49-member contingent to represent India at World Winter Games
TURIN, Feb 20: India will be represented by a 49-member contingent at the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2025, to be held in Turin, Italy from March 8 to 15.The contingent includes 30 athletes and 19 support staff, who will be participating across six disciplines — alpine skiing, cross country skiing, floorball, short-track speed skating, snowboarding and snowshoeing.The 12th edition of the Special Olympics World Winter Games will feature eight disciplines and are expected to draw over 1,500 athletes, 621 coaches and 1,00,000 spectators from 102 countries.Additional special programs, including the Special Olympics Global Youth Leadership Summit, Healthy Athletes Screenings, and the Motor Activity Training Program will also be organised for athletes, families and spectators during the event.India’s have bagged 167 medals over the years in these Games, including 73 gold, 49 silver and 45 bronze medals across various disciplines.“I would like to extend my best wishes to the athletes… Their hard work and dedication inspire us all, and we look forward to witnessing their spirited performances in Turin,” said president of Special Olympics Bharat Dr Mallika Nadda. (PTI)
Venus Williams gets a wild-card entry for Indian Wells tournament
CALIFORNIA, Feb 20: NP Paribas Open, which would make next month’s tournament in Indian Wells, California, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion’s first event in nearly a full year.The 44-year-old Williams hasn’t competed anywhere on tour since a first-round loss at the Miami Open on March 19, 2024. That was less than two weeks after she lost her opening match at Indian Wells.Her first appearance at Indian Wells came in 1994. Williams won five titles at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open in singles, along with 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her younger sister, Serena.Other wild-card recipients announced Wednesday include two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova – who is returning to action after a 15-month break while giving birth to her first child – and teenagers João Fonseca and Learner Tien.Fonseca, 18, won his first ATP title at the Argentina Open this month. Tien, 19, reached the fourth round at the Australian Open in January.The BNP Paribas Open runs from March 2-16. (PTI)
Haryana grab 106 medals at National Paralympic Athletics
CHENNAI, Feb 20: Haryana reigned supreme at the 23rd National Paralympic Athletics Championship, clinching a staggering 106 medals, including 49 gold here on Thursday.With an additional 32 silver and 25 bronze, they topped the medals tally to emerge overall champions.Hosts Tamil Nadu finished second with 17 gold, 18 silver, and 12 bronze, while Uttar Pradesh secured the third place with 14 gold, 17 silver, and 11 bronze. Rajasthan and Maharashtra rounded off the top five in the three-day event.On the final day’s action, Haryana made a clean sweep in the men’s discus throw F37 event, where Bhavishay claimed gold with a throw of 44.27m, his state mate Haney, who took silver with an effort of 44.13m. Ankit, also from Haryana, secured bronze.In the men’s discus throw F51 event, Haryana’s Dharambir clinched gold with a best attempt of 10.91m, while Uttar Pradesh’s Ram Ratan Singh and Tamil Nadu’s Alexander Mani settled for silver and bronze, respectively.In the men’s discus throw F62/F64 category, Pradeep Kumar from SSCB clinched gold with a throw of 44.00m, while Rakesh of SSCB won the F42/F43/F44 event with 49.52m effort.Haryana’s Devender Kumar secured silver with 49.01m, followed by Shubham Dhull’s bronze.Haryana’s Ekta Bhyan maintained her supremacy in the club throw F32/F51 event, winning gold with a distance of 20.14m, while Rajasthan’s Durga Gahlot took silver and Haryana’s Geeta Rani secured bronze.In the women’s 200m T35/T36/T37 final, Delhi’s Priyanka Sharma sprinted to gold in 38.11 seconds, with Karnataka’s Tater and Chandigarh’s Babanpreet securing silver and bronze, respectively. (PTI)