Indian shooters made a significant impact at the Asian Games, securing three medals, including a team gold. They showcased their excellence with a total of five podium finishes in just two days of competition in Hangzhou, firmly establishing their prowess in marksmanship.
A confident Indian 10m air rifle team led by teenage world champion Rudrankksh Patil gave the country its first gold medal at the Games, securing the top place on the podium with a world record score on Monday (25).
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar then earned the country an individual bronze -- India's fourth in shooting so far -- in the event after a third-place shoot-off with compatriot Rudrankksh, who finished fourth.
The triumvirate of Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu and Adarsh Singh totalled 1718 to win bronze in men's 25m rapid-fire pistol event. In the individual section, Sidhu settled for the fourth position.
The trio of Rudrankksh, Olympian Divyansh Singh Panwar and Aishwary aggregated 1893.7 in the qualification round to beat back the challenge of the shooting powerhouse China and South Korea on way to the team gold.
In one of the most dominating displays seen by Indian air rifle shooters in multi-discipline events, the 19-year-old Rudrankksh shot a superb 632.5, Tomar 631.6 and Panwar 629.6 to aggregate the world record score as South Korea was pushed to second spot (1890.1), while the Chinese team was a distant third with an aggregate score of 1888.2.
"We (the team) gave our best and won gold. We did not know it initially, but were told that it was world record. We said it must be gold then," Rudrankksh said later.
"It was not easy but we have beaten China in team event," Tomar said.
"I am a bit disappointed that I did not win an individual event gold. But I am really happy that I won a team gold. My two team-mates are the best shooters in 10m air rifle."
India would be slightly disappointed at missing a gold, or a sliver, in the individual category following the red-hot form shown by both Tomar and Rudrankksh in the qualification round.
However, both the Indians could not recreate the magic of the qualification round in the eight-shooter finals with Tomar, after a dogged battle with Rudrankksh, edging out the teenage shooter to win bronze in shoot-off for third place, scoring 228.8.
Tomar was in contention for silver with Park Hajun after that but a rank bad final shot of 9.8 eliminated him, even as the South Korean went on to take the second spot behind China's Sheng Lihao, who won gold with a world record score of 253.3.
Tomar, however, said he was consistent throughout save for the 9.8 shot.
"I am very happy with my performance. I was very consistent throughout, even in the qualification. This is my first Asian Games and my first medal in these Games.
"Sometimes there will be bad shots and that is part of the game," he said.
But he admitted that there was pressure during the shoot-off with Rudrankksh for the bronze medal.
"There was lot of pressure during the shoot-off but I could shoot 10.8."
Tomar also competes in 50m rifle 3P positions, and asked about it, he said, "competing in two events is an advantage. If I don't do well in one, I can compensate with the other. If I do well in both, that is doubly good.
"My target is always the Olympics. I will try to do well in the events in the run-up to the Olympics so that I can keep my focus ahead of Paris Games."
Asked how the team beat China, he said, "Shooting is a game of points, we cannot say anything. Sometimes you score higher points more, sometimes you don't.
"Does not matter whether it is China or not. We all three can win the gold medal. We did not know whether we were in the lead or not (during the competition), we only try to shoot our best."
Rudrankksh and Tomar had made it to the eight-shooter finals following their superb display in the qualification round, while Divyansh missed out thanks to an Asian Games rule that allows only two marksmen from a country to enter the finals.
Rudrankksh entered the finals placed third, while Aishwary was fifth after the qualification round. Divyansh was placed eighth and, had it been a World Cup or a World Championship, or any other continental shooting competition, all three Indians would have been in the eight-shooter final.
However, Divyansh had to make way for Kazakhsran's Islam Satpayev, who was placed ninth but still qualified for the finals because of the rule.
Sheng Lihao of China topped the qualification round with a score of 634.5, a qualification Asian Games record, while South Korea's Park Hajun was second at 632.8.
