Focused Lakshya Sen in World Junior semifinals
MARKHAM(CANADA): Lakshya Sen defeated Aidil Sholeh Ali Sadikin of Malaysia 21-8 21-18 to storm into the semi-finals of the men’s event of the BWF World Junior Championship here.
In the semi-finals, Lakshya will take on the top-seeded Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand, who disposed of Indonesian Alberto Alvin Yulianto 21-14 21-17.
“He is a very good player and I am aware of it. I will have to be on my feet to beat him. I am up for the challenge,” Lakshya said.
The men’s pair of Vishnu Vardhan Panjala and Srikrishna Sai Podile went down 21-11, 21-8 to Koreans Tae Yang Shin and Chan Wang in the quarter-finals.
MOMOTA STUNNED
HONG KONG: Badminton’s topranked players both made shock departures from the Hong Kong Open Saturday after Kento Momota was stunned by Son Wan-ho and Tai Tzu Ying retired with a waist injury.
Son triumphed 18-21, 21-16, 21-19 in an exhausting 89 minutes after seeing off a late boost from the exhausted Japanese star in the decider.
Momota has been in searing form since his return to the sport after a gambling scandal saw him slapped with a 12-month ban.
But the 24-year-old has had a slow run through the Hong Kong tournament.
He beat Chinese great Lin Dan in the first round but complained of burnout after his first three matches all went to three games.
Son, 30, is through to his first top-flight singles final since his win at the 2016 Korea Masters.
He now takes on eighth seed Kenta Nishimoto, who bounced out hometown hero Lee Cheuk Yiu 21-18, 21-12 in 47 minutes.
MANAV GETS BRONZE
MINSK (BELARUS): India’s Manav Thakkar settled for bronze in the U-21 category and Harmeet Desai reached the pre-quarter-finals of the men’s singles in the ITTF Challenge Belgosstrakh Belarus Open on Friday. Manav lost to Russia’s Denis Ivonin in the semi-finals (2-3) to miss out
on the gold.
BENGAL WARRIORS WIN
AHMEDABAD: Bengal Warriors defeated Puneri Paltan 26-22 in the Inter Zone Challenge Week match of the Pro Kabaddi here on Saturday.
Bengal players held their nerves at crucial moments to outclass the opposition. Maninder Singh scored six raid points for Bengal and was ably supported by Ravindra Kumawat, who pitched in with five crucial points. For Puneri Paltan, GB More scored nine points but didn’t get enough support from his fellow raiders.
Later, the second match of the day between Gujarat Fortunegiants and Bengaluru Bulls was tied 30-30.
GREATEST PLAYER
Carlsen is seeking to cement his reputation as one of history’s greatest players, while Caruana is the first American to compete in the championship since the legendary Bobby Fischer in 1972.
Playing white, reigning world champion Carlsen narrowly avoided a defeat to his 26-yearold American challenger.
A draw fetches half a point and a win one point. The first to get 6.5 points in the 12-game contest wins.
Both players now have three points after six draws.
The seventh game in the 12-match tournament will begin on Sunday.
If the two are still level after 12 games, the title will be decided by a series of tiebreakers.