After his 21-year-old rival Carlos Alcaraz pocketed the French Open and Wimbledon titles to take his majors collection to four, the two men have cemented their places as the powerhouses of tennis’s new era.World No 12 Fritz was bidding to be the first American man since Andy Roddick in New York in 2003 to win a major. He was backed by A-list celebrity support among the 23,000-strong crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Pop queen Taylor Swift watched alongside boyfriend and NFL star Travis Kelce while Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey was hard to miss as he donned a Stars and Stripes headband.Sinner raced to a 2-0 lead in the first set before Fritz settled and levelled for 2-2.The 26-year-old American saved a break point on the back of an exhausting 23-shot rally in the fifth game but soon slipped 4-3 down.Sinner pounced again with a third break to claim the opening set as Fritz fired a backhand long.

The two players had only dropped serve a combined 20 times over six rounds each at the tournament before Sunday’s final.That strength shone through in the second set with the first nine games all service holds until the 10th. Sinner then carved out two set points but only needed one, a deep forehand forcing Fritz into a desperate scramble before he buried his return limply in the net.

By that stage of the final, Sinner had committed just nine unforced errors to the 19 of Fritz in an illustration of his control of the court. Fritz, the first American man in any Grand Slam final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009, saw three break points come and go in the first game of the third set. But Sinner served up his fourth double fault of the final to hand Fritz a 4-3 lead . With his back to the wall, the Italian top seed then broke back in the 10th game as Fritz served for the set and held for 6-5. He went to two championship points when a disheartened Fritz ballooned a running forehand and sealed victory when the American netted.

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The following rival didn’t make any difference after the success over Canada.

An assistant coach used her phone to capture the moment as Kalu and her teammates began to celebrate at midcourt. After greeting the Canadians with a high five, the Nigerians resumed their celebration with a midcourt huddle.

An associate mentor got a banner from a fan for photographs on the court, and the Nigerians took as much time as is needed embracing and modeling for more photographs as they enjoyed the experience. Canada, positioned fifth on the planet, departs winless in three games, killed on the last day of gathering play for ladies’ ball by a group positioned twelfth.

On Sunday night, Australia defeated France by a score of 79-72 in the group play finale. The Opals (2-1) secured their eighth and final quarterfinal berth, avoiding elimination in front of a 27,193-person crowd that, according to FIBA, set a record for European women’s basketball attendance.

Following the announcement of the draw on Sunday night, the Australians will face Serbia in the first quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday. Spain will take on Belgium, France, Germany, the United States, and Nigeria, respectively.

The United States, Spain, Serbia, France, and Germany were the other four nations that had secured spots prior to the final day. Australia, Nigeria, and Belgium won on Sunday.

Nigeria lost in Tokyo and did not qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. This women’s team will now play on Wednesday in Bercy Arena, which is located on the Seine River and was denied access to Nigeria’s boat for the opening ceremony on July 26.

The first six points were scored by Nigeria. Skipper Amy Okonkwo hurt her right shoulder from the get-go in the subsequent quarter, crashing into Canada forward Aaliyah Edwards while jumping for a free ball, and Canada took a 41-37 lead into halftime
Okonkwo returned for the second from last quarter, when Nigeria opened with a 13-1 run. The Nigerians outscored Canada 23-5 in the third and took a 60-46 lead into the fourth.

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NEW DELHI: 

Virat Kohli was on fire for Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday (May 6) during Match No. 50 of the IPL 2023, which was played at the Arun Jaitely Stadium in Delhi. The Delhi lad, who has represented RCB in the IPL since the start of the league way back in 2008, top-scored for his side by making 55 runs against local team Delhi Capitals. But his effort went in vain, as he couldn’t help the three-time losing finalists secure the full two points.

Thanks to Phil Salt’s 45-ball 87, the hosts chased down the target of 182 runs for the loss of three wickets in just 16.2 overs. With the help of the win over RCB, Delhi kept itself alive in the race to qualify for the IPL 2023 playoffs, and with a total of eight points from 10 matches played so far, they are now in ninth place in the IPL 2023 points table.

