Rafael Nadal admitted his fitness level was well off the tour’s top players after falling on Thursday in straight sets to fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who described the exhibition match as “a little bit sad.” Nadal, 38, who announced last week he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month, lost 3-6, 3-6 to Alcaraz, 21, in the semi-finals of the Six Kings Slam event in Saudi Arabia. Later, he described Alcaraz, winner of the French Open and Wimbledon this year, as an “animal” and acknowledged he was not competing at the highest level. “I don’t have much pressure here. I’m just trying to have fun,” he told a post-match press conference. “I know I’m going to play against players that are in much better shape than me because they are on the professional tour and winning tournaments.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 October,2024 06:40 AM IST | Riyadh | AFPKian Patel of The Oberoi International School stormed into the U-14 boys final of the MSSA inter-school lawn tennis tournament, beating Ansh Jalota of Methibai Devraj Gundecha 3-0 at the Bombay Gymkhana on Friday. Kian, 13, who has already represented the state at the Nationals, was playing in the MSSA tournament for the first time. A familiar foe Having known his opponent for a long time, Kian was well-equipped for the clash. Effectively countering the rather slow approach, Kian went on the aggressive to force his rival on the back foot. Kian’s smart placements caught Ansh off-guard frequently. “I first picked up the racquet when I was three. My sister and father also play; that’s how I got into tennis. It’s been good all along and I wish to keep continuing in the same manner,” said Kian. In the other semi-final, Vidyut Sundar of Nita Mukesh Ambani Junior School produced a dominating performance to sail past Aarav Shah of Bombay International School with a similar 3-0 win. Also Read: Tennis twins on top! Earlier, in the quarter-finals, Kian came up with a 3-0 win over Aryan Tyebjee of BD Somani International, while Vidyut fought well in a keen tie-breaker against schoolmate Aarav Mulay, winning 7-3. Maitre, Vritika in final In the girls U-12 semi-finals, Maitre Sharma of Juggilal Podar Academy advanced into the final beating Devika Pinge of Bombay Scottish School 3-1, while Vritika Shah of Bombay Scottish went past Revika Manchandani of Oberoi International School 3-1.
19 October,2024 06:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamIndian star PV Sindhu bowed out with a quarterfinal loss to Paris Olympics bronze-winner Gregoria Tunjung as the country’s campaign came to an end in the Denmark Open badminton tournament here on Friday. The 29-year-old Sindhu went down 13-21, 21-16, 9-21 in a nearly hour-long clash. The World No. 8 from Indonesia, who had won just two matches from their past 12 encounters, was at her dominant best despite Sindhu managing to claim the second game. The loss continues a season of discontent for the Indian, who returned empty-handed from the Paris Games. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 October,2024 06:34 AM IST | Odense | PTIThe MK Jadhav-trained Mojito has run three races this Pune season without showing any spark. However, his latest workouts on the trial track suggest he will be a strong contender for the top spot in the Fair Haven Trophy, the feature event of Saturday's eight-race card. With little luck, the five-year-old to be ridden by NS Parmar should be able to win the feature event from West Brook, Rasputin and It's My Time. First race at 1.30 pm. Selections: Legal Steps Plate (For 4y&o, Class V; 1000m)Mi Arion 1, Moment Of Madness 2, Hilma Klint 3. Star Millionaire Plate (For 4y&o, Class V; 1600m)Marlboro Man 1, Always She Goes 2, Mohsin 3. Nitrous Plate - Div II (For 5y&o, Class IV; 1200m)Fiery Red 1, Mojo 2, Galloping Ahead 3. Prudential Champ Trophy (For 2y, Maidens; 1000m)Rosabelle 1, Giant Gold 1, Golden Dancer 3. Also Read: Santissimo superior to rivals in HPSL Pune Derby (Gr 1) Pune Cantonment Board Trophy (Class IV; 1400m)The General 1, Speak The Breed 2, Lion King 3. Fair Haven Trophy (Class I; 1600m)Mojito 1, West Brook 2, Rasputin 3. DN Zodge Plate (Class III; 2000m)Multiverse 2, Eaton Square 2, Booster Shot 3. Nitrous Plate - Div I (For 5y&o, Class IV; 1200m)Majestic Warrior 1, Dufy 2, Pure 3. RecommendationsBest bet: NoneUpsets: Yuletide (2-4), Daulat Mai (3-9), Zarak (7-8) & Attained (8-3) Today's poolsSuper jackpot pool: 3,4,5,6,7,8Jackpot pool: 4,5,6,7,8Treble pools: I - 2,3,4; II - 5,6,7Tanala pool: All races.
