No pressure as only Indian in US Open Junior Tennis Championships: Kriish Tyagi
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New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
World C'ships an opportunity for Lakshya to turn things around: Coach Vimal
CHENNAI: The season so far has been an immense slog for badminton ace Lakshya Sen. Victories have been at a premium and the shuttler, despite his unarguable talent, has largely been at sea while trying to navigate high-intensity matches inside the court. But that narrative can change in no time. With the all-important World Championships in Paris around the corner, Lakshya will be hoping to buck the trend. With the gold-standard event in mind, the shuttler from Almora is currently training in Paris alongside some of the elite French players. The Indian, who celebrated his 24th birthday on August 16, will be returning to a venue — Porte de La Chapelle Arena — where he had narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal last year. Having said that, he has also tasted success there, having reached the semifinals of the French Open in summer last year. And the Indian had shown some form during his last outing — Macau Open, gaining crucial match-practice in the process. However, he has to be near-flawless from the onset during the BWF Grade 1 event — scheduled to be held from August 25 to 31 — as he will be facing China's Shi Yu Qi, who has been one of the standouts of the season so far with four titles to his name. The odds are clearly stacked against Lakshya but a victory against the World No 1 shuttler could just be the kick he needs. U Vimal Kumar, Lakshya's coach at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA), concurred. "It's an opportunity (for Lakshya). That's what I told him the moment I saw the draw. He said everything is going well. Shi Yu Qi is someone whom he has beaten before. The top-30 players who'll be playing in the event, Lakshya has beaten all of them. He can beat any of them but he has to convert his chances. The top guys are also vulnerable and they'll be under pressure. Shi can also be under pressure. He knows Lakshya's strengths and it's going to be a tough match. If Lakshya can play fearlessly and pull off a win, it will be a good breakthrough," Vimal told this daily. Lakshya this season has either struggled to get his engine burning, going by his early exits or he has seemed to be lacking ideas during the business end of sweat-dripping matches. Vimal, who has been regularly looking to motivate his ward, said that is the issue that he's trying to address at the moment. "He needs match-practice. Training is not new, he has been doing that for long. He has been looking to work on dealing with different situations, how you employ yourself and pull off wins. He has been faltering in those closing stages. That is an area that they're trying to get better at, to understand when to push the pace, when to keep the shuttle in play without making mistakes when under pressure. That he can only gain in the practice that he's getting over there as there are quite a lot of other elite players who're also practising there. He has to figure things out, everything can't be coached."
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Rahm edges Niemann for LIV season title as Munoz wins at Indy
Spain's Jon Rahm captured his second consecutive LIV Golf season crown on Sunday, shooting an 11-under par 60 before losing a playoff to Colombia's Sebastian Munoz at LIV Golf Indianapolis. HT Image Munoz birdied the first playoff hole to beat Rahm for the Indy title after both finished on 22-under 191 through all 54 holes at Chatham Hills in the Saudi-backed series' last individual event of the year. But Rahm's result was good enough to edge Chile's Joaquin Niemann in the season points chase for the second year in a row, delivering heartbreak on the season's last day as he did in 2024. Rahm won the campaign title without winning any LIV event while Niemann took titles this year in Adelaide, Singapore, Mexico City, Virginia and Britain. Rahm captured $18 million for claiming the season crown with Niemann taking $8 million for his runner-up season finish after sharing fourth at Indy on 196 with a closing 66. Munoz, who battled two-time major winner Dustin Johnson for the lead most of the day, birdied the 17th and 18th holes in regulation and the 18th again in the playoff to win his first title since the 2019 PGA Tour Sanderson Farms Championship. "We came today to try and take care of business," Munoz said. "Of course Jon shot 10-under so you go from one legend to another one. It was pretty cool. Awesome experience. Making birdie two times in a row (at 18), it's undescribable. Munoz battled for the victory after firing a 59 on Friday, only the third sub-60 round in LIV history. "I feel really proud of myself," he said. "It has been a long time coming, six years since my last win, and it's awesome right now." A severe overnight storm toppled trees and swamped fairways, delaying the shotgun start by 55 minutes, with players using lift, clean and place rules on the rain-softened course. Masters and US Open winner Rahm birdied six of the first 10 holes, eagled the par-five 13th and after a bogey at 14 closed with four consecutive birdies to pull away from Niemann, whose five birdies in the last eight holes were not enough to keep pace with Rahm. Rahm nearly holed his approach at 15 to set up a tap-in birdie, sank a six-foot birdie at 16, birdied 17 and dropped his approach at 18 inches from the hole for another tap-in birdie. Even after Rahm finished, Niemann had a last title chance if Munoz forced and won a playoff and Johnson made double bogey at 18. Munoz did his part but Johnson birdied the last to finish third to end Niemann's hopes. England's Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter avoided being dumped from LIV for 2026, finishing in the season's top 48 in points to escape the relegation zone. Westwood birdied four of his first five holes while Poulter birdied four of his last five to avoid the drop, each finishing on 201. Sweden's Henrik Stenson was dropped, however, after missing a birdie putt at the 18th that would have seen him avoid relegation at Poulter's expense. Niemann's Torque won the Indy team title, it's first triumph since 2023, but Rahm's Legion XIII holds the top seeding for next week's LIV Team Championship. js/bb
