Sports

New York, Sep 2 (IANS) Ons Jabeur, the fifth seed, ended her first week in the US Open with a three sets victory against American Shelby Rogers to reach the pre-quarterfinals for the third consecutive time here on Friday.

The victory pushed Jabeur's record against Americans to 11-1 this season and put her into the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in her career.

The Tunisian is the first player from her country to do well in the Grand Slams.

It was a disappointing loss for Rogers, who for the past two years has dethroned several top seeds here in Flushing Meadows, including last year's victory over No. 1 Ash Barty.

On Friday, the American put together a solid two sets of tennis that had the No. 5 seed scrambling across every inch of the court, and on a few occasions even had her diving onto the court to try to stay in the point.

But when Rogers blinked and served a double fault at 6-4, 4-4, Jabeur took the opportunity and never looked back, taking seven of the last 10 games to seal the win.

Veronika Kudermetova produced a quality performance on Day 5 at the 2022 US Open, fitting her status as the No. 18 seed as she dispatched No. 91 Dalma Galfi, 6-2, 6-0, in a 47-minute serving masterclass in the Grandstand.

The 25-year-old Kudermetova forced open the first set of the baseline contest, overcoming three consecutive aces by the Hungarian one year her junior to lead 3-2. Kudermetova was particularly dominant on first serves, delivering 78% in the first set before improving to an astonishing 100% in the second set. In her first two matches, Kudermetova won all 20 service games-helped by 14 aces-in straight-set dismissals of Donna Vekic and Maryna Zanevska, respectively.

Kudermetova, who is into the fourth round of the US Open for the first time in her career, is currently enjoying an all-time high No. 18 ranking. In 2021, she won a career-record 33 matches, including a final-round appearance at Abu Dhabi (losing to Aryna Sabalenka) before securing her maiden WTA Tour singles crown at Charleston.

--IANS

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Sharjah, Sep 2 (IANS) Spin twins, leg-spinner Shadab Khan and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz shared seven wickets between themselves as Pakistan thrashed Hong Kong by 155 runs in the final Group A match of Asia Cup 2022 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.

After sparkling knocks from Mohammad Rizwan (78 not out), Fakhar Zaman (53) and Khushdil Shah (35 not out) carried Pakistan to a daunting 193/2, Hong Kong were blown away by pacers and spinners to be bundled out for 38, giving the Babar Azam-led side their biggest-ever win by runs in T20Is.

The win also means that Pakistan qualify for the Super Four stage from Group A while Hong Kong crashed out of the competition. It also sets up another India-Pakistan showdown in the Super Four match in Dubai on Sunday, exactly a week after meeting in the first Group A match of the tournament.

Nizakat Khan began well by crunching a drive square of the wicket off Shahnawaz Dahani. But Naseem Shah took him out in the next over, chipping straight to cover. Four balls later, Shah castled Babar Hayat for a four-ball duck. More trouble followed for Hong Kong as Dahani bounced out Yasim Murtaza and mid-on ran forward to complete a low catch.

From there, Shadab and Nawaz took over to totally dismantle Hong Kong's challenge with the bat. Shadab bamboozled with his googly, taking out Aizaz Khan and Haroon Arshad. Nawaz, on the other hand, took out Kinchit Shah, Scott McKechnie and Zeeshan Ali.

Post drinks break, Shadab's wrong'un castled Ayush Shukla and then trapped Mohammad Ghazanfar lbw to complete a resounding thrashing of Hong Kong at the hands of Pakistan.

Brief scores: Pakistan 193/2 in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 78 not out, Fakhar Zaman 53; Ehsan Khan 2-28) against Hong Kong 38 all out in 10.4 overs (Nizakat Khan 8, Shadab Khan 4-8, Mohammad Nawaz 3-5) by 155 runs

--IANS

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Pune, Sep 2 (IANS) Giant-killer Abhinav Mangalam was shown the door as seeds continued to fall in the quarterfinals of the India Junior International Grand Prix 2022, and played in memory of the Late Sushant Chipalkatti, here on Friday.

Local stars Tara Shah and Darshan Pujari gave Maharashtra some reason to cheer winning their respective matches.

On a two-session-two-round day, Abhinav, who turned heads in the morning by knocking out world No.9 Prince Dahal of Nepal in Round 2 bowed in the last-16 round. Pitted against No. 11 Tushar Suveer, Abhinav lost tamely 21-11, 21-14.

Overall six seeds made their exit -- four in the last-32 round and two in the pre-quarterfinals respectively.

Amidst all the drama two players that stood out were Pune lass and No. 7 Tara Shah who downed No. 12 Anyapat Phichitpreechasak (Thailand) 21-17, 21-14 in a 34-minute battle to enter the quarterfinals of the women's singles. Earlier, she put out Stuti Agarwal in three games.

In the men's singles, Darshan Pujari won the battle of unseeded players against Remus Ng (Singapore) 21-9, 21-16 to make the last 8. In fact, on a day when many players struggled, Darshan won both his matches in a straight game which includes beating Samarveer 21-8, 22-20.

Interestingly, qualifiers made a strong impact with as many as three (two men and one woman) making it to the quarterfinal round. Dhruv Negi beat fell qualifier Rushendra Thirupathi 21-16, 21-18 and Pranay Shettigar beat another qualifier Anishraj Rajkumar 21-11, 20-22, 21-7 in the men's section, while Tanvi Sharma put out Rujula Ramu 21-16, 21-10.

RESULTS (All Indians unless mentioned otherwise)

Men's Singles (Pre-quarters): 11-Tushar Suveer bt Q-Abhinav Manglam 21-11, 21-14; Q-Dhruv Negi bt Q-Rushendra Thirupathi 21-16, 21-18; Darshan Pujari bt Remus Ng (Singapore) 21-9, 21-16; Q-Pranay Shettigar bt Q-Anishraj Rajkumar 21-11, 20-22, 21-7; 7-Muhammad Halim As Sidiq (Indonesia) bt Neer Nehwal 21-17, 25-23; 4-Lakshay Sharma bt Abhishek Santhoshkumar 21-15, 21-17; 8-Ayush Shetty bt 10-Wongsup Wongsup-In (Thailand) 21-18, 21-17; 2-Pranav Rao Gandham bt Q-Rounak Chouhan 21-17, 21-17


Women's Singles (Pre-quarters): 1-Anupama Upadhyaya bt Neysa Cariappa 21-14, 19-21, 21-17; 15-Sreshta Reddy Kannareddy bt Akansha Matte 23-21, 12-21, 21-16; 9-Sarunrak Vitidsarn (Thailand) bt 4-Isharani Baruah 21-17, 21-15; Navya Kanderi bt Radhika Sharma 21-17, 21-16; Q-Tanvi Sharma bt Q-Rujula Ramu 21-16, 21-10; 3-Unnati Hooda bt Naishaa Kaur Bhatoye 21-10, 16-21, 21-11; 7-Tara Shah bt 12-Anyapat Phichitpreechasak (Thailand) 21-17, 21-14; Shriyanshi Valishetty bt Q-Chitwan Khatri 20-22, 21-16, 21-11.

--IANS

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St. John's (Antigua), Sep 2 (IANS) West Indies' vice-captain Anisa Mohammed on Friday has decided to take a break from international cricket for a period of six months. Cricket West Indies (CWI) said the veteran off-spinner requested to take a break from the game with immediate effect, after a hectic year of cricket both home and away.

"Cricket has given me all that I have, and I still love it as much as the first day I started playing, therefore this decision was not an easy one for me, especially with the T20 World Cup five months away. However, I must listen to my body and my mind that I need to take time away from the game at this time."

"This is not a permanent goodbye but rather a see you soon. I wish the team all the best in all their forthcoming series, and I know Hayley will fulfil her role as captain, as I've seen her mature and grow as a person and cricketer," said Anisa in an official statement by the CWI.

Anisa's decision to take time away from international cricket comes with the full support of CWI. "Anisa has been a true stalwart of West Indies Women's cricket for over a decade. We at CWI wish her well and will provide any support she may require during this period away from international cricket and look forward to welcoming her back in March," said Jimmy Adams, CWI's Director of Cricket.

Anisa made her international debut for the West Indies at the age of 13 during the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifiers in Holland in 2003. Over the years, she established herself as the premier spin bowler for the West Indies, going on to become the first cricketer, male or female, to take 100 T20I wickets and ultimately became the leading wicket-taker in the format with 125 scalps in 117 matches, averaging 17.64. In 141 ODIs, she has picked 180 wickets at an average of 20.75.

She was last seen in action at the 2022 ICC Women's ODI World Cup earlier this year in New Zealand, where West Indies reached the semi-finals. Due to her break, she is well in line to miss the Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa next year as well as the upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand at home.

--IANS

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Osaka (Japan), Sep 2 (IANS) Olympic champion Chen Yufei will face two-time reigning world titlist, Akane Yamaguchi, in the semifinals of the Japan Open on Saturday in a rematch of last Sunday's world championships women's singles final.

Chen beat Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia 21-17, 21-6 to set up a showdown with the Japanese star, who ousted Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-18, 21-18.

Yamaguchi won a three-set thriller five days ago to record her fourth straight victory over Chen, who lost 14 times in their 22 meetings.

"I feel no pressure since I just lost to her last week," Chen said. "I will try not to make the same mistakes and do my best."

Yamaguchi said that she has been playing "her best badminton" of her career, but Chen said that her best days have not come.

"I still have a lot of space to improve," she said.

The other semifinal will be played between the second seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei and the third seed An Seyoung of South Korea.

Tai defeated eighth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-19, 21-18 while An upset three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain 21-18, 13-21, 21-17.

In the men's section, China's Shi Yuqi, playing his second tournament after coming out of a 10-month suspension, cruised past Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand 21-6, 21-13.

The 2018 world silver medallist will next play fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei, who fought off a hard challenge from India's H.S. Prannoy to win 21-17, 15-21, 22-20.

The other semifinal pits Japan's Kenta Nishimoto against third seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark.

Nishimoto beat Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 and Antonsen routed Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama 21-11, 21-12.

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 2 (IANS) The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named left-arm spinner-all-rounder Axar Patel as a like-for-like replacement for injured all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for the rest of India's campaign in the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE.

Jadeja had played in India's both Group A matches against Pakistan and Hong Kong in Dubai. Against Pakistan, after 0/11 with two overs of left-arm spin, he was promoted to batting at number four and made a crucial 35 off 29 balls and shared a 52-run stand with Hardik Pandya (33 not out off 17 balls) to see India home in a chase of 148.

Though Jadeja didn't get to bat against Hong Kong, he had outstanding figures of 1/15 in his four overs at an economy rate of 3.75, effectively applying brakes on the scoring rate in defence of 192.

"Jadeja has sustained a right knee injury and is ruled out of the tournament. He is currently under the supervision of the BCCI medical team. His replacement, Axar Patel was earlier named as one of the standbys in the squad and will join the team in Dubai soon," said the BCCI in an official statement.

It's not the first time this year that Jadeja has been troubled by a right knee injury. A similar injury had forced him to give a miss to India's ODI leg of the tour of the West Indies in July, with Patel featuring in all three matches as his like-for-like replacement. In 25 T20Is, Patel has scored 147 runs and picked 21 wickets.

After topping Group A in Asia Cup 2022 by winning matches against Pakistan and Hong Kong, India have progressed to the Super Four stage and are now scheduled to play their next match on Sunday.

India's squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (captain), K.L Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 2 (IANS) The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named left-arm spin all-rounder Axar Patel as the replacement for senior left-arm spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the ongoing Asia Cup in the UAE.

"Jadeja has sustained a right knee injury and is ruled out of the tournament. He is currently under the supervision of the BCCI medical team. His replacement, Axar Patel was earlier named as one of the standbys in the squad and will join the team in Dubai soon," said the BCCI in an official statement.

"India's squad for Asia Cup: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan


--IANS
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Osaka (Japan), Sep 2 (IANS) India's campaign at the Japan Open 2022 badminton tournament came to an end on Friday after HS Prannoy lost to Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen in the men's singles quarter-finals, here.

Up against an in-form Chen, the fourth seed and bronze medallist from the BWF World Championships held last month, Prannoy put up a gritty fight but eventually lost 21-17, 15-21, 22-20 in a marathon clash that stretched for one hour and 21 minutes.

The 30-year-old Indian, who had ousted the 2021 world champion, Loh Kean Yew of Singapore, in the pre-quarters on Thursday, made a good start and raced to an 11-7 lead in the first game. However, world No. 6 Chen came back into the game after the break and went on to take the all-important lead.

The second game saw the world No. 18 Prannoy go on the offensive as Chen spent most of his time on the back foot. The Indian shuttler easily won the game and stretched the match into a decider.

The tide seemed to change again in game three, as Chen looked comfortably placed with a handy 11-5 lead at the break. Prannoy, though, came roaring back and managed to level the game at 20-all.

