Teenaged Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh produced another fantastic performance to crash through the defences of Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov and regain a share of the lead but R Praggnanandhaa and Vidit Gujrathi bowed out of contention after the 12th round of the Candidates chess tournament here. With American Hikaru Nakamura scoring a victory over Firouza Alireza of France, it is now a three-way lead at the top. Gukesh and Nakamura joined overnight top-placed Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, who drew with Praggnanandhaa, on 7.5 points and these three are now followed by Fabiano Caruana of United States who is on seven points. Praggnanandhaa is still fifth with six points with Gujrathi following him on five points. Also Read: Norris takes sprint pole at Shanghai However, with just two rounds to come in the eight-player double round-robin tournament, it is almost impossible for the duo to finish on the podium. Alireza and Abasov fill up the rear of the table with 4.5 and three points respectively. In the women’s section, the Chinese domination was cemented by Zhongyi Tan, who played out a draw with Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria. Russian Kateryna Lagno was only able to squeeze half a point against another Chinese Tingjie Lei. India’s Koneru Humpy did well to hold Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia to a draw while R Vaishali scored her second straight victory at the expense of Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine. With Tan on eight points, Lei is half a point behind. The trio of Humpy, Lagno and Goryachkina are a distant third on six points. 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
20 April,2024 08:10 AM IST | Toronto | PTIA fearless “all or nothing” lap from McLaren’s Lando Norris in wet and wild conditions Friday denied Lewis Hamilton pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race. Also Read: Gymnast Dipa finishes fourth at Apparatus WC Hamilton thought he had claimed Shanghai pole in his Mercedes when Norris’s lap of 1min 57.940sec on intermediate wet tyres was deleted for exceeding track limits, only to be dramatically reinstated a minute later. Fernando Alonso in an Aston Martin showed his experience and guile to come third in the treacherous conditions with championship leader Max Verstappen fourth. It was a second career sprint pole for Norris. “It was tricky, you are always nervous going into a session like this. You just have to risk a lot, push and build tyre temperature and what not,” said the Englishman. 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
20 April,2024 08:05 AM IST | Shanghai | AFPStar India gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Friday signed off with another creditable fourth place finish in women’s vault final at the FIG Apparatus World Cup, a Paris Olympics qualifying event in Doha. Also Read: Indian freestyle wrestler Aman misses out on Paris qualification Karmakar, 30, who had finished fourth at Baku Apparatus World Cup last month, once again missed out on a medal by a whisker after coming up with a score of 13.333. Panama’s Navas Karla (13.850) claimed the gold medal, while An Chang Ok of Korea (13.833) and Georgieva Valentina (13.466) won the silver and bronze respectively. 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
20 April,2024 08:00 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIIn a huge setback to Indian wrestling, Aman Sehrawat missed out on securing a berth for the Paris Games after losing his semi-final at the Asian Olympic Qualifier, while Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal were not allowed to compete after they reported late for weigh-in, here on Friday. Also Read: We are behind schedule on Oly selections: Jaspal Rana Competing in 57kg category, Aman began in tremendous fashion, trampling his first two rivals—Yerassyl Mukhtaruly and Sunggwon Kim—by technical superiority but was pinned by Uzbekistan’s Gulomjon Abdullaev after falling behind by 10 points. Among all the wrestlers in men’s freestyle category Asian Games bronze medallist Aman was the country’s biggest hope to win a quota place. Asia Olympic qualifiers is the second-last qualifying event for Paris Olympics. The last chance to qualify for Paris Games will be the World Qualifiers at Turkey in May. 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
