Melbourne, Jan 16 (Tennis News) Veteran Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok have been seeded 12th in the women's doubles event of the Australian Open and have been pitted against Slovenia's strong singles players Kaja Juvan and Tamara Zidansek.

Sania and Kichekon have entered the first Grand Slam of the season after reaching the semifinals of the first Adelaide WTA event and making a first round exit from the second.

Zidansek is ranked 29th in the world in the singles chart while Juvan is also a top-100 player at number 89.

In the men's doubles, 41-year-old Rohan Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin have been placed in the bottom half of the draw where they will play against wild card pair of Indonesia's Christopher Rungkat and Philippines' Treat Huey in their first round match.

The mixed doubles draw has not been made as yet and it is highly unlikely that Bopanna and Mirza would enter together since their combined ranking won't be enough to enter the event as a team.

No Indian player could make the singles main draw with Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ankita Rain falling in the qualifiers. 

Also Read : Tie break thrillers continue to take the spotlight in Australia

News Source : PTI

Melbourne, Jan 13 (Tennis News) Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri suffered a straight sets defeat to Czech Republic's Tomas Machac in the Australian Open qualifiers here on Thursday, meaning the year's first Grand Slam will have no Indian participation in the singles main draw.

Bhambri lost his second round qualifying match 1-6 3-6.

Machac has a career high ATP singles ranking of 131 achieved on November 8 2021. He also has a career high doubles ranking of 470 achieved on November 1 2021.

On Tuesday, comeback man Bhambri had impressed with his attacking net play in a straight sets win but Ramkumar Ramanathan's 23rd attempt at cracking the singles main draw of a grand slam had ended in a first round defeat at the Australian Open qualifiers.

In the women's singles, Ankita Raina, ranked 203, was blown away by 120th ranked Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-0 in just 50 minutes. 

Also Read : Emma Raducanu falls in opening match at Sydney Tennis Classic

News Source : PTI

Adelaide, Jan 11 (Tennis News) Veteran Indian tennis players Sania Mirza and Rohan Boapnna, who enjoyed good runs on the Pro circuit last week, bowed out of the second Adelaide ATP and WTA events after first round defeats with their respective partners, here on Tuesday.

Sania and Ukrainian Nadiia Kichenok, the second seeds, lost the opening round of the WTA 250 event 3-6 3-6 to Czech pair of Tereza Martincova and Marketa Vondrousova in 61 minutes.

They had reached the semifinals last week.

At the men's event, Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin lost their first round 4-6 6-3 3-10 in 69 minutes to Americans Steve Johnson and Austin Krajicek, who served extremely well and handled returns smartly.

Bopanna had won the men's doubles with compatriot Ramkumar Ramanathan.

Bopanna made too many errors in the Super Tie-Breaker, in which they fell behind 1-6 from where it was extremely tough to make a comeback.

Both Bopanna and Sania will now play at the season's first Grand Slam, the Australian Open. 

Also Read : Goffin and Fognini celebrate comeback with victories at Sydney

News Source : PTI

Adelaide, Jan 7 (Tennis News) India's Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan registered a resounding straight-set win to cruise into the semifinals of the Adelaide International 1 ATP tournament here on Friday.

Bopanna and Ramkumar trounced the French-Monegasque duo of Benjamin Bonzi and Hugo Nys 6-1 6-3 in the doubles quarterfinals of the ATP 250 men's event.

The unseeded Indian pair will clash with the fourth seeded Bosnian-Mexican duo of Tomislav Brkić and Santiago Gonzalez for a spot in the final.

The two Indians are pairing up for the first time on the ATP tour.

Should Bopanna and Ramkumar continue their good show the two may pair up for India's Davis Cup tie against Denmark scheduled to be played in New Delhi in March.

Later in the day, India's Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok will take on local favourites Ashleigh Barty and Storm Sanders in the semifinals of the Adelaide International 1 WTA 500 event.

The Adelaide event is a tune up tournament for the Australian Open, starting January 17 in Melbourne. 

Also Read : Iga Swiatek continues stern title defence at Adelaide International 1

News Source : PTI

Adelaide, Jan 6 (Tennis News) India's Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok entered the women's doubles semifinals of the Adelaide International 1 WTA event after beating American Shelby Rogers and Heather Watson of Great Britain in a hard-fought contest here on Thursday.

Sania and Nadiia got the better of their rivals 6-0 1-6 10-5 in a quarterfinal tie that lasted 55 minutes.

The Indo-Ukranian duo will now face Australia combination of Ashleigh Barty and Storm Sanders in the last-four round of the WTA 500 event.

Sania and Nadiia had earlier knocked out second seeds Gabriella Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos 1-6 6-3 10-8 in the first round.

The Adelaide event is a tune up tournament for the Australian Open, starting January 17 in Melbourne. 

Also Read : Novak Djokovic moved to quarantine hotel after being denied entry into Australia

News Source : PTI

Adelaide, Jan 5 (Tennis News) India's Ramkumar Ramanathan and Rohan Bopanna entered the men's doubles quarterfinals of the Adelaide International 1 ATP tournament with a hard fought win over their rivals here on Wednesday.

In the ATP 250 men's event, the Indian combination of Ramkumar and veteran Bopanna, pairing up together for the first time on the ATP tour, had to dig deep to stun the eighth seed American duo of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-7(4) 7-6(3) 10-4 in a super tie-breaker in the second round.