19 October,2024 06:33 AM IST | Pune | Prakash GosaviRapidly-rising Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi clinched the WR Chess masters title after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France in the Armageddon game following two draws in Classical chess during the final. Arjun, who was a part of the gold-winning Indian team in the Chess Olympiad recently, displayed great form and precision throughout the event to bag the winner's prize of 20,000 Euros. With this, Arjun's live Elo rating touched 2796, moving him closer to the coveted 2800 mark. He will look to cross that milestone at the European Cup which starts from October 20. The 21-year-old defeated his friend R Praggnanandhaa in the semifinals of the knockout event before eventually getting past Vachier-Lagrave. "I am happy that I could adapt to the new format well and win the tournament," Arjun said in a press release issued by his management team. The 16-player tournament saw Arjun score a 2-0 victory over nine-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan of England, who was the youngest ever to play in the Chess Olympiad for her country. Also Read: Kids make right moves as MSSA chess begins with record entries Fellow Indian Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi also fell to Arjun, who won the second game in the two games mini-match by 1.5-0.5 margin. Against Praggnanandhaa in the semis, Arjun took an early lead by winning the first game as white and did well to draw the second game to win the match 1.5-0.5. In the WR Chess masters final, Vachier-Lagrave put up stiff resistance against the World number four Indian but eventually crumbled in the Armageddon. The first game ended in an easy draw for Arjun as black, while the second game featured wild complex play out of a Sicilian Najdorf opening where the Indian played white. The dust subsided on the 21st move leading to a tricky endgame post the queen trade and the game was drawn. Vachier-Lagrave had 10 minutes on his clock with white pieces in the finale against Arjun's six minutes and 58 seconds. However, as is the law, the Frenchman needed a win. Arjun navigated the opening well despite less time out of a Petroff defense and reached a balanced position. Vachier-Lagrave sacrificed two minor pieces for a rook to make some threats around Arjun's King but the Indian remained on guard. The game could have been a draw through repetition but that would have won the match for Arjun anyway. The Queens were traded but Arjun was never in trouble as Vachier-Lagrave fought in vain for 69 moves before calling it a day. (With agency inputs)
18 October,2024 05:09 PM IST | London | mid-day online correspondentTwo young shotgun marksmen from Jaipur, Vivaan Kapoor and Anantjeet Singh Naruka, lit up an otherwise lacklustre Indian campaign, winning a silver and a bronze on the concluding day of the year-ending ISSF World Cup Final here on Thursday. Vivaan the 22-year-old trap shooter and 26-year-old Olympian skeet marksman Anantjeet, clinched the biggest medals of their careers at the famed Karni Singh Range as the hosts ended the elite competition with two silver and an equal number of bronze medals. Vivaan shot 44 in the final as he was beaten to the gold by Paris Olympics silver medallist from China, Qi Ying, who shot 47. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 October,2024 07:06 AM IST | New Delhi | PTITwo-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu overcame a sluggish start to defeat World No. 7 Han Yue of China in a thrilling contest, progressing to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Thursday. Sindhu, a former world champion and currently ranked 18th, won 18-21 21-12 21-16 in a second-round match that lasted 63 minutes. This marks her first win over a Top-10 player since defeating Han at the Malaysia Masters final in May. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 October,2024 07:06 AM IST | Odense | PTIThe MSSA’s 43rd inter-school chess tournament got underway at St Sebastian High School, Chembur, on Thursday with a record number of participants — 3,037 players from 100-plus schools. Some of the kids were overwhelmed at seeing the huge gathering. “I feel nervous. It will be tough to win the tournament given there are so many players, but it’s good to have competition,” Raj Nimbalkar, 10, a player from The Scholar High School, told mid-day. “Till yesterday, I was confident I will do well, but this morning, after seeing so many players here, I’m stunned. I hope I can win,” said Jeet Singh, 11, of Fatima High School. Also Read: Say Chess! Interestingly, working parents, who came to cheer their kids, were offered classrooms by MSSA, where they could access their laptops for office work. “It’s sweet to see so many children take part. It may instil fear in some young participants, but it will also boost the confidence of many others,” said Santosh Nimbalkar, a father of one of the participants. Rashmi Gupta, another parent, added, “This is a great experience for our kids. There may be pressure, but this is also a good learning for them.”MSSA chess secretary Sebastian Rodrigues was a happy man: “It’s nice to see so much talent in our city. India’s Chess Olympiad success has clearly rubbed off on all these kids.” Meanwhile, Nirvaan Shah of Don Bosco International School won first place in the boys U-12 category, while Divit Bhowmick of Bombay Scottish (Mahim) finished second and Gaurang Bhandari of Bombay Scottish (Powai) was third. Nikita Sandeep of AVM (Bandra) won the U-8 girls cetagory with Manva Parkar of Oxford Public School (Kandivli) runner-up and Yaashi Doshi of Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir finishing third.