20 April,2024 07:55 AM IST | New Delhi | PTILegendary pistol marksman Jaspal Rana has expressed grave concerns over the delay in naming the Indian shooting contingent for the Paris Olympics, saying it will leave the selected shooters with little time for the final phase of preparations. Also Read: Esha, Bhavesh on top on Day One of trials Several countries, including the US and Italy, and many European powerhouses have announced their squads and their shooters are in the final phase of fine-tuning their skills for the Olympics, even as India commenced its nearly month-long exercise on Friday. “We are not in the same category of training and preparation as other people are getting around the world. They [strong countries in shooting sport] have already selected their teams and started their training and we are behind schedule,” said Padma Shri and Arjuna Awardee shooter Rana in harsh comments against the NRAI’s policy. “Nobody knows so far who is going and who is not going. That puts a lot of pressure on the players who have won quota places,” Rana 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
20 April,2024 07:50 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIEsha Singh topped the women’s 25m pistol qualification while Bhavesh Shekhawat led the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol charts on Day One of the Olympic Selection Trials here on Friday. Also Read: World C’ship Asian Qualifying: Akanksha exits in quarters Esha totalled 585 across her precision and rapid-fire rounds in the pistol T1 qualification, to steer two points clear of Simranpreet Kaur Brar, who finished second. Bhavesh (580) took the top billing as he was rewarded for being the most consistent shooter through the day. 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
20 April,2024 07:45 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIIndian squash player Akanksha Salunkhe bowed out in the women’s singles quarter-finals of the World Championship Asian Qualifying event in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. Also Read: Vengsarkar CA win Dream 11 Cup Salunkhe, 2023 National Games champion, was shown the door by lower-ranked Sehveetrraa Kumar of Malaysia. World No. 71 Akanksha, seeded second here, lost 6-11, 5-11, 8-11 against her Malaysian opponent in just 34 minutes. She was the lone Indian in the fray. 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
20 April,2024 07:40 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIIn a huge setback to Indian wrestling, Aman Sehrawat missed out on securing a berth for the Paris Olympics after losing his semifinal at the Asian Olympic Qualifier while Deepak Punia and Sujeet Kalkal were not allowed to compete after they reported late for weigh-in, on Friday. Competing in 57kg category, Aman began in tremendous fashion, trampling his first two rivals -- Yerassyl Mukhtaruly and Sunggwon Kim -- by technical superiority but was pinned by Uzbekistan's Gulomjon Abdullaev after falling behind by 10 points. A lot of hope rested on Aman, who has emerged as one for the future in a category in which Ravi Dahiya excelled. Among all the wrestlers in men's free style category Asian Games bronze medallist Aman was the country's biggest hope to win a quota place. Abdullaev began with a left-leg attack and converted that into a take-down. The Uzbek rattled Aman with a sensational four-pointer and within no time, the Indian was under pressure to make a comeback. It made him slow while the speed with which Abdullaev created opportunities helped him clinch the contest. Struggling at the edge of a circle to wriggle out of Abdullaev's hold, Aman seemed to have given up and was pinned. In 74kg, Jaideep had a great start as he pinned Turkmenistan's Al Arslan Begenjov but lost his quarterfinal to Kyrgyzstan Orozobek Toktomambetov on criteria after being locked 2-2. Also Read: Indian wrestlers 'sleeping on floor' after Dubai airport flooded: Reports Sumit Malik (125kg) also lost his first round to Kyrgyzstan's Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur by technical superiority while Deepak (97kg) faded in qualification round, losing by technical superiority to Arash Yoshida. This was after both Punia and Sujeet eventually managed to reach Bishkek after being stranded at the Dubai international airport due to incessant rain and flooding but could not report for the mandatory weigh-in on time. The organisers did not allow late weigh-in despite request from the Indian coaches. Punia (86kg), who had come close to winning a medal at the Tokyo Games, and Sujeet (65kg), were on their way to Bishkek when a majority of the flights leaving Dubai got cancelled or delayed because of the flooding at the airport. The duo, accompanied by Russian coach Kamal Malikov and physio Shubham Gupta, were forced to sleep on the floor and had no access to proper food due to the crisis in Dubai. Punia and Sujeet trained in Dagestan, Russia from April 2 to 15 and decided to fly from Makachkala to Bishkek via Dubai. Vinesh Phogat will be in action on Saturday when the women's selection event begins. Asia Olympic qualifiers is the second-last qualifying event for Paris Olympics. The last chance to qualify for Paris Games will be the World Qualifiers in Turkey in May. (With agency inputs)