The Indians had earlier trounced American Jamie Cerretani and Brazilian Fernando Romboli 6-2 6-1 in the opening round on Tuesday.

They will face the winner of another pre-quarterfinal match between the French-Monegasque duo of Benjamin Bonzi and Hugo Nys and the Belgian combination of Sander Gille Joran Vliegen.

In the women's WTA 500 event here, India's Sania Mirza and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok overcame a first-set thrashing to knock out second seeds Gabriella Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos 1-6 6-3 10-8 on Tuesday.

They now await the winner of the match between Australian duo of Priscilla Hon and Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and American-British pair of Shelby Rogers and Heather Watson in the women's doubles quarterfinals.

The Adelaide event is a tune up tournament for the Australian Open, starting January 17 in Melbourne. 

Also Read : Novak Djokovic confirms participation in 2022 Australian Open

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Everton this season are struggling as they lie 15th in the table and are only eight points above the relegation zone after their 3-2 loss against Brighton at home. Rafa Benitez has identified and rectified the two full back positions by purchasing both Mykolenko and Nathan Patterson for a combined fee of 29 million pounds.

The 20 year old from Scotland Nathan Patterson signed a five-and-a-half-year contract after Rangers accepted a deal worth about £11m. The right back was pursued in the summer after Evertin had two summer bids rejected, having been identified as a prime young target to challenge and ultimately succeed the 33-year-old Séamus Coleman, the selfless captain who continues to carry a substantial workload as well as heavy responsibility for a dysfunctional team is coming to his twilight of his career and has subsequently lost a touch pace. A younger and fresher full back is what the Evertonian fans as well as the manager wanted. 

Nathan Patterson after signing for Everton said, “It was an easy choice to sign. This is a massive club with a huge history and a tremendous fan base. Obviously we aren’t in the place where we want to be right now but we can definitely get there with the talent in the changing room and staff here, and I have full belief we can do that. It was also great for me knowing the manager really wanted me here and that made my decision. When a club really wants you, it makes your mind up early on. I wanted to come here from the very start.”

Everton also signed Vitaliy Mykolenko from Dynamo Kiev for a reported fee of 17.9 million pounds, the Ukraine international has agreed on a four-and-a-half-year deal until the end of June 2026. Mykolenko, 22, comes into the club as a direct replacement for Lucas Digne, who after falling out with Benitez might leave the club. Mykolenko has impressed at both club and international level in recent years as he’s Ukraine’s premier left-back along with that he has won 21 caps for his country and was an integral part of the team which reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020. Mykolenko has featured regularly in the last two Champions League campaigns and was a key part in his side’s domestic league title triumph in 2020/21. He has also won two Ukrainian Cups with Dynamo.

Mykolenko said: “Moving to Everton is a big and important step in my life. I have always dreamed of playing in the Premier League. English football is where the game was born and I think that it will suit my game very well. I am 22 but I don’t feel like a youngster. I have experience of playing at European level and hope I will continue to improve as a player. I am excited about the opportunity of playing in front of our supporters at Everton. I have seen the last few games at Goodison Park and they were unbelievable. They are incredible fans to whom I feel great responsibility.”

Also read: Disjointed Manchester United lose to Wolves in another lackluster performance

Everton this season have had their worst start as they are on the back of a dreadful run of eight defeats and one win from their past 11 Premier League games. A return of 19 points from 18 league games is the club’s lowest haul since 2005-06. Benítez wanted to strengthen both full-back positions and midfield this month, having spent £1.7m during his first window as Everton had to navigate the Premier League profits and sustainability rules. A fallout over tactics is believed to be behind Digne’s ostracism from the squad, with the manager wanting the creative him to concentrate more on his defending attributes rather than attacking all the time.  Digne has now become a  sellable asset at a club as Benítez prefers full-back who are tall. Mykolenko and Patterson may not be mountainous but they bring more height to a weak backline than 5ft 9in Digne and 5ft 8in Coleman compared to being 6ft 1in and 5ft 9in respectively.
 

Adelaide, Jan 4 (Tennis News) On an all-win day for Indian tennis players, Sania Mirza and the pair of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Rohan Bopanna emerged victorious in their respective first round matches, albeit in contrasting fashion, in the ATP and WTA tournaments, here on Tuesday.

Sania and her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok overcame a first-set thrashing to knock out second seeds Gabriella Dabrowski and Giuliana Olmos 1-6 6-3 10-8 in the WTA 500 event.

In the ATP 250 men's event, the Indian combination of Ramkumar and veteran Bopanna, pairing up together for the first time on the ATP tour, had an easy day out.

They trounced American Jamie Cerretani and Brazilian Fernando Romboli 6-2 6-1 to set up the pre-quarterfinal with eighth seed American pair of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow.

"We had a good match. Both of us served And returned well. We combined well and stuck to the plan," Ramkumar told PTI.

"We had practiced once with the same team before the draw which helped us.

"I am always happy to play with Bops (Bopanna), who is so experienced and is someone who has always been of good support and helps me with my tennis with all the experience he has," he added.

Since India will host Denmark on grass courts in New Delhi in their next Davis Cup tie in March, it is a possibility that Bopanna and Ramkumar, who has developed a fantastic serve and volley game, may pair up for the doubles.