Rudrankksh, at 632.5 was third entering the finals, while Aishwary was fifth at 631.6 among the qualifiers.
The Indian trio was just unbeatable on way to team gold with Rudrankksh, true to his form, shooting superb series of 104.8, 106.1, 103.8, 105.5 106.7 and 105.6. Aishwary had a series of 104.1, 105.5, 105.3, 105.7, 105.7 and 105.3 in qualification.
Divyansh, who represented the country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, shot a series of 104.8, 104.3, 104.6, 104.7, 106.3 and 104.9.
Rudrankksh said he has learnt a lot after finishing out of the podium.
"This is my first Asian Games and a bit disappointed that I could not win a medal. I gained a lot of experience. If I keep on winning, you will face problems in future. I would not learn anything if I don't face this kind of situations.
"It's not that I am absolutely out due to bad performance, it was at least fourth position."
"There are three major shooting countries in the world, China, India and Russia. These three countries are winning medals in rotation."
India's foreign coach Thomas Farnik agreed with Rudrankksh that the Asian Games would be a learning curb for him.
With the kind of scores, the Indians shot, it left other competitors just doing catch-up for the team gold.
Rudrankksh's father, Balasahab Patil, told PTI following his son's exploits, "My son was determined to give his best at the Games. He has great confidence in his abilities and before leaving for Hangzhou, Rudrankksh said he would aim to bring the first gold for the country.
"He had ironed out all the minor issues in his shooting before leaving for Hangzhou. He trained extremely hard in these last two months."
Rudrankksh was not included in the ISSF World Championship-bound squad to Baku by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) as the federation wanted to maximise the country's chances of bagging more Paris Olympic quota places for the country by sending other marksmen.
Rudrankksh has already clinched an Olympic quota place for the country by virtue of winning the World Championships gold in Cairo last year.
In fact, while the World Championships were on in Baku last month, he shot way better that the gold-medal winner in the Azerbaijan capital in simulated conditions created for him at the Karni Singh Ranges in Delhi.
Amanda Anisimova defeats world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
The American advances to her first Grand Slam final
Sabalenka’s run of Grand Slam finals ends
Anisimova will face either Swiatek or Bencic on Saturday
With the win, Anisimova is projected to reach world No. 7
American tennis star Amanda Anisimova produced the biggest win of her career by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals of Wimbledon on Thursday. The result sends the 23-year-old into her first Grand Slam final, where she will face either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic on Saturday.
The contest on Centre Court lasted two hours and 37 minutes and was interrupted twice during the first set due to spectators feeling unwell in the heat. Despite the stoppages, both players maintained their focus in a match marked by intense rallies and shifting momentum.
Anisimova, currently ranked 12th, held her nerve in key moments. Although she was broken for the first time in the second set after leading 30-love, she regrouped in the deciding set. After losing her serve in the opening game, she immediately broke back and went on a run of three consecutive games to take control of the match.
Sabalenka’s defeat ends her streak of reaching the last two Grand Slam finals and marks her third straight Grand Slam loss to an American player this year, following defeats to Coco Gauff at Roland Garros and Madison Keys in Melbourne.
Anisimova, the last American woman remaining in the draw, is set to climb to a career-high world No. 7 following this result. Sabalenka will retain her No. 1 ranking for a 39th consecutive week despite the loss.
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Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna in the line-up. (Photo: Getty Images)
ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat in the third Test against India at Lord’s on Thursday.
The decision brought India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah straight back into action after missing the second Test. Bumrah, currently the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, had been rested for the match at Edgbaston, where India defeated England by 336 runs to level the five-match series at 1-1.
Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna in the line-up. Akash Deep, who had taken 10 wickets in Birmingham in Bumrah’s absence, retained his place. That win was India’s biggest Test victory away from home in terms of runs.
Stokes had opted to field in both previous matches of the series. England had won the first Test at Headingley by five wickets.
