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(AP) PARIS, May 26: Two-time reigning cham- pion Carlos Alcaraz is out injured. Promising 21-year-old French player Arthur Fils also pulled out with a physical issue. Jack Draper has been bothered for months by a right knee problem.

The list of candidates capable of challenging top-ranked Jannik Sinner, who enters the French Open on a three-month- long 29-match winning streak, has been dwindling.

Enter Rafael Jodar, the 19-year-old Spaniard who has been making waves on the ATP Tour.

Jodar continued to impress in his Roland Garros debut, dropping just five games in a 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 rout of American opponent Aleksandar Kovacevic on Monday despite boiling heat at the clay-court Grand Slam.

The last man to concede fewer games in a French Open debut was Novak Djokovic, who allowed three to Robby Ginepri in 2005.

“I did the things very well from the start,” Jodar said. “It’s just my first year (on tour) and I’m experiencing a lot of things in these past few months.” Mostly, Jodar has been experiencing victories: He’s won 16 of his last 19 matches, raised a trophy on clay in Morocco, reached the semifinals in Barcelona and had a run to the quarterfinals in Madrid ended by Sinner.

A year ago, Jodar was ranked No. 707 and playing challengers – tennis’ minor leagues – in the US after he competed at the University of Virginia. Now he’s No. 29 and is seeded 27th in Paris.

Jodar appears destined to become a top-10 player and a serious contender for the biggest trophies. And Jodar is in the bottom half of the draw in Paris – meaning he could meet Sinner only in the final.

DA NANG (VIETNAM), May 26: Indian freestyle wrestlers maintained their solid form at the U-23 Asian Championships here Tuesday, adding four more medals to the country’s tally on day four of the competition. Kumar Mohit and Chandermohan led the charge by winning gold medals in their respective weight classes, while Deepak took silver medal in the 61kg division and another Indian grappler, also named Deepak, claimed a bronze in the 74kg category. These finishes take India’s freestyle medal count to six, building on the success from the previous day where Akshay T Dhere (57kg) and Vicky (97kg) both secured gold medals. Kumar Punit added another silver to India’s tally in the 92kg division after going down 1-12 against Kyrgyz- stan’s Ulukbek Soorombekov in the championship bout. Mor Sachin secured a bronze medal in the 86kg category with a solid 4-1 victory over Boburbek Ruzimboev. Lacky settled for silver in the 125kg category after suffering a 0-10 defeat against Kazakhstan’s Rizabek Aitmukhan. (PTI)

PARIS, May 26: Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka took advantage of the heat wave at the French Open to impose her attacking game in the first round Tuesday.

Daniil Medvedev struggled, though, in a five-set loss to 97th-ranked Australian opponent Adam Walton.

Sabalenka beat 50th-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier with an array of approaches to the net and volley put-aways.

The unusually hot conditions at Roland Garros make net-rushing usually better reserved for hard and grass courts — a viable option because the court is drying out quicker and playing faster.

For a third consecutive day, the temperature in Paris was forecast to be at least 32 degrees Celsius.

Sabalenka reached the final in Paris last year, losing to Coco Gauff. She has won the Australian Open and the US Open on hard courts.

Gauff was opening her title defence later against fellow American Taylor Townsend.

Also advancing was 17th-seeded Iva Jovic, who beat good friend Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-2.

Four-time champion Iga Swiatek eliminated 136th-ranked debutant Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in her opener.

The only real issue for the third-ranked Swiatek came when she needed a trainer to re-tape the middle finger on her tennis-playing right hand for an apparent blister after the first set.

Swiatek has not won a title on clay this season and recently made a coaching change. She hired Francisco Roig, who previously worked with 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal.

Also advancing were Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, who beat Veronika Erjavec 6-2, 6-2; and recent Italian Open winner Elina Svitolina, who rallied past Anna Bondar 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

Walton, who received a wild card invitation from tournament organizers, beat Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2021 runner-up to Novak Djokovic, was leading 6-2, 3-0 against Alexandre Muller when his French opponent retired. Muller wiped away tears as he left the court and later said he injured his right calf, three months after injuring his left calf.

Later, top-ranked Jannik Sinner looks to extend his 29-match winning streak when he opens against French wild card Clement Tabur in the night session.

French teenager Moise Kouame made the perfect start to his French Open career with a 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-1 win against veteran Marin Cilic.

The 17-year-old Kouame won one day after the 39-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils made his last appearance at Roland Garros.

He raised his arms in triumph and tilted his head back after defeating the 37-year-old Cilic, who won the 2014 US Open, finished runner-up at two other majors, and reached the French Open semifinals in 2022.