This tournament will give them that opportunity to find out what works for them, if at all the captain decides to field them as a team.

Interestingly, Ramkumar got a chance to play with Denmark's top singles player Holger Rune in the singles Qualifiers and lost 4-6 6-7(7) in a close first round match.

Rune, ranked 103, eventually qualified for the main draw.

The match must have given him a fair idea of what to expect from Rune when he lands in Delhi for the Davis Cup.

"It was a good match. I think, I started off a bit slow where I got broken in the first game. But After that it was an extremely close and hard fought match "I was just a bit unlucky to not have converted those set points. He played good on a few of them and he is quick, so all credit to him. Hopefully I can get him back on grass," Ramkumar said.

The Adelaide event is a tune up tournament for the Australian Open, starting January 17 in Melbourne. 

Also Read : Australia overpower Italy as Humbert puts up a show against Russia in ATP Cup

News Source : PTI

(Tennis news) The first WTA event of the season has started and all the top players are lined up for a tight start. This is the second year that the Adelaide International 1 has been held as the inaugural edition was in 2020. The WTA 500 event will help the players for the 2022 Australian Open as they get used to the hardcourts in Australia. Leylah Fernandez had been a machine on wheels at the US Open and will get the pedal going from the start of the season. Here are the top four players to watch out for in the event.

 

Ashleigh Barty

 

The world number one and the defending champion Ashleigh Barty is the favourite to take the title again as the winds are blowing in her favour. The 25 year old had a great season in 2021 and will look to start the year with a deep run in the opening week. The hardcourts will make sure the Australian feels right at home and prep her up for the major. Barty has chances of playing Cori Gauff in the next round and has a bit of dirt in her parth.

 

Maria Sakkari

 

Sakkari has already started her season campaign with a win in the opening round. The third seed had lost in the fourth round to Donna Vekic the last time she played here but this time she is much more determined to make it to the peak. Sakkari has grown a lot in the past 12 months and with her powerful groundstrokes can break new grounds. She can face Shelby Rogers in the next round and has a smooth passage next.

 

Paula Badosa

 

The Spaniard is new to the top 10 but not new in beating top ranked players. She will look to start 2022 with a victory and has already proven herself in bigger tournaments. Badosa has a tough opening match against Victoria Azarenka and even if she overcomes her will mostly face Petra Kvitova. Two important victories in the opening matches will give her the confidence for the final rounds. Badosa played 32 events which was the most by a top 20 player and can take heavy load without breaking down.

 

Elina Svitolina

 

Svitolina is one of the most experienced players at the event. The 27 year old has been one of the top ranked players over the past few years and needs to have a breakthrough in the start of the season to keep the flow running for the next few months. Svitolina is playing at the event for the first time, the Ukrainian needs 13 more victories for 400 career victories and will get her form running against Anastasia Gasanova in the opening round tomorrow.

 

Also read: Venus Williams joins Serena over withdrawal from 2022 Australian Open

 

(Tennis news) The 2021 season saw many players saying goodbye to the sport and they won’t be seen once the 2022 season begins. Although only few players are left who have been playing since the early 2000’s, most of them have been affected with injuries and exited the top 100 while some of them are still in the top 50. Let's look at some players who have retired this year.

 

Jurgen Melzer

 

Melzer has been playing on the tour since 1999 and turned 40 this year. The left hander had 350 wins in his singles and doubles career although he last played a singles match in 2018 at Vienna. His last Grand Slam match was in the 2017 Australian Open against Roger Federer in the first round, Melzer will be remembered for his two set comeback win against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Roland Garros. That was the only instance a player beat the Serbian from two sets down, Melzer had also beaten Rafael Nadal at the Shanghai Masters 1000 that year. Melzer reached the fourth round in all the slams and the 2010 Roland Garros Semifinal was his best result.

 

In the doubles event, Melzer won the Wimbledon and US Open title with Philipp Petzschner. The former world number 8 also has five singles titles and retired from the singles tour in 2018.

 

Alexandr Dolgopolov

 

Dolgopolov last played a match in 2018 at Rome when he suffered a wrist injury. The Ukrainian last won a title in 2017 at Buenos Aires defeating the then world number 5 Kei Nishikori in the final. Dolgopolov was known for his unconventional strokes as his forehand and backhand were unorthodox but quite effective as it was not predictable. The 6 time tour finalist had a rock solid backhand drop shot which had a huge amount of spin that made even players like Rafael Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov give up the chase.

 

Dolgopolov’s biggest moment came at the 2011 Australian Open where he reached the quarterfinals defeating Robin Soderling in the fourth round in a five setter match. 3 years later at Indian Wells he took out World number one Nadal in the opening round and went on to reach the semifinals where he lost to Roger Federer. In 2015, the former world number 13 reached the semifinals at Cincinnati as a qualifier.

 

Viktor Troicki

 

Troicki was last seen playing a few months in the grass courts at the Cinch Championships where he reached the fourth round. The 35 year old had won three titles in the singles tour and last won a title at Sydney five years back. Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic and Djokovic were Serbia’s leasing singles players on tour until Tipsarevic retired two years back and now Troicki joined his fellow countryman. The 2020 ATP Cup saw Serbia winning the title as Troicki teamed up with Djokovic in the final doubles rubber against Spain and in the doubles he only lost one match against Chile. Troicki was the world number 11 a decade ago and is hanging up the racquets after being on the tour for 15 years.

