US golf great Tiger Woods and Kai, the daughter of his partner Vanessa Trump, enjoy a close relationship, it is learnt. Kai, 18, the granddaughter of US President Donald Trump, is an aspiring golfer for University of Miami. She was a spectator at the recent Augusta Masters. After Woods’s recent Driving Under Influence arrest when he rolled his car over in Jupiter Island, there were reports that Vanesa is upset and the couple’s relationship is headed south. However, according to USA’s People magazine, this isn’t true. She [Vanessa] is not leaving him [Woods]. They’re very close as a family. He’s fully integrated now and especially close with Kai,” a source told the magazine. Woods is currently in rehab in Switzerland. Woods, 50, and Vanessa, 48, have been together for 18 months.
14 April,2026 09:56 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentIndia's World No. 25 Ayush Shetty, who bagged an impressive silver medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after losing in the final to China’s World No. 2 Shi Yu Qi on Sunday, revealed that the key to his giant-slaying run was his aggression during the week. The 20-year-old shuttler from Mangalore notched up shock wins over Thailand’s World No. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsarn, Indonesia’s No. 4 Jonatan Christie and China’s seventh-ranked Li Shi Feng on his way to the summit clash. When asked what would be the one thing that took him so far at the continental tournament, Shetty attributed it to his power game. “The key, for me, was that I always trusted the process. I kept working hard throughout the week and the one thing that I did in particular was that I was more aggressive in this competition and that worked. In the past, I’ve never been this aggressive,” Shetty told mid-day during a virtual press conference on Monday.
14 April,2026 09:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Karan ShankarRory McIlroy overcame early stumbles and a late scare to win the Masters on Sunday, capturing his sixth major title to become only the fourth back-to-back champion at Augusta National. The world number two from Northern Ireland made a double bogey at the fourth and a bogey at the sixth, but responded with four birdies in the next seven holes and hung on after woeful late tee shots to win a second green jacket and a record top prize of $4.5 million. McIlroy joined Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only back-to-back winners in Masters history, firing a final round one-under-par 71 to finish on 12-under-par 276 and defeat top-ranked Scottie Scheffler by one stroke. A year after winning his first Masters to complete a career Grand Slam and snap a 10-year major win drought, McIlroy pulled off a wire-to-wire triumph. "I just can't believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket and you know I get two in a row. It's just sort of the way," McIlroy said. "I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off." Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley placed the green jacket on McIlroy, a role usually reserved for the prior year's Masters winner. McIlroy seized a 36-hole Masters record six-stroke lead only to play the weekend at level par. "It was a tough weekend. I did the bulk of my work on Thursday and Friday," McIlroy said. "But just so, so happy to hang in there and get the job done." McIlroy, third-from last in driving accuracy for the week, saved par at 15 from the trees but sent his tee shot at the 18th over trees on the right to a spot near the adjacent 10th fairway. With a victory at risk, McIlroy curled a dramatic approach around the pines and into a greenside bunker, then blasted onto the green to 12 feet and two-putted for bogey to secure the triumph. "It's nice to have that two-shot cushion instead of the one like I had last year," said McIlroy, who needed a playoff to win in 2025. McIlroy, 36, yelled with joy and lifted his arms into the air after the triumph. He hugged daughter Poppy and wife Erica after walking off the 18th green where he embraced his parents. 'Good fight' Scheffler, a four-time major winner seeking his third Masters victory in five seasons, was on 277 after shooting a 68 to complete a bogey-free weekend. "Over the weekend I put up a good fight, did a lot of good stuff in order to give myself a chance and ultimately came up a couple shots short," Scheffler said. England's Tyrrell Hatton and 45-year-old Justin Rose and Americans Russell Henley and Cameron Young shared third on 278. Rose, the 2013 US Open champion, settled for another near miss after three runner-up Masters finishes. "I felt like there was an opportunity to do better, so obviously that's frustrating for sure," Rose said. Rose birdied four of the last five holes on the front nine and led on 12-under but bogeys at 11 and 12 moved McIlroy into the lead to stay. McIlroy sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the par-three 12th after an impressive tee shot, then added an 11-foot birdie putt at the par-five 13th to seize a three-stroke lead. "I think the tee shot on 12 and then the tee shot on 13, just to give me the option to go for the green in two," were the day's key shots. "I made a really good committed swing off the 13th tee, and that enabled me to go for the green in two and to make a birdie there, following the birdie on 12. That was massive," he said. Four pars and the closing bogey followed to produce McIlroy's sixth major victory -- and the champion said there could be more to come. "I'm not putting a number on it, but I certainly don't want to stop here," 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 April,2026 09:45 AM IST | Augusta (US) | AFPPV Sindhu swapped badminton for an intense relay race recently in Bengaluru, as she competed in an event featuring eight 1 km runs paired with eight workout stations, as part of Hyrox and Puma’s disruptive race format. India’s women’s cricket team skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was also in attendance, cheering Sindhu on. “Badminton has always been my world, but this is very different. There’s no opponent. Just you, the clock, and eight stations that test everything out at once,” said Sindhu, before adding: “Kaur cheered me on and brought an energy that pushed me harder.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by PUMA India (@pumaindia)
