CORRESPONDENT

GLASGOW

Artem Dovbyk’s maiden international goal during the final seconds of extra time helped Ukraine see off ten-man Sweden 2-1 here at Hampden Park and a spot in the European Championship quarterfinals for the very first time.Both sides started brightly in Glasgow, Roman Yaremchuk’s early shot kept out by Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen while at the other end, Alexander Isak curled a shot a metre wide. Ukraine, in their first EURO knockout game, struck first in the 27th minute, Andriy Yarmolenko working the ball onto his left foot and curling a lavish pass with the outside of his boot for Oleksandr Zinchenko to hammer a shot past Olsen. Sweden responded positively to falling behind and were back on terms two minutes before the break. Isak found Emil Forsberg just outside the area and his well-struck shot deflected off Illia Zabarnyi on its way past Georgiy Bushchan.The second half was similarly open, Serhiy Sydorchuk’s shot clipping the outside of the post; seconds later, Isak played in Forsberg for a shot that also rattled the upright. The Sweden midfielder then smashed an effort against the crossbar, but neither team could conjure a winner as this round of 16 tussle headed to extra time.Sweden lost Marcus Danielson to a red card for a challenge on Artem Besedin in the first additional period, and just when it looked like penalties were inevitable, Ukraine upped the tempo. They got their reward a minute into added time, Zinchenko’s pinpoint cross headed in by substitute Dovbyk to spark wild celebrations.Ukraine will now face England in last-8 at ongoing Euro 2020.

NEW DELHI

I am happy that gyms opened in the Delhi from Monday onwards. Gym owners whose faces were hanging until now are seeing a ray of hope. Trainees are coming to the gym hoping to lose weight, but at the same time there are people who have gym membership but they are not coming to gyms yet.

Actually, there is a fear among such people that by going to the gyms, they may possibly be carrying the disease. Their thinking is right. If we remain alive, only then we will enjoy life. I want to tell them what to do and what not to do in gyms. I appeal to the gym owners to increase the gym hours so that the crowd in the gym can be avoided and the rule of physical distance can also be followed. Sanitize each device before you leave. If it is arranged then it is good and if it is not then use your own sanitizer bottle. Gym owners should try not to have more than ten people coming to the gym at a time. Often people exercise while lying on the sit up board, this should be avoided. If there are germs on the device while lying down, then they can enter our mouth directly.The rod often comes near the mouth while lifting the weight that should be avoided. I regret that we have lost many bodybuilders in this covid pandemic and many had high blood pressure and no doctor was ready to check up at that time. Those who have crossed 60, if they avoid coming to the gym at this time, then it will be good for them. Even I am 64, and I am not doing exercises in gym. People going to gym, wash hands frequently, use sanitizer. Keep a distance.Those who have come up from Covid do not know how much their lungs have been affected. How affected is their heart? I would advise them to do very light exercise. If such people could lift 200 kg earlier, then they would not be satisfied by lifting 150 kg. I would advise them to lift less than 100 kg. Give the body a chance to get into the rhythm by doing light exercise for at least ten to 15 days. Bring your towel, your own water bottle, and your own gloves to the gym. The gloves should not be of plastic or polythene.The clothes that bodybuilders wear should also be washed at home. Often people who come to the gym keep sweaty T-shirts in their kit bags. Wash those clothes at home and then dry them in the sun. If the gym is crowded, separate yourself from it.The author is a gym trainer, bodybuilding coach and Dronacharya Awardee.

NEW DELHI

Archer Abhishek Verma, who recently won a gold medal in the World Cup, feels the performances of Indian athletes in the showpiece event show that they are ready for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Abhishek clinched his second individual World Cup gold in the Archery World Cup Stage three in Paris. Abhishek emerged victorious after beating USA’s Kris Schaff in a shoot-off to win the gold medal. Archer Deepika Kumari also came out with flying colours as she completed a trifecta of gold medals on Sunday afternoon with her victory in the recurve women’s event at the third stage of the ongoing 2021 Archery World Cup.Moreover, India women’s recurve team comprising Deepika, Komalika Bari, and Ankita Bhakat on Sunday bagged a gold medal at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 in Paris. “This was a big event and winning a medal was difficult because players across the world participated in it. To defeat the top players was obviously the hardest task but now they know that Indian players are not there to give up,” Abhishek told ANI. “All archers are working hard for the Olympics. Winning gold in this tournament and clinching medals in the previous competitions tells that the Indian archers are ready for the main event,” he added. Abhishek on Tuesday met Archery Association of India (AAI) chief and Union Minister Arjun Munda. The AAI chief said the governing body is working on identifying more such talents in the country.