But even though his team wasn’t able to win Saturday’s match, it was a memorable outing for Virat, and he created multiple batting records. The right-handed batter became the first cricketer in the history of the competition to score 7,000 or more runs, and in addition to that, he also became the first batter to score 1000 runs in the IPL against the Delhi Capitals.

He has scored a total of 7,043 runs in 233 IPL matches played till date, and out of those 7,043 runs, 1030 have come against Delhi Capitals, which was formerly known as Delhi Daredevils.

Against Delhi, Virat faced a total of 46 deliveries and, with the help of five fours, scored 55 runs. By scoring a fifty against the Delhi Capitals, Virat created history by becoming the first Indian batter to complete a half-century of fifties in the IPL. Before Virat, only David Warner had scored more than fifty 50s in the IPL, and now Virat is part of that unique list.

In his overall IPL career, apart from scoring 50 half-centuries, Virat has also hammered five centuries, which is also the most by any Indian batter.

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The run-rate in the PowerPlay is at an all-time high of 8.57, well clear of the previous peak of 8.39 of the 2018 edition. This is just the fourth time the run-rate has been in excess of eight in the PowerPlay since the 2008 season and the first since 2019.

As many as 152 sixes have been hit in the first six overs in IPL 2023, at a frequency of 3.30 per match, second to only the 2018 edition (3.75 sixes per match). With the added cushion of an extra batter, courtesy the Impact Player rule, in all probability, teams have been less risk-averse from the get-go. As a result, the average runs scored per wicket in 2023 (34.68) is the second lowest in the last five seasons played in the home and away format.

However, despite IPL 2023 being a pacesetter in terms of scoring rates across T20 tournaments, teams have found success in the PowerPlay to varying degrees.  All numbers are up to date till the SRH vs KKR game on May 4.

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma’s travails with the bat belie the fact that Mumbai Indians enjoys the fourth best PowerPlay run-rate (8.85) in the tournament. Ishan Kishan – with 195 runs at a strike rate of 144.44 – has been the chief contributor for Mumbai in the PowerPlay while Rohit’s approach to take the bowlers on from the word go hasn’t reaped dividends. He has been dismissed seven times in nine innings in the first six overs, while averaging 19.71 and striking at 131.42. Against the backdrop of the Rohit-Kishan opening partnership blowing hot and cold, Cameron Green has stepped up in the No. 3 role. The Aussie all-rounder has averaged 52 in the PowerPlay, and his strike rate of 148.57 has ensured Mumbai doesn’t lag too far behind in maximising the field restrictions.

Punjab Kings

Like Mumbai Indians, Punjab has struck at an identical run-rate of 8.85 in the PowerPlay and has been plagued by a similarly inconsistent opening pair. Shikhar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh have cruised at a healthy run-rate of 9.50 as an opening pair, have two partnerships of over 50 but average 25.57. With a strike rate of 152.33, Prabhsimran has been the aggressor while Dhawan has been an accumulator at 135.80. In the absence of Dhawan, who missed three games due to injury, Atharva Taide and Matthew Short have lent able support at No. 3. Short has steadied the innings after the fall of an early wicket on three occasions while striking at 137.17 in the PowerPlay while Taide boasts of a strike rate of 171.42 in the limited opportunities he has got at one-drop.

Rajasthan Royals

The Sanju Samson-led RR leads the charge when it comes to maximising the field restrictions with the highest run-rate (9.55) in the PowerPlay. What is commendable is that it has managed to keep the tempo up while losing just eight wickets (second least during this phase) in the first six overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal has been the key architect for the Royals during this phase, striking at 165.69, while his opening partner Jos Buttler has played second fiddle at a strike rate of 144.24. Jaiswal and Buttler have been the second most prolific opening pair in IPL 2023.

