Sarabjot shoots gold at Munich
MUNICH, June 6: Sarabjot Singh on Thursday opened India’s account at the ISSF World Cup here with a gold medal in the men’s 10m air pistol event, emerging triumphant in a field that featured a reigning world champion and a four-time Olympian.The 22-year-old Indian shot 242.7 in the eight-man final, leaving behind his nearest competitor Bu Shuaihang of China by 0.2 points.Germany’s Robin Walter won bronze.Sarabjot had on Wednesday shot a top score of 588 to qualify for the decider. The final had in its line-up the reigning world champion Bowen Zhang of China and four-time Olympian Yusuf Dikec of Turkey, besides Bu and Walter.Under the circumstances, Sarabjot delivered a fine pillar-to-post victory for his second individual ISSF World Cup medal, after his breakthrough gold last year in Bhopal.The young Indian was the strongest off the blocks shooting three high 10s off his first five single shots to take an early lead.His consistent shooting continued and he never gave up the lead until Walter caught up with him at the end of the 14th single shot.A clutch 10.8 for his 15th looked to have settled the final as Walter wilted with an 8.6. After Zhang bowed out in fifth, Walter upset Dikec for the bronze.Going into the final two shots, 1.4 separated Sarabjot from Bu, who was till then enjoying the chase as the pressure told on Sarabjot.In the end, Sarabjot, who had topped the selection trials for the Paris Olympics, did well to hold on for a morale-boosting win. (PTI)
England manager Southgate cuts two players from his Euro squad
LONDON, June 6: Gareth Southgate began narrowing down his final England squad ahead of the European Championship on Thursday by cutting James Maddison and Curtis Jones from his provisional 33-man selection.The Three Lions have one more game before the Euros begin in Germany on June 14 and Southgate must name his final lineup of up to 26 players by Saturday.Maddison and Curtis have departed England’s pre-tournament training camp before Friday’s final warmup game against Iceland at Wembley Stadium.“We thank them for being an important part of our pre-tournament preparation,” the English Football Association said in a statement Thursday.Tottenham playmaker Maddison was part of England’s squad at the 2022 World Cup, while Jones has impressed for Liverpool this season.Southgate must make calls on the fitness of defenders Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Lewis Dunk following injuries.All three were undergoing individual training programs on Thursday, the FA said. (PTI)
Lakshya Sen moves into quarterfinals of Indonesian Open
JAKARTA, June 6: Star shuttler Lakshya Sen was the lone bright spot on a grim day for Indian badminton players, entering the men’s singles quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 tournament with a win over Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto here on Thursday.Sen hardly batted an eyelid while securing a 21-9, 21-15 win over Nishimoto in his pre-quarterfinal match.However, it was curtains for Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in the women’s doubles.The Indian pair went down to Japan’s Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara 21-19, 19-21, 19-21 after an intense Round-of-16 match.Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa also exited the tournament, bringing an end to India’s campaign in the women’s doubles.Tanisha and Ashwini were beaten by South Korea’s Ha Na Baek and So-Hee Lee 21-13, 19-21, 21-13.Later in the day, the Indian mixed doubles pair of B Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy were ousted by China’s Siwei Zheng and Yaqiong Huang 21-9, 21-11 in a lop-sided contest.In the men’s singles, Priyansh Rajawat fought well against Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, the reigning world champion and the gold medallist in last year’s World Championships.Rajawat eventually lost 10-21, 17-21.After a meek first game, the Indian punched above his weight in the second game, tailing his superior opponent closely till 17-15.But the Thai man captured the remaining four points without much fuss to win the match. (PTI)
Wrestler Aman Sehrawat enters final of Budapest Ranking Series
BUDAPEST, June 6: Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat entered the final of the 57kg freestyle category with a 14-4 technical superiority win over over Russian-Belarusian Aryan Tsiutryn in the Budapest Ranking Series here on Thursday.Aman, the only Indian male wrestler to qualify for the Paris Olympics, will next face world championships silver medalist Rei Higuchi of Japan for the gold medal.This tournament will help Aman to improve upon his ranking, and get a better a draw at the Paris Olympics.The final will be held later in the evening.The Budapest ranking series is also known as Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial tournament. (PTI)