Indian ace Rohan Bopanna and his Chinese partner Shuai Zhang advanced to the second round of the Australian Open mixed doubles with a commanding 6-4, 6-4 victory over Ivan Dodig and Kristina Mladenovic here on Friday. Aiming to recover from an early exit in the men’s doubles, the former World No. 1 Indian showed his mettle alongside Zhang, delivering a clinical performance to close out the match in one hour and 12 minutes. The Indo-Chinese pair started strong, racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. Though Croatian Dodig and Frenchwoman Mladenovic broke Zhang’s serve to narrow the gap to 3-2, Bopanna held firm under pressure, serving out the set at 6-4. The second set began with both pairs exchanging breaks in a tight contest. At 3-4 down, the Indo-Chinese duo capitalised on Dodig and Mladenovic’s errors, including two costly double faults, to break serve and level the score. They held their nerve to win the next two games, with Zhang and Bopanna complementing each other with steady serve and sharp forehand display. 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 January,2025 10:39 AM IST | Melbourne | PTIWith the Paris Games medals losing their sheen barely months after being awarded to athletes, India's shooting star Manu Bhaker says there is "no bigger souvenir" for a sportsperson than an Olympic medal and it's quality should be top-notch. The shiny top layer of the two bronze medals, won by Bhaker in women's 10m air pistol and 10m mixed team with Sarabjot Singh, peeled off exposing the core. She along with several athletes around the world have highlighted the issue of damaged medals and called for their replacement. At the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, as she basked in the glory of winning the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, the 22-year-old ace shooter confirmed that the top layer of her medals had indeed peeled off, which seemed to have left her quite upset. "Soon after we got the medals, within 2-3 days the upper layer started coming off. I can say this after seeing my medal whose top coating has come off. I feel that the Olympic medals are something to be cherished for life because a very big memory is associated with with that medal," said Bhaker during a media interaction after receiving the Khel Ratna. "I think there is no bigger souvenir than that in an athlete's career. The quality should be really top notch and if the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is replacing it, then it's a very good decision because a lot of athletes in India and other countries have complained and many of them are very upset as well," she added. Damaged medals will be systematically replaced by the Monnaie de Paris (the French state mint) and engraved in an identical way to the originals, the IOC said earlier this week. Bhaker took a break from competitions following her Paris success, skipping the year-end World Cup Finals and the national championships but with the 2028 Los Angeles Games in mind she has been training in earnest for the past couple of months. "Yes, I've started my training; it's been two-and-a-half months. I'm sure I'll have my fair share of ups and downs (in the run-up to the 2028 Olympics)... that's how life goes. I'm mentally prepared for that," she said. The ace shooter would be targeting the numerous World Cups this year and the World Championships and Asian Games in 2026. She said the Khel Ratna would definitely motivate her to change the colour of her medal in Los Angeles. "Definitely the Khel Ratna is one of the most prestigious awards in the country and it's an honour for me. I am really grateful to all the people who supported me in this journey. "Looking forward, this is going to motivate me further. I will try my best to work even harder and perform even better. Changing the colour of the medal, that is the goal. I'll have to really work very hard," said Bhaker, who is looking to "update" her 25m pistol with the latest version of Pardini. Every year, the award ceremony comes with its share of controversies. While several Paris Games medal-winning para athletes were unhappy with their names being ignored for the Khel Ratna, Bhaker's name too was missing from the initial list of nominees. Bhaker said the award selection panel would have followed due processes but sometimes errors can happen. "The selection committee too would be taking a decision after putting in a lot of thought. Somewhere, some little bhool chook reh jaati hai (errors and omissions can happen). "I'm sure they would be working to rectify that. I hope in future too they will take even better decisions," said Bhaker, who added that she will continue to work with legendary shooter-turned-coach Jaspal Rana for the LA Games. Bhaker added that her focus would be divided equally between 10m air pistol and 25m sports pistol in the run-up to the next Games. "Yes, I have always shot both the events and both are my favourites. You can't differentiate between your kids, can you? I really love both the events, I'll be working on both of them," she added. (With agency inputs)