18 October,2024 07:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamChahat Thakur of Hansraj Morarji Public School (Andheri) stormed into the girls U-12 final of the MSSA inter-school lawn tennis tournament, beating Vrrisha Chatwani of Billabong High International School (Andheri) 7-2 via tie-breaker at the Bombay Gymkhana’s tennis courts on Wednesday. It was a close encounter between Chahat and Vrrisha as both knew each other’s game well since they play at the same academy. After the best-of-five affair was locked 2-2, Vrrisha took a 2-0 lead in the tie-breaker before Chahat rallied to a 7-2 victory thanks to her strong backhand and some accurately placed forehand shots. In the other semi-final, Reya Shetty of Jamnabai Narsee (Juhu) comfortably beat Leah Kothari of Cathedral and John Connon 3-0. Also Read: Tennis twins on top! In the U-10 girls semi-finals at MSSA’s tennis courts in Azad Maidan, Saanvi Dhatrak of Prime Academy ICSC pipped Airene Shaikh of Podar International 7-5 via the tie-breaker. After both girls won two games each, the tie-breaker was employed. Here too things were neck-and-neck at 5-5 before Saanvi hit two crisp winners to enter the final. Reya Mehta of Aditya Birla World Academy beat Aana Chheda of Methibai Devraj Gundecha 3-0 in the other semi-final.
18 October,2024 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamCarlos Alcaraz admitted Wednesday it will be a “difficult moment” facing “idol” Rafael Nadal when the Spanish superstars clash for the final time. Nadal, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, announced last week that he will retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month. On Thursday, however, the 38-year-old will take on Alcaraz for a place in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh. “Since I started to play tennis, I’m watching his matches. I look up to him and I grew up watching him. He was my idol, he is still my idol,” Alcaraz said on court after defeating Holger Rune 6-4, 6-2 to set-up an emotional meeting with Nadal. “A really important person for my life, for my career and he was one of the reasons that I wanted to become a professional tennis player. Knowing he is going to retire is pretty tough for everyone, for me.” Alcaraz added: “I will try to enjoy sharing the court with him once again, but it is difficult for everyone.” This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
18 October,2024 06:45 AM IST | Riyadh | AFPThe Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will make its much-awaited return to the mat on Friday, October 18. The Battle of Breath will kickstart with a thrilling opener where the Telugu Titans and the Bengaluru Bulls square off at the GMCB Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli in Hyderabad. In anticipation of the new season, a grand launch was held at the Hyatt Place, at Banjara Hills, in Hyderabad. The event was graced by PKL League Commissioner & Head of Sports Leagues at Mashal Sports, Mr. Anupam Goswami, along with team captains Pawan Sehrawat (Telugu Titans) and Pardeep Narwal (Bengaluru Bulls). Captains of the remaining 10 teams were also present as they kicked off the PKL season. One of the most exciting moments of the day was when an exhibition match was held featuring the PKL captains and a team of prominent creators, as a result of our partnership with Meta. Some of the prominent creators present at the match included the Big Nerds, Hardik Banga, Sidhant Sarfare, Ashish Singh, amongst others, bringing a fresh and engaging dynamic to the sport. Also Read: "I am hurting to see this score of 46 all out": Rohit Sharma Expressing his thoughts on the journey so far and the upcoming season, Mr. Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, Pro Kabaddi League said, “The first decade of the PKL has been a huge achievement, but for us, the focus is on using the experiences to help prepare for the next phase, and further build on the success stories. The players have received a lot of support over the years. And one of the standout aspects is the confidence with which the players say they are kabaddi athletes. After helping rediscover a world class Indian sport, the next phase of this important journey involves going to newer shores. There has been a significant amount of interest internationally for the PKL. We have always worked with a fan-first thought process, and we promise to be relentless in our approach towards that.” Telugu Titans' captain Pawan Sehrawat also shared his excitement for the opening match by saying, “I am very happy that we, Telugu Titans, will play the opening game of the season at Hyderabad in front of our home fans. The fans have always supported us a lot, and we are sure there will be more of the same when we walk onto the mat. The team is in a good place and we are confident of doing well.” Bengaluru Bulls' captain Pardeep Narwal was ready for the challenge that lies ahead as he returns to the team that gave him his PKL debut. Ahead of the opening match, he said, “Season 11 of the PKL will be huge and we are very excited to come into the tournament and we have prepared well throughout the pre-season for this. Our team is very well balanced and the Bulls are keen to start off with a bang.” Preparations for PKL 11 began on a historic note as eight players were sold for over INR 1 crore in the auction held in Mumbai. After Pawan and Pardeep take to the mat on Friday, the second match of the night will see U Mumba's Sunil Kumar – the most expensive Indian defender in PKL history after being bought for INR 1.015 Crores – take on the attacking prowess of Naveen Kumar, who is among the star raiders for Dabang Delhi K.C. This time around, PKL will be returning to a three-city format, with the 2024 edition commencing at the GMCB Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli in Hyderabad from October 18 to November 9. It will then move to the Noida Indoor Stadium for the second leg starting on November 10 till December 1. The third leg will begin at the Badminton Hall in the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune from December 3 to December 24. As the PKL moves into Season 11, our commitment to putting fans first, both digitally and on-ground, remains stronger than ever. This season, we are thrilled to provide our superfans with once-in-a-lifetime experiences, a tradition we plan to build on in the future. Through immersive digital interventions and unforgettable in-stadia moments, we aim to create more memorable connections and make our fans an integral part of the PKL journey. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
17 October,2024 09:08 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