The ATP Tour said No. 318-ranked Kouame became the first man born in 2008 or later to win a Grand Slam match, and the crowd on a sun-baked Court Simonne-Mathieu showed their appreciation by chanting “Mo-ise! Mo-ise! Mo-ise!” and clapping in-between.

In March, he became the youngest winner in Miami Masters history when he beat Zachary Svajda in the first round — earning a congratulatory message from Djokovic.

Monfils bowed out for the last time after losing to fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4) just before midnight.

Eighth-seeded Alex De Minaur defeated Toby Samuel 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and No. 15 Casper Ruud – a two-time French Open runner-up – won against Roman Safiullin 6-2, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 0-6, 6-2. (AP)

(AP)

PARIS, May 26: The tennis season is heating up with the French Open under-way. That means that racket-smashing moments can’t be far off.

In a sport known for its mental challenges, it’s part of the game to see top players lose their cool on court. In recent weeks, Daniil Medvedev and Daniel Altmaier have each had memorable, racket-mangling meltdowns on Europe’s clay courts.

But it’s nothing new, as anyone who remembers watching John McEnroe decades back can attest to.

So what goes on inside players’ heads that results in temper tantrums before packed stadiums? “It’s not about tennis,” said former top-five player Andrey Rublev, who is known for his on-court anger – he sometimes bloodies his hands and body when he punches his racket strings and slams his knees to get the frustration out.

“All (people) have this situation in life and you just lose it,” added the 13th-ranked Rublev, whose coach, Marat Safin, said he broke 1,055 rackets during his playing days.

“It doesn’t have to be tennis. It’s just the thing (in) tennis you are alone and they are watching you,” Rublev said. “Some people face it better, some let those emotions kind of control you. I’m one of those guys who let those emotions to take over me.”

Medvedev, a fellow Russian, is the same way.

Medvedev smashed his racket on the red clay seven successive times midway through an unusually poor performance from the former No. 1 player at the start of the clay-court season – a 6-0, “double-bagel” defeat to Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Medvedev finished off his angry display by depositing his mangled frame in a court-side trash bin.

“When I broke the racket, I kind of didn’t (want to),” Medvedev said. “Usually I do want to do it when I do it. There I didn’t want to. But I was like, You know, it’s 6-0, 6-0. I cannot win one point.’ Maybe sometimes this can give you a boost. And it didn’t.”

Last week, German player Altmaier slammed his racket on the clay and then kicked the frame into the stands when his frustration boiled over during a tournament in Hamburg. He was fortunate that no spectators got injured because of his behavior.

Federer, Serena and Djokovic had their moments

Even Roger Federer was known for smashing his racket as a junior player. Then he cleaned up his act and become one of the classiest – and most successful – players in tennis history.

At the 2009 US Open, Serena Williams was penalized for shouting and cursing at a line judge who called a foot fault.

In 2020, Novak Djokovic was kicked out of the US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball – resulting in a stunning end to his 29-match winning streak.

Sabalenka’s emotions ‘were destroying my game’

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka has also been known to lose her cool. Although she’s improved in that department lately.

“My emotions were destroying my game and my level was dropping dramatically when I would start overreacting on everything,” Sabalenka said. “At the same time, my opponents would see that and they would step in and play better.”

Sabalenka said keeping her emotions in check has been “a huge improvement over the years in my career and really helped me to level up.”

When Coco Gauff’s off-court racket-smashing moment at the Australian Open was documented on camera, it opened up a debate about players’ privacy.

Naomi Osaka curses quietly

Naomi Osaka is another player known for keeping a steady demeanor on court. It wasn’t always that way, though.

“Honestly, I had a pretty bad attitude when I was younger and my dad had a stern talk to me about it,” Osaka said.

Osaka now releases her anger so quietly that it’s hardly noticeable.

“I actually do curse a lot on the court,” Osaka said. “I say it so softly you can’t hear it and I’m really glad, because I don’t want to get fined for that.”

Sorana Cirstea, the 36-year-old who this week became the oldest player to make her debut in the top 20, had a simple explanation for all the displays of emotion. “It’s such a mental sport. Also, to be able to sustain that mentality for three long hours with all the adrenaline and the pressure, sometimes you don’t handle it the best,” Cirstea said.

SINGAPORE, May 26: Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the second round of the women’s singles competition with an impressive straight-game win over fifth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani at the Singapore Open here on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old two-time Olympic medallist produced a composed performance to outwit the World No. 6 Indonesian 21-17, 21-18 in the opening round of the USD 10,00,000 Super 750 tournament.

The former world champion will next face Japan’s Riko Gunji.

Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also progressed after battling past world No. 25 Malaysia’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith 26-28 21-15 21-13 in the men’s doubles opening round.

