Salima Tete named captain for women’s Champions Trophy
NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Salima Tete was named captain of the 18-member Indian women’s hockey team announced on Monday for the Asian Champions Trophy scheduled to be held from November 11 to 20 at the newly-developed Rajgir Hockey Stadium in Bihar.Navneet Kaur will serve as Tete’s deputy. India enter the competition with high expectations, having clinched the title at last year’s edition in Ranchi.The team will face stiff competition from five other nations, including reigning Olympic silver-medallists China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand, in the battle for continental supremacy.India will open their campaign against Malaysia on November 11.
India: Goalkeepers: Savita, Bichu Devi Kharibam.Defenders: Udita, Jyoti, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Ishika Chaudhary.Midfielders: Neha, Salima Tete, Sharmila Devi, Manisha Chauhan, Sunelita Toppo, Lalremsiami.Forwards: Navneet Kaur, Preeti Dubey, Sangita Kumari, Deepika, Beauty Dungdung. (PTI)
Chaufla secures silver at All India Racketlon Open
MUMBAI, Oct 28: India’s Vikramaditya Chaufla had to settle for silver medal after going down fighting against UAE’s Mohammed Kuba in the All India Racketlon Open here.Chaufla, who is India’s highest-ranked racketlon player and has taken part in multiple world championships, ended on the podium alongside gold winner Kuba and third place Adit Patel in the premier men’s singles event of the tournament. The finals took place on Sunday.Racketlon is a combination sport in which the competitors are required to play four racket sports: table tennis, badminton, tennis and squash.Naheed Divecha won the women’s singles title ahead of Shikha Barasia and Tara Bhandare.In the men’s singles 40-plus category, Nikhil Bhandare won the gold ahead of Varun Motasha and Akshay Jalan.Krishna B Kotak, the founder of Racketlon India Sports Association (RISA), topped the men’s singles 60-plus category ahead of Sant Swaroop Sharma and Kurimilla Devi. (PTI)
Delhi SG Pipers rope in Toscani as replacement for Ruhr
NEW DELHI, Oct 28: Delhi SG Pipers on Monday signed midfielder Lucas Toscani of Argentina as a replacement for forward Christopher Ruhr, the Hockey India League (HIL) franchise announced.Toscani was drafted in after Germany’s Ruhr pulled out of the tournament following an ACL injury on his left knee that he had sustained during the Paris Olympics qualifiers.Since making his debut for Argentina, Toscani has played 60 matches and netted 14 goals.Toscani also represented his side during the Hockey World Cup in Odisha last year and the Paris Olympics.He won gold medals at the 2022 Pan American Cup and 2023 Pan American Games.While Delhi head coach Graham Reid expressed his disappointment over Ruhr missing out, he was excited at having the services of Toscani. (PTI)
Vidit Gujrathi in fray for London Chess Classic
LONDON, Oct 28: India’s Budapest Olympiad gold-medallist and 2024 Candidate Vidit Gujrathi will be among the eight best players that will be in the fray in the 2024 edition of the prestigious London Chess Classic which will be played at football club Arsenal’s iconic Emirates stadium from November 29 to December 7. Besides Gujrathi, the line-up includes Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun; England’s No. 2 Nikita Vitiugov, British Champion Gawain Jones, England’s youngest-ever Grandmaster Shreyas Royal, the 8-time British Champion Michael Adams, and former World Rapid Champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.The name of the eighth player will be announced later, the organisers informed in a release on Monday. (IANS)