India’s Ayush Shetty stunned world No. 7 Lin Shi Feng of China in straight games to enter the second round of the men’s singles competition at the Badminton Asia Championships here on Wednesday. World No. 25 Ayush, who had won the US Open Super 300 title last year, registered a 21-13, 21-16 victory in 51 minutes. Lin raced to a 4-1 lead early on, but Ayush clawed back to level at 7-7 before gradually taking control to pocket the opening game. After the change of sides, the Chinese again moved ahead 4-1 and extended it to 12-9, but Ayush turned the tide with a six-point burst to surge to 18-13.Lin closed the gap to 16-18, but the Indian held his nerve to shut the door on his fancied opponent. PV Sindhu defeated Malaysia’s Wong Ling Ching in women’s singles 15-21, 21-11, 21-19 in 1 hour and 7 minutes. She will next face World No. 2 Wang Zhi Yi of China in the pre-quarterfinals both having 3-3 win-loss in past meetups. In men’s singles, HS Prannoy beat Nguyen Hai Dang of Vietnam 24-22, 21-12 in 47 minutes. He will meet Hong Yang of China in the pre-quarterfinals after the latter received a walkover in the opening round. Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Malvika Bansod and Tanvi Sharma exited in the opening 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
09 April,2026 10:24 AM IST | Ningbo (China) | PTIReigning F1 world champion Lando Norris was spotted in the stands of Lisbon’s Jose Alvalade Stadium alongside his ex-girlfriend Magui Corceiro, watching Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night. Lando Norris (right) and model Magui Corceiro (left) at the Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon Champions League match in Lisbon on Tuesday. Pic/AFP Norris, 26, and the Portuguese model had separated for the second time in February with the F1 star even telling his fellow driver Carlos Sainz later that he was single.However, seeing the couple together again at the UCL tie, has led fans to believe that their love story has found a new spark, according to British tabloid The Sun. Reacting on social media, one fan wrote: “Lando Norris and Magui Corceiro together? The McLaren pact is alive.”Another user commented: “Ohhh they’re gonna be mad, love it.” Norris is currently enjoying a five-week break from F1 as the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia races are cancelled due to the Middle East conflict.
09 April,2026 10:13 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentYoung debutant Vaishnavi Adkar and Sahaja Yamalapalli notched up convincing wins as India bounced back in style, blanking New Zealand 3-0 in their second Asia/Oceania Group I tie of the Billie Jean King Cup here on Wednesday. Vaishnavi and Sahaja had endured contrasting defeats as India went down 1-2 to Thailand in their rain-hit opener. However, the hosts scripted a swift turnaround, with both players showing composure under pressure in their respective singles matches against New Zealand, who are without their star player Lulu Sun. Entrusted with the responsibility again, Vaishnavi showed marked improvement, executing her shots with far greater control to outplay Aishi Das 6-2 6-4 in one hour and 30 minutes. Sahaja then outclassed Valentina Ivanov 6-1 6-3 in the second singles to keep their campaign alive. In the doubles, Rutuja Bhosale and Ankita Raina recorded a 6-4 6-2 win over the combination of world No. 11 Erin Routliffe and world no. 338 Monique Barry to complete the drubbing. Vaishnavi vs Das Vaishnavi capitalised on Das' inconsistency to take control of the opening set. Despite trailing 15-40 early on serve, the Indian earned the first break as Das squandered a 40-15 lead with a string of errors. She then held through a tight deuce battle to move 2-0 ahead. Vaishnavi showed resilience under pressure in the third game, saving two break points, and maintained her advantage as both players held their serve to 3-1. The Indian struck again in the fifth game, converting her second break point to extend the lead. Although Das broke back, Vaishnavi responded immediately with another break and comfortably served out the set 6-2, finishing with an ace. In the second set, Vaishnavi stayed composed despite Das' improved start. After levelling at 1-1, she broke in the third game and consolidated for a 3-1 lead, dictating play with a mix of aggressive baseline shots and controlled serving. Das mounted a late challenge, breaking back to level at 4-4 after Vaishnavi gave away a 40-0 lead. However, she quickly regained control, breaking again in the ninth game as Das faltered with consecutive errors. Serving for the match, Vaishnavi held her nerve in a tense finish, closing it out after forcing another mistake from Das to seal the win. "It was my first match as a player in the Billie Jean King Cup, so I was definitely very nervous. I did not handle my nerves