Pro Kabaddi League: Bengaluru Bulls beat Gujarat Fortunegiants, clinch maiden title

New Delhi, Mar 27: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Friday donated Rs 50 lakh to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, which has so far claimed 17 Indian lives and wreaked havoc globally.

Tendulkar's donation is so far the biggest contribution among India's leading sportspersons, some of whom have pledged their salaries while a few others have donated medical equipment to fight the dreaded outbreak, which has caused more than 24,000 deaths globally.

"Sachin Tendulkar decided to contribute Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister's Relief Fund and Chief Minister's Relief Fund in his bid to join the fight against COVID-19. It was his decision that he wanted to contribute to both funds," a source privy to the development, told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Tendulkar has been associated with a lot of charity work and there has been umpteen times, he has taken up social causes, helped people, which has never been brought to public notice.

Among other prominent cricketers, the Pathan brothers -- Irfan and Yusuf -- donated 4000 face masks to Baroda police and health department while Mahendra Singh Dhoni, through a Pune based NGO, made a contribution of Rs 1 lakh.

Among athletes from other disciplines, wrestler Bajrang Punia and sprinter Hima Das are some of the prominent names to have donated their salaries in the battle against the dreaded virus which has led to a 21-day national lockdown.

Gibraltar, Jan 28: Young Indian Grand Master R Praggnanandhaa pulled off a huge upset, beating former world champion Veselin Topalov in the sixth round of the 18th Gibraltar chess festival to record his fifth straight win here.

The 14-year-old Chennai lad needed just 33 moves to put it across the Bulgarian. He had started with a loss against compatriot P V Nandhidhaa but since then he has been on a winning spree.

Praggnanandhaa, who recently won the world under-18 title, said: "It was very tough to prepare against him."

He is in second spot on five points with six other players and will take on Chinese GM Wang Hao in the seventh round.

Seventeen-year-old Russian GM Andrey Esipenko jumped to sole lead with 5.5 points with a win over Georgia's Ivan Cheparinov

The Russian player would be unpaired in the seventh round as he decided to take a bye.

A bunch of players including Indians — B Adhiban, K Sasikiran, Shardul Gagare, Karthikeyan Murali, SL Narayanan — are in joint third place with 4.5 points.

Adhiban beat Gabriel Flom, while D Gukesh, the world's second youngest Grand Master ever, defeated Martin Percivaldi to move to four points.

Also winning were Karthikeyan Murali against Qi B Chen and Gagare over France's Maxime Lagarde.

Top-seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's moderate run continued as he was held to a draw by GM Aryan Chopra.

New Delhi, Jun 17: Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday paid tributes to Indian Army soldiers, who were killed during the face-off with the Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley.

Extending condolences to the kin of bravehearts, Kohli said, "No one is more selfless and brave than a soldier."

"Salute and deepest respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our country in the Galwan Valley. NO one is more selfless and brave than a soldier. Sincere condolences to the families. I hope they find peace through our prayers at this difficult time," he tweeted.

The violent face-off happened on late evening and night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on Tuesday.

The Army confirmed that 20 soldiers were killed in the face-off, including 17 who were critically injured at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain.

Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area in Ladakh where they had earlier clashed on the night of June 15 and 16, Indian Army said.

Former cricketer Irfan Pathan tweeted, "We will always be indebted to our jawans of #IndianArmy who lost their lives in #GalwanValley #JaiHind."

Expressing similar sentiments, Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan wrote, "A sacrifice that will never be forgotten by the nation. Heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the Indian Army officer and the two soldiers. Saluting your bravery, Jai Hind! #GalwanValley."