Browsing: Sport

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced that the National Selection Trials 3 and 4 in Rifle and Pistol events for Group ‘A’ shooters will be held from June 24 to 30 at the Trishul Shooting Range at the Maharana Pratap Sports College in Dehradun.These trials will help in shaping the Indian team for the 16th Asian Shooting Championships 2025 in Kazakhstan in August and ISSF World Cup in China and Egypt later in the year.The country’s elite rifle and pistol shooters come into this selection phase following an encouraging run in the double-legged South American ISSF World Cup tour, which marked the beginning of the new international calendar. Across both legs in Argentina and Peru, Indian shooters reached 32 finals, including mixed-team medal rounds, and brought home a total of 15 medals, six of them gold.As per the selection Criteria, only eligible shooters in Group “A” will be allowed to participate. The National Selection Trials 3 & 4 will cover all Olympic Rifle and Pistol events and will be limited to a select group of top-ranked shooters. This includes 50 slots each for 10m Air Rifle (Men & Women) and 10m Air Pistol (Men & Women), 30 slots each for 50m Rifle 3 Positions (Men & Women), 20 slots for 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (Men), and 30 slots for 25m Sport Pistol (Women).The first day of the trials, on June 25, will see the qualifying round and finals of 10 M Air Rifle Men, 25 M Pistol Women and 50 M 3-P Women of T3, which will be followed by the T4 qualifying and finals of the same events the next day.Earlier, NRAI announced a 22-member (rpt 22-member) squad for the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage for Rifle/Pistol in Munich, Germany, scheduled in the first week of June, with Paris Olympic bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale and reigning Asian Games champion Palak back in the mix.–IANSbc/bsk/

Incheon, May 13 (IANS) Diksha Dagar continues to be in the Top-10 of the Ladies European Tour’s Order of Merit, at the end of the Aramco Korea Championships.
The 24-year-old, who is now in her sixth year as a professional, has twice won on the Ladies European Tour, and multiple times on her home Tour, the Women’s Pro Golf Tour. Barring once in 2020, Diksha has always been in the Top-60 of the LET, with the best two finishes being 14th place in 2019, the year she won her maiden LET title, and third place in 2023, the year she had her second LET success.After a modest 2024, when she was 29th in the LET list, Diksha began in style with a runner-up finish, losing a play-off in the season-opener in Morocco. Of the eight events this season, one was cancelled in Australia, due to weather and Diksha has played all others.Other than the second place at Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco, Diksha was also T-11th at NSW Open in Australia, T-8 in Joburg Open and T-9 in Women’s South African Open.Pranavi Urs has also managed to keep her play at a good level. After being the top Indian in her rookie season in 2024 at T-17 with five Top-10s, she is 38th this year and right behind her rookie Avani Prashanth, who has also given a good account of herself in her first full season outside India.Other Indians on the LET have been Aditi Ashok, who plays mostly on the LPGA but makes occasional appearances on LET and Tvesa Malik. Hitaashee Bakshi, Sneha Singh and Amandeep Drall have conditional status with limited starts available to them on the Tour.The next event for the Indian women professionals will be the Dutch Ladies Open, where seven Indians will tee up as the Tour moves to Europe.–IANSbc/

Patna, May 13 (IANS) Shourya Ambure is just 15 but already knows a thing or two about the right amount of effort to exert in competition. In a reflection of her maturity in accepting coach Ajit Kulkarni’s recommendation of not stretching herself in the quest of a Khelo India Youth Games record, she did enough to win 100m Hurdles gold on Monday.At the end of what has been a long season for Shourya Ambure, she scored a facile victory in the final on the opening day of Athletics competitions in Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar. She loved returning to the Patliputra Sports Complex where she had first drawn national attention by winning the crown in the National Youth Championships in March.“At that time, my Board exams were on, and I skipped two papers to take part in the Nationals because it was a qualification event for the Asian Championship. I hadn’t done much training back then, but I believed I could do better,” she recalled of her last visit to Patna when she won gold in a time of 14.55 seconds.Between the two signposts that she marked in Patna in the span of two months, 15-year-old Shourya made the nation proud at the Asian Youth Championship in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, where she clocked a personal best time of 13.80 seconds and won a bronze medal. She did not push herself in search of another personal best on Monday.Making her Khelo India Youth Games debut, she recorded a time of 14.33 seconds in the heats. Having felt a tightening of the hamstring and got a massage before the final, she secured gold in 14.11 seconds, well clear of Sonali Das (West Bengal) and Vishnu Shree NS (Kerala).“I wanted to do better but I’m happy with my performance. I clocked a decent time tonight. I’m only 15 and have a lot of time in the U18 to break the National Youth Record,” she said referring to the 13.70-second mark set by Tamil Nadu’s PM Thabitha back in 2019. “My coach, who has been guiding me for 10 years, told me to just run and enjoy the race.”Shourya Ambure is the product of a long-term vision that coach Ajit Kulkarni and her parents Rupali and Avinash Ambure, IPS officers holding high ranks in Maharashtra Police, have shared. “I started competing in the 80m hurdles in U14 category and continued the same until under-16. I was used to running 80-meter hurdle races. This was only my fourth race in the 100m Hurdles.”“Now, my goal is to win medals at the Youth Commonwealth Games and Youth Asian Games,” Shourya Ambure said.–IANSbc/ab

