Rain washes out Grp c matches in Vijay Hazare
Chennai: Rain played spoilsport washing out matches Friday in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group 'C' League here. While two games (Assam Vs Services and Jharkhand Vs Tripura) were abandoned without a ball being bowled, the Bengal-Haryana match, a reduced fixture, was called off with the former at 69 for 6 chasing 141 for victory in 21 overs. Bengal made 140 for nine in 21 overs after being sent in to bat, riding on captain Manoj Tiwary's 60 not out. All the teams got two points each due to the abandonment.
Pune joins pbl to make nine-team affair
New Delhi: Pune was on Friday named as the new franchise of the Premier Badminton League, making the event a nine-team affair from this season. In its endeavour to make PBL a much bigger affair, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has introduced the new team for the fourth edition of the league. The Pune team has been named as Pune Seven Aces and is owned by popular Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu and KRI. Taapsee Pannu, the Pune owner, said after signing her association with the League, "I have played quite a bit of badminton in my early days and have a special liking for the game. "I always wanted to associate myself with the game in a big way and I have found the perfect avenue to express my passion through the League. I am confident that Pune Seven Aces will be a team to reckon with."
Jayaram loses in Taipei open quarters
Taipei City: India's campaign in the Chinese Taipei Open ended with Ajay Jayaram going down in the quarter-finals here on Friday. Jayaram lost to Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia 16-21, 9-21 in just 28 minutes of play. Jayaram played the first game confidently but some poor shot selection cost him the game. The second game was a totally one-sided affair as his Malaysian opponent overpowered him easily to enter the semi-finals. Lee will now face top seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei on Saturday.
Shuttlers Chavvi, Nazma win delhi edition
New Delhi: Chavvi and Nazma from Chandigarh were crowned as winners of the Delhi edition of the inaugural Red Bull Shuttle Up, the first ever womens doubles tournament in the country, it was announced on Friday. After going down in the first game, the Chandigarh duo defeated Daman Rajkumar and Muskan Taya 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 in an intense battle. Chavvi and Nazma will now compete at the Red Bull Shuttle Up National Finals. The tournament aims to further boost and improve participation and popularity amongst aspiring women players. The winning pair gets an exciting opportunity to play against Ashwini Ponnappa and her partner.
EB to play pre season friendlies in Malaysia
Kolkata: Kolkata giants East Bengal will play two pre-season friendlies against Malayasia Premier League second tier teams UiTMFC and UiTMFC in Kuala Lumpur, the club announced on Friday. East Bengal, who were dethroned by arch-rivals Mohun Bagan in the Calcutta Football League this season, have travelled to Kuala Lumpur under new coach Alejandro Menendez for a training camp ahead of the the I-League, that is expected to start at the end of this month. The Red and Golds will first lock horns with UiTMFC Sunday followed by UiTMFC on October 10.
Natasha, Vishwakarma in Fenesta final
New Delhi: Siddharth Vishwakarma unleashed his power-packed game to dominate Nitin Sinha while Natasha Palha made a remarkable turn around to knock out top seed Zeel Desai as the two players entered their maiden final at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championships here on Friday. Left-handed Vishwakarma overpowered talented Sinha 6-3, 6-2 in the men's singles semifinal. He will now take on top seed Arjun Kadhe, who beat Siddarth Rawat 2-6, 7-6(2,) 6-2 after battling hard against his rival for two hours. In the women's singles semifinals, Natasha Palha overcame a horrendous start to came out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 winner against Zeel.