The organisers of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) have announced that the Season 11 playoffs and final will take place at the Badminton Hall in the Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune, from December 26 to December 29. The top two teams from the league stage will directly qualify for the semifinals, while the teams finishing third, fourth, fifth, and sixth will compete in the eliminator stage on December 26, 2024. In Eliminator 1, the third-placed team will face the sixth-placed team, while in Eliminator 2, the fourth-placed team will take on the fifth-placed team. The winner of Eliminator 1 will face the league toppers in Semi-final 1, and the winner of Eliminator 2 will go up against the second-placed team in Semi-final 2, scheduled for December 27, 2024. The grand finale to crown the Season 11 champions will be held on December 29. Also Read: Sunil Kumar aims to bring trophy back to Mumbai after tying record for most wins as PKL captain The league is currently underway in Noida, with matches being played at the Noida Indoor Stadium until December 1. The tournament will then move to Pune for matches from December 3 to December 24, culminating in the playoffs "We are thrilled to bring the playoffs and finals to Pune, a city known for its vibrant Kabaddi spirit. This season has been defined by its intense competitiveness and nail-biting finishes, from Hyderabad to Noida. As the league now heads to Pune, we anticipate the same level of thrill and excitement. With Maharashtra's talented players shining across multiple teams, we're confident the passionate Kabaddi community here will create an electrifying atmosphere for these decisive matches that will determine this season's champion," said Anupam Goswami, Business Head of Mashal and League Chairman, as quoted in a PKL press release. 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
27 November,2024 07:22 PM IST | Pune | ANIIndian Grandmaster D Gukesh clinched his first win over defending champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship, outplaying the Chinese on time control in the third round to draw level on points here on Wednesday. Having lost the first game rather badly with black pieces, Gukesh struck gold thanks to his preparation that gave him a huge advantage on the clock as Liren spent a lot of time mulling his moves in the first phase of the game. 🇮🇳 Gukesh D WINS GAME 3 of the 2024 FIDE World Championship Match, presented by Google! #DingGukesh Gukesh equalised the score of the match at 1.5-1.5!📷 Eng Chin An pic.twitter.com/Oc9ZYO2NNf — International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) November 27, 2024 Both players now have 1.5 points each after the second game ended in a draw on Tuesday. "It feels great. The last two days I was happy with my play. My play today was even better, I feel good at the board and today I just managed to outplay my opponent which is always nice," Gukesh, who played with white today, said in the post-game press conference. By move 13th, the 18-year-old from Chennai had a lead of one hour on the clock as he had spent just four minutes compared to Liren's one hour and six minutes. With 40 moves to make in the first 120 allotted minutes without any increment, the complicated middle game had the desired impact on Liren and Gukesh was relentless in finding out some difficult yet perfect moves to increase the pressure. Also Read: RD 1: Ding outwits ‘nervous’ Gukesh The players followed a much less-played variation in the topical Queen's Gambit declined and Gukesh followed an idea played by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in a rapid game against highest rated Indian Arjun Erigaisi. While that game had ended in a draw after Erigaisi survived a real scare, Gukesh delved deeper in the position and capitalised on some unforced errors by Liren. The 32-year-old Liren had his light square Bishop under the scanner after the Queens were traded early leading to a queen-less middle game. With imaginative manoeuvres, Gukesh trapped the bishop parting with just two pawns in the process. If Liren thought there was still counter-play, Gukesh disagreed completely as he put his pieces around the centre to keep his position intact and gave no chances whatsoever in the resulting position. Adding to the Chinese' woes was the clock as he barely had two minutes to make the last nine moves. Gukesh was at the top of his game and went for some tactical complications threatening to trap the black king or to win more material. Liren fell further on the clock and was just left with less than 10 seconds for the last six moves. It was a hopeless situation when Liren ran out of time after 37 moves giving Gukesh his first victory in the showpiece. Gukesh is aiming to become the first Indian after Viswanthan Anand to claim the coveted crown. Anand won the world championship five times in his glorious career and has been a mentor to Gukesh. Thursday will be the first rest day of the event. The moves game 3: D Gukesh vs Ding Liren 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 6.Qc2 g6 7.h3 Bf5 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.g4 Qxb3 10.axb3 Bc2 11.Bf4 h5 12.Rg1 hxg4 13.hxg4 Nbd7 14.Nd2 Rg8 15.g5 Nh5 16.Bh2 Rh8 17.f3 Ng7 18.Bg3 Rh5 19.e4 dxe4 20.fxe4 Ne6 21.Rc1 Nxd4 22.Bf2 Bg7 23.Ne2 Nxb3 24.Rxc2 Nxd2 25.Kxd2 Ne5 26.Nd4 Rd8 27.Ke2 Rh2 28.Bg2 a6 29.b3 Rd7 30.Rcc1 Ke7 31.Rcd1 Ke8 32.Bg3 Rh5 33.Nf3 Nxf3 34.Kxf3 Bd4 35.Rh1 Rxg5 36.Bh3 f5 37.Bf4 Rh5 black lost on time. 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
