Briefly: India 6th in Asian Women’s Handball Championships

New Delhi

India lost to 10-time silver medallists China 30-41 to finish sixth, their best-ever performance at the Asian Women’s Handball Championship. India gave a spirited fight to heavyweights China in the 5th-6th place playoff match before losing the encounter. Japan stunned reigning champions South Korea in a gripping final, overturning a 9-12 deficit from half-time into a 25-24 win. Japan claimed their second title, breaking South Korea’s streak of seven straight championship wins.

Bhubaneswar

Haryana high jumper Pooja wins heptathlon gold

Promising Haryana teenager Pooja continued to hog the limelight by clinching the heptathlon gold with a national record in the U-18 category at the 39th National Junior Athletics Championships. She tallied 5,102 points, bettering the previous mark of 4,357 points.

Pune

Deshwal leads from front as Panthers beat Gujarat in Panchkula

Jaipur Pink Panthers secured a crucial win in the race for the playoffs, defeating Gujarat Giants 42-29 with skipper Arjun Deshwal doing the bulk of the scoring in a Pro Kabaddi League match. Raid machine Deshwal scored 13 points, while Neeraj Narwal’s eight points too played an important role in the victory.

london

Saudi Arabia set to stage 2034 FIFA World Cup

FIFA is set to confirm the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 men’s World Cups on Wednesday, with a three-continent, six-nation bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal to be awarded the former and the latter going to Saudi Arabia. In October last year, the global football governing body said there were no competing bids for the two events.