Sujeet 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 | PTIBadminton ace PV Sindhu happens to be a Manchester City supporter, while her husband Venkata Datta Sai is a fan of their fierce rivals Manchester United. This dynamic has led to some friendly banter between the couple on social media. Sai uploaded a video of Sindhu donning a Man City jersey, and captioned it: “I walked in to see my wife in a Man City jersey. Yuck. Dark day for this household.” Sindhu cheekily hit back at her husband by commenting: “Dark? Dark and dusty is your trophy room over the last 15 year. Let me and my team show you what winning looks like,” alluding to United’s lack of silverware recently.
12 April,2026 09:24 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentA fearless Vaishnavi Adkar rose to the occasion with an inspiring win over higher-ranked Sohyun Park, leading India to a 2-1 win over South Korea after Ankita Raina's defeat to Dayeon Back ended the hosts' hopes of making the Billie Jean King Cup World Group Play-offs, here on Saturday. Placed fourth in the standings at the start of the day, India needed a 3-0 sweep against Korea to stay in contention for a top-two finish. Captain Vishal Uppal fielded his most experienced campaigner Ankita in the opening singles, but Dayeon quelled the home challenge, handing India a setback. The 33-year-old Ankita, ranked 581, fought hard after a slow start against the 343rd-ranked Korean but eventually went down 1-6 5-7 in one hour and 55 minutes. She had not featured in singles prior to this tie, having played only doubles in the tournament. India's number one Vaishnavi then kept the contest alive, producing a gritty 7-6(2) 7-6(5) win over Park, who is ranked 107 places above her at 276. Vaishnavi had an impressive run at the W100 event recently in Bengaluru, where she beat two top-130 players and followed that up with a title win in the W35 tournament in Kalaburagi. She carried that confidence into this tie. Ankita and Rutuja Bhosale concluded India's campaign with a 6-2 6-2 win against Dayeon Back and Eunhye Lee in the tie-deciding doubles rubber. With a third-place finish, India stayed in the Asia/Oceania Group I along with fourth-placed Korea. Thailand and Indonesia qualified for the World Group Play-offs after finishing one and two respectively. New Zealand and Mongolia were relegated to Group II. India's unexpected defeat to Thailand on the opening day of the tie dented their qualification chances The two-hour-17-minute battle between Vaishnavi and Park was marked by frequent breaks of serve and high-quality rallies. Both players went for their shots, resulting in a fair share of unforced errors, but the intensity kept the contest finely poised. Vaishnavi's sharp cross-court backhands stood out, while Park impressed with her court coverage and angled forehand winners. The Indian briefly took a medical timeout in the second set for a back issue but showed no dip in intensity thereafter. The Indian earned her first match point in the 10th game of the second set after a forehand slice error from Park but failed to convert. Park held under pressure for 5-5, and then broke Vaishnavi in the 11th game to move within a game of forcing a decider. However, Vaishnavi broke back immediately to push the set into a tie-break. Trailing 0-3 in the breaker, she mounted a strong comeback and sealed the match when Park netted a return. Earlier, Ankita had multiple chances in the match but squandered them at key moments. She pounced on a feeble backhand slice return for a volley winner to earn two break points in the opening game but failed to convert either. She faced a break point in the following game when her drop shot was punished by Dayeon, but saved it after a long rally, finishing with an overhead volley winner. However, Ankita offered another break chance after netting a forehand following six deuce points, and this time the Korean capitalised, striking a forehand winner off yet another weak drop shot. Ankita's repeated use of the drop shot proved puzzling as Dayeon handled them comfortably, often finishing points with winners. After nearly 30 minutes, the Korean had surged to a commanding 3-0 lead. It soon became 4-0 when Ankita netted a forehand on a deep return and another drop-shot error handed Dayeon the point. Much to the delight of the sparse home crowd, Ankita got on the board by breaking Dayeon in the next game, but there was no shift in momentum. She dropped serve again in the seventh game to concede the opening set, yet another drop shot landing wide proving costly. Ankita significantly cut down on her unforced errors in the second set and even held serve at love, staying neck-and-neck with Dayeon till the eighth game. Growing in confidence, she urged the crowd to cheer louder after executing a stunning drop shot in the seventh game. She then had a chance to nose ahead in the eighth game when Dayeon made a string of unforced errors. Ankita squandered the first break point but earned another, which she converted after the Korean sent a return long. Ankita could not capitalise on the break and dropped her serve immediately. The final slide came when at 30-15 she could not pick up a half-volley, followed that with consecutive returns on the, allowing Dayoen to serve out the match in the next game. 