England had already announced their playing eleven for the Lord’s Test, with one change — Jofra Archer returned to the side after more than four years out of Test cricket due to injuries. He replaced Josh Tongue.
India captain Shubman Gill, who has scored 585 runs in the series so far at an average of 146.25 — including innings of 269 and 161 at Edgbaston — said he would also have bowled first.
"I was a bit confused this morning but I would've bowled first," Gill said at the toss. "If there is anything in the wicket, it's in the first day."
The 25-year-old added: "The bowlers are feeling pretty confident. I'm feeling great, as a batsman you feel like you'll always be in the middle."
Stokes said: "The mood's good. It's been a very well fought two Test matches, set up the series nice but we're pushing to leave Lord's leading 2-1. Bodies are all good, a quick turnaround, everyone's fresh."
Teams:
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wkt), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir
Jannik Sinner beat Ben Shelton 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 to reach his second Wimbledon semi-final.
The world No. 1 showed no signs of elbow trouble, bouncing back after his previous injury scare.
Sinner was clinical on key points, breaking Shelton late in the second and third sets.
He extended his winning streak to 20 straight matches against American players.
The 23-year-old will now face Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the 2023 semi-final.
World number one Jannik Sinner shrugged off any doubts about his injured elbow to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second time with a clinical defeat of powerful American 10th seed Ben Shelton on Wednesday.
A high-octane contest on a muggy Court One was decided by slender margins with Italian Sinner seizing the few opportunities that came his way in ruthless fashion for a 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4 victory.
The 23-year-old Sinner, bidding to become the first Italian to win Wimbledon, will face seven-times champion Novak Djokovic, the man he lost to in the 2023 semis, in the last four on Friday.
Sinner dropped two points on serve in the opening set but could make no impression on Shelton's booming delivery either before reeling off seven points to storm through the tiebreak.
Shelton continued slugging it out with the three-time Grand Slam champion but the American faltered at 4-5 in the second set, Sinner taking control as he converted just his second break point opportunity of the contest.
It was a repeat performance in the third set as Sinner applied the pressure in the 10th game and Shelton duly cracked, serving a double-fault before bashing a forehand long on match point after two hours and 19 minutes.
Sinner has now won an incredible 20 successive Tour-level matches against American players and his last 15 sets against Shelton who must be sick of the sight of him.
After Monday's lucky escape against Grigor Dimitrov who retired hurt when leading by two sets after Sinner had appeared to also suffer an elbow injury, this was business as usual for the man who has reached the last four Grand Slam semi-finals.
"Of course, the feelings are definitely different. I'm very, very happy about today's performance," Sinner said.
Sinner's suspect elbow was given a thorough test by the 140mph serving of Shelton, but apart from one moment in the second set he appeared untroubled by it.
"When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try to not think about it," he said.
Reuters
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Djokovic dusted himself off and served out the victory
Djokovic beats Cobolli in four sets to reach last four
Serbian, seeking 25th Grand Slam title, next faces Sinner
Djokovic reaches record 14th Wimbledon singles semi-final
Novak Djokovic was given an early scare but continued his bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon trophy and standalone 25th Grand Slam title by beating Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-7(6) 6-2 7-5 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals.
The 38-year-old's fightback helped him reach a record 14th singles semi-final at the All England Club, where he will face top seed Jannik Sinner, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or Taylor Fritz awaiting in the title clash.
"A lot of numbers, a lot of numbers in the head," Serbian Djokovic said.
"Wimbledon was, is, and always will be the most special tournament that we have in our sport, at least in my opinion and I think in many players' opinion. It means the world to me that I'm still able at 38 to play in the final stages of Wimbledon.
"Another thing that makes me feel very young is competing with youngsters, Cobolli today ... I enjoy sliding and running around the court with him and all the other guys.
"I'm going to have Sinner next so I look forward to that. It's going to be a great match."
