Category: Uncategorized

Magnus Carlsen has shared his first reaction after his stunning defeat to D Gukesh in Norway Chess.

A day after his stunning defeat to D Gukesh in Norway Chess, Magnus Carlsen said the reigning world champion’s “energy” and “fighting qualities” earned him the triumph and that on a “normal day” he would have won the contest. Carlsen, 34, lost to 19-year-old Gukesh in Round 6, vented his frustration by banging his fist on the table which threw the pieces in disarray. Disbelief and frustration writ large on his face as he shook hands with Gukesh before placing the pieces back on the board and walked away patting the winner.

“I think, like, I remember being that age myself, and sometimes kind of your energy, like fighting qualities, and just the optimism is sometimes, you know, bigger than the quality of your moves,” said Carlsen here on Monday.

But the Norwegian was far more composed after winning the Armageddon tie-break against American World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura but the effects of Sunday night were still clearly visible on his face.

“So, I think, for a long time he (Gukesh) was just more or less blindly pushing. And then, yeah, on a normal day, of course, I win that game, and things look quite differently,” the five-time world champion added.

Carlsen, however, praised Gukesh’s fighting qualities, saying the Indian was always game for grabbing his chances, which he did despite being in a disadvantageous situation for most part of the Round 6 game.

“What he (Gukesh) does well, as I alluded to, is he really fights very, very well, and he was there to take his chance, so he deserves credit for that.

“But that’s the kind of chance that I really, really have to put away. Otherwise, I have no chance,” the Norwegian world No.1 opined.

Carlsen also indicated that he just might be having a re-think on playing the Norway Chess next season.

“I think I’ll play the last three games (in Norway Chess), and then I will have to make some decisions about next year here or potential other tournaments later, because, yeah… I just don’t enjoy (Classical chess) that much,” said Carlsen.

He also hinted that Classical chess for him might be on its way out.

“It’s possible, yeah. I’m not going to sit here and say that I’m not going to play Classical events ever again, but right now it doesn’t,” said Carlsen, when asked if he was thinking about the possibility of concentrating on Freestyle or blitz chess in future.

“The thing is that, you know, losses are painful no matter what, but at least if I can lose doing something that I really enjoy (Blitz, Rapid or Freestyle), then that’s much easier.

“It’s not that I cannot play (Classical chess), it’s just situations like yesterday (loss to Gukesh)… I’m just wondering, like, why am I doing this? What’s the point? “But I will do my best in the last three games here, then we’ll see, I suppose. I guess there’s a lot of pain being a top sportsman,” he added.

“I would have loved for the situation in the tournament to be different, but I had no desire whatsoever to play classical today,” he noted.

Carlsen and Nakamura agreed to a quick 21-move draw in Round 7 to play Armageddon tie-break, where the Norwegian won hands down.

“So, winning the Armageddon was kind of the best scenario for me, and I managed to do that, so I’m happy.

“There were many tempting options (in Armageddon), but then all of a sudden I discovered that move. It may have been played before, but I didn’t know for sure,” added Carlsen.

On paying more attention to golf, his second passion, Carlsen said, “Yeah, I mean, honestly, it’s good to do something to get my mind off of the games, and when the games start at 5pm (in Norway Chess), then I have some time to both do that and get some lunch with my wife and everything. So, that’s nice,” Carlsen signed off.

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu battled her way into the second round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu battled her way into the second round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen, who went down fighting against world number one Shi Yu Qi in Jakarta on Tuesday. Sindhu overcame long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 22-20, 21-23, 21-15 in an absorbing one-hour and 19-minute clash in the women’s singles. Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, battled valiantly before falling 11-21 22-20 15-21 to his formidable Chinese rival in a gripping first round men’s singles contest that lasted 65 minutes.

The 23-year-old Sen, returning from a back injury that had ruled him out last week’s tournament in Malaysia, showed remarkable resilience. Trailing 11-17 in the second game, he mounted a spirited comeback, saving a match point and clinching the game 22-20 to force a decider.

