MURRAY PULLS OUT PRIOR TO DJOKOVIC DUEL; NADAL ENTERS QF

MADRID: Andy Murray withdrew from his showdown against Novak Djokovic at the Madrid Open on Thursday because of a stomach illness. Later, Rafael Nadal moved into the quarter-finals after a thrilling 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(9) victory against David Goffin in his Round of 16.

Murray’s announcement came not long before Murray was scheduled to take the court against the top-ranked Djokovic in the third round. It would have been the first time Murray and Djokovic played against each other since Djokovic won the Doha final in 2017.

Shooter Srikanth wins gold at Deaflympics

NEW DELHI: Dhanush Srikanth struck gold in the men’s 10m air rifle on day three of the 24th Deaflympics at Caxias do Sul, Brazil. Shourya Saini also won a bronze. Dhanush shot 247.5, a finals world record. The Indian badminton team also won gold beating Japan 3-1 in the final.

English actor Fry to be next MCC president

LONDON: British actor Stephen Fry will become the next president of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Fry will replace ex-england captain Clare Connor, who nominated the 64-year-old comedian and author.

No direct spots for Bajrang, Ravi in trials

NEW DELHI: Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya will not get direct entries into the final for Commonwealth Games and Asian Games trials owing to the unrest among other grapplers during the Asian Championship trials, for which WFI had given direct entries to Bajrang and Dahiya to the final.

I-league clubs write to AIFF, seek clarity

KOLKATA: Nine I-league clubs including champions Gokulam Kerala FC have written to the AIFF seeking clarity on the 2022-23 season in which, as per the roadmap given to AFC in 2019, the winners will automatically qualify for the Indian Super League.