27 November,2024 07:02 PM IST | Singapore | PTITaiwan's Olympic boxing gold medallist Lin Yu-ting has pulled out of an international competition in Britain after the organiser questioned her gender eligibility, Taiwanese sports officials said Wednesday. Lin, who along with Algerian boxer Imane Khelif was embroiled in a gender row at the Paris Olympics, was due to compete in the World Boxing Cup Finals in Sheffield starting Wednesday. The new competition was organised by World Boxing, which was founded in 2023 and boasts around 55 members, including Taiwan. It was to be Lin's first international competition since Paris, but she withdrew after World Boxing questioned her eligibility, Taiwan's Sports Administration said in a statement. "She is female, meets all eligibility criteria, and successfully participated in the women's boxing event (in Paris), winning a gold medal," the statement said. "Unfortunately, as World Boxing is newly established and still navigating the development of its operational mechanisms, it lacks the clear regulatory policies of the IOC that ensure the protection of athletes' rights," it said, referring to the International Olympic Committee. "Additionally, World Boxing's medical committee has yet to establish robust confidentiality procedures to safeguard the medical information submitted by Taiwan regarding Lin Yu-ting." Lin had offered to undergo a "comprehensive medical examination locally" in Britain but World Boxing did not agree, the statement said. To avoid further "harm" to Lin, her coach and Taiwanese sports officials "decided to withdraw from this event proactively". Lin had arrived in Britain a few days ago and pulled out of the event on Tuesday, Hsieh Chi-ying from the Sports Administration told AFP. Also Read: 'Isn't fair': Harbhajan Singh joins outcry over Imane Khelif's gender, demands Olympic gold be revoked Neither World Boxing nor England Boxing immediately responded to AFP's requests for comment. Lin and Khelif were thrown out of last year's world championships -- which was run by the Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA)-- but they were cleared by the IOC to compete in Paris. IBA's Kremlin-linked president Umar Kremlev claimed in a chaotic press conference that the two women had undergone "genetic testing that show that these are men". The IOC leapt to the defence of both boxers, with president Thomas Bach saying they were born and raised as women, and have passports saying that. Neither is known to identify as transgender. World Boxing is in talks with the International Olympic Committee to take over running the sport at the Games after the damaging gender controversy. Lin, who went on to win the gold in her women's final, was dubbed "Taiwan's daughter" by both local media and President Lai Ching-te. Taiwan premier Cho Jung-tai said Wednesday that the government would "actively strive to protect and secure" Lin's rights to take part in future international competitions. 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
27 November,2024 05:54 PM IST | Sheffield, UK | AFPTokyo Olympic Games bronze medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia has been suspended for four years for refusing to provide a urine sample for anti-doping testing during the national team trials in March 2024. According to reports, Punia was earlier handed a provisional suspension and following a hearing, the ban was confirmed as per Article 10.3.1 of NADA’s Anti-Doping Rules, which relates to deliberately avoiding a dope test, which is deemed as an anti-doping rule violation. Punia had challenged his provisional suspension, which was imposed on April 23, 2024, with NADA’s Anti-Disciplinary Doping Panel (ADDP) and got it revoked in May 2024, pending a formal notice of charge. NADA eventually served a formal notice on June 23, 2024. After written submissions from Punia and hearings held on September 20 and October 4, the ADDP ruled in favour of NADA and ordered the enforcement of a four-year ineligibility period starting April 23, 2024. With the United World Wrestling (UWW), the sport's world governing body, also suspending Bajrang in April, the Indian wrestler will not only be unable to participate in events but also can't take up coaching roles till the end of the suspension period. “Needless to say the