Lakshya, Kiran enter quarterfinals
Saarbrucken: Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen and Kiran George progressed to the men's singles quarterfinals of the SaarLorLux Open Super Tour 100 here on Thursday. Lakshya, who had won his maiden BWF World Tour title at the Dutch Open early this month, didn't have to break any sweat as his opponent Germany's Lars Schaenzler gave him a walk over, while Kiran beat Netherlands' Joran Kweekel 21-14 21-16 to also make it to the last eight. While Lakshya will face Germany's Max Weisskirchen next, reigning Junior National champion Kiran takes on France's Christo Popov in the quarterfinals.
Sangakkara to lead MCC vs Essex
London: Sri Lankan cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara, the first overseas president of the Marylebone Cricket Club, will captain the MCC against English county champions Essex in Sri Lanka next March, it was announced on Thursday. The 42-year-old batting great — whose 15 year international career encompassed 134 Test appearances and over 400 one day internationals — will lead out his side in the English domestic season's traditional curtain-raiser at the Galle International Stadium from March 24-27. The clash between the MCC and the champions dates back to 1970 and has been played abroad since 2011.
Pooja enters u-23 world’s semis
Budapest: India's Pooja Gehlot (53kg) remained in the medal hunt after storming into the semi-finals of the UWW Under-23 World Championships 2019 here on Thursday. It was a fantastic display from the youngster who started from the qualifying stages, where she demolished Ekaterina Verbina of Russia 8-3. In the quarter-finals, Gehlot blazed through her bout, notching up a commanding 8-0 win to set up a semi-final showdown against Zeynep Yetgil, gold medallist at the Junior European Wrestling Championships in 2018.
Oman, Scotland grab last 2 places
Dubai: Oman defeated Hong Kong by just 12 runs in a do-or-die T20 World Cup qualifier to reach the finals in Australia along with Scotland who thrashed United Arab Emirates by 90 runs. Oman and Scotland join Namibia, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea and Ireland, who had already booked their places in the 2020 showpiece but are still competing for the winner's trophy in UAE. Chasing just 135 to win, Hong Kong collapsed to 18-5 with left-arm seamer Bilal Khan taking three of the wickets to fall on his way to match figures of 4-23 and finished on 122-9. Earlier, George Munsey belted 65 as Scotland made 198 before UAE were all out for 108, with nine balls left. Mark Watt and Safyaan Sharif took three wickets for the Scots.
Maxwell takes break from cricket
Melbourne: Australian cricketer Glenn Maxwell on Thursday went on a "short" break from cricket due to mental health issues and will be replaced by D'Arcy Short in the national Twenty20 squad. According to Cricket Australia, Maxwell told the team's support staff that he is struggling with his mental health and the Board, along with his state side Victoria, are backing him in this period. “Glenn Maxwell has been experiencing some difficulties with regards to his mental health. As a result, he will spend a short time away from the game,” Team psychologist Dr Michael Lloyd was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia on its website ‘cricket.Com.Au'.