Special Olympics World Winter Games medal winners felicitated
New Delhi, March 17: Indian athletes who had brought laurels for the country by winning 33 medals at the recent Special Olympics World Winter Games were on Monday felicitated by the sports ministry. India had won 8 gold, 18 silver and 7 bronze medals in the Special Olympics World Winter Games held from March 8 to 15 in Turin, Italy. Addressing the athletes, minister of state for sports Raksha Khadse said that the Special Olympics was not just a sports competition but a movement towards inclusivity and empowerment. The resounding success of Indian athletes demonstrates that with the right opportunities and support, individuals with intellectual disabilities can achieve excellence and self-reliance, she said in a ministry release. Special Olympics Bharat president Mallika Nadda thanked Khadse for her efforts in increasing cash awards for the athletes. Under the revised policy, gold medallists will now receive Rs 20 lakh, silver medallists Rs 14 lakh and bronze medallists Rs 8 lakh, significantly enhancing support for para-athletes in India, according to the release. (PTI)
Annual ski championship in Auli postponed again due to lack of snow
Gopeshwar (Uttarakhand), March 17: The annual ski and snowboarding championship rescheduled in Auli from March 16-19 has been postponed again due to lack of snow on the slopes. Organised by the Winter Games Federation with the support of the Uttarakhand government, the event was postponed in January end as well due to lack of snow, officials said. The competition was to start from Sunday but due to lack of snow in Auli, the federation has decided to postpone the championship keeping in mind the technical requirements for the national-level event, general secretary of the state Winter Games Federation, Ajay Bhatt said. “There was snowfall on Saturday, but there was less snow on the lower slopes than on the upper slopes. We waited till late Saturday for the snow to fall as expected. But only about half a foot of snow could accumulate that day, which was not enough. So, the technical committee decided to postpone the competition,” Bhatt said. (PTI)
Indian trio of Beckham, Esow and Rojit sets new national record
New Delhi, March 17: The Indian trio of David Beckham, Esow Alban and Rojit Singh set a national record in the men’s team sprint event at the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in Konya, Turkey. The Indian trio clocked 44.187 seconds in the event which was held from March 14 to 16. They bettered the previous national record of 44.451s, set at last year’s Asian Track Cycling Championship. “Super proud of our talented cyclists David Beckham, Esow Alban & Rojit Singh for setting a new #NationalRecord, clocking 44.187s in Men’s Team Sprint at the UCI Track Cycling Nations Cup in Turkey. Super proud of you champs!” Sports Authority of India wrote on ‘X’. The Indians, though, finished 11th in the team rankings. Great Britain won gold with a time of 42.060 seconds while Japan (42.194) and Australia (42.352) took home silver and bronze medals respectively. (PTI)
Now Rizwan too skips National T20 Championship in Faisalabad
Karachi, March 17: After Babar Azam and Naseem Shah, Pakistan’s ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan has also chosen to skip the ongoing National T20 Championship in Faisalabad. Rizwan, instead, was spotted on Sunday playing a club cricket match in Peshawar as photographs of him playing no-look shots were highlighted on social media. Rizwan, who normally makes it a point to play in domestic cricket when there are no international commitments, has apparently opted to play club cricket as he recently returned after performing Umrah in Mecca and wants to relax before going to New Zealand for the three-match ODI series. Rizwan, Babar and Naseem were all dropped by the national selectors for the ongoing five-match T20 series in New Zealand with a new-look Pakistan side losing the first game by nine wickets. Babar is also presently in Mecca for Umrah. The National T20 Cup is scheduled to run until March 27 with all available players told to play for their domestic associations. (PTI)
Rory McIlroy wins The Players, builds momentum to the Masters
Ponte Vedra Beach (USA), March 17: Turns out Rory McIlroy needed only three good swings to win The Players Championship on Monday in a playoff over JJ Spaun. McIlroy blasted his opening tee shot and hit a pitching wedge to the par-5 16th to set up birdie, and then he found the island green at the par-3 17th with a 9-iron into a cold, crackling wind that effectively gave him a second title at golf’s richest event at TPC Sawgrass. Spaun posed over his 8-iron until he heard the groans of the spectators lined up behind the 17th green. His ball cut through the wind and sailed clear over the green into the water, leading to triple bogey that ended his hopes. McIlroy became the eighth multiple winner of The Players Championship, having also won in 2019. And it was the first time in his career that he won twice heading into the Masters. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last month. The first three-hole playoff in 10 years at The Players was caused by a four-hour rain delay on Sunday. (AP)
Matt Richtman is 1st American man to win LA Marathon in 31 years
Los Angeles, March 17: Matt Richtman won the 40th annual Los Angeles Marathon, becoming the first American man to take the title in 31 years. He set a personal-best time of 2 hours, 7 minutes, 56 seconds over the course that began at Dodger Stadium and went through downtown LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Brentwood before ending in the Century City neighbourhood. Athanas Kioko of Kenya was second in 2:10.55. Moses Kurgat of Kenya took third in 2:13.13. It was just Richtman’s second marathon, following his debut last fall at the Twin Cities Marathon with a time of 2:10.47 to finish fourth. (AP)