DOMINANT VETTEl TAKES POlE FOR SINGAPORE GP
SINGAPORE: Sebastian Vettel showed his mastery of the Marina Bay circuit to take pole position on Saturday for the Singapore Grand Prix, while championship rival lewis Hamilton struggled throughout and finished fifth. Max Verstappen qualified in second place ahead of Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, with Kimi Raikkonen steering his Ferrari to fourth place ahead of Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas. Vettel's 49th career pole came on the track where he holds the record with four wins and six podiums overall, and his superiority showed in a lap record of 1 minute 39.491 seconds.
SARDAR RETURNS TO INDIAN HOCKEY TEAM FOR ASIA CUP
New Delhi: Veteran midfielder Sardar Singh on Saturday returned to the national team as Hockey India named a strong 18-member squad under the captaincy of Manpreet Singh for the Asia Cup to be held in Dhaka from October 11-22. Sardar was dropped from the Indian team which toured Europe last month but got a recall for next month's event. Two other key players, who were dropped for the Europe tour, forwards S V Sunil and Akashdeep Singh also made a return. Defenders Harmanpreet Singh and Surender Kumar also made a return after being rested for the Europe tour. Sunil has been named deputy to Manpreet, who has been retained as the captain.
lA lIGA INVITES RF YOUNG CHAMPS FOR YOUTH FRIENDlIES
Mumbai: Reliance Foundation Young Champs, a residential football academy, has been invited to Spain by laliga for youth friendly ties spanning two weeks. Starting Saturday, RF Young Champs will embark on an experiential tour focused on training with and playing competitive friendly matches against laliga club's academy teams including Real Madrid, Atletico de Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal, Rayo Vallecano and leganés, a media release issued here said. RF Young Champs will feature 30 academy players in the U-12 and U-14 age categories accompanied by Head Coach Mark Vaessen. The 10-day trip provides opportunities for these 30 players to watch live laliga matches featuring some of the most prestigious clubs like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid etc.
HIGGINS CROWNED INDIAN OPEN SNOOKER CHAMPION
Vizag: The final of the Indian Open Snooker pitted Scotland's finest as defending champions Anthony McGill took on World No 3 and four-time World Champion John Higgins. Higgins got off to a quick start as he maneuvered his opponent into uncomfortable positions on the table and capitalized on McGill's mistakes. The defending champion briefly halted the early momentum by taking the third frame but Higgins dominated the fourth frame and led by three frames to one at the interval. The mid-match interval did little to break Higgins' hold on the match as the 42-year-old continued to dominate. To McGill, this would translate to playing a lot of shots where avoiding a mistake took precedence over the position on the table. The end came soon enough as Higgins rammed home his advantage and dominated the sixth and final frame. The Indian Open got a new champion.