Sports

Oslo (Norway), Sep 17 (IANS) India's Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will clash with World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, the next edition of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the world's leading year-round chess circuit, starting on Sunday.

Julius Baer Generation Cup is a new ground-breaking tournament this month focused on the clash of ages as it pits against each other players from age groups -- from 15 to 50-plus.

The Julius Baer Generation Cup marks a fitting return to Julius Baer events for Pragg, the 17-year-old from Chennai.

Pragg won the 2021 Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour and earned qualification for the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, where he hit the headlines immediately in February with a memorable win over World Chess Champion Carlsen.

The eight-day Julius Baer Generation Cup, the seventh leg of the $1.6 million Tour running from September 18 to 25, will feature 16 world-class players spanning the age spectrum.

So, besides the 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa, the event also includes 19-year-old American Hans Niemann. At 15, Christopher Yoo is the youngest in the competition. Along with Pragg and Niemann, Yoo is joined by Vincent Keymer and Arjun Erigaisi in a cohort of talented teenagers.

Also in the 16-player line-up are two legends of chess in six-time World Championship candidate Boris Gelfand and Ukraine's 53-year-old former World Rapid Champion Vasyl Ivanchuk.

Tour Director Arne Horvei said: "Together with Julius Baer, we are delighted to present the seventh leg of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.

"The Tour is heating up as we enter the final three events. We have the thrilling prospect of Carlsen vs Pragg and all the players will be fighting for places in the third and final Major in November."

As usual, the 16-player all-play-all prelims will comprise a mini-match of two games each played on a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move increment.

The top eight will qualify for the knockouts with the quarterfinals and semifinals comprising 4-game matches. In case of a tie, each match will be decided by a playoff of five games of three minutes each followed by an Armageddon if needed.

The final will include two 4-game matches followed by a playoff if needed.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Former cricketers Gautam Gambhir and Mathew Hayden have brushed away the argument that Virat Kohli would be opening the innings in the upcoming T20I series against Australia and Men's T20 World Cup, saying that the star batter should bat at No 3 for India in T20 cricket and there should not be any doubt that.

During the recently-concluded Asia Cup 2022, Kohli scored his maiden T20I century (122 not off 61 balls) which marked his resurgence to form.

Following a break from cricket, Virat had a brilliant Asia Cup where he emerged as the tournament's second highest scorer and was in sublime touch. His form is a good sign for India ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup which is less than a month away.

The former India opener Gambhir said that he will expect the same fluency from Kohli in the T20I series against Australia, starting on September 20.

"Exactly the same fluency as what we saw in the Asia Cup. The only issue is, that when we saw him play that innings against Afghanistan it was at the top of the order. And in a T20 format, there is a huge difference in playing in the first six and after the first six. And when you go into the middle without having any scoreboard pressure, suddenly when you're one wicket down or probably will have to continue the momentum so that's a different ball game, but runs under your belt or no runs under your belt, there is no better feeling than scoring a hundred," Gambhir told Star Sports.

"And Virat goes into the series with a lot of confidence and I hope he continues his form because he is going to be very useful if India has to play well in the world cup because it's a very important position," he added.

On the other hand, former Australia opener Hayden said that Kohli is a great player of fast bowling and also shut down any discussion on the Indian batter's position in the team.

"Virat, you know, he's such a great player of fast bowling, and Australia's full of fast bowling in their cricket team and they are relying heavily on Adam Zampa through the middle stages now. Pointers to take pace off the ball, Mitch Marsh as well, he'll handle him nicely," the 50-year-old said.

"And this great debate around Virat batting up, GG (Gambhir) and I have already had this over the last couple of days, there's no way that he has to open the batting, he has to bat at number 3, simple as that. And again, it's another one of those things that you don't want to let the door open the discussion on this.

"You don't want to have a doubt, you don't want to have K.L Rahul in the masterful form that he's been in of late and Rohit Sharma who is captain of the team thinking 'I've got to kind of watch my spot here that you know I'm an opening batsman and my job is to play with freedom' and unfortunately, when you start having these debates and you start thinking 'oh maybe he, for his game, it should be him opening', I'm sure he wouldn't want to entertain that and put pressure.

"The one thing that you want to alleviate in the World Cup is the pressure. Just let the batting order rely on its own form and Virat Kohli can handle the situation. He's a world-class player, he can bat at three and he should bat at three in my opinion," he added.

Gambhir was in full support of Hayden's argument, saying the confusion over Kohli's batting order will put more pressure on other batters of the team.

"That's a very valid point, the moment someone starts doing very well, for example, if Virat Kohli has got a hundred in the last game, we all start forgetting about what K.L Rahul and Rohit Sharma have done over such a long period of time. And suddenly when you start this debate about Virat Kohli opening the batting, imagine what happens to K.L Rahul, you don't want your top-class players to be under pressure, especially someone like K.L Rahul, who's got probably more ability than Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. And we have seen that in international cricket and the IPL as well," he said.

"Think from India's point of view and not from an individual's point of view. So that's why I think you (Hayden) made a very valid point that we as experts and broadcasters should start thinking about how India can flourish in the World Cup rather than certain individuals who particularly want to bat at a certain number," he added.

--IANS

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Jaipur, Sep 17 (IANS) Om Prakash Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh lifted his seventh title after he prevailed with a narrow one-shot margin at Jaipur Open 2022 golf tournament at the Rambagh Golf Club, here on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Chouhan (67-66-65-64), lying second and two off the lead after round three, made the most of his excellent chipping and putting form this week as he signed the best card in the last round, a six-under 64, to finish on top at 18-under 262.

Om Prakash bagged the winning cheque worth Rs 6,00,000 and thus moved up from 18th to eighth position in the PGTI Order of Merit.

Chandigarh's Abhijit Singh Chadha (62-69-65-67), the overnight leader by two shots, struck a flawless 67 despite the putts not rolling in for him on Saturday. He claimed the runner-up spot at 17-under 263 at the Rs 40 lakh event.

Akshay Sharma (67), another Chandigarh golfer, secured third place at 13-under 267. Faridabad's Abhinav Lohan (68) and Bangladesh's Jamal Hossain (69) finished a further shot back in tied fourth position.

Local professional Girraj Singh Khadka was tied 29th at one-under 279. Jaipur's Manoviraj Shekhawat, the only amateur to make the cut, finished 50th at 11-over 291. Shekhawat won the trophy for the best performing amateur.

Om Prakash took control early in the day when he picked up five birdies on the first eight holes to move into the sole lead. He made his sixth chip-in of the tournament on the seventh hole and set up the other birdies also as a result of good wedge play.

Chouhan was in some sort of trouble when he made consecutive three-putts for bogeys on the ninth and 10th that saw him slip back into second place behind Abhijit. However, the man from Mhow who last won on the PGTI in February 2021, got back to level terms with a birdie on the 12th.

Om Prakash's short game came to his rescue once again when he made chip-putt birdies on the 17th and 18th to seal the win.

"I was feeling the pressure at the start of the day as I was two shots behind but I got into my rhythm with those five birdies on the first eight holes. After anxious moments with the two three-putts, a good chip-putt for par on the 11th and the birdie on the 12th really helped me relax. The other good par save from a chip-putt came on the 15th which ultimately gave me the confidence to finish well," said Chouhan.

"Importantly, my game had suffered because I had stopped using the lob wedge. My brother who caddied for me in Chennai advised me to get back to using the lob wedge as it had always been my strength. So I got back to my lob wedge this week and that contributed to my excellent chipping here in Jaipur," he added.

Abhijit Singh Chadha sank three birdies and kept the errors off his card but he couldn't catch up with the leader as the putts didn't fall for him, especially in the latter stages of the round.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, Sep 17 (IANS) Rajat Patidar's impressive century put India A in a strong position against New Zealand A in the third unofficial Test, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Saturday.

Chasing a target of 416 for victory, New Zealand went into stumps at 20/1 on Day 3.

