Spain Masters: Saina out, Jayaram in quarters

Barcelona: Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Barcelona Spain Masters after suffering a straight-game defeat against Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the quarterfinals. Saina lost 20-22 19-21 against her third-seeded opponent in a contest that lasted 45 minutes. Busanan will play compatriot and sixth seed Pornpawee Chowhuwong in the semifinals on Saturday. However, Ajay Jayaram entered the men’s singles quarterfinals. Jayaram defeated France’s Thomas Rouxel 21-14 21-15.

New Delhi

Ojha retires from international cricket

Veteran Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, who snared 10 wickets during Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test in 2013, announced his retirement from international and First-Class cricket with immediate effect. Tendulkar’s final Test in Mumbai against West Indies in November 2013 also became the last of the 33-year-old Ojha’s career and the one in which he was named the Man of the Match. Ojha went out of favour after that but today he did not give any reasons for his decision to retire. In all, he played 24 Tests between 2009 and 2013 in which he took 113 wickets. — Agencies