Srikanth in final of Thailand Open
Bangkok: Indian shuttler K Srikanth entered the final of the Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after registering a comfortable straight-game victory over local favourite Thammasin Sitthikom in the men’s singles event here on Saturday. Srikanth, seeded 13th, took 43 minutes to overcome his opponent 21-14 21-18 at the Nimitbutr National Stadium here. He will take on the winner of the other semifinal match between Boonsak Ponsana and Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo. In the first game, World no. 61 Srikanth opened up a slender 6-2 lead but Sitthikom soon caught up with the Indian to make it 6-7. The 20-year-old then registered eight consecutive points to surge ahead 15-6. He kept on widening the gap to make it 20-7.
Holders Punjab in Senior Hockey semis
Pune: Defending champions Punjab thrashed Jharkhand 6-0 to advance to the semifinals of the 3rd Hockey India Senior Men National Championship here on Saturday. Haryana, Karnataka and Air India also entered the last four stage with wins in their quarterfinal matches. In the semifinals to be played tomorrow, last year’s runners-up Air India take on Haryana while Punjab clash with Karnataka. Deepak Thakur scored two goals while Sarvanjit Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Ravi Pal Singh and Inderjeet Singh found the target once. Air India, on the other hand, scored a hard-fought 5-4 win over Railways at Major Dhyan Chand Polygrass Hockey Stadium at Pimpri. Haryana defeated Chandigarh 4-1 while in the last quarter-final match of the day, Karnataka scored twice in each half to overcome Manipur 4-2.
Ramdin charged with misconduct
london: The ICC charged West Indies’ Denesh Ramdin with conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game during a Champions Trophy match against Pakistan but the wicket-keeper batsman has pleaded not guilty and faces a hearing here on Monday. The charge is related to an incident in Pakistan’s innings when Ramdin claimed a catch off Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq. Australian umpire Steve Davis had ruled Misbah out but when the decision was referred to third umpire Tony Hill it came to light that Ramdin did not have full control over the ball and Misbah was reprieved. TV replays showed that he had caught the ball initially but it popped out of his hands later on. “Ramdin was charged with breaching Article 2.2.11 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel,” an ICC statement said.
Junior shooting team wins gold
New Delhi: The Indian junior women’s 10m Air Rifle team -- comprising Shriyanka Sadangi, Apurvi Chandela and Mampi Das -- has bagged a gold medal in the International Junior Shooting Championship in Suhl, Germany. The trio, supported by the lakshya Sports Foundation, shot a total score of 1235.3 on Friday. Hosts Germany bagged the silver with an aggregate score of 1230.4, while Russia finished third with a total of 1222. Shriyanka was the best performer among the Indians, scoring 413.7 to finish fourth in the individual championship. National champion Apurvi finished eighth with a score of 411 while Mampi was 10th with 410.6 points.
Ankita ends runner-up at Uzbeksitan ITF event
New Delhi: Indian qualifier Ankita Raina’s splendid run at the USD 25000 ITF Women tennis tournament in Karshi, Uzbekistan ended with a runners-up finish as she lost the summit clash in straight sets to local favourite Sabina Sharipova. Playing her first ever final in a USD 25,000 ITF event, Ankita lost 3-6 3-6 to Sharipova, who is ranked 92 places above the Indian in world ranking at 363.
National Fencing c’ship from June 24th-26th
Patiala: Around 300 fencers and officials from across the country will participate in the 5th National Fencing Federation Cup for men & women which is scheduled to be held from June 24th to 26th at the Multipurpose Indoor hall at Punjabi University here.