Verma 3rd, Deepika 9th in World Cup qualifier

Berlin: Indian compound archer Abhishek Verma had a near perfect run in the first 36 arrows before finishing third in the qualification round of the Stage Four of the Archery World Cup here today. The Asian Games gold medallist got off to a glorious start with five perfect rounds to make it 300 out of 300. But in the sixth round, pressure got the better of him as he shot just outside the 10 ring to lead with 359/360 points at the midway stage. In the recu-rve section, Deepika Kumari finished ninth and got a bye into round two. 

India A struggle against England Lions 

Worcester: India A struggled to 106/4 in 32 overs after Alastair Cook's marathon 180 powered England Lions to 423 all out on the second day of the four-day unofficial Test. Opener Prithvi Shaw top-scored with 62 for India A , but Murali Vijay, Mayank Agarwal and skipper Karun Nair failed to get going. Brief scores: England Lions: 423 (Cook 180, Gubbins 73, Malan 74); India A: 144/4 (Shaw 62, Pant 37*)

CoA chief Rai plays down exits of coaches 

new delhi: Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai played down the recent trend of senior players influencing the future of coaches in Indian cricket, saying "there was nothing new in it". The Indian women's cricket team coach Tushar Arothe's stint ended after his position became untenable due to alleged differences with some of the senior players. "This has been going since the time of Greg Chappell and Sourav Ganguly. This is nothing new," Rai said. — Agencies

NEW DELHI

India jump one place to fifth in latest FIH rankings 

India have jumped a rung to fifth position in the men’s hockey rankings issued by the International Hockey Federation. India have made the jump by virtue of their second consecutive runner-up finish at the Champions Trophy in Breda, Netherlands, earlier this month. Australia (1906 points) are 23 points ahead of Argentina (1883 points) and are followed by Belgium (1709 points) and the Netherlands (1654 points). 

New Delhi

IOA clears men’s handball team for Asian Games 

The Indian Olympic Association cleared the men’s handball team for the Asian Games after the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court intervened. “We have made the official communication that men’s handball team be allowed to take part in the Games. It is now for the Games’ organisers to decide on it,” IOA secretary-general Rajeev Mehta said. IOA dropped 20 athletes from the Pencak Silat team, alleging fake credentials, prompting the national federation to threaten legal action.

LE GRAND BORNAND, France

Alaphilippe wins Stage 10 of Tour de France

French rider Julian Alaphilippe climbed impressively to win the 10th stage of the Tour de France, a 158.5-km ride from Annecy to Le Grand Bornand. It was the first stage victory by a home rider at this year’s Tour, and Alaphilippe crossed the line to an exuberant reception from the French fans. Belgium’s Greg Van Avermaet was part of the breakaway group and finished fourth to maintain his grip on the yellow jersey. 

New Delhi

India U-16s rally to hold Bangkok Glass FC U-17   

The Indian U-16 football team struck twice in the last 10 minutes to erase a two-goal deficit and hold Bangkok Glass FC U-17 side 2-2. Bangkok Glass FC took the lead in the 21st minute and doubled it three minutes later (2-0). The Indian colts scored through Ricky (83rd min) and Ravi (86th min). — Agencies