singles

No surprises in Women's Asia Cup squad

new delhi: The 15-member Indian women's squad for the Asia Cup T20 in Malaysia did not have any surprises with all the tried and tested faces finding a slot in the squad. The tournament featuring India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and hosts Malaysia will be held from June 1- 11. Each team will play against the other and the top two teams on the points table will qualify for the final. India Women's squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (Captain),  Smriti Mandhana (vice-captain), Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Anuja Patil, Veda Krishnamurthy, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Jhulan Goswami, Pooja Vastrakar, Shikha Pandey, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Ekta Bisht, Mona Meshram.

SGFI to conduct trials in 20 cities

new delhi: In a bid to reach out to maximum number of students and unearth talent in schools, School Games Federation of India (SGFI) will conduct a rigorous three-day trial camp in 20 cities across the country. The trial will get underway from July under the watchful eyes of the panel of selectors. The shortlisted candidates will go on to represent their respective city teams in the first season of the National School Cricket League (NSCL). The trials will be open to players under the age bracket of 12-18 years and SGFI has shortlisted 20 cities to roll out the nationwide cricket talent hunt. The selection committee will comprise of former players with sizable experience of playing first class cricket. SGFI Panel will select 16 players for each city with a provision of 4 players on standby.

Sheeraz Sheikh best-placed Indian

Changwon (South Korea): Sheeraz Sheikh shot 49 out of 50 and was the best-placed Indian shooter at 11th position with three more qualification rounds to go in the men's skeet event of the ISSF World Cup here on Saturday. The remaining qualification rounds will be followed by the six-man final Sunday. 81 shooters are in the fray. Two other Indians in the event -- Smit Singh and Angad Bajwa -- shot scores of 48 and 47 to lie 23rd and 34th positions respectively. India's Saniya Sheikh registered a 22nd-place finish in the event with a score of 111 in qualification out of a possible 125. Ganemat Shekhon shot 102 to finish 52nd while Maheshwari Chauhan ended at 54th spot with a score of 101.

Mind sports league 'Brain Duel' launched

new delhi: Brain Duel, touted as India's first mind sports league, was on Saturday launched here to provide a platform for players from various mind sport disciplines to compete against each other. A carefully selected array of mind sports including chess, rummy, e-gaming, poker and quiz among others have been brought together to attract nationwide talent to take part in the league series scheduled to be held in October. The competition will be played in a tournament as well as league format across all mind sports categories. The mind sport tournaments will have an open entry structure, where amateurs and professionals can both participate. The selection process will be both online and offline formats.

Maradona quits as Al Fujairah’s coach

Buenos Aires: Diego Maradona resigned as coach of United Arab Emirates second division club Al Fujairah after his team failed to gain promotion, his lawyer Matias Morla announced. Argentine legend Maradona, a former World Cup winner and one of football's most divisive figures, said he was stepping down after a 1-1 draw against Khorfakkan. "After today's match, and having failed to achieve the objective of promotion, Diego Maradona will no longer be the coach of the team," tweeted Moria. The lawyer insisted that the decision "had been a mutual agreement" with the club and that he wished Al Fujairah "the best". Maradona, 57, was appointed coach in May last year.