The world No. 4 Indian pair will take on either Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan or China’s Liu Yang and Huang Di in the next round.

However, rising Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty, a finalist at Asia Championships, bowed out after going down 21-11, 14-21, 12-21 to world championships bronze medallist Viktor Axelsen in a 65-minute men’s singles clash.

Young Unnati Hooda, who has won three Super 100 titles in last four years, too suffered an early exit, losing 14-21, 10-21 to former world junior champion and eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki in women’s singles.

In women’s doubles, India’s Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi went down 21-18, 13-21, 5-21 to Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez to bow out in 48 minutes, while Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam lost 16-21, 11-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun.

Japan’s seventh-seeded pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi got the better of India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun 21-15, 21-13 in another men’s doubles match, while mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost 18-21, 20-22 to Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po Han and Hu Ling Fang in another first round clash.

Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and Malvika Bansod will begin their campaigns on Wednesday. (PTI)

NEW DELHI, May 26: The Sports Ministry on Tuesday notified the rules of operation for the soon-to-be-formed National Sports Tribunal (NST) and the National Sports Board (NSB), stating that a dedicated portal would be set up for submission of disputes and maintenance of legal records.

In separate notifications addressing the roles of the two bodies, which will be formed under the National Sports Governance Act passed last year, the Sports Ministry reiterated that a search-cum-selection committee is in the process of being formed under the cabinet secretary.

The National Sports Board, that will function as the central authority for granting recognition to National Sports Bodies and ensuring compliance with governance, financial and ethical standards, will comprise a Chairperson and two members. It will have a three-year term.

The Tribunal’s strength has not been specified by the government. The rules for NST, however, have incorporated the provisions for techno-legal measures to ensure “digital implementation”.

“(These include) notification of a dedicated portal by the Central Government for submission of disputes, notices, responses, documents and clarifications, as well as communication from the Tribunal, publication of orders, virtual hearings and maintenance of records related to proceedings and orders,” the ministry stated.

The Tribunal will serve as a dedicated adjudicatory body for sports-related disputes in the country.

“It is aimed at reducing reliance on civil courts and ensuring independent, speedy, effective and cost-efficient disposal of disputes relating to sports governance and administration,” the ministry reiterated.

The government also stated once again that if the appointed Chairperson or member of the Tribunal is a serving judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court, “he shall either resign or obtain voluntary retirement from his parent service before joining the Tribunal.”

In addition to granting affiliation, the National Sports Board will also maintain a roster of the National Sports Election Panel and a register of affiliate units of the National Sports Bodies The Board has also been empowered to specify model guidelines or regulations on sports governance. An age cap of 65 has been set for the members. (PTI)

(PTI)

NEW DELHI, May 26: Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said Yogasana would be pushed for inclusion in the future Olympic Games roster keeping in mind India’s bid to host the 2036 Games as the sport geared up to make a statement with its maiden World Championship in Ahmedabad from June 4 to 8.

The World Championship will feature 529 athletes from over 60 countries with 114 of them being Indian yogasana practitioners. The Indian squad was picked after trials and is currently undergoing a training camp in Ahmedabad.

“Yogasana will be among the traditional sports in the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad… We are bidding to host the Olympic Games in 2036 and when that happens, our sport should be there on the roster. Efforts are being made by both the government of India and the national federation (Yogasana Bharat) to ensure that Yoga becomes an Olympic sport by that time,” Mandaviya said at an event to launch the World Yogasana Championship.

“Procedure is to have 75 countries as your signatories to become an international federation, after which a plea to the International Olympic Committee can be made for a sport’s inclusion in the Olympics,” he added.

(PTI)

OSLO, May 26: D Gukesh emerged victorious after a bruising, nerve-jangling marathon battle against Vincent Keymer, and R Praggnanandhaa outplayed Alireza Firouzja but world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen suffered a rare opening-round defeat at Norway Chess, which began amid towering bookshelves at the historic Deichman Bjorvika public library here.

Thanks to his Armageddon triumph after a draining 144-move slugfest that lasted nearly five hours, Gukesh pocketed 1.5 points, while Keymer settled for one after the classical game had ended in a stalemate.

The marathon encounter saw the Indian world champion visibly rattled in the closing stages, even seeking clarification from the arbiter over the move count as the game drifted towards an inevitable draw despite Keymer being a pawn up.

The German, however, remained ice-cool throughout the classical battle, continuing to press on before eventually losing the Armageddon decider. But the tie-break itself ended swiftly, with Gukesh unleashing the decisive 15.Bh6, a move that sealed Keymer’s fate.

Praggnanandhaa and American Grandmaster Wesley So produced a hard-fought classical draw in a finely balanced contest before the Indian No. 2 prevailed in the Armageddon tie-break with a sharp attacking display to pocket the extra point.