However, the momentum proved short-lived as Shi grabbed control in the third game to seal the match.

HS Prannoy also bowed out from the USD 1,450,000 tournament. The 2023 World Championships bronze medallist lost 17-21, 18-21 to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan.

Sindhu vs Okuhara

Both Sindhu had Okuhara, former world champions, have struggled in recent time. While Sindhu’s best performance this season was a quarterfinal finish at the India Open in January, Okuhara hasn’t made it past the second round in six events.

The two stars added another chapter to their rivalry story, engaging in a war of attrition in an error-marred match that had plenty of game points and match points.

Sindhu edged a tense first game 22-20, saving a game point and producing attacking shots at clutch moments.

In the second game, Sindhu held a slender two-point lead early on but trailed 7-11 at the mid-game interval. She clawed her way back, earning two match points with a thunderous cross-court smash.

But unforced errors continued to creep in, allowing Okuhara to level at 20-20. The Japanese eventually took the second game 23-21.

The decider followed a familiar pattern of conservative play, with neither of the two taking undue risks.

Sindhu led 11-9 at the break and then unleashed a series of winners to surge to 20-12. The Indian star earned eight match points and sealed the win by converting the fifth to book her spot in the round of 16.

The win helped Sindhu improve her head-to-head to 11-9 against Okuhara, who had defeated the Indian in the 2017 World Championships.

“14 years. 20 matches. From my longest to the shortest World Championship finals — always with her. We’ve shared wins, losses, and a rivalry only we understand. Keep fighting, Nozomi. The court’s never quite the same without you,” Sindhu tweeted after the game.

Sindhu was the lone Indian women’s singles player who advanced to the next round, where she will take on sixth seed Pornpawee Chochiwong of Thailand.

Malvika Bansod retired mid-way through her women’s singles match against Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia. The Indian was leading 21-16 16-15 before she slipped on the court and clutched her knee in pain before retiring.

Anupama Upadhyaya went down in straight games 15-21, 9-21 to Korea’s Kim Ga Eun while Rakshitha Ramraj too lost her opener 21-14, 15-21, 12-21 to Thailand’s Supanida. 

Charlie Woods, the 16-year-old son of 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, won his first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) title on Wednesday, taking a three-stroke victory in Florida

Charlie Woods, the 16-year-old son of 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, won his first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) title on Wednesday, taking a three-stroke victory in Florida. The younger Woods fired a six-under par 66 final round to capture the Team TaylorMade Invitational at Streamsong Resort Black course, finishing on 15-under 201. It was the first victory in five AJGA starts for Charlie Woods, who fired eight birdies and two bogeys in the final round but closed with four consecutive pars to seal the triumph in the top US junior series.

A field of 71 included four of the nation’s five top-ranked juniors and 60 of the top 100. Woods was 606th in AJGA rankings but is expected to leap into the top 15 after the win.

Charlie Woods would be able to have talks with college coaches next month even though he wouldn’t be joining university teams before 2027 if then.

Woods was playing on a sponsor invitation in the event but will be exempt for AJGA invitationals the rest of this season.

Woods, who has won other age-group events, failed in an attempt to qualify for the US Open earlier this month.

Enzo Maresca said he had to convince his Chelsea players this season that the UEFA Conference League was the “best competition in the world” as he prepares his men to face Real Betis

Enzo Maresca said he had to convince his Chelsea players this season that the UEFA Conference League was the “best competition in the world” as he prepares his men to face Real Betis in Wednesday’s final. The Premier League club are seeking to end their campaign with a flourish in Wroclaw after securing a Champions League spot for next season. If they beat Betis in Poland, Chelsea would become the first club to win all four major UEFA tournaments, having previously won the Champions League, Europa League and the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup.

Maresca, in his first season as manager at Stamford Bridge, said had been forced to stress the importance of Europe’s third-tier club competition to his players.

