Khelo India Water Sports commences with 400 athletes
SRINAGAR, Aug 21: The inaugural three-day Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) commenced at the iconic Dal Lake here on Thursday with over 400 athletes participating in the event, officials said.The athletes are competing for medals in rowing, canoeing and kayaking, and as many as 24 gold medals will be at stake over the next three days.To add to the glamour of the festival, there will be three demonstration events — water skiing, shikhara boat spring and dragon boat race.The KIWSF will see 36 states and union territories in action. Among them, all eyes will be on athletes from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala.“Since Services will not take part in these Games as a team, it will be good to see how the states compete and perform. The course has been prepared keeping all international specifications in mind and we are all set to go,” competition manager, Bilquis Mir, a former World Cupper canoeist and an Olympic judge, said.KIWSF is a new addition to the Khelo India calendar. (PTI)
New Delhi to host squash nationals from August 23
NEW DELHI, Aug 21: The National Squash Championship will be held in the national capital from August 23 to 28, marking the event’s return to the city after seven years.As many as 300 players from 25 states will take part in the HCL-promoted championship which carries a prize pool of Rs 8 lakhs. Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in the heart of the city will host all games.“The enthusiasm for this year’s championship is unprecedented. We have six players ranked in the world’s top 100, all of whom are participating.“With our top players in action, we expect intense competition, and I believe this event will inspire many more players across the country to take up the sport,” said Cyrus Poncha, secretary general at Squash Rackets Federation of India in a statement. (PTI)
Haryana, Odisha set up title clash in junior national hockey
JALANDHAR, Aug 21: Haryana and Odisha emerged victorious in their respective semifinals of the 15th Hockey India Junior Men’s National Championship here on Thursday.In the first semifinal, Haryana defeated Uttar Pradesh 3-0 with Nitin (3’, 54’) scoring two goals for his team and Jeetpal (47’) hitting the third.The second semifinal between Odisha and Punjab was a closely contested affair in which the former defeated the hosts 3-2 with Karan Lakra (58’) scoring in the final few minutes of the game.The other two goals for Odisha were scored by Pratap Toppo (1’, 15’), while captain Gursewak Singh (12’) and Manmeet Singh Rai (44’) struck one each for Punjab. (PTI)
U-20 Wrestling:Shruti, Saarika Kaajal lock semifinal places
SAMOKOV, (Bulgaria) Aug 21: Continuing India’s impressive run in the women’s event of the U20 World Wrestling Championships, Shruti, Saarika and Kaajal locked their places in the semifinals of their respective weight categories, here on Thursday.Also making the semifinal stage was Greco Roman wrestler Suraj in the 60kg category, but Prince (82kg) lost in the quarterfinals.Competing in the lowest women’s weight category of 50kg, Shruti began with a narrow 5-4 win over Violetta Biriukova in the pre-quarterfinals and followed up with a commanding 4-0 victory over Poland’s Anna Yatskevych.Saarika was dominant in the 53kg weight class. She outclassed Sevval Cayir by technical superiority (12-2) and did not lose a single point in her quarterfinal against China’s Tianyu Sun, winning 8-0.She will be up against Ukraine’s Anastasia Polska.In the 72kg, Kaajal outwitted Emili Mihaylova Apostolova for a massive 15-4 win by technical superiority and put up another impressive show by winning her quarterfinal 7-0 against Kyrgyzstan’s Kaiyrkul Sharshebaeva.She now faces American wrestler Jasmine Dolores Robinson for a place in the gold medal bout.Reena (55kg) and Priya (76kg) had reached the final and will compete in their gold medal bouts later in the day.Tapasya (57kg) has already won a gold and Srishti (68kg) a silver. (PTI)
Lyles loses to Seville in the 100 meters at rain-soaked meet
LAUSANNE, Aug 21: Olympic 100-meter champion Noah Lyles was beaten again by Oblique Seville when the Jamaican splashed to victory at a rain-soaked Athletissima meet.Seville on Wednesday defied steady rain and standing water on the track to impress in 9.87 seconds – just .01 outside his winning time at London last month when Lyles also was second in his injury-delayed season.Lyles clocked 10.02 in his third straight loss over 100 meters on the Diamond League circuit ahead of defending his world title in Tokyo next month.The United States star trailed out of the blocks then chased down fast-starting Ackeem Blake in the next lane. Blake was given the same time in third.Seville placed eighth in the Paris Olympics final last year when his Jamaica teammate Kishane Thompson was edged on the line by Lyles. Thompson is fastest in the world this year – clocking 9.75 in June – and won Saturday in Poland when Lyles was second in an encouraging 9.90.Heavy rain marred the women’s field events for Olympic champions at the 50th anniversary meet in Lausanne. High jump world record holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh opted to stop after one failure each at 1.86 meters and then 1.91, and javelin gold medalist Haruka Kitaguchi placed last. The women’s pole vault event was stopped entirely. (AP)
Basketball at 2028 Olympics will start 2 days before opening
LOS ANGELES, Aug 21: Basketball at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will start two days before the opening ceremony for those Games, organisers have confirmed. FIBA, the sport’s global governing body, said on Wednesday that it has reviewed a revised basketball schedule for Los Angeles and that games will begin on July 12, 2028 – ahead of the July 14 opening ceremony.It is unclear if the men’s tournament, the women’s tournament or both will start before the official opening. A preliminary schedule released last month calls for three basketball games on July 12 and three more on July 13.“This adjustment allows the quarterfinals to be played over two days and will also ensure that no game will start earlier than (noon), enhancing the overall experience for players, teams, fans and broadcasters,” FIBA said in a news release. (PTI)