Three Indians eye Rio berths
new delhi: Aiming to become the first set of Indian professional boxers to compete in Olympics, WBC Asian title-holder Neeraj Goyat, Gaurav Bidhuri and Dilbag Singh will begin their campaign in the International Boxing Association's final qualifying tournament for the Rio Games in Vargas, Venezuela. The event in Venezuela will mark a historic end to the dividing line between pros and amateurs. Gaurav (52kg), Neeraj (69kg) and Dilbag (81kg) will all be in action on Monday in the first round of the historic tournament, which was finalised after AIBA's Extraordinary Congress last month voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing pros into the Olympics, scheduled in Rio de Janeiro from August 5. The tournament will feature boxers from AIBA's own professional events —the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) — besides pro boxers from all over the world.
PM to meet Rio-bound athletes
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet the Indian athletes who will represent the country at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. PM Modi will interact informally with the sportspersons, and wish them luck for the August 5-21 Games. "The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will meet the athletes who shall be representing India at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro," an official release said. "Shri Narendra Modi will meet the Olympic Contingent at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on Monday. So far, around 100 athletes from 13 sports disciplines have qualified for the Rio Olympics. The Prime Minister will interact informally with the sportspersons, and wish them well for their performance in the world's biggest sporting arena," the release said.
Titans beat Pirates 35-33
Hyderabad: Telugu Titans crashed to their third successive defeat as Patna Pirates mounted a superb comeback to down them 35-33 in Pro Kabaddi Season 4 here on Sunday. Star raider Pradeep Narwal scored 11 points as Patna Pirates remained unbeaten in the fourth season. Telugu Titans' skipper Rahul Chaudhari had an outstanding game as scored 11 points but his effort went in vain as they crashed to yet another defeat. Telugu Titans remain rooted at the foot of the table with three points from three games whereas Patna Pirates climbed to second spot with 15 points from three games. It was a cautious start from both teams and they began with four empty raids. Patna Pirates scored the first defensive and raid point in the third minute to take 2-0 lead whereas Telugu Titans had to wait for five minutes to open their account.