 

 

Paolo Lorenzi

 

Paolo has been on tour since 2003 although his first and only title came in 2016 making him the oldest first time singles champion since 1990. The Italian played two main tour matches this year and was one of the most hard working professionals on tour. The 40 year old cracked the top 35 in 2017 after two runner up finishes and a fourth round appearance at the US Open.

 

 “I would like them to remember me as a player who was trying his best every time on court and was fighting until the end,” Lorenzi said. “This was the best journey of my life. I really enjoyed every moment. Every time I was on court, it was a dream that came true.”

 

Also read: Karolina Muchova announces withdrawal from 2022 Australian Open

New Delhi, Nov 22 (Wrestling news) Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has decided to split with Georgian coach Shako Bentinidis and may hire Beijing Olympics bronze medallist Andriy Stadnik if talks with the Ukranian succeed.

Under the guidance of Bentinidis, the 27-year-old Bajrang won an Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo, 2018 Asian Games gold and a bronze medal at the 2019 world championship.

However, there has not been much improvement on his perennial weak leg defence.

"Yes, I am looking for a new coach for the new Olympic cycle," Bajrang told PTI.

"There is nothing wrong with Shako, I learnt a lot from him but a new coach can be tried for better results," he said.

However, according to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) sources, Bajrang was, of late, not happy with the way Bentinidis carried out his job.

"We have learnt that Shako did not attend to him properly when he suffered an injury in Russia before the Tokyo Olympics. So a change was expected," said the source.

Stadnik is the husband of Maria, a four-time Olympic medallist and two-time world champion.

It has been learnt that Bajrang has approached Stadnik and he is also keen to work with the elite Indian athlete.

"Andriy is in running for the Ukrainian Federation elections. If he wins, then it will be tough for him to tie up with Bajrang. Let's see," said a source.

WFI may also replace Russian coach Kamal Malikov, attached with Ravi Dahiya, the Tokyo Games silver medallist.

Also Read : Wrestling singlet under a burqa: The story of Tahera's struggles

News Source : PTI

Riga (Latvia), Nov 8 (Chess News) Indian chess ace Dronavalli Harika held top-seed Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine to a draw in the 11th and final round of the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss chess tournament here to finish fifth and qualify for the next women's Grand Prix cycle.

Harika, who started the event as the fourth seed, shared a point with Muzychuk in 31 moves late on Sunday to end with seven points and remained undefeated in the tournament.

She was tied for joint third spot with the Ukrainian but eventually settled for fifth place on the basis of the tie-break score.

Meanwhile, 19-year old Vantika Agrawal, who recently became a Woman Grandmaster, finished a creditable 14th with 6.5 points, which included three wins, seven draws and one loss.

In the Open event, Indian GM Nihal Sarin had the best finish, taking 18th place with 6.5 points. Compatriots P Harikrishna and K Sasikiran finished a distant 30th and 31st respectively with six points from 11 rounds.

Sarin, who remained unbeaten in the event, drew his final round match against the talented Russian Daniil Dubov while Harikrishna signed peace with Yuriy Kuzubov of Ukraine.

Sasikiran, who had done well to be among the joint leaders for a while, lost to Ukraine's Anton Korobov to finish with six points. GM Raunak Sadhwani drew with Hans Moke Niemann of USA in the final round to secure 5.5 points and finished 57th.

In all-Indian clash, D Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa drew in 34 moves. Both finished the event with five points. Praggnanandhaa took the 72nd spot while Gukesh ended up three spots lower.

In the women's event, only Vantika Agrwal apart from Harika managed a draw while the others -- R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh and Padmini Rout -- lost their final round games.

Alireza Firouzja and Lei Tingjie emerged winners in the Open and women's events respectively.

Naturalised Frenchman Fioruzja scored eight points from 11 rounds after a draw with Grigoriy Oparin and finished half a point ahead of the field. World no 2 Fabiano Caruana took the second place with 7.5 points.

Tingjie dominated and finished on top with nine points, 1.5 points ahead of the rest. The second and third places were shared by Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany, who also secured her final GM norm and Zhu Jiner of China, both with 7.5 points.

Final placings of Indian players: Open: Nihal Sarin (6.5 points, 18th place), P Harikrishna (6.5 points, 30th), K Sasikiran (6 points, 31st), Raunak Sadhwani (5.5 points, 57th), Arjun Erigaisi (5.5 points, 58th), R Praggnanandhaa (5 points, 75th), D Gukesh (5 points, 75th), S P Sethuraman (4.5 points, 83rd), Surya Shekhar Ganguly (4.5, 88th), B Adhiban (4.5 points, 90th).

Women: D Harika (7 points, 5th), Vantika Agrawal (6.5 points, 14th), R Vaishali (5.5 points, 29th), Padmini Rout (4 points, 44th) and Divya Deshmukh (4 points, 46th). 

Also Read : Grand Swiss chess: Harika draws with Paehtz, in joint third place

News Source : PTI

(Boxing news) The Ukrainian heavyweight boxer defeated Anthony Joshua via unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday to win the WBO,WBA,IBF and IBO heavyweight titles. Usyk completely out boxed Joshua and won the contest by scores of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 in front of 67,000 people. With this result, Usyk became only the third boxer after Evander Holyfield and David Haye to win world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight.

