Champions Trophy: PCB assures quick visas for Indians

Lahore

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also the Federal Interior Minister, assured a brisk visa issuance policy for Indian fans wanting to visit Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy early next year. He made the assurances during a meeting with a group of Sikh pilgrims from the United States. Pakistan is scheduled to host the ICC mega event in February-March but until now the ICC has still not released the tournament schedule as they wait on confirmation if the Indian government would allow its team to travel to Pakistan for the event.

Hong Kong

India lose to Pakistan by 6 wickets in Hong Kong Sixes

India lost by six wickets to arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match of the Hong Kong Sixes. India scored 119 in their allotted six overs riding on Bharat Chipli’s 53 off 16. Captain Robin Uthappa also notched up 31 off eight deliveries. But it was a total dominance from the Pakistan batters as they chased down the target with one over to spare. Asif Ali’s 55 off 14 balls laid the foundation for a comprehensive win.

Saarbrucken (Germany)

Malvika, Ayush enter semifinals of Hylo Open

Rising Indian shuttler Malvika Bansod progressed to the semifinals of the the Hylo Open, defeating higher-ranked Thed uy Linh Nguyen of Vietnam. Malvika, seeded sixth in the women’s singles category, won 21-15 21-17. Ayush Shetty beat Finlland’s Kalle Koljoen 21-18 21-18 to enter the men’s singles semifinals.

Jakarta

Rashid shoots second 67 to be tied-third

Rashid Khan, who won the last of his two Asian Tour titles 10 years ago, put himself in the frame with 67-67 in the first two rounds of the Indonesian Masters, a $2 million Asian Tour event that is part of The International Series. Rashid at 10-under is tied-third as Canadian Richard Lee (15-under) opened up a three-shot lead. Defending champion Gaganjeet Bhullar (70-71) and SSP Chawrasia (71-70) are tied-57th place.

Riyadh

Pranavi tied-29th after bogey-free 2-under

Indian golfer Pranavi Urs opened with a bogey-free 2-under 70, which placed her T-29 at the end of the first round of the Aramco Team Series. She started from the 10th and had one birdie on each side of the Riyadh Golf Course. Diksha Dagar was T-67 at 1-over 73 with three birdies and four bogeys as she also began on the 10th tee.

North Sound

West Indies cruise to victory over inexperienced England

West Indies cruised to an eight-wicket victory over an experimental England side in the rain-affected opener of their ODI series. England named four ODI debutants for the first of three matches, and their rookie line-up laboured to a disappointing 209 all out from their innings. The hosts made a fine start to their reply before a rain delay gave them a new target via the DLS method, one they strolled to with nine overs to spare.

Lausanne

India to compete in 16-team ITTF Mixed Team World Cup

India will compete in the second edition of the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup for the Guoliang-Sorling Trophy along with 15 other teams. The International Table Tennis Federation unveiled the elite 16-team line-up for the tournament scheduled to be held in Chengdu on December 1-8. Hosts China are the defending champions.