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Golf: Indian-American Theegala and Rai shoot 9-under, lie 13th in Zurich Classic

Avondale (USA), April 25 (IANS) Indian-American Sahith Theegala partnering another pro with an Indian touch, Aaron Rai, shot nine-under and the pair was Tied-13th after the first day at the Zurich Classic. The pair was five shots behind PGA Tour rookies, Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo, who totalled 14-under.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy, playing for the first time since winning the Green Jacket, teamed with Shane Lowry to shoot an 8-under 64 in Four-ball (best-ball) in the Zurich Classic.

Another Indian-American, Akshay Bhatia, who like Theegala, landed an Indian sponsor, Hero, ahead of the Masters this month, played with Carson Young and they totalled eight-under to be Tied-18th.

Salinda and Velo opened with a tournament-record 58 in the Tour’s only team event. They were 10-under for the front nine with eight birdies and an eagle from Salinda on the Par-5 seventh. On the back nine, they were four-under to total 14-under.

Danish identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard were a shot back. The teams will play Foursomes (alternate shot) Friday, Four-ball Saturday and Foursomes Sunday.

A large gallery gathered on the 10th tee at TPC Louisiana before 8 am local time to see McIlroy. Shaking off an early-week illness, he provided a few highlights after a relatively slow start.

Lowry carried the team early, birdieing three of the first holes after their back-nine start and adding another on the par-5 18th.

McIlroy’s first birdie came on a nearly 20-foot putt on No. 1, which he celebrated with a light-hearted fist-pump. McIlroy followed that with an eagle on the par-5 second hole, hitting a 6-iron from 204 yards to 5 feet to get to 8-under.

Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama were tied for third at 61 with the teams of Cam Davis/Adam Svensson, Paul Peterson/Thomas Rosenmueller and Kris Ventura/Antoine Rozner.

Adam Schenk had an albatross on the seventh, holing out from 231 yards. Schenk and Tyler Duncan shot 63.

Yannik and Jeremy Paul of Germany, the other identical twins – the third team with siblings – in the field, shot 67.

–IANS

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Sri Lanka’s De Silva rues missed chances, confident about next WTC cycle

Galle, June 16 (IANS) Even as they were preparing for their two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which will kick off the new cycle of the World Test Championship, Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva was keenly following the WTC 2023/25 final between Australia and South Africa at the Lord’s in London.

Though de Silva was following every twist and turn in the hard-fought encounter that South Africa won to claim the WTC Mace for the first time, the Sri Lanka captain was watching the proceedings with regret because with a bit of luck and some good performances, Sri Lanka could have been one of the finalists of the WTC 2023-25.

Now, taking inspiration from South Africa’s triumph at Lord’s, the Sri Lanka skipper is eyeing a similar victory for his side in the new World Test Championship cycle. Skipper de Silva is rallying his side to take inspiration from the Proteas’ ICC World Test Championship 2025 Final triumph as Sri Lanka brace for the start of the next WTC cycle.

Sri Lanka harboured a decent chance of qualifying for the prestigious showpiece event at Lord’s in the recently concluded cycle. Their path to the final was clear: win three out of their remaining four Tests.

Two of these crucial encounters were at home against Australia, while the other two presented a stern away challenge against South Africa. Ultimately, however, they finished a disappointing sixth in the standings after succumbing to heavy defeats in all four of those decisive encounters.

For de Silva, this is the first World Test Championship cycle where he is at the helm from the very beginning, and he is determined to leave no stone unturned.

“We had a big chance to get to the final, but unfortunately, we couldn’t do it,” de Silva told reporters on the eve of the first Test against Bangladesh.

“Even yesterday, when I talked to the boys, I reminded them where we could have been (at Lord’s this week), and where we ended up.

“As we start a new cycle, we know we have to win our home series. We need to pick up all those points. It’s a great opportunity to start a new cycle with a home series.”

The cycle presents a major challenge for Sri Lanka. While Dimuth Karunaratne has already retired and Angelo Mathews will quit the format after the first Test.

Despite these setbacks, Dhananjaya de Silva remains focused on the task ahead and wants his team to concentrate on winning as many matches as possible from the 12 scheduled Tests Sri Lanka will play in this cycle.

The team picked for the two Tests and Bangladesh has as many as six uncapped players, many of them selected on the back of strong domestic performances.

“We need to prepare for the situations that we do get. We’ve had a good National Super League (Sri Lanka’s premier first-class tournament) recently, and we’ve had good preparation through that. We’ve also identified a few good youngsters through that. We’re looking to embark on this next journey with them,” said De Silva

Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh in the first of the two Tests beginning Tuesday (June 17) that will mark the beginning of the ICC World Test Championship 25-27 cycle.

–IANS

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Chelsea win UEFA Conference League to complete set of European club trophies

Wroclaw, May 29 (IANS) Chelsea have become the first team in history to win all five European club trophies after coming from behind to beat Real Betis 4-1 at Stadion Wroclaw in Poland, courtesy of a magnificent second-half display from Cole Palmer.

This is Chelsea’s first Conference League success following two UEFA Champions League triumphs, two in the UEFA Europa League, two in the UEFA Super Cup and two in the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.

Chelsea’s total of 42 goals in the UEFA Conference League this season (league phase onwards) is a record for the competition, beating Fiorentina’s total of 37 in the 2022/23 season.

Betis strove to break up Chelsea’s play high up the field and were rewarded. After nine minutes, Isco pulled the ball across the box for Abdessamad Ezzalzouli, and the Moroccan took a touch before firing a low shot into the bottom corner of Filip Jørgensen’s net.

The goalkeeper was at full stretch to deny Marc Bartra as the Betis No5 tried to catch him off balance with a shot from distance a few minutes later, and Benoît Badiashile delivered a crucial diving interception to block a Johnny Cardoso effort after the busy Ezzalzouli had battled his way into the box to set him up, UEFA reports.

Possession stats had Chelsea on 65 per cent at the break, but Enzo Maresca’s side had created little in terms of tangible chances, outstretched Betis legs repeatedly stifling their approach play. Captain Reece James came on at half-time, a limping Ezzalzouli was taken off after 53 minutes, and all of a sudden it was Betis who were being hustled off the ball, and looking like a side that had not kept a clean sheet in their previous 11 games.

James thumped a shot straight at defender Natan as Betis struggled to clear a corner, and there was no let-up for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, Cole Palmer’s splendid lofted ball into the box invited Enzo Fernández to nod the equaliser past the exposed Adrián on 65 minutes, and five minutes later Palmer produced another superb assist, turning a defender and lifting a ball across the box for Nicolas Jackson to force in at the near post.

A wall of green noise throughout, Betis’ fans did their best to reinflate their side, but there was no way back. First, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall picked out fellow substitute Jadon Sancho, with the Manchester United loanee calmly curling the ball in from an angle, before the masked Moises Caicedo made it 4-1 in added time with a low shot from the edge of the box.

–IANS

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