Punjab, Air India in Men's sr National final
Pune: Defending champion Punjab scored a facile 5-2 win over Karnataka to enter the final of the third Hockey India Senior Men National Championship at Major Dhyan Chand Polygrass Hockey Stadium here on Sunday. In Monday's summit clash, Punjab will face Air India while Haryana will take on Karnataka in the third-fourth position play-off match. leading 3-2 at the half time, Punjab scored through Deepak Thakur (10th, 22nd min), Gurjinder Singh (17th), Sarvanjit Singh (45th) and Vikramjit Singh (58th) while M K Muddappa (7th) and Nikkin Thimmaiah (29th) scored for Karnataka. Earlier in the day, last year's runners-up Air India defeated Haryana 7-3 in the first semi-final. Air India, who led 4-1 at the half time, scored through Affan Yousuf (5th, 43rd), Vikram Pillay (15th), Prabodh Tirkey (28th), Sameer Dad (31st), Joga Singh (37th) and Arjun Halappa (68th) while Mandeep Antil (10th), Hansraj (53rd) and Jitender Saroha (60th) scored for Haryana.
Mahi Racing grab two podium positions
New Delhi: Mahi Racing Team India riders Fabien Foret and Kenan Sofuoglu stayed on course for a shot at the overall championship as they finished second and third respectively in the sixth leg of World Supersport Championship at Portimao, Portugal on on Sunday. Foret, who began the race in fourth place, leapfrogged two riders to finish with a timing of 35'33.262. Sofuoglu, who started the race in second place, completed the podium party with a timing of 35'33.384. Both the riders are now tied on second spot in the overall standings with 81 points each and trail leader Sam lowes of Yakhnich Motorsport by 39 points. lowes took his fourth successive chequered flag but Foret isn't really worried.
HI inducts Vidarbha Hockey Association
New Delhi: Hockey India has inducted Vidarbha Hockey Association as an associate member. HI now has 12 associate members, with 29 affiliated members and two other State Olympic Association members. With this inclusion, Vidarbha Hockey Association can take part in all the National Championships to be conducted by HI in future.
MP, Delhi, Bihar, TN in jr natl throwball qf
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar and Tamil Nadu entered the boys quarter-finals of the 24th National Junior Throwball Championship here. MP beat West Bengal 15-1, 15-3, Delhi defeated Uttar Pradesh 15-2, 15-3, Bihar beat Karnataka 13-15, 15-13, 15-8 and Tamil Nadu defeated Odisha 15-2, 15-2 at Old Campion Ground. The tournament is being organised jointly by the Madhya Pradesh Throwball Association and Madhya Pradesh Sports and Youth welfare Department. About 500 players from 18 states are participating in the tournament.
Ashwin ends tied 13th to be best Indian
Albena (Bulgaria): Ashwin Jayaram emerged as the best Indian with a tied 13th place finish after settling for a draw with GM Boris Chatalbashev of Bulgaria in the ninth and final round of Grand Europe Albena Chess tournament, here. There was little to cheer for the Indian enthusiasts as highest rated Indian Abhijeet Gupta went down fighting against International Master Vitaliy Bernadskiy of Ukraine in his final round. Earlier in the eighth round Abhijeet had raised visions of an improved finish after outplaying Eylon Nakar of Israel.
Indiaenter semis in men's BFAME Championship
Ahmedabad: India lived up to its reputation by sailing into the semifinals in the men's Open category of the 17th Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East Championships here on Sunday. Pakistan secured a place in the final in the women's section after finishing top with 289 Victory Points (VPs). Along with India, who finished on top after league engagements, Bangladesh, Bahrain and UAE also moved into the last four stage in men's Open category after finishing second, third and fourth in the seven-team round robin league with 251, 223 and 201 VPs respectively. PNS/Agencies