Winning start for india in chess olympiad
batumi: The Indian men and women's teams made winning starts to their campaign in the 43rd Chess Olympiad here on Tuesday. The women team blanked New Zealand 4-0 with only Tania Sachdev facing some real troubles while the trio of Koneru Humpy, Eesha Karavade and Padmini Rout recorded easy victories. On a day when Viswanathan Anand was rested, Krishnan Sasikiran dropped a half point on the fourth board but that was only after P Harikrishna, Vidit Gujrathi and B Adhiban had secured victories on the top three boards to ensure a win for the team. The Indian teams got two match points following the victory as the day produced some individual upsets but the higher ranked teams prevailed. Not a single match was drawn and this could be a record of sorts too. In the open section as many as 64 teams out of 184 scored a perfect 4-0 start and another 17 won conceding just a half point.
Women's Indian Open golf from October 18
new delhi: The 12th edition of the Hero Women's Indian Open will tee-off at the DLF Golf and Country Club here from October, it was announced on Tuesday. The event will see as many as 120 players from over 30 countries vying for the coveted trophy. The tournament will witness the defending champion Camille Chevalier of France trying to extend her hold over the trophy from a strong field of international and Indian players. The tournament, sponsored by Castrol, will set a host of new landmarks - starting with the prize money that touches a record half a million US dollars for the first time, making it the second richest golf tournament in the country after the men's Hero Indian Open. The prize money gets a 25 per cent increase over 2017 and a five-fold increase from its inaugural edition in 2007. For the first time, the tournament will be contested over 72 holes and will be telecast live over all four days, a significant landmark for Indian women's golf. Vani Kapoor, who finished a career-best tied-sixth in the previous edition, will be leading the Indian challenge. Amongst other top Indians is the current Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit leader - Tvesa Malik, along with Amandeep Drall, and Gursimar Badwal among others.
Wozniacki, Kerber win at Wuhan Open
wuhan: World number two Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber eased through their opening matches at the Wuhan Open in China on Tuesday. Australian Open champion Wozniacki, who received a first-round bye, was barely troubled by the 61st-ranked Swede Rebecca Peterson, winning 6-4, 6-1 to set up a third-round clash with Olympic champion Monica Puig, who romped past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-2. Peterson offered some resistance in the first set, breaking Wozniacki's serve at 5-2, but faded as the Dane lost her first match at Pan Pacific Open last week quickly regained control as she looks for a good run in Wuhan to secure a return to the WTA Finals, which she won last year. "It's great to get a good start. Every match counts," Wozniacki said.
Jayaram fails to enter main draw
seoul: Ajay Jayaram failed to enter the main draw as Indian shuttlers struggled in the qualification stages of the $ 600,000 Korea Open World Tour Super 500 tournament here Tuesday. Jayaram lost to China's Zhao Junpeng 26-24, 21-18 in the men's singles qualifiers. Young Vaidehi Choudhari went down without a fight to Kim Ga Eun of Korea 21-8, 21-8, while Mugdha Agrey was knocked out by former world number one Chinese LI Xuerui 21-8, 21-8, in the women's singles. Saina Nehwal and Sameer Verma will look to put their best foot forward Wednesday when they lead the Indian challenge in the main draw.
Eves wrap T20 series 4-0
Katunayake: Indian women ended their tour of Sri Lanka in style with a comprehensive 51-run win against the hosts in the fifth and final T20 International here on Tuesday. India thus clinched the series 4-0 with the second match being abandoned due to rain. Batting first, India scored a commendable 156 in 18.3 overs with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur smashing her way to 63 off 38 balls. While, Jemimah Rodrigues, who had a dream series, contributed 46 off 31 balls with six boundaries and a six. Sri Lanka were all out for 105 in 17.4 overs with leg spinner Poonam Yadav being the pick of the bowlers with 3/18 in 4 overs. Off-spinner Deepti Sharma and left-arm spinner Radha Yadav also chipped in with two wickets apiece.
