Ministry de-recognises national rowing federation

New delhi
The Rowing Federation of India (RFI) was today de-recognised by the Sports Ministry for violating the Sports Code of 2011 during its elections held in December. In the RFI elections held on December 6 in Hyderabad, Rajlaxmi Singh Deo and MV Sriram were elected as president and secretary-general, respectively. But the Ministry, in a letter to the RFI president, said that the elections were not in accordance with the Sports Code and hence the recognition of the national rowing body stands cancelled. The Ministry also wrote to the Indian Olympic Association to constitute an ad-hoc committee to discharge the functions of RFI.

Harare
Mathews hits double-ton to pile pressure on Zimbabwe

Angelo Mathews struck his highest Test score with an unbeaten double-century on Wednesday as Sri Lanka left Zimbabwe battling to save the series opener going into the final day. Former skipper Mathews eclipsed his previous Test best of 160 and finished at 200 not out after a marathon knock spanning 468 balls as Sri Lanka declared their first innings on 515/9. Zimbabwe, playing their first Test since November 2018, ended the fourth day on 30/0 after Brian Mudzinganyama was drafted in as a concussion substitute for opener Kevin Kasuza. Debutant Kasuza, who made 63 in the first innings, suffered a delayed concussion after he took a blow to the helmet while fielding at short leg on Tuesday.

Brief scores: Zimbabwe: 358 & 30/0; Sri Lanka: 515/9 decl (Mathews 200*, Mendis 80; Raza 3/62, Nyauchi 3/69)

Gibraltar
Nandhidhaa posts surprise win over Praggnanandhaa

India’s Woman International Master PV Nandhidhaa stunned compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the opening round of the Masters category in the 18th Gibraltar Chess Festival here. Nandhidhaa held her own against Praggnanandhaa, who is the third youngest Grandmaster ever, and won in 67 moves. Top seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan and second seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France also secured wins. 

Bengaluru
ISL: Bengaluru run over Odisha to move to top spot

Bengaluru FC bounced back from their previous match defeat in style with a dominating 3-0 win over Odisha FC in their home Indian Super League clash here on Wednesday. Deshorn Brown (23rd) scored in his first start for the Blues before goals by Rahul Bheke (25th) and Sunil Chhetri (61st) sealed the tie in favour of the home side. Bengaluru have now moved to the top of the ISL table with 25 points from 14 matches. Odisha’s four-match winning streak came to an end but they hold on to the fourth spot with 21 points.

Kuala Lumpur
Iran teams’ AFC Champions League matches moved

Two Iranian football clubs’ AFC Champions League preliminary round matches have been moved to a neutral country because of security fears, Asia football’s governing body announced on Wednesday. The Asian Football Confederation said the ties — Shahr Khodro FC of Iran vs Riffa of Bahrain and Iran’s Esteghlal FC vs Kuwait SC — will now be played in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, January 25.

BARCELONA
Odriozola joins Bayern on loan from Real Madrid

Spanish right back Alvaro Odriozola has joined Bayern Munich on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season, the German champions said on Wednesday. The former Real Sociedad defender, 24, joined Real Madrid in 2018 but has played only four La Liga matches this season. — Agencies

China’s Women’s Olympics football qualifiers moved from China virus epicentre

Beijing: Women’s football qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympic Games will be moved from the Chinese city at the centre of a virus outbreak to another location in the country, the Asian Football Confederation said today. Wuhan was supposed to host China, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia for the Group B qualifiers February 3-9, but they will now be held on the same dates in the eastern city of Nanjing, AFC said in a statement. It said the change was proposed by the Chinese Football Association. Nine people have died and at least 440 have been infected with the SARS-like coronavirus that has spread around the country, with the vast majority of cases reported in Wuhan. A seafood market that sold wild animals is suspected to be the source of the outbreak. Taiwan’s football association had warned earlier that it would withdraw from the qualifiers if they were held in Wuhan, stressing in a statement that “the safety of players is our top priority”. AFP