Sports - The Purbottar

30 Jul

Olympics: PV Sindhu storms into the semis in badminton women’s singles

editor0 CommentsSportsbadminton, PV Sindhu, Rio Olympics

Rio Olympics silver medallist and reigning world Champion PV Sindhu reached the semifinals of the women’s singles badminton competition-beating Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi 21-13, 22-20 in 56 minutes at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday. Sindhu, looking to add a gold medal to the silver she won in Rio, dominated her Japanese rival at the net, created points with her disguised shots, and completed straight game wins. The 26-year-old Indian shuttler from Hyderabad was in total control of the first game and then quelled a strong fightback by Akane to reach the semifinals for the second successive Olympics. Yamaguchi played with great…

30 Jul

PV Sindhu enters semifinals of Tokyo Olympics

editor0 CommentsIndia, SportsPV Sindhu, Tokyo Olympics

Reigning world champion PV Sindhu kept India's hopes of winning a first-ever Olympic gold in badminton alive as she reached the semifinals of women's singles with a fighting straight-game win over world no 5 Japanese Akane Yamaguchi here on Friday. The 26-year-old Indian, who won a silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics, defended brilliantly and rode on her attack to outclass the fourth-seeded Yamaguchi 21-13 22-20 in a 56-minute quarterfinal clash at the Musashino Forest Plaza here. She will next face the winner of the other quarterfinal between Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon and Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying. The sixth-seeded Indian…

30 Jul

Dream Sports Foundation partners with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools

editor0 CommentsSportsSPORTS

Dream Sports Foundation (DSF), the philanthropic arm of Dream Sports, one of India’s leading sports technology companies, launched the ‘Dare To Dream’ initiative in partnership with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS) Residential Academy to support six talented young footballers. Scouted by the Indian Football Foundation, a sister concern of the BBFS, the young prospects are between the ages of 12 to 17 years and come from challenging backgrounds from Manipur, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand. As part of India’s largest football training program, the BBFS Residential Academy currently has four campuses across Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi NCR and Kerala. Bhavit Sheth, Chief Operating…

28 Jul

Nandu Natekar, India’s first overseas badminton champion passes away

editor0 CommentsSportsIndian badminton icon, Nandu Natekar

Indian badminton icon Nandu Natekar passed away in Pune on Wednesday. Natekar, who was the first Indian badminton player to win an international event back in 1956, was 88. The six-time national singles champion made his India debut at the age of 20 and successfully shouldered the responsibility of leading India’s challenge in the Thomas Cup men’s team championship for more than a decade from 1951-1963. Recipient of the first Arjuna Award in 1961, Natekar was a touch artist who would mesmerise his opponents with his deceptive skills and stroke perfection. He created history for Indian badminton when he clinched…

27 Jul

Krunal Pandya tests Covid positive, 2nd T-20 postponed

editor0 CommentsSports2nd T-20, Covid-19, Krunal Pandya

The second T20 International between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Tuesday was postponed after all-rounder Krunal Pandya tested positive for Covid-19. Krunal, who tested positive on Monday, has been quarantined and the entire contingent's RT-PCR test reports are awaited. "Yes, Krunal has tested positive and today's T20 international has been postponed. The RT-PCR test reports of others in the Indian contingent are awaited," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity. The match was to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium. India won the first T20 international by 38 runs and it is quite baffling…

26 Jul

India reach quarterfinals in men’s team archery

editor0 CommentsSportsarchery, Indian team, Tokyo Olympics

The Indian men’s archery team reached the quarterfinals beating Kazakhstan 6-2 at the Tokyo Olympics on Monday. The Indian team of Atanu Das, Pravin Jadhav and seasoned Tarundeep Rai defeated the Kazakhstan team of Denis Gankin, Ilfat Abdullin and Sanzhar Mussayev in a close encounter in which all four sets were decided by a single point. They will now meet top seeds South Korea in the next round. The Indians, seeded ninth, won the first set 55-54, as Jadhav and Das scored a 10 each in the last two arrows at the Yumenoshima Park Archery Field. In the second round,…

26 Jul

Tokyo Olympics: Table Tennis star Sharath Kamal begins singles campaign with dominant win, reaches Round 3

editor0 CommentsSportsTokyo Olympics

He may have lost the mixed doubles opener at the Tokyo Games but there was no stopping veteran table tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal in his men's singles opener on Monday, July 26. Overcoming a sluggish start, Sharath Kamal dominated Portugal's Tiago Apolonia, showcasing his class on the biggest stage. Sharath Kamal will next face defending champion Ma Long in the third round on Tuesday, July 27. The 39-year-old Sharath struggled in the first game but pulled himself up just in time to win 2-11 11-8 11-5 9-11 11-6 11-9 in the 49-minute second-round contest. The Indian paddler now has…

25 Jul

Tokyo Olympics: PV Sindhu off to winning start, outclasses Israel’s Polikarpova in straight games

editor0 CommentsSportsPV Sindhu, Tokyo Olympics

Reigning world champion PV Sindhu opened her Olympic campaign with an easy straight-game win over Israel's Ksenia Polikarpova in the women's singles group J match on Sunday. The 26-year-old Indian, seeded sixth, beat the 58th ranked Polikarpova 21-7 21-10 in a lop-sided opening match. The world number seven Indian will next play Hong Kong's world number 34 Cheung Ngan Yi in the group stage. Rio Games silver medallist Sindhu started on an attacking note but briefly found herself lagging 3-4. However, she moved ahead quickly with Polikarpova making unforced errors and entered the break with a 11-5 lead. Soon, Sindhu…

24 Jul

India’s first medal in the Olympics was won by Rupo Mirabai Chanur in weightlifting

editor0 CommentsIndia, SportsOlympics, Rupo Mirabai

There were huge expectations from weightlifter Mirabai Chanu in the Women’s 49 kg category and she didn’t disappoint as she clinched a Silver medal to open India’s medal tally at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Chanu lifted 115 kg in her second attempt and created a new Olympic record. However, when Chanu went for 117 kg, she could not lift the weight and settled for the Silver medal, to win her maiden Olympic medal. China’s Hou Zhihui clinched the gold medal. Cantik Windy Aisah of Indonesia won a Bronze medal in the same category. Could not have asked for a happier…

22 Jul

Tokyo Olympics: Mandeep Singh has over 150 international caps for India.

editor0 CommentsIndia, SportsMandeep Singh, Tokyo Olympics

Making his maiden appearance at the Olympic Games, star India striker Mandeep Singh has been enjoying every experience since the team arrived in Tokyo on Sunday. Recounting the moments, Mandeep said, "It has been great so far. Although it took us some time at the airport due to testing and other procedures, ever since we checked into the Games Village it has been incredible. Everything is well-organised and everyone is very careful about all the protocols." Mandeep also said that the team is quite used to the routine testing and maintaining social distancing and other norms that are mandatory at the…