Neeraj finishes 4th in Diamond league
doha: Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra shattered his own national record by clearing a distance of 87.43m en route finishing fourth in a star-studded field in the season opening Diamond league series meeting here. Neeraj, who recently won a Gold in the Commonwealth Games with a throw of 86.47m, was up against Olympic champion Thomas Rohler, world champion Johannes Vetter and Andreas Hoffman, all Germans and all in the 90m club, but the 22-year-old Indian was not intimidated as he sent the spear to 87.43m in his second attempt on Friday to better his earlier national mark of 86.48m. In the process, Neeraj beat 2017 london World Championships Silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic, who finished fifth with a best throw of 86.67m.
FlO FElICITATES INDIA'S STAR SHUTTlERS
new delhi: FICCI ladies Organisation (FlO) the women business wing of the Federation of Indian chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) felicitated India's star Shuttler's Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu along with Current Chief National Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand here on Saturday. FlO organised a session to honour and felicitate the Golden Girls of Indian Badminton, Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu. The ace shuttlers swept off the badminton women's singles event in the Common Wealth Games held at Gold Coast this year, with Saina Nehwal bagging Gold and PV Sindhu Silver, creating a defining moment in the history of women's badminton in India.
Sai Praneeth goes down fighting in semis
auckland: Indian shutter B Sai Praneeth went down fighting to second seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the men's singles semifinals of the New Zealand Open badminton here on Saturday. The 25-year-old Sai Praneeth was the lone Indian left in fray in the tournament. His run came to an end after he succumbed to a 14-21, 21-19, 21-8 loss in a match that lasted over an hour. The Indian, who was seeded third for this tournament, won the first game comfortably and was leading the second game for a while. But Christie fought back, eventually winning two straight points when the score was tied at 19-19 to win the second game and force the match into a deciding third game. Praneeth struggled to compete against his Indonesian rival in the third game, as Christie dominated it to enter the final.
Kvitova rallies to win Prague Open final
prague: Second-seeded Petra Kvitova came from a set down to beat seventh-seeded Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the Prague Open final on Saturday. It was the 23rd career WTA title for the two-time Wimbledon champion. Kvitova broke Buzarnescu in the fourth game of the deciding set and held her serve for a 4-1 lead. The 10th-ranked Czech converted her first match point on clay on the way to her third title this year after wins at St. Petersburg and Qatar. Buzarnescu, who played her second final this year, has yet to win a tournament.
lahiri misses cut at Fargo C'ship
charlotte: The firm and tough greens took a toll on Anirban lahiri as the Indian missed the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship after shooting 76-74 in the first two rounds, even as the legendary Tiger Woods managed to make it. Woods (71-73) squeezed inside the cutline which fell at 3-over 145. Peter Malnati (67-68) was at his best over the last three holes on Friday and finished with a 3-under 68 for a one-shot lead. Woods at T-48 made his only birdie on his final hole for a 73 that assured him a cut at Quail Hollow for the first time since 2009. McIlroy was also T-48th.