well. But that was a lesson learned for me," Vaishnavi told reporters. "Coming on court today, I had to focus on what I do best. And all I had to do was go to court and give my best." Sahaja vs Valentina In yet another heavy baseline slugfest, Sahaja played some superb forehand drives and looked in good touch as she took the court again for the second time on Wednesday. She broke her opponent in the first game itself after converting two break points. The Indian was then broken by Valentina but she broke back again in the third game to go 2-1 up. Sahaja controlled the rally and with great anticipation eventually took the opening set 6-1. Sahaja took the momentum to the next set. She stayed in the rally and waited for her opponent to make mistakes. The Indian broke Valentina in the second game and then held her own to go 3-1. If the fifth game, a cross court winner helped Sahaja move to 4-1, Valentina too held her serve as it was 4-2. In the seventh game, Valentina looked solid from the baseline and broke Sahaja after forcing her into error, grabbing two break points. She sealed it when Sahaja hit the net. In the next game, the Indian converted her fourth breakpoint to lead 5-3. Serving for the match, Sahaja prevailed in another baseline duel. A superb drop earned her match point and she sealed it when Valentina went long. "I'm happy with the win. It was a tough match (against Thailand) to swallow. We expected a different result, we did what we could, we fought our heart out," Sahaja said. "I wasn't happy with the startegies I executed (in first match) so I told myself to do that better to close out the matches. We need to fight for every point, support each other and see where it takes us." Earlier in the day, Bhosale and Raina beat Thasaporn Naklo and Peangtarn Plipuech 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 11 minutes in the doubles after Sahaja's narrow defeat in the second singles as India went down against Thailand. A lot was riding on world No. 384 Sahaja as she resumed the match after it was halted due to rain on Tuesday evening. However, the 25-year-old could not keep India in the hunt, losing 4-6 6-1 4-6 to Patcharin, ranked 449, in a match that lasted two hours and 25 minutes.Resuming at 3-4 in the decider, Sahaja sent a forehand wide as Patcharin held serve to move 5-3 ahead. The Indian then held her serve after a Patcharin backhand slice found the net, narrowing the gap to 4-5. With the match on knife's edge, Sahaja produced some exceptional groundstrokes, dominating baseline exchanges. She even earned a break point when the Thai hit long. However, she faltered at the crucial juncture, sending a forehand and a backhand long to hand the advantage back. A miscued return on the next point ended her resistance. On Tuesday, debutant Vaishnavi Adkar had cracked under pressure, committing a flurry of unforced errors in a 1-6 3-6 loss to Aunchisa Chanta. 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
09 April,2026 10:02 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIIndia’s Greco-Roman wrestler Nitesh Kumar clinched silver at the Asian Wrestling Championship on Wednesday, while compatriots Sachin Sahrawat and Prince bagged bronze medals on Day Three of the tournament here. Battling in the 97 kg category, Nitesh suffered a 1-7 loss to Iran’s Mohammadhadi Saravi in the summit clash. Meanwhile, Sachin won a tight bout against Uzbekistan’s Abdumalik Aminov 6-5 in the 67 kg bronze-medal match. Earlier in the day, Prince defeated Turkmenistan’s Didar Amannazarov 10-1 in the 82 kg bronze-medal match. 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
09 April,2026 09:51 AM IST | Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) | AgenciesIndian shooters endured a disappointing outing in the men's 10m air pistol event at the ISSF Pistol/Rifle World Cup here on Wednesday, with all three participants failing to qualify for the finals, just a day after clinching the mixed team gold with a world-record performance. Young Mukesh Nelavalli, who had shattered the world record en route to winning gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on the opening day on Tuesday, finished 14th with an aggregate score of 579, missing out on the eight-shooter final by a considerable margin. On a day when even world No. 1 Hu Kai of China struggled -- finishing 15th with a score of 578M -- Mukesh was undone by two subpar series of 94 and 95 in the opening and closing rounds. In between, he posted solid scores of 98, 98, 97, and 97 in the six-series qualification stage. Paris Olympics gold medallist Yu Xie delivered a superb performance, shooting 588 to top the qualifying round and advance to the finals in first place, with series scores of 98, 99, 97, 98, 99, and 97. Ujjawal Malik, the 10m air pistol mixed team gold medallist at the 2024 Cairo World Cup, finished 22nd