Aizawl FC create history
Shillong: In one of the biggest achievements in Indian football history, unheralded Aizawl FC on Sunday lifted the I-league crown after they held Shillong lajong 1-1 in a tense match here. lajong went ahead in the ninth minute through A Dipanda but Aizawl equalised in the 67th minute through W lalnunfela as the two sides split points in a highly-anticipated match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Despite Mohun Bagan defeating Chennai City FC 2-1 in a simultaneous match in Kolkata, Aizawl ran away with the title to script a fairytale story. Aizawl ended the league on 37 points while Mohun Bagan finished second on 36. They have won the I-league title in their second season, becoming the first club from the Northeast to bag the title. It was, in fact, the leicester moment for the Aizawl side as their fortunes turned around in just a matter of a year after they were on the verge of relegation from the I-league last season.
Chinappa wins title, Ghosal falters
CHENNAI: Joshna Chinappa on Sunday scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title with a thrilling win over compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women's final, here on Sunday. In the men's final, however, Saurav Ghosal went down fighting against No 1 seed Max lee to finish second best. In an all-India clash, Chinappa held off a fighting Pallikal 13-15, 12-10, 11-13, 11-4, 11-4 in 78 minutes. In a neck-to-neck battle, Pallikal took 2-1 lead after three games. Chinappa, however, wasn't shaken after falling behind and came out all guns blazing and ran away with the fourth game as Pallikal made flurry of errors. In the decisive game, Chinappa took a big lead and eventually sealed the title. Earlier, Ghosal faded after a bright start, which saw him win the opening game, dropping just five points, to go down 11-5, 4- 11, 8-11, 7-11 in 61 minutes against lee.
Anas, Karhana star in Asian Ath GP
Taipei City: National record holder quartermiler Muhammed Anas and shot putter Om Prakash Karhana clinched a gold each as India bagged a rich-haul of eight medals in the third and final Asian Athletics Grand Prix Meet here on Sunday. Anas clocked 45.69 seconds to win the gold in his first international meet of the season. His effort, however, fell short of the IAAF World Championships entry mark of 45.50 seconds. In men's shot put, Karhana won a gold with a best throw of 19.58m which he came up in his third round. This was Karhana's first international gold medal in a long time. Manpreet Kaur (women's shot put), Tintu luka (women's 800m), Jinson Johnson (men's 800m) and Dutee Chand (women's 100m) bagged a silver each while Neeraj Chopra (men's javelin throw) and MR Poovamma (women's 400m) settled for a bronze each. India had won seven medals (1 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze) in the first leg on April 24.