“AAI is working on identifying talented archers from rural areas of India. Talent hunt for archers is also being organised to find out next-generation players who will achieve similar success,” said Arjun Munda “I want to congratulate all players who are playing the sport with a fighting spirit. I’m confident that the Indian contingent not only in archery but in all sports will perform well in Olympics,” he added. India’s ace archer Deepika defeated Russia’s Elena Osipova 6-0 in a thumping manner. This is Deepika’s second individual World Cup Gold medal of 2021 and the third gold of the day as she had earlier won gold in the women’s team and mixed team event as well on Sunday. Deepika was born and brought up in a lower-middle-class family in the Ratu area on the outskirts of Ranchi. Her father is an auto-rickshaw driver and her mother is a part of the nursing staff. Earlier the husband-wife duo of Atanu Das and Deepika clinched their first World Cup gold medal as a pair after defeating the Dutch pair of Gabriela Schloesser and Sjef Van Den Berg 5-3 after being a set down.

Ace Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in both 100m and 200m races via the World Rankings quota on Wednesday.22 spots were available in 100m and 15 spots in 200m via the World Rankings route. Chand’s overall position of World No. 44 in 100m and World No. 51 in 200m were well within the ranks to make her eligible to fly to Tokyo next month. Dutee Chand failed in her last race to secure a direct Olympic qualification spot after finishing a disappointing fourth in the women’s 100m final at the ongoing 60th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships.

Last week, Dutee scripted a new national record in the women’s 100m with a time of 11.17 seconds in the Indian Grand Prix (IGP) 4 in Patiala, she missed the Olympic qualification time by just 0.02 seconds. Elsewhere, India’s Dhing Express, Hima Das failed to book her berth for Tokyo 2020 via the World Rankings quota. Last week she fell short of securing the direct qualification as her best timing of 22.88s came in the Indian Grand Prix 4. Hima missed the 200m qualifying mark by 00.08 seconds.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Sports and Youth Services Department (DSYS), Government of Odisha, recommended Dutee Chand for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

On the occasion of World Social Media Day, India pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Wednesday recalled one of his social media posts, where he had posted an image with former skipper MS Dhoni.

Bhuvneshwar had posted an image with Dhoni on August 16, 2020, just one day after the former India skipper announced his retirement from international cricket. In a video posted by the official Twitter handle of BCCI, Bhuvneshwar Kumar explained why Dhoni will always be special to him and why he wrote such a heartfelt post for Dhoni. “This image I posted when Mahi Bhai retired from international cricket. Everyone knows what sort of player he was, but the kind of human being he is, that is why I posted something for him. If you speak to anybody about Dhoni, they will all tell you about how helpful he is. He always gives guidance to all the youngsters,” said Bhuvneshwar in the video.Dhoni is the only skipper to win three ICC trophies -Champions Trophy, T20 World Cup and 50-over World Cup.

The former India skipper bid adieu to international cricket on August 15 last year. He still plays for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Indian Premier League.On the other hand, Bhuvneshwar will next be in action in the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka and India will square off in three ODIs and three T20Is, beginning July 13. While Bhuvneshwar has been named vice-captain, Shikhar Dhawan will lead the team which will be coached by former India skipper Rahul Dravid.

Indian opener Shubman Gill could miss the entire five-Test series against England owing to an undisclosed internal injury, which might lead to standby Abhimanyu Easwaran making the main squad.

It is still not clear whether Gill’s condition warrants a surgery ahead of the series starting August 4.

“There is a chance that Shubman could be ruled out of the whole Test tour even though it is still a month away.

The injury is serious is what we have come to know,” a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

It is believed that the Punjab batsman has either sustained a calf muscle injury or hamstring tear which could take considerable time to heal. It is not clear how and when he picked up the injury.

As of now, he is supposed to be in England where physio Nitin Patel and strength and conditioning coach Sohum Desai will monitor his progress.

Since it’s a five-Test series, there could be a slim outside chance that he might make a comeback in the final Test of the series.

Gill, one of the heroes of the Australia tour earlier this year, has not been in great form having failed to score a fifty in four successive Test matches and was troubled by the seam and swing against New Zealand in World Test Championship final.

Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul are the other two openers in the squad and if Gill is ruled out, Easwaran is the likely replacement from the standby list.