Author Archives: TARIQ ABDULLAH

Twisha Sharma death case

(Agencies)

BHOPAL, May 20: A local court on Wednesday directed that the body of Noida woman Twisha Sharma, who was found hanging at her marital home here last week following alleged harassment for dowry, be preserved, but rejected her family’s plea for a second autopsy.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Anudita Gupta said a letter be issued to police directing them to immediately obtain information regarding “low-temperture preservation facility” in Madhya Pradesh, and submit a report to the court without delay.

Earlier in the day, the city police urged the woman’s family to take custody of her body as it could begin decomposing.

Twisha Sharma (33), daughter-in-law of a retired judge, was found hanging at her marital home here. On Tuesday, the court had called for the case diary before deciding on her parents’ application that her body be preserved and a second postmortem examination be conducted outside the state.

In their plea, Twisha’s family pointed out flaws in the investigation and pointed out, among other things, that the FIR was registered three days after she was found dead.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of reports regarding the suspicious death of Sharma. It sought a detailed action taken report (ATR) from the Madhya Pradesh government within seven days.

NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar wrote to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, directing them to ensure an immediate, fair and time-bound probe into the matter.

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KUALA LUMPUR, May 20: India’s Malvika Bansod and Ashmita Chaliha emerged as the lone bright spots on an otherwise disappointing day for the country at the Malaysia Masters Super 500 here, advancing to the second round with contrasting wins in women’s singles.

Malvika, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury that required surgery, fought back strongly to beat Germany’s world No. 52 Yvonne Li 21-17 16-21 MALAYSIA MASTERS 21-9, while Ashmita registered a comfortable 21-16 21-13 victory over Indonesia’s world No. 56 Thalita Ramadhani Wiryawan.

Malvika will face Denmark’s eighth seed Line HÃ jmark Kjaersfeldt, while Ashmita takes on Malaysia’s Goh Jin Wei next.

However, India also suffered a string of early exits across categories.

In men’s singles, eighth seed Lakshya Sen, the brightest Indian prospect, crashed out after a shock 17-21 11-21 defeat to Indonesia’s world No. 38 Moh. Zaki Ubaidillah.

HS Prannoy, the 2023 Asian games and World Championships bronze winner, too bowed out after a marathon battle against Japan’s sixth seed Kodai Naraoka, losing 17-21 22-20 22-24 in an 80-minute contest. Kiran George retired while trailing 15-21 1-6 against France’s seventh seed Alex Lanier.

India’s Tharun Mannepalli squandered a one-game advantage to lose 21-17 14-21 8-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Wang Po-Wei.

In women’s singles, Anmol Kharb fought hard before going down 21-13 16-21 19-21 to Denmark’s eighth seed Line Christophersen Kjærsfeldt.India’s mixed doubles pair of Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh lost 13-21 18-21 to Indonesia’s Bobby Setiabudi and Melati Daeva Oktavianti in the opening round.In women’s doubles, sisters Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda were outclassed 7-21 6-21 by Japan’s second seeds adn world No. 7 Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi. (PTI)

PANZHIHUA (China), May 20: India’s Dhairya Gogia on Wednesday shocked Hong Kong’s 5/8 seed Tse Ka Chun in the first round of the boys’ U-13 section at the 33rd Asian Junior Individual Squash Championships in Panzhihua, China, on Wednesday.Gogia recorded a 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 win over Chun in the boys’ singles.Gogia’s effort underlined Indians’ dominant performances across age-groups on the opening day of the four-day competition.

Results (Indians, 1st round):U-13: Boys: 3/4-Amarya Bajaj bt Chau Hyo Chon (Mac) 11-1, 11-1, 11-5; 3/4-Abhyuday Arora bt Danuja Jayasinghe (SL) 11-5, 11-4, 11-1; Dhairya Gogia bt 5/8-Tse Ka Chun (HK) 12-10, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7.

Girls: Riyaa Dalal bt Dheerya Mithali Silva (SL) 11-0, 11-6, 11-7; 5/8-Alia Kankaria bt Eun Choi (Kor) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5. (PTI)

(PTI)

PARIS, May 20: Coco Gauff has a new ap- proach for her second time around attempting to defend a Grand Slam title.

The American’s strategy heading into the French Open – the clay-court major that starts Sunday and which she won a year ago – goes something like this: Don’t think about it as defending something.