Usyk's awkward stance and movement caused the British boxer a problem from the get go as the Ukrainian won the first four rounds comfortably to take the score to 40-36, but Josuha with all his experience and power came back in the next two with some crisp body shots and face blows on Usyk as Joshua reduced the deficit to 58-56. After those rounds Usyk just completely dominated the fight, a barrage of power from the Ukrainian almost knocked down the 6’5 British boxer in the final round. In the end Osyk landed 148 punches compared to Joshua’s 123 across the fight as this resulted in only Anthony Joshua’s second defeat in his whole career. With this victory Oleksandr Usyk improved his professional boxing record to 19-0 with 13 KOs and somewhat avenged Wladimir Klitschko’s defeat 4 years ago.

The defeat meant that his possibility of fighting Tyson Fury, which could have been the biggest boxing spectacle in the UK next year fighting for all world heavyweight titles ended. Anthony Joshua has a rematch clause in his contract which could mean a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in Kiev might be a possibility. Whereas Tyson Fury will try to defend his heavyweight title against Deontay Wilder in the trilogy fight on 9th October. 

After the match Usyk said, “This means a lot to me. The fight went exactly the way I expected it to go, there were times when Anthony pushed me hard, but nothing special. I had no objective to knock him out. My corner pushed me not to do that.”

When asked if he will fight Joshua in a London rematch, he says: “I've been working so hard since January. It took me some half a year. I miss my children and I want to go home. I'm not thinking about the rematch. You didn't see the best Usyk. I can be much better.”

Also read: Manny Pacquiao retires at the age of 42 to pursue further endeavours

Anthony Joshua after the match said, "I couldn't see in the ninth round, couldn't see anything really because my eye was shut. It was a good experience because, in adversity, you've just got to learn to control yourself, stay on top of things, so when I couldn't see anything - it's the first time that it's happened in a fight. I never tend to look at the opponent. I just tend to look at myself and realise where I went wrong. So it's not so much what he did, it's the opportunities that I gave him. It's not so much him. I'm just going to go back and look at myself and correct my wrongs.”
 

(Football news) After a scintillating matchweek 4, the World Cup qualifiers were in full flow, with victories for England and Denmark they maintained their perfect record in the qualifiers to put one step in Qatar next year. World Champions France and European Champions Italy are still yet to find their mojo in these ongoing qualifiers.

England won comfortably 4-0 against lower ranked opponents Andorra. Gareth Southgate completely changed his playing eleven as he handed out full international debuts to Patrick Bamford and Sam Johnstone. The star of the show was Jesse Lingard as he bagged two goals and an assist for Saka who scored his first goal for England on his birthday. Harry Kane put the finishing touches by scoring a penalty on a dominant performance for the Three Lions. With this result, England have 5 wins out of 5 matches and lead Group I with 15 points.

The World champions France drew 1-1 to Ukraine in what was their fifth consecutive draw. Dider Deschamps made changes to the starting line up by deploying out of favour Manchester United striker Anthony Martial who only scored his second goal for Les Bleus. Ukrainians under new management showed a good account of themselves as they put the French under the back foot in the first half which resulted in them scoring through Mykola Shaparenko. With this draw, France still lead Group D with 9 points from 5 matches.

European Champions Italy were held to a dull 0-0 against Switzerland, Robert Mancini’s side couldn’t break the resolute defence of the Swiss as they had majority of the possession and more shots on goals. The Italians won a penalty in the 53rd minute which was taken by Jorginho but it was brilliantly saved by Yan Sommer who was arguably the man of the match as he kept the Swiss in the game. With two draws the Italians now have 11 points from 5 matches in Group C but have played two more games then Switzerland.

Also read: Rampant Belgium and England win comfortably but European Champions held at home

Germany won 6-0 against Armenia in a resounding performance, this was Hansi Flick’s first home match and they were rampant in the first half as two goals from Serge Gnabry, Marco Reus and Timo Werner put the contest to an end in the first half itself. The story of the second half was of the debutants as goals from Jonas Hoffman and Karim Adeyemi helped put the Germans top of Group J as they have 12 points from 5 matches.

The Dutch won 4-0 against Montenegro as two goals from Depay helped them consolidate their 2nd position in a tough group G consisting of Turkey and Norway. Spain won 4-0 against Georgia as goals from Jose Gaya, Carlos Soler, Ferran Torres and Pablo Sarabia helped them reclaim top spot in Group B but have played two matches more than Sweden. Belgium continued their winning run as they won 3-0 against Czech Republic as goals from Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Saelemaekers helped the Red Devils to 13 points from 5 matches to lead Group E from the Czech’s.

The other notable results were:

Denmark 1 (Jonas Wind) - 0 Faroe Islands

Belarus 2 (Lisakovich, Sedko) - 3 Wales ( Gareth Bale x3)

Slovakia 0 - 1 Croatia (Brozovic)

Gibraltar 0 - 3 Turkey (Dervisoglu, Calhanoglu, Karaman)

Latvia 0 - 2 Norway ( Haaland, Elyounoussi)

(Football news) Two-time Indian Super League (ISL) champions Chennaiyin FC (CFC) have signed the Hungarian midfielder Vladimir Koman,who will be their 6th and final signing of the se

Vladimir has played for Hungary 36 times since making his debut for the senior national team in 2010, he went on to score 7 goals for them as well. He was one of their main players in the country’s third-place finish in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup as he scored 5 goals for and was the tournament's second highest scorer. He also helped the U-19 Hungarian side to the semi-finals at the 2008 UEFA European Championship.

