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Badminton Asia C’ships: Dhruv-Tanisha into mixed doubles QF; Sindhu, Priyanshu, George bow out

Ningbo (China) April 10 (IANS) Indian mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto marched into the quarterfinal of the Badminton Asia Championships 2025 Quarters after registering a comeback win over Chinese Taipei’s Ye Hong Wei and Nicole Chan on Thursday.

The Indian duo battled past the Taipei’s pair with 12-21, 21-16, 21-18 at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium. After dropping the opening game 12-21, the Indian duo fought back to take the second 21-16 and edged a tense decider 21-18.

The Indians will next face fifth seeds Jordan Tang and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong for a place in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, India’s campaign in the singles event ended after ace shuttler PV Sindhu, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George lost their respective second-round matches.

Sindhu fought hard but ultimately lost to Akane Yamaguchi 11-21, 21-16, 16-21, after coming from behind in the second game to challenge the Japanese former world champion.

In men’s singles, Kiran battled tough against world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn but was defeated 21-19, 13-21, 16-21, while Priyanshu lost 14-21, 17-21 to Kodai Naraoka.

In the men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi, who moved into the second round after beating Sri Lanka’s Madhuka Dulanjana and Lahiru Weerasinghe, will take on the Paris Olympic bronze medallist Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik later in the day.

Earlier in the tournament, Paris 2024 semifinalist Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and Malvika Bansod were knocked out in the first round.

Sen was crashed out after a straight-game defeat against world No. 14 Lee Chia-hao of Chinese Taipei. Prannoy put up a fight but couldn’t avoid a 21-16, 12-21, 21-11 defeat against China’s Lu Guangzu, marking his fourth first-round exit in six tournaments this year.

Malvika, 22nd in the women’s singles rankings, lost against world No. 15 Gao Fang Jie. She was beaten 21-14, 21-8 by the Asian Games silver medallist.

Elsewhere, India’s challenge in the women’s doubles was also ended after Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra were ousted by Chinese Taipei’s Sung Shuo-yun and Yu Chien-Hui following a 21-11, 21-13 defeat.

–IANS

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Arteta says Arsenal 100 pc followed right process in Partey’s case

London, July 21 (IANS) Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta remained adamant that the club followed the correct procedure with how they handled the case of club’s former midfielder Thomas Partey, who was recently charged on five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by the Metropolitan Police Service, days after his contract ended with the club.

The incidents are alleged to have taken place between 2021 and 2022. Partey is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on August 5. The investigation into the matter began in 2022. Partey is chargd with two counts of rape relate to one woman, three counts relate to a second woman, and the one count of sexual assault relates to a third woman.

“The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the Metropolitan Police Service to charge a man after a file of evidence was submitted by detectives. The Met has issued a charge and requisition to Thomas Partey, 32 (13/06/1992), of Hertfordshire, in connection with the following offences: Five counts of rape, one count of sexual assault,” read the statement by the Metropolitan Police.

Arsenal are currently in Singapore as part of their pre-season tour and will face AC Milan on Wednesday and Arteta was asked about the Ghanaian midfielder during a press conference.

“The club was very clear in its statement. There are a lot of legal matters that are very complicated so I cannot comment on any of that,” said Arteta.

When asked if he believes the club followed the correct process regarding the situation, Arteta replied, “100%, yes.”

Partey signed for Atletico Madrid in 2012 and made 188 appearances for the Spanish club, helping them win the Europa League in 2018 and La Liga in 2021. Arsenal signed him from Atletico Madrid on the transfer deadline day in October, 2020 after meeting his 45 million pound release clause.

The midfielder went on to play 167 games for Arsenal whilst finding the back of the net on nine occasions, whilst providing seven assists. He has 53 caps for the Ghana national team and has scored 15 goals for the African nation.

–IANS

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ISL 2024-25: Kerala Blasters begin quest for three straight wins against playoff-bound Jamshedpur FC

Kochi, Feb 28 (IANS) Chasing their third straight win, Kerala Blasters FC will host Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday. The qualification scenario for Kerala Blasters FC is complicated since they bank on a spate of other results. However, the straightforward equation for them is that they need to win all of their remaining games. So far, they have 24 points from 21 games on the back of seven wins and three draws.

Kerala Blasters FC have struggled in recent games, failing to score in their last two home matches, which demands their attack to bounce back. Currently, they remain unbeaten at home against Jamshedpur FC (P5 W2 D3). Jamshedpur FC have already qualified for the playoffs and will be eyeing a league double after prevailing 1-0 over the Kochi-based team in the reverse fixture.

Kerala Blasters FC have never gone three consecutive home games without scoring in ISL history, and they will want to sustain this record at the end of the forthcoming fixture. Kerala Blasters FC have leaked 15 goals from set-pieces this season, the second-most in the league after Hyderabad FC (17).

Jamshedpur FC kept a clean sheet in their last away match (2-0 vs Mohammedan SC). The last time they won back-to-back away games while recording shutouts was in December 2017. The two teams have played 17 matches against each other, with Kerala Blasters FC winning five games and Jamshedpur FC emerging victorious four times. Eight encounters have produced draws.

Kerala Blasters FC interim head coach TG Purushothaman expressed his intentions ahead of the clash against Jamshedpur FC. “Our only goal right now is to win the coming match. More so, because we are playing at home and we want to do well. We must continue working hard to get a positive result,” he said.

Jamshedpur FC head coach Khalid Jamil assured that his side wouldn’t let their guards down upon having qualified for the playoffs. “We have prepared for this match like we have prepared for all of our games so far. We must approach the game with utmost seriousness,” he said.

–IANS

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