Shubhankar finishes Tied-9th at mexico

mexico city: Overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma could not pull off a dream win owing to a late slump but the Indian golfer certainly rose in stature with a creditable tied ninth finish at the $10 million WGC - Mexico Championship, here. The 21-year-old Sharma was tied with two-time Masters champion, Bubba Watson (67) and Canadian Adam Hadwin (66). After a dream run through first three rounds of 65-66-69, Sharma fell with a stuttering 74 on a final day when the Golfing Gods just did not look his way. After being 14-under at one stage on third day, he finished with a total of 10-under and in Tied-9th place. Disappointing it may seem, but it was India's second best ever, next only to the seasoned Jeev Milkha Singh's T-4 back in 2009. It was the same event but then it had a different sponsor and was on a different golf course, Doral.

Karnataka beat India ‘B' by six runs

dharamsala: Karnataka pulled off a narrow six-run victory over India ‘B' to start their campaign in the Deodhar Trophy cricket tournament on a positive note. Batting first after winning the toss, Karnataka notched a challenging 296 for eight in the allotted 50 overs. Ravikumar Samarth top-scored for Karnataka with a brisk 117 off 115 balls as the Vijay Hazare Trophy winners closed in on 300 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Stadium. Manoj Tiwary slammed a breezy century (120 off 110 balls) and anchored India 'B' chase, but his dismissal in the 42nd over triggered a collapse that saw the team stop at 290 for nine in 50 overs. Gopal was the most successful bowler for Karnataka, returning figures of 3/29, while off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham took the wicket of Lad at a crucial juncture.

Anand wins Tal Memorial Rapid Chess

moscow: World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand continued his fine run in the faster version of the game and annexed the Tal Memorial rapid chess title after an easy final round draw against Boris Gelfand of Israel. Anand finished with six points out of a possible nine, scoring four wins and four draws. Anand defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alexander Grischuk and Daniil Dubov of Russia and Hikaru Nakamura of United States enroute to his final score. The most crucial was his victory over Grischuk in the penultimate round that sealed the title for Anand. It was a Sicilian defense where Anand employed the Rossolimo variation with his white pieces.

Paes returns to top-50

new delhi: Leander Paes returned to top-50 with a six-place jump following his runners-up show at the ATP Dubai event while India's top singles players slid in the latest rankings issued on Monday. Paes, who reached the final in Dubai with Jamie Cerretani last week jumped to 46, two places behind Divij Sharan (44), who gained one place. Rohan Bopanna was unchanged at number 20. In the women's rankings, Ankita Raina also lost five places to be placed 255 and was followed by Karman Kaur Thandi, who moved up three places to career-best 278. In the doubles, injured Sania Mirza was unchanged at number 13 while Prarthna Thombare dropped two places to 141.

Indian women beat Korea in Tour opener

seoul: Indian women's hockey team defeated South Korea by a solitary goal in the opening match of the five-game series to make a positive start to their tour on Monday.India scored an early goal through Lalremsiami (5th minute) at the Jinchun National Athletic Center and then defended stoutly to hold on to the lead for a morale-boosting win. The 24-year-old Indian goalkeeper saved two penalty corners in the opening six minutes of the final quarter and then kept out a penalty stroke in the 50th minute to deny the hosts a way back into the match. India will play their second match of the series against South Korea on Tuesday.