Chennai Super Kings

The four-time champion can boast of a PowerPlay run-rate of 9.51 and a format-agnostic per wicket average of 85.66 thanks to the consistency of openers Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad. The duo has struck three fifty-plus and one century partnership

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MATHEW JOHN   

Brutal racism, arrogance, exploitation of labour and resources of subject nations have been the salient features of the imperialist project. The predatory West is culpable for many of the most inhuman practices and injustices that disfigure human history. And yet, as Edward Said had observed, it seeks to paper over its own inhumanity by disregarding, essentializing and denuding the humanity of other cultures and people. Decolonization has not blunted the West’s obscene moralistic triumphalism and arrogance. On the big stage, wherever, there is an unabating crusade to contrast the civilized liberal West and its traditional commitment to human dignity, freedom and progress with the barbarism and obsolescent thinking in the Orient. Bah!

This ill-tempered prelude has been provoked by the cold, calculated rapacity of the West-dominated opinion makers and their hypocritical attack on Qatar, the venue of the greatest spectacle on earth – the FIFA World Cup. Their malevolent criticism revolves around a range of issues including the ban on sale of alcohol during matches, Qatar’s anachronistic LGBTQ policy and the treatment of migrant labourers involved in the construction of the stadia and other infrastructure for the World Cup, which their media has sensationalized by calling it “a stain on the conscience of the footballing world.”

The widely reported maltreatment of migrant labour in Qatar, drawn mainly from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka relates to squalid accommodation, delayed payments, withholding of passports, inadequate nutrition, exposure to extreme heat and nationality-based discrimination. In the 12 years since the construction work started, there have been about 6750 migrant deaths due to on-site accidents and illnesses associated with the work environment. This is  most definitely an unacceptably high number of deaths, but then, to quote the immortal biblical cautionary injunction: “Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone.”

The West’s sanctimonious criticism of the treatment meted out to migrant labour in Qatar is stunning in its hypocrisy. The construction industry, a critical part of the economy of most countries, is recognized worldwide as the most hazardous of industries. A European Union Expert analysis has concluded that construction workers everywhere are three times more likely to be killed and twice as likely to be injured as workers in other occupations.

By its own admission, in the European Union, more than 1000 workers are killed and over 800,000 workers injured every year in work-site related accidents, which makes their criticism of Qatar untenable – a phoney case of, at best, the kettle calling the pot black. Being slightly less reprehensible than the reprehensible does not make you a good man. The abysmal condition of construction workers is a universal blight which needs to be addressed, but certainly not by picking on one of the many defaulters, especially when the gratuitous criticism does not stem from an intent to improve matters but is aired merely to tarnish the image of Qatar at a most critical time.  It is an ugly extension of the age-old culture war between the Muslim and Western world, with all the megaphones controlled by the West.

One is amazed by the sheer gumption of the Western world to raise the issue of ill-treatment of migrants. To be lectured on humanism by those guilty of the worst excesses against humanity is jarring. Have they forgotten the three-year old Syrian toddler, Alan Kurdi, washed up on a beach in the Mediterranean, lying face down in the surf- a heart-breaking image that is a scathing indictment of the inhumanity of a heartless Europe?

It was that great lady Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, who jolted the European Union out of its awful apathy with her determined intercession, “Wir schaffen das” meaning “We’ll manage this (refugee influx).” Even as she sounded this noble humanitarian note, Hungary sent trainloads of refugees to Germany, 20000 of them arriving at the Munich station the same week., and scores thereafter. The execrable, burgeoning gang of rightists – racists by another name – led by the ogre, Donald Trump, called her humane gesture “a catastrophic mistake” but despite the sustained and high-octane campaign, including severe rightwing violence demanding a pushback of her open-door policy, she refused to recant her words or her policy.

Notwithstanding Angela Merkel’s heroic support of the beleaguered migrants, the West has been less than human in its treatment of migrants, and hence has no moral right to preach to Qatar on the subject. To quote the justifiably furious but tactless President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, the White world’s manufactured outrage is nothing but “moral lesson giving, one-sided and just hypocrisy.”

