Archery: Verma sets up compound summit clash against Kamboj
Jamshedpur, Dec 18: Continuing his impressive run at the Archery Senior Nationals, World Cup medallist Abhishek Verma set up the men’s compound individual gold medal clash against Uday Kamboj here Wednesday. In the women’s category, Parneet Kaur of Punjab will face Srishti Singh of Madhya Pradesh in the final. Verma, a two-time Asian Games silver medallist, delivered two flawless rounds, showcasing his precision and composure. He edged out reigning world champion Ojas Deotale 150-146 in the quarterfinals before overcoming Delhi teammate Aman Saini 150-148 in the semifinals. Kamboj overcame a tough challenge against Prathamesh Fuge of Maharashtra, winning 147-146. The semifinal was a smooth affair for the Punjab lad who ousted Simranjot Singh of Railways 148-145 Parneet got the better of Raj Kaur of AIPSCB 147-142 and Swati Dudhwal of Rajasthan 149-144 in her quarters and semifinals respectively. Srishti ousted Tamil Nadu’s KS Vhenisa Sree 145-144 in the quarters before overcoming Jasveen Kaur of RSPB 144-144 (9*-9) in the shootoff en route to the final. The team event will see Services battle it out against Madhya Pradesh for the men’s title, while it will be Rajasthan versus Maharashtra for the women’s crown. Services defeated Punjab 234-230, while Maharashtra sailed past Haryana 229. In the women’s section, Rajasthan advanced with a narrow 231-230 win over Punjab, while Maharashtra sailed past Railways 229-224. (PTI)
Kiran Jadhav wins men’s 50m rifle 3P national crown, Kusale third
Bhopal, Dec 18: Indian Navy’s Kiran Ankush Jadhav beat Paris Olympic bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale and another Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar to clinch the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) title at the 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) here on Wednesday. Jadhav shot 465.8 in the final to leave Aishwary Pratap (463.1) of the home state in second place at the MP State Academy Shooting range. Swapnil of Railways led the 45-shot final till the 40th shot but bowed out in third ahead of the final gold-deciding shot, with a tally of 451.8. Earlier, Swapnil had topped the qualification with a world-class score of 593, leaving Aishwary a point behind in second. Jadhav had qualified fourth with a solid 590. In the junior final, West Bengal’s Adriyan Karmakar, son of Olympian Jaideep Karmakar, triumphed over Madhya Pradesh’s Kushagra Singh Rajawat comfortably with a score of 462.0, a full four points ahead of the local boy. Rajasthan’s Deependra Singh Shekhawat was third with a score of 445.6. (PTI)
ATP paid $1.3 million to 26 players via guaranteed-income plan in 2024
London, Dec 18: The ATP men’s tennis tour paid out $1.3 million to a total of 26 players in 2024 under a new financial program called Baseline that guarantees minimum annual incomes for players ranked in the top 250. Players received money in each of three categories, the tour said Wednesday, without naming most of the individuals: 17 got paid as part of minimum guarantees that make up the difference if players do not reach certain thresholds in singles prize money, three through injury protection that helps those whose tournament participation is limited by health issues, and seven via newcomer investment that provides funds to new members of the top 125. One player received money from both the minimum guarantee and income protection parts of the plan, which was announced in August 2023. This season was the first of a three-year trial. “As a professional tennis player, you’re focused on results. Relying on your performance to succeed can be difficult, especially when dealing with setbacks like injuries,” said Bernabé Zapata Miralles, who got a minimum guarantee to boost his season’s earnings. “We now have the comfort we need to improve, without the pressure of financial uncertainty.” Based on 2023 year-end rankings and 2024 earnings, the ATP made up the difference for players who didn’t reach certain thresholds: $300,000 for the top 100, $150,000 for men ranked from 101 to 175, and $75,000 for those from 176 to 250. Those figures will rise next season to $200,000 for Nos. 101-175, and $100,000 Nos. 176-250. Just for the sake of context, year-end No. 1 Jannik Sinner led men’s tennis with $16.9 million in prize money in 2024, while No. 100 Federico Coria took home about $590,000, and No. 250 Abdullah Shelbayh earned just under $205,000 in singles. (AP)
WTL’s third season begins today with new format
Abu Dhabi, Dec 18: The third season of the World Tennis League, starting here Thursday, will follow a unique format where the top two teams with the highest number of games will advance to the final scheduled for December 22. The teams will compete in a single round-robin format, with each team playing one match against each other, as per the format. The season will begin with a clash between Game Changers Falcons, featuring top guns like Elena Rybakina and Andrey Rublev, and TSL Hawks, led by the Women’s World. No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and India’s Sumit Nagal. Each match will consist of four sets: men’s singles, women’s singles, and two doubles sets, which may include men’s doubles, women’s doubles, or mixed doubles, as determined by the team that wins the coin toss. WTL will also follow a unique format in which, if the trailing team wins the fourth set, the match will go into overtime (OT). OT will continue until the leading team wins one more game or the trailing team matches the overall game total. If the game scores are equal, the match will be decided by a Super Shootout. The same players playing the fourth set will continue to play the Super Shootout. The first to reach 10 points wins, with sudden death at 9-9. The winner of the Super Shootout will be awarded one game and also earn two additional bonus points. (PTI)
Six teams pick 48 players in draft for World Pickleball League
Mumbai, Dec 18: A total of 48 players were picked by six franchises in the player draft for the inaugural edition of the World Pickleball League which will be held here next month. While the players draft consisted of 78 players from 20 countries, the tournament will feature men and women players from 14 countries including India, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Australia and the United Kingdom. The WBPL, which works closely with All Indian Pickleball Association (AIPA), is co-founded by former Indian tennis players Gaurav Natekar and Arati Ponnappa Natekar and will be held from January 24 to February 2. The six franchises in the tournament will represent Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi. The owners were guided by the league during the player draft here on Wednesday.(PTI)