Shubhankar tied-2nd after first round

Rome: Shubhankar Sharma made a superb start with a 5-under 66 to lie tied-2nd on the first day of the Italian Open. Sharma had four birdies, an eagle and a bogey on his card. It was Sharma’s third card of 66 in last six week starts besides four 67s and two 68s. Gaganjeet Bhullar and SSP Chawrasia were languishing way down in 110th place following cards of 3-over 74 each. Tapio Pulkkanen set a blistering pace with a 64. His bogey-free effort moved him to 7-under, two clear of American Kurt Kitayama and Dutchman Joost Luiten, and three ahead of England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick and Andrew Johnston.  

Vadodara
HP beat Haryana by 84 runs in Hazare Trophy

Himachal Pradesh put up a comprehensive effort to thrash Haryana by 84 runs in their Group B encounter of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Brief Scores: Himachal Pradesh: 214/8in 50 overs (Amit Kumar 47; Yuzvendra Chahal 2/31); Haryana: 130 all out in 38.2 overs (Chaitanya Bishnoi 37; Mayank Dagar 4/19)

Mumbai
Attending meet in honorary capacity no conflict: Kapil

Former India captain Kapil Dev, who resigned from the Cricket Advisory Committee after allegations of conflict of interest were levelled against him, said performing a role in honorary capacity cannot be conflicted with a professional cricketing job. “What is conflict of interest? It is a conflict if you have a permanent job, if you are called for a meeting then it does not amount to conflict. If you are on payrolls, then it is a conflict. If you do an honorary job for one meeting that cannot be conflict…,” Kapil said when asked about the contentious issue. 

RANCHI
Javelin thrower Annu Rani wins gold as Neeraj pulls out

Annu Rani bagged the gold in the women's javelin throw event at the 59th National Open Athletics Championships. Annu secured the title with a 58.60m throw. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra said he decided not to take part in the championships on the advice of his coach. — Agencies

Stuttgart
Biles claims 16th world gymnastics title

American Simone Biles became the first woman to win five all-around titles at the Gymnastics World Championships in Stuttgart on Thursday. Biles scored 14.400 points to finish with an overall score of 58.999 — beating China's Tang Xijing by a huge margin of 2.100. Russia's Angelina Melnikova took the bronze with 56.399. The 22-year-old American is now just one short of Belarusian Vitaly Scherbo's record haul of 23 medals. 

Tokyo
Rugby World Cup games called-off due to typhoon   

Rugby World Cup organisers were forced to call off matches for the first time in the tournament's 32-year history on Thursday — eliminating Italy as a result — saying the risk from Typhoon Hagibis made hosting them an impossibility on safety grounds. Japan would advance to the quarterfinals for the first time if their game in Yokohama is called off. Cancelled games are ruled a 0-0 draw, with two points going to each team. Agencies

Decision on typhoon-hit Japan GP qualifying today

Suzuka (Japan): Japanese Grand Prix organisers will decide at noon Friday if the race weekend timetable, including Saturday qualifying, can go ahead as Super Typhoon Hagibis threatens the Suzuka circuit. A spokesperson for the governing body FIA told AFP Thursday that any decision to change the weekend programme rested with the local authorities in consultation with the FIA and Formula One. Two minor support races scheduled for Saturday at Suzuka have already been scrapped as a precaution. Saturday's third free practice session and qualifying are likely to follow suit. AFP