However, the biggest talking point of the day was defending champion Carlsen suffering a rare defeat in classical chess to Firouzja, who claimed all three points.

The Frenchman, confined to a wheelchair after recently injuring his ankle at the Superbet Chess Classic Romania and with his foot firmly strapped in a protective “moon shoe”, showed remarkable grit and composure to stun home favourite and world No. 1 Carlsen on his own turf.

Carlsen looked in control for large parts of the contest, but crippling time trouble led to a costly blunder that handed the initiative to Firouzja. The French grandmaster capitalised with clinical precision, securing a statement victory over the hometown favourite and surging to the top of the standings.

With three points, Firouzja grabbed the early lead in the 10-round tournament, while Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa were joint second with 1.5 points apiece.

In the women’s section, Bibisara Assaubayeva scored an impressive classical victory over Indian No. 1 Humpy Koneru.

(PTI) MUMBAI, May 26: Manya Balani (1653) produced an upset victory over higher ranked AGM Rajveer Nahar (1801) in the fourth season of the Mumbai FIDE Rated All India Chess Masters here on Tuesday. Both players launched aggressive attacks against each other’s kings, creating sharp tactical complications in the middle game. But Manya converted advantage to win in 35 moves. Top seed Shreyansh Somaiya (1973) continued his winning run with a convincing win over Vihaan Ravi Rao (1725), while Reyaansh Venkat (1906) defeated Ahaan Kataruka (1686) to remain among the leaders. A closely-fought contest between Aryan Sista (1658) and Kush Ajay Agarwal (1835) ended in a draw whereas Dhruv Muthe (1619) registered victory over Mayuresh Parkar (1781) in another notable result.

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PTI

India face Jamaica challenge

(PTI)

LONDON, May 26: The Indian men’s national team will return to English soil after 24 years as they take on Jamaica in the Unity Cup 2026 semi-final at The Valley here on Wednesday.

UNITY CUP INDIA VS JAMAICA Starts at 12:00 AM IST

India’s return to the United Kingdom brings with it both nostalgia and opportunity. The last time the Blue Tigers played in the UK was in 2002, also against Jamaica, when the sides met twice in friendly matches in Watford and Wolverhampton.

Now, more than two decades later, India arrive in London under head coach Khalid Jamil, with the tour-nament offering an early opportunity to test them-selves against higher-ranked opposition from the opposite ends of the globe.

The four-nation tourna-ment features India, Jamaica, Nigeria and Zimbabwe. The latter two will meet in the first semi-final on Tuesday night. The winners of the semi-finals will advance to the final on May 30, while the remaining teams will contest the third-place play-off on the same day.

“We have selected players who performed well in the ISL,” said Jamil in the press conference on Monday.

“Based on that, we will continue to build the team. Whoever performs well gets selected.” With the Indian Super League season having concluded only a few days ago, with East Bengal FC being crowned champions, the squad arrives in com-petitive rhythm and physical readiness.

Jamil has consistently stressed merit and form as the basis of selection, and the Unity Cup now presents an opportunity for several play-ers to establish themselves internationally.

The Blue Tigers, on Mon-day, arrived in the British capital with 17 players after the withdrawal of Mohun Bagan SG players. Goal-keeper Hrithik Tiwari joined a day later, while Jamil has also called up midfielder Macarton Nickson and de-fender Nikhil Barla, who reached the camp on Tues-day.

Forward Edmund La-irindika iterated that the tournament represents both exposure and an important benchmark for the team’s progress. “This is a very good exposure for us and a great experience. It is an opportu-nity to test ourselves against higher-ranked teams. We will try our best to get posi-tive results,” said Lalrindika. India, ranked 136th, enter the contest as underdogs against a 71st-ranked Jamaica side that came within a game of qualifying for the World Cup. The Reggae Boyz lost to DR Congo in the qualify-ing play-offs in March. Yet Jamil has made it clear that the challenge itself is pre-cisely why the tournament matters. “It is very good for us to be here and play in this tournament. Jamaica are definitely a stronger team, but we will try our best to do well. It is important for us to make a good start,” said Jamil, who himself toured England with the national team in 2000 and 2001.

Jamaica arrive with one of the youngest squads in the competition, carrying an average age of 22.8 years. Head coach Rudolph Speid explained that several se-nior players were rested after long club seasons, but expressed confidence in the group assembled for the tournament, which contains 11 players plying their trade in England.

Some experienced names in the Jamaican squad in-clude captain and defender Damion Lowe, right-back Dexter Lembikisa, defender Joel Latibeaudiere, who won the 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup in India while represent-ing England, and midfielder Isaac Hayden.