Continuing his good form, Patidar struck his second three-figure score against New Zealand A in the series. His unbeaten 109, along with Ruturaj Gaikwad's 94, Priyank Panchal's 62 and Sarfaraz Khan's 63, powered India A to 395/7 in their second innings, extending the lead past 400, following which they declared.

India A started the day at 40/1, with Gaikwad and Panchal resuming their partnership. Both registered half-centuries as they extended their stand to 122 for the second wicket before Panchal was caught and bowled off Joe Walker.

Two more century partnerships ensued - 102 between Gaikwad and Patidar, and 108 between Patidar and Sarfaraz - as the New Zealand A bowlers were left deflated. India A's scored at a brisk rate of 4.22, which kept visitors under the pressure throughout the innings, with late strikes from Rachin Ravindra only providing them a small consolation.

In reply, Ravindra, who also opened the innings, was trapped leg-before by Saurabh Kumar in the 14-over period that New Zealand A had to bat before stumps.

While the first two four-day games ended in draws, the hosts India A have a good chance of securing a 1-0 series win over New Zealand A.

Brief scores: India A 293 & 359/7 decl (Rajat Patidar 109, Ruturaj Gaikwad 94, Sarfaraz Khan 63, Priyank Panchal 62; Rachin Ravindra 3-65) lead New Zealand A 20/1 (Rachin Ravindra 12; Saurabh Kumar 1-13) by 395 runs.

--IANS

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Dubai, Sep 17 (IANS) Leg-spinner turned batter C.P. Rizwaan will lead the 15-member UAE team in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 Australia, the Emirates Cricket Board announced here on Saturday.

Vriitya Aravind will be his deputy in the mega sporting spectacle, scheduled to take place from October 16-November 13.

The selection committee chairman, Dr. Tayeb Kamali, said, "Qualifying to play against top national teams of the world at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup marks a milestone with UAE Cricket's growing strengths in the T20 format. We extend our deep appreciation to all who have invested their time and efforts as we arrive at this unique moment in Emirates Cricket's history."

"We wish our team the very best as they continue to make their mark on international cricket at the ICC T20 World Cup."

While a number of players have been rested for this tour, Robin Singh, Director of Cricket and National Teams' Head Coach, is buoyed by the inclusion of a number of the country's young talent that have proven their worth to wear the country's flag.

"This team has a solid representation of experience and youth. It must be emphasized that UAE Cricket's youth have continued to show their worth at various successful ICC and Asian Cricket (age-group) campaigns, and, it is their time to showcase these proven talents to the cricketing world alongside those (selected) experienced players."

"To represent your country is of great pride and our (coaching) team has complete belief in the maturity and skills of this group of players, and we expect them to surprise a few teams with their performances."

In continuing their preparations and before leaving for Australia, in early October, the UAE will play Bangladesh Cricket in a 2-match T20I series, at Dubai Sports City's Dubai International Stadium on September 25 and September 27.

UAE's ICC T20 World Cup Squad is; C.P. Rizwaan (Captain), Vriitya Aravind (Vice Captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, Basil Hameed, Aryan Lakra, Zawar Farid, Kashif Daud, Karthik Meiyappan, Ahmed Raza, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Sabir Ali, Alishan Sharafu, and Aayan Khan.

Reserves; Sultan Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Vishnu Sukumaran, Adithya Shetty, Sanchit Sharma

--IANS

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Mumbai, Sep 17 (IANS) Former New Zealand express pace bowler Shane Bond has been appointed as head coach of MI Emirates for the inaugural edition of UAE's International League T20. He will continue to be in his current role as bowling coach of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Mumbai Indians.

The MI Emirates coaching team includes current Mumbai Indians talent scouts, Parthiv Patel and Vinay Kumar who will debut as coaches -- Parthiv as batting coach, Vinay as bowling coach and former MI all-rounder James Franklin as fielding coach.

In addition, former India player, Robin Singh, has been appointed general manager, cricket, MI Emirates.

"Shane Bond joined Mumbai Indians in 2015 and has since won four titles and in the process built a formidable working style and helping bowlers realise their potential at the global stage. Robin Singh joined the coaching team of Mumbai Indians in 2010 and since then has been part of five IPL and two Champions League campaigns working closely with Shane Bond. Robin's stint with UAE cricket will also help as MI Emirates expands MI's cricket philosophy in the UAE.

"Parthiv Patel has represented Mumbai Indians in the past and since 2020 been a part of the talent scouting team, and Vinay Kumar, who is also a former MI player joined the scouting team in 2021. Both Parthiv and Vinay were a part of Mumbai Indians' winning campaigns in 2015 and 2017," said Mumbai Indians in a statement on Saturday.

Former MI all-rounder and coach James Franklin has also joined MI Emirates as fielding coach. "With a firm grounding in MI, this team will be in a fine position to infuse MI Emirates with all that MI resonates with," the statement added.

"I welcome Shane, Robin, Parthiv, Vinay and James to their new roles in MI Emirates. Having been an integral part of MI for various periods of time, the coaching team is exceptionally well-versed in the values that make MI what it is. I'm sure they would be able to build MI Emirates as a team that attracts the love of passionate MI fans," said Akash M. Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm.

"It's a privilege to be appointed the Head Coach of MI Emirates. It's always exciting to build a new team and I'm looking forward to furthering the MI legacy and inspiring our players to take the game to new heights," said Shane Bond.

MI Emirates announced its team ahead of the inaugural edition of UAE's International League T20. The squad will be based out of Abu Dhabi, and includes a mix of current and past MI players, with new stars also joining the squad.

--IANS

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Zurich (Switzerland), Sep 17 (IANS) Ecuador are set to retain their place at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after FIFA's appeals committee dismissed a claim of ineligibility against their player Byron Castillo.

Castillo played in eight World Cup qualifiers for Ecuador but the Chilean Football Association (FFCH) claimed the 23-year-old used a false birth certificate to register as Ecuadorian.

Chile complained to the game's global governing body over Castillo and argued that Ecuador should forfeit the World Cup qualifying matches he had played in.

The FIFA disciplinary committee closed the proceedings in June but the Chileans appealed, leading to a new hearing before the appeals committee. However, that too has now been dismissed as FIFA's appeals committee said that Castillo does qualify for Ecuador.

"Having analysed the submissions of all parties and after a hearing had been conducted, the Appeal Committee confirmed the decision of the Disciplinary Committee to close the proceedings initiated against the FEF. Amongst other considerations, it deemed that on the basis of the documents presented, the player was to be considered as holding permanent Ecuadorian nationality in accordance with art. 5 par. 1 of the FIFA Regulations Governing the Application of the Statutes," FIFA said in a statement.

"The findings of the decision passed by the Appeal Committee were notified to the parties concerned today," it added.

The Chilean federation could now take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the FFCH confirmed it will appeal.

"I have never seen in my entire life as a lawyer an injustice like this one. There are a huge number of documents that, alone, prove without any reasonable doubt that the player was born in Colombia," FFCH lawyer Eduardo Carlezzo was quoted as saying by BBC.

"In addition to that, everyone heard his confession, given during an official investigation carried out by the Ecuadorian Federation. It's a sad day for football and for fair play. The message is clear: cheating is allowed," he added.

Ecuador claimed the fourth and final automatic World Cup place from the South American qualifiers, with Peru fifth and Chile seventh in the standings. They are due to play hosts Qatar in the opening match of the 2022 World Cup on November 20 and will also face the Netherlands and Senegal in Group A.

--IANS

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Kolkata, Sep 16 (IANS) Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad believes it is tough to pick a favourite in the Legends League Cricket as all the four sides in the fray are equally balanced.

The second season of the Legends League Cricket kick starts at the Eden Gardens Stadium here on Friday.

Prasad has been appointed as the coach of Gujarat Giants, which is owned by Adani Sportsline. The team is led by one of India's best opening batsmen of all time, Virender Sehwag and consists of top names from the world including six-hitter Chris Gayle, Richard Levi, Daniel Vettori, Kevin O'Brien and Ajantha Mendis.

