Romania’s Simona Halep on Friday rounded on the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for discrepencies in the treatment of World No. 2 Iga Swiatek after testing positive for a banned substance. The ITIA announced a one-month ban on Thursday for Swiatek after the 23-year-old had tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in August 2024, when the Polish player was ranked No. 1 in the world. Also Read: Leclerc on top for Ferrari in practice Halep, now 33, returned to tennis in March this year after her own career had been on hold since October 7, 2022, the date of the start of her provisional suspension after testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open. The winner of the 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon singles titles was then caught up in a second affair, this time “irregularities” in the data of her biological passport. She was handed a four-year ban by the ITIA, but Halep successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in February. “I wonder why there is such a difference in treatment and judgment? I don’t find and I don’t think there can be a logical answer,” Halep said in a long message posted in Romanian on her Instagram account. 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
30 November,2024 08:46 AM IST | Paris | AFPCharles Leclerc demonstrated Ferrari’s potential for wrecking McLaren’s bid for a first title in 26 years when he topped the times ahead of Lando Norris in Friday’s opening practice at the Qatar Grand Prix. Also Read: Solid Samridh ensures draw for Parag English The Ferrari driver clocked a best lap in 1min 21.953sec late in the session to finish 0.4 seconds clear of nearest rival Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri who are bidding to seal McLaren’s first constructors’ championship success since 1998. 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
30 November,2024 08:42 AM IST | Doha | AFPDelhi SG Pipers have announced the appointment of experienced Australian and three-time Olympian, Jacob Whetton and India’s double Olympic medallist, midfielder Shamsher Singh as co-captains of their men’s team for Season 1 of the revamped Hockey India League. Besides, the Delhi franchise of HIL also named India vice captain and striker Navneet Kaur as their skipper for the women’s team. The franchise also named Belgian defender Emma Puvrez as Navneet’s deputy. The four-team women’s HIL will make its debut this season. Also Read: Shuttlers Harshit, Ketaki emerge champions “I am honoured and it is an absolute privilege to be named co-captain of the Delhi SG Pipers for the upcoming Hockey India League with Indian hockey superstar Shamsher. The Hockey India League provides such a fantastic opportunity to play with and against the best hockey players in the world in a competitive environment every day!”, Whetton said on being named the co-captain. Whetton was a part of the Australian team that won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and is a highly decorated player with multiple achievements to his credit. He is also a 2014 World Cup winner, two-time FIH Pro League Winner, three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and a double Champions Trophy winner. Shamsher too was thrilled with the responsibility entrusted to him. “I would like to thank Delhi SG Pipers for making me the team’s co-captain along with Whetton. I would also like to thank the entire team management including chief coach Graham Reid and mentor PR Sreejesh for trusting me. I am really excited for the league and we have put together a strong squad. We will promise to give our best and perform well,” Shamsher 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
30 November,2024 08:36 AM IST | New Delhi | IANSDefending champion Harshit Mahimkar of Blossom High School (Marine Lines) and Ketaki Thite of Rose Manor International (Santacruz) emerged victorious in the boys and girls U-16 categories, respectively at the MSSA inter-school badminton tournament at the Cricket Club of India (boys) and Bombay Gymkhana (girls) on Thursday. Also Read: A Battle of Equals In the boys’ U-16 final, top-seeded Harshit displayed dominance and composure. Having being down 3-6 against Akshat Raisurana of Bombay International School (Gamdevi). Harshit’s wrist work and strategic play wore down his opponent in the second game to secure the title with a 21-10, 21-13. Ketaki showcased a fine performance, upsetting top-seeded Riya Vinherkar of Bombay Scottish International (Mahim) in the final with a 21-18, 21-16 scoreline. In the boys’ U-14 final, Sharvil Tembulkar of Yashodham HS (Goregaon) defeated Shoubhit Das of Universal High School (Thane) 22-24, 21-17, 21-11. In the girls’ U-14 final, Anvisha Ghorpade of Sane Guruji English Medium School (Dadar) defeated Imaan Motorwala of Fazlani La Academia Globale (Mazgaon) winning 21-13, 21-19.
