Race walkers to get chance to qualify for Olympics

Chennai

An international invitational race walking event will be held here on February 16 and 17, featuring leading Indian athletes and some foreign countries. The meet provides an opportunity for the Indians to make the qualifying grade for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the World Championships to be held in Doha from September 27 to October 6 for both the 20km and 50km disciplines. Top Indian stars, including KT Irfan, Manish Singh Rawat, Eknath Sambhaji, Sandeep Kumar, Ravina, Soumya Baby and Shanti Kumari are expected to participate in the event. 

Hisar
Odisha beat Coorg 3-0 in senior National hockey

Odisha defeated Coorg 3-0 in their last Pool A match to stay in contention for a place in the quarterfinals of the ninth Hockey Senior Women National Championship (Division A). In Pool B, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha beat Bhopal 3-1. Uttar Pradesh and Central Reserve Police Force played out a 1-1 draw in their Pool C match. In Pool D, Kerala defeated Tamil Nadu 5-3 to register their second win of the competition. 

Tokyo
Osaka ends partnership with coach Bajin 

World No. 1 tennis player Naomi Osaka has parted ways with coach Sascha Bajin, the 21-year-old announced. “Hey everyone, I will no longer be working with Sascha. I thank him for his work and wish him all the best in the future,” Osaka tweeted. “Thank you Naomi. I wish you nothing but the best as well. What a ride that was. Thank you for letting me be part of this,” Bajin tweeted in reply.

New Delhi
U-19: Suraj to captain India colts in SA ‘Tests’

Rajasthan Suraj Ahuja will lead India U-19 team in the two four-day ‘Tests’ against South Africa colts, starting February 20. Nehal Wadhera of Ludhiana and Rahul Chandrol of Madhya Pradesh will lead India A and B, respectively, in the quadrangular series to be played from March 5-11 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Kochi
Hyderabad beat U Mumba in PVL

Black Hawks Hyderabad scripted a 3-2 comeback win over U Mumba Volley in their Pro Volleyball League match. The Hyderabad oufit beat U Mumba 13-15 15-11 7-15 15-14 15-11 to keep their play-off chances alive.

New York
Ramanathan in New York Open main draw 

Ramkumar Ramanathan qualified for the main draw of the New York Open with a three-set win over USA’s Tim Smyczek. Ramanathan breezed through the first set of the qualifying match of the ATP 250 series tournament, taking it 6-3. However, he had a fight on his hands in the second set as Smyczek raised his game. Smyczek broke Ramanathan once and that was enough for him to take the set 6-3. In the final set, the 24-year-old Indian held his nerve and won it 7-5, earning a place in the main draw of the tournament. — Agencies