Indian men face Russia in Chess Olympiad
batumi: A tough test awaits the Indian men as they will take on second seed Russia in the sixth round of the 43rd Chess Olympiad here. With eight points in their kitty, it has been good going for the team barring a lone loss against defending champion and top seeded Americans in the fourth round. Backed by Viswanathan Anand's facile win in the previous round, the Indian men beat Paraguay by a 3.5-0.5 margin. So far, the record sheet reads just one red mark as Anand is the only one to have lost a game among five members. 12 wins, one loss and seven draws has been the story thus far in 20 games and going by the statistics of many other teams this has been a commendable effort. It's currently a four way tie at the top with ten points apiece and sharing the lead are Azerbaijan, Poland, Ukraine and Czech Republic.
Advani bags Bronze in Asian Snooker Tour
doha: Nineteen-time world champion Pankaj Advani settled for a Bronze medal in the Asian 10-red Snooker after losing to Ireland's Brendan O'Donoghue 5-0 in the semifinal here on Saturday. The Indian appeared off-colour a day after storming into the semifinal. The first frame saw O'Donoghue score two 20-plus breaks to win it 48-1. In the second, a break of 61 made it 2-0. The third frame was a close encounter but with a fluke snooker from the Irish cueist, the scores swung in his favour, helping him extend the lead. O'Donoghue continued to be on song and completed the match with facile wins in the balance two frames. Pankaj returns with a Silver and a Bronze from the Asian tournaments.
India beat Nepal in U19 Asia Cup
savar: India opened their campaign in the U-19 Asia Cup in style, notching up a dominating 171-run win over minnows Nepal in a group A match here on Saturday. Put in to bat, India scored 304 for nine, riding on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's 104 and wicket-keeper PrabhSimran Singh's 84. For Nepal, Bhim Sharki scalped four wickets for 42 runs, while Rashid Khan registered figures of 2/45. Chasing 305 to win, India bundled out Nepal for a paltry 133 in 36.4 overs. Siddharth Desai and Harsh Tyagi were the pick of the bowlers, registering figures of 3/19 and 3/21, respectively.Yashasvi was adjudged Man of the Match. India are clubbed with Afghanistan, Nepal and UAE in Group A. They will face UAE next on Sunday.
Patra boycotts gymnastics trial
new delhi: Frustrated by the "absurdity" in selection criteria, Indian gymnast Rakesh Patra on Saturday boycotted the trial for the 48th Artistic World Championship, while Dipa Karmakar too skipped it due to fitness issues here. The gymnasts appearing for the trial were left stumped when they came to know about SAI's directive that they will have to perform the all-around routine instead of their individual events for selection. Patra claimed that India's long-serving chief coach G S Bawa didn't have any clue about the selection criteria a day before the trial and only announced it after a group of gymnasts had already performed their events at the I G Stadium on Saturday.
archer Verma wins WCup Final Bronze
samsun: India's star compound archer Abhishek Verma put up a dazzling display to down Kim Jongho of Korea and bag a Bronze medal in the season-ending World Cup Final here on Saturday. Verma partnered with Jyothi Surekha Vennam to clinch a Silver in the exhibition compound mixed team event. Drawn against hosts Turkey in the final, the Indian pair of Jyothi Surekha Vennam lost 152-159. The final day of the season-ending meet will see Indian ace recurve archer Deepika Kumari, a four-time World Cup Final Silver medallist making a seventh appearance. Verma had won a Silver in his maiden World Cup Final appearance in Mexico City in 2015.