“Vladimir is the perfect end to our foreign signings. He’s an experienced player who has represented Hungary and turned out in top leagues,” CFC co-owner Vita Dani commented on the club’s new signing.

The Ukrainian-born footballer began his career in 2006 with UC Sampdoria in the  Italian league, Serie A. His career spanned over 15 years, the attacking midfielder made 300-plus club appearances, including scoring 22 goals and assisting 23 times.

“I’m happy to join Chennaiyin, because it’s a completely new atmosphere for me and a new experience. I would like to do my best to help the team to be successful and make the fans proud and happy,” Vladimir expressed his excitement on joining CFC.

Also read: Chennaiyin FC sign Polish striker Łukasz Gikiewicz

The experienced campaigner has also played in the Asian countries such as Iran and the United Arab Emirates and is now set to make his ISL debut. Vladimir’s presence will help the CFC’s squad ahead of the upcoming season as they have already signed Rafael Crivellaro, Mirlan Murzaev, Slavko Damjanovic, Ariel Borysiuk and Łukasz Gikiewicz..

“Anything to say about Vladimir is superfluous. His career says it all about him as a player and as a character,” said CFC head coach Bozidar Bandovic.

In 2010-11, Vladimir also featured in the six Europa League matches for UC Sampdoria before moving to the French club AS Monaco, followed by stints in Russia and Turkey as well.

New Delhi, Jul 29 (Olympics news) Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom on Thursday slammed the International Olympic Committee's Boxing Task Force for "poor judging" in her flyweight (51kg) pre-quarterfinal at the Tokyo Games which she lost despite winning two of the three rounds.

The Task Force is conducting the boxing competition in Tokyo after the International Boxing Association (AIBA) was suspended by the IOC for alleged misgovernance and financial wrongdoing.

"I don't know and understand this decision, what's wrong with the Task Force? What's wrong with the IOC?" she asked in a telephonic interview to PTI after the 2-3 loss to Colombian Ingrit Valencia in the pre-quarters in Tokyo.

"I was also a member of the Task Force. I was even giving them suggestions and supporting them in ensuring a clean competition. But what have they done with me?" she said.

The 38-year-old, multiple-time Asian champions who was eyeing her second Olympic medal after the bronze at the 2012 London Games, said this evening's loss did not sink in even after she had gone for her dope test.

"I was happy inside the ring, when I came out, I was happy because in my mind I knew I had won. When they took me for doping, I was still happy. Only when I saw the social media and my coach (Chhote Lal Yadav repeated it to me), it sunk in that I have lost," she said.

"I had beaten this girl twice in the past. I couldn't believe that her hand was raised by the referee. I swear, it hadn't struck me that I lost, I was so sure," she added.

The Indian trailed 4-1 in the opening round with four of the five judges scoring it 10-9 in favour of Valencia. In the next two rounds, Mary Kom got three of the five judges to rule in her favour but the overall score-line was still in favour of Valencia.

The Manipuri needed a 4-1 verdict in the final round to swing the bout for her.

"The worst part is that there is no review or protest. Honestly I am sure the world must have seen, this is too much what they have done," she said.

"I should have got the second round unanimously, how was it 3-2? What happened was totally unpredictable," she reasoned.

The IOC's Boxing Task Force had promised a more transparent judging system after amateur boxing's credibility took a hit during the 2016 Rio Olympics judging fiasco which led to suspension of 36 officials.

Mary Kom is part of the BTF's 10-member athletes ambassadors group.

She represents the Asian bloc in the panel, which also comprises the likes of Ukrainian legend Vasyl Lamachenko (Europe), a two-time Olympic and world gold-medallist who now plies his trade in the professional circuit, and five-time world champion and 2016 Olympic gold-winner Julio Cesar La Cruz (Americas) among others.

"...in a minute or in a second everything gone for an athlete. This is unfortunate what has happened. I am disappointed by the judging," she said.

But the veteran is in no mood to quit despite her Olympic journey coming to an end with the Tokyo edition. At present, boxers above 40 are not eligible to compete at the Games.

Also read : Indian boxer Simranjit Kaur loses to Sudaporn Seesondee of Thailand in the Round of 16 clash

"I will take a break after coming back, spend time with family. But I am not quitting. If there is any competition, I will continue and try my luck," she said.

The AIBA is trying to regain IOC recognition by ringing in several changes in the administrative set-up under new President Umar Kremlev, which includes the introduction of the bout review system to ensure that boxers' grievances are addressed.

"You can't do that here. I would have definitely protested otherwise," Mary Kom said.

News source: PTI 

Tokyo, Jul 23 (Tennis news) Indian tennis players need no less than a miraculous performance to get close to the medal rounds as an under-prepared team of Sania Mirza and debutant Ankita Raina faces a tough Ukrainian challenge in the opener while Sumit Nagal has got a tough draw in the singles competition starting Saturday. Mirza, who is making a record fourth Olympic appearance, and debutant Raina are going into the Olympics without playing a single competitive match together this year, which is far from ideal preparation for the biggest sporting event on earth.