17 January,2025 06:45 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentSumo is facing a potential chasm at the top of the ancient sport for the first time in over 30 years after the only yokozuna, Terunofuji, announced his retirement on Friday. The Mongolian-born 33-year-old has been the only top-ranked sumo for more than three years, and only 73 wrestlers have reached his level in the history of the centuries-old sport. But Terunofuji has struggled with injuries and withdrew from the ongoing New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo on Thursday after forfeiting his bout. He told reporters Friday that he was retiring to train young wrestlers after "a tough 14 years" in the ring. "I've given everything but at this tournament I wasn't able to perform as I'd like and you shouldn't enter the ring if your mind and body are at half-strength," he said. "I feel that my body isn't up to sumo so I have decided to retire." Terunofuji, who has won 10 tournaments in his career, is sumo's only active yokozuna. Mongolian Hoshoryu has a chance to gain promotion to the exalted rank if he impresses at the New Year tournament. He had four wins and one loss after the opening five days. If he fails, sumo will have no yokozuna for the first time since March 1993, when Hawaiian-born Akebono made his debut at the rank. "When I first became a yokozuna, I didn't think I would be able to continue wrestling for very long," said Terunofuji, who was promoted to the top rank in July 2021. "But the fans and other people supported me and encouraged me and that feeling alone kept me going." Terunofuji has been sumo's lone yokozuna since the September 2021 retirement of Hakuho, who had a record 45 tournament victories. There are no set criteria for promotion from the second rank of ozeki, and cases are considered by the Yokozuna Deliberation Council. Only one of the seven most recent yokozuna was born in Japan. Of the others, five were born in Mongolia, including Terunofuji, and one in the United States. Terunofuji completed just two of six tournaments last year as he dealt with injuries and other health problems including diabetes. He has missed all or part of 13 of 21 tournaments since being promoted to yokozuna. Terunofuji, who was born Gantulgyn Gan-Erdene in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar, said he was looking forward to his new career as a stablemaster. "I want to develop wrestlers who don't tell lies, who don't yield," he said. "Those are the kind of wrestlers who become strong." (With AFP inputs)
17 January,2025 05:50 PM IST | Tokyo | mid-day online correspondentTwo-time Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker was one among the athletes who received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. Speaking about the award, Manu Bhaker said, "It is an honour to receive the Khel Ratna. This will inspire me to work harder in the future and win more medals for the country." Taking to X: #WATCH | Delhi: On being conferred with the Khel Ratna award, Indian shooter Manu Bhaker says, "It is an honour to receive the Khel Ratna. This will inspire me to work harder in the future and win more medals for the country." pic.twitter.com/2oCYc8aUeT — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2025 I am deeply honored to have received the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award from the honourable president of India @rashtrapatibhvn . This recognition inspires me to work even harder and strive for more victories to make my country proud. I extend my heartfelt… pic.twitter.com/dpPPiVbjaF — Manu Bhaker🇮🇳 (@realmanubhaker) January 17, 2025 Manu Bhaker finished third to secure a bronze medal in the final of the Women's Air Pistol event at the Paris Olympics, last year. Manu Bhaker became the first Indian woman and the fifth overall to achieve an Olympic medal in shooting, during the Paris Olympic, last year. The 22-year-old completed her performance with 22 shots, accumulating a score of 221.7. She narrowly missed surpassing second-place Yeji Kim by just 0.1 points in the penultimate series. Also Read: Yuvraj Singh backs Rohit Sharma despite two consecutive Test series loses Later, alongside Sarabjot Singh, Manu Bhaker earned India another bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event by defeating South Korea. The Indian pair defeated the Koreans 16-10 to earn the country its second medal at the quadrennial showpiece, and in the process made Bhaker the first Indian post-independence to bag two medals in a single edition of the Games. Thirty-two athletes are being honoured with the Arjuna Award out of which an unprecedented 17 are para-athletes. The athletes selected for the Arjuna award include the Paris Olympics bronze medal-winning group of wrestler Aman Sehrawat, shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh and the men's hockey team players Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay and Abhishek. The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list of Arjuna winners this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver. The annual honours are decided by a points system in which the maximum emphasis is on performances delivered at the Olympics and the World Championships.