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 09:21 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIIndia’s Ayush Shetty stormed into the final with a stunning three-game win over World No. 1 and defending champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, assuring himself of at least a silver medal at the Badminton Asia Championships here on Saturday. The World No. 25 Indian scripted a sensational 10-21, 21-19, 21-17 comeback win over Vitidsarn — the Paris Olympics silver medallist and 2023 world champion — in a 75-minute semi-final clash. Vitidsarn dictated play early, racing to a 11-5 lead in the opening game with a flurry of smashes and disguised returns. Vitidsarn’s ability to switch from defence to offence in a flash helped him extend his lead to 18-9. A cross-court smash earned him 10 game points, and he sealed it comfortably when Shetty went wide. Sharp start to second game In the second game, Shetty made a much sharper start, leading 11-4 through a series of full-length dives and rapid counter-attacks, while Vitidsarn began to commit unforced errors. However, the Thai ace clawed things back to 13-11 as Shetty committed a string of errors. But the Indian regained control with a backhand flick at the net that saw him grab six game points. Although Vitidsarn saved five game points, Shetty held his nerve and sealed the game with a trademark down-the-line smash. Shetty in cruise control Shetty was in complete control for most of the third game, opening up a 19-13 lead with a series of attacking strokes, including a cross-court smash and a delicate drop. Shetty stayed composed, earning four match points with another cross-court winner before sealing victory with a down-the-line smash. The 20-year-old will face second seeded Chinese Shi Yu Qi in the final. Interestingly, Dinesh Khanna is the only Indian to win the men’s singles gold at the tournament (1965). Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the doubles title in 2023. 61No. of years since the last Indian (Dinesh Khanna) reached the men’s singles final at the Badminton Asia C’ships FirstThis was Shetty’s maiden win over Vitidsarn; The Indian had lost his only other match vs the Thai at the Arctic Open (2025) 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 09:18 AM IST | Ningbo (China) | PTIIndia capped off a memorable Asian Boxing Championships campaign with Vishvanath Suresh clinching the gold medal in the men’s 50kg category here on Friday. Vishvanath defeated Japan’s Daichi Iwai by a dominant 5-0 margin in the final. Meanwhile, Sachin (60kg) added to the tally with a hard-fought silver medal. India finished second with five golds, three silvers, and eight bronze medals. Kazakhstan finished atop the table with six gold medals. 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
11 April,2026 10:55 AM IST | Ulaanbaatar | PTIIndia’s Ayush Shetty produced the biggest win of his career, stunning World No. 4 Jonatan Christie of Indonesia to enter the men’s singles semi-finals at the Badminton Asia Championships here on Friday. The World No. 25 Indian kept Christie under constant pressure to script an impressive 23-21, 21-17 victory in the quarter-final. Shetty led 5-3 early on in the first game, before Christie wrested control to lead 14-11. However, Shetty clawed things back at 18-18. The Indonesian earned two game points when Shetty hit long, but the Indian responded with a thunderous down-the-line smash and a sharp net winner to draw level and then earn a game point, which he converted. In the second game, Shetty came out aggressively to lead 17-13. A brief dip allowed the Indonesian to close in at 17-18, but another steep smash and a long return gave Shetty three match points, and he sealed it when Christie found the net. Shetty will next face top seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand.
11 April,2026 10:50 AM IST | Ningbo | PTIIn the Badminton Asia Championships, India's star shuttler Ayush Shetty secured a dominating victory against Jonathan Christie of Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the tournament on Friday. The Indian, who is ranked 25th, defeated Christie by 23-21, 21-17 in the fierce face-off. With this, Shetty has sealed the semi-final berth in the men's singles category. This was also the first meeting between Christie and Shetty in the ongoing event. The Indonesian had clinched a gold medal in the Asian Games and Asian Championships, and was also part of the national team that managed to win the Thomas Cup in 2020. Earlier, the 20-year-old Shetty, who is the reigning US Open Super 300 champion, defeated the 20th-ranked Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen in the round of 16 on Thursday. He defeated Yu Jen by 21-16, 21-12. On the other hand, India's badminton star PV Sindhu was eliminated from the women's event. She suffered a defeat by 18-21, 8-21 against second seed Wang Zhiyi of China in a 46-minute last-16 stage match. HS Prannoy, too, had a rough outing in the event. Making his appearance after recovering from a shoulder injury, he failed to secure a victory as he lost by 12-21, 19-21 against China's Weng Hong Yang. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out after a 13-21, 14-21 defeat to fourth-seeded Malaysians Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei. Unnati Hooda lost to World No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan 17-21, 9-21 in women's singles, while the women's doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra went down 10-21, 13-21 to the Japanese duo of Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. Badminton Asia Championship: Ayush Shetty's quarterfinals summary Relying on his height, Shetty kept producing steep smashes and took control of the game. The opening game was closely fought early on, with the scores level at 4-4 before Chi moved ahead 10-6. Later, the Indian fought his way back after the break, drawing level at 12-12 and then taking control as Chi struggled with his length, committing a series of unforced errors. He then moved to 18-14 and closed the first game. In the second game, Shetty took a lead of 4-0 before the opponent tried to make a comeback. Riding on his dominating smashes, the 20-year-old shuttler surged to 11-7 till the interval. Using aggressive returns and sharp net play to move to 16-9, he soon wrapped up the match, sealing it with a sharp backhand at the net. (With PTI Inputs)