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has remained tight-lipped about the participation…

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) Aavya Anan of Bihar, the youngest gymnast at the Khelo India Youth Games 2025, Bihar, decided to turn things, quite literally, upside down. Aavya’s journey in gymnastics began with this peculiar habit: the little girl loved standing on her head, legs in the air, flipping and arching with joy in her living room.It is interesting to hear the youngest Khelo India gymnast speak about finding her calling. “I didn’t know Gymnastics is a sport,” Aavya giggles. “I just liked staying upside down. My parents saw me doing arches and flips while I used to watch dance shows on television at home, and decided to introduce me to Gymnastics”Aavya’s name means the first rays of the sun, and her mother believes that her daughter will shine on the Indian gymnastics firmament someday. A class 4 student, she has been training for just 18 months at the Rising Youth Gymnastics Academy in Patna, under the watchful eyes of coach Roshan Yadav. She won two gold medals and a silver medal in the 2025 State Championships.“This is my first Khelo India Games and I’m keen on giving my best. I’m not thinking about defeating others, but I’m just focused on giving my best and not being nervous. If I don’t win a medal now, I’ll win the next time,” Aavya said with the quiet confidence of a mature athlete. She is competing in Artistic Gymnastics events here.Coach Roshan Yadav, a former gymnast, believes she’s a prodigy. “She is very talented, and her body structure is built for gymnastics. She picks things up really quickly, trains long hours with great endurance,” he said. “Despite being so young, she will give the more experienced gymnasts a run for their money.”Her determination is matched by the unwavering support of her parents, who stand out in a region where sports are often overlooked in favour of academics. “If my family hadn’t supported me, I wouldn’t be here. Many girls don’t get this chance. But my mom and dad told me, ‘Do what you like. Make your own name,” Aavya added.Roshan is himself a product of the Khelo India Scheme and has been a trainee at the SAI National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata. He has now returned to Bihar and opened a Gymnastics centre. “I wanted to raise the standard of Gymnastics in Bihar. My name is Roshan, and with Aavya, Bihar will shine brighter in Gymnastics.”At the moment, the nine-year-old is paving a path for every little girl who dares to stand on her head and look at the world differently. Aavya’s dream is simple yet powerful: “I want to be known as a Gymnastics girl! Not just in Bihar, but all over India.”–IANSbsk/

Dubai, May 13 (IANS) India’s southpaw, Smriti Mandhana, is inching closer to reclaiming the ICC Women’s ODI No.1 batter ranking — a spot she last held in 2019 — after a remarkable performance in the recently concluded tri-series involving South Africa and Sri Lanka.Mandhana, 28, was at her elegant best throughout the tri-series, amassing 264 runs in just five innings. Her consistency, stroke play, and temperament under pressure not only helped India clinch the title but also propelled her to No.2 in the latest ICC Women’s ODI Batting Rankings.She is now just 11 rating points behind the current leader and South Africa captain, Laura Wolvaardt, who managed only 86 runs in the same series.Wolvaardt, though still the top-ranked ODI batter, is under serious threat from Mandhana, whose latest push signals a possible return to the summit of 50-over cricket — a position she has been consistently circling for years without quite reclaiming since her initial reign six years ago.While Mandhana stole the headlines, several of her teammates also made notable gains in the ICC rankings update. Jemimah Rodrigues, who chipped in with valuable contributions through the series, jumped five places to 15th in the ODI batter rankings.Spinner Sneh Rana was one of the tournament’s standout performers and was rightly named Player of the Series. With 15 wickets at an average of just 14, Rana was a constant threat, especially on spin-friendly surfaces. Her efforts saw her climb four places to joint 34th on the ICC ODI Bowler Rankings, which continues to be topped by England’s Sophie Ecclestone.India’s bowling all-rounder Deepti Sharma also impressed during the series, making significant contributions with both bat and ball. Her all-round efforts helped her rise one spot to No.5 in the ODI All-Rounder Rankings.The tri-series wasn’t just fruitful for Indian players. Sri Lanka’s captain Chamari Athapaththu, ever the pillar of her team’s batting, also made positive strides. With 139 runs across the series, Athapaththu moved up two places to joint-seventh in the ODI batter rankings.South Africa’s Chloe Tryon had an eventful campaign as well, making improvements across all fronts. She moved up nine spots to 18th in the ODI batter rankings. Additionally, she climbed three positions to 11th in the all-rounder rankings.Her teammate, seam-bowling all-rounder Nadine de Klerk, also enjoyed a fruitful series, moving up to 24th among ODI bowlers and climbing four spots to 12th in the all-rounder list.–IANDhs/bsk/

