Swimmer Nataraj creates national record, wins gold

Tashkent: Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj created a national record in 50m backstroke while winning his second gold of the Uzbekistan Open Championship here. The 20-year-old clocked 25.11 seconds on Saturday night. Sajan Prakash won gold in the 100m butterfly event. Maana Patel and Suvana Baskar took home the gold and silver, respectively, in the women’s 50m backstroke event. India enjoyed a rich haul of 29 medals — 18 gold, seven silver and four bronze — in the meet.

Kapolei (US)
Aditi finishes 57th, Lydia Ko wins first time in three years

India golfer Aditi Ashok birdied two of her last five holes to close the week with an ever-par 72 and finish tied-57th at the Lotte Championship here. She finished with a total of 8-under 280. Lydia Ko cruised to a seven-shot victory and won her first title in three years.

Vienna
Chawrasia slips to T-14, Shubhankar T-25

India’s SSP Chawrasia remained on course for a top-10 finish after carding a 1-over 73 in the third round at the Austrian Open here. He slipped from tied-5 to tied-14. Shubhankar Sharma (72) moved from tied-20 to tied-25, while Ajeetesh Sandhu (70) was tied-67.

London
Federer confirms he’d play in French Open

Roger Federer will kickstart his claycourt campaign at next month’s Geneva Open as he steps up his preparations for the French Open, the 39-year-old Swiss wrote on Twitter on Sunday. After missing more than a year following two knee operations, Federer returned on tour at last month’s Qatar Open, where he suffered a quarterfinal defeat by Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili. He then withdrew from the Dubai tournament in order to train. Agencies