Category: Sports

Kenneth Bednarek delivered a striking performance at the Diamond League meeting in Doha, showcasing his dominance in the 200m with a personal best and world-leading time of 19.67 seconds. Wearing a headband with the words “Fear no one,” the American athlete stormed to victory from lane seven, leaving his rivals in his wake. His decisive victory made a strong statement to his competitors in the Olympics and prepared them for a difficult task in Tokyo.

After his win, Bednarek pointed out his confidence in his ability and training programme while expressing his optimism about winning the gold medal at the Olympics. He acknowledged that his fast time was impressive, but he also made it clear that his main goal is still to perform well in competition rather than clocking specific times.

Meanwhile, British competitor Daryll Neita won the dramatic women’s 100m, defeating American Tamari Davis by a tiny margin in a photo finish. Neita’s victory, which came down to a tenth of a second, perfectly captured the intensity of the competition.

During the exciting meet, Carey McLeod of Jamaica won the men’s long jump with an incredible leap of 8.52m, and Alison dos Santos shattered the meet record in the 400m hurdles.

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur ascended three spots to 13th in the latest ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings after an outstanding performance in the five-match series against Bangladesh. Richa Ghosh moved up two spots to 23rd following her flawless 28 in the final game.

Regarding bowling, after impressive performances against Bangladesh, Titas Sadhu shot up to 60th place in the latest T20I rankings, while Radha Yadav shot up seven spaces to 23rd.

In the T20I batting rankings, captain Heather Knight moved up four spots to number eighteen following her 49-run innings in Birmingham. On the other hand, Amy Jones advanced three spots to 26th place with her spectacular 37 runs and four catches, earning her the Player of the Match award.

After taking four wickets against Pakistan, Sarah Glenn moved up two spots to fourth in the T20I bowling rankings, trailing only female teammate Sophie Ecclestone. Lauren Bell moved up four spots to seventh place with her 3-22 performance.

The leading Sri Lankan run scorer in the T20 WC Qualifier, Chamari Athapaththu, moved up two spots to seventh in the T20I batting rankings and one slot to fifth in the all-rounders rankings. The revised T20I bowling rankings saw Inoshi Fernando jump five ranks to 19th and Udeshika Prabodhani jump five spots to 30th.

Indian table tennis player Manika Batra has risen to a career-high world ranking of No. 24 in the women’s singles division, marking the first time in history that an Indian woman has cracked the top 25.

She has now tied Sathiyan Gnanasekaran’s record for India’s highest singles rank. Batra was incredibly proud and determined to see her efforts pay off in time for the forthcoming Olympics.

With a strong showing in the Saudi Smash event, where she defeated top-ranked opponents like Wang Manyu and Nina Mittelham to get to the quarterfinals and become the first Indian woman to do so in a WTT Grand Smash event, her ranking shot up. Additionally, she has regained the top spot among Indian women players, which was previously held by Sreeja Akula, who is currently ranked 41st.

With Archana Kamath, Batra set a milestone for any Indian in table tennis in 2022 by placing fourth in the women’s doubles.

Among the men’s singles leaders are Sharath Kamal, Manav Thakkar, and Harmeet Desai. Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee rose to 13th place in the women’s doubles, while Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah ranked 15th.

Batra and Sathiyan dropped to 24th place, while Harmeet Desai and Yashaswini Ghorpade rose to 38th place.

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev faced a tough challenge against qualifier Hamad Medjedovic in the Italian Open, ultimately prevailing 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 7-5 after nearly three hours of play.

Medvedev, expressing dissatisfaction with his performance despite winning, said, “I’m not really pleased.” He believed he had a good start to the game, but as it went on, his performance deteriorated. He stressed the importance of improving his performance in the upcoming round against Tommy Paul.

There have been multiple upsets in the event, with top seeds like Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic losing out early. The rivalry is getting more exciting as sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz—who overcame Rafael Nadal—keep moving forward.

In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elina Svitolina in a much-anticipated match. Svitolina had famously refused to shake hands with opponents from Belarus and Russia in protest of the continuing war.

Iga Swiatek, the top seed in the world, proved her mettle by overcoming Angelique Kerber to go to the quarterfinals. Swiatek is still a strong player in the competition and is ready to take on Madison Keys in the following round. She has her sights set on winning a third Rome title and defending her French Open title.

In the Superbet rapid and blitz chess tournament, Wei Yi of China increased his lead by a significant 2.5 points, while R. Praggnanandhaa of India scored another impressive win over Magnus Carlsen.

On the first day of the blitz, Yi scored seven victories and an amazing 20.5 points, putting him in the lead to win the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour. With only eighteen points, Carlsen is well behind, mainly because Praggnanandhaa keeps winning against him.

A fierce competition for the crown is anticipated as Praggnanandhaa maintains a solid 14.5 points.

Arjun Erigaisi (14 points) and Duda Jan-Krzysztof (13 points) are not far behind. With 12.5 points, Nodirbek Abdusattorov is in sixth place. Carlsen’s claim that his nervous system gave out after his defeat by Praggnanandhaa serves to further emphasise the tension of the situation.

