumbai, June 2: Delhi state champion Parul Adhikari and Pushpendra Rathi registered scintillating wins in the women’s and men’s light weight categories at the inaugural edition of the Global Boxing Series here. Parul banked on her reach and ability to land punches with quick left-right combination to beat Muskan Srivastava in a split-decision verdict while Rathi scored a Technical Knock Out (TKO) against Jayanth Gunji on Saturday. Maharashtra’s Malhar Bhosale and Pradish A notched TKO wins over Tensubam Meitei of Manipur in super welter weight class and Rajkumar Wagh in super fly category respectively. Hyderabad’s Suresh Pasham knocked out Mukesh NK in Round 3 of Welter Weight category. Tamil Nadu’s Hashir got the better of Samuel Harijana by unanimous decision in super bantamweight division. (PTI)
Turkish club Fenerbahce announce Jose Mourinho as its new coach
Istanbul, June 2: Former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho will be unveiled as the new coach of Fenerbahce football club later Sunday, the club said. Following days of strong indications that Mourinho was to take charge of the Istanbul club, it said in a post on social media platform X early Sunday that the Portuguese manager was to attend a ceremony at its Sukru Saracoglu ground. “Saracoglu is waiting for its new coach Jose Mourinho and its great fans at 19.00!” On Saturday Fenerbahce had posted a video message from Mourinho, 61, in which he told Fenerbahce fans he would “see you tomorrow in Kadikoy and let’s start our journey together.” It’s Mourinho’s first job since he left Roma in January after two and a half years marked by winning the Europa Conference League in 2022 and a series of disputes with referees. (PTI)
Long jumper Nayana James wins gold in Taiwan
New Delhi, June 2: Top Indian long jumper Nayana James continued her strong form as she won gold medal at the Taiwan Athletics Open with an effort of 6.43m in Taipei on Sunday. The 28-year-old Nayana achieved her best jump of the day in her third attempt under rainy conditions at the World Athletics Continental Tour bronze level event. Meanwhile, rising Indian sprinter Animesh Kujur won gold in the men’s 200m race at the Trofeo de Atletismo Ciudad de Salamanca-Memorial Carlos Gil Perez athletics meet in Spain. The 21-year-old Animesh ran 20.59 seconds to win the race but the wind speed of +4.9 m/s at the Helmantico Stadium in Salamanca on Saturday was not legal. The maximum permitted wind speed is +2.0 m/s. (PTI)
French auction house postpones sale of Maradona’s trophy
Paris, June 2: The auction of a trophy awarded to the late Diego Maradona that was planned this week has been postponed, French auction house Aguttes said on Sunday amid a judicial investigation looking into the possible resale of stolen goods. Maradona’s heirs this week failed to stop the auction of the Golden Ball trophy he received for being the best player at the 1986 World Cup by starting an urgent judicial motion. A French court ruled the auction could go ahead, but the lawyer for Maradona’s heirs appealed. (PTI)