Telangana, Dadra and Nagar Haveli win in senior men’s national hockey
Jhansi, April 6: Telangana, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu secured their first wins in the in the 15th Hockey India Senior Men’s National Championship here on Sunday. In the first match between Telangana and Uttarakhand, the former proved to be the better side on display as it won 4-0. In the other match, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu defeated Assam 2-1. (PTI)
Col. Rajpal Singh elected president of Delhi Judo Council
New Delhi, April 6: Col. Rajpal Singh of Swatantra Club has been elected as the president of the Delhi Judo Council and Naveen Chauhan of the Indian Academy of Judo is the secretary general. The elections of the Delhi Judo Council were conducted in the capital on Saturday. “We are pleased to announce that Col. Rajpal Singh of Swatantra Club has been elected as the President of the Delhi Judo Council. His extensive administrative experience and unwavering commitment to the development of sports are expected to provide dynamic and visionary leadership for the Council,” the sports body said in a statement. Sonam has been elected as the treasurer. Akram Shah, an Arjuna awardee, will head the athletes commission. The election was conducted by returning officer Shivnath Kumar and observer Paramjit Singh of the Delhi Olympic Association. (PTI)
Crawford beats Clarke to clinch SM Krishna Memorial Open title
Bengaluru, April 6: Great Britain’s Oliver Crawford clinched the SM Krishna Memorial Open tennis tournament as his compatriot Jay Clarke retired midway into the contest after suffering an ankle injury here on Sunday. Crawford, seeded second, was quick to get off the block as he raced to a 4-0 lead within 25 minutes. The Englishman, who came into the tournament after winning two successive titles in Shenzen and Luan, saved a breakpoint in his first service game to lead 1-0. The top seeded Clarke conceded a double fault in the next game, which offered Crawford a chance to seize the break. Crawford, 25, then held his serve to love in the third game and then broke Clarke again in the fourth to go 4-0 up. Clarke, playing in his fourth final in as many weeks, took a medical timeout and got some treatment on his right ankle. The break helped as he immediately broke Crawford’s serve, but the injury restricted his movements. The 26-year-old showed grit to stay on the court but felt a sharp pain in his right ankle again while serving in the eighth game and chose to retire. (PTI)
Parachutist dangles from rugby stadium roof in Toulouse, rescued
TOULOUSE (FRANCE), April 6: The start of a European Rugby Champions Cup match in Toulouse was delayed after a parachutist carrying the match ball got tangled up on the stadium roof. He was descending quickly when the right side of his blue-and-white parachute became stuck on a section of the roof, leaving him dangling some 15 meters above a section of fans. Numerous videos posted on X showed two firemen finally reaching the stricken parachutist via a long ladder extended from their fire truck. The parachutist was reportedly a French soldier. He appeared unharmed and helped them to untangle the chute as the crowd began cheering when they saw he was safe. After the firemen finally yanked the last bit of the parachute from the roof they were treated to a huge ovation, and they, in turn, got the crowd going to milk the applause. Toulouse’s match against English team Sale then got underway following a delay of 40 minutes. (AP)
Pogacar wins Tour of Flanders with another solo attack
OUDENAARDE (Belgium), April 6: Another blistering attack from Tadej Pogacar saw the world champion win the Tour of Flanders cobbled classic for the second time on Sunday. Pogacar had plenty of time to raise his arms above his head and soak up the applause of the crowd as he soloed to victory after taking off on the third and final ascent of the Oude Kwaremont. The three-time Tour de France champion had launched his last and decisive attack on the penultimate climb – about 18 kilometres from the finish — and not even defending champion Mathieu van der Poel could stay on his wheel. Pogacar finished 1 minute, 1 second ahead of Mads Pedersen, who edged out Van der Poel in a four-man sprint for second, just ahead of Wout van Aert and Jasper Stuyven. (AP)
Pegula sets up all-American Charleston final with Kenin
Charleston (US), April 6: No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula battled into her first One Charleston Open final, twice coming back from a break down in the third set to pull off a 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 semifinal victory over No. 9 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. With a topsy-turvy two-hour, 18-minute victory over Alexandrova, the top seed Pegula is into her second straight singles final of the spring, following up on her run at the WTA 1000 Miami Open. She has now reached finals in three of her last four tournaments, a run that includes the WTA 250 Austin title. Pegula’s win over Alexandrova was her 24th WTA main-draw victory of the year, putting her one ahead of Aryna Sabalenka’s 23, according to WTA. Pegula will now face her fellow American Sofia Kenin in Saturday’s final. The 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin advanced when another American, No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova, retired from their semifinal due to a right hip injury. Kenin was leading 5-2 in the first set when Anisimova stopped play. This will be the first all-American final at Charleston since Martina Navratilova beat Jennifer Capriati in the 1990 final. (IANS)
Brooksby upsets Paul in Houston, to play Tiafoe for title
Houston (US), April 6: Wildcard qualifying entrant Jenson Brooksby secured an upset 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(6) win over top seed Tommy Paul in the semifinals of the US Men’s Clay Court Championship. The 24-year-old American became the sixth tour-level finalist ranked outside the world’s Top 500 since 1990 and the second qualifier to reach the final of the tournament since it moved to Houston in 2001. Mariano Zabaleta also achieved the feat in 2007 before falling to Ivo Karlovic, according to ATP Tour. Brooksby will compete against No. 2 seed Frances Tiafoe, the 2023 US Clay champion and 2024 finalist, in Sunday’s final. (IANS)