Sinquefield Cup: Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa draw again
Saint Louis (USA), Aug 23: World Championship challenger D Gukesh enjoyed an advantageous position against tournament co-leader Alireza Firouzja of France but eventually settled for a draw in the fourth round of the Sinquefield Cup, here. Gukesh, who is set to play the World championship match against Ding Liren of China next November, proved that he is made of sterner mettle as he made Firouzja’s life tough. Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa also drew his game against Anish Giri of Holland and almost at the half way stage in this 10-player round-robin tournament, the Indians stand at a level fifty percent score. The day when Wesley So of United stated States won the lone decisive game, the news doing the round through unconfirmed sources was that Firouzja has been offered to play for United States. (PTI)
Freestyle wrestlers disappoint at U17 World Championships
Amman (Jordan), Aug 23: India’s men’s freestyle wrestlers could not replicate the success of their women counterparts at the Under-17 World Championships as none of the five grapplers in action on Saturday could make the semifinals, here. Out of the five, only two –Harsh and Vevik – managed to win a round. Harsh (48kg) began with a confident 6-2 win over Erbol Bolotov but was outsmarted by Chingis Saryglar in the quarterfinal. In the 55kg category, Jaiveer Singh fell at the first hurdle, losing on criteria (3-3) to Azatberdi Ashyrgulyev, who later lost his quarterfinal to end the Indian’s chance of making a comeback through repechage. In 65kg, Sagar lost his qualification bout 5-7 to Bakdaulet Akimzhan and will now have to wait to know if the repechage route opens up for him. Vevik began with a decent 11-4 victory over Aliaksei Kuryla but lost his quarterfinal bout by technical superiority to Nikoloz Maisuradze. In the 110kg bout, Jaspooran Singh lost on criteria (1-1) to Kazakhstan’s Yedige Kassimbek. In the women’s event, four new world champions emerged and two – Kajal (69kg) and Shrutika Shivaji Patil (46kg) – are in gold medal contention. Aditi Kumari (43kg), Neha (57kg), Pulkit (65kg) and Mansi Lather (73kg) won the world titles in their respective categories. (PTI)
Sri Lanka-New Zealand opening Test at Galle to have a rest day
Dubai, Aug 23: Sri Lanka’s opening Test against New Zealand at Galle next month will be a six-day affair with the provision of a rest day owing to the presidential election in the island nation. The Test, scheduled to commence on September 18, will have a rest day on September 21, “owing to the Presidential Election of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,” said an ICC release on Friday. It will be the first time in more than two decades that Sri Lanka have been scheduled to host a Test across six days, with their match against Zimbabwe in Colombo in 2001 also including a rest day due to Poya Day (full moon), said the ICC. (PTI)
Mumbai Half Marathon to have 20,000 participants
Mumbai, Aug 23: Legendary Sachin Tendulkar will flag off the Mumbai Half Marathon to be held here on Sunday with around 20,000 participants set to take part including more than 6,000 women. Tendulkar will flag off key races of the event from 5:00am in the morning here at the Bandra Kurla Complex. The 10K race will see the maximum participation with over 8,000 registrations while the 21K half-marathon will witness a field of 4,000 runners, including some elite athletes from Maharashtra and elsewhere. The 5K will have over 5,000 runners while the 3K race will have more than 3,000. The race will also feature 1,500 runners from the Indian Navy while the organisers informed that there has been a 31 per cent hike in numbers of female participants this year. “We aim to promote running as a fitness avenue, bringing this vision to life. It’s heartening to see a significant increase in registrations for the Mumbai half-marathon this year,” Tendulkar said in a release. (PTI)