Indian Davis Cup team begins preparations for Togo tie
NEW DELHI, Jan 23:Youngsters Karan Singh, Yuvan Nandal and Chirag Duhan sweated it out at the DLTA here on Thursday, doing fine live drills to start preparations for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Togo earnestly.Senior player Ramkumar Ramanathan joined the team in the middle of the session and will begin training on Friday, while Sasi Mukund, N Sriram Balaji, and Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli will arrive soon.Balaji and Bollipalli competed at the Australian Open.Coach Ashutosh Singh conducted the two-and-a-half-hour session in the evening after an equally intense morning session.Since the DLTA Centre court was still being prepared, the evening session was held at the show court, which is faster than the match court.Towards the end of the session, the coach asked Duhan to work on adding some slice to his serve.It will be interesting to see how Ramkumar builds up for the contest as he has been struggling of late, losing a number of first round matches on the ATP Challenger circuit.He also made a first round exit at the ITF event in Indore.The slow court was ideally suited for Sumit Nagal and it will be interesting to see how Ramkumar shapes up here.Togo do not have a single player in top-1000 but Ramkumar said the intensity can’t drop. (PTI)
Formula E gets a ‘pit boost’
LONDON, Jan 23: The FIA Formula E World Championship on Thursday introduced a “pit boost” for select races over the course of season 11.The mid-race feature will debut in the Jeddah E-Prix on February 14-15.“Pit Boost will challenge teams to weigh the benefits of an energy boost against the risk of losing track position, introducing new high-stakes strategic elements and enhancing race unpredictability,” said Formula E in a statement.The feature in the all-electric racing series will provide a 10% energy increase (3.85kWh) to race cars through a 30-second, 600kW rapid-energy boost in the pitlane.“This mandatory sporting feature — deploying significantly more power than current consumer superchargers — adds another strategic element during selected races, with the potential to dramatically alter race outcomes and tactics,” the statement added.Formula E previously used the Fanboost overtaking feature from 2014 to 2022.“PIT BOOST will challenge teams and drivers alike to make high-stakes decisions under intense pressure. ” said Formula E co-founder Alberto Longo. (PTI)
Mumbai Cricket Association achieves World Record
MUMBAI, Jan 23: The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on Thursday achieved the Guinness World Record for the largest cricket ball sentence using 14,505 red and white varieties of the ball here at the Wankhede Stadium.The feat came as a part of MCA’s grand celebrations for the completion of 50 years of one of India’s iconic cricket venues, the Wankhede Stadium here, which has been home to some of Indian cricket’s superstars. “We are thrilled to announce that the MCA has achieved a Guinness World Record for the largest cricket ball sentence at Wankhede Stadium, using 14,505 red & white cricket balls,” said MCA president Ajinkya Naik.“This incredible feat, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first Test match at Wankhede, is dedicated to the memory of Late Eknath Solkar and other former Mumbai players who have served Mumbai cricket and are no longer with us,” he added.The record was created on the anniversary of the first international match at the Wankhede Stadium played in 1975 from January 23-29 between India and the West Indies. (PTI)
Mir to become first Indian to race in World Karting
LECCESSE, (Italy) Jan 23: India’s 10-year-old karting sensation Atiqa Mir is set to become the first female from the country to race in the World Series Karting (WSK) Championships after being signed by 29-time champions Babyrace for a full season.This was after her impressive results in a test session conducted at La Conca circuit in south of Italy. The racer from Jammu and Kashmir will also be the only female in the Mini class having a highly competitive grid of over 60 karts.She will race in all three WSK Championships this year: the WSK Super Master Series, the WSK Euro Series and the WSK Final Cup as a debutant. The first of these three races, WSK Super Series Master Series, will be held over the weekend. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen is among the host of drivers that have raced in WSK in their formative years. (PTI)
FIDE Rankings: Gukesh becomes highest ranked Indian
NEW DELHI, Jan 23: Continuing his rapid rise, world champion D Gukesh dethroned compatriot Arjun Erigiasi to become the highest-ranked Indian chess player, at fourth, in the latest FIDE rankings on Thursday.Gukesh, 18, achieved the feat when he logged his second victory in the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk Aan Zee (Netherlands) defeating Vincent Keymer of Germany.Gukesh, who was awarded the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna recently, has amassed 2784 rating points, while Erigaisi, who was the highest-ranked Indian for a long time, has slipped to fifth with 2779.5 rating points.Norway’s Magnus Carlsen continues to be the undisputed world No.1 with 2832.5 points, followed by United States’ Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (2802) and country-mate Fabiano Caruana (2798).Gukesh has been in sublime form ever since he beat China’s Ding Liren to clinch the world title in Singapore in December last year.He took a break from the game to attend to functions and festivities back home and skipped the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in New York.On his return to the board, Gukesh has not lost a single game in Wijk Aan Zee. He has two victories and three draws so far in the tournament with eight rounds still to go.Erigaisi had became India’s top-rated player in September last year and in December achieved his peak rating of 2801, which had made him the 15th-highest rated player in history and only the second Indian after five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand to beach the 2800 threshold.Erigaisi. who was a part of India’s triumphant journey in the Chess Olympiad in Budapest last year, had gone to the World Rapid and Blitz Championship in New York hoping to secure a Candidates berth but returned home disappointed.The 21 year old is struggling in the ongoing Tata Steel Tournament, having garnered just one point so far, while Gukesh has 3.5. (PTI)