lifting of the provisional suspension for the period from 31.05.2024 to 21.06.2024 shall not be credited into the total period of ineligibility of four years,” the ADDP clarified. Also Read: Both Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant were on Punjab Kings’ radar In the hearing before the ADDP, Punia argued that his refusal to give a sample for testing was not deliberate but driven by mistrust lack of trust in NADA's processes. He also claimed that the sample collector was using an expired kit and cited previous instances in which expired testing kits were allegedly provided. He claimed that his objection was to NADA using the "expired kits" and not for providing a sample. Punia also claimed that the situation was exacerbated by his dispute with the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and his involvement with the protests against its former president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. On its part, NADA maintained that the athlete’s actions were deliberate. “The outright refusal by the athlete to provide a urine sample for the dope test was intentional and deliberate” and demonstrated disregard for anti-doping responsibilities outlined in Articles 20.1 and 20.2 of the 2021 rules. The ADDP accepted NADA's contentions and imposed a four-year ineligibility on Punia, who won a bronze medal in men's freestyle 65kg in the Tokyo Olympics. Bajrang Punia is one of India's most decorated wrestlers with multiple medals in the World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships, and Commonwealth Championships in a decade-long international career starting with the 2013 Asian Championships in New Delhi, when he came into the limelight. He has been awarded the Arjuna Award (2015), Khel Ratna, and Padma Shri in 2019. 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
27 November,2024 03:39 PM IST | New Delhi | IANSTiger Woods announced that he will not play in the Hero World Challenge this December as he continues to recover from back surgery. The 15-time major winner hosts the annual TOUR stop in the Bahamas, but has played the event just once in the last three years as he has navigated health issues. Woods underwent his sixth back surgery in September, aimed at alleviating back spasms and pain he experienced throughout the 2024 season. “I’m disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge, but always look forward to being tournament host and spending the week with @HeroMotoCorp,” Woods wrote on X. Woods last played in The Open Championship in July and left Royal Troon hoping he would play in his traditional December exhibitions, the Hero World Challenge and the parent-child PNC Championship that he plays alongside son Charlie. 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
27 November,2024 08:21 AM IST | New Delhi | IANSIt was bullseye for guts and glory as para archer Harvinder Singh from Haryana, who won a Paralympics gold in the men’s singles recurve event in Paris this year, was in the city to receive the Rotary Club of Bombay’s Arvind Jolly Award for Excellence in Sports. Medical mishap Harvinder has a disability in his legs, having suffered a medical mishap as a child. He was accompanied by his coach Gaurav Sharma. “We are more like friends really,” said coach Sharma with a smile. “He [Harvinder] is 33 and I am 35, the ages show why we are friends rather than strictly guru-shishya,” he added. Harvinder and Sharma indulged in a freewheeling discussion with Rotarian Mudit Jain and eminent sports writer Khalid Ansari. Responding to Jain’s question about confidence at the highest level and about the pride factor in representing India at the highest stage, Harvinder said, “When you compete at that level, it is a culmination of a dream and destination that you had in mind. Mine was the Olympic podium. I consider myself very fortunate to have won what is a historic medal for India.” Also Read: India's Paralympic champions made to feel special! Harvinder, who had won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, in the men’s recurve, spoke about his training schedule. “It spans seven hours a day, and I also have yoga and meditation added to that. As sportsmen, we make huge sacrifices, like I had not celebrated a Diwali or Holi with my family in four years” said Harvinder, who is supported by Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ). Improvement in facilities Harvinder highlighted the transformation of the sporting landscape, where differently-abled athletes are slowly being treated on par with able athletes and facilities are improving though there is potential for more, especially at the grassroots level. The inspiring para athlete highlighted mental strength as vital in making that leap from fourth place to bronze or bronze to gold. “There are no losers in sport. Only winners and learners,” concluded Harvinder, insisting that every defeat is not a loss, but a learning experience.