17 January,2025 04:30 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIga Swiatek tends not to waste time in the first week of Grand Slams. When the five-time Grand Slam champion dispatched Rebecca Sramkova 6-0 6-2 in a clean hour at the Australian Open on Thursday, Swiatek was living a habit of advancing quickly through the early rounds. She's the only player to reach the third round or better at every Grand Slam in this decade. Swiatek has won almost 12 per cent of her sets in Grand Slams by 6-0, which puts her in exclusive company. When No. 49-ranked Sramkova ended a seven-game losing run by holding serve, she raised her arm to acknowledge the applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It was one of the few chances she had to celebrate. "It was good to play in such an efficient way and just finish it quick," Swiatek said. "Also, you know, just feel the court and how it is in RLA." Second-seeded Swiatek next faces 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who recovered from an early break in the second set to hold off Amanda Anisimova 6-3 7-5. Three-time runner-up and No. 5 Daniil Medvedev was ousted when 19-year-old American qualifier Learner Tien hung tough to prevail 6-3 7-6(4) 6-7 (8) 1-6 7-6(10-7) after nearly five hours. Tien had a match point in the third-set tiebreaker and didn't earn another for two hours, until nearly 3 a.m. Friday local time. Defending champion and No. 1 Jannik Sinner was in a contest for a set and a half, then blew away Australian wild card and No. 173 Tristan Schoolkate 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-3. Taylor Fritz hasn't wasted any time advancing to the third round, dropping just eight games across two rounds and spending just over three hours on court. The 2024 US Open runner-up and No. 4 seed beat Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 to move into a third-round match against 38-year-old Gael Monfils, who last week became the oldest player to win an ATP title. Also advancing on the men's side were local hope Alex de Minaur, seeded 8th, No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 19 Karen Khachanov and No. 21 Ben Shelton, who beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4. However, No. 17 Frances Tiafoe lost to Hungary's Fabian Marozsan 6-1 in the fifth, and No. 18 Hubert Hurkacz also crashed out. Raducanu has struggled with injuries since her breakthrough major in 2021, when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title. Also Read: D Gukesh receives Major Dhyna Chand Khel Ratna award from President Droupadi Murmu, WATCH She didn't play a warmup tournament ahead of this year's Australian Open because of a muscle strain and needed time during her match against Anisimova to get treatment on her back from a trainer. After advancing beyond the second round for the first time at Melbourne Park, the No. 61-ranked Raducanu was confident she'd recover in time for her next challenge against Swiatek. "It'll be a very good match for me, another opportunity to test my game," she said. "Going into it, I have nothing to lose. I'm just going to swing." Swiatek is moving on from the doping infringement which led to her one-month ban last year. And she's not showing any signs of it being a distraction. She did everything at pace in the second round, including quick claps of her racket to acknowledge the crowd after her win. Swiatek didn't face a break point against Sramkova and converted five of the six she had. She finished off points with winners off both sides, and also hit some clean volleys on her ventures to the net. She's feeling slightly less pressure this year, too, after losing the No. 1 ranking to two-time defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. "Yeah, there was a lot of pressure starting the year as No. 1, but I think overall last year I didn't think about it this much anyway," she said. "Also, I realised last year that I don't have 100 per cent influence on what happens with my ranking sometimes. So now I just focus on tennis." Emma Navarro, a US Open semifinalist last year and seeded in the top eight for the first time at a major, was in trouble after two service breaks early in the third set before she reeled off four straight games to beat Wang Xiyu 6-3 3-6 6-4. She hopped from the baseline toward the net, and made a big, swirling swing of her arm to underline another tough, three-set victory. "It was really tough the whole time ... super tough there at the end," Navarro said. "Found some good tennis there in the last games." She'll next play Ons Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, who struggled with asthma but held off Camila Osorio 7-5 6-3. Sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and runner-up in Australia two years ago, registered her 50th win in a Grand Slam main draw singles match when she beat American qualifier Iva Jovic 6-0, 6-3. No. 9 Daria Kasatkina also advanced 6-2 6-0 over Wang Yafan and faces No. 24 Yulia Putintseva in the third round. 