Sports Shorts: Anas, Hima bag gold in Czech Republic

Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday

Indian ace athlete Muhammed Anas bagged a gold medal in the 300m race at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter in the Czech Republic on Sunday.

The 24-year-old clocked a timing of 32.41 seconds to claim the first spot in the event. India's Nirmal Tom also clinched a bronze medal in the same event by clocking a timing of 33.03 seconds.

Muhammed Anas. Photograph: Twitter

Sports Authority of India (SAI) hailed the duo for winning the medal at the event and tweeted: "Our #TOPSAthlete @muhammedanasyah won a gold in men's 300m at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter 2019 in the Czech Republic in a timing [?] of 32.41 secs. #NirmalTom won bronze in 33.03 secs. Many congratulations!@KirenRijiju @RijijuOffice #Athletics @afiindia."

On Saturday, Hima Das won gold in the 300m, breasting the tape ahead of the field at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter. This was Hima’s 6th medal this year.

Earlier, the national record holder won the gold medal in the Kunto Athletics Meet with a timing of 21.18 seconds in the 200m race.

Anas is one of the 19 players who were nominated for the Arjuna Awards on Saturday.

Indian men's hockey team lose 1-2 to New Zealand in Olympic Test Event

The Indian men's hockey team squandered an early lead to go down fighting 1-2 to New Zealand in their second match of the Olympic Test event in Tokyo on Sunday.

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh put India ahead in the second minute by converting a Penalty Corner, but New Zealand struck back in the last quarter through two well-crafted field goals -- Jacob Smith (47') and Sam Lane (60') to have the last laugh.

India had made an impressive start to the tournament, thrashing Malaysia 6-0 in their opening match but the second-match defeat means they are currently sitting at the second spot in the points table with one match to go.

India will face hosts Japan on Tuesday.

World No. 5 India started the match with an aggressive approach and dominated possession in the opening few minutes at the Oi Hockey Stadium.

India won their first Penalty Corner in just the 2nd minute, which was beautifully converted by their dragflicker Harmanpreet to give his team a quick start and a 1-0 lead.

The Indian team continued to attack and won another penalty corner in the 6th minute, but could not find the target.

It was a difficult phase for the New Zealand team as they were under constant pressure, but given their recent experience of playing in the FIH Pro League, the World No. 8 side defended well, and avoided giving away another goal before the half-time break.

India tried to extend their lead in the initial few minutes of the third quarter through some good combination play inside New Zealand's striking circle, however, they could not find another break-through.

Harmanpreet had another chance to extend his team's lead in the 42nd minute, but New Zealand's goalkeeper Richard Joyce made a good save.

The last quarter of the match saw New Zealand turn around the momentum as they started to attack the Indians on the counter.

It was in the 47th minute that New Zealand worked out a good combination in the Indian half, and produced an effective attack which saw Jacob Smith find the back of the net to equalize.

Dealt a huge blow, India looked to restore their one-goal advantage in the remaining minutes. They had some opportunities inside the last quarter but could not capitalize.

With barely a minute remaining on the clock, it was New Zealand's turn to counter and their execution was perfect as they scored the winner through Sam Lane, who took advantage of India being short of players in defence.

Indian women's hockey team holds Australia to 2-2 draw in Olympic Test Event

The Indian women's hockey team came back twice from a goal deficit to hold world number 2 side Australia 2-2 in a hard-fought round-robin league match of the Olympic Test Event in Tokyo on Sunday.

Vandana Katariya (36th) and Gurjit Kaur (59th) scored for India to cancel out strikes from Kaitlin Nobbs (14th) and Grace Stewart (43rd) in their second match of the tournament. India had beaten hosts Japan 2-1 in their first match on Saturday.

World No 10 India began the match aggressively, matching Australia's attacking hockey with their own brand which saw both teams earn penalty corners. However, neither side managed to score.

But in the 14th minute, Australia were awarded a penalty stroke after an Indian defender blocked a shot at goal. Nobbs made no mistake in converting from the spot to give Australia a 1-0 advantage.

The World No 2 side dominated the second quarter completely, putting the Indian team under intense pressure through multiple attacks and penalty corners. But India's defence held firm and goalkeeper Savita made a couple of great saves to deny Australia who were 1-0 up at the half-time break.

The third quarter again saw Australia dominate possession and create a couple of goal-scoring opportunities through penalty corners. However, Savita again made fine saves to deny the Australians.

India struck on the break as Vandana Katariya finished off a superb move to equalise in the 36th minute. But the lead did not last long as Australia started to look for their second goal.

It was in the 43rd minute that Australia found their second goal through some exquisite team work, which saw Grace Stewart also registering her name on the score-sheet to give Australia a 2-1 lead.

It was a tough ask for the Indian team as Australia did not give them enough space inside the striking circle. However, the Indians showed determination as they kept looking for the equaliser in the last quarter.

With moves breaking down, and chances going waste, it looked like Australia would hold onto their 2-1 lead, but with just a couple of minutes remaining on the clock, India won a crucial penalty corner in the 59th minute.

And, prolific drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur stepped up and struck a sweet blow into the back of the net to earn India a well-deserved draw.

The Indian women's team will face China on Tuesday in their third and last round-robin match of the tournament.

India to return with three medals from junior Worlds

In a below par show, the Indian wrestling contingent will return with just three medals from the Junior World Wrestling Championships following Sachin Rana's defeat in the repechage round in Greco Roman competition, in Tallinn, Estonia, on Sunday.

Rana needed to beat Gerogia's Diego Chkhvadze in the 60kg repechage but he ended up losing 1-5 despite getting a chance to score from choice of position following a penalty. 

Only Sajan Bhanwal managed to win a bronze from among Greco Roman grapplers.

Sajan won his third medal in a row at junior Worlds when he beat Turkey's Abdurrahman Kalkan by technical superiority in the 77kg bout on Saturday.

Deepak had earlier won a gold in 86kg and Vicky a bronze in the 92kg in the men's freestyle competition while the Indian women drew a blank for the first time in three years.