The last time Mirza and Raina shared the court was in March 2020 during the Billie Jean King Cup.

They will open their campaign against Ukraine's twin sisters Nadiia and Lyudmyla Kichenok.

"Every match is going to be a challenge and we will take one match at a time. Because Of pandemic and quarantine rules we were playing different tournaments. So after Fed Cup we didn’t get a chance to play together," Raina told PTI.

However, Mirza has tons of experience and she is playing with a player who is known to punch above her weight while representing the nation.

Raina has a big heart for fight but it will all depend on the performance of Mirza, who has not been in the best of form with her serve being an issue.

During the recent Wimbledon championships, Mirza gradually upped her game from the baseline but her feeble serve was easily tackled by the rivals.

Interestingly, when Mirza returned to competitive tennis after the COVID-19 induced break in March this year, she and her Sloveinan partner Andreja Klepac had faced the same Ukrainian sister pair and had prevailed. Ranked as low as 137 post maternity break, 34-year-old Mirza has played only eight matches this season with a 4-4 win-loss record.

Also read: Deemed 'extreme risk' nation, India denied entry into ITF World Junior Finals

The 28-year-old Raina, ranked 100, has just one singles main draw victory to show since the beginning of the 2021 season.

In the doubles, she grabbed her first ever WTA title with partner Kamila Rakhimova at the Phillip Island Trophy in Melbourne in February and broke into doubles top-100 but suffered five straight first round defeats after that.

Had it not been for Mirza's Protected Ranking of nine, India would not have a women's doubles team at the Games.

In complete contrast, Nadiia, ranked 44, had played eight WTA Tour events with her sister Lyudmyla Kichenok, ranked 48, in 2020 and one this year.

Together they did not enjoy much success but Nadiia otherwise had decent results with Romania's Raluca Olaru in 2021.

They won the won St Petersburg (WTA 500) in March and reached the semifinals in Stuttgart (WTA 500) in April and ended runners-up in Bad Homburg last month.

If Mirza and Raina win their opener, they could face American eighth seeds Nicole Melichar (doubles world number 9) and Alison Riske (singles world number 36) in the next round.

In the men's singles, Nagal is extremely lucky to get an entry into the Olympics as with a rank of 144 on the cut-off date of June 14, he was far away from making the cut.

However, a spate of withdrawals pushed him inside.

Nagal's recent performances do not inspire confidence though at the start of the season he had pulled off the biggest victory of his career when he beat then world number 22 Cristian Garin.

However, after that he has managed only two quarterfinal appearances at the Challenger level, struggling badly on the Tour.

Nagal had hinted that he was struggling with some health issues and that was the reason for him not getting the desired results.

He faces Asian Games champion Denis Istomin in his first round. The Uzbekistan veteran had won the quota from the 2018 Jakarta Games by taking the men's singles title.

The grinder that Nagal is, there is a possibility of him getting past the 34-year-old Uzbek but the Indian may next face world number two and Australian Open runner-up Danill Medvedev from Russia and that could be end of the road for him.

News source: PTI 

Belgrade, Jul 8 (Sports news) Young Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin on Thursday emerged champion in the Masters' section of the Serbia Open Chess Championship here.

This is the second consecutive tournament victory for sixteen-year old Sarin after he claimed the title in Silver Lake Open.

The GM from Thrissur, Kerala, on Thursday, played out a draw with GM Vladimir Fedoseev of Russia to finish with 7.5 points out of a possible nine to finish clear first in the 289-player field in the nine-round tourney.

Sarin, who became a Grandmaster in 2018 at the age of 14, won six games and drew three, to remain unbeaten. Sarin, who started the Serbia Open with wins in the first two rounds, ended the tournament with three successive wins and a draw in the final round, finishing a clear half point ahead of the field.

The Silver Lake Open was his first over-the-board event after the COVID-19 pandemic break.

Sarin's compatriot Arjun Erigaisi finished seventh with seven points.

The 14-year-old Indian IM Aditya Mittal also ended up with 7 points and took the 10th spot. He also earned his maiden Grandmaster norm in the process.

Chennai was V Pranav, 15, earned his first GM norm and became an International Master. He lost the ninth and final round game to Ukrainian Kiril Shevchenko and ended with 6 points.

Also read: Croatia Grand Chess Tour event: Anand held to a draw in sixth round

News source: PTI

New Delhi, Apr 7 (PTI) Indian tennis star Sania Mirza was on Wednesday included in the government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), four years after she opted out of the programme. Sania was selected in the TOPS during the 56th meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell here. The 34-year-old multiple Grand Slam winner had opted out of the scheme when she was selected last in 2017 because of an injury breakdown which had led to a lay-off. "Yes, Sania has been selected in the recent TOPS list," a Sports Authority of India source told PTI. Sania has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics based on her protected ranking before she took a break from the game due to pregnancy. Sania is currently ranked 157th in the world but as per WTA rules when a player takes a lay-off from the game longer than six months on account of injuries or pregnancy, they can apply for a "special ranking" (also sometimes known as a "protected ranking"). The special ranking of a player is their world ranking after the last tournament they played and in Sania's case, it was the China Open in October 2017. She was ranked world No. 9 at that point. So, Sania currently has a special ranking of 9th and has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. The special rankings were introduced by WTA because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sania was inactive for two years due to pregnancy and only made her return to the court last year following the birth of her son at the season-opening Hobart International WTA event. She partnered Ukrainian Nadiia Kichenok to win the women's doubles title.