13 April,2026 10:22 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentIndian freestyle wrestlers Aman Sehrawat and Mukul Dahiya clinched silver on the final day of the Asian Wrestling Championships here on Sunday. In the 61 kg freestyle final, Aman went down 10-13 to Kwang Myong Kim of North Korea, while Mukul lost the 86 kg title bout 0-7 to Iran’s Kamran G Ghasempour. India finished their campaign in second place with 17 medals (two gold, six silver, and nine bronze). 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
13 April,2026 10:17 AM IST | bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) | AgenciesIndia captain Vishal Uppal lamented "three hours of bad tennis" on the opening day as the decisive factor behind the team missing out on qualification for World Group Play-offs as the hosts signed off with a third-place finish in Asia/Oceania Group I of the Billie Jean King Cup, here. India will stay in Group I as the top two teams -- Thailand and Indonesia -- sealed qualification. Reflecting on a week of fluctuating fortunes, Uppal said the slow start against Thailand proved costly in a tightly-contested competition. "The high is obviously that we beat Korea. The low is the fact that we played three hours of bad tennis at the start of the week, which has cost us. Otherwise, we would have had that medal today,"Uppal said after India defeated South Korea 2-1 in their final tie on Saturday. India had entered the tournament with qualification hopes but fell short after early setbacks, particularly against Thailand, a result Uppal said continues to hurt. "It's not hindsight. It's hurting right now. Going into the competition, we knew we had to beat Thailand and Korea to qualify. Just two-three hours of bad tennis on day one and it's a different story," he added. Vaishnavi Adkar had lost the opening singles and later Sahaja Yamlapalli suffered defeat in the rain-hit second singles as India suffered an unexpected loss to Thailand. Eventually, Thailand finished on top of the table ahead of Indonesia in an even more surprising result at the end of the tournament. Uppal described the campaign as a "week of missed chances", pointing to narrow defeats against Indonesia and Thailand where India were in contention but failed to capitalise. Despite the disappointment, India ended on a high with a strong performance against Korea, underlining the team's potential when firing collectively. Senior player Ankita Raina said representing the country adds a different dimension to competition, regardless of rankings. "It's definitely a privilege playing for the country. You don't get many opportunities. When I was on court, the only thing on my mind was to do my best for the team," she said after a hard-fought singles match. Raina, who experimented with a more aggressive, net-heavy approach in singles, admitted the result could have swung either way. "I did create opportunities, but maybe it wasn't my day. That's sport, you accept it and move on. It hurts, but it's always special to play for India." Raina-Bhosale have Asian Games in mind The team also drew positives from its doubles combinations, with Raina and Rutuja Bhosale expressing interest in continuing their partnership ahead of the upcoming continental events, including the Asian Games. "We've played together before and have good coordination. It's always fun to share the court with someone you've known for years," said Bhosale, with Raina adding that they plan to feature in tournaments together in the lead-up. Youngster Vaishnavi, who impressed in the latter stages, said the week helped her handle pressure situations better. "One of the biggest takeaways for me was learning how to deal with nerves. I struggled initially but improved as the tournament went on," she said. Uppal emphasised that while the younger players have the game, improving mentality and physicality will be key to competing consistently at the top level."When you play for the country, it's a different mentality. You're not just playing for yourself but for 140 crore people. The youngsters have the game, but they need to grow in mindset and physical strength," he said. Looking ahead, Uppal remained optimistic despite the near-miss. "For me, there's more hope than disappointment. The girls will only improve from here," he 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
13 April,2026 10:15 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIHimachal Pradesh’s Sawan Barwal on Sunday scripted history by breaking the 48-year-old marathon national record, the longest standing mark in Indian athletics, at the NN Marathon Rotterdam. Barwal clocked 2 hours 11 minutes and 58 seconds in a world class field to finish 20th in the elite marathon race and erase the previous national record of 2:12:00 which stood since 1978 in Shivnath Singh's name. The other Indian in the fray, Gopi Thonakal finished 23rd as he ran the 42.195km distance with a time of 2:13:16. Barwal's achievement was all the more praiseworthy as the Rotterdam event was his first marathon race. He had not run any official marathon race before Sunday. This was his second competition of the season after taking part in the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in the USA in January. Hailing from a village in Joginder Nagar in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, the 28-year-old Barwal has