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 January,2025 01:18 PM IST | Melbourne | AP | PTIThe 19th World chess champion D Gukesh received a round of applause when he walked up to receive the Major Dhyna Chand Khel Ratna award from India's President Droupadi Murmu in the National Sports Awards ceremony. Taking to X: #NationalSportsAwards2024 :President Droupadi Murmu confers Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024 to Chess player Gukesh D. @DGukesh @YASMinistry @IndiaSports @mansukhmandviya @khadseraksha @Media_SAI @AshwiniVaishnaw @Murugan_MoS #MajorDhyanChandKhelRatna । #KhelRatna pic.twitter.com/cR6aXHWts8 — All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 17, 2025 The 18-year-old became the youngest chess champion player after beating title-holder Ding Liren of China in the 14th and last game of a thrilling showdown in Singapore in the FIDE Chess Championship. Before D Gukesh's feat, the legendary Garry Kasparov of Russia was the youngest world chess champion when he won the title at the age of 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985. D Gukesh secured the requisite 7.5 points against 6.5 of Liren after winning the last classical time control game of the 14-game match that seemed headed for a draw for the most part. Also Read: Rishabh Pant’s Q&A session, a big hit on X The other two recipients of the country's highest sporting honour were men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar when the annual honours were bestowed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Harmanpreet was a part of the national sides that won bronze medals in the Tokyo as well as Paris Olympics. Praveen, on the other hand, upgraded his silver at the Japanese capital to gold last year in Paris. He was born with a short left leg. Thirty-two athletes are being honoured with the Arjuna Award out of which an unprecedented 17 are para-athletes. The athletes selected for the Arjuna award include the Paris Olympics bronze medal-winning group of wrestler Aman Sehrawat, shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh and the men's hockey team players Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay and Abhishek. The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list of Arjuna winners this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver. The 22-year-old Bhaker became independent India's first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August last. The 18-year-old Gukesh became the youngest world champion ever by beating China's Ding Liren last month. He is only the second India after the great Viswanathan Anand to achieve this feat. The annual honours are decided by a points system in which the maximum emphasis is on performances delivered at the Olympics and the World Championships. (With Agencies Inputs)
17 January,2025 12:40 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentQueen Mary ICSE (Grant Road) overcame St Anne’s (Malad) 24-22 in a tense final to win the MSSA girls U-16 inter-school kabaddi title at Azad Maidan on Wednesday. Queen Mary skipper Aastha Khamkar excelled, contributing eight defensive tackles and five raids before leaving the game injured, but not before setting the foundation of a hardfought win. Then, with the score reading 20-22 in favour of St Anne’s, the experienced Aanya Jain delivered the decisive blow for Queen Mary, securing four critical points to emerge victorious. Queen Mary’s coach Nandini was pleasantly surprised with the win. “With just a few minutes left, it was stunning to see how my girls turned the match around,” she told mid-day. Also Read: African safari ready to roar at Mumbai Marathon The Dr Antonio Da Silva (Dadar) under-16 team kabaddi team with their medals and winner’s shield. Pic/Satej Shinde Antonio Da Silva champs In the boys U-16 final, Dr Antonio Da Silva (Dadar) cruised to a 56-27 win over St Anne’s (Malad). Anuj Chougule’s five defensive catches proved to be the clincher for the victors. In the boys U-14 category, Swami Vivekanand (Chembur) outclassed Dr Antonio Da Silva 53-35, while Babasaheb Ambedkar (Vikhroli) beat Nanavati School (Vile Parle) 25-21 among the girls.
