Chirag Chikkara became only the third Indian to become Under-23 world champion as India capped a rich haul of nine medals, including a gold and silver each, at the age group tournament here Chikkara, competing in the men's freestyle 57kg category, eked out a narrow 4-3 in the closing seconds of the final win over Abdymalik Karachov of Kyrgyzstan. He becomes the second Indian man, after Paris Olympics bronze medallist Aman Sehrawat, to win the gold at the U23 World Championships. Sehrawat had achieved the feat in the same category in the 2022 edition of the meet while Reetika Hooda had become the first Indian woman to bag a gold at the tournament when she won in the 76kg category last year. Ravi Kumar Dahiya had also won a silver in the U23 World Championships in 2018. Chikkara reached the final after a series of dominant performances, defeating Gaukoto Ozawa 6-1 in the pre-quarterfinals, Lunus Lavbatirov 12-2 in the last eight stage and Allan Oralbek 8-0 in the semifinals. India's medal haul in the men’s freestyle category also included two bronze medals, placing the nation fourth in the team standings with 82 points, trailing Iran (158), Japan (102), and Azerbaijan (100). India also won two more bronze in men's freestyle taking the country's medal count in the category to four that secured the nation a fourth place in the team rankings. Also Read: Wrestlers seek sports minister’s help Iran topped the team rankings with 158 points followed by Japan (102), Azerbaijan (100) and INida (82). Vicky defeated former U20 World Championships silver medalist and European junior champion Ivan Prymachenko of Ukraine with a convincing 7-2 margin to win bronze in the men's 97kg freestyle event. It is the highest weight category at which India have medalled at this tournament. Vicky had defeated Merab Suleimanishvili of Georgia via fall in round of 16, Radu Lefter of Moldova 5-0 in quartefinal before losing to Mahdi Hajiloueian Morafah of Iran in semifinals. Having narrowly missed a final berth the other day, Sujeet Kalkal bounced back from being 0-4 down to beat Mustafo Akhmedov of Tajikistan 13-4 and win bronze in men's 70kg freestyle. Sujeet had beaten Georgi Antoanov Zhizgov 10-0 in round of 32, Tugsjargal Erdenebat 7-4 in pre-quarters, Narek Pohosian 6-1 before losing to eventual gold medallist Magomed Basihr Khaniev 4-8 in the final seconds the semifinal. Also Read: U17 World Wrestling Championships: Women wrestlers shine as India secures four gold medals Abhishek Dhaka had earlier won a bronze as India finished with four medals (one gold and three bronze), bettering their previous year's performance where they had bagged two bronze in the freestyle category. The Indian women’s wrestling team also excelled earlier, bringing home one silver and three bronze medals: Anjli claimed silver in the 59kg category, while Neha Sharma (57kg), Shiksha (65kg), and Monika (68kg) each secured bronze. Additionally, Vishvajit More earned a bronze in the men’s 55kg Greco-Roman category, rounding off India’s impressive tally at the championships. 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
28 October,2024 11:09 AM IST | Tirana (Albania) | mid-day online correspondentDaksh Talwar of Arya Vidya Mandir (Juhu) and Niva Chaughule of Parle Tilak Vidyalaya (Vile Parle) claimed the boys and girls U-16 titles respectively, in the MSSA inter-school table tennis tournament at Rajhans Vidyalaya, Andheri, on Saturday. Daksh produced a strong fighting performance to upset Akansh Sahoo of Podar International (Powai), currently ranked 9th in Maharashtra and 6th in Mumbai, with a 12-10, 9-11,11-9, 11-9 scoreline in the final. With the match tied 1-1, Akansh started cramping. He returned after receiving treatment, but was not at his best. Daksh took advantage of the situation and went on to closely win the next two games to seal the win. Niva was in complete control, and even after dropping the second game against Sachi Mandhyan of RN Podar School (Santacruz), she came back to take the next two and snatch a deserving 11-7, 14-12, 11-7, 11-3 win. “It’s a great feeling to have won my first MSSA title, the game was tough, we literally fought for every point, it was tiresome. I knew I had to lead by at least three to four points as Akansh and I practice every week, being from the same academy,” said an elated Daksh. Also Read: Samant shines at state TT meet U-14 titles for Prisha, Nivaan The girls U-14 final was a long-drawn affair, with Prisha Daga of Arya Vidya Mandir School (Juhu) beating Sara Ramiya of MKVV International Vidyalaya (Borivli) in five games (11-7, 9-11, 4-11, 11-6, 15-13). In the boys U-14 final, Nivaan Shetty of Jamnabai Narsee (Juhu) easily defeated Kabir Bhasin of Nita Mukesh Ambani School (Bandra) 11-7, 11-3, 11-8. Ayan, Palak triumph in U-12 In the U-12 final, Ayan Athar of Nahar International (Chandivli) snatched a 11-5, 9-11, 11-6, 11-9 win from Rishi Bhangodia of Hiranandani Foundation (Powai).In the girls U-12 final, Palak Jhawar of Utpal Sanghvi Global School (Borivli) brushed aside Ritanya Deolekar of Nalanda Public School (Mulund) by coasting to a straight-game 11-8, 11-6, 11-2 victory. Aadi, Aaradhya win too Aadi Shah of Shishu Vihar School (Chinchpokli) outplayed Abeer Gore of Mount Litera International School (Bandra) 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 in the boys U-10 final, while the girls title went to Aaradhya Kokane of Vasant Vihar School (Thane), who defeated Radhi Kapadia of JBCN International (Patel) 11-3, 11-8, 11-0.