19 April,2024 09:38 PM IST | Bishkek | mid-day online correspondentAn organisation of Olympic sports federations on Friday said the decision by World Athletics to award prize money to gold medallists in its events "undermines the values of Olympism". The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) released a statement which made clear how unhappy it was at the announcement by World Athletics president Sebastian Coe that track and field gold medallists at the Paris Olympics will receive $50,000 (47,000 euros). World Athletics' move, announced last week, was for a first for a federation at an Olympics. It said it would extend prize money to all medallists in Los Angeles in four years' time. ASOIF, which has 30 full members and two associate members, said: "This move undermines the values of Olympism and the uniqueness of the Games. One cannot and should not put a price on an Olympic gold medal. This disregards the less privileged athletes lower down the final standings." It said other Olympics ports cannot afford to offer prize money. "Not all sports could or should replicate this move, even if they wanted to," said ASOIF. The organisation added that it accepted schemes by National Olympic Committees and governments to "reward athletes for outstanding performances...for purposes of national pride and ...consistently across all the sports at the Olympic Games." It also said that there had been a consensus that, where sports had a surplus, Olympic revenue should "be invested as a priority into development and integrity". Also Read: Indian wrestlers 'sleeping on floor' after Dubai airport flooded: Reports The organisation was also unhappy that Coe had announced the move without warning to its fellow federations, although it had informed the International Olympic Committee on the day of the announcement. "ASOIF was neither informed nor consulted in advance of the announcement, which was made one day after the ASOIF General Assembly," it said, adding "it is important and fair to discuss the matter at stake with the other federations in advance". World Athletics responded in a statement to AFP that its decision to award prize money was "about underscoring our unwavering commitment to empowering the athletes and recognising the critical role they play in the success of any Olympic Games". It said it agreed it was impossible to put a "marketable value" on winning an Olympic medal. "But we think it is important to make sure some of the revenues generated by our athletes at the Olympic Games are directly returned to those who make the Games the global spectacle that it is," World Athletics added The total World Athletics prize fund of $2.4 million will come from the International Olympic Committee's revenue share allocation that the federation receives every four years. (With AFP inputs)
19 April,2024 05:43 PM IST | Lausanne | mid-day online correspondentNelly Korda, who is looking to tie an LPGA Tour record with her fifth straight win, shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday in the opening round of the Chevron Championship, leaving her two shots behind leader Lauren Coughlin in the year's first major. Coughlin shot a bogey-free 66 in windy conditions at Carlton Woods, which is hosting the event for the second time. The top-ranked Korda is seeking her second major after winning the Women's PGA Championship in 2021. She could join Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) as the only players to win five consecutive LPGA events. Korda said she was battling fatigue from recent tournaments at the beginning of her round. She bogeyed her first hole, the par-4 10th. I (could) definitely still feel maybe a little bit of tiredness, so it took me a while to get going, she said. I felt the nerves definitely at the start of the round. Once I made the turn, I was just playing free golf. She made her first birdie on the par-4 14th hole, something she half-jokingly credited to a snack. I actually had an apple on 13, and that gave me actually a nice boost, she said. I felt a lot better after that. Maybe I should have apples more often. The 25-year-old finished with six birdies, including four in the final six holes. Also Read: IPL 2024: Rishabh Pant set for emotional homecoming vs in-form SRH Two of them were par 5s, so I got to take advantage of that with my length, she said. Hit a really good tee shot, and then I was just on the front of the green on 17, and the other one I was just on the fringe, too. I two-putted pretty much for birdie on those. Then I had wedge shots in on the other two, too. Taking advantage of my length and hitting good tee shots. Marina Alex and Japan's Minami