Following a string of strong performances after the Paris Olympics, the duo of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila are enjoying every bit of their partnership, raising India's hope for the future. Jwala Gutta and V Diju were India's best-mixed doubles pair, achieving a career-high world ranking of six. After their retirement, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa made significant strides before parting ways, with Satwik focussing on men's doubles along with Chirag Shetty. "We played a couple of tournaments before the Olympics and saw a lot of potential in this partnership. I think it was a good decision for both of us to start this journey together," Tanisha Crasto told PTI. "Dhruv is a very talented mixed doubles player. He has a great understanding of the game, and I enjoy playing upfront. It's a combination that works well and makes us a dangerous pair." In India Open Super 750, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila progressed to the second round with a win over Chinese Taippei's Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui. Also Read: India Open: Srikanth, Kiran George make it to main draw after withdrawals Interestingly, Tanisha, alongside Ishaan Bhatnagar, had made a serious push for the Paris Olympics before an unfortunate injury derailed their plans. "Sometimes, setbacks lead to better opportunities. Mixed doubles is my main focus now. I'm not sure how long Ashwini will continue playing, so I'm fully focused on this event," said Tanisha, who competed in the Paris Olympics. Both Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila are seasoned players with notable success at the highest level, though with different partners in women's and men's doubles. Dhruv, known for his mixed doubles style even in his junior days, initially played men's doubles with MR Arjun, with some success. However, an injury to Arjun led Dhruv Kapila to refocus on mixed doubles. "I wasn't fully into mixed doubles initially because I didn't have a partner, and everyone else was already paired up. Arjun and I were playing well, but eventually, I decided to concentrate on one discipline," Dhruv said. "Unfortunately, Arjun got injured, but he's fine now and playing with Vishnu." The return of renowned Malaysian coach Tan Kim Her has further boosted their confidence. "He's been a great help to both Dhruv and me," Tanisha said. "He understands our weaknesses and helps us work on them together. It's very comfortable talking to him, and he helps us refine our game, both individually and as a pair. It's been really beneficial for us." As for now filling the void Jwala and Diju left, both Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila are optimistic. "Yes, but we need to improve further. We can't set expectations too high just yet," Dhruv said. "Our focus is on this year. We're taking it step by step¿starting with performing well in Super 500 and 700 events. We aim to reach the quarter-finals and semi-finals. We're not there yet, but we're learning from every tournament, and our short-term goal is continuous improvement over the next few months." (With PTI Inputs)
14 January,2025 01:50 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and Kiran George were added to the men’s singles draw of the India Open 2025 following the late withdrawal of top seed Shi Yuqi of China and eighth seed Antony Ginting of Indonesia. The withdrawal of Shi Yuqi and Antony Ginting means that the men’s and women’s singles main draws were updated according to the rules. While the focus will remain on two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who will be participating in her first event after he marriage, home hopes will also rest on Lakshya Sen in men's singles and Asian Games gold medallist Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in men's doubles. As things stand now, Lakshya Sen will now take Ginting’s place in the draw and hence will face Chun Yi Lin of Chinese Taipei in the opening round. Srikanth will take on China’s Hong Yang Weng while Kiran George will open his campaign against Yushi Tanaka of Japan. In the women’s draw, Sindhu will move to Busnan Ongbamrungphan’s place in the draw and will now face Shuo Yun Sung of Chinese Taipei in the first round. There will still be an all-Indian clash in the opening round with Anupama Upadhyaya now facing Rakshita Sree SR. Having taken their time by spending time away from the circuit, the top stars of Indian badminton are set to unleash their best on home turf as the India Open 2025 kicks off at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall at the Indira Gandhi Arena here from Tuesday. Also Read: "It would have been great to have been able to do it in Sydney": Steve Smith on 10,000 Test run-mark The prestigious event, which is part of the BWF World Tour Super 750 series, has attracted the world’s best badminton players including the likes of Olympic champions Viktor Axelsen and An Se-Young among others. Sindhu, the 2017 champion, took a long break after the Paris Olympics before returning to the circuit at the end of the year. She also got married in December and is looking forward to making a strong statement with her performance here. “This will be my first tournament after marriage and also in the new year. So, everything is new and I want to give my best in the competition in front of the home fans… After the Paris Olympics, I wanted some time to recover physically and emotionally, and the break has helped me get back rejuvenated,” said Sindhu at the launch press conference of the India Open 2025 on Monday. Apart from Sindhu, Indian badminton fans will be hoping that Commonwealth Games gold medallists and last edition's runners-up, Satwik and Chirag, add another India Open trophy to their tally. Satwik and Chirag were out of action for a major part of 2024 after the Paris Games. They made a strong comeback in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week, reaching the semifinals, and are determined to repeat their 2022 India Open title-winning performance. “The shoulder injury has been on and off. But I also had a back injury after the Paris Olympics which took time to recover from. But now I am fine and have no problems,” said Satwik and Chirag. “The last time we came here was after playing the final of the Malaysia Open and reached the final here. This time also we have started (the year) with a semi-final in Malaysia and want to improve on last year’s results,” he added. More than 200 players from powerhouse badminton nations such as India, China, Japan, Denmark, South Korea, and Indonesia will be in action in the India Open this week with as many as 45 Indian players set to participate in the tournament. 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
