Indian junior women’s hockey team goes down 0-5 against Aus U-21
Canberra, Sep 27: The Indian junior women’s hockey team slumped to its second straight defeat, going down 0-5 to hosts Australia U-21 side in the second match of its ongoing tour here on Saturday. Makayla Jones (10’, 11’, 52’) scored a hattrick while Sami Love (38’), Migaliya Howell (50’) also found the net for the hosts. India, who had suffered a narrow 2-3 loss in their opening match on Friday, were eager to bounce back, but Australia showed their attacking intent right from the start. The hosts struck twice in quick succession through Makayla to put India on the back foot early in the contest. In the second half, Australia continued to press high and capitalised on their opportunities. Sami extended the lead with a field goal to make it 3-0. The fourth quarter saw Australia seal the contest, with Migaliya finding the back of the net, before Makayla completed her hat-trick. With two defeats in their opening matches, the Indian team will now be aiming to regroup quickly and focus on improving execution in the upcoming fixtures. India will next face the Australian U-21 side in their third match of the tour on Monday. (PTI)
Top-seeded Iga Swiatek advances to the third round at the China Open
Beijing, Sep 27: Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek defeated Yuan Yue 6-0, 6-3 on Saturday to advance to the third round at the China Open and create some WTA Tour history. The WTA said Swiatek, with Saturday’s win, became the first player to register 25 or more wins at WTA-1000 events for three consecutive seasons. Top-seeded Swiatek, who won last week’s Korea Open in Seoul, has also won the French Open four times and the U.S. Open once among her six Grand Slam singles titles. In earlier matches Saturday in Beijing, fourth-seeded Mirra Andreeva beat another Chinese player Zhu Lin 6-2, 6-2 and American Emma Navarro defeated Elena-Gabriel Ruse 6-3, 7-6 (0). Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu were scheduled to play their second-round matches later Saturday. The tournament is being held concurrently with an ATP 500 men’s tournament. Jannik Sinner beat Frenchman Terence Atmane 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. (AP)
Alcaraz reaches Japan Open quarterfinals
Tokyo, Sep 27: Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Zizou Bergs on Saturday and then paid tribute to his physiotherapist following an ankle injury scare. The top-ranked Alcaraz landed awkwardly on his left ankle during his opening match on Thursday and was unsure how he would feel against Bergs. He held up well, saying he “could play normally,” and set up a last-eight meeting with Brandon Nakashima of the United States. “It was tough and it was a really important day and a half I had to recover as good as I could,” Alcaraz said when asked about his ankle. “I have said it before and I will say it again, I have the best physio in the world, who I trust 100%. “The work he has done for the ankle has been great. I could play normally, which is great. Sometimes I was worried about some movements, when I could feel the ankle, but in general I played some great tennis, a great match.” (AP)
Indian swimmers eye medals at Asian Aquatics C’ships
Ahmedabad, Sep 27: Two-time Olympians Sajan Prakash and Srihari Nataraj will spearhead India’s challenge against the continent’s creme de la creme at the 11th Asian Aquatics Championships, beginning here on Sunday. A total of 40 swimmers including 20 men and 20 women will compete at the newly-built state-of-the-art Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura here. The Indian contingent has been based in Naranpura over the past month for the national coaching camp. Over 1,100 swimmers, coaches and technical officials have arrived from 29 countries for the marquee event in the Asian Aquatics calendar which will serve as a qualifying event for the Asian Games to be held in Nagoya, Japan next year. Besides Prakash and Nataraj, Dhinidhi Desinghu and Bhavya Sachdeva will be India’s top hopes in women’s category. Optimistic about India’s chances in the event, which is historically dominated by the Chinese swimmers, India head coach Nihar Ameen said, “We had very good preparations with the entire contingent training together here at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex. It is a fantastic facility and it’s a very fast pool so I am quite confident our swimmers will do well here.” (PTI)