10 April,2026 03:18 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe unstoppable Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan made another stride towards the title as he beat India's R Praggnanandhaa to stretch his lead to a massive two points after the end of the tenth round of Candidates chess tournament here on Thursday. Sindarov took his tally to eight points following his sixth victory in the tournament and second over the Indian. Anish Giri of the Netherlands is the lone player closest to Sindarov on six points. Praggnanandhaa is out of contention completely as he remained on four points following his third loss in the tournament. In other games of the day, Fabiano Caruana of United States was held to a draw by Wei Yi of China, American Nakamura drew with Giri while Andrey Espenko of Russia played out a draw with Matthias Bluebaum. R Vaishali, the elder sister of Praggnanandhaa, meanwhile, continued with her good form and drew with Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine to emerge as the sole leader in the women's Candidates on six points. The Indian is now followed by Muzychuk and Jiner Zhu of China who both have 5.5 points apiece. Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan defeated Jiner Zhu and moved to five points along side Russians Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina. The last four rounds will decide the fate of the winner and it looks like an exciting finish is on cards in the women's section. Sindarov yet again showcased his deep opening preparation and caught Praggnanandhaa in a deeply worked on position. The Uzbek sacrificed a piece early and huge complications were on the board when Praggnanandhaa erred and lost his queen for two rooks and a handful of white pawns. Sindarov's technique was spot on thereafter. Vaishali was in solid self and did not face any problems in equalizing against Muzychuk while Divya Deshmukh misplayed an endgame to go down against Goryachkina. Results Round 10: Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 8) beat R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 4); Andrey Esipenko (Rus, 3.5) drew with Matthias Bluebaum Ger (4.5); Wei Yi (Chn, 4.5) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 5; Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 4.5) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 6). Women: Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 5.5) drew with R Vaishali (Ind, 6); Bibisaraa Assaubayeva (Kaz, 5) beat Jiner Zhu (Chn, 5.5); Kateryna Lagno (Rus, 5) drew wirh Zhongyi Tan (Chn, 3.5) Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 4.5) lost to Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus, 5).
10 April,2026 12:48 PM IST | Paphos (Cyprus) | PTIIndia succumbed to a disappointing 0-3 loss to Indonesia in their third match of the Asia/Oceania Group I tie of the Billie Jean King Cup here on Thursday. The 21-year-old Vaishnavi Adkar, ranked 391 in the world, played her heart out but couldn’t get past Priska Madelyn Nugroho, ranked 419, going down 7-6 (3) 6-7 (3) 3-6 in the first singles in three hours and six minutes at the DLTA stadium. Meanwhile, it was always going to be a difficult task for Sahaja Yamalapalli to beat Janice Tjen as she went down 2-6, 1-6 in the second singles contest. In the doubles match, Rutuja Bhosle and Ankita Raina went down 3-6, 6-7 (4-7) to Aldila Sutjiadi and Tjen. 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
10 April,2026 10:47 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIYoung Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty entered the men's singles quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championships with an impressive straight-game win but the seasoned PV Sindhu was eliminated from the women's event here on Thursday. World number 25 Ayush, who is also the reigning US Open Super 300 champion, registered a 21-16 21-12 victory over his world number 20 rival, Chinese Taipei's Chi Yu Jen, in a commanding display. He will next face third seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia. However, it was a disappointing day for the rest of the Indian contingent. Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu went down 18-21 8-21 to second seed Wang Zhiyi of China in a 46-minute last-16 stage match. HS Prannoy, returning after a shoulder injury, fought hard but lost 12-21 19-21 to China's Weng Hong Yang. In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto bowed out after a 13-21 14-21 defeat to fourth-seeded Malaysians Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei. Unnati Hooda lost to World No. 9 Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan 17-21 9-21 in women's singles while the women's doubles pair of Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra went down 10-21 13-21 to the Japanese duo of Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto. Ayush relied on his height to unleash steep smashes and maintained tight control at the net to dominate proceedings. The opening game was closely fought early on, with the scores level at 4-4 before Chi moved ahead 10-6. Ayush clawed his way back after the break, drawing level at 12-12 and then taking control as Chi struggled with his length, committing a series of unforced errors. The Indian surged to 18-14 and closed out the game comfortably. In the second game, Ayush raced to a 4-0 lead before Chi briefly caught up. Regaining rhythm, the Indian led 11-7 at the interval and never looked back, using aggressive returns and sharp net play to move to 16-9. He soon wrapped up the match, sealing it with a sharp backhand at the net. 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
10 April,2026 10:24 AM IST | Ningbo (China) | PTITwo-time Olympic medal-winning pistol shooter Manu Bhaker went incognito on the streets of Jaipur recently to enjoy some coconut water to beat the heat. Bhaker, 24, Instagrammed this picture to her 1.5 million online followers as she stepped out in Rajasthan’s famous Pink City, wearing a mask and sunglasses, making her almost unrecognisable, as she calmly sipped on some naariyal paani, The post received over one lakh ‘likes.’ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manu Bhaker (@bhakermanu)
10 April,2026 10:18 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentADVERTISEMENT
