Category: Sports

At Friday’s Edwin Moses Legends Meet in Atlanta, world-record holder and Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran the 400-meter hurdles in a season-opening 52.70 seconds, marking her return to competition after over 22 months.

In 2024, the 24-year-old returned to her speciality event after focusing on the 400-meter flat in 2023. There, she missed the World Championships owing to injury. She sets a new career-best time in her comeback to the event.

Femke Bol, the reigning 400-meter hurdles world champion, will kick off her season on Sunday in the Stockholm Diamond League with a mark of 52.70, the best time recorded so far this year.

“It’s a progression,” said McLaughlin-Levrone. “After two years of inactivity, I’ll settle for a 52.7. With so little hurdle practice, there is still a long way to go.”

In second place, 17-year-old Michelle Smith set the Virgin Islands record in 55.96 seconds. Another notable event was the 100-meter hurdles competition. In this, Olympic silver medalist Kendra Harrison won in 12.60 seconds, just beating off Michelle Atherley (12.63 PB) and Christina Clemons (12.65).

Quanera Hayes finished second behind Kendall Ellis in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.88. Meanwhile, Christopher Bailey broke the 45-second mark in the men’s event with a win in 44.42. Tamara Clark beat Celera Barnes to win the 100 metres in 11.04 seconds, while Audrey Leduc won the 200 metres in 22.36 seconds, setting a new Canadian record.

The 2024 Singapore Sports Awards were presented on June 3, and the winners were bowler Darren Ong and sprinter Shanti Pereira. With her Sportswoman of the Year title, Pereira becomes the first track and field athlete to do so since 2004.

Coach Luis Cunha, whom she was under, was honoured with the title. A few of Pereira’s achievements include winning 100-meter and 200-meter titles at the Cambodia SEA Games and Asian Athletics Championships; making a semi-final appearance at the World Championships in Budapest; and winning 200-meter gold and 100-meter silver at the Hangzhou Asian Games. A national record was also set in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash.

In 2007, Darren Ong won the Sportsman of the Year award for the first time. As the crown jewel of Ong’s breakout year, he became the first Singaporean to win the men’s singles title in the International Bowling Federation World Championships since 2006 in Kuwait. In addition to winning the Philippine International Open’s singles title, he took bronze in the men’s doubles and all-events world championships.

The event also recognised Maximilian Maeder, a world champion in kitefoiling, as the Sportsboy of the Year, and Zeanne Law, a world champion in wushu, as the Sportsgirl of the Year.

On Saturday, R Praggnanandhaa created history in the Norway Chess Competition by defeating world number two Fabiano Caruana in round five. This win followed his earlier victory against world number one Magnus Carlsen in round three, marking his first time defeating both top players in classical chess. His outstanding performance has elevated him to the top ten of the FIDE World Ranking.

The official Norway Chess handle on X praised his accomplishment. It read, “Pragg is back! Praggnanandhaa, a young prodigy, once again stuns the chess world by defeating World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana in Round 5!”

Hikaru Nakamura of America defeated Praggnanandhaa in round four after outmanoeuvring him due to better preparation. Meanwhile, his sister Vaishali maintained her impressive form, defeating Pia Cramling and increasing her lead to 8.5 points. The Indian Women’s Grandmaster Humpy Koneru lost against Anna Muzychuk, while Ju Wenjun defeated Lie Tengjie in an armageddon tiebreak.

Norway Chess 2024, which includes both men’s and women’s competitions, began on May 27 and will run until June 7 at SpareBank 1 SR-Bank. The event features elite players in a 6-player double round-robin format with equal prize money to promote gender equality in chess.

Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has been awarded the ICC ODI Player of the Year 2023 and is a member of the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year. Kohli got his medal in New York as India prepared to play their first T20 World Cup match against Ireland on June 5.

The 35-year-old returned in style this year, managing 1,377 runs in 27 ODIs at an average of 72.47 and a strike rate of 99.13. He scored six centuries and eight fifties, with a best score 166. Kohli played a big part in India’s Asia Cup 2023 win, especially with an unbeaten 122 against Pakistan.

He also contributed 765 runs in 11 ODI World Cup matches, averaging 95.62. He hit three centuries and six half-centuries. His high score was 117. Kohli broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for scoring the most runs in one World Cup edition. Moreover, he also broke Tendulkar’s 49 ODI centuries by scoring his 50th century against New Zealand in the quarterfinals.

After a fine IPL season, during which he earned the Orange Cap for most runs with 741 runs in 15 matches, Kohli will now play in the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the US.

On Saturday, D.P. Manu, placed 14th on the Road to Paris Olympics chart, won the javelin gold at the Taiwan Athletics Open in Taipei with an 81.58m throw in the final round.

The Asian silver medalist, World No. 12, and sixth-place finisher at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, accomplished three 80-plus throws on the World Athletics Continental Tour (bronze event). Taiwan’s Chao Tsun-Cheng, an Asian record holder and the first Asian to surpass 90m (PB 91.36m, 2017), won silver with a 76.21m throw.

The javelin event at the Paris Olympics will include 32 participants, nine of whom have already met the automatic qualifying standard of 85.50m, including Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Kumar Jena from India. Others will attempt to qualify via global rankings.

Meanwhile, V.K. Vismaya, who won gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, ran a season-best 53.49 seconds and took home a bronze in the women’s 400m. Tharushi Karunarathna of Sri Lanka won gold in 52.48 seconds, whereas Nadeesha Ramanayake finished fourth (53.93 seconds).

In other events, Nithya Ramraj won silver in the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.23. Meanwhile, Rosy Meena Paulraj placed sixth in the women’s pole vault with 3.75 metres.

Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek, and Emma Raducanu won the Billie Jean King Cup qualifications. With a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, Osaka’s dominant performance—which featured 15 aces—moved Japan closer to the BJK Cup Finals. 

It was Osaka’s first return to team competition since February 2020, demonstrating her strength after childbirth. Japan took a 2-0 lead thanks to Nao Hibino’s dominant performance. In November, the qualifiers saw 16 nations compete for a position in the Finals in Seville, Spain, including defending champion Canada and others.

Australia, headed by captain Sam Stosur, quickly overtook Mexico. Meanwhile, Swiatek led Poland to a 2-0 victory over Switzerland, and Raducanu’s comeback sealed a stalemate between Britain and France. In the United States, Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro rallied to give the team a 2-0 lead in Lindsay Davenport’s debut as captain.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Lesia Tsurenko defeated Romania in Florida, while Germany and Slovakia dominated Brazil and Slovenia. Swiatek’s impressive performance in Switzerland starkly contrasted with Magdalena Frech’s comeback victory. Raducanu’s tenacity on an indoor clay court helped Britain tie the score with France. Finally, in Sao Paulo, Germany defeated Brazil twice.

On Wednesday, India’s teenage chess sensation, R Praggnanandhaa, defeated world number one Magnus Carlsen in the Norway Chess Tournament. This victory pushed Carlsen to sixth place in the points ranking. Praggnanandhaa has previously beaten Carlsen in rapid and exhibition games.

Notably, this is Carlsen’s home tournament. Praggnanandhaa told the Indian Express that he was unaffected by Carlsen’s “provocative opening.”

Praggnanandhaa received applause on social media following his win. Many people asked about the match’s re-telecast. One of the X users said, “Not an unexpected game by Pragg.” Another person emphasised Praggnanandhaa’s confidence, writing, “Pragg felt confident and knew his time had arrived to beat the world’s number one Magnus in traditional chess. “Well done.”

Praggnanandhaa used white pieces and won, moving Carlsen up to fifth place in the points table. One person said, “India’s future in chess is bright. I can’t wait to see two Indians compete for the global title—Pragg, Nihal, Gukesh, Arjun, and others. “The future is bright. Another person expressed excitement over Praggnanandhaa facing Ding Liren in the World Championship. A user also commented, “Not to forget his sister Vaishali leading in the women’s segment.”

Olympiakos made history by winning Greece’s first European club title, defeating Fiorentina 1-0 in the Europa Conference League final. Ayoub El Kaabi scored the game-winning goal in the 116th minute of extra time, prompting wild celebrations in Athens after a tight VAR check confirmed it. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Radamel Falcao previously held the knockout record, but El Kaabi, the competition’s top scorer, broke it with 11 goals.

The victory, gained under coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, consigned Fiorentina to their second consecutive Europa Conference League final defeat. “We created chances and had the opportunity to win the cup, but it didn’t happen,” Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano remarked.

Olympiakos supporters rejoiced throughout Athens, with tens of thousands attending viewing parties and lighting fireworks in Piraeus. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis praised the team as “a true legend” and emphasised the importance of the triumph for Greek football.

Due to concerns about major events across Europe, fights between Fiorentina supporters and riot police temporarily interrupted the game. Despite Fiorentina’s strong start, Olympiakos goalkeeper Pietro Terracciano’s saves and El Kaabi’s goal sealed a historic victory.

Olympiakos players celebrated alongside 15,000 fans, including defender Panagiotis Retsos, who was overjoyed. “It’s the best emotion I’ve felt so far in my career,” he stated.

On Wednesday, PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy reached the second round of the 2024 Singapore Open Super 750 competition. Viktor Axelsen defeated Lakshya Sen. Sindhu, who last won a BWF title in Singapore two years ago, recently finished second at the Malaysia Masters. She overcame Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 21-12, 22-20 in 44 minutes to advance to the second round, where she will face Carolina Marin of Spain, who has an 11-5 record against her.

Prannoy, the world number ten, defeated Belgium’s Julien Carraggi 21-9, 18-21, 21-9, and will next face Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto. Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who won bronze at the Commonwealth Games, defeated Cheng Yu-Pei and Sun Yu Hsing of Chinese Taipei 21-7, 21-14 in the women’s doubles event.

World No. 14 Lakshya Sen, who was scheduled to make his Olympic debut in Paris, lost against Axelsen 13-21, 21-16, 13-21 in 62 minutes. Kidambi Srikanth retired from his opening-round match against Japan’s fifth seed, Kodai Naraoka, with a knee injury after trailing 14-21, 3-11.

The Olympic-bound women’s pair Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, the men’s pair Krishna Prasad Garage and Sai Pratheek K, and mixed doubles combo B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy all suffered defeats.

Jannik Sinner had a convincing performance to advance to the second round of the French Open, while Iga Swiatek defeated qualifier Leolia Jeanjean to face Naomi Osaka. Sinner overcame previous injury struggles to defeat American Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the tournament’s first round on Monday.

Sinner, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open and miss the Rome Masters owing to a hip injury. However, he demonstrated his prowess on Roland Garros’ clay courts, forcing Eubanks to withdraw at the first hurdle for the second straight year.

Sinner grabbed two vital breaks in the first set, taking a commanding 4-1 lead. Though Eubanks managed to break back, Sinner kept his cool and sealed the set with another break. Sinner maintained his dominance in the ensuing sets, needing only one break to go to the second round. Sinner’s next matchup will be with French wildcard Richard Gasquet.

Swiatek began her championship defence on Monday, May 27, with an easy victory over Jeanjean. The match lasted just over an hour, and the Polish star dominated, defeating Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek will now take on former World No. 1 Osaka. Both performers will face a battle on Wednesday, May 29.