Other issues that have at best, a tenuous, extraneous connection with sport have been weaponized to discountenance the organizers of the World Cup.  The English media, with its practiced gift of making mountains of molehills, have gone to town on the restrictions imposed by Qatar on the sale of alcohol in the stadiums. Perhaps, that was to be expected, especially when one considers the universal verity expressed by a soccer aficionado; “I’ve never seen a sober English football fan in my life.” Although I am one who, like Eliza Doolittle’s aunt, genuinely believes that “gin is mother’s milk”, I also know that the world would be a wreck if determined by the needs of the liquor-guzzling lot.

The West-inspired outrage at the liquor ban in stadiums during match time is another blatant example of humbug. In England, alcohol is okay in the concourse but not in your seat; France does not permit alcohol at stadiums in the nation’s top-flight league. The world should also know that in the two fabled soccer stadiums of the world – Barcelona’s Camp Nou and Real Madrid’s Bernabeu – alcohol is strictly prohibited during games. But Qatar’s restriction is being viewed as another example of bigoted cultural provincialism.

For the first time, a ‘Code of conduct’ in the stadiums has been drawn up that forbids the spectators from being visibly under the influence of narcotics or alcohol or being in a state of undress or even shirtless and prohibits inflatable items and vuvuzelas. These are staid, square but unexceptionable rules of etiquette in a sporting arena.

There is also the needlessly hyped issue of Qatar’s intolerance of gay people. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, as it has been in most countries of the world, including India, till a few years ago. Its secular courts can impose a punishment of up to three years in prison for any breach, and if one is Muslim, the Sharia law of the death sentence applies, a penalty that has never actually been executed. The law was in place when Qatar was awarded the contract to host the World Cup, which makes the present brouhaha on the issue a despicable and totally unwarranted distraction and another slur aimed at stigmatizing Qatar.

Hitherto, the World Cup venues were adjudged almost exclusively on their physical readiness to host the tournament, but Qatar is being subjected to a visceral analysis of its world view, its laws, even a microscopic examination of how it got the infrastructure in place. It has been one long exercise in fault-finding with the nefarious motive of telling the world that the global South is incapable of handling a soccer World Cup.

That infamous Sepp Blatter, the former FIFA president, an unsavoury wheeler-dealer, who presided over FIFA’s many questionable deals, including the choice of Qatar to host the World Cup, had the audacity to state, only days before the start of the tournament that it was a mistake to award the World Cup to Qatar as it is “too small a country” and the “World Cup is too big for it”. Qatar has emphatically proved him wrong with the most spectacular show that the soccer world has seen.

We are being told that no amount of spending on creating the most magnificent infrastructure and bounteous conveniences can make up for the absence of that ‘something”, the special sensation that constitutes the very essence of a World Cup. Perhaps the customary raucousness, the drunken bonhomie among spectators will be muted this time around, but then, ultimately, the World Cup is about football, and this tournament has already provided the very best that football can offer.

There have been upsets galore in the first few days of the tournament, with Saudi Arabia claiming the scalp of Argentina; Germany losing to Japan; and Iran beating Wales. And you know what? Qatar is being held partly guilty for these unexpected results because it has scheduled the tournament in winter- the first time ever, upending the European soccer calendar and giving players less time to train with their national teams. My word! These guys are the sorest losers on mother earth!

Even as I write, we are a week into this exquisite celebration of life. The World Cup is not just about kicking, heading, weaving patterns with the ball and scoring goals; it’s about radiating intoxicating sensations, about electric current running up the spine that makes you rejoice and grieve and laugh and curse, all in the space of 90 minutes It is, ultimately, about joie de vivre and togetherness, and forgetting, albeit briefly, the grimness of life!  Enjoy, and damn the critics!

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Saudi Arabia register a famous win against Argentina

DOHA: Crazy things can happen in sports. A resolute, brave and technically sound Saudi Arabia put Asia on the board at the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday.  In the process, they scripted one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport.The thousands of Saudi fans who made the trip across the border would be lying if they said a final scoreline of 2-1 against Argentina was a result they expected anywhere other than in their wildest fantasies. Yet, that’s how it ended at a roaring Lusail Stadium that was draped in a sea of green.

