Rio-bound paddlers included under TOPS
New Delhi: Paddlers Achanta Sharath Kamal, Soumyajit Ghosh, Manika Batra and Mouma Das — who have qualified for the Rio Olympics — will receive the Sports Ministry's fund of up to `30 lakh each under the Target Olympic Scheme (TOPS), it was announced on Sunday. Sharath and Mouma on Saturday secured the Rio Olympic berth after winning final rounds in stage 2 of the Asia Olympic qualification, two days after Soumayajit and Manika did it. "By virtue of qualifying for Rio Olympics 2016, all the four paddlers have been included in Target Olympic Scheme (TOPS) which offers them a tailor-made financial assistance up to `30 lakh each," the ministry said in a statement.
Chawrasia finishes tied 56th
San Roque (Spain): India's SSP Chawrasia finished tied 56th after a rough weekend at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation. Chawrasia, winner of three European Tour titles, shot 73 and 74 in the first two rounds to be tied 24th and then slipped to tied 56th with rounds of 77-78 as course conditions became tougher on the weekend at the Real Club, one of the toughest courses in Europe. Andrew Johnston of England won his maiden European Tour title with a final round of one-under 70, as Joost luiten (71) was second and Sergio Garcia with a brilliant 67 on final day was third.
Ratchanok wins Singapore Open
Singapore: Thailand's badminton star Ratchanok Intanon clinched her hat-trick of Superseries titles when she beat Chinese Sun Yu in the final of the Singapore Open here on Sunday. The former world champion battled past World No 14 Sun 18-21, 21-11, 21-14 in an hour and nine minutes. World No 2 Ratchanok won in the Indian Open on April 3 and the Malaysian Open last week. In the men's singles final, Indonesian world No 56 Sony Kuncoro continued his dream run as he prevailed over world No 10 Son Wan Ho 21-16, 13-21, 21-14. In the men's doubles Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan of China moved past Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda 21-11, 22-20.
No Williams, no problem
BRISBANE: Even without Serena and Venus Williams, the United States was too strong for Australia in their Fed Cup playoff, clinching a spot in the elite eight-nation World Group next year with a 4-0 sweep. CoCo Vandeweghe beat Australian No 1 Sam Stosur 2-6, 7-5, 6-4, giving the Americans an unbeatable 3-0. Vandeweghe combined with Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win the doubles 6-1, 6-4 over Gavrilova and Arina Rodionova after the second reverse singles match was scrapped. Elsewhere, Garbine Muguruza cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Roberta Vinci on Sunday, giving Spain an insurmountable 3-0 lead against Italy for a spot in the top tier of the Fed Cup. Also Angelique Kerber fought off Simona Halep to clinch a 6-2, 6-2 win on Sunday, giving Germany a 2-1 lead over Romania on the final day of the Fed Cup World Group playoff.