Indiamedal-less on day 5
New Delhi: India bit the dust in the Greco-Roman category of the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan with not a single grappler managing to secure a medal for the country in the fifth day of the event. Two Indian grapplers — Hardeep (98kg) and Harpreet Singh (80kg) — came close to securing medals for the country but the duo lost their respective bronze medal matches to return empty-handed from the event. While Harpeet lost to Azamat Kostubayev of Kazakhstan 4-3 in the bronze medal bout, Hardeep was downed 10-0 by Di Xiao of China. Harpreet had earlier defeated Khanmkhan Safar of Qatar 11-2 in his first round bout before losing to Ghaderian Yousef 8-4 in the semifinals. In the 98kg division, Hardeep Johongir Turdiev of Uzbekistan 6-1 in his first bout before succumbing to a 12-4 defeat at the hands of Kazakhstan Yerulan Iskakov in the last-four round.
Three meet records set
Haridwar: As many as three meet records were created on Sunday as the curtains finally came down amidst some scintillating performances at the 12th National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet (NID-JAM). Abhey Gupta of Ambala district (Haryana) set the momentum early in the day as he hurled the discus to a distance of 48.68m, shattering the existing meet record of Vanam Sharma of Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan) in the boys under-16 discus throw. The previous record stood at 47.97m and was created in the 2013 edition. However, Rajasthan drew some consolation today when Ravi Kumar of Churu district grabbed the second position with a best throw of 47.45m. Ujjawal of Jhajjar district (Haryana) finished third with a throw of 47.30m.
Bagan beat Shillong 2-1
Kolkata: Mohun Bagan rode on a Christopher Chizoba 75th minute strike to beat Shillong lajong FC 2-1 and end their forgettable I-league season on a winning note here on Sunday. Pankaj Moula gave Mohun Bagan a sixth minute lead with a powerful shot as they held on to their lead till the halftime at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan. Thangboi Singto made a tactical switch in the 59th minute by bringing on Boithang Haokip in place of the below par Niwan Gatphoh. A beautiful lobbed pass by Taisuke over Mohun Bagan defence found Boithang inside the box and he fired onto the roof of the net to put his side on level terms with only his first touch two minutes after coming on.
EB aim to finish runners-up
Kolkata: Having missed the crown narrowly, East Bengal will look to finish runners-up for a third time in four seasons when they conclude their I-league campaign against United SC at the Salt lake Stadium here on Monday. The red-and-gold brigade have now gone a decade without the league title as they will rue the fact that a bit more consistency could have sealed the trophy which was confirmed by debutants Bengaluru FC. The red-and-gold brigade have the best record among all teams in the last five I-league fixtures with four victories. Armando Colaco’s side were hoping for a favour from Dempo but Bengaluru FC sealed the title with a win last Monday and now the Kolkata giants must secure maximum points or risk losing the second spot to Salgaocar.