28 October,2024 08:39 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamSivarajan Solaimalai and Sukant Kadam delivered standout performances, helping India win an impressive 24 medals at the Japan Para Badminton International on Sunday. India won six gold, nine silver and as many bronze medals in the tournament. Sivarajan enjoyed a double victory, clinching gold in the men’s singles SH6 class and partnering with Sudarsan Saravanakumar Muthusamy to win the top prize in men’s doubles. Sukant also excelled, taking gold in men’s singles (SL4) and silver in men’s doubles (SL3-SL4) with partner Dinesh Rajaiah. In other events, reigning Paralympic champion Kumar Nitesh claimed silver after a close match against Japan’s Daisuke Fujihara, losing 16-21, 21-18, 19-21 in the SL3 finals. Also Read: 'I dedicated my personal life to sports': Para-badminton player Suhas LY In women’s SU5, Manisha Ramdass captured gold by defeating Japan’s Mamiko Toyoda 21-12, 21-18, while Neeraj settled for silver in the women’s SL3 category after falling to Coraline Bergeron. Neeraj also finished second in mixed doubles with Surya Kant Yadav in the SL3-SU5 category. 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
28 October,2024 08:36 AM IST | Tokyo | PTIStar paddler Manika Batra crashed out of the WTT Champions after a quarter-final straight-game defeat to China’s Qian Tianyi in Montpellier, France. The World No. 30 Indian, went down to Tianyi 8-11, 8-11, 10-12 in just 25 minutes on Saturday night. Batra, a multiple Commonwealth Games medallist, fought well in all three games, but her Chinese opponent played the crunch points better to emerge the winner. Also Read: Manika Batra becomes first Indian woman to break into top-25 of world singles rankings The first Indian to enter the WTT quarter-finals, Batra had shocked World No. 14 Bernadette Szocs of Romania 11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9 on Friday. Sreeja Akula, the other Indian competitor in the WTT and World No. 25, had made a first-round exit. 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
28 October,2024 08:34 AM IST | New Delhi | PTITop seed Aaradhya Meena of Rajasthan and Maharashtra’s Ansh Ramani won their maiden girls and boys U-14 crowns respectively in the MSLTA-CCI All-India Ranking Tennis Tournament at Cricket Club of India (CCI) on Saturday. Aaradhya, 13, registered a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Karnataka’s third seed Padmapriya Ramesh Kumar, 12. Also Read: Dhairya, Ahaan make MSSA U-16 tennis final On the adjacent court, seventh seed Ansh, 13, was locked in an absorbing long contest for supremacy with Karnataka’s ninth seed Madhav Dadhich, also 13, in sweltering heat. Mumbai-based Ansh managed to stay focused and won a thrilling three-setter 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
28 October,2024 08:34 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentCarlos Sainz seized pole position for Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix with a consummate performance for Ferrari in Saturday’s qualifying session, outpacing Red Bull’s defending champion Max Verstappen. The Spaniard, who leaves the team at the end of the season, clocked one minute and 15.946 seconds to beat series leader and three time champion Verstappen, whose first and fastest lap in the top 10 shoot-out was deleted, by 0.225 seconds. This left McLaren’s Lando Norris, who is 57 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ title race, to take third ahead of Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari and the Williams of George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. It was Sainz’s sixth career pole and completed a run of qualifying fourth, third and second in the last three Mexican events. “I am very happy with that and to be on pole,” said Sainz, who is set to leave Ferrari for Williams next year, having been replaced for 2025 by Hamilton. “I had a great couple of laps and it is very difficult here with lots of sliding. My laps were almost identical and perfect. It is such a tricky circuit!” Verstappen, who had an engine change on his car following problems on Friday, said: “I felt under pressure and I was playing catch-up especially after losing my first lap time. That just gave more pressure and I am very happy to be on the front row.” 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