“Probably the most complicated thing this season about the Conference (League) has been to convince the players that for us it was the best competition in the world,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“And the reason why was because it was the competition that we were in.”

Chelsea are two-time European champions but have not won silverware since lifting the Champions League in 2021.

“We cannot play Champions League if we are at the Conference (League), or we cannot play Europa (League). We are in the Conference, so for us it was the most important competition, and we need to try to win that.

“If we are able to win, I think it’s a good thing, especially because we continue to build a winning mentality.”

Chelsea have reached the final in eye-catching style, scoring a competition-record 38 goals so far and winning 11 of their 12 matches.

‘Outburst’

Maresca rounded on his critics after his youthful side secured fourth spot in the Premier League on Sunday with a 1-0 win at the City Ground, even using an expletive.

His team were within touching distance of eventual Premier League champions Liverpool in mid-December before stumbling badly, but results picked up again towards the end of the campaign.

On Tuesday he described Sunday’s eruption as an “outburst” in the heat of the moment.

“From our point of view, they (critics) were not talking in the right way,” he said.

“And the reason why is because, yes, we are young, yes, we are the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, but at the same time, they are men.

“So I also used what critics had said to say, ‘Guys, today (Sunday) is a chance that we can say that we are not young, we are mature enough, we can compete and we can do the right things’.”

The former Leicester boss said sealing a Champions League place for next season had been a huge relief.

“We feel much better,” he said. “I said a few times during the season that for me it was already a good season for different reasons.

“It can become a very good season if we finish top four, top five and if we are able to win the final tomorrow.

“The first target is there. We achieved that last Sunday and hopefully we can achieve tomorrow the second one.”

In a dramatic IPL 2025 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), legendary cricket Sunil Gavaskar criticised the on-field umpires for ignoring what he described as a “dangerous act” by Virat Kohli.In a dramatic IPL 2025 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), legendary cricket Sunil Gavaskar criticised the on-field umpires for ignoring what he described as a “dangerous act” by Virat Kohli. The incident occurred during the 12th over of the RCB innings when Kohli ran straight down the pitch while completing a quick double off Yuzvendra Chahal‘s bowling. Gavaskar, who was commentating live, questioned why Kohli wasn’t warned, highlighting that such running could damage the pitch for the second innings.

RCB were put into bat by PBKS at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. With boundaries hard to come by, Kohli was looking to keep the scoreboard ticking through quick singles and twos. In the 12th over, after nudging the ball wide of long-on, Kohli called for a second run. His partner, Liam Livingstone, comfortably made his ground with a dive at the non-striker’s end.

However, Gavaskar was quick to point out that Kohli had run straight down the pitch, which is typically frowned upon due to the potential damage it can cause to the playing surface. “Kohli is a swift runner between the wickets. As soon as he hit the ball, he knew it was two,” Gavaskar said. “No umpire will ever tell him. There he is, running straight down the pitch again. Punjab Kings are batting second,” he added.

While the umpires did not intervene, Gavaskar’s remarks have sparked conversation on whether top players are sometimes allowed to get away with such actions.

Apart from the pitch controversy, Kohli’s approach with the bat also raised eyebrows. Known for his high strike rate this season—hovering around 150—he chose a more conservative route in the final. Instead of going for big shots, he focused on rotating the strike and giving more deliveries to power-hitters like Phil Salt and Rajat Patidar.

Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden, who was part of the English broadcast team, questioned the approach. “200 is just a par score here,” he noted, suggesting Kohli should’ve been more aggressive.

Kohli eventually fell in the 15th over to Azmatullah Omarzai after scoring 43 off 35 balls. During the first strategic time-out, RCB coaches Andy Flower and Dinesh Karthik were seen in an intense discussion with Kohli, likely urging him to increase the scoring rate.

PBKS, led by Shreyas Iyer, won the toss and opted to bowl first. Both teams remained unchanged for the final.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!