India campaign ends as Pranaav-Sikki lose
India’s campaign ended at the Japan Open Superseries after the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy suffered a narrow loss in the semi-finals. Pranaav and Sikki squandered the opening game advantage to go down 21-14, 15-21, 19-21 to the local pair of Takuro Hoki and Sayaka Hirota. During the 60-minute battle, the Indian pair fought hard, managing a 7-4 lead early on which was erased by the Japanese combo quickly at 9-9.
INDIA A TEAMS LEAVE FOR AHL
The India-A men’s and women’s teams left on Saturday for the Australian Hockey League (AHL), to begin on September 28 in Perth. Ahead of the leagues that will see 10 teams, including defending champions Victoria fight for top honours, the men’s squad was based at Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bangalore while the women trained at the SAI centre in Bhopal. The India-A men’s team skipper Vikas Dahiya said, “I think we have a very good mix of players with many of us who have played together for more than four years. There is a great understanding among the players and we have undergone good preparations for the challenge in Australia. The teams we will be playing are quite strong with players of national repute,” said Dahiya.
HONOUR FOR MARY KOM
M C Mary Kom has become the first Indian to be picked as the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) representative for the IOC Athletes’ Forum scheduled in November. The 33-year-old has been invited to attend the 8th International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Forum in Lausanne from November 11 to 13.
TOKYO: NEWDELHI: NEW DELHI:
CYCLING EVENT
ThePetroleumConservation Research Association, in coordination with Cycling Federation of India, is organising a cycling competition on November 5. The event featuring four categories will kick off at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. In the elite group, competitors will cover 50km and 30km, while distance in amateur is 30km. In the open and green ride categories the distance is 10km and 5km, respectively.
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