Matharu  in lead

 Gurgaon: Kiran Matharu shot a bogey-free round of five-under 67, firing five birdies, to grab the early lead in the eighth leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour, here on Wednesday. Smriti Mehra was behind her by two strokes. Kiran turned up the heat in the latter half, firing five birdies.

Indians advance

 Basel: Kidambi Srikanth, Anand Pawar and B Sai Praneeth entered the third round of the $120,000 Swiss Grand Prix Gold badminton championships, here on Wednesday. 
Srikanth defeated Germany’s Dieter Domke 21-10, 21-14 while Anand Pawar and Sai Praneeth beat Malaysia’s Daren Liew (13-21, 22-20, 21-16) and Beryno Jiann Tze Wong (21-11, 21-13) respectively.

Mohana shines

Jaipur: Mohana Sundaran of Railways bagged the gold in 56kg men’s category, while Andhra Pradesh’s B Usha won the yellow metal in 48kg women’s section in the Senior National Weightlifting Championships, which started at the Cambay Golf Resorts here on Wednesday.

New contract

Berlin: Schalke 04 have signed Serbian defender Matija Nastasic on a long-term contract until 2019, making permanent his loan move from Manchester City, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday. “I am proud and happy to remain a Schalke player,” the 21-year-old said in a club statement.

Asia Trophy

 Singapore: Arsenal, Everton and Stoke City have all agreed to play in this year’s Asia Trophy in Singapore, in preparation for the 2015-16 season. The teams will be joined by a Singapore Select XI, for the mid-July meet.

Andy move

 London: Jonas Bjorkman was "super excited" on Wednesday after being handed a trial as part of Andy Murray's coaching set-up. Murray is keen to add some depth to his support crew as his coach Amelie Mauresmo has other commitments, including being captain of France's Fed Cup team.
"I'm super excited and I'm really looking forward to join Murray," he said.

Quarters venue

 Sydney: Australia have decided to play July’s Davis Cup quarter final against Kazakhstan on grass in Darwin, Tennis Australia said on Wednesday. A purpose built grass stadium court and two practice courts will be built for the July 17-19 tie. 

Still waiting

Karachi: Mohammed Aamer’s comeback fwas postponed on Wednesday, when heavy rain washed out the domestic match he was due to play in. Aamer was to play for Omar Associates against the Army outfit in a non-first class tournament in Rawalpindi but the three-day match was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. 
Agencies