17 January,2025 08:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamIt will be fast and furious on Sunday, January 19, as the big guns are ready to fire at the Tata Mumbai Marathon (TMM). The elite international athletes spoke at a press meet held at the Marathon press centre on Thursday afternoon. At the outset, the anchor of the conference celebrated 20 years of the Mumbai Marathon stating, “the 42.2 km run, which is the real marathon, you are a marathoner when you complete this not the half marathon or 10k run, has grown beyond recognition. Mumbai now has one of the biggest cavalry of marathon runners on the road anywhere in the world.” Also Read: ‘It’s all outside noise’, Akash Deep The men’s category has defending champion Hayle Lemi Berhanu from Ethiopia who is eyeing a hat-trick this year after his wins in 2023 and 2024. “My preparation for the Mumbai Marathon has been excellent. I have good experience with this course, , and I believe my preparation gives me an advantage. I always listen to my coach and manager, following their program. I’ve waited a long time for this, and I’m confident in delivering a strong performance,” the Ethiopian said. His countrymen Bazezew Asmare, who was carrying a minor injury in the Berlin marathon in 2024, said, “I ran my last marathon with a small injury, but now I’m fully fit. “If I get a good result here, it will be a step forward in representing Ethiopia. That is my ultimate goal. I believe a strong performance in the Mumbai Marathon can help me achieve that.” Philemon Rono, the pocket powerhouse from Kenya who has won this race thrice earlier said, “I’ve prepared meticulously for this race and feel focused despite running a marathon just six weeks ago. My legs and mind are strong.” The women’s category features defending champion Abersh Minsewo from Ethiopia, who said, “Last year was a learning curve, but now I feel much more prepared. I know the course well, and I believe that will help me get a good result.” 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 January,2025 08:01 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentIndia’s N Sriram Balaji and his Mexican partner Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela advanced to the second round of the Australian Open with a commanding victory in straight sets over Robin Haase and Aleksandr Nedovyesov on Thursday. Also Read: Teen Learner teaches No. 5 Medvedev bitter lesson The Indo-Mexican duo defeated the Dutch-Kazakh pair 6-4, 6-3 in just over an hour in their opening men’s doubles clash. 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 January,2025 07:54 AM IST | Melbourne | PTILast year’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev was dumped out in the Australian Open second round early on Friday morning by 19-year-old qualifier Learner Tien in a massive Melbourne shock. In his debut Australian Open, the American ranked 121 stunned the World No. 5 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (8/10), 1-6, 7-6 (10/7) in a nailbiter and faces France’s Corentin Moutet in the next round. Also Read: Smriti wants India women to rise in ODI World Cup year With the time ticking towards 3:00 am, Tien soaked up the applause at Margaret Court Arena after the biggest win of his young career. The pair did battle over a gruelling four hours and 48 minutes of seesawing action that was punctuated near its denouement by a short rain break. Tien had defeated Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli in five sets in the first round for his maiden victory at a Grand Slam at the fourth attempt. It was a meek exit for Russia’s Medvedev, who has lost three of the last four finals at Melbourne Park. 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 January,2025 07:52 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPWorld No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner roared back to surge into the Australian Open third round on Thursday. Sinner dropped a set for the first time in 14 matches when he lost the opener to Australian wild card Tristan Schoolkate. But he wrested back control after a slow start to go through 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 against the World No. 173 at a cool and breezy Rod Laver Arena. It was Sinner’s 16th consecutive victory in an ominous sign for the next opponent Marcos Giron. “It’s always tough to play against someone I don’t know very well. He was playing much better than I was at the beginning,” said the Italian, 23, who also won the US Open last year. Taylor Fritz during his Round Two match against Chile’s qualifier Cristian Garin “I have to be very happy with my performance and never take things for granted. Very glad to be in the next round. “I can improve, yes, but I’ll take it.” Also Read: Vidarbha outclass Maharashtra by 69 runs Taylor Fritz was an emphatic winner in his pursuit of a maiden major title. Fritz swept through to a third-round clash against Gael Monfils with a brutal display of power hitting and has dropped just eight games in the tournament so far. The American fourth seed was untouchable on Margaret Court Arena, swatting aside Chilean qualifier Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 in 82 minutes. Swiatek cruises Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round showdown with Emma Raducanu. Women’s second seed Swiatek raced past World No. 49 Rebecca Sramkova 6-0, 6-2 while Britain’s Raducanu reached the third round for the first time in Melbourne by beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5. Jabeur battles asthma Meanwhile, a bad bout of asthma nearly derailed the comeback of former World No. 2 Ons Jabeur, with the Tunisian saying she found it hard to breathe and nearly gave up in her second-round win. She is aiming to get back to the top after a shoulder injury last year threatened her career. But she said asthma was now becoming an issue. Jabeur needed a medical timeout on her way to a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio for treatment and to use an inhaler. “Very, very tough to breathe. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with asthma,” she said. Other key results Men’s singles£Alex de Minaur bt Tristan Boyer 6-2, 6-4, 6-3£Holger Rune bt Matteo Berrettini 7-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 Women’s singles£Jasmine Paolini bt Renata Zarazua 6-2, 6-3£Emma Navarro bt Xiyu Wang 6-3, 3-6, 6-4£Madison Keys bt Gabriela Ruse 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 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 January,2025 07:48 AM IST | Melbourne | AFPADVERTISEMENT
