Rio Olympics: Sindhu, Srikanth keep India's hopes alive, Vikas exits

August 16, 2016

New Delhi, Aug 16: On the tenth day of Rio Olympics, Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu+ and Kidambi Srikanth booked their quarterfinals berths to keep medal hopes alive on Monday, but boxer Vikas Krishan failed to assure a medal after losing his last-eight bout late in the day.

sindhuSindhu displayed a dominant performance to beat Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying in straight games 21-13, 21-15 and booked her spot in the quarter-finals of the women's singles badminton event at the Rio Olympics on Monday. The ninth seed Sindhu took 40 minutes to dismantle the eighth seeded Tai and gave her medal chances a boost in her maiden Olympic appearance.

Sindhu used her height to great advantage as she put pressure on Tai with jump smash and deft touch to force the opponent into unforced errors. Sindhu will need all the tricks she used successfully against Tai in the quarters as she faces world No. 2 and second seeded Wang Yihan of China next on Tuesday.

Earlier, India's lone male shuttler in singles event, Srikanth+ also continued his impressive run as he defeated world No. 5 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark to reach the quarter-finals. The 11th-ranked Indian overcame the higher ranked Danish 21-19, 21-19 in a tight 42-minute contest to keep the medal hopes alive.

With the victory, Kidambi also became the second Indian male shuttler to reach the last eight stage after Parupalli Kashyap, who made the quarters in London 2012. The 23-year-old Indian will now face China's Lin Dan, two-time Olympic champion, for a place in semi-finals on Wednesday.

India's campaign in boxing ended on Monday when Vikas was outpunched 0-3 by Uzbekistan pugilist Bektemir Melikuziev in the quarter-final bout of the men's middleweight (75kg) category. In the battle of southpaws, the younger 20-year-old Uzbek dominated the 24-year-old Indian in all the three rounds winning them 30-27, 30-25, 30-27. Needing a win to assure India its first medal in Rio, Vikas was unable to cope the barrage of punches the promising Uzbek boxer threw in the bout. Vikas was the last of the three Indians to bow out of the Games, after Manoj Kumar lost in the pre-quarterfinals and Shiva Thapa in the opening round.

At the Olympic Stadium, Lalita Babar+ finished tenth in the women's 3000m steeplechase with a timing of 9:22.74 in the final. It was a below par performance for Babar, who broke national record in the qualification (9:19.76) to become the first Indian female track finalist in 32 years. The result though remained the best performance by an Indian in a track event since PT Usha's fourth-place in 400m hurdles in 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

There was more disappointment for India in athletic events on Monday, with both sprinter Srabani Nanda and triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary failing to progress further from their initial rounds. The 25-year-old Srabani clocked 23.58s to finish sixth in her 200m heat, and crashed out of the Games as 55th ranked in the 72-athlete event.

It was a similar story for 30-year-old Maheshwary, a three-time Olympian, as he registered a best jump of 16.13m to finish 30th in the event. Unlike his London outing, where he failed to register a mark, Maheshwary successfully completed all his three qualifying jumps with his best coming in the second. But he failed to qualify for the final by a long margin with the final slot, the 12th, going to Cuba's Lazaro Martinez for a jump of 16.61m.

India's wrestling campaign also began on Monday with Ravinder Khatri participating in the 85kg category of the Greco-Roman event. But Khatri failed to cross his opening hurdle as he was thrashed 9-0 by Viktor Lorincz of Hungary on Great Superiority - which indicates a difference of eight technical points with the loser without logging any points.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 29,2020

Jun 29: The West Indies cricketers will sport a 'Black Lives Matter' logo on the collars of their shirts during the upcoming three-Test series against England to protest against racism in sports.

Skipper Jason Holder, who has voiced his support to the cause that has once again come to the forefront after the killing of American George Floyd, said in a statement on Sunday: "We believe we have a duty to show solidarity and also to help raise awareness."

The ICC-approved logo, designed by Alisha Hosannah, will be the one which featured in the shirts of all 20 Premier League football clubs since the sport's resumption earlier this month.

"This is a pivotal moment in history for sports, for the game of cricket and for the West Indies cricket team," Holder was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"We have come to England to retain the Wisden Trophy but we are very conscious of happenings around the world and the fight for justice and equality. "As a group of young men, we know of the rich and diverse history of West Indies cricket and we know we are guardians of the great game for a generation to come."

Holder, who wants racism to be treated at par with doping and corruption, said they arrived at the decision to wear the logo after much thought.

"We did not take our decision lightly. We know what it is for people to make judgments because of the colour of our skin, so we know what it feels like, this goes beyond the boundary. There must be equality and there must be unity. Until we get that as people, we cannot stop," he said.

"We have to find some way to have equal rights and people must not be viewed differently because of the colour of their skin or ethnic background."

The West Indies players are likely to wear the shirts for the first time in this week's four-day warm-up match at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Monday.

The opening Test of the series, which will mark the resumption of international cricket after the coronavirus-forced hiatus, will get underway at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on July 8.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: Indian cricketers Suresh Raina and Harmanpreet Kaur were on Wednesday appointed as the global brand ambassadors of the WTF Sports.

Raina is also joining the brand as a Strategic Partner. WTF Sports, a fantasy sports gaming platform, was today formally launched in India and globally.

The announcement was made through a web conference with prominent cricket host, Vikram Sathaye moderating and hosting the webinar and Vinit Bhatia, Manit Parikh and Yash Kadakia Co-Founders - India and Global, WTF Sports introducing the cricketers as the Global Brand Ambassadors.

Kaur said it was a perfect fit for her and she can use her strategy and experience while playing.
"WTF Sports was the perfect fit with me, I can use strategy and my experience while playing, I've actually learnt to strategize better as I've played along. Additionally, when we were under lockdown and I couldn't really practice, it was fun to come on the platform and feel like I'm still playing," Kaur said in a statement.

On the other hand, Raina said, "It is exciting to be a part of a fantasy sports platform like WTF Sports not just as an ambassador but also as the strategic partner, it is everything that I embody and what I believe in, it's fierce, fun and competitive."

The app currently hosts three major sports, multiple playing modes, and exciting contests, ensuring that sports fans can get more skillful by letting them strategize and use their sports knowledge into rewarding behaviour.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.