Indian men archers win gold
The Indian men's compound team defeated Colombia to clinch the gold medal on the penultimate day of the archery World Cup stage 1 championship in Shanghai. The team of Abhishek Verma, Chinna Raju Srither and Amanjeet Singh won the medal defeating Colombia 226-221 in a closely-fought summit showdown. Earlier, the Indian compound men's archery team advanced to the final after getting the better of Americans Reo Wilde, Steve Anderson and Braden Gellenthien 232-230 in a last-four clash. In the final, the Indians grabbed a slender lead in the opening set by clinching it 58-57 and built on it in the next three to emerge triumphant. The Colombians managed to tie the third set 52-52. In the mixed pair event, Abhishek Verma with Jyothi Surekha Vennam had earlier made it to the bronze medal play-off. Verma and Jyothi will take on the US. The duo lost to second-seeded South Korean in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Indian recurve archers, including Olympians Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari, were knocked out of their respective events.
Pune stand between Mumbai and third IPL title
Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians will be wary of the challenge posed by Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) when the two Maharashtra cities lock horns in what promises to be a pulsating final of the 10th edition of the cash-rich cricket league in Hyderabad on Sunday. On paper, Pune have the upper hand, considering that the Steve Smith-led side defeated Mumbai thrice in this season, including a comprehensive 20-run win in the crucial first qualifier earlier this week. But Mumbai, having reached the IPL final on three earlier occasions, can clearly take a cue from their past 2013 and 2015 performances at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Going into the final, Mumbai will have their tails up after their comprehensive six-wicket win against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the second qualifier in Bengaluru on Friday. Mumbai chased down a paltry 108 with 33 balls to spare after leg-spinner Karn Sharma (4/16) and pacer Jasprit Bumrah (3/7) decimated the strong KKR batting line-up.
Kiwis complete 5-0 whitewash against Indian eves
The New Zealand women's hockey team hammered India 6-2 in the final match of the series to complete a 5-0 whitewash in Hamilton. The Black Sticks were untroubled from the start with Olivia Merry converting a splendid field goal in the fourth minute of the first quarter. She starred in the first 15 minutes coming up with another field goal in the 15th minute to give her team a strong start with a 2-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Deep Grace Ekka scored India's first goal off a penalty corner. New Zealand fought back with Pippa Hayward earning the third goal for the hosts in the 27th minute to take their score to 3-1 at the end of the second quarter. Skipper Rani scored off a penalty corner in the thrid quarter to narrow India's goal difference to 2-3. New Zealand overcame this scare to take a formidable 6-2 lead at the end of the third quarter with three goals scored in a span of four minutes—Natasha Fitzsimons (37'), Samantha Harrison (38') and Kirsten Pearce (40').
Rusted or defective medals returned
More than 100 medals won at the Rio Olympics have been returned to organisers because they have rusted or developed black spots on them, the games' spokesman said. At least 130 medals, mostly bronze and including some from the Paralympics, are being fixed by the Brazilian Mint who made them for last year's event, Mario Andrada said. "The most common issue is that they were dropped or mishandled and the varnish has come off and they have rusted or gone black in the spot where they were damaged," Andrada said. "The second thing is that a small few, about 10, had problems with the extreme cold." Andrada said the first problems came to light in October but called them "completely normal. "The Brazilian Mint would fix any defects and return them, he added. A total of 2,488 medals were produced for the Olympics and hundreds more for the Paralympics. The silver and bronze medals were produced using 30 per cent recycled materials.
Harikrishna holds Tomashevsky in Moscow chess meet
After a defeat in the last game, Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna bounced back to draw against Russian GM Evgeny Tomashevsky in the seventh round of the FIDE Moscow Grand Prix 2017 chess tournament at the DI Telegraph. The world No. 16 Indian, playing with white pieces got off to a good opening and it was evenly poised for much of the initial phases. But he miscalculated his 24th move which allowed the Russian to take advantage mid-way into the game but the Indian hung on and with time running out both the players decided to share the point. Harikrishna now has three points and is placed 15th on the points table. He will take on Russia GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the next round later on Saturday. With two more rounds remaining, Harikrishna is still in contention to finish in the top half of the table and amass maximum ratings points from the campaign and stay afloat in his hunt for a spot at the Candidates Tournament.
Thiem ends Nadal's unbeaten run on clay
Austria's Dominic Thiem dumped seven-times champion Rafael Nadal out of the Italian Open 6-4 6-3 to reach the semifinals, but will have to wait to find out his opponent at the Foro Italico. The Austrian will face either world number two Novak Djokovic or Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro, whose quarterfinal was suspended till Saturday after rain halted play with the Serb leading del Potro 6-1 1-2. Beaten twice by Nadal in the space of a month, in the Barcelona and Madrid Open finals, Thiem took his revenge by handing the 30-year-old Spaniard a first clay court defeat of the season in Rome. The upset, after one hour and 51 minutes, ended Nadal's 17-match unbeaten run on clay.