However, as the match entered its final phases, Prannoy's exertion was visible after the long struggle and unforced errors kept creeping into his game. Chen eventually edged out the decider 22-20 to secure his fourth win over Prannoy in seven head-to-head meetings.

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 1 (IANS) After India's innings against Hong Kong at Asia Cup 2022 wrapped at 192-2, talismanic batter Virat Kohli bowed down in front of Suryakumar Yadav after the latter slammed a blistering 68 off just 26 balls and said "kya hai yeh" (what is this, dude?).

Kohli's reaction summed up the feelings of fans at Dubai International Stadium and of cricket watchers watching around the world as Suryakumar single-handedly changed the complexion of India's innings.

At 94-2 in 13 overs, when KL Rahul's struggle ended at 36 off 39 balls, Suryakumar brought out his drives, slashes, scoops and sweeps apart from audacious wrist play sending the ball all over the park, hitting six fours and as many sixes at a strike-rate of 261.53 to get a 40-run win over Hong Kong and seal their spot in Super Four stage.

"It was a heartwarming gesture from Virat Kohli as I hadn't seen that before. But I was wondering why he wasn't walking ahead and then when I realised, I asked him to walk together. He is much more experienced than me. After the first innings and match ended, I said to him all the time that it was enjoyable batting alongside you."

"The plan was clear and we were talking a lot on what to do after two-three balls. Having experienced people there was very necessary as I haven't featured in as many T20I as he's played. But from inside, enjoyed a lot," said Suryakumar in the post-match press conference.

Suryakumar also shared a 98-run stand off just 42 balls with Kohli, who made 59 in 44 balls, hitting four and three sixes in his 31st T20I fifty and brought out some shots in the end as India fetched 78 runs in the last five overs to score a daunting 192-2, something which was a far possibility at the half-way mark score of 70-1.

"Situation was such that I had to bat like that. At the start, the wicket was a touch slow, but out in the middle, Virat bhai asked me to go and express myself. I had a very clear game plan on how I had to bat and the knock was very enjoyable," added the right-handed batter.

Suryakumar further remarked that India have got enough in their batting stocks to get a good total while batting first in T20Is. "Batting first is definitely a tad challenging. But we are working on the ideal target which would be fine while batting first. During the match, we kept assessing what would be a good total, how the tempo should be like and how we should go about business at the back end."

"It helps when the role for each batter is well defined. Even if I hadn't fired, one of Rishabh (Pant) or DK bhai (Dinesh Karthik) or Jaddu bhai (Ravindra Jadeja) would have done the job for the side. There is enough firepower in the unit to post very good first innings totals. It will happen."

Suryakumar signed off by appreciating Hong Kong, who had some good displays with bat and ball despite falling 40 runs short at the end. "We tried our best to widen the winning margin. But I think they (Hong Kong) showed very good fight at the end. They have also done some things right to qualify for the Asia Cup and play against us."

"They played really well and in the second innings, the wicket also became a little easier to bat. Of course, credit goes to them. But very happy with the win."



--IANS
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Dubai, Sep 1 (IANS) India's star cricketer Virat Kohli hailed stylish batter, Suryakumar Yadav, for a "special knock" against Hong Kong in the ongoing Asia Cup on Wednesday.

Suryakumar Yadav's stylish 68 not out and Kohli's unbeaten 59, helped India secure a spot in to the Super Four round of Asia Cup 2022 after defeating Hong Kong by 40 runs here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Following Suryakumar's blistering knock, Kohli made a sweet gesture as he bowed down to the batter after the innings.

After India's win, Kohli again appreciated Suryakumar as he posted a picture with 'SKY' on homegrown social media, Koo app.

"Good win today. A special knock by SKY. We'll keep going," Kohli said on the Koo app.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar was totally flabbergasted by Kohli's gesture on the field.

"It was a very heartwarming gesture. I never saw something like that. I was looking at him and I was like, "why isn't he going ahead?" Then I came to him and urged him to walk together. He is so experienced," said Suryakumar.

India opener KL Rahul scored 36 off 39 balls, however, his two impeccable sixes showed that he isn't in bad touch as of now.

KL Rahul also posted his picture on the Koo app after India's win.

India outplayed Hong Kong in all departments and also became the second team to qualify for the Super four.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will today lock horns in the Group B match and the winner will secure a spot in the super four stage.

Pakistan and Hong Kong will meet for the same scenario on Friday. The super Four round of the Asia Cup 2022 will begin from Saturday.


--IANS
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