Katsu also shot 68. Lydia Ko was one of five players at 69. The 31-year-old Coughlin, who played in college at Virginia and has never won on the LPGA Tour, made three birdies in a four-hole span from Nos. 2-5. She believes her game has benefited from her recent decision to make husband John Pond her full-time caddie. He's really good at talking through everything when I want to get really fast and make a decision really quickly, Coughlin said. He is really good at putting all the work in, all the extra work, all the extra walking ... making sure the strategy is really good and double checking everything. But ... he's always been really good with how he talks to me and communicates what he thinks I need to do and how I need to do it. Also Read: IPL 2024 |"It is going really well, I am almost there": Suryakumar opens up on his fitness Defending champion and world No. 2 Lilia Vu withdrew because of a back injury. She issued a statement on Instagram saying she had severe discomfort in her back during warmups. I have been dealing with a back injury for a while now, Vu said in the statement. Some days are better than others, and today was unfortunately not a good day. During my normal warmup routine, I had severe discomfort in my back and I felt that I could not compete up to my standards and made the decision to withdraw from the tournament ahead of my tee time. She added that she was returning home to see her doctors and determine the next steps. Later in the day, last year's runner-up Angel Yin withdrew because of an injury after shooting 78. A win by Ko would put her in the LPGA Hall of Fame. She won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January for her 20th LPGA title. The 26-year-old New Zealander admitted that she still gets nervous before tournaments despite all her experience and success. It doesn't matter what event we're playing or what circumstances, when you're younger you want to get away from the nerves, Ko said. To some extent as long as you can control it the nerves are good for you and you're able to excel and get the adrenaline to hit some shots that you may not be able to execute when you're just practicing.
19 April,2024 04:45 PM IST | The Woodlands | APWorld record holder Ariarne Titmus fired a warning shot on Friday to Katie Ledecky and Summer McIntosh ahead of the Paris Olympics with the fastest 400m freestyle of the year. The reigning Olympic champion went under four minutes at the Australian championships on the Gold Coast, hitting the wall in 3min 59.13sec to remain unbeaten in the event since 2019. Titmus beat Ledecky in a thrilling final at the Tokyo Olympics then broke the American great's long-standing world record in 2022, only for Canadian teenager McIntosh to better the mark last year. The Australian hit back to reclaim the world record months later with the expected clash between the three in Paris shaping as a blockbuster. "That's a good sign," said Titmus, who is again set to contest the 200-400-800 treble in France. She won gold over 200 and 400 in Tokyo and silver behind Ledecky in the 800. "I'm just trying to think about my expectations on myself and what I expect to do in Paris. I know a lot of people are willing me on and I'm just trying to use it in the best way possible," added the 23-year-old, who has swum four of the six fastest times in history. Also Read: Indian wrestlers 'sleeping on floor' after Dubai airport flooded: Reports Lani Pallister finished second in a personal best 4:01.75 ahead of the Australian Olympic trials in June. After her Australian record-breaking exploits in the 200m and 400m medley, Kaylee McKeown was again on fire in the 50m backstroke -- a non-Olympic event in which she holds the world record. The 22-year-old powered to a 27.07 finish ahead of Mollie O'Callaghan (27.16) in the fifth fastest time ever. "Had a bit of fun trying to change gears this meet, it's been good training," said McKeown, who is also the 100m and 200m backstroke world record holder. Matt Temple signalled his Paris intentions with the quickest 100m butterfly of the year, surging to the wall in 50.80. Former world champion Cameron McEvoy and sprint king Kyle Chalmers both went under 22 seconds in the 50m freestyle, with the former taking the title in 21.93 as he looks to make a fourth Olympics. Elijah Winnington continued his stellar form with victory in the men's 800m freestyle, powering home in 7:43.08 by half a length from Sam Short. Winnington set a world-leading time this year in the 400m free earlier in the meet. In other races, William Petric touched first in the 200m medley in 1:58.43 ahead of New Zealand's Lewis Clareburt, the 400m medley world champion. (With agency inputs)
19 April,2024 04:33 PM IST | Gold Coast | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