30 November,2024 08:34 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamIndian Grandmaster D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren played out a mostly risk-free draw in the fourth round to remain level on points in the World Chess Championship battle here on Friday. The two players signed peace after 42 moves vide repetition and are tied on two points each after four games of the 14-round showdown. The first to reach 7.5 points will be crowned the champion. Big prospect Gukesh, 18, who was playing with black on Friday, is the youngest ever challenger for the title and had won the third game on Wednesday. “Towards the end, I had some chances to press better but with black, this is all you can expect,” Gukesh said after the game. Also Read: SL in trouble at 103-5, chasing 516 for win v SA “I am just trying to make good moves,” he added when asked about the prospect of becoming the youngest world champion. Liren, 32, had won the opening game before the two played out a draw in the second game. “This round, I tried to play safe. It turns out I got a little bit of an advantage. The score is still balanced. There are more games to come,” Liren said. “I had a rest day to recover from the tough loss. I am in a very good mood. It worked well, not so bad,” he added. With just 10 games remaining under the classical time control, Gukesh will have the advantage of playing white in the fifth game. Liren banking on skills On Friday, Liren started with the bird’s opening trying to take out on the queen’s bishop early in the opening which was a clear indication that the Chinese wanted to fight the Indian on the skill rather than preparation. Gukesh was up to the task in responding as he matched Liren move for move and the pieces traded hands leading to equality. The players eventually reached rook and pawns endgame which was theoretically drawn and the split of a point was a just result. Viswanathan Anand is so far the only Indian to have won the title, having claimed it five times in his career. The semi-retired legend made the ceremonial first move for Gukesh on Friday. The game took shape sans theThe two players will have their second rest day on Monday. 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
30 November,2024 08:31 AM IST | Singapore | PTIStar Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen moved a step closer to clinching the women’s and men’s singles title respectively, registering straight-game wins to advance to the semi-finals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament here on Friday. Second seed Priyanshu Rajawat also registered a fine 21-13, 21-8 win over Hong Kong’s Nguyen Hai Dang to enter the men’s singles semi-finals. Also Read: It’s fans and frolic as excited crowd turns Manuka Oval into mini India Top seed Sindhu, a two-time champion at the event (2017, 2022), defeated China’s Dai Wang 21-15, 21-17 in a 48-minute women’s singles quarterfinal. Lakshya, the 2021 World Championship bronze medallist, also dominated his match, beating compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam 21-8, 21-19 in the men’s singles quarter-final. “Today’s match was important. Even though she is a low-ranked player, it doesn’t matter. I have rectified my mistakes from yesterday, what went wrong I have not made those again today. I was aggressive from the beginning. Overall, I am happy with my game compared to yesterday,” Sindhu said. Sindhu is ranked 18th in the world while Wang is at 118th. Sindhu will face fellow Indian Unnati Hooda in the semifinals, while Lakshya will meet Japan’s Shogo Ogawa. Priyanshu will cross swords with fourth seed Singaporean Jia Heng Jason Teh. 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
30 November,2024 08:11 AM IST | Lucknow | PTIIndian Grandmaster D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren played out a mostly risk-free draw in the fourth round to remain level on points in the World Chess Championship battle on Friday. The two players signed peace after 42 moves vide repetition and are tied on two points each after four games of the 14-round showdown. The first to reach 7.5 points will be crowned the champion. The 18-year-old Gukesh, who was playing with black on Friday, is the youngest-ever challenger for the title and had won the third game on Wednesday. "Towards the end, I had some chances to press better but with black this is all you can expect," Gukesh said after the game. "I am just trying to make good moves," he added when asked about the prospect of becoming the youngest world champion. The 32-year-old Liren had won the opening game before the two played out a draw in the second game. "This round, I tried to play safe. It turns out I got a little bit of an advantage. The score is still balanced. There are more games to come," Liren said. "I had a rest day to recover from the tough loss. I am in a very good mood. It worked well, not so bad," he added. With just 10 games remaining under the classical time control, Gukesh will have the advantage of playing white in the fifth game. On Friday, Liren started with the bird's opening trying to take out on the queen's bishop early in the opening which was a clear indication that the Chinese wanted to fight the Indian on the skill rather than preparation. Also Read: ‘All about doing right things’ Gukesh was up to the task in responding as he matched Liren move for move and the pieces traded hands leading to equality. The players eventually reached rook and pawns endgame which was theoretically drawn and the split of a point was a just result. Viswanathan Anand is so far the only Indian to have won the title, having claimed it five times in his career. The semi-retired legend made the ceremonial first move for Gukesh on Friday. If Liren thought he was surprising Gukesh with his opening choice, the Indian was unperturbed, exchanging the dark square Bishop early in the opening. The game took shape sans the dark-squared Bishops right from the early stages and Gukesh had no problems in maintaining the balance. "Since I cannot see my reactions during the game, because I am the one who is playing, I don't know if I am able to maintain this kind of poker face if my opponent makes some mistakes," Liren said. The two players will have their second rest day on Monday. The Moves Nf3 d5 2. e3N f6 3. b3 Bf5 4. Be2 h6 5. Ba3 Nbd7 6. O-O e6 7. Bxf8 Nxf8 c4 N8d7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. cxd5 exd5 11. b4 c6 12. Nd4 Bh7 13. Qb3 Ne5 14. a4 Rc8 15. a5 b6 16. Nf3 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 d4 18. Ne2 dxe3 19. dxe3 Be4 20. Rfd1 Qe7 Bxe4 Nxe4 22. axb6 axb6 23. Nc3 Rfd8 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. h3 c5 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. bxc5 bxc5 28. Rc1 Qe5 29. Qc2 Rd5 30. g3 f5 31. Kg2 Kh7 32. Qc4 Qd6 e4 Re5 34. exf5 Rxf5 35. Qe4 Qd5 36. Qxd5 Rxd5 37. Kf3 Kg6 38. Ke4 Rd4+ 39. Ke3 Rd5 40. Ke4 Rd4+ 41. Ke3 Rd5 42. Ke4Rd4+. Game drawn. 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
29 November,2024 08:22 PM IST | Singapore | PTISakshi Malik, Olympic bronze medalist wrestler and Commonwealth Games gold medalist will flag off races as Event Ambassador of the 12th Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation Marathon, on December 8. This event offers prize money of Rs 58 lakh plus, and will see some of the country’s fastest athletes vie for gold and glory in the full marathon for men and the half marathon for men and women. Also Read: 'Sold integrity to sell her book': Babita Phogat calls out Sakshi Malik over controversial remarks The full marathon (42.2 km) will be spearheaded by the army’s Pradeep Singh, who has a Personal Best (PB) of 2:16.55, the fastest in the field. He will face a strong challenge from Dhanwant Prahlad also from the army who has a PB of 2:18.10. Returning to stake his claim will be Mohit Rathor, two-time champion and last year’s runner-up, who also holds the course record of 2:18.05 set in 2022.
