Joshna reaches Hong Kong final
Hong Kong: India's leading squash player Joshna Chinappa carved out a close win against defending champion Annie Au to enter the final of the PSA HKFC International here on Friday. Joshna, the lone Indian left in the draw after the exit of teammate Dipika Pallikal, won the crucial points against the higher-ranked opponent from Hong Kong in the semifinal lasting an hour. The eventual scoreline read 8-11, 11-9, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9 in favour of the Indian. Joshna had also got the better of Annie in the recently held Asian Team Championship in Taipei. Joshna, seeded third, faces top seed Joelle King of New Zealand in the final on Saturday. "Every point was fought to the max, just happy to get through to my biggest ever PSA final," said the World No13 after reaching the summit clash of the $25,000 event.
Sonia settles for silver
Astana (Kazakhstan): Indian boxer Sonia lather (57kg) settled for a silver medal at the AIBA Women's World Championships after going down to top seed Alessia Mesiano of Italy in a hard-fought summit clash here on Friday. The lone Indian boxer to make the medal rounds, Sonia lost 1-2 but her silver ensured that India did not return empty-handed after what was a throughly disappointing campaign overall. The 24-year-old from Haryana was off the blocks confidently and managed to rattle Mesiano in the opening round with her precisely-placed combination punches. However, the Italian, who was a bronze-medallist in the previous edition, kept her composure and counter-attacked well in the next three rounds.
Streak quits Bangladesh
Dhaka: Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak said he will quit as Bangladesh's fast bowling coach at the end of the month after deciding not to renew his contract. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said Streak, who has been linked with a coaching post at India's national academy, informed them of his decision via email. "I have decided that I shall leave my role as a national bowling coach when my contract expires at the end the month," Streak said in a statement via his agent on Twitter on Thursday. The Zimbabwean coach, who signed a two-year contract in 2014, has been credited with the steady progress made by Bangladesh's fast bowling unit, which contributed to the team's successful run in ODI’s. "I feel now is the right time for me and my family to make this decision and I look forward to the future as I look to continue my coaching career," he said in the statement.
Dhirendra breaks record in Pole Vault
Kozhikode: Dhirendra Kumar of Gujarat shattered the national and meet records to bag the gold in the boys Pole Vault category on the second day of 13th National Youth (Under 18) Athletics championship here on Friday. Kumar vaulted a height of 4.72m to claim the first place in boys Pole Vault, bettering the national record of 4.70m set by P Kumar Patel of Uttar Pradesh in 2010 and the meet record of 4.41 m by Kundan of Haryana in 2011. Delhi's Manish Singh came second with 4.40m followed by Krishnan of Haryana who finished third with 4.30m. In the boys long jump, Kerala's M Sreeshankar covered a distance of 7.49m breaking a meet record of 7.41m set by Madhya Pradesh's Ankit Kumar in 2009.
23 new doping failures from 2012 Oly
lausanne: The International Olympic Committee today reported 23 new doping failures from retests on 265 samples from the 2012 london Games. The 23 were from six countries and took part in five different sports. The revelation came one week after the IOC said 31 new cases had been found from 2008 Olympics. "Reanalysis of the "A" samples from 23 athletes in five sports and from six National Olympic Committees who competed at the london 2012 has returned Adverse Analytical Findings," IOC said in a statement.
NZ schedule for 2017-18 confirmed
Wellington: New Zealand Cricket has announced a domestic schedule for the next two summers which includes 12 Test matches and a total of 98 days of international cricket. The schedule for the 2016-2017 season includes seven Tests — two each against Pakistan and Bangladesh and three against South Africa along with 11 ODIs and four T20s. New Zealand will also play a three-match Chappell-Hadlee one-day series against Australia with matches in Auckland, Napier and Hamilton. South Africa's tour comprises three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match. The 2017-2018 domestic season, which will contain five Tests, 17 ODIs and five T20s, will be one of New Zealand's busiest on record.
Agencies