with a total of 577 (95, 96, 96, 97, 95, 98). Meanwhile, the third Indian, Pramod -- competing as a senior for the first time in an international event -- shot 574 to be places 39th in a field of 86 shooters. In the women's 25m pistol event, Olympian Rhythm Sangwan shot 292 (99, 96, 97) in the precision round to be placed sixth after the opening day, while Divya T also impressed with a 291 (96, 98, 97) to secure eighth place. The third Indian, Simranpreet Kaur Brar shot 282 (93, 94, 95) to be placed 45th. Paris Olympics silver medallist Camille Jedrzejewski of France led the field after the opening day with a score of 294. The second stage of the competition -- the rapid round -- will be held on Thursday, with the top-eight shooters advancing to the medal 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
09 April,2026 09:50 AM IST | Granada (Spain) | PTIIndian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa almost went out of contention for a top place finish after a loss against Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the eighth round of the Candidates chess tournament here on Tuesday. On a day when Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov just decided to consolidate his lead and drew with tailender Andrey Esipenko of Russia, Praggnanandhaa, who had scored his sole victory over Giri in the first round, fell prey to some simple tactics from a seemingly equal position and lost his second game in the tournament. Sindarov took his tally to 6.5 points out of a possible eight and looks like headed for a victory as his lead now stands at a massive two points with six rounds remaining in the USD 700000 prize money tournament that will also select the next challenger for reigning world champion D Gukesh in the world championship match later this year. Sindarov is now followed by Giri and Fabiano Caruana of United States who both are two points behind and need a miracle to catch up with the leader. Praggnanandhaa, Wei Yi of China, Matthias BLuebaum of Germany and Hikaru Nakamura of the USA share the fourth spot on 3.5 points each, a full point clear of last placed Esipenko. It was a hard day at work for Praggnanandhaa who started off with the Vienna variation with the black pieces. After initial opening discussions, Giri enjoyed a small advantage that the Indian was able to neutralize as the game progressed. However, it was on the 35th move that Praggnanandhaa made an error, allowing Giri to unleash a sequence of moves that proved dangerous. Another mistake three moves later and it was curtains for the Indian. In another game, Matthias Bluebaum played out a draw with Wei Yi of China and the result inched them both up to 3.5 points apiece. In the big game of the day, Nakamura finally proved his mettle and scored a huge victory over American compatriot Fabiano Caruana. In the women's section, R Vaishali ensured that she remained within striking distance of the leader and drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan. While the other games were still in progress in this section, it seemed like Zhu Jiner was poised to give a knockout blow to Chinese compatriot Zhong Tan, Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine is likely to protect her half point lead on 5 points as she was headed to a draw with Divya Deshmukh while Kateryna Lagno defeated fellow Russian Aleksandra Goryachkina to match Vaishali on 4.5 points. Results round 8: Anish Giri (Ned, 4.5) beat R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3.5); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 3.5) beat Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 4.5); Andrey Esipenko (Rus, 2.5) drew with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 6.5); Wei Yi (Chn, 3.5) drew with Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 3.5). Women: Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 4.5) playing Divya Deshmukh (3.5); Kateryna Lagno (Rus, 4.5) beat Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus, 3); Bibisara Assuabayeva (Kaz, 3.5) drew with R Vaishali (Ind, 4.5); Zhongyi Tan (Chn, 2.5) playing Jiner Zhu (Chn, 3). 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
08 April,2026 01:26 PM IST | Paphos (Cyprus) | PTIUS tennis legend Serena Williams, 44, revealed her motherhood mantra on Instagram, highlighting how important it is for her to be around her kids Olympia (eight) and Adire (two), all the time. Serena posted pictures of a well spent Easter weekend with the little ones and her husband Alexis Ohanian. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) “I don’t share these moments often, but being their mom is my favourite place to be. I’m with them 363 out of 365 days a year — and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This weekend was everything,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion captioned the post.