29 November,2024 06:39 PM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentStar Indian shuttler PV Sindhu survived a scare before beating unheralded compatriot Ira Sharma in three games to enter the women’s singles quarter-finals at the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament here on Thursday. Also Read: Shuttlers Akshat, Harshit to clash in U-16 final Sharma, ranked 147th in the world as against 18th of Sindhu, stretched the second-round match to the decider after winning the second game. Top seed Sindhu, a two-time Olympic silver medallist, recovered in time to pocket the deciding game and win the match 21-10, 12-21, 21-15, in 49 minutes. Sindhu, 29, has been struggling for some time and she last clinched a title at the Singapore Open in 2022. Unlike Sindhu, top seed Lakshya Sen easily won his second-round men’s singles match against Daniil Dubovenko of Israel 21-14, 21-13 in just 35 minutes to also book a quarter-final berth. 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
29 November,2024 07:57 AM IST | Lucknow | PTIAkshat Raisurana of Bombay International School (Gamdevi) and Harshit Mahimkar of The Blossom English School (Marine Lines) stormed into the final of the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) Boys’ U-16 Inter-School Badminton Tournament on Wednesday. Also Read: Round 4: It’s advantage Gukesh for now v Ding Liren In a gripping semi-final clash, Akshat overcame Adyant Gupta of Cathedral and John Connon School (Fort) with a 21-15, 21-17 victory in a best-of-three encounter. Both players, familiar with each other’s strategies from training at the same academy, engaged in a fierce battle. Akshat’s precise smashes and well-placed shots at crucial moments proved decisive, helping him secure the win. Meanwhile, top-seeded and defending champion Harshit delivered a dominant performance against Dhruv Pawar of Sanskar Academy (Girgaon). With his signature wristy strokes, Harshit cruised to a 21-6, 21-5 win, showcasing his class and control throughout the match.
29 November,2024 07:54 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamWith nerves no longer a concern for him, teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh will hold the psychological edge against a slightly shaken defending champion Ding Liren when the two resume their intriguing battle for the World Championship crown in the fourth round here on Friday. Having demonstrated better preparation and claimed his first victory in the third round, Gukesh, 18, is expectedly upbeat and would be looking to just relax on the first rest today (Thursday). With a maximum of 11 games remaining under classical time control, the scores are tied at 1.5-1.5. This was after Liren won the opener and the second game ended in a draw. Gukesh has clearly shown better preparation, while Liren’s calculation let him down in the third game. The match had started with Gukesh facing the Chinese in a French defense game with white pieces and his initial progress gave the Indian a huge time advantage, which he held till the end. Also Read: A-class Aayush on fire again “It’s always nice to win a game, also for the first against such a strong opponent. I think it means more that I got a win in the World Championship, and a very important win,” a visibly pleased Gukesh had said after Wednesday’s game. The wyoungster lost the opener playing badly in a complicated middle game but could take heart from the fact that his preparation had come good. In the second game, which was his first white, Liren chose a solid variation in the Italian opening and Gukesh had no troubles whatsoever in equalising easily out of the opening itself. The game ended in a mere 23 moves vide repetition earning Gukesh a lot of respect for his flawless play with a slightly unfavourable colour. Coming in to the third game ahead of the first rest day, Gukesh decided to put all his energy and his opening choice yet again made Liren spend more than half of the allotted time on the first 14 moves itself. 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
29 November,2024 07:51 AM IST | Singapore | PTIADVERTISEMENT
