Weissenhaus Chess: Gukesh loses to Caruana

Wangels (Germany): Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh fumbled again and went down fighting against world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana of the US in the first game of the quarterfinals in the Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess challenge here. Gukesh needs to win the return game to stay in contention to go to the semifinals.

New Delhi

India sign off without a medal from Shotgun World Cup

Ganemat Sekhon and Munek Battula finished 12th in the final skeet mixed team event as India ended their campaign at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Rabat, Morocco, without a medal. Meanwhile, India began their campaign in the ISSF World Cup 10m in Granada, Spain, with two gold medals. Isha Anil Taksale won the junior women’s 10m air rifle gold, while Umamahesh Maddineni won the corresponding men’s event.

Nairobi

Marathon record holder Kiptum dies in road accident

Kenya’s marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach were killed in a traffic accident in the Rift Valley, cutting short the promising career of the only man to have run the endurance classic in less than two hours and one minute. The 24-year-old set the world record at the Chicago Marathon in October with a time of two hours and 35 seconds to surpass the mark of 2:01:09 run by compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin in 2022.

Kolkata

Arjun takes Jaipur Pink Panthers to PKL semifinals

Arjun Deshwal put up a magnificent performance as Jaipur Pink Panthers secured a Pro Kabaddi League semifinals spot after a 67-30 victory over UP Yoddhas. Deshwal top-scored with 20 raid points and defenders Sunil Kumar and Ankush contributed with five points each.

ABIDJAN

Haller seals Cup of Nations final win for Ivory Coast

Sebastien Haller scored the winning goal nine minutes from the end as hosts Ivory Coast claimed a third Africa Cup of Nations title with a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the final. It was a triumph born from adversity as the Ivorians had scraped out of their group following two defeats. Agencies