No Federer at Roland Garros
Swiss legend Roger Federer has announced his absence from the French Open later this month, and has turned his attention to the grass and hard court tennis seasons. "Regrettably, I've decided not to participate in the French Open," said the 18-time Grand Slam winner in a statement on his Twitter page. "I've been working really hard, both on and off the court, during the last month but in order to try and play on the ATP World Tour for many years to come, I feel it's best to skip the clay court season this year and prepare for the grass and hard court seasons," he added. The 35-year-old Federer made an astonishing comeback from his injury early this year as he beat Rafael Nadal in full sets in the Australian Open final to clinch his 18th Grand Slam title. It was the second straight year that Federer withdrew from the French Open. He was absent last year due to knee and back injuries. Federer lifted the trophy only once, in 2009, in the French Open, which took up the least part for his total of 18 Grand Slam titles. He has been crowned seven times in Wimbledon, five times apiece in Australian Open and US Open. The French Open will begin on May 28, with the qualifiers beginning from May 22.
India seek postponement
The SAFF Championship football tournament is in hot water after India, one of the participants, requested the competition's organisers to postpone the meet by a few months due to the Indian Super League (ISL). The 12th edition of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) meet, which is played among south Asian nations including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, is scheduled to take place in Bangladesh this year from December 25. But after India, the defending champions and the most successful team of the biennial tournament, put in a request for postponement, stating their unavailability during the period, the organisers are mulling pushing the meet to May. India is also hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup from October 6-28.
Puyol honours Indian football icon
Former football World Cup champion Carlos Puyol handed over the first lot of tickets of the upcoming U-17 World Cup to the grand daughter-in-law of 1911 IFA Shield winning Mohun Bagan captain Shibdas Bhaduri. Bhaduri had led the legendary Mohun Bagan team that became the first Indian team to beat a British team in the final of a major tournament when they got the better of East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the 1911 IFA. Gouri Bhaduri, the grand daughter-in-law of Shibdas Bhaduri and the oldest surviving member of the family, received the tickets from the former Spain star. Tickets for the first FIFA event will go live at exactly 7.11 pm, paying tribute to the year in which a bunch of bare-footed Indian players from Mohun Bagan created Indian football history. The official draw for the tournament will take place on July 7.
Harikrishna settles for draw with Inarkeiv
Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna put up a spirited show to share the spoils with Russian GM Ernesto Inarkeiv in the fourth round of the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix. The World No. 16 Indian, playing with black pieces, started off on a strong note to dominate the initial stages of the game. "I surprised him with Benoni, a Fianchetto variation and after that move he was just trying to save the game," Harikrishna said after the match. However, Harikrisha could not capitalise and Ernesto dug deep and clung on to draw the game that lasted for 47 moves. At the end of the days action, Harikrishna has one and a half points so far in this campaign after drawing three and losing just one and is placed 16th on the leaderboard.
Japan's Mitsuhashi banned for life
Japanese tennis player Junn Mitsuhashi has been banned for life and fined $50,000 after being found guilty of match-fixing and betting offences, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) said. Mitsuhashi, who peaked at 295 in the singles rankings in 2009, was accused of asking Joshua Chetty, a player he had coached, to approach a competitor during an International Tennis Federation (ITF) event in South Africa in November 2015. Using Chetty as an intermediary, Mitsuhashi offered the player $2,000 to underperform in a singles match and $600 in a doubles match, the TIU said. The player rejected the offer and reported the approach to the TIU. Under the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program, money or other benefit does not have to change hands to constitute a serious corruption offence, the TIU told Reuters in an email. Chetty was banned for life last September following a separate TIU investigation.