Wei Yi only gave up a draw to Carlsen throughout the day after coming back from a defeat to Gukesh. Unfortunately, Gukesh had difficulties and only managed to get 2.5 points. Arjun continued to be a strong competitor, winning matches against Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa.

With 20.5 points, Wei Yi continues to lead the quick segment, ahead of Carlsen (18), Praggnanandhaa (14.5), and Arjun Erigaisi (14.5).

France’s Leonie Periault triumphed at the Yokohama World Triathlon Championship Series, securing her Olympic spot with a commanding win. Periault finished 36 seconds in front of American competitor Taylor Knibb in second place and 40 seconds ahead of fellow Frenchwoman Emma Lombardi, who took home the bronze.

In the series, 29-year-old Periault won her second gold medal of her career with a winning time of 01:52:28. She and 22-year-old Lombardi will proudly represent France at the next Games.

Knibb had already guaranteed her place after finishing in the top eight of the Paris test event the previous year. Kirsten Kasper took fifth, but Taylor Spivey was unable to qualify for the Olympics after finishing in fourth place.

Double world champion Gwen Jorgensen placed fifteenth, while Flora Duffy, the current Olympic champion, miraculously recovered from an injury to take seventh place.

Knibb moved quickly through the water, and Duffy fought through the cycling part even after Maya Kingma had a puncture. However, Periault’s unmatched performance on the track was what really won her the race; Lombardi managed to keep up the longest before eventually losing ground.

Alejandro Tabilo of Chile stunned world number one Novak Djokovic with a stunning 6-2, 6-3 victory in just 67 minutes to secure a career-defining win at the Italian Open. Following a water bottle blow to the head two days earlier, six-time tournament champion Djokovic appeared off balance.

Tabilo took advantage of Djokovic’s out-of-character performance, breaking him four times while preserving an unbreakable defence and not giving up a break point.

After Fernando Gonzalez defeated Roger Federer in 2007, Tabilo became the first Chilean to defeat the world’s top player. Tabilo, who ranked 32nd overall, expressed shock and joy at the accomplishment and called the experience “unreal.”

Djokovic hasn’t made it to a single final this year, so this setback adds to a streak of unsatisfactory performances in 2024. There are questions over the Serbian’s form going into the French Open due to his troubles on clay courts.

Djokovic made it to the Monte Carlo Masters semifinals, but his early withdrawal in Rome raises questions about whether he will be ready for Roland Garros, which hosts the second Grand Slam event of the year on May 26.

Rudy Gobert had an incredible season with the Wolves and matched a record by winning his fourth NBA Defensive Player of the Year title. Due to the birth of his child, he was unable to attend Game 2 against the Nuggets. However, he was present as his team won 106-80, their fourth straight playoff road game.

Gobert emphasised the importance of being present for his son’s birth while expressing gratitude for his team’s performance and support. He clinched the prestigious title with 72 first-place votes, sharing the record for most victories with Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.

The 31-year-old Gobert has been an integral part of the Wolves’ successful defensive approach throughout the playoffs. His influence goes beyond the floor; Wolves coach Chris Finch attributes the team’s defensive culture to him. Despite early doubts about his 2022 acquisition, Gobert’s impact and Finch’s coaching helped the Wolves rise to the top of the defensive standings.

Gobert acknowledged the team’s belief in him and emphasised the squad’s resilience amidst challenges. He also praised the teamwork needed to succeed. He looks optimistic as he looks ahead, stressing the value of tenacity and cooperation in reaching greatness.

Yuzvendra Chahal, representing Rajasthan Royals, achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Indian cricketer to reach 350 wickets in T20 cricket during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). This feat was accomplished when he dismissed Delhi Capitals’ captain, Rishabh Pant, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Earlier in the tournament, he made history by becoming the first bowler to achieve 200 wickets in the IPL. His accomplishment placed him sixth among spinners and eleventh overall among T20 cricket’s highest wicket scorers.

Chahal is still a key player for the Rajasthan Royals and the Indian national team, despite a recent spell of inconsistent play. With 14 wickets taken thus far in the current IPL season, he is among the top 10 wicket-takers.

The fact that Chahal and Ravi Ashwin made sure the Delhi Capitals were limited to 221/8 during the latest game when their openers needed to get them off to a fast start, is a fantastic turnaround to go from being out of favour to a mainstay in both his IPL team and the national team.

Rafael Nadal will play a qualifier in the Italian Open’s opening round on his return to the clay courts in Rome, beginning yet another phase of his continuing injury recovery.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who is renowned for his supremacy on clay, is aiming for a record-tying tenth victory in Rome. If he advances, the ninth-ranked player in the world, Hubert Hurkacz, might face him in the next round. Also looming in Nadal’s section of the draw are defending champion Daniil Medvedev and last year’s runner-up, Holger Rune.

Nadal has a long history in Rome; he last won here in 2021 before having to retire from competition the previous year due to an injury.

The 37-year-old Spaniard has had mixed results since rejoining the circuit in April following a three-month break. He lost in the second round in Barcelona but advanced to the round of 16 in Madrid.

Currently ranked 305th in the ATP rankings, Rafael Nadal’s future in tennis is still up in the air due to nagging physical problems that have raised talk of his retirement. He has given hints that his competitive spirit will determine whether or not he enters the next Roland Garros.