14 January,2025 01:18 PM IST | New Delhi | IANSBritish heavyweight Tyson Fury has retired from boxing " again " one month after losing a rematch with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk. The 36-year-old Fury announced the decision in a short video posted on his Instagram account on Monday, which included a cryptic message. "Hi everybody, I'm going to make this short and sweet. I'd like to announce my retirement from boxing," Fury said. Also Read: MI Cape Town send Newlands faithful home with smiles on their faces after Cape Derby "It's been a blast, I've loved every single minute of it and I'm going to end with this: Dick Turpin wore a mask. God bless everybody, see you on the other side." It was unclear why Fury made a reference to Turpin, a famed 18th century English highway robber and horse thief. Fury was upset with the unanimous decision when he lost the Dec. 21 rematch with Usyk in Saudi Arabia. However, Usyk landed 179 of 423 punches thrown (42%), while Fury landed 144 of his 509 punches, a 28% clip. Fury had acknowledged making mistakes, notably by showboating too much, when losing their first fight in Riyadh in May by split decision. Fury has announced his retirement before, however, notably on his 34th birthday in August 2022. But he was back fighting again two months later. Fury's record is 34-2-1, with 24 KOs. The losses to Usyk were the only defeats in Fury's career, which began in 2008 and included one draw against American boxer Deontay Wilder in 2018. 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
14 January,2025 12:14 PM IST | London | AP | PTISecond seed Iga Swiatek began her Australian Open campaign with a hard-fought first-round victory on Monday, defeating the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes. The win extended Swiatek’s perfect record in first-round matches at the tournament. Facing the Siniakova, 28, a nine-time Grand Slam doubles champion, Swiatek relied on a dominant first serve to secure the victory. Also Read: Naomi Osaka fights to keep focus with LA fires ‘three blocks from home’ Katerina Siniakova The Polish star landed 71 per cent of her first serves with an average speed of 168 kmph and won 79 per cent of those points. In contrast, Siniakova, ranked No. 50, managed 60 per cent of first serves and won 56 per cent of those points. While Siniakova hit two more winners than Swiatek, she also committed eight additional unforced errors. “For sure it wasn’t an easy first round, so I’m happy that I’m through,” Swiatek said post-match. “She [Siniakova] was playing really well and I just needed to be more proactive and in the second set I did that, so I was happy.” The opening set saw both players hold serve for the first five games before Swiatek broke to lead 5-3 and served out the set. She carried the momentum into the second set, taking a 2-0 lead. However, Siniakova fought back to lead 3-2 before Swiatek elevated her game to close out the match. A sixth Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park would see Swiatek reclaim the No. 1 ranking, which she previously held for 75 consecutive weeks from 2022 to 2023 and again until October 2024. Swiatek will face Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in the second round while Siniakova will shift her focus to the women’s doubles, where she and Taylor Townsend of the United States are the top seeds. 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
14 January,2025 09:43 AM IST | Melbourne | IANSNaomi Osaka said on Monday she was struggling to keep focused at the Australian Open with the deadly and massive wildfires that have ravaged Los Angeles “three blocks” from her house. The two-time Melbourne champion defeated France’s Caroline Garcia 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round and afterwards said: “I was watching the fire map and the fire is three blocks from my house. I had someone go get my daughter’s birth certificate.” Also Read: Giles Shield cricket hit by frequent cancellations The 27-year-old former World No.1, who has a young daughter named Shai, represents Japan but lives in Los Angeles. After setting up a second-round meeting at Melbourne Park with Czech 20th seed Karolina Muchova, Osaka said: “Honestly I don’t think I’ve been doing the greatest keeping focus”. 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
14 January,2025 09:35 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPRiding high on goalkeeper Meet Pawar’s heroics under the bar, Don Bosco High School (Matunga) beat Dr Antonio Da Silva High School (Dadar) 4-2 via shootout in a nail-biting summit clash to win the U-16 Jr Aga Khan inter-school hockey title on Sunday. Playing on their own turf in Matunga, the Bosco boys dominated the first half with some fine, attacking hockey but somehow failed to find the back of the net. The story repeated in the second session with the Matunga boys messing up nearly half-a-dozen chances. Also Read: Kamalini G smashes 23-ball 32 as India thrash Scotland by 119 runs The St Teresa’s girls with the KG Kalantri inter-school hockey trophy In the shootout, Aarav Phanse, Parth Chintal, Arnav Khot, and Aaditya Rane successfully found the target for Don Bosco. For Antonio Da Silva, only Sarthak Jadhav and Priyanshu Vichare managed to score. Don Bosco custodian Meet made two crucial saves, denying Antonio Da Silva’s Foaad Shaikh and Aamad Ghadge from the spot, to help the hosts emerge champions. The U-16 KG Kalantri inter-school hockey final for girls at the same venue was an equally close affair. St Teresa’s Convent High School (Santacruz) eventually got the better of Duruelo Convent High School (Bandra) 3-1 via shootout after the scores were locked 0-0 at the end of regulation time. In the shootout, Yukti Dabho, Arya Kamble, and Trenail Chand scored for St Teresa’s, while only Angel Nadar managed to score for the Duruelo outfit.
