AT A GLANCE

Daily roundup: No Pak players in PKL, triumph for Real, and more

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Red flag for Pakistani players

The Union government made it clear that it will not allow Pakistani players to compete in the Pro Kabaddi League, slated for next month, unless the neighbouring country stops "sponsoring terrorism". The fifth season of the league will begin on June 25 with a clash between Puneri Paltans and Telugu Titans in Pune. Reports have suggested that Pakistani players could be included in the players' auction of the league. "They (organisers) can call them but they can't make them play. Even if they are selected, it is government of India which will decide whether they are allowed or not. Unless Pakistan gets rid of terrorism, it is impossible to play with Pakistan," Sports Minister Vijay Goel said. Pakistan's hockey players and cricketers have also not been allowed to compete on the Indian soil for some time now.

Denmark crush Indian shuttlers

India were beaten 1-4 by Denmark in their opening match of the Sudirman Cup mixed team badminton championship at the Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium. Apart from Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu, who defeated Line Kjaersfeldt 21-18 21-6 in the women's singles match, no other player rose to the occasion. In the first match of Group 1D, despite some good showing, the mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy went down to Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen 15-21 21-16 17-21. Ajay Jayaram, too, was beaten in straight sets 12-21 7-21 by Viktor Axelsen in the mens' singles match. In the men's doubles category, Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy were outplayed by former Olympic silver medallists Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen. Sindhu outplayed Kjaersfeldt comfortably to make it 1-3 in the tie. The last match of the tie saw another dismal performance from the women's doubles pair of Ashwini and N. Sikki Reddy. The Indian pair, however gave some fight before going down to Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna 21-18 15-21 21-23. India will now take on Indonesia on Wednesday.

Bayern ready to splurge

After a disappointing football season with only one title, Bayern Munich have announced they are considering to invest a record over $100 million into new footballers. Uli Hoeness, President of the German champions, announced that the club will overhaul its investment policy. More than 100 million euro ($112 million) will be made available to reinforce the current squad in order to attack Europe's top dogs in football such as Real Madrid, Juventus and FC Barcelona. Hoeness made it clear that a single trophy is not enough to satisfy the club's ambitions. The 65-year-old is well aware that the club will have to go beyond its previous outlay, saying, "to make our squad better, we will have to buy some of the top players in world football".

Harikrishna finishes 12th

Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna finished 12th on the leader board at the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix with a total of 4.5 points after nine rounds to gain 10 Grand Prix points.

Playing with white pieces, the Hyderabadi lad began on an aggressive note but with his opponent GM Teimour Radjabov equally up to the task, he could not create a favourable opening. With time running out the World No. 16 Indian and his opponent decided to share points after 29 moves. Harikrishna will now lead the Indian challenge in the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix when he takes on some of the best chess players in Geneva next month and continues his quest for a spot at the Candidates Tournament.

Real Madrid crowned La Liga Champions

Real Madrid were crowned the Liga Santander Champions following a 2-0 win over Malaga while Villarreal and Real Sociedad have qualified for the Europa league. The result on Sunday night means that the club has won its first domestic league title since 2012, putting an end to a five year drought in which FC Barcelona have lifted the title on three occasions and Atletico Madrid once. Zinedine Zidane's side travelled to Malaga needing just a draw to ensure the title, while Barcelona needed to defeat Eibar in the Camp Nou Stadium and to hope Madrid lost. However, Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring after just one minute and 40 seconds and despite the efforts of a Malaga side who gave everything, Karim Benzema doubled Madrid's lead 10 minutes after the break.

Bengaluru FC lift Federation Cup

A brace from C.K. Vineeth in the second period of extra time saw Bengaluru FC beat Mohun Bagan 2-0 to be crowned the Federation Cup champions at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. After both sides played out a 0-0 draw in regulation time, it took two strikes from substitute Vineeth to settle the tie. His first, came after the striker took two touches in the box before firing it low and with the help of a deflection, past Debjit Majumder in the Mohun Bagan goal in the 107th minute. The second, on the counter, saw the striker feint twice before a shot that had too much on it for Debjit to handle as it was parried into the net in the 118th minute. The win was a salvation for Bengaluru, who finished an underwhelming fourth in the I-League. The loss meant that Bagan ended the season without a trophy. Having finished second to Aizawl in the I-League, Bagan were playing their record 20th final in the Fed Cup.

Zverev stuns Djokovic in Italian Open final

German tennis player Alexander Zverev rolled to a 6-4, 6-3 upset victory over Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final, winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Foro Italico. Djokovic was hoping to win his 31st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Italy, but the four-time champion in Rome stumbled against rising star Zverev, who clinched his first big title on Sunday. Djokovic confirmed in his post-match press conference that former American world No. 1 Andre Agassi would be his new coach at the French Open, the season's second Grand Slam tournament, which starts on May 28.

Mumbai beat Pune to win IPL 2017

Mumbai Indians defeated Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in a low-scoring final to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in Hyderabad. In a match that went right down to the last ball, Mumbai registered a one-run victory in front of packed stands at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium. This is Mumbai's third IPL title. Chasing a target of 130 runs, Pune could only manage to post 128/6 in their 20 overs. Australian fast bowler Mitchel Johnson was the most successful for Mumbai with figures of 3/26, while young pacer Jasprit Bumrah also played a crucial role, returning figures of 26/2 in four excellent overs. Pune skipper Steven Smith led from the front scoring a fighting half-century in a losing cause.

He notched up 51 runs off 50 deliveries with two boundaries and an equal number of sixes before falling in the last over.

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