Mumbai beat Delhi 4-3, enter s/f
New Delhi: Mumbai Maharathi held their nerves to prevail over Delhi Sultans 4-3 in a tense contest and book a berth in the semifinals of the Pro Wrestling league Season 2 here on Friday. The opening bout was between Delhi's David Tlashadze and Mumbai's young grappler Pritam in the 70 kg men's category, which the Georgian won it 6-2 to give Delhi the early advantage. Mariya Stadnik made short work of Mumbai's Carolina Castillo Hidalgo as Delhi won the second bout 5-0. Mumbai earned their first win of the evening thanks to the strength and technique displayed by Rio Bronze medalist Jabrayil Hasanov against Delhi's Parveen Rana in the 74 kg men's category. Sakshi then displayed her superiority by emerging victorious in a tough contest against Maharathi's Sarita. In the fifth bout, Delhi's Surjeet Grewal tried to attack Vikas with the leg hold but the Mumbai wrestler eventually lost. Maharathi’s captain Erica Wiebe set up the tie for an exciting finish as she clinched the sixth bout in her favour, defeating Delhi's Alina Makhynia 3-0 in the 75 kg women's category. In the decider, Mumbai's Pavlo Oliynik brought about a dramatic turnaround, pushing out Satyavart Kadian three times before accumulating crucial points with takedowns to win 8-3.
Australian open draw declared
Melbourne: Six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic drew a difficult first-round opponent in Fernando Verdasco, and Roger Federer's fall in the rankings complicated his chances at Melbourne Park after he ended up in same quarter as top-ranked Andy Murray, No. 5 Kei Nishikori and No. 10 Tomas Berdych. The official draw for the season's first major was held Friday and delivered an awkward opponent for second-seeded Djokovic. Verdasco had an upset win over fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the first round here last year, and had five match points before losing to Djokovic in the semifinals at Doha last week. Six-time women's champion Serena Williams, aiming for an Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam singles title, drew a challenging first-round opponent in Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic - who was seeded 12th last year - and also had No. 9 Johanna Konta, No. 17 Caroline Wozniacki and No. 6 Dominika Cibulkova in her quarter.
Sania-Strycova lose in final
Sydney: Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova went down to Timea Babos of Hungary and Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets in the final of the Apia International tennis tournament here on Friday. The top seeded pair of Sania and Strycova lost 4-6 4-6 to their unseeded opponents in a match that lasted an hour and 12 minutes. Sania had paired with America's Bethanie Mattek-Sands to win last week's Brisbane International tournament. The opening set today was a closely-fought affair with just one point separating the winners and the losers. In the second set also, Sania and Strycova could win only 27 points to their opponents' 30. The Hungarian-Russian pair broke serve twice before Sania and Strycova fought back to equal the score but eventually they were broken again and then Babos and Pavlyuchenkova served out the match.
Seityasen, Gouramangi join dsk
Pune: Manipuri duo Seityasen Singh and Gouramangi Singh have signed on loan for Pune-based side DSK Shivajians FC for the ongoing season of the I-league. While Seityasen last turned out for NorthEast United FC in the Indian Super league, Gouramangi plied his trade in Pune itself for FC Pune City. In 24-year-old Seityasen, DSK Shivajians have acquired the services of a versatile player who can play down both wings and in a Number 10 role as well. While the signing of Seityasen brings an edge into the attack, in Gouramangi, DSK Shivajians have further strengthened their defensive line. Agencies