Shiva & Sumit settle for silver
Tashkent: Fourth seed Shiva Thapa (60kg) became the first Indian boxer to clinch three consecutive Asian Championships medals, while Sumit Sangwan (91kg) notched up his maiden podium finish as both settled for silver medals at the continental showpiece here on Saturday. Shiva, up against second seed and local favourite Elnur Abduraimov, lost in a split verdict after a head-butt from his opponent resulted in a cut above his right eye. Sumit lost to Kazakhstan’s top-seeded Vassiliy Levit in a unanimous verdict.
Bronze for India
Ipoh: Rupinderpal Singh converted two penalty corners as India outclassed New Zealand 4-0 to clinch a bronze medal in the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, here, on Saturday. Rupinderpal sent identical ground drag-flicks into the corner past New Zealand goalkeeper Richard Joyce’s outstretched right hand in the 17th and 27th minutes. SV Sunil then scored his first goal of the tournament in the 48th minute, while Talwinder Singh rounded off India’s scoring in the last minute.
Asian wrestling
New Delhi: Olympic bronze-medallist Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Poonia will be spearheading the Indian challenge at the Asian Wrestling Championship scheduled to be held here from May 10-14. India will field a 24-strong team for the championship.. After skipping three trials due to various reasons, Sakshi (58kg) and her husband Satyawart Kadian (120kg) won their respective trials in Lucknow. Sakshi beat Manju 10-0 in a technical knock out, while Satyawart got a walkover after opponent Mausam Khatri skipped the event due to his marriage.
Lauding Aizawl FC
Calcutta: Fifa president Gianni Infantino has congratulated Aizawl FC for winning the I-League title. In a letter to All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel, Infantino said: “It gives me great pleasure to send my warmest congratulations to Aizawl FC for their first ever league title. This title is the result of the determination of everyone involved,” Infantino wrote.
Barca whip Villarreal
Barcelona: Barcelona’s formidable front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all scored as the champions beat Villarreal 4-1 on Saturday to stay top of La Liga. Barca top the standings with 84 points after 36 games.
Narrow miss
Monza: Eliud Kipchoge ran the quickest recorded marathon on Saturday, crossing the line at the Monza Formula One track in two hours and 25 seconds but missed out on an ambitious attempt to break the two-hour barrier. The 32-year-old’s time smashed the official mark of 2:02:57 set by fellow Kenyan Dennis Kimetto in Berlin in 2014.
PCB demand
New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has demanded a compensation close to Rs 450 crore from the BCCI for not honouring the MoU to play six bilateral series between 2014 and 2023. The BCCI is to respond within seven days of receipt of notice, sent on May 3.