14 January,2025 09:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamTwo-time Grand Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas said “it sucks” after being on the end of the first big upset of the Australian Open on Monday, with the worst part having to hang around before his next tournament. Also Read: "It is easy to find out why I wasn’t picked in the team": Litton Das after CT 2025 snub The 11th-seeded Greek, who played Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final at Melbourne Park, crashed out 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to American Alex Michelsen in the first round. “The most frustrating part about losing in the first round of a Grand Slam is that you have way too much time to recover, and I would rather have the other way around where I don’t have enough time to recover,” he said. “Honestly that’s much, much better in terms of problem-solving. It just sucks in a way that I’ll be hanging around for quite a while now before my next tournament comes in.” 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
14 January,2025 08:29 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPA downbeat Nick Kyrgios said that his short-lived return to Melbourne Park on Monday might have been his last singles appearance at the Australian Open. Also Read: PV looks to new beginnings at India Open Super 750 The combustible home hero was grimacing from an abdominal injury and fired expletives at his coaching box as he was bundled out by Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, 7-6 (7/2). “Realistically I can’t really see myself probably playing singles again here,” a crestfallen Kyrgios, 29, 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
14 January,2025 08:16 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPThe creme de la crème of Indian badminton is set to kickstart their 2025 campaign at home in the Yonex Sunrise India Open 2025 starting here today. The event, taking place in the KD Jadhav indoor hall of the Indira Gandhi arena is a BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament. Indian fans will see the likes of PV Sindhu, singles star HS Prannoy, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty and the upcoming star Lakshya Sen in action - its biggest ever contingent in the tournament. They will be taking on international stars like Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen, World No. 1 Shi Yuqi, An Se-young, Wang Zhiyi to name a few. Also Read: Big boys bang on! Sindhu, Lakshya and even Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, are coming back from a break. Sindhu will return to action at home after a tepid 2024. She took a long break after Paris Olympics before returning to the circuit at the end of the year. She got married in December and is now focused on a strong return. “This will be my first tournament after marriage and also of the new year. So everything is new and I want to give my best in the competition in front of home fans. After the Paris Olympics I wanted some time to recover physically and emotionally and the break has helped me,” she said. Sindhu will start her campaign against compatriot Anupama Upadhyaya. Japanese sixth seed Tomoka Miyazaki is likely to be her opponent in the second round. India will have 22 entries in the event.
14 January,2025 08:11 AM IST | New Delhi | Neeru BhatiaNovak Djokovic survived a scare in his quest for tennis history before following Carlos Alcaraz and defending champion Jannik Sinner into the second round of the Australian Open on Monday. On a blockbuster second day in Melbourne, Djokovic lost the first set to 107th-ranked American Nishesh Basavareddy in the prime-time evening match on Rod Laver Arena. But the Serbian great, hoping to roll back the years and win an 11th Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam singles title, recovered to ease through 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Also Read: Australian Open: Coco Gauff starts campaign with a dominating win over Sofia Kenin In front of new coach and former rival Andy Murray, Djokovic struggled to raise a smile in the immediate aftermath. “At the end it was great, but I think he was the better player for a set and a half,” he said. Italian World No. 1 Sinner was warmly welcomed on Rod Laver Arena before defeating Chile’s Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1. Sinner is playing under a cloud after twice testing positive for traces of a steroid in March. He denies wrongdoing and was cleared by tennis authorities, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed and is seeking to ban him for up to two years. “I was curious to see how it was. You never know what’s happening,” he said about the reception. “I was happy about the crowd,” added Sinner, who has not tasted defeat since losing to Alcaraz in the Beijing final in October. Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, but never a winner in Melbourne, had a couple of hairy moments before seeing off Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1. “This is a tournament I really want to win one day, hopefully this year,” he 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
14 January,2025 08:01 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPCoco Gauff had a little difficulty adjusting to the sun at one end of Rod Laver Arena and dropped an early service game but quickly settled into a rhythm to start her Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-3 win Monday over 2020 champion Sofia Kenin. Third-seeded Gauff won the title at the WTA Finals last November and started this season by helping the US to victory at the United Cup last week, a run that gives her a chance to move atop the rankings. Also Read: Ex-Wimbledon champ Vondrousova pulls out of Oz Open The 2023 US Open champion is wearing a Marvel-inspired bodysuit and skirt at Melbourne Park and she’s radiating confidence and calm. “I knew going in it was going to be difficult, but you know I’m happy with how I played,” Gauff said of the 1-hour, 20-minute win over Kenin. 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
14 January,2025 07:46 AM IST | Melbourne | AP | PTIADVERTISEMENT
