Serena out of China Open draw
beijing: American great Serena Williams was left out of the China Open tennis draw on Friday as reports said she's called time on her season following her meltdown at the US Open. Williams' name, along with that of her sister Venus, did not appear on a list of 64 players ahead of the tournament's start on Saturday in Beijing. It comes less than three weeks after the tempestuous US Open final, where Williams accused the umpire of sexism in an angry rant during her 6-2, 6-4 defeat to Japan's Naomi Osaka. Reports from the United States said Williams' season is now over, making it the fourth year in a row she has curtailed her playing commitments — although in 2017 she took time off to have a baby.
Otamendi returns in argentina squad
Buenos Aires: Manchester City center-back Nicolas Otamendi was recalled to the Argentina squad on Friday but as expected, Lionel Messi was left out of the group due to play arch-rivals Brazil in Saudi Arabia. After Argentina's disappointing last-16 elimination by eventual winners France from the World Cup in Russia, Messi was granted time off from national team duties for the rest of the year. He missed friendlies in the United States against Guatemala (3-0) and Colombia (0-0) earlier this month and will watch from afar as interim-coach Lionel Scaloni's team tackle Iraq on October 11, also in Saudi Arabia, and Brazil five days later in another pair of friendlies. "I've spoken with Messi and we agree that it's not the right time for his return," said Scaloni. Alongside Messi, three other attacking stalwarts have been left out: Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria of Paris Saint-Germain, and AC Milan's Gonzalo Higuain.
Indian men beat Paraguay in chess olympiad
batumi: Viswanathan Anand recovered to post a clinical victory over Neuris Delgado Ramirez of Paraguay as Indian men posted an impressive 3.5-0.5 victory over Paraguay while the women also posted an identical win over Argentina in the fifth round of the 43rd Chess Olympiad now underway here. Anand had lost his previous round game to American Fabiano Caruana and many pundits had predicted he will take break, however the Indian ace decided to do what he knows best and in a mere 15 moves had a winning position on board. Anand was at his best in capitalizing his advantage and cruised home in quick time to record a smooth victory. P Harikrshna was held to a draw in the longest game of the day by Indian men but way before that B Adhiban and Krishnan Sasikiran had ensured that the team was secured of another victory.
Pankaj confirms medal in Snooker Tour
doha: 19-time world champion Pankaj Advani continued his fine form in the first leg of the Asian 10-red Snooker by storming into the semifinals here on Friday. Advani registered a comprehensive victory over seasoned multiple world champion Darren Morgan. After dropping the first frame to his Welsh opponent, Advani picked up the pace and took control of the high quality quarterfinal clash involving two heavyweights of cue sports. In the best-of-nine tie, Advani won five frames on the trot to confirm another medal for India and set up a mouth-watering clash with in form Brendan O'Donoghue of Ireland. As the lone Indian left in the fray, after Manan Chandra, Varun Madan and Kamal Chawla failed to qualify to the last-16 knockout stages, Advani made the most of his experience to advance in the tournament defeating Haris Tahir of Pakistan 5-2 before facing Morgan.
Hamilton on top in Sochi practice race
sochi: In-form championship leader Lewis Hamilton bounced back to top the times ahead of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in Friday's second practice for this weekend's Russian Grand Prix. The four-time world champion clocked a best lap time of one minute and 33.385 seconds to outpace the Finn by two-tenths of a second at the Sochi Autodrom where title rival Sebastian Vettel was fifth quickest. Vettel, desperate to trim Hamilton's 40-point lead in the championship, was 0.543 seconds adrift of the Englishman who continued to demonstrate his current rich vein of form after four wins in the last five races, including triumphs in Italy and Singapore. "Sochi has been one of the weaker circuits for me in the past, particularly last year," said Hamilton, who finished fourth in 2017. "So I've done a lot of work to understand the balance and see where I can improve to try and rectify this — and today has been good in that sense.