Indians shine in Commonwealth Rapid Chess Championship
Waskaduwa (Sri Lanka), Sep 6: Indian chess players delivered an impressive performance at the Commonwealth Rapid Chess Championship, securing three podium finishes.Grandmaster Mitraba Guha claimed the gold medal with 6.5 points, while GM Panneerselvam Iniyan took silver with six points. GM Laxman Rajaram secured the bronze with 5.5 points. Out of the 14 Indian participants, all finished within the top 30. Notable rankings among Indian men included Shyaam Nikhil P (5th with 4 points), Sayantan Das (8th with 4.5 points), and Hari Madhavan NB (9th with 4 points). Other top finishes included Adireddy Arjun (11th with 4 points), Arul Prakash N (19th with 3.5 points), Vaibhav Suri (25th with 3 points), and Krishna CRG (27th with 3 points). Among the Indian women, FIDE Master Kalyani Sirin achieved a joint-ninth place with four points. She was followed by Mary Ann Gomes (12th with 4 points), Sakshi Chitlange and Sagar Tejaswini (joint-16th with 4 points), and Arushi Kotwal (20th with 3.5 points). (PTI)
Saini bags gold in 50m Rifle 3P with World Deaf C’ship record
Hanover, Sep 6: Shourya Saini scripted a World Deaf Championship record with a score of 452.4 on way to securing gold in men’s 50m Rifle 3-Positions event here on Friday. He had made it to the final with a qualification score of 580. It is Saini’s second medal in the competition, following his silver in the men’s 10m Air Rifle event. Among the other Indians, Kushagra Singh sealed a fourth-place finish in the final. Chetan Hanmant Sapkal settled for bronze in men’s 25m Rapid-fire pistol, taking India’s medals tally in to 17 (five gold, seven silver and five bronze). Chetan shot 534 on way to bronze, finishing behind the Ukrainian pair of Serhii Ohorodnyk and Oleksandr Kolodii, who clinched gold and silver respectively. (PTI)
Tanisha-Dhruv bow out of Taipei Open
Taipei, Sep 6: India’s Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila bowed out of the Taipei Open Super 300 badminton tournament after a hard-fought loss in the mixed doubles quarterfinals here on Friday. The Indian duo lost 20-22, 12-21 to Thailand’s fourth-seeded pair Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Phataimas Muenwong in a match lasting just over half an hour. Tanisha and Dhruv, ranked 97th in the world, started strong, leading 6-3 and later held a 19-16 advantage in the first game. However, their Thai opponents, ranked 28th globally, mounted a comeback with a four-point burst to earn a game point. The Indian pair saved one point but ultimately lost the opening game after their rivals secured two more crucial points. In the second game, Pakkapon and Phataimas took control, establishing an 11-6 lead at the mid-game break and then maintained their momentum to seal the match, ending India’s campaign in the tournament. (PTI)
Dravid joins Rajasthan Royals
Mumbai, Sep 6: Former India captain Rahul Dravid was on Friday announced as the head coach of the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals on a multi-year contract. Dravid’s tenure as India’s head coach ended in June with the team winning the T20 World Cup for the second time. “The former Royals’ captain and coach spent five seasons with the franchise from 2011 to 2015, and will commence with the team immediately, working with Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara to implement the franchise’s overall cricketing strategy,” the franchise said in a statement. Dravid has coached Rajasthan Royals in 2014. (PTI)