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Indian women’s table tennis team defeated Italy with an impressive 3-0 at World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan on Wednesday. World number 2 and two-time Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka crashed out of the Dubai Championships after falling to Donna Vekic of Croatia.
South Korean star Son Heung-min requested fans to forgive his teammate Lee Kang-in regarding their bust-up during the AFC Asian Cup 2024 in Qatar. The South Korean national team crashed out of the continental tournament in the semis against Australia before which the earlier mentioned players got into a fight.
Read more about major sporting events from across the world in the last 24 hours.
Table Tennis
Indian women beat Italy in World Team Table Tennis Championships
Indian women’s table tennis team defeated Italy with an impressive 3-0 at World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan on Wednesday. In their next round, the 17th-seeded Indian team will lock horns with fourth-seeded Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinal round. In the opening round, Sreeja Akula gave her side a favourable win as she defeated Nikoleta Stefanova 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 in 20 minutes. Manika Batra extended India’s tally to 2-0, defeating Giorgia Piccolin. Ayhika Mukherjee defeated Gaia Monfardini 15-13, 11-9, 13-15, 11-8 to seal India’s victory.
Tennis
Andy Murray’s mother and former coach Judy reacts to first win of 2024
Andy Murray’s mother and former coach Judy Murray reacted to her son’s first win of the season at the 2024 Qatar Open. He defeated Alexandre Muller in the first round 6-1, 7-6 (5). His mother reacted to the win with some emoticons including that of a lion face. Apart from that, Murray also reacted to the retirement rumours and said that he may not be in the best of forms, but he has no plans of quitting. He said, "I won’t quit. I will keep fighting and working to produce the performances I know I’m capable of.”
Aryna Sabalenka crashes out of Dubai Championships, gets beaten by Donna Vekic
World number 2 and two-time Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka crashed out of the Dubai Championships after falling to Donna Vekic of Croatia. Sabalenka made her first appearance after defending her Australian Open title and lost 12 of the last 13 games as Vekic won 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-0 in their second-round match. After the game, she said, "The level was so bad for me.” On the other hand, number one player Iga Swiatek defeated Solane Stephens 6-4, 6-4, while number third player Coco Gauff defeated Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Should not have shaved before the final: Elena Rybakina’s coach after Qatar Open final loss
Elena Rybakina’s coach Lovro Zovko took a humorous approach to her defeat in the 2024 Qatar Open final loss. He said, that he shouldn’t have shaved and it was all his fault. Zovko said, "Those last 3 weeks could have been a dream. Two balls. And could have been a dream. Like this, it was an amazing 3 weeks. Packed with emotions. And I am amazed and proud of the work that they are doing. Off to my home. Office closed for the next 3 days. Thank you to everyone. P.S. should not have shaved before the final.”
Chess
Eight-year-old Ashwath Kaushik defeats 37-year-old grandmaster to set age record
An eight-year-old chess prodigy from Singapore, Ashwath Kaushik became the youngest chess player to defeat a grandmaster. Kaushik, who is eight and six months old defeated 37-year-old Polish grandmaster Jacek Stopa. He broke the age record set a few days earlier when Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia (8 years and 11 months) defeated Bulgarian Milko Popchev who is 59 years old. After the match, Kaushik said, “It’s a very exciting feeling and amazing to be able to beat my first grandmaster on the board and it’s in classical [chess] so I feel very proud of myself.”
Football
S on Heung-min asks fans to forgive Lee Kang-in Asian Cup 2024 incident
South Korean star S on Heung-min requested fans to forgive his teammate Lee Kang-in regarding their bust-up during the AFC Asian Cup 2024 in Qatar. The South Korean national team crashed out of the continental tournament in the semis against Australia before which the earlier mentioned players got into a fight. "Kang-in has done sincere soul-searching about his actions and offered a sincere apology to all the players on the national team, including myself," Son said in a post on Instagram on Wednesday. "To prevent Kang-in from doing such a wrong behaviour again, all of our players, as seniors of the national team, will take special care from his side so that he can grow into a better person and player. Since that incident, Kang-in is going through a very difficult time. Please forgive him just once more with a generous heart."
Jim Ratcliffe completes 25% acquisition of Man United
British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe completed his 25% acquisition of a stake in Premier League club Manchester United, after an entertaining 15-month saga. Man United released a statement confirming the development stating, "To become co-owner of Manchester United is a great honour and comes with great responsibility. This marks the completion of the transaction, but just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football, with world-class facilities for our fans. Work to achieve those objectives will accelerate from today."
Chelsea's Mia Fishel out with ACL injury
Chelsea's Mia Fishel suffers an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury while playing for the United States on an international break. The 22-year-old joined fellow teammate Sam Kerr on the sidelines, who is also out with an ACL injury last month. "Mia will be assessed by a specialist in the coming days and will then begin her rehabilitation with the club's medical team at Cobham (training ground)," Chelsea said in a statement. "Everyone at Chelsea would like to wish Mia the very best for her recovery."
Bayern Munich sack m anager Tuchel amidst disappointing 2023-24 season
Defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have sacked German manager Thomas Tuchel amidst a disappointing 2023-24 season so far. The Bavarians are second in the German top flight and are 0-1 down in their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Lazio. The club released a statement and announced, "FC Bayern Munich and head coach Thomas Tuchel have jointly decided to end their working relationship, which was originally set to run until 30 June 2025, on 30 June 2024. This is the outcome of a constructive discussion between CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen and Thomas Tuchel."
