Women’s HIL: Englebert powers Soorma Hockey Club to final
RANCHI, Jan 24: Charlotte Englebert scored a hat-trick to power JSW Soorma Hockey Club to the final of the inaugural Women’s Hockey India League with a 4-2 win over Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers here on Friday.With this victory, Soorma Hockey Club have set up the final clash against Odisha Warriors on Sunday.Englebert (1st, 17th, 47th minutes) scored a superb hat-trick, while Hina Bano (9th) pitched in with a goal in between the former’s strikes.Captain Vandana Katariya (48th) and Shilpi Dabas (58th) found the back of the net in the last quarter for Bengal Tigers. Englebert took the Tigers by surprise as soon as the game began by picking up a loose pass on top of the circle and thundered a shot past rival goalkeeper Grace O’Hanlon.Soorma, after gaining the early advantage in the game, maintained the pressure in the minutes that followed.Halfway through the quarter, Sharmila Devi found Hina Bano from the right wing, who dashed across her marker in front of goal and squeezed the ball past Grace to double Soorma’s lead.The high press by Soorma rewarded them with multiple goal-scoring opportunities, including a penalty corner which went wasted.The Tigers defence struggled in the second quarter as within minutes, Englebert received the ball on top of the circle and picked out the bottom right corner with a reverse shot and made it 3-0 for Soorma. Sonam earned a penalty corner for Soorma early in the last quarter which resulted in a penalty stroke and Englebert completed her hat-trick from the spot with a low flick to the left corner.However, the Tigers responded by embarking on a counter attack through Lalremsiami on the right wing and her cross deflected to Vandana, who stretched to push the ball into Soorma’s goal.It was end an end-to-end affair from thereon game as the Tigers frantically attempted to score a second and earned their first penalty corner with two minutes left in the game.Dabas stepped up to slap the ball to the right bottom corner and reduced the deficit. However, Soorma managed to halt the Tigers’ advances and secured their ticket to the final. (PTI)
Emma Raducanu seeking 7th coach after split with Cavaday
LONDON, Jan 24: British tennis player Emma Raducanu is searching for another coach after her partnership with Nick Cavaday came to an end because of his health issues.Cavaday was the sixth coach of the 22-year-old Raducanu’s short career that hit its heights when she won the US Open as a qualifier in 2021.In their 14 months together, Cavaday helped Raducanu return to the top 60 in the world following operations on both wrists and one ankle.“At this moment in time, it’s important for me to spend some more time at home and prioritise getting back to full health, which is hard to do with the extensive calendar,” Cavaday said on Friday.“I am glad Emma is back to being established on tour now.” Raducanu is currently ranked No. 61.After Nigel Sears, she was coached by Andrew Richardson when she won the US Open at the age of 18. She has since had brief stints with Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs before reuniting with Cavaday, who coached Raducanu as a junior. (AP)