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Chhetri is not there as team playing a preparatory tournament, doors are open for him: Jamil
Newly-appointed India head coach Khalid Jamil on Sunday (August 17, 2025) cleared the air about the leaving out of talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri from the CAFA Nations Cup national camp, saying it was just a preparatory tournament for the crucial Asian Cup qualifying round matches in October. Jamil, who succeeded Manolo Marquez as India head coach earlier this month, on Friday named 35 probables for the upcoming CAFA Nations Cup in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with Chhetri missing from the list. Jamil did not say in so many words but made it clear that Chhetri is expected to walk into the national team for the Asian Cup qualifying round matches against Singapore on October 9 (away) and October 14 (home). 'He [Chhetri] is not there in this camp because we are playing a tournament which will essentially serve as a preparation for our Asian Cup Qualifiers,' Jamil said on the second day of the national camp here. 'I also want to try out a few other players during this FIFA window. I had a talk with him about the same. It's always a pleasure to have a player like him in the team, and the door is always open for him. 'Sunil is a legend of Indian football. I have played against him, I've seen him play on numerous occasions, and he is one of my favourite players. He is a role model for Indian football," he said in a release from the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Placed in Group B of the CAFA Nations Cup, India face co-host Tajikistan on August 29, Iran on September 1 and Afghanistan on September 4. The third-place match and the final will be played on September 8 in Hisor and Tashkent (Uzbekistan), respectively. The national camp began on Saturday featuring 22 players while the remaining 13, who were doing club duties at the ongoing Durand Cup, are likely to join in a few days. The AIFF has urged all the clubs to release national team players for the tournament. The 41-year-old Chhetri took international retirement after playing against Kuwait in June last year but made a return for national duty in the match against Maldives in March this year following a request from Marquez to help the team in the Asian Cup qualifiers third round. Chhetri has played four matches since then and scored once -- in the 3-0 win over Maldives. India drew Bangladesh 0-0 and lost to Hong Kong 0-1 in the Asian Cup qualifiers, leaving the country in a difficult position to qualify for the continental showpiece in 2027. In between India lost 0-2 to Thailand in an international friendly. Marquez quit after the string of poor performance of the team. 'CAFA Nations Cup good opportunity to play against quality opponents' The CAFA Nations Cup will be 48-year-old Jamil's first international assignment, and Jamil said the central Asian tournament will be a good opportunity for his team to play against quality opponents. "This will be India's first-ever participation in the CAFA Nations Cup, and it will be a good opportunity for us to play against stronger and quality opponents like Tajikistan and Iran in CAFA Nations Cup. This will definitely be beneficial for us to prepare for AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. "There is absolutely no excuse for us, as we have enough time to prepare for it. We may be treating these as preparatory games, but this is serious business for us," he said. Tasked with turning the Blue Tigers' fortunes around, Jamil wants to take one step at a time. 'We must do the simple things first and go step by step. We are treating these matches as friendly games, but I want to take players who are fit. When I say fit, I mean, the players who will play must be 100% fit,' said Jamil. 'We started the camp with some players still not available, but we've got the players we need to begin our preparations. We had a good first training session yesterday [Saturday], but there's a lot to improve on. "The important thing is that we remain united as a team. For the national interest, we would like to request co-operation from clubs to release players on time, to ensure their adequate participation during the preparatory camp," he added. The former Jamshedpur FC and NorthEast United coach said he needs time to adjust to the team. "The players also need time to adjust to me. My doors are always open to everybody. Whoever is doing well will be selected.' On his appointment as India head coach, Jamil said, 'It is my pleasure to serve the country. It has always been my dream to do this, and it has now come true, so that feels very good. "There is a big task ahead of us, and we've got many areas that we need to work on. I am fully aware how big a responsibility it is for me, but I feel thankful that the Federation (AIFF) felt me worthy to be entrusted with it.'