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Paul produced his best effort of 17.03m in his third attempt while Aboobacker was not behind much as he finished at 17.02m, which he managed in his fifth attempt.

Jah-Nhal Perinchief of Bermuda won the bronze with his best jump of 16.92m.

India has won four triple jump medals in the past editions but this is the first time two athletes from the country have got podium finishes. Mohinder Singh Gill had won a bronze and a silver in 1970 and 1974 editions while Renjith Maheswary and Arpinder Singh had finished third in 2010 and 2014 editions

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India has three Golds, three Silver, and three bronze so far

Birmingham: Lovely Choubey, Rupa Rani Tirkey, Pinki and Nayanmoni Saikia bagged gold for India, the country’s first medal in the discipline, by beating South Africa 17-10 in the finals of Lawn Bowls at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday.

South Africa cut India’s early lead from 8-2 to 8-8 at the end of End 9. Following this, South Africa showed their experience in the event by upping the lead to 10-8 after 11 ends of throws. However, India managed to grab the much-needed lead of 12-10 after end 13. South Africa’s brief lead in the in the end 12 came to an end abruptly after India finished the game 17-10 after 14 ends of throws.

Meantime, India lost to New Zealand in the Lawn Bowls men’s singles round 1 match. Mridul Borgohain of India lost to Shannon Mcllroy of New Zealand Zealand for a score of 8-21

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The Madras High Court ordered the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that photographs of the President and Prime Minister are published in all Chess Olympiad advertisements in print and electronic media.

Chennai: A day after BJP workers pasted photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on billboards for the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai saying they featured only Chief Minister M K Stalin, the Madras High Court Thursday ordered the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that photographs of the President and Prime Minister are published in all Chess Olympiad advertisements in print and electronic media.

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The last National Games were held in Kerala in 2015 and Goa was to host the 36th edition in November 2016.

Panaji: After a wait of nearly a decade, Goa has got the nod to host the National Games next year, state sports minister has said.

The infrastructure required for hosting the games in Goa would be ready by December this year, sports minister Govind Gaude said while making the announcement in the state Assembly late Wednesday night.

He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the opportunity.

The Government of Goa has received an email from the Indian Olympics Association in consultation with the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports that the state will be the host for the 37th National Games anytime in 2023,” Gaude told the House.

The last National Games were held in Kerala in 2015 and Goa was to host the 36th edition in November 2016.

After two delays in 2018 and 2019 due to the coastal state’s inability to create adequate infrastructure, the Games were further postponed to 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic then forced the postponement of the National Games and the Goa government was still not certain whether it will be able to host them this year.

Gaude said he had already informed members of the Goa Legislative Assembly that the state would be ready to host the National Games by December 2022.

Eariler, speaking in the House on the demands for grants for the sports department, Gaude said he has made it clear that the infrastructure required for the Games would be ready by December this year.

We will be ready with the infrastructure by December 2022 and Goa will be able to host the National Games next year, the minister had said.

Forget about history, let’s create history in future, he had said.

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Sathiyan showed courage and executed his plans to perfection on his way to a 6-11 12-10 11-9 12-10 win over the second seeded Slovenian player in their round of 32 clash on Thursday.

“Went all guns blazing as I secured a MASSIVE WIN tonight taking down the World Rank 6 & current European cup champion Jorgic Darko (SLO) 3-1 in the Men Singles Round of 32 here in WTT Contender Zagreb 2022,” Sathiyan tweeted.

This is Sathiyan’s second win over a player ranked inside top 10 in the world.

Before this, Sathiyan had beaten former World No. 5 Tomakazu Harimoto of Japan during the 2019 Asian Championships.

Sathiyan is part of the Indian table tennis squad for the upcoming 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which is to start on July 28.