28 October,2024 08:30 AM IST | Mexico City | AFPFrancesco Bagnaia won the Thai MotoGP ahead of Jorge Martin in wet conditions on Sunday to close the gap on the championship leader with two race weekends left. Spaniard Martin’s lead over Italian defending champion Bagnaia was cut from 22 points to 17 ahead of another chapter in their title tussle at Sepang in Malaysia next week. Pedro Acosta was third at a rainy Buriram but this was all about Martin and Bagnaia, with the title now a two-horse race and likely to go right down to the wire. After Malaysia, the season finale is at Valencia on November 15-17. Pramac Ducati’s Martin, who is trying to win the world crown for the first time, said he was happy to settle for second. 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
28 October,2024 08:30 AM IST | Buriram (Thailand) | AFPStar Indian paddler Manika Batra shocked World No. 14 Bernadette Szocs of Romania to enter the women singles quarter-finals of the WTT Champions event in Montpellier, France. The World No. 30 Indian won 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) in 29 minutes against the eighth-seeded Szocs in a round of 16 match on Friday night. Also Read: Sainz tops times; Russell crashes Batra, a multiple Commonwealth Games medallist, saved two game points in the third game to keep her nose ahead and then sealed the tie in the next game, converting her second match point. Batra now enjoys a 6-5 lead in the head-to-head record against Szocs. She had also defeated Szocs in India’s 3-2 win over Romania in the pre-quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics. World No. 21 Qian stunned top seed and compatriot Wang Yidi 3-0 (11-7 11-9 13-11) in another round of 16 match. 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 October,2024 08:00 AM IST | New Delhi | PTICarlos Sainz topped the times for Ferrari ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in Friday’s crash-hit second free practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix. The Spaniard clocked a best lap in one minute and 17.699 seconds to beat the Australian by 0.178 seconds in a session of mandatory Pirelli tyre testing interrupted when Mercedes’ George Russell crashed heavily. Also Read: McLaren lose appeal over Norris penalty The British driver, who had also crashed at last weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, was unhurt, but required a check-up at the circuit medical centre before he was released to rejoin his team. Defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull also missed most of the session with engine problems. Russell lost control of his car after riding over a kerb at Turn Eight at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and sliding backwards across the track into a protected wall at Turn Nine. One side of his car was destroyed. “I just don’t know what happened,” Russell said. 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 October,2024 07:57 AM IST | Mexico City | AFPAmid an unexpectedly tight championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, their teams brought the fight to the Mexico City Grand Prix over an officiating dispute in last week’s race. McLaren lodged a complaint into the penalty Norris received last week at the United States Grand Prix—a step in trying to get it overturned and put three-time reigning world champion Verstappen back within his reach. Also Read: I expect more from skipper James: Chelsea boss Maresca ahead of Newcastle game The appeal was denied late on Friday night. Norris received a five-second penalty for passing Verstappen off the track late in the race in Austin, Texas. The two were racing for third at the time, and the penalty gave the final podium finish to Verstappen. The change in position widened Verstappen’s lead to 57 points headed into Sunday’s race at Mexico City, and there are only five races remaining to decide the title. 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 October,2024 07:55 AM IST | Mexico City | AP | PTIBarely 48 hours before they are supposed to be on a plane to Albania, 12 wrestlers, selected for the World Championships, are sitting outside the residence of Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, desperately seeking his intervention to resolve the issue following withdrawal of Indian teams from the prestigious tournament. Also Read: 'Sold integrity to sell her book': Babita Phogat calls out Sakshi Malik over controversial remarks The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) was on Thursday forced to pull all three Indian teams out of the championships after wrestler Satyawart Kadian, husband of Sakshi Malik, approached the court against federation’s decision to conduct trials for the U23 and senior Worlds, saying the sports body was committing a contempt of court which had reinstated the mandate of IOA ad-hoc panel to manage the routine affairs. 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
26 October,2024 07:06 AM IST | Mumbai | PTIADVERTISEMENT
