4500 from 494 districts to take part in national meet

Tirupati

A record 4,500 boys and girls in the U-14 and U-16 age-groups from 494 districts across India will compete in the National Inter-District Junior Athletics Meet, which begins here on Saturday. Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla said, “We are sure it will not be long before we have close to 600 of India’s 731 districts taking part in the competition. We will work towards getting more participation from the states in the Northeast.”

New Delhi
Mary Kom to fight for
Punjab Royals

MC Mary Kom (in pic) will be part of the NCR Punjab Royals team during the Big Bout League while her fierce rival Nikhat Zareen will compete for Odisha Warriors. All the six teams featuring in the league, starting December 2, will have five men and two women boxers. Each team can have three foreign players in their ranks. Amit Panghal will compete for Adani Gujarat while Pinki Rani will be part of the Bengaluru side. Ingrit Valencia was picked by Bombay Bullets in the players’ draft held on Tuesday.

New Delhi
I-League kicks off on
November 30

Former champions Aizawl FC will clash with Mohun Bagan at home in the opening round match of the I-League 2019-20 season, on November 30. In another opening round match, Gokulam Kerala FC will host Manipur’s Neroca FC at the EMS Corporation Stadium on November 30. Defending champions Chennai City FC will begin their campaign at home the next day as they host debutants Tiddim Road Athletic Union, the second club from Manipur this season, at the Nehru Stadium. DSport will broadcast the matches which will run till April next year. The two Kolkata derby matches between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will be played at the Salt Lake Stadium on December 22 and March 15 next year. — Agencies

Madrid
Russia beat Croatia in Davis Cup opener

Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev helped Russia open the inaugural Davis Cup Finals with a 3-0 victory over defending champions Croatia in Madrid on Monday. Khachanov clinched the point for Russia by fighting back to beat Borna Coric 6-7(7) 6-4 6-4 after Rublev had earlier seen off Borna Gojo 6-3 6-3. Khachanov and Rublev then completed the clean sweep later with a 7-6 (7) 6-4 doubles win over Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic. Canada claimed a 2-1 victory over Italy. Fabio Fognini slumped to a 7-6(7) 7-5 defeat to Vasek Pospisil before Denis Shapovalov beat Matteo Berrettini 7-6(7) 6-7(7) 7-6 (7). Theywon the doubles against Shapovalov and Pospisil 6-2 3-6 6-3.

New york
Rockets down Trail blazers, Bulls slip to Milwaukee

James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined 64 points as host Houston won the battle of the backcourts, defeating Portland on Monday. While Harden scored 23 of his 36 points in the first half, Westbrook came alive in the second half with 15 of his 28 points. Whereas, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Milwaukee closed the game on a 17-2 run to wipe out a 99-98 deficit and beat host Chicago Bulls.

London
Manchester City’s revenue rises to $692 million

Manchester City’s on-field success saw the club’s revenues swell to 535 million pound ($692 million) last season as the Premier League champions posted a profit for the fifth straight year.

TORRANCE (US)
Mayweather says he is done with boxing

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather said his time in the ring is finished and that he is focused on other projects including his fast-growing chain of boxing fitness gyms and his high-profile promotion company. agencies