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India’s men’s badminton team wins Thomas Cup title for first time ever with stunning 3-0 win over powerhouse Indonesia in final

Bangkok: Brimming with confidence, India took on 14-time winners Indonesia in the final of the Thomas Cup in Bangkok on May 15, 2022 and lifted the title defeating the defending champions by 3-0.

Lakshya Sen opened the campaign for India and won the match against Anthony Sinsuka Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16. With Sen’s win India was leading against Indonesia by 1-0.

In the second match, Satwik and Chirag took on Indonesian pair of Ahsan and Sukamuljo. Like the earlier match, the pair lost the first set but came back strongly to defeat the Indonesian pair by 18-21, 23-21, 21-19.

In the third game, K. Srikanth thrashed Jonathan Christie in straight sets to bring glory for India. Srikanth fought hard to beat Christie in the third match to win 21-15, 23-21.

India dished out a performance for the ages with World Championships medallist Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and world number 8 doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy producing memorable performances.

Hailing the Indian men’s badminton team for winning the Thomas Cup for the first time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that they have scripted history and their win will motivate many upcoming sportspersons.

The Indian men’s team etched its name in the history books by lifting the title with a dominant 3-0 win over 14-time champions Indonesia in the final in Bangkok on Sunday.

Mr. Modi tweeted, “The Indian badminton team has scripted history! The entire nation is elated by India winning the Thomas Cup! Congratulations to our accomplished team and best wishes to them for their future endeavours. This win will motivate so many upcoming sportspersons.”

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Thiruvanathapuram: The Kerala government on Friday announced a cash award of Rs 1.14 crore to the state football team which recently lifted the prestigious Santosh Trophy beating heavyweights Bengal in a penalty shootout in the final.

A cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, took the decision to give a total of Rs 1.14 crore as cash prize to the team — Rs five lakh each to 20 players and the main coach and three lakh each to the assistant coach, manager and goalkeeper trainer, an official statement said.

Vijayan later said in a Facebook post that the Kerala team’s achievement on their own soil after 29 years has infused a fresh energy to the entire sports sector of the state.

“It will be an inspiration for the young generation to enter the sports sector,” he said adding that the cash award was the honour of the land to the members of the winning team for their effort.

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“Kerala has provided many boxers. Today, there are no emerging international boxing players from Kerala. When talented young boxers from Kerala come, we will give free training at our academy. “Organisations like the Olympic Association should take the initiative to nurture such international athletes,” the pugilist said. Olympians P R Sreejesh, Bajrang Poonia and Ravi Dahiya also attended the press meet. Sreejesh, the Tokyo Olympics Hockey Bronze winner, said that in this period of declining tournaments, Kerala Olympic Games can be an inspiration to the players. “Such initiatives would help bring back our children to the grounds after the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. Poonia, who won the bronze medal in wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics, said he was very happy with the support given by Kerala to sports.

Dahiya, a silver medallist in weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics, said victory and defeat are part of the game and one should make full use of the opportunities, whether in football, boxing or weightlifting. Kerala Olympic Association State President V S Sunil Kumar, Secretary General S Rajeev, Treasurer M R Ranjith and others were also present. The first-ever Kerala Olympic Games were inaugurated at the University Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

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Cheteshwar Pujara scored 203, his second double century in three matches in the County Championship

Indian batting stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara reached his second double-century since joining Sussex, to give the hosts a superb chance to secure their first win of the season in the LV Insurance County Championship.

However, in the final half of the day on Saturday, an unbroken opening stand of 169 between Alex Lees and Sean Dickson gave Durham a chance of saving the match, after they had conceded a first-innings lead of 315.

Dickson completed his century just before the close, off 137 balls, while Lees finished with 50 not out, according to sussexcricket.co.uk. Earlier, Sussex had continued to dominate their fixture against one of the favourites for promotion as their overseas stars Pujara and Mohammad Rizwan put on 154 for the sixth wicket.

