List, Jan 17

New Delhi

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Need harsher punishments but sexual harassment not rampant at our institutes: SAI

The Sports Authority of India rejected criticism that sexual harassment complaints are not dealt with strictly at its institutes, asserting that a robust system is in place to tackle the menace but acknowledged that punishments should be harsher for those found guilty. Stung by a report which claimed that 45 cases of sexual harassment were reported from 24 SAI institutes over the last 10 years, the nodal body to administer Olympics sports in the country asserted that the number of such cases stands at 35 for the past decade. SAI said that action had already been taken in 14 of those cases. It said as per its 2011-2019 records, 35 complaints of sexual harassment were received, and inquiry is in progress in 15 of them. Three allegations were found to be false, while two accused were acquitted by the court. One accused committed suicide while one complaint was withdrawn. Out of these 35 cases, 27 were against coaches while eight were against SAI officials. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said he has nonetheless directed SAI to dispose of the pending cases within the next four weeks. — PTI

Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia

Spanish driver Carlos Sainz wins Dakar Rally for third time

Veteran Spanish driver Carlos Sainz won the Dakar Rally for the third time, finishing with a comfortable winning margin. The 57-year-old crossed the line in the 12th and final stage 6 minutes 21 seconds ahead of the nearest challenger and reigning champion, Nasser al-Attiyah of Qatar. Nasser had managed to cut Sainz’s lead to just 24 seconds on Tuesday but fell back after navigation blunders.

Lahiri shoots 2-under 70 at American Express Golf tournament

La Quinta (USA), January 17

Anirban Lahiri shot a 2-under 70 in the first round of the American Express Golf tournament. The tournament is played over three courses — La Quinta, Nicklaus Tournament and Stadium — and the cut is applied after the third round. The final round will be held at the Stadium Course. The Indian was tied-74th and will play the tough Stadium Course on the second day and the La Quinta tomorrow. Lahiri had five birdies against three bogeys, including the one on his 17th hole.

Starting from the 10th tee, Lahiri birdied the 11th, 14th, 18th, 2nd and 7th holes. Zac Blair and Grayson Murray shot an 8-under 64 each on different courses to share the first round lead, while Rickie Fowler shot a 7-under 65 to be placed second with Scottie Scheffler and Hank Lebioda. Phil Mickelson shot a 2-under 70 to fall six strokes behind Blair and Murray. — PTI

Rashid tied 7th as 5 Indians make cut

Sentosa (Singapore): Rashid Khan carded a 5-under 66 to add to his 70 from the first round, to be placed tied-7th at the SMBC Singapore Open. Rashid is six shots behind the leader and defending champion Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand, who once again moved into contention with a 6-under 65 to lead the field at the halfway stage. Rahil Gangjee (70-71) was in tied-32nd place, while SSP Chawrasia (72-71) finished birdie-birdie to squeeze inside the cut line. Shiv Kapur (72-71) and Khalin Joshi (70-73) were placed tied-52nd. Aman Raj (70-74), Jyoti Randhawa (74-70) and Ajeetesh Sandhu (69-75) missed the cut by one shot. Jeev Milkha Singh (79-76) also packed up early. — PTI

Anand beats Xiong for his first victory

Eindhoven (The Netherlands), January 17

Viswanathan Anand crashed through the defences of Jeffery Xiong of United States to score his first victory in the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament that moved to the iconic Eindhoven Soccer Stadium for a day. The change of venue, part of the ‘chess-on-tour’ programme, turned out to be a good omen for Anand who had been struggling so far, with one loss and three draws. The Indian was relentless in the Round 4 match as he came up with some highly creative chess.

It was a French Defense Winawer variation wherein none of the players castled throughout the game. Anand launched a king-side attack pretty early with his white pieces and enjoyed spatial advantage in the middle game. Xiong defended tenaciously, but in the end, Anand found a crucial central breakthrough after which the resulting rook and pawns endgame was a walk in the park for him.

Anand moved to joint sixth with 2.5 points on a day that saw Firouzja Alireza scoring a sensational victory over Anish Giri of Holland. The Iranian joined overnight leader Wesley So of United States in lead on 3.5 points.

Anand is next in standings now along with world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland, Daniil of Dubov Russia and Xiong on 2.5 points each. Eight rounds still remain in the marathon event among 14 players. The form of Magnus Carlsen remained a concern even though he played his 112th game without a loss.

