Devika, Rounak, Srikanth seal semifinal berths in US Open
Fullerton, June 27: Thailand Masters winner Devika Sihag upset third seed Riko Gunji of Japan, while Rounak Chouhan continued his dream run to reach the semifinals of the US Open badminton tournament. Devika kept her nerves in the business end of both the games to beat Gunji 22-20, 21-19 in the women’s singles quarterfinals, while Chouhan defeated Israel’s Misha Zilberman 23-21, 21-11 in just 38 minutes to reach his first men’s singles BWF World Tour Super 300 semifinal, here on Friday. Later in the day, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth packed off Liao Jhuo-Fu of Chinese Taipei 21-9, 12-21, 21-8 in the other quarterfinals to raise hopes of an all-India final on Sunday. In the semifinals, Chouhan will face eighth seed Su Li Yang of Chinese Taipei while Srikanth will take on fourth seed Yudai Okimoto of Japan. Meanwhile, Devika will face second seed Line Christophersen in the semifinal. The Danish player got the better of India’s Tanvi Sharma in the quarterfinals 21-16, 11-21, 21-11. In the other quarterfinal, Rakshitha Sree went down 15-21, 21-16, 21-12 against Canada’s Rachel Chan. (PTI)
India thrash Pakistan 7-1 in FIH Pro League
London, June 27: The Indian men’s hockey team produced a dominant display to thrash arch-rivals Pakistan 7-1 in the reverse fixture of the FIH Pro League’s London leg. After conceding an early goal, India stormed back through strikes from Sukhjeet Singh (20th), Harmanpreet Singh (26th), Hardik Singh (34th), Jugraj Singh (35th), Abhishek (41st), Raj Kumar Pal (44th) and Dilpreet Singh (54th) to register an emphatic victory at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre here on Friday. Midfielder Hardik was adjudged the Player of the Match. (PTI)
India beat Kazakhstan, enter QF in Badminton Asia Junior Team meet
Tokyo, June 27: Team India sealed their quarterfinals spot in the Badminton Asia Junior Mixed Team Championships with a dominant 2-0 (55-31, 55-21) win over Kazakhstan in their Group C opener at Yatsushiro, here on Saturday. With the all-important clash against Chinese Taipei to decide the group winner looming, India mixed things up in doubles. The girls’ doubles pairing of Durga Esha Kandrapu and Keerthy Manchala gave India a strong start with a 11-5 win over Alissa Kuleshova and Diana Namenova. Puneeth Suresh and Deepti Raj Aditi were then taken the distance by Mustafa Malikzhan and Kuleshova, but they managed to eke out a 11-10 win to take the score to 22-15. (PTI)
Divya to debut, Carlsen set for return in Global Chess League Season 4
Mumbai, June 27: Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen will make a comeback to Global Chess League after a year’s absence while FIDE Women’s World Cup champion Divya Deshmukh will make her debut in the event during the fourth edition. The draft for the fourth season will be held here on June 29 while the tournament will be organised in Bengaluru from September 3 to 13, the organisers said on Saturday. (PTI)
Russell fastest after Verstappen crashes in Austrian GP qualifying
Spielberg, June 27: Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix ended in controversy as Mercedes’ George Russell was credited with pole position despite a yellow flag for a dramatic crash by Max Verstappen on Saturday. Russell was warned of the yellow flag ahead of time by Mercedes over the radio and argued that he lifted off the accelerator earlier than usual for the corner and that the rest of his lap was still enough for first place. The stewards agreed and deemed the incident needed “no further investigation”. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton are set to start Sunday’s race in second and third positions respectively. (AP)
