Sports News

Paris: World Number 1 Novak Djokovic on Monday defeated Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka to register a thumping straight-set win in the opening round of the ongoing French Open 2022. The defending champion beat Nishioka 6-3 6-1 6-0 to claim the victory at Roland-Gross and storm into the second round.Earlier on Monday, Rafael Nadal claimed a straight-sets victory over Australian Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-2, 6-2. With this win, the Spaniard has booked a second-round meeting with French lefty Corentin Moutet. Against Moutet, Nadal will be seeking the 300th Grand Slam match win of his career. Apart from Nadal, World No.1 Iga Swiatek needed just 54 minutes to get through her opening round under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier, posting a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko. Amanda Anisimova scored her second win over Naomi Osaka in as many Grand Slam tournaments this year, advancing in straight sets to the Roland Garros second round.—ANI

World Number 1 Novak Djokovic on Monday defeated Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka to register a thumping straight-set win in the opening round of the ongoing French Open 2022. 

French Open: Djokovic beats Nishioka, storms into R2

Tennis

Pune: Seamer Pooja Vastrakar claimed 4/12 after Deandra Dottin (32 off 17), Harleen Deol (35 off 19) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (37 off 29) had scored some quick-fire runs as Supernovas defeated Trailblazers by 49 runs to open their campaign in the Women’s T20 Challenge on a winning note here on Monday. After setting Trailblazers a target of 163 to win, the Supernovas came back strongly to restrict them to 11/9 in 20 overs and registered a comfortable win at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here.Openers Priya Punia (22) and Deandra Dottin (32) raised 50-runs for the opening wicket in 29 balls after Suipernovas won the toss and elected to bat first. Harleen Deol (35) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (37) boosted the innings with handy contributions as Supernovas posted 163 all out in 20 overs. In response, the Trailblazers’ skipper Smriti Mandana scored 34 runs off 23 deliveries and raised 39 runs for the opening wicket with West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews (18). Hayley was out in the fifth over, caught by keeper Taniya Bhatia as she tried to work one away by shuffling to leg-side, only managing to nick behind off Vastrakar. Smriti was out soon, with the score 63, caught by Priya Punia off Vastrakar, trying to clear mid-off but failing to get the elevation as Priya brought off a superb diving catch. Jemimah Rodrigues scored 24 off 21 deliveries.Pooja Vastrakar claimed two more wickets as did Sophie Ecclestone (2/19) and Alana King (2/30) claimed two wickets each as Trailblazers lost their way from 63/2 to lose seven wickets for 51 runs.Only Renuka Singh managed to reach double figures as the middle order collapsed with three batters gettting out for zeroes and two others in single digits.Earlier, Priya and Deandra came out firing on all cylinders as they took Supernovas past 50 in 29 balls but Deandra was run out on the same score, going for a tight run as her partner sent her back. Her 32 runs came off 17 balls, hitting five fours and a six. Harleen Deol and Harmanpreet Kaur added 37 runs for the third wicket before Harleen (35 off 18) was out, trapped lbw by Salma Khatun as she went for a sweep shot and missed it, She reviewed the decision but could not get it overturned. Harmanpreet was the second of the three Supernovas batters to get run out, going for a second run trying to retain the strike in the 19th over, reduced to 160/7 on the last ball of the 19th over. Her 29-ball 37 was studded with four boundaries. Brief scores: Supernovas 163 all out in 20 overs (Priya Punia 22, Deandra Dottin 32, Harleen Deol 35, Harmanpreet Kaur 37; Hayley Matthews 3/29, Salma Khatun 2/30) beat Trailblazers 114/9 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandana 34, Jemimah Rodrigues 24; Pooja Vastrakar 4/12, Sophie Ecclestone 2/19, Alana King 2/30) by 49 runs.—IANS

Seamer Pooja Vastrakar claimed 4/12 after Deandra Dottin (32 off 17), Harleen Deol (35 off 19) and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (37 off 29) had scored some quick-fire runs as Supernovas defeated Trailblazers by 49 runs to open their campaign in the Women’s T20 Challenge on a winning note here on Monday.

Women’s T20: Pooja Vastrakar’s 4/12 Helps Supernovas Beat Trailblazers By 49 Runs

Cricket

Kolkata: India and Gujarat Titans speedster Mohammed Shami, the highest wicket-taker in power-play overs this IPL season, on Monday said the secret for his success was to bowl in the right areas. Shami has taken 11 wickets at 20 runs apiece to set it up for the Titans in the power-play overs. 'In T20 cricket, we focus on variations -- slower ones, bouncers. But according to me it's about bowling in the right areas then it becomes a difficult score. That's always my gameplan,'' Shami said during a virtual media interaction on the eve of the first IPL Qualifier against Rajasthan Royals.''The white ball does not swing after a few overs. So it's always my gameplan to use the new ball as much as you can. ''You can say it's all about experience. It's very important to control your line and length. You keep thinking many things when you play the T20 format,'' he added.He said his team has a strong bowling unit which has done well in the power-play. ''It's about doing well in the power-play and then the match falls in place.'' Pumped-up to play at Eden Shami was all pumped up to come back to the ground where he made his debut. ''You know the ground inside-out, it gives a different feeling. You are always pumped up playing in front of the Eden crowd,'' Shami said. Orange Cap holder Jos Buttler, who has three centuries and as many half-centuries this season, will stand in his way upfront but Shami is not worried about the match-up. ''As a player, you don't think much about the batter. Every batter has a weak point. You have to back your skills. I just do that, I never look at the name and who's batting against me,'' he signed off.—PTI

India and Gujarat Titans speedster Mohammed Shami, the highest wicket-taker in power-play overs this IPL season, on Monday said the secret for his success was to bowl in the right areas.

Key is to bowl in right areas in power-play: Shami

Paris: The French Open campaign of four-time Grand Slam champion Naoki Osaka ended in the first round on Monday as she went down to American No.27 seed Amanda Anisimova while World No. 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek progressed without breaking a sweat at the Roland Garros courts here. Swiatek needed just 54 minutes to get past her opening round opponent on Day 2 of the competition, beating Ukraine's Lesia Taurenko 6-2, 6-0 under the roof at the Court Philippe-Chatrier.The 2020 Roland-Garros champion extended her current streak to 29 match wins in a row and is searching for a sixth consecutive title this fortnight. Tsurenko now falls to 0-7 lifetime against reigning world No.1. Things however were not so easy for Japan's Osaka as she went down to Anisimova for a second consecutive major. Osaka's Australian Open title defence earlier this year ended at the hands of Anisimova, and the four-time major champion suffered the same fate in Paris on Monday, falling 7-5, 6-4 to the big-hitting American. After a hard-fought first set, the first three games of the contest went against serve before Anisimova consolidated her advantage for a 3-1 lead.The Japanese star broke back though, drawing level two games later and the pair remained neck and neck until Anisimova broke to edge ahead 6-5. The 20-year-old American wrapped up the set 7-5 on the 46-minute mark, said the official website of the competition,. Anisimova made her move in game seven of the second set, and despite seeing two match points slip as she was serving for the win, she fired a signature down-the-line backhand to secure her passage to round two. He will next qualifier Donna Vekic. Two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka, the No.15 seed, is down a set but up a break in the second on Court 14 battling Romanian Ana Bogdan, while double Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the No.32 seed, took out Hungarian Anna Bondar 7-6(0), 6-1. Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu is on Court 7, facing Belgian qualifier Ysaline Bonaventure.After leading 2-0 in the first set, Andreescu fell behind 3-6, 0-2 to the left-handed Bonaventure, who came into the match battle-tested with three qualifying wins under her belt. Andreescu clawed her way back into the contest and took the second set 7-5. She opened up a 3-0 lead in the decider before play was interrupted due to rain.—IANS

The French Open campaign of four-time Grand Slam champion Naoki Osaka ended in the first round on Monday as she went down to American No.27 seed Amanda Anisimova while World No. 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek progressed without breaking a sweat at the Roland Garros courts here.

Swiatek cruises to second round, Osaka ousted by Anisimova

Chennai: Defending champions India conceded a late goal to allow arch-rivals Pakistan walk away with a 1-1 draw in their opening Pool A match of the Asia Cup men's hockey tournament, here on Monday. India took the lead in the ninth minute through Karthi Selvam before Abdul Rana broke their neighbours' heart by equalising in the 59th from a penalty corner. India will next play Japan on Tuesday. Pakistan had the first scoring chance in the third minute in the form of a penalty corner, but they failed to stop the ball properly as India survived. Seconds later, it was India's turn to secure a penalty corner but Neelam Sanjip Xess' effort was saved by the Pakistan goalie Akmal Hussain.The Indians continued to put pressure on the Pakistan defence and secured two more penalty corners in the first quarter, the second of which was converted by Karthi, who scored his first international goal after his flick went inside the Pakistan citadel after getting a deflection off the stick of defender Muhammad Abdullah. In between Pakistan also got another penalty corner but the effort went wide. Soon after the start of the second quarter, Pakistan goalkeeper Hussain made a fine reflex save to deny Pawan Rajbhar from point blank range. The Indians dominated the ball possession and secured another penalty corner in the 21st minute which went abegging. Two minutes from the half time, Pakistan got a chance to equalise when they were awarded a penalty corner for an unnecessary tackle outside circle by young Vishnukant Singh, but once again miss-stop ruined the opportunity as India went into into the break with a slender 1-0 lead.Pakistan made a bright start after the change of ends and threatened the Indian defence early on.Second into their third quarter, Pakistan secured their third penalty corner but Rizwan Ali shot his flick wide. Minutes later India custodian Suraj Karkera made a brilliant save from close range to deny Abdul Rana and then the resultant rebound was shot over by Afraz. Thereafter India had a flurry of chances -- one to Rajbhar and then to Uttam Singh -- but Pakistan goalkeeper Hussain was there to save his side. The Indians kept up the pressure and secured a few more penalty corners in the third quarter but could convert none. Credit should also go to Pakistan keeper Hussain, who stood like a rock in front of the goal. A lapse in concentration cost India dearly as a long ball caught, an otherwise alert Indian defence, off guard in the final two minutes, resulting in a penalty corner for Pakistan. Rana pushed in from a rebound after Mubashar Ali's flick was saved at the goal line by Yashdeep Siwach. Meanwhile in the other matches of the day, Malaysia beat Oman 7-0 and Korea defeated Bangladesh 6-1 in Pool B, while Japan thrashed hosts Indonesia 9-0 in Pool AIndian squad for Asia Cup Hockey 2022Goalkeepers:&nbsp;Pankaj Kumar Rajak, Suraj KarkeraDefenders:&nbsp;Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Yashdeep Siwach, Abhisek Lakra, Birendra Lakra (Captain), Manjeet, Dipsan TirkeyMidfielders:&nbsp;Vishnukant Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Mareeswaren Sakthivel, Sheshe Gowda BM, Simranjeet SinghForwards:&nbsp;Pawan Rajbhar, Abharan Sudev, SV Sunil (Vice Captain), Uttam Singh, S KarthiReplacement Players and standbys:&nbsp;Maninder Singh, Pawan, Pardeep Singh. Ankit Pal, Angad Bir Singh—PTI

Defending champions India conceded a late goal to allow arch-rivals Pakistan walk away with a 1-1 draw in their opening Pool A match of the Asia Cup men's hockey tournament, here on Monday.

Asia Cup Hockey 2022: Pak holds nerve to draw 1-1 against India

Hockey

Mumbai: Sunrisers Hyderabad stand-in skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar was satisfied with his performance in the IPL as managing his injuries became a ‘challenge’ in an otherwise disappointing season for his team. After winning five back-to-back games out of first seven, Sunrisers Hyderabad lost six out of the next seven to finish eighth in the 10-team IPL table."As for me, it was a challenging season with injuries hampering me, thought I did a decent job and will look to come back better in the next season," Kumar said at the post-match presentation. As far as season's positives go, Umran Malik and Abhishek Sharma's emergence augurs well for franchise, said the senior India seamer."We have had many positives, Umran Malik and Abhishek Sharma were the obvious positives, but we have a decent core of batting with Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran coming up pretty well," he added. But he had a word of advice for the team management. "We will have to look at our squad and the management will have to work out on the weaknesses ahead of the next season. We won five on the bounce and had the momentum, but it didn't go our way and we pretty much lost all our matches in the second half of the tournament." For winning skipper Mayank Agarwal, it was all about not being able to stitch back-to-back victories. "We couldn't stitch two back-to-back wins. We lost wickets in a cluster, and that at times derailed us. We have played an aggressive brand of cricket over all. We are going to sit and discuss now after the IPL. We were here to get two points and we were here to enjoy ourselves," Agarwal said.—PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad stand-in skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar was satisfied with his performance in the IPL as managing his injuries became a ‘challenge’ in an otherwise disappointing season for his team.

I did decently despite injuries hampering me: Bhuvi

New Delhi:&nbsp;The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has rewarded the Indian men's team with a cash prize of Rs one crore for its historic title triumph at the Thomas Cup Finals in Bangkok.BAI handed the cash prize of Rs one crore to the Indian team and Rs 20 lakh to the support staff after their arrival in the country, in a city hotel here on Saturday night. BAI president Himanta Biswa Sarma congratulated the Indian team on its historic achievement. BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra alongside chief national coach Pullela Gopichand and other BAI officials were present during the occasion. The Indian team scripted history by clinching the Thomas Cup title for the first time in 73 years by thrashing 14-time champions Indonesia.—PTI

 The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has rewarded the Indian men's team with a cash prize of Rs one crore for its historic title triumph at the Thomas Cup Finals in Bangkok.

BAI awards cash prizes to Thomas Cup-winning contingent

Badminton

London: Jyothi Yarraji smashed the women's 100m hurdle national record for the second time in less than two weeks while winning the event at the Loughborough International Athletics Meet in the UK. The 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh on Sunday clocked 13.11 seconds under permissible wind speed of +0.3m/s to better her own earlier national record of 13.23 that she had clocked on May 10 during the Cyprus International Meet in Limassol. Jyothi, who trains under James Hillier at Reliance Foundation Odisha Athletics High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, had bettered Anuradha Biswal's national mark of 13.38 which had stood since 2002. That happened a month after her national record effort was not counted due to wind assistance beyond legal limit. She had clocked 13.09 seconds during the Federation Cup in Kozhikode last month but it was not counted as national record as the wind speed was +2.1 m/s, more than the permissible +2.0 m/s.In 2020 also, Jyothi had run below Biswal's national record time as she clocked 13.03 seconds at the All India Inter-University Athletics Championships in Moodbidri, Karnataka. But it was also not counted as NR as National Anti-Doping Agency did not test her at the meet and there was no technical delegate from the Athletics Federation of India. Jyothi comes from a humble background as her father Suryanarayana is working as a private security guard and her mother Kumari is a domestic help. Another Reliance Foundation Odisha Athletics HPC trainee Amlan Borgohain, who smashed the national record during the Kozhikode Federation Cup, finished fifth in 200m race with a time of 21.27 seconds. The 24-year-old from Assam had clocked 20.52s in Kozhikode.In other results, national record holder Siddhant Thingalaya finished second in 110m hurdles with a time of 13.97. Graceson Amaldas, national swimmer-turned-hurdler from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu won junior men's 110m hurdles guest race in 13.91 seconds.—PTI

Jyothi Yarraji smashed the women's 100m hurdle national record for the second time in less than two weeks while winning the event at the Loughborough International Athletics Meet in the UK.

Jyothi smashes own 100m hurdles national record in UK

Athletics

Mumbai: A Super Over could decide IPL 2022 champions should rain play spoilsport and no play is possible in regulation time. If the Super Over is also not possible due to the weather, the league standing will take precedence and will decide the winner. This will also apply to the Qualifier 1, Eliminator, Qualifier 2, which do not have reserve days. May 30 has been kept aside as a reserve day for the final, which will begin at 8pm IST. With the IPL moving to Kolkata for the playoffs and inclement weather forecast for the city, the IPL has issued certain guidelines in case of rain-interrupted games. While Gujarat Titans take on Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday, Lucknow Super Giants will play Royal Challengers Bangalore at the same venue the next day in the Eliminator.The second Qualifier and the final are slated to be played in Ahmedabad on Friday and Sunday respectively. "The number of overs in the playoff match may, if necessary, be reduced so that each side has the opportunity to bat for five overs," the IPL guidelines read. "For the Eliminator and each Qualifier playoff matches, in the event that it is not possible to schedule a five-over match to complete by the end of the extra time on the original day, the teams will, if conditions permit, play a Super Over to determine the winner of the relevant Eliminator or Qualifier match."If the Super Over is not possible "the team that finished highest in the league table after the 70 matches of the regular season shall be declared the winner of the relevant playoff match or final," it added. Incase of the two Qualifiers and the Eliminator, if one innings is complete but no play is possible in the second, the Duckworth-Lewis (DLS) method will come into play.If the final starts on May 29 that is at least one ball is bowled then the "match will resume at the point where it stopped on the previous day. For the avoidance of doubt, any match recalculations done without the match actually restarting on the previous night will be ignored."—PTI

A Super Over could decide IPL 2022 champions should rain play spoilsport and no play is possible in regulation time.

IPL 2022 Playoffs: Super Over could determine winner

New Delhi:&nbsp;Indian racer Arjun Maini, who drives for Mercedes-AMG with team HRT, narrowly missed out on his first podium of the 2022 DTM Championship in Lausitzring, Germany.After starting sixth in an extremely competitive qualifying session, Maini made a good start and was able to move into fourth during the first lap of the race. A quick pit stop from the team saw him briefly move into third, ahead of Lucas Auer. However, Maini's colder tyres meant he fell back to fourth, a position he would maintain till the checkered flag.The 2022 DTM Championship boasts of 29 drivers, which is not only the largest grid in DTM history, but also an extremely competitive grid with some of the world's best talent from the GT3 world taking part. Given its competitive nature, there were 21 cars that qualified within one second of pole in Qualifying 1 and 23 cars within a second in Qualifying 2. Maini's second qualifying session was compromised due to a Red Flag with four minutes to go, with the Indian failing to set a lap time when the session was halted. He eventually qualified 14th and lost some places as he went off on one of the corners as he battled side by side with several cars. He was, however, able to recover to finish 13th in Race 2. "It was a mixed weekend for me. P6 in qualifying and P4 in the race on Saturday. We had good pace and a good pit stop. "There was then a turbulent qualifying on Sunday, which meant I ended up starting from down in P14. In the end, I came home 13th not ideal, but I feel positive looking ahead to Imola," Maini said. The next Race Weekend of DTM will take place in Imola in Italy on June 18 and 19.—PTI

 Indian racer Arjun Maini, who drives for Mercedes-AMG with team HRT, narrowly missed out on his first podium of the 2022 DTM Championship in Lausitzring, Germany.

Arjun Maini narrowly misses podium in Lausitzring in DTM

 Indian racer Arjun Maini, who drives for Mercedes-AMG with team HRT, narrowly missed out on his first podium of the 2022 DTM Championship in Lausitzring, Germany.



Mumbai: Punjab Kings opening batter Shikhar Dhawan has become the first player to hit 700 fours in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Dhawan reached this feat during the last league stage match of IPL 2022, between PBKS and Sunrisers Hyderabad, here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.The batter has now a total of 701 IPL fours to his name. He is followed by David Warner and Virat Kohli, with 577 and 576 fours, respectively. Coming to the match, Liam Livingstone's unbeaten knock of 49 runs helped PBKS chase the target of 158 in just 15.1 overs with five wickets in hand.Apart from him, Dhawan and Jitesh Sharma scored 39 and 19 respectively. Earlier, Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis achieved their respective three-wicket hauls and restricted SRH at 157/8. For SRH, Fazalhaq Farooqi bagged two wickets, while Jagadeesha Suchith and Washington Sundar settled for one wicket each. With this win, PBKS ended their IPL 2022 campaign with a total of 14 points while SRH finished with 12 points.—ANI

Punjab Kings opening batter Shikhar Dhawan has become the first player to hit 700 fours in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

PBKS' Dhawan becomes first player to hit 700 fours in IPL's history

Mumbai: The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) recorded a total of 1000 sixes, which is the highest in the history of the tournament. This milestone was reached during the last league-stage match of the season between Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. The six was hit by PBKS all-rounder Liam Livingstone in the 15th over, which was bowled by Romario Shepherd.Incidentally, Livingstone also holds the record for the season's longest six, which he had hit against Gujarat Titans. The six on Mohammed Shami's delivery went for a distance of 117m. Coming to Sunday's match, Livingstone's unbeaten knock of 49 runs helped PBKS chase the target of 158 in just 15.1 overs with five wickets in hand. Apart from him, Shikhar Dhawan and Jitesh Sharma scored 39 and 19 respectively.Earlier, Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis' respective three-wicket hauls restricted SRH to 157/8. For SRH, Fazalhaq Farooqi bagged two wickets, while Jagadeesha Suchith and Washington Sundar settled for one wicket each. With this win, PBKS ended their IPL 2022 campaign with a total of 14 points while SRH finished with 12 points.—ANI

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) recorded a total of 1000 sixes, which is the highest in the history of the tournament.

IPL 2022 records a total of 1000 sixes, highest in tournament's history

Manama: Top para shuttlers Pramod Bhagat and Tarun Dhillon clinched two gold medals each as the Indian team ended with a rich haul of 23 medals including seven gold medals at the 1st Bahrain Para-Badminton International Championships 2022. Promising doubles shuttler Manisha Ramdass also shot into the limelight with her twin gold medal show, while Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (WS SH6) and Dhinagaran Pandurangan and Sivarajan Solaimalai (Doubles SH6) claimed the other top honours for India.Pairing up with a new partner, Bhagat turned the colour of his mixed doubles SL3-SU5 silver medal from Brazil into gold this time. He and promising Manisha Ramdass got the better of Thailand’s Siripong Teamarrom and Nipada Saensupa 21-14, 21-11 to take the gold. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic champion Bhagat then went on to take the men’s singles SL3 gold after England’s Daniel Bethell gave a walkover.In the men’s SL4 events, Dhillon, who missed out on a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, first paired with Nitesh Kumar to pull off a convincing 21-13, 21-7 win over Thailand’s Mongkhon Bunsun and Siripong Teamarrom in men’s doubles SL3-Sl4 summit clash. High in confidence, Dhillon took just 20 minutes to thump South Korea’s Shin Kyung Hwan 21-9, 21-9 for the men’s singles SL4 gold.Manisha, Nithya shine in women’s events In women’s events, Asian Youth Para Games champion Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan continued her good run of form to defeat England’s Rachel Choong 21-15, 21-15. Meanwhile, Mandeep Kaur, who pulled off an upset win in her semi-finals, had to settle for the second place after going down to Turkey’s Halime Yildiz 21-5, 21-17 in the women’s SL3 finals, the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) informed in a release on Sunday. She later came out with a strong show combining with Manisha Ramdass for the gold in the women’s doubles SL3-SU5 finals. They took just 23 minutes to defeat the Paralympian pair of Palak Kohli and Parul Dalsukhbhai Parmar 21-11, 21-11. In doubles SH6, Dhinagaran Pandurangan and Sivarajan Solaimalai took the gold after Hong Kong’s Chu Man Kai and Wong Chun Yim retired with one game all 21-12,10-21.Chief national coach Gaurav Khanna was a proud coach at the end of the day with consistent results from his wards. “Our para shuttlers have yet again come out with great results. I am very happy with the way the players are delivering excellent results in back-to-back events. Though there’s still some work needed to be done and one of the main focuses will be on their fitness.“There are quite a few names who are doing really well in the recent tournaments. We have high hopes from promising names like Manisha Ramdass etc.”The Indian team will be next in action at the 4th Fazza Dubai 2022 Para-Badminton International that gets underway on Tuesday.—IANS

Top para shuttlers Pramod Bhagat and Tarun Dhillon clinched two gold medals each as the Indian team ended with a rich haul of 23 medals including seven gold medals at the 1st Bahrain Para-Badminton International Championships 2022.

Bahrain 2022 Para-Badminton: Bhagat, Dhillon Win Two Gold Each; Indian Contingent Finishes With 23 Medals

Bhubaneswar: Former champions Sethu FC defeated Hans Women 5-0 in the Hero Indian Women’s League here on Sunday. With this win, Sethu cemented the second spot after Gokulam with 31 points from 10 matches. A brace from Devneta, and a solitary goal from Sandhiya, Lavanya and Vanlalmawii ensured the Tamil Nadu side earn all three points from the game.Sethu had a quick start to the game with Devneta finding the net as soon as in the 2nd minute when she curled home the ball from Sandhiya’s cross. Within the 16th minute, she doubled the lead for her side making it a brace for herself again scoring from the same spot through Sandhiya’s cross. Thereafter it turned out to be a one-sided affair as Sethu FC continued to dominate Hans in every department. In the 38th minute, Sandhiya found the net through her shot inside the box from the left flank to keep it 0-3 going into the break.After the breather, the demolition continued. As Sethu continued to maintain the waves of attack. In the 72nd minute, Lavanya struck the net to increase the lead. And finally, Vanlalmawii scored the winner in the 88 minutes to ensure a 0-5 victory for Sethu.—IANS

Former champions Sethu FC defeated Hans Women 5-0 in the Hero Indian Women’s League here on Sunday.

 IWL 2022: Sethu FC thrash Hans 5-0 to keep the championship run open

Football

Turin: &nbsp;Olympique Lyonnais won the UEFA Women's Champions League for the eighth time as they dethroned holders Barcelona with a 3-1 victory in Turin on Saturday, all the goals coming in the first half. Amandine Henry, Ada Hegerberg and Catarina Macario put Lyon three up before Alexia Putellas pulled one back. The action did not stop in the second period but Lyon, 12 months after Barcelona replaced them as champions, is on top again.The huge Barcelona travelling support in an attendance of over 30,000 was stunned at its own end six minutes in when Amandine Henry curled in a superb effort from distance. Barcelona responded swiftly and Christiane Endler was called into action by Jenni Hermoso, who was then denied by a great saving tackle from Selma Bacha. Bacha was overlapping on the right and she made the second goal as she swung in a cross met by a perfect header from Ada Hegerberg, already a hat-trick scorer in the 2019 final defeat of Barcelona.Amazingly, it was three later in the half, Catarina Macario forcing the ball in after a defensive mix-up. Hegerberg was then denied by Sandra Panos, but there was hope for Barcelona before the break when Alexia Putellas turned in Caroline Graham Hansen's cross, the captain's competition-leading 11th goal of the season.Endler was relieved not long prior to the hour mark when Patri Guijarro tried a lob from the halfway line with the Lyon keeper out of her goal, only for the ball to drop onto the crossbar. Barcelona sent on Asisat Oshoala, who headed fractionally wide, and fellow substitute Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic also volleyed just past the post. But in a finish as breathless as the start in a sweltering Turin, with Hegerberg hitting the post, Lyon held on and the celebrations began.—ANI

 Olympique Lyonnais won the UEFA Women's Champions League for the eighth time as they dethroned holders Barcelona with a 3-1 victory in Turin on Saturday, all the goals coming in the first half.

Lyon win eighth UEFA Women's Champions League final against Barcelona

Paris: Kaia Kanepi recorded the 10th top-10 victory of her career at a Grand Slam by eliminating Spanish 10th seed Garbine Muguruza on Sunday in the ongoing French Open 2022. Estonian Kanepi defeated Muguruza by 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in just over two hours. The 36-year-old Kanepi, the oldest player in the women's draw, has a knack for knocking out seeds at the majors and continued the trend against two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No.1 Muguruza.Kanepi is a two-time Roland-Garros quarter-finalist and recently made a trip to the last-eight stage at this year's Australian Open. The first victor of Roland-Garros 2022 was Romanian No.26 seed Sorana Cirstea, who eased past Germany's Tatjana Maria 6-3, 6-3 in just 64 minutes. Cirstea next takes on Stephens in round two.—ANI

Kaia Kanepi recorded the 10th top-10 victory of her career at a Grand Slam by eliminating Spanish 10th seed Garbine Muguruza on Sunday in the ongoing French Open 2022.

French Open: Kaia Kanepi ousts Garbine Muguruza in opener

Mumbai: &nbsp;Punjab Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in an inconsequential last league match of the IPL here on Sunday. Punjab chased down the target of 158 with 29 balls to spare with Liam Livingstone top-scoring with 49 not out off 22 balls. Shikhar Dhawan chipped in with 39.For SRH, Fazalhaq Farooqi took two wickets for 32 runs. Earlier, opting to bat, Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 157 for 8. Abhishek Sharma top-scored for SRH with 43 while Romario Shepherd and Washington Sundar chipped in with 26 not out and 25 respectively. For Punjab, Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis took three wickets apiece. Brief Scores: Sunrisers Hyderabad: 157 for 8 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 43; Harpreet Brar 3/26, Nathan Ellis 3/40).Punjab Kings:&nbsp;160 for 5 in 15.1 overs (Liam Livingstone 49 not out; Fazalhaq Farooqi 2/32).—PTI

Punjab Kings beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in an inconsequential last league match of the IPL here on Sunday.

IPL 2022: PBKS beat SRH by 5 wickets

Mumbai: Punjab Kings ended their campaign on a winning note, crushing an already demoralised Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in an inconsequential final IPL league match, in Mumbai, on Sunday.Batting first, Sunrisers Hyderabad managed only 157 for 8 on a good batting track.But it was never going to be enough as Liam Livingstone made mincemeat of a hapless SRH attack, scoring 49 not out off 22 balls, and also hitting the coveted 1000th six of the tournament.Shikhar Dhawan (39 off 32 balls) and Jitesh Sharma (19 off 7 balls) also contributed handsomely to the team's cause as the chase was completed in just 15.1 overs.Punjab Kings, who haven't made the play-offs since their final appearance in 2014, finished sixth while the Sunrisers ended their high-spending IPL on eighth in the 10-team competition. For Livingstone, it was all about smashing big sixes once again as he hit five in all, while Dhawan helped himself to two fours and two sixes.<img src="https://im.rediff.com/cricket/2022/may/22pun-farooqi.JPG?w=670&amp;h=900"> It was Jonny Bairstow (23 off 15 balls), who straightaway attacked Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Washington Sundar, with a flurry of boundaries to set the tempo.It helped Dhawan to play his accumulating game as Punjab maintained their philosophy of all out attack even as Sunrisers dropped some sitters on the field.Worst was Washington Sundar's blooper when Livingstone tried to hit Jagadeesha Suchit against the turn and offered a dolly at point.There were too many on-field bungles with Roamrio Shepherd's 15th over going for 23 runs.&nbsp;<img src="https://im.rediff.com/cricket/2022/may/22srh-sundar.JPG?w=670&amp;h=900">Earlier, Punjab Kings bowlers showed a lot of discipline, restricting SRH to 157 for 8 in 20 overs.Arshdeep Singh (0/25 in 4 overs) celebrated his maiden India call-up with another parsimonious spell but it was his state team colleague Harpreet Brar (3/26 in 4 overs), who was the pick of the bowlers with wickets of Priyam Garg, Rahul Tripathi and Aiden Markram.<img src="https://im.rediff.com/cricket/2022/may/22srh-brar-wkt.JPG?w=670&amp;h=900">With four qualifiers already decided on Saturday, there was little more than academic interest left in the game and the 'Orange Army' in fact looked jaded and more like going through the motions while batting before sprucing up their scores in the final few overs.SRH's best batter of the season, Abhishek Sharma (43 off 32 balls) once again got a start but should have converted it into a big one which didn't happen.A solemn looking Tripathi (20) did cross a personal milestone of 400 runs for the season but disappointment of not making it to the national team was writ large in his body language as he failed to connect the big hits. Brar didn't do anything extraordinary and kept it mostly on the stumps, stifling the opposition batters for runs.It was left to Romario Shepherd (26 not out off 15 balls) and Washington Sundar (25 off 19 balls) to take the Sunrisers past the 150-run mark, as both of them used the long handle to good effect in their 58-run sixth-wicket partnership off only 4.5 overs.<img src="https://im.rediff.com/cricket/2022/may/22srh-ellis-wkt.JPG?w=670&amp;h=900"> In fact, 50-plus runs came in the last four overs as Nathan Ellis (3/40 in 4 overs) erred in length despite a couple of back-to-back wickets that he got in the bargain.Ellis did bowl a good hat-trick delivery which Bhuvneshwar Kumar averted only to get run-out of the very next delivery.—PTI

Punjab Kings ended their campaign on a winning note, crushing an already demoralised Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in an inconsequential final IPL league match, in Mumbai, on Sunday.