In the Challengers section, Surya Shekhar Ganguly played out a draw with David Anton Guijarro of Spain to stay in joint lead, but the other Indian, Nihal Sarin, suffered a defeat at the hands of Lucas Van Foreest of Holland to remain on 2.5 points. — PTI

Vinesh to fight for gold, Anshu settles for silver

Rome, January 17

A dominant Vinesh Phogat downed two tough Chinese rivals on her way to the 53kg final of the Rome Ranking Series event after teen sensation Anshu Malik settled for silver in the 57kg competition. Vinesh won by technical superiority against Khrystyna Bereza (10-0) and Lannuan Luo (15-5) before getting the better of Qianyu Pang (4-2). If the win against Ukrainian Bereza was about spectacular double-leg attacks, the quarterfinal win over Luo was much tougher than what the scoreline suggested. Luo was a strong opponent who led 5-2 at the end of the first period but Vinesh turned it around with smart point-scoring moves in the second period.

Twice she threw Luo with moves from between the legs when the Chinese was holding her from the back. The two wrestlers, both having immense upper-body strength, jostling for upper hand from standing position was a sight to watch. Fighting a measured bout against Pang, Vinesh was in control in the semifinal. With two take-downs in each period, she led 4-0 and conceded points only towards the end of the fight. Vinesh will now fight for her first gold of the season with Ecuador’s Luisa Elizabeth Valverde Melendres.

The 18-year-old Anshu lost to Nigeria’s Odunayo Adekuoroye in the final bout. The Jind wrestler was very dominant till the final, beating American Jenna Rose Burkert, Grace Bullen of Norway, and 2019 world champion Linda Morais of Canada en route the final.

Divya Kakran returned empty-handed after losing the 68kg bronze medal playoff bout to Danielle Suzanne Lappage of Canada.

Also in the medal contention is Nirmala Devi, who will fight for the 50kg category bronze after losing her semifinal to Sarah Ann Hildebrandt. Nirmala will take on American Victoria Lacey Anthony in the bronze medal playoff bout.

In the men’s competition, Satyawart Kadian (97kg) and Sumit Malik (125kg) exited following their quarterfinal defeats. Kadian lost 0-2 to Ukraine’s Murazi Mchedlidze while Malik suffered defeat by technical superiority against Canada’s Amarveer Dhesi. — PTI

Lahore

Hafeez to retire after T20 World Cup

Recalled Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez said he will retire from international cricket after the T20 World Cup later this year, vowing to end his career on a positive note. The 38-year-old was recalled to Pakistan’s T20 series against Bangladesh starting in Lahore from January 24. Hafeez, dubbed the “professor” for his knowledge of the game, said he enjoyed playing for Pakistan. “It has been a privilege. I want to play the Twenty20 World Cup and then exit from Pakistan’s international team,” he said.

Ruturaj, Shubman, Surya shine in India A’s 92-run win

Lincoln (New Zealand), January 17

The India A top-order warmed-up nicely for their upcoming limited-overs series with a 92-run win against a New Zealand XI in the first of the two warm-up games.

Batting first, India A scored 279/8 in 50 overs and then dismissed New Zealand XI for 187 in 41.1 overs with left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed getting four wickets.

Batting first, skipper Shubman Gill hit 50 off 66 balls, adding 89 runs for the second wicket with opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (93 off 103 balls), who came in at No. 3 to accommodate Mayank Agarwal (8).

Once Gill was out after hitting seven fours, Gaikwad was joined by Suryakumar Yadav, who hit a 48-ball-50 with four fours and two sixes as the duo added 89 runs. Krunal Pandya scored a 31-ball 41 while Sanju Samson (4) and Vijay Shankar (13) failed to make an impact.

New Zealand A started off with an 82-run opening stand between Jakob Bhula (50) and Jack Boyle (42) but Ahmed (4/43) and Mohammed Siraj (2/33) won it for India. — PTI

Brief Scores: India: A 279/8 in 50 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 93, Suryakumar Yadav 50, Shubman Gill 50); New Zealand XI: 187 in 41.1 overs (Jakob Bhula 50, Khaleel Ahmed 4/43)

Andhra ‘keeper-batsman KS Bharat named cover for Pant

New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman KS Bharat was called in as back-up for Rishabh Pant, who was ruled out of India’s second ODI against Australia due to a concussion. The 26-year-old Bharat is uncapped and has an experience of 74 First-Class matches with 4143 runs. He has a strike rate of over 100 in T20s.