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Sumit became the fourth Indian to enter the last four stage. Monika (48kg), Ashish Kumar (81kg) and Manisha (57kg) are already through to the semifinals

New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) Indian boxer Sumit (75kg) entered the semifinals of the Thailand Open with a comfortable win over Timur Nurseitov in Phuket, Thailand

Sumit, who received bye in the opening round, looked in good touch throughout the bout. He notched a 5-0 win against Kazakhstan’s Nurseitov in the quarterfinal clash.

However, it was curtains for Gaurav Chauhan (91kg), who went down 1-4 to 2018 Youth Olympics champion Aibek Oralbay of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals.

Six Indian pugilists will be seen in action on Wednesday.

While Bhagyabati Kachari (75kg), Amit Panghal (52kg) and Rohit Mor (57kg) will play in their quarterfinal, Govind Sahani (48), Varinder Singh (60kg) and Ashish Kumar (81kg) will fight for a place in the finals.

The tournament features 130 boxers, including 74 male and 56 females, from Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa.

Gold medal winners will earn USD 2000, while silver and bronze winners will pocket USD 1000 and USD 500 respectively.

India had won eight medals, including one gold, four silver and three bronze, in the last edition of the tournament, held in 2019

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https://twitter.com/HamdanMohammed/status/1412794948500533254

At an incredible depth of over 60 metres and holding 14 million litres of water, the equivalent of six Olympic-sized swimming pools, Deep Dive Dubai’s pool has been verified by Guinness World Records as the world’s deepest swimming pool for diving. It has the latest technology and facilities, including what will be the region’s most advanced hyperbaric chamber.

Deep Dive Dubai’s pool also features an astonishing sunken city that divers of all levels can explore, complete with an abandoned streetscape and featuring an apartment, garage, and arcade. Free diving and scuba diving courses are given by a team of international diving professionals.

Deep Dive Dubai’s guided experiences and courses are offered across three categories, Discover, Dive and Develop, and are open to both residents and visitors aged 10 and up, ranging from complete beginners to professional divers and athletes. The Discover category caters to those who want to try a single dive or take their first steps towards certification as a diver. The Dive category allows everyone to dive within their certification limits. The Develop category is for training to both develop skills and gain scuba diving and free diving certifications ranging from entry level to technical and instructor level.

The 1,500 sq m facility is shaped like a giant oyster in a tribute to the UAE’s pearl diving heritage.

Among the features of the 60m pool are two underwater habitats with a dry chamber at 6 and 21 metres, 56 underwater cameras covering all angles of the pool, and advanced sound and mood lighting systems. The pool’s fresh water is filtered and circulated every six hours through siliceous volcanic rock, NASA-developed filter technology and UV radiation; this is one of the largest and fastest filter systems in the region.

Deep Dive Dubai’s spokesperson Abdulla bin Habtoor, said: “We offer an unparalleled experience with year-round diving, in a safe environment, with outstanding instructors and services. This facility is an investment in Dubai’s growing sports culture and will add another world-class destination to Dubai’s thriving tourism and adventure sports sector.”

It is currently open by invitation only; public bookings will open in late July at deepdivedubai.com.

Deep Dive Dubai’s Director Jarrod Jablonski, a world-record-holding cave diver and a leading global figure in the development of scuba diving, said: “For those seeking a unique experience, Deep Dive Dubai provides an exceptional, safe and controlled environment to learn all about diving.”

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The remaining Indian Premier League matches will be held in the UAE in September and October, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on May 29.

This is owing to the precarious spike of COVID-19 in India. IPL tournament was suspended in early May after many players tested positive.

The tournament dates are yet to be finalised. It is expected to be played in a three-week window.

The BCCI said that it was moving the remaining matches to the UAE because of the monsoon season in September-October although the monsoon generally runs from June to mid-September.

The UAE had been the stage for all of last year’s IPL matches.

The World Cup is also due to be held in India from October but it is also at risk owing to the pandemic. The BCCI has asked for more time to decide on the hosting of ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The tournament is likely to be discussed by the ICC next week.

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For England, Mark Wood took three wickets, and Adil Rashid registered two dismissals. Meanwhile, Sam Curran, Reece Topley, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone registered a wicket each against the hosts.

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