Archana qualifies for Youth Olympics
new delhi: Table tennis player Archana Girish Kamath on Saturday qualified for the Youth Olympics in her last attempt, joining fellow Indian Manav Thakkar for the October event in Buenos Aires. She heaved a sigh of relief after beating Malaysian Chang Alice li Sian 4-1 in the final of the Road to Buenos Aires 2018 YOG Series Oceania at Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The junior paddler defeated her Malaysian rival 11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-8. It was her last chance to make the cut for YOG, having failed to seal her berth at Rades (Tunisia) and Bangkok (Thailand) despite reaching the semifinals in the latter.
kp questions Eng sense of direction
london: Kevin Pietersen has questioned whether England know where they are going, saying their focus on one-day cricket risks alienating fans who care more about Test success. The past two years have seen a vast improvement in England's limited-overs form, with a team that suffered an embarrassing first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup now top of the one-day international rankings. The form of Eoin Morgan's side has been a huge boost to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who have staked a lot - including a contentious rejigging of the domestic season - on England winning the World Cup for the first time when the 2019 edition takes place on home soil.
Verstappen tops Montreal practice
montreal: Under-fire Dutchman Max Verstappen delivered a perfect riposte to his critics when he topped the times in both practice sessions for this weekend's Formula One Canadian Grand Prix. After a flawless showing to go fastest in the morning at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, the 20-year-old Red Bull driver followed up with a similar run in the afternoon. It was the first time he had topped the times in any practice sessions this year. "Yeah, that was a pretty good day for me, but I think Mercedes looked very fast in the longer runs," he said in a brief post-session comment. It was a perfect answer to those who had questioned his temperament after a series of incidents this season.
India's skeet shooters fail to impress
siggwei: Indian shooters Ganemat Shekhon and Parinaz Dhaliwal finshed a lowly 39th and 57th in the qualifying of the women's skeet event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup here. Ganemat shot 96 out of 125 in the qualification while Parinaz shot 73. Scoring was tough under the conditions and even the gold medallist, Amber Hill of Great Britain, shot 112 to top the qualification chart. In the men's skeet, all three Indians in fray -- Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Gurihal Singh Garcha and Ayush Rudraraju -- could find it tough to make it to the final six after they were placed 53rd, 87thand 94th after day one of qualification.
Vani makes cut in Finland Open
new delhi: Indian golfer Vani Kapoor made the cut in the Viaplay ladies Finnish Open after making a jump of eight places to lie tied 14th at the end of second round in Messila, Finland. Vani shot an even par score in round 2 at the Messila Golf Club. Vani's two rounds of 75 and 72 gave her a total of 3-over par, which is currently seven shots off the leader and defending champion Ursula Wikstrom of Finland. Vani made a climb of eight spots after being placed tied 22nd at the end of round 1.