27 November,2024 08:21 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal AsharIndia’s D Gukesh bounced back to draw a largely uneventful second game against defending champion Ding Liren of China in the World Chess Championship here on Tuesday. Playing with black pieces, Gukesh made a comeback of sorts, having lost to Liren in the opener of the 14-game showdown, on Monday. It was a good recovery by Gukesh as Liren could do very little with his white pieces and had to share the point “Draw with black in the world championship match is always nice and it’s too early, we still have a long match,” the Chennai-based GM said in the post-game press conference. “After I was surprised in the opening, I reacted pretty decently, and I didn’t give him any chances. It was a solid game with black, which is nice,” he added. If Monday was the day when nothing he did worked according to plan, Tuesday changed everything for Gukesh as he started well. Also Read: ‘All about doing right things’ Liren did not press at all while Gukesh just followed the basics as the game ended in a draw via repetition soon after black had completed the 23rd turn. It was one of the quietest variations in the Italian opening as Liren probably didn’t want to rush it, having grabbed a full point in the first game. Liren, 32, said he was happy with his performance: “In the first game, I played something new in the opening, it requires a lot of memory. It will be a big fight tomorrow. He’s a point down and will have white pieces. I’m ready for a fight.” 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
27 November,2024 08:20 AM IST | Singapore | PTIIndia’s star men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Tuesday withdrew from the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament here. Also Read: Satwik-Chirag bow out of China Masters semi-finals B Sumeeth Reddy, who has been training the duo recently, informed that Satwik encountered “difficulty” in fully recovering from a shoulder injury. 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
27 November,2024 08:20 AM IST | Lucknow | AgenciesAshok Kumar, the former India hockey player and son of the legendary Major Dhyan Chand, underwent angioplasty at a city hospital and is stable now, family sources said on Tuesday. He underwent the procedure on Monday. Kumar had suffered a heart attack after being hospitalised for discomfort in chest here on Sunday. “He [Ashok Kumar] underwent a successful angioplasty at the Escorts Hospital. The doctors implanted a few stents after they found a few blockages in his artery,” a family source told PTI. Also Read: Wasteful India lose 0-2 to Germany in first Test “He is completely out of danger and in a very stable condition. He is right now under observation and will be discharged from the hospital in 2-3 days,” the source added. 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
27 November,2024 08:18 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIA confident India, coached by PR Sreejesh, will start as firm favourites when they take on Thailand in their opening match of the Junior Asia Cup men’s hockey tournament here on Wednesday. India have been placed in Pool A along with Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Thailand. 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
27 November,2024 08:18 AM IST | Muscat (Oman) | PTIKabir Khubchandani of Nita Mukesh Ambani Junior School (Bandra) bagged five gold medals in the boys U-14 category of the MSSA inter-school annual aquatic championship at MGMO swimming pool, Shivaji Park, on Sunday. The 12-year-old began his dominance in the pool with his first medal in the boys U-14 100m butterfly, clocking 1:11.69. Hriday Morakhia of Cathedral and John Connon (Fort) stood second (1:16.88) while Shiv Baliga of Shishuvan High School (Matunga) was third with 1:28.40. Kabir clocked 1:19.70 in the 100m backstroke for his second gold. Burhamuddin Dholkawala of St Mary’s ICSE (Mazagaon) took second place (1:31.56), while Ivan George of Bombay Scottish (Mahim) finished third. In the 200m individual medley, Kabir clocked 2:39.28 for his third gold, while Hriday claimed silver (2.50.29s). Ardit Dev of Lilavati Podar School (Juhu) was third best (3.02.95s). Also Read: St Anthony’s boys make it count! On Monday morning, Kabir snatched first place in the 100m freestyle clocking 1:06.46, Hriday finished second at 1:07.99 and Vedant Bingi of Dr Antonio D’Silva (Dadar) clinched bronze, clocking 1:12.48. The Pali Hill resident claimed his fifth gold in 100m breaststroke, where he clocked 1:23.31, Sarthak Vichare of St Arnold’s High School (Andheri) was next in line with 1:31.58 and Shubham Alve was last on the podium with 1:34.92. Meanwhile, little champ Pahel Shah of RSB Arya Vidya Mandir (Juhu) clocked 00:48.95 in the girls U-8 50m backstroke and broke the previous record of Muskan Tolani from Bombay International (Gamdevi), which stood at 00:53.74, set in 2009. Girija Pandey of Vasudev C Wadhwa Arya Vidya Mandir (Bandra) came second (00:50.60s). Arya Vaid of Vasudev C Wadhwa Arya Vidya Mandir (Bandra) finished third at 00:58.64. “I am very excited to win five medals today. I feel wonderful. I hope to keep winning. I have strong belief in my talent and aim to win medals for my country in the future. I would like to thank my parents, coaches and teachers too,” said Kabir.
27 November,2024 08:18 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamADVERTISEMENT