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) South Africa have announced a formidable 15-member squad for their historic first appearance in the…

London, May 13 (IANS) To mark the 75th anniversary of this historic occasion, Formula 1 has released restored and colourised footage of the first race as a moment in history brought to life. On May 13, 1950, the cars raced off the line to start the very first Formula 1 World Championship at Silverstone, UK. The event, part of a seven-race series at the time, set in motion 75 years of excitement, drama and innovation, which have led to the global sporting phenomenon.A team of experts at Formula 1 have expertly brought the race footage and a historic news reel to life, showing the victory by Italy’s Giuseppe “Nino” Farina in the Alfa Romeo in vibrant colour and giving new perspective to the making of the first Formula 1 World Drivers Champion, which will forever stand as a milestone in world sport.Using advanced Al software, reference imagery, and manual painting techniques, the process painstakingly implants the original colours of the scene onto the moving imagery, bringing to life the people and surroundings of that day.Specific elements such as the sky, grass, cars and faces are electronically painted manually to truly bring the scene to life, using images of the cars and subjects, and F1 archive footage, to ensure accuracy.The release of the footage is part of a day of celebration from Formula 1, which also includes a 24-hour YouTube stream featuring 7 full classic races, highlights from across the decades, and the drivers and team principals from the current F1 grid reflecting on their earliest memories of the sport.Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula 1 said, “75 years ago today our sport roared to life, and we are privileged to continue the incredible legacy of the brave drivers who raced for the ultimate prize on this day in 1950. It is fantastic to see this footage brought to life in full colour, and an amazing way to mark this historic moment.””Today is a day when we can pay tribute to those who have come before us; drivers, engineers, team owners and of course, our fans, without whom we would not be in the position we are today. For 75 years we have innovated and driven the world forward, exciting our fans with feats of human endurance and speed that continue to amaze. Here is to the next 75 years and beyond for this incredible sport. Avanti Tutta!” he said.–IANSbc/ab

Beijing (China), May 13 (IANS) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President-elect Kirsty Coventry declared Asia “a central cog in the…

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic have ended their coaching partnership by mutual agreement. The announcement comes after just six months of working together. While brief, their stint included moments of promise, particularly at the Australian Open, where Djokovic reached the semifinals before an injury forced him to retire mid-match.
The two shared warm words as they parted ways. Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, expressed gratitude and affection: “Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun and support over the last six months on and off the court — really enjoyed deepening our friendship together,” Djokovic said in a statement.Murray, 37, who had made his first foray into coaching after decades on the court, replied with equal warmth: “Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together, and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months. I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”Though Murray had joined Djokovic’s team in November with an “indefinite” arrangement — primarily focused on the US swing and some clay-court events — their union ultimately spanned just four tournaments. Despite a promising start in Melbourne, where Murray’s tactical input was praised, Djokovic’s 2024 season has so far been riddled with inconsistency.He has exited in the opening round of four of his past five events, including a shock defeat in Monte Carlo and a missed appearance at the Italian Open without explanation. The one bright spot came in Miami, where Djokovic reached the final without dropping a set, only to lose to 19-year-old Jakub Mensik in two closely contested tie-breaks.Murray was in the stands throughout that Miami run, a quiet but focused presence. Yet, even then, the signs were that their experiment, however enjoyable, was not destined to be long-term.In Geneva next week, Djokovic will look to turn his clay-court fortunes around, having accepted a wildcard into the ATP 250 event as preparation for the looming French Open. He remains without a win on clay this year, and questions are swirling about his fitness and form heading into Roland Garros.”I’m very pleasantly surprised with his dedication and professionalism, considering he’s never had the experience of working as a tennis coach,” Djokovic said in Melbourne. “It comes naturally to him. His IQ, generally, and tennis IQ are very high. He observes and speaks when it’s most important.”He added that their conversations had taken on a different tone — more introspective, more personal — than anything they’d shared as competitors. “I must say at the beginning it was a bit of a strange feeling to share insights with him, not just about the game, but about how I feel, about life in general. Not in a negative way, but just in a way I had never done that with him because he was always one of my greatest rivals.”For Murray also the experience was deeply humbling. He admitted to feeling “embarrassed” by the attention he received during the Australian Open, deflecting credit to Djokovic’s long-serving team: “They’ve done an incredible job over many, many years. I was just trying to help where I could.”–IANShs/bsk/