“I realize that the defending’ means nothing in a way,” Gauff said. “I don’t really look at it as defending anymore.” Gauff’s first Grand Slam title defense at the U.S. Open two years ago ended in the fourth round with 19 double faults.

“At the U.S. Open I was like, I need to defend, defend.’ When you’re playing a tournament that you didn’t win, what is it called?” Gauff said re- cently in Rome. “That’s why I just say now it’s just another tournament: I won it last year. I’ll try again to do it this year.’ I’m not going to be able to defend every year. I’m not Rafa.” Rafa, of course, would be Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time French Open champion.

Gauff’s first Roland Garros title came with a victory over top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the final a year ago.

Just like last year, Gauff was the runner- up at the Italian Open – a major clay-court warmup for Roland Garros.

“There’s a lot of positives I can take from this tournament and a lot I can learn from,” Gauff said after losing the final in Rome to Elina Svitolina.

Gauff sees improvement in serve

Another big lesson that Gauff will take from Rome is a positive vibe on her serve after years of struggles.

In two of her wins at the Foro Italico, she committed only one double fault. She then had seven in the final, though.

Gauff also discussed what she’s doing better technically on her serve.

“I’m tossing a bit more consistent. My weight is a little bit better. Also just the trust, the confidence in it is a lot better,” she said. “Because my confidence in it is better, then I’m actually consistently tossing the ball in the right spot, having my technique be the same on each serve regardless where my target is. That’s that big- gest difference.”

Sabalenka struggling on clay

While Sabalenka remains un- beatable at times on hard courts â?” see her “Sunshine Double” this year with titles in Indian Wells, California and Miami ?” she is still perfecting her game on clay.

She was upset by American Hailey Bap- tiste in the Madrid Open quarterfinals and then the No. 1 player was beaten in the third round at the Italian Open by 36-year-old Cirstea.

Sabalenka appeared visibly bothered by lower back pain in Rome.

Elena Rybakina, ranked No. 2 and this year’s Australian Open champion, is another player who excels on hard courts and has achieved mixed results on clay.

Iga Swiatek, the four-time French Open champion, lost to Svitolina in the Rome semi- finals and is still reshaping her game under a new coach, Francisco Roig, who used to work with Nadal.

Swiatek’s 26-match winning streak at Roland Garros ended in the semifinals last year with a loss to Sabalenka. (PTI)

(IANS) COLOMBO, May 20: The Indian men’s U19 team will tour Sri Lanka in July 2026 for a bilateral series comprising three one-day matches and two four-day games. The India U19 men’s squad will arrive in Sri Lanka on June 30, with the tour beginning on July 4 with the first 50-over game to be played at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium (MRICS) in Hambantota. It is followed by the second and third games at the same venue on July 6 and 9, respectively. The longer format contests will then take centre stage, with the first four-day game scheduled to be played from July 13-16 at the Galle. The second four-day match will be played from July 20-23 in Colombo.

NEW DELHI, May 20: Indian-American golfer Manav Shah scripted a milestone moment for the IGPL after securing a place in the 2026 US Open, becoming the first player from the league to qualify for a major championship since the tour’s launch last year.

Shah sealed his spot through the demanding 36-hole final qualifying event at Dallas Athletic Club, where he produced rounds of 66 and 71 to finish at five-under-par and claim fourth place overall. The finish earned him one of the coveted berths for the season’s third major, which will be played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.

The 33-year-old has been one of the standout performers on the IGPL circuit this season, collecting three top-seven finishes and another tied-11 result in just four starts in 2026.

His consistency in IGPL has coincided with appearances on the Asian Development Tour and the Asian Tour, where he has continued to sharpen his game against international fields. (PTI)

(AP) NYON, May 20: A Czech women’s football coach who secretly filmed players in the locker room and showers was banned from coaching for life by UEFA, the sport’s European governing body.

Petr Vlachovsky, former coach at 1. FC Slovacko, was convicted last year in the Czech Republic of filming more than a dozen women over a four-year period. He received a one-year suspended prison sentence and a five-year ban from coaching in the country.

UEFA determined that Vlachovsky violated rules covering insulting or indecent behaviour. The lifetime ban was announced Tuesday.

UEFA also requested that FIFA impose an international ban on Vlachovsky.

By Our Reporter

SHILLONG, May 20: Nongkseh SSCC and Shillong Lajong FC played out a high octane 1-1 draw in their Group A quarterfinal stage match of the 5th Meghalaya State League at the SSA Stadium here on Wednesday.

Although the two teams had played just two days ago, where Nongkseh were 2-0 winners, the atmosphere was no less intense, with fans from both sides heading back to the stadium to cheer on their teams.

Set-pieces proved to be Nongkseh’s major weapon once again, with the opening goal by Mebankhraw Wahlang (33′) coming off a corner kick taken by Hardy Cliff Nongbri.

However, Lajong were strong in open play and were able to equalise just minutes later when Fridison Wanniang (37′) fired through the legs of Nongkseh goalkeeper Guidle Syiemlieh after some neat one-two passing with his Lajong team mates.

Even though the game ended in a draw, these two teams have already given us two matches that were deserving of a final.

In the other match, defending champions Mawlai SC put on their best display of the quarterfinal stage to knock out Rangdajjied United FC 4-0. After losing four games in a row, Rangdajjied can no longer aspire to reaching the semifinals even though the 2023 champions still have two games to go.

Mawlai scored through Basuklang Bina (14′, 39′), Fairming Suting (66′) and Samlang Rympei (90’+4). The win briefly took them to the top of the Group B standings, until the second match sent them back down to third.

Basuklang has been on a scoring run of late and his two goals today saw him become Mawlai’s top scorer in this MSL with six goals. He seized the lead early and then headed in a Robertson Khongriah free-kick for his brace.

Rangdajjied had shown some improvement in their last game, where they went down to Mawlai 2-1, but they did not build on that on Wednesday, with poor touches hampering their attack, though they did persist right to the final whistle.

A defensive lapse allowed Fairming to score in the second half and Samlang’s goal right at the end was the last action of the match.

In the standings, Nongkseh lead with 8 points, Lajong are second with 7, Mawlai third with 7 and Rangdajjied have 0.

Lajong have head-to-head advantage over Mawlai and thus take second position for now.

On Thursday, Group B will enter the second leg with Rymbai Skhenshynriah SC against Maram FC at 2pm; Shkenshynriah won 4-2 in the first leg on Tuesday. Langsning FC will then face Nangkiew Irat SC at 6pm; Nangkiew will have to put up a much stronger fight after getting a 6-1 whipping in the first leg.

BCCI domestic season to open with Duleep Trophy from Aug 23

NEW DELHI, May 20: The Ranji Trophy will once again be played in two phases with the opening round starting on October 11 while the 2026-27 domestic season will commence with the Duleep Trophy starting August 23, the BCCI announced on Wednesday.

The BCCI will be organizing 1788 games across age-group and senior cricket segments during the season, which include U-16, U-19, U-23, senior level for men and U-15, U-19, U-23 and senior level for the women.

Keeping up with the demand of time, the U-23 white ball competition and the Inter-zonal University meet for Vizzy Trophy will be played in T20 format going forward.

“The 2026-27 domestic season reflects the BCCI’s continued commitment to building a strong and competitive domestic structure while ensuring a balanced progression across formats and categories,” the board stated in release.

The Duleep Trophy, which is back in zonal format, will be played between August 23 to September 10. The entire tournament will be held at BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The Irani Cup between Ranji Trophy champions Jammu and Kashmir and Rest of India will be played from October 1 to 5 in Srinagar.

The blue riband event of BCCI’s domestic calendar – the Ranji Trophy – will have its first phase between October 11 to November 5 in which four rounds will be held.

The second phase between January 17 to March 3, 2027, will happen after the completion of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (National T20s) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (National 50-over meet).

The SMAT will be held between November 14 to December 6. The four venues for the league stages are Mumbai, Mohali, Vizag and Kolkata. The knock-out stage will be held in Nagpur.

The timing of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will allow the talent scouts to prepare their lists before the IPL auction which will be held sometime in December.

The Vijay Hazare Trophy will be held from December 14, 2026 to January 8, 2027.

A good decision taken by BCCI’s scheduling team is to have the Vijay Merchant Trophy (U16) being played from November to January, allowing for improved scheduling and player preparation.

This also helps the school cricketers to prepare for their annual or board exams which are generally held in February and March. (PTI)