Advani loses opener, wins next
lEEDS: In a not-so-good start to his World Billiards Championship campaign, Indian ace Pankaj Advani lost his opening game against defending champion Peter Gilchrist but later made up with two straight wins. Former champion Advani lost his way after winning the first two frames to go down 2-3 against the Singaporean ace in an interesting battle. Advani then outplayed Adian Murray and Brain Harvey with a 3-0 scoreline respectively. Former Asian Billiards champion Alok Kumar had a clinical day winning all his matches 3-0. Dhvaj Haria also won all his matches, losing only a frame.
Somdev winS, Ramkumar loses
PUNE: India's top singles players, led by Somdev Devvarman, easily advanced to the second round of ATP Pune Challenger but rising star Ramkumar Ramanathan made a shock first-round exit. Third seed Somdev proved too good for local wildcard Arjun Kadhe, scoring a 6-1, 6-3 win. Seventh seed Yuki Bhambri disposed of the challenge of Chinese Taipei's liang-Chi Huang 6-3, 6-0. Winner of Indore Open Saketh Myneni went past Frenchman Fabrice Martin 6-2, 6-2 while Sanam Singh advanced when his Italian opponent Stefano Travaglia conceded the match due to an inflamed ankle.
three medals for para athletes
INCHEON: India added three more medals on the third day of competitions with swimmer Sharath Mahadevarao Gayakwad grabbing his third medal in the Para Asian Games here. Narender bagged a silver in men's javelin throw - F42/44 event before Karamjyoti added a bronze in women's discus throw - F55/56 at the Incheon Main Asiad Stadium. With the medals today, India have now won 15 medals (2 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze) to occupy the 13th spot in the medal table.
case against Neymar dropped
BARCElONA: The Barcelona club member who filed a lawsuit over the cost of Neymar's transfer fee says he has asked his lawyers to withdraw the suit. Jordi Cases writes in a letter the Catalan club has released that “I can affirm that no behavior that would constitute a crime has been observed” and “for this reason I have instructed my lawyers to end the penal and civil suit.” Cases brought the suit claiming that Rosell had misappropriated funds by hiding the real cost to the club behind false contracts, a criminal offense punishable by up to six years of prison.
cheery return for U21 team
NEW DElHI: The Under-21 hockey team returned home to a rousing welcome here after clinching the Sultan of Johor Cup with the upbeat players terming the victory as a stepping stone for bigger challenges ahead. Captain Harjeet Singh was named ‘Most Promising Player of the Tournament' while drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh bagged the ‘Top Scorer of the Tournament' and ‘Player of the Tournament' awards. Speaking about the triumph, Harmanpreet said, “This tournament has helped the whole team in understanding each other even better and has given us the motivation as well as self confidence to take up even bigger challenges in the future.”