Anand, Humpy to lead challenge in Chess Olympiad

Chennai
Viswanathan Anand will lead the Indian team in the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held in Moscow in August with the legendary Vladimir Kramnik set to train the men’s squad. World No. 2 Koneru Humpy will spearhead the Indian women in the biennial event that is likely to see the participation of around 180 countries. The 44th Chess Olympiad will be held from August 5 to 18. Apart from the 50-year old Anand, Grandmasters P Harikrishna and Vidit Gujrathi are likely to feature in the men’s team. Humpy and Harika Dronavalli will form part of the women’s team on the basis of their rankings, while Tania Sachdev, Bhakti Kulkarni and R Vaishali are the front-runners for the remaining three slots on current form.

Dubai
Rutuja wins but Ankita loses in Fed Cup

Rutuja Bhosale came back from the brink in the deciding set to win yet another marathon contest but Ankita Raina suffered her second straight singles defeat as India and Taiwan were locked 1-1 in their Fed Cup match. Up against lower-ranked Ya-Yi Yang, Rutuja made a confident start but had to arrest a mid-match slump to eke out a 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) win. In the second singles, Ankita Raina clashed with En Shuo Liang but lost 6-3 2-6 3-6 after saving two match points in the decider. Sania Mirza and Ankita are scheduled to play against Hao-Ching Chan and Latisha Chan. India lost to China before winning against Uzbekistan and South Korea.

New Delhi
Delhi Capitals’ Chris Woakes pulls out of IPL

Delhi Capitals’ Chris Woakes has pulled out of the upcoming Indian Premier League to stay fresh ahead of England’s home Test summer. Englishman Woakes, who was bought for Rs 1.5 crore by Delhi Capitals at IPL auction, has not played a T20 since August 2018, and last played a T20I for England in November 2015. England play six home Tests next summer, starting with a series against WI which begins on June 4. — Agencies