Sindhu lone winner in India''s 1-4 defeat to Denmark

Gold coast (Australia)
PV Sindhu turned out to be the only bright spot on an otherwise dismal day as India slumped to a 1-4 defeat against Denmark in their opening match of the Sudirman Cup mixed team badminton championship at the Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium here today. Sindhu defeated Line Kjaersfeldt 21-18 21-6 in the women's singles match that lasted just about half-an-hour. Apart from her, all other Indian players finished on the losing side. The mixed pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy suffered a 15-21 21-16 17-21 defeat against Denmark's Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen; Ajay Jayaram lost 12-21 7-21 against Viktor Axelsen; the men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy were outplayed 17-21 15-21 by Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen. In the final match, Ashwini and N Sikki Reddy lost 21-18 15-21 21-23 to Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna. 

Karachi
Umar dropped from squad after failing fitness tests       

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has been asked to return home from England after he failed fitness tests twice ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy. The Pakistan team is undergoing a conditioning camp in Birmingham. “He has fitness issues. He twice failed fitness tests in the conditioning camp in England. The selectors are now considering Haris Sohail and Umar Amin as his replacement,” said chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq.  

Rome
Zverev backs Nadal for French Open glory  

German tennis player Alexander Zverev, who won his first Masters crown at the Italian Open on Sunday, doesn't back himself to win the French Open title. He feels 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will emerge victorious at the Roland Garros. “The favourite is still definitely Rafael Nadal. Strong favourite. And the others, the rest, it's going to be quite open. I think Novak is playing quite great again. Dominic (Thiem) has been showing he's been playing very, very well,” he said. 

Moscow
Harikrishna finishes 10th at Moscow chess meet       

Indian Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna finished 10th on the leaderboard at the Moscow FIDE Grand Prix with a total of 4.5 points after nine rounds to gain 10 Grand Prix  points. Playing with white pieces on Sunday, the Hyderabadi lad began on an aggressive note but with his opponent GM Teimour Radjabov up to the task, he could not create a favourable opening. With time running out, the world No. 16 Indian and his opponent decided to share points after 29 moves. — Agencies