Miami, Apr 2 (PTI) In her first match at this year's Miami Open, Ash Barty was one point from elimination. Now she’s one win from becoming a repeat champion. The top-ranked Barty returned to the final by beating No. 5-seeded Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday. Barty has gained momentum after starting the tournament by saving a match point against qualifier Kristina Kucova. That was Barty’s first match outside her native Australia since February 2020. "Whenever you come back from a match point, it’s a little bit of a strange feeling,” she said. "You have to be more open with what the possibilities the rest of the tournament could be, and keep going out there and keep fighting, knowing you could have just as easily been out of the tournament." Barty, who is assured of retaining her No. 1 ranking next week, will play for the title Saturday against the winner of the second semifinal between No. 8 Bianca Andreescu and No. 23 Maria Sakkari. On the men's side, unseeded 20-year-old Sebastian Korda's breakthrough run ended with a quarterfinal loss to No. 4 Andrey Rublev, 7-5, 7-6 (7). Korda, slowed in the second set by a left thigh injury, was the youngest American to make the men's quarterfinals in Miami since Robbie Ginepri in 2003. While Korda departed, his sisters, Jessica and Nelly, were in contention at the LPGA's ANA Inspiration in California after breaking par in the first round Thursday. Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz of Poland will play in their first semifinal at a top-level ATP event when they meet Friday night. Hurkacz advanced by rallying past No. 2-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Hurkacz, seeded 26th, has won three in a row when facing a top-five opponent, but he beat Tsitsipas for only the second time in their eight meetings. "I just try to like keep building my game and improving,” Hurkacz said. “Not all the time are you going to have the results that you want, but if you stay positive and improve your game, the results will eventually come." They're coming for Barty after she was locked down for a year in Australia because of the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the 2020 Miami Open. Barty won the event in 2019, and said her run to that title was different from this year's matches in Miami. "Chalk and cheese," the Aussie said. "The conditions have been different here this week. It has been a lot warmer and physically very demanding." Barty had been 1-5 previously against Svitolina, but took charge with two early breaks and used her strong serve and deep slices to keep the Ukrainian on the defensive. Midway through the second set, Svitolina made a rare trip to the net, and Barty responded with a perfect lob winner that drew an appreciative pat of the racket strings from her opponent. On match point, Barty closed out the victory with a forehand winner and a fist pump. Hurkacz's upset win further scrambled the men's draw. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer skipped the tournament, and No. 1-seeded Daniil Medvedev lost in the quarterfinals Wednesday night to No. 7 Robert Bautista Agut. Bautista Agut will face No. 21 Jannik Sinner in the first semifinal Friday, and a first-time ATP Masters 1000 champion will be crowned Sunday. "Maybe I feel extra pressure, because I'm the one left who’s in the top 10," Rublev said. "But everyone can win now. All of them are playing good tennis." Hurkacz was serving at 0-2, 15-40 in the second set when he began his comeback. He steadied his baseline game, while Tsitsipas became increasingly erratic and frustrated as the match progressed. "I was very stressed these two weeks,” Tsitsipas said. "I felt like it was my opportunity. It’s a very disappointing loss. Everything was under control. And suddenly, I don’t know, self-explosion." Hurkacz hit 15 aces and saved 10 of the 13 break points he faced. He'll climb in next week's rankings to at least 27th, a career high.

Melbourne, Jan 12 (PTI) India's top-ranked woman player Ankita Raina moved to the final round of the Australian Open Qualifiers with a gutsy three-set win over world number 118 Katarina Zavatska but it was curtains for Ramkumar Ramanathan in the men's singles. In the women's singles qualifiers being held in Dubai, the 180th ranked Ankita overcame a second-set lapse to win 6-2 2-6 6-3 in the second round against the Ukrainian. Ankita said she was proud of the fight in the match that lasted two hours and 20 minutes. "I started well in the first set and the first two games of second set. Then the third game was kind of crucial because she won that game and got confident and played more balls back but I'm glad I could shift the momentum back," Ankita told PTI. "I started being more aggressive and sticking to my game. Struggled a bit with the the serve in the beginning but later was bit better. Was little windy in the later half of the match but I'm proud the way I fought." Ankita will next take on 20-year-old Serbian Olga Danilovic, ranked 183. It will be the first meeting between the two players. "I am feeling confident with the game, I just need to play smart as every match and every day is new and different, so taking it match by match," she said. It is Ankita's sixth attempt to crack the singles main draw of a Grand Slam and she is now just one win away from creating history. Only Nirupama Vaidyanathan and Sania Mirza have competed in the women's singles main draw of a Grand Slam from India till date. Nirupama had reached the second round of the Australian Open in 1998 while Sania quit competing in the singles category in 2012. In the men's singles being held in Doha, Ramkumar lost his second round 3-6 2-6 to Chinese Taipei's Tung-Lin Wu in 69 minutes.