Guwahati Masters: Priyanshu, Tanvi advance to pre-quarters
Guwahati, Dec 4: Top seed Priyanshu Rajawat and Tanvi Sharma Hemanth advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s and women’s singles events of the Guwahati Masters even as Unntai Hooda exited the Super 100 badminton tournament, here Wednesday. Priyanshu was made to sweat it out by compatriot Arya Bhivpathki before the former sealed the match 22-20, 21-14 in 35 minutes. Tanvi stunned seventh seeded compatriot Tanya Hemnath 21-18, 21-14 in the opening round to enter the round of 16. Priyanshu will next face compatriot Tharun Mannepalli, while Tanvi will be up against Yi En Hsieh of Chinese Taipei. In the paired events, mixed doubles top seeds Satish Kumar Karunakaran and Adya Variyath along with fifth seeds Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto stayed on course for a possible showdown in the quarterfinals. The top seeds defeated Nithin HV and Anagha Pai 21-14, 21-10 while Dhruv and Tanisha got the better of Chinese combination of Liao Pin Yi and Huang Ke Xin 22-20, 21-19. Just like Tanvi, up and coming youngster Shriyanshi Valishetty also grabbed the opportunity to impress with a 21-19, 21-14 win over Unnati Hooda. Local hope Isharani Baruah, seeded eight, played her heart out against India’s Asian Championship star player Anmol Kharab but ended up on the wrong side, losing 10-21, 21-18, 18-21. In the day’s other matches, Tasnim Mir squandered two match points and then saved two herself before defeating compatriot Ira Sharma 21-13, 19-21, 24-22 in just under an hour. She will now face defending champion Lalinrat Chaiwan of Thailand, who comfortably beat Tanishq MP 21-5, 21-7. (PTI)
Asian Women’s Handball: India suffer narrow 30-32 loss to Iran
New Delhi, Dec 4: Seasoned goalkeeper Nina Shil dished out a heroic defence but India narrowly lost 30-32 to Iran in their second Group B match at the 20th Asian Women’s Handball Championship here on Wednesday. Drawing from her considerable experience at the top level, Shalini Thakur tip-toed her way past a rigid Iran defence to open the scoring for India with a rousing finish. Shortly after, Bhawana Sharma, India’s player-of-the-match from their win against Hong Kong, scored from the penalty spot, to give the hosts the start they desired. The fast opening to the game set the stage for an exciting first half, peppered with gritty challenges and smashing finishes at both ends. Amid the action, India’s revolving goalkeepers, the seasoned Nina and captain Diksha Kumari, both gold medallists from the SAF Games, thwarted attack after Iranian attack, ensuring that the two teams headed into the break neck-and-neck. Nina’s robust defence of her goal kept Iran at bay after the restart, providing a steady platform for the Indian attackers to eat into their opponents’ lead. Shuffling from side to side, and extracting the best use of the pivot players, India opened the Iran backline on several occasions, and took the match down to the wire, before falling to a narrow loss. India will now look to bounce back when they take on Japan in their final group game of the tournament on Friday. (PTI)
Djokovic to kick off new tennis season at Brisbane International
Belgrade (Serbia), Dec 4: Novak Djokovic will open the new tennis season at the Brisbane International tournament, a warm-up event for the Australian Open. “I’m excited to be kicking off my Australian swing at the Brisbane International and to compete again at Pat Rafter Arena,” Djokovic, who will be seeking his 100th tour-level title, said. It will be only the second time Djokovic has played at the event, losing to Ernests Gulbis in the opening round in 2009. The tournament is scheduled for December 29 – January 5 with Grigor Dimitrov, Holger Rune, Frances Tiafoe and Nick Kyrgios also set to compete. Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion who has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other player in tennis history. He announced last month he hired Andy Murray as his coach to work together at the Australian Open, a Grand Slam event he won a record 10 times, The Australian Open starts on January 12. The 37-year-old Djokovic won only a tournament in 2024, claiming his maiden Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games in August. (PTI)
Dutch Grand Prix will drop off the F1 calendar after 2026
Zandvoort (Netherlands), Dec 4: World champion Max Verstappen’s home Grand Prix will only be on the Formula 1 calendar for two more years after it was announced Wednesday that 2026 will be the last edition. F1 said it granted a one-year contract extension for the 2026 race but it was the local promoter’s decision not to continue after that. Dutch Grand Prix director Robert van Overdijk said it would be “the end of a monumental era.” The beachside track at Zandvoort has been known for its passionate orange-clad fans cheering on Verstappen. He won the first three editions of the race after it returned to the F1 calendar in 2021 for the first time since 1985. Lando Norris won this year. (AP)