08 April,2026 10:21 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentFormer boxing heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury has opened up on the intimate details of his relationship with wife Paris, claiming he has sex with her “four to five times a week.” In the second series of Fury’s reality show, At Home with the Fury’s, the 37-year-old revealed: “My love life’s thriving, I’m having sex four or five times a week. Paris is my ride-or-die chick. The woman has been my wife for nearly 20 years.” Fury said he plans to have three more children, rounding up the total number of his offspring to 10. “We might have another child... No. 8. Just to see if I’ve still got it. But I want 10,” said Fury, who is a father to Venezuela (16), Prince (13), Tyson II (eight), Valencia (six), Adonis (five), Athena (four), and Rico (two).
08 April,2026 10:15 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentFormer Indian badminton star Jwala Gutta, 42, relishes peaceful mornings nowadays, saying her perspective on life has changed as she has gotten older. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal-winner Instagrammed a photograph of herself sipping on a cup of coffee in her pyjamas as she stared out of her home window, and captioned the post: “As you get older, your idea of happiness gets quieter. It’s not constant excitement or chasing highs. It’s calm, slow mornings with a nice cup of coffee. You stop craving chaos and start protecting your peace.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jwala Gutta (@jwalagutta1)
08 April,2026 10:10 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentIndia's leading mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced to the second round, but the duo of Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani crashed out of the Badminton Asia Championships 2026, which got underway here on Tuesday. Kapila and Crasto won 21-14, 11-21, 21-15 over Thailand's Phuwanat Horbanluekit and Benyapa Aimsaard. However, Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani went down fighting against Malaysia's eighth seeds Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie 13-21 19-21 in a 34-minute contest at the Ningbo Olympic Centre. The Indian duo of Kapoor and Shivani struggled to find rhythm early on, conceding the first game comfortably, but showed signs of resistance in the second before the experienced Malaysian combination shut the door in straight games. In another match, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh also failed to cross the opening hurdle, losing 16-21 15-21 to Malaysia's Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien in 31 minutes. The Indian pair fought hard but were unable to sustain pressure at crucial junctures against their steady opponents. The focus will shift to singles competition on Wednesday with India's top stars set to begin their campaigns. Lakshya Sen, fresh from a runner-up finish at the All England Championships, will spearhead the men's singles challenge. The country's top-ranked shuttler faces a tricky opening match against Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, against whom the Indian has a 2-3 head-to-head record. In the women's singles, double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu returns to action after a disrupted European leg and will open her campaign against Malaysia's Wong Ling Ching. Apart from Sen and Sindhu, India will also have Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Ayush Shetty in men's singles, while Tanvi Sharma, Unnati Hooda and Malvika Bansod will feature in the women's draw, with all of them slated to begin their campaigns on Wednesday. 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
08 April,2026 10:09 AM IST | Ningbo (China) | PTIIndia's Vaishnavi Adkar faltered under the weight of unforced errors, slumping to a shock straight-set defeat against Aunchisa Chanta as the hosts trailed 0-1 against Thailand in their opening Asia/Oceania Group I tie of the Billie Jean King Cup here on Tuesday. Ranked 73 places above her opponent at 383, Vaishnavi went down 1-6, 3-6 in one hour and 13 minutes at the DLTA Centre Court after play was delayed by more than three hours due to persistent drizzle which caused unusually cool conditions. The onus is now on Sahaja Yamlapalli (384), who takes on Patcharin Cheapchandej (449) in the second singles to keep India in the contest. Vaishnavi endured a shaky start, dropping serve in the opening game amid a flurry of errors. She battled through a marathon third game, saving three break points and stretching it across seven deuces, but eventually succumbed to a down-the-line backhand winner as she fell 0-3 behind. Aunchisa, a left-hander with a rare double-handed forehand and a penetrating backhand, dictated play from the baseline to race to a 4-0 lead. Vaishnavi briefly steadied to get on the board in the fifth game, but the momentum firmly remained with the Thai player. Under sustained pressure, Vaishnavi soon faced two set points and surrendered the opener in just 23 minutes, sending a forehand long before pushing a backhand wide. She began the second set on a brighter note with an early break, only to hand the advantage straight back with another loose service game. Errors continued to flow, including a love hold conceded in the fourth game, as double faults mounted and groundstrokes repeatedly sailed long, allowing Aunchisa to get a grip over the mach. The home player raised hopes of a comeback when she managed to break Aunchisa in the seventh game, staying close at 3-4. Aunchisa saved two break points while serving for the match which ended when Vaishnavi netted a backhand. 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
08 April,2026 10:07 AM IST | New Delhi | PTIADVERTISEMENT
