Cricket at a glance

Manav, Preyesh secure silver medals in TT

NEW DELHI: Unseeded Japanese Fumiya Igarashi defeated third seed Manav Thakkar of India to emerge winner in the junior boys singles final of the 2017 Thailand Junior and Cadet Open, an ITTF Golden Series Junior Circuit event, in Bangkok. India also had to satisfy with a silver medal in the Hopes Boys when Preyesh Suresh Raj went down to Iran’s Amir Mohammad Samadi 2-3 in a tough final. The Japanese beat the Indian 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11- 5, who had beaten higher-rated adversaries in the semifinal and quarterfinal. In the last eight, he beat Tai Ming-Wei, the No.4 seed 11-5, 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, then overcame Lin Hsin-Yang, the No.2 seed, in what proved to be his toughest contest of the whole tournament in which he emerged successful 11-9, 12-10, 8-11, 811, 5-11, 13-11, 11-8. Like Manav, second seed Preyesh Suresh Raj of India had to be content with the silver medal when he went down to top- seeded Samadi in the hopes singles final. The Iranian won 11- 9, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-2.

Bale making positive recovery, says Zidane

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has said that forward Gareth Bale has started training and is making a positive recovery. Bale will continue with the plan to recover from the injury to his left leg so that he can play in the Champions League final against Juventus on June 3, reports Efe news agency. During a press conference on Tuesday, Zidane pointed out that it was not the time to talk about the final of the Champions League, noting that the absence of the Welshman from the Celta Vigo game does not imply that his recovery was not going well nor does it reduce the chances of him playing against Juventus.

Atletico Mineiro top Copa Libertadores group

RIO DE JANEIRO: Ecuador international midfielder Juan Cazares scored two first-half goals to help Brazil's Atletico Mineiro to a 4-1 home victory over Argentina's Godoy Cruz in their Copa Libertadores group match. Former Brazil internationals Fred and Elias also netted after halftime at Estadio Independencia in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday night, before Juan Garro pulled a late goal back for the visitors, reports Xinhua news agency. The result guaranteed Atletico Mineiro top spot in Group F at the end of the tournament's first phase while Godoy Cruz remained second to also advance to the knockout stage. A late goal for Juan Vogliotti earned Bolivia's Sport Boys Warnes a 1-1 draw away to Club Libertad of Uruguay. Rosauro Rivero gave the hosts the early lead when he turned the ball into his own net at Estadio Leoz in Asuncion.

Bombay YMCA Open Basketball tourney

MUMBAI: Bombay YMCA will celebrate its 125 years by organising a basketball competition. The YMCA Open Basketball Tournament will be held in Mumbai, from May 22. Entries should be addressed to: The Secretary, Bombay YMCA, Physical Education Department, Jhulla Maidan, Agripada, Mumbai Central (E), Mumbai 18. E-mail: amulraj@ymcabombay.com. Phone: 23098257 / 9833087204. Registrations will also be accepted at Ghatkopar, Borivali, Andheri and Bandra. Leading teams will feature in the milestone tournament that will be held for boys and girls’ under-13, under-16, under-18, men and women at four branches of the YMCA. The men’s and women’s competition will be held at Ghatkopar YMCA, under-13 at Borivali YMCA, under-16 at Andheri YMCA and under-18 at Bandra YMCA.

Reforms on agenda at WADA meeting

MONTREAL: The thorny issue of creating a new drug-testing authority independent of international federations will be on the agenda here Thursday at a key meeting of the World Anti-Doping Agency just eight months ahead of the Winter Olympics. Currently in the fight against drugs, individual international federations wield varying degrees of power over doping controls, in many cases acting as judge and jury, according to critics of the system. The International Olympic Committee, which faced a barrage of criticism last year for its response to the Russia doping scandal, has already sought to increase independence by handing primary responsibility for sanctioning to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. At an Olympic summit last October the IOC called for the creation of a new body for independent testing while barring international sports federations from drug-testing responsibilities.