IPL PIX: Punjab Kings beat Sunrisers to finish sixth

Mumbai: ''Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one,'' said Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bangalore sneaked into the playoffs following Mumbai Indians' thrilling five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in their last game of the IPL here. On Saturday, MI chased down a victory target of 160 in 19.1 overs to knockout Delhi from the competition and paved the way for RCB's entry as the fourth and final team in the knockout stage. ''It was unbelievable. The emotions in the changing room were unbelievable. Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one,'' Kohli said in a release.RCB had defeated table-toppers Gujarat Titans by eight wickets in their final league match to keep their hopes alive for a playoff, which depended on the clash between DC and MI.Delhi needed to win the match to make it to the playoffs but they came a cropper against bottom-placed MI. RCB skipper Faf Du Plessis said the entire team watched the match together and was cheering every move made by the Mumbai team. ''It was so good, I think first of all it was nice to see that everyone was here from the start of the game, so we watched it together,'' he said.''We were all shouting for every wicket that Mumbai got and then when they are chasing every boundary. It's good for everyone to watch together and then the celebration towards the end was awesome to be a part of.'' RCB will now take on third-placed Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator at Edens Gardens on May 25. ''The last game we played we felt almost like we played our best game of cricket of this campaign so far and that is how you want to enter the knockout stages, so we needed someone to do us a favor and Mumbai did that for us, we are very thankful for that,'' Du Plessis said.''Obviously, now the work starts again, and we get our work mode back on.'' RCB has never won the IPL and allrounder Glenn Maxwell feels the team is very close to achieving that dream. ''Amazing result for us tonight. There is just one small step in us going further, we are that close to making history for RCB in this tournament. We needed another team, but from now on it's all us.'—PTI

''Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one,'' said Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bangalore sneaked into the playoffs following Mumbai Indians' thrilling five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in their last game of the IPL here.

Thank you, Mumbai, we will remember this one: Kohli after MI's win

Mumbai: &nbsp;Several Chennai Super Kings players have conceded following the team's failed campaign in IPL 2022 that they "did not play" to their expectations, which ultimately contributed to the four-time IPL champions finishing a dismal ninth this season. The Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led defending champions won just four of their 14 league games, finishing only above five-time IPL winners Mumbai Indians. "Many people would be saying that we did not have luck going our way or we did not have things going our way. I would be very honest and tell them that we did not play to our expectations. But, as I said, we have to accept things and move forward," said CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Orange Cap winner for scoring the most runs (635) in the 2021 IPL season.One of the main reasons for CSK's poor performance this season was Gaikwad's indifferent form, but the 25-year-old Maharashtra cricketer said that the team will come back stronger next season."You (CSK fans) have our backs. We will come out of this year really stronger next year," he added.CSK's prolific run-getter, New Zealand's Devon Conway, told CSK TV that, "We all know it wasn't quite our year this time. We can accept that and move on. We will bounce back next year. It's not because of lack of trying or practice, we just didn't quite play at our best this year. Things will be better next year, for sure."Young right-arm pace bowler Simarjeet Singh indicated that during the latter part of the IPL 2022 season, self-doubts had started creeping into the minds of the players after a series of losses in spite of due processes being followed. "When you lose, even if the process that you followed was the right one, you tend to question it. In hindsight, you feel as if you could have done things in a different way. But, we all are trying to learn something from this. From every game, if we try to extract as many learnings as possible, that will hold us in good stead," said Singh.Sri Lankan pace bowler Maheesh Theekshana felt that despite the failed season, it was important the players don't lose trust in their ability ahead of the next IPL season. "All the guys really did well, but we were not consistent. Like MS Dhoni says, trust in your ability, do what you can do, result does not matter. The process matters," said Theekshana. On a positive note, batter Shivam Dube, who played some good innings, said, "The story is not complete yet. It is not over."—IANS

Several Chennai Super Kings players have conceded following the team's failed campaign in IPL 2022 that they "did not play" to their expectations, which ultimately contributed to the four-time IPL champions finishing a dismal ninth this season.