mixed day for indians at oz GP
Sydney: Gurusaidutt was the lone bright spot in a disappointing day for Indians at Australian Open Grand Prix Gold here on Wednesday. Gurusaidutt entered third round of men’s singles after a 21-14, 18-21, 21-19 win over Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon. Ajay Jayaram lost to Dong Keun lee of South Korea, 24-26 19-21. India’s campaign also ended in the women’s singles category with Sarada Jasti losing to Yui Hashimoto of Japan in first round.
Archers to vie for top honours
Jamshedpur: India’s top archers, including Rahul Banerjee and Deepika Kumari, will vie for honours at 2nd National Ranking Archery Tournament, beginning here from Friday. The top 16 men in recurve and compound and eight women each in both sections were selected based on performance at National Archery Championship. Eight junior archers in men and women in recurve and compound were picked based on their performance in the last Junior National championship, they said. Top rung archers Deepika Kumari (women’s recurve) Rahul Banerjee (men’s recurve), Ch. Jignas (men’s compound) and Jyothi Surekha (women’s compound) will also take part in the meet.
Rathore to run Raj shooting body
New Delhi: Rajyavardhan Rathore will run Rajasthan Rifle Association with state government dissolving previous body on charges of manipulations in forming the association. “The state government has formed a committee under the chairmanship of Rathore after complaints were received from Akhilesh Pratap Singh against RRA president Susheel Chaudhury regarding formation of the association,” an NRAI official said.
East Bengal beat Tampines rovers
Singapore: Andrew Barisic (62nd, 87th) struck twice to help East Bengal climb to the top of the table with a 4-2 win over Tampines Rovers in their group H AFC Cup match here on Wednesday. East Bengal got a surprise 1-0 lead with a 19th-minute own goal by Anaz Hadee. Edeh Chidi (64th) also scored for East Bengal while Sead Hadzibulic (28th), Khairul Amri (65th) scored for Rovers.
‘We need miracle to beat India’
Bangalore: Indonesian team is expecting a miracle to pull off a victory against a full-strength India in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I relegation tie from April 5 to 7 at KSlTA Stadium here. “The Indian team look strong, particularly after the return of their main players, but we still are confident. We will do our best to give a fight,” Indonesia’s non-playing captain Hendri Susilo Pramono said. PNS/Agencies