trained hard for many years, establishing himself as a reputed long-distance runner. His feat on Sunday was the culmination of that hard work, as he literally emerged from the hills of Himachal Pradesh to the flat roads of Rotterdam. Barwal ran at a steady pace in the gruelling race but windy conditions in the last 5km took a toll on the Indian runner. "It was pretty cold and windy. I made a mistake of pouring water on my head at the water station," Barwal said. "I was running at a comfortable pace until the 37km mark. But the last 2km was more challenging as I had to just plod to cross the finish line. "I was mentally and physically prepared to clock 2:10:00. But tough conditions robbed me of further improving my national record." The Army runner fell down after crossing the finish line due to exhaustion. He was taken for medical assistance. "I've recovered and am feeling better," he added. Barwal, an Armyman, was at the 27th spot at around the halfway mark (21km) with a time of 1:04:43 while Gopi was 33rd with 1:04:44. At the 30km mark, he was below the 2:10:00 marathon pace. At the 40km mark, Barwal's time was 2:03:39. In the closing stages of the gruelling race, he slowed down to cross the finish line at 2:11:58. "It was a good learning experience in Rotterdam," he said. Barwal's past race record on the World Athletics website does not mention any marathon though he has run many half marathons, and 5000m and 10000m races. He first broke onto the national scene when he won a 10000m silver at the 2022 Federation Cup National Championships. The same year, he won a 5000m bronze at the National Games in Gujarat. His first international medal came in 2023 when he won a bronze in the Asian Half Marathon Championships in Dubai. Barwal won his first national title at the Federation Cup in 2024 with a 5000m gold. But 2025 was the most productive year for Barwal as he won the 5000m and 10000m gold at the National Games in Uttarakhand, 10000m gold at the Federation Cup and a 5000m bronze in the World Athletics Bronze Level Continental Tour event in Bhubaneswar. Trained by Gopal Thakur, Barwal has also been a regular participant in the Delhi Half Marathon and World 25K Kolkata Run. He won gold among Indian elite runners in the Delhi Half Marathon in 2024. Barwal was interested in sports since his school days, and played everything from badminton to athletics. However, after winning a medal in a school event, he decided to become an athlete. He subsequently won medals in zonal and district-level competitions. He joined the Indian army in 2019. 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
13 April,2026 10:11 AM IST | Rotterdam | PTIIndia’s World No. 25 Ayush Shetty signed off with a silver medal after an 8-21, 10-21 loss to China’s World No. 2 Shi Yu Qi in the final of the Badminton Asia Championships here on Sunday. Reflecting on the summit clash, Shetty admitted he fell short of his own expectations. “I was a bit disappointed [with the way I played]. I really wanted to have a great match, but Shi was by far the better player today. He kept up the pressure on me, and never let me come back into the match. There are a lot of learnings from this. I definitely have to work on my endurance and strength.” However, despite the negative result on the day, Shetty was elated with his overall performance at the continental tournament. “Overall, it was a really good week for me. I had some great wins. All the matches were really tough. So, I’m really proud of the way I played throughout this week,” said Shetty. Shi dictated proceedings from the outset with his precise strokes prompting the Indian to falter. The Chinese sealed the opening game when Shetty sprayed a return wide. The Indian made a strong start in the second game to lead 7-2, but Shi clawed things back at 7-7 before pulling away rapidly to seal victory. 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
13 April,2026 10:09 AM IST | Ningbo (China) | AgenciesKaushik Vartak stunned second seed Rajan Samant 10-15, 15-6, 15-12 to enter the semi-finals of the men’s singles 45-plus, in the GD Birla Memorial Masters inter-club badminton tournament at Bombay Gymkhana on Sunday. Vartak will face Vikrat Karankar, while top seed Sachin Bharati will meet Dhirendra Maurya. In women’s singles 45-plus semis, top seed Priya Ambekar and second seed Namita Mehta-Vijayakar will face Pooja Jhalani and Ajita Ravindran respectively.
13 April,2026 09:50 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentChampions Training Centre (CTC) Red beat Republicans 2-1 in a fast-paced men’s elite league match of the 45th Willingdon Catholic Gymhana rink hockey tournament at the their floodlit tennis courts in Santacruz recently. Akash Rai and Raj Patil scored a goal each for CTC while Shreekishan Chaurasiya pulled one back for Republicans. In another thrilling encounter, CTC White and Mumbai Port Authority played out a 7-7 draw. Former India striker Yuvraj Walmiki scored four goals while Manpreet Singh, Nizam and Akshay Avhad added one each for CTC. For MPA, Steven Swamy and Laxmikant Kawale scored hat-tricks while Atharva Kamble added one more.
13 April,2026 09:48 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentSujeet Kalkal and Abhimanyou Mandwal registered contrasting victories in their respective men’s freestyle final bouts to help India clinch two gold medals on the penultimate day of the Asian Wrestling Championships here on Saturday. Sujeet totally dominated the men’s 65kg freestyle final against Umidjon Jalolov of Uzbekistan to register an 8-1 win. A few minutes later, Abhimanyou made it a double celebration for the Indian camp as he fought back from 0-2 deficit to beat Tulga Tumur Ochir of Mongolia 5-3 in the men’s 70kg freestyle summit 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
12 April,2026 09:27 AM IST | Bishkek | PTIADVERTISEMENT
