Four boxers enter U22 Asian Boxing Championships finals
BANGKOK, Aug 6: Neeraj, Ishan Kataria, Yatri Patel and Priya packed a punch on way to reaching the finals of the U22 Asian Boxing Championships here on Wednesday.Neeraj relied on his speed and counter-attacking skills to defeat Kyeongho Bang of South Korea 5:0 in the men’s 75kg category to book a place in the title showdown, while Ishan Kataria, in men’s 90+kg, dominated Chen Chen of China with his big punches as the referee had to stop the contest in the third round.Yatri Patel in women’s 57kg then reached the final by using a combination of left-right punches to dominate Vietnam’s Thi Nhung Quand and win by a unanimous 5:0 verdict.Priya (women’s 60kg) also came up with a dominating performance to overpower Uzbekistan’s Odinakhon Ismoilova to reach the final.The U19 and U22 Asian Boxing Championships, which are being held simultaneously, gives India’s rising stars a platform to showcase their skills against some of Asia’s toughest opponents.India has fielded 40 boxers – 20 in each age group – in the competition.Among the other semi-finalists, Rockey Chaudhary’s bout against Iran’s Sam Estaki was stopped in the second round as he suffered cuts over both his eyebrows.Harsh (60kg) and Mayur (90kg) took the fight to their respective opponents but could not finish on the right side of the split verdict.Harsh went down 1:4 against Uzbekistan’s Shohruh Abdumalikov while Mayur lost to Shakhzod Polvonov from the same country.Ankush went down 0:5 to Sanzhar-Ali Begaliyev of Kazakhstan. All the four boxers will bring home a bronze medal each.Bhawna Sharma went down 1:4 against Robiyakhon Bakhtiyorova of Uzbekistan in the women’s 48kg category, while Parthavi Grewal (women’s 60kg), Parnjal Yadav (women’s 65kg) and Shruti (women’s 75kg) also lost their semifinal bouts to settle for bronze medals. (PTI)
Harish, Tayin enter third round in Asian Surfing C’ships
CHENNAI, Aug 6: India’s Harish Prakash and Tayin Arun produced fine efforts to enter the third round of the Under-18 boys’ category in the Asian Surfing Championships here on Wednesday.On the third day of the tournament, Arun registered the best score among the Indian competitors – 9.23 – while moving to the third round behind behind Tinn Johnson of Thailand, who logged 9.60 points.The 11-year-old Prakash too was impressive while accumulating 7.97 points for a third round berth behind Malaysia’s Lucas Santiago (10.57 points).The third Indian surfer in the fray, Prahlad Sriram finished third in Heat 6 with a score of 4.94 and he will now compete in the Repechage round two.However, China’s Shidong Wu (17.34 points) and Korea’s Kanoa Heejae (13.10 points) were the top performers of the first round.Competitions in the senior men’s and women’s sections will resume on Thursday. (PTI)
Tennis player Elina Svitolina faces hateful abuse after loss
TORONTO, Aug 6: Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has spoken out about the deluge of hateful abuse she received online from frustrated gamblers after losing a match in Canada, including messages wishing her death and celebrating Russia killing her compatriots.Following her straight-sets loss to Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open on Tuesday night, Svitolina posted screenshots of the messages on Instagram.The abuse was directed at her, while other racial slurs also targeted her husband, the French tennis player Gael Monfils, who is Black. One abuser hoped that Russia “kills all you (expletive) Ukrainians” in the war raging in Svitolina’s country.“To all the bettors: I’m a mum before I’m an athlete,” Svitolina wrote in her Instagram story. “The way you talk to women – to mothers – is SHAMEFUL. If your mothers saw your messages, they’d be disgusted.” Earlier this year, British player Katie Boulter said she received death threats during the French Open targeting her and her family, while the WTA and ITF called on betting companies to do more to stem the flood of online abuse players face on social media.Boulter told the BBC in an interview that online abuse has become the norm and that she thinks many of the messages are sent by people who are placing bets on tennis matches. (PTI)