Cobolli, the 22nd seed, showed tremendous mental fortitude to recover a break after going 3-5 down in the first set, which he edged in a tiebreak by letting rip blistering winners from his orange-framed racket to draw loud cheers on Centre Court.
"I have to say huge congratulations to Flavio for an amazing tournament, but also a great battle today," Djokovic added.
"Great performance from him ... He played at a really high level. I think what surprised me a lot is his serve."
Former Roma youth soccer player Cobolli, who switched to tennis after watching Djokovic, was given a masterclass in the next set, however, and his idol broke for a 6-5 lead thanks to a slew of errors before tightening his grip on the contest.
With his thinking cap on in fading sunlight, Djokovic earned break points early in the fourth set with vintage tennis but was hitting his shoe with his racket after wasting them, before he fell to the ground with the finish line in sight.
Djokovic dusted himself off and served out the victory to go past Roger Federer's semi-finals record at the All England Club and reach a record-extending 52nd Grand Slam semi-final.
I had a nasty slip. But that's what happens when you play on grass," Djokovic said.
"It did come at an awkward moment, but I managed to find a good serve and close it out."
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After years of nightmare outings at the spiritual home of lawn tennis,
Swiatek completes full set of Grand Slam semi-final appearances
Polish eighth seed will meet Bencic in last four
Swiatek extends record over Samsonova to 5-0
The balls kept on listening to Iga Swiatek on Wednesday as the Polish eighth seed walloped Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 7-5 to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.
After years of nightmare outings at the spiritual home of lawn tennis, Swiatek appears to have finally conquered her grasscourt demons as she said the "ball has been really listening" to her at Wimbledon this year.
That was certainly in evidence on Wednesday as from the moment Swiatek launched into a 105mph ace to save break point in the opening game, the ball dutifully obeyed the Pole as winner after winner flew off her racket.
"Honestly, it feels great. I have goosebumps after this win. I am super happy and super proud of myself and I will keep going," a thrilled Swiatek told the crowd after setting up a semi-final showdown with unseeded Swiss Belinda Bencic.
"I really enjoy playing (on grass) this year and hopefully it is going to last as long as possible. I worked really hard to progress here on this surface."
From 2-2 in the first set, the five-times Grand Slam champion suffocated her Russian opponent on a hot and sticky Court One, winning seven games in a row with some ferocious forehands from the baseline that left Samsonova gasping for air.
There was simply no place to hide for Samsonova, who does not like discovering the identity of her opponents until the 11th hour, as Swiatek won all of her first serve points during the opening set.
Swiatek must have thought she would be back in her rented Wimbledon home before too long to tuck into her favourite dish -- pasta tossed with strawberries and yoghurt -- as she led 6-1 3-0.
However, Samsonova clung on for dear life despite surrendering her serve twice in the second set by misfiring double faults on break points.
The 19th seed, who was inspired to pick up a tennis racket after watching compatriot Maria Sharapova playing on TV, managed to break the Swiatek serve not once but twice to level the second set at 4-4.
The fightback failed to throw off Swiatek, however, as the Pole never dropped her incredible intensity and continued to threaten to take the racket out of her opponent's hand with the astonishing power she was generating from the baseline.
So loud was the thundering 'thwack' sound as her racket made contact with the ball that startled spectators were often jolted in their seats. It also unnerved Samsonova, whose Wimbledon hopes crumbled under 38 unforced and 16 forced errors.
Four games later it was all over as Swiatek skipped around the court in celebration after hitting a brutal service return winner to complete her full set of semi-final appearances at the four majors.
"Right now it's tough to understand what happened exactly," said Samsonova, whose bid to reach a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time ended in heartbreak as she succumbed to a fifth successive defeat to Swiatek.
"It's incredible what I have achieved, but right now I cannot feel it.
"Today Iga was at top level. Everyone knows that she's the one who I would love to beat. In the future, maybe...," she added as her voice trailed off.