Sehwag's Gujarat Giants will begin their campaign against Gautam Gambhir's India Capitals in the league opener in Kolkata on September 17. Manipal Tigers and Bhilwara Kings are the other two teams taking part in the league.

The second season of Legends League Cricket will feature cricket stars from 10 countries. The four-franchise league will be played in Kolkata, Lucknow, New Delhi, Cuttack and Jodhpur with the final scheduled on October 5.

Prasad added that he would love to see Gujarat Giants go all the way to the title in the inaugural league just like how India won the 2007 T20I World Cup.

"We do have a couple of players in our team like Sehwag and Joginder Sharma, who were part of the Indian team that lifted the T20I World Cup in 2007."

Prasad further said the League will provide an exciting opportunity for Indian fans to witness the cricketing greats in action.

"This league is taking cricket to different parts of the country like Jodhpur and Lucknow. People will get to see some legends playing. It will be great fun for the spectators as they might not have seen these greats of the game playing live before," Prasad said.

The 53-year-old cricketer felt the league also offers an excellent opportunity for cricketing stars to enjoy the game even after retiring from international cricket.

"It's a great opportunity for the players. Legends League Cricket is a good concept. Earlier retired cricketers only had the option of coaching or commentary but now with this league even after having stopped playing international cricket they can come back and play Legends League Cricket," he said.


--IANS
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Mumbai, Sep 16 (IANS) Stylish wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson will lead India A team in the upcoming three-match one-day series against New Zealand A, scheduled to be played in Chennai between September 22 and 27.

The 16-member squad have a decent amount of international experience, with Kuldeep Yadav, Prithvi Shaw, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini, among others, also in the mix.

Young seam-bowling allrounder Raj Bawa, who was one of India's star performers in the U-19 World Cup, earlier this year, has also been picked in the squad. He was named Player of the Match for his 5 for 31 in the final against England.

The 19-year-old is just at the beginning of his senior-team career and has played two Ranji Trophy games for Chandigarh and two IPL matches for Punjab Kings.

Meanwhile, Samson last represented the senior India team during their ODI series in Zimbabwe in late August and has for company in the India A side five others from that touring party: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kuldeep, Shahbaz Ahmed, Thakur and Rahul Tripathi.

The squad also has the likes of Shaw, Rahul Chahar and Umran Malik, who have all played for their country in one or more formats.

India A squad: Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Rajat Patidar, Sanju Samson (c), KS Bharat (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Shabhaz Ahmed, Rahul Chahar, Tilak Varma, Kuldeep Sen, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Navdeep Saini, Raj Angad Bawa

--IANS

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Mumbai, Sep 16 (IANS) Badminton champion P.V. Sindhu talked about the legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar presenting her car after she won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics (Rio).

She recalled how Sachin called her and congratulated her on the victory: "He called and congratulated me. Last time I remember when I participated in Commonwealth Games, 2014 for the first time, he told me that if I get a medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics then he will come and give me a car again. So after getting the medal, he ensured he came and presented me with the car, and I am really thankful to him as this gesture really made me happy."

She further added praising Tendulkar for the support he gives to sports personalities.

"It's very kind of him because along with him many people contributed to it. He supported a lot of sports people and this kind of support needs to be there for sports personalities so that it's like a motivation for them to go much further and do well. These kinds of awards and rewards will give a lot more confidence to all sportspersons. I really like cars and I'm very thankful to him that he gave me a car."

In a conversation with Kapil Sharma, she told him about getting injured during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in which she won the gold medal in women's singles.

"Yes, during the quarter-finals there was a little pain. The pain was happening in between the match and I was like I have to complete this match. So after the match, my physio team and my trainer were also there so I told them I don't know what happened but it's a lot. My heart and mind were focused on winning the medal. So, during the semi-final and final, I was only thinking that I have to give my best and I gave my hundred per cent and won the gold," she concluded.

P.V. Sindhu, boxing Champion Nikhat Zareen, lawn bowl team - Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Pinki Singh, and Nayanmoni Saikia are appearing on 'The Kapil Sharma Show' this weekend.

The show airs on Sony Entertainment Television.

--IANS
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