Sports Shorts: Boxers continue to shine at Asian Junior Boxing

Indian youth boxers Vishwanath Suresh (48kg) and Anand Yadav (54kg) produced gritty performances to enter the finals of the Asian Youth and Junior Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on Friday.

Securing victories in almost similar fashion against respective Uzbek opponents, Vishwanath and Anand triumphed in intensely-fought bouts.

Vishwanath confirmed his second successive final appearance at the prestigious continental tournament after beating Miralijon Mavlonov by a split 4-1 decision. Anand gave his all to secure a tough 3-2 win over Abduvali Buriboev.

The last edition's silver-medallist Vishwanath will look to change the colour of his medal when he takes on Kyrgyz boxer Ergeshov Bekzat in the final while Anand will fight against Eljay Pamisa of Philippines.

However, Raman ended his campaign with a bronze medal following a 0-5 loss to Uzbekistan's Khujanazar Nortojiev in the 51kg semi-final.

Later in the evening, three more Indian youth boxers -- Vanshaj (63.5kg), Deepak (75kg), Aman Singh Bisht (+92kg) -- will compete in their respective semi-finals.

Indian boxers have secured 18 medals in the youth section, 12 in women and six in men's categories.

Among women, seven have sealed finals berths at the tournament.

In the junior boys' section, Yashwardhan Singh (60kg) and Rishabh Singh Shikharwar (80kg) registered contrasting wins in the semi-finals late on Thursday.

Five other boxers -- Jayant Dagar (54kg), Chetan (57kg), Jackson Singh Laishram (70kg), Dev Pratap Singh (75kg), and Gaurav Mhaske (+80kg) -- exited with bronze medals after losses in the last-four stage.

Yashwardhan outperformed Kazakhstan's Alexey Khavantsev 5-0 while Rishabh secured a close 4-1 win against Choibekov Azim of Kyrgyzstan.

The final will be held on March 13 and 14.

Sanjay Mishra to become new BAI general secretary

Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand has decided against contesting for the Badminton Association of India's general secretary's post, making junior team coach Sanjay Mishra the unanimous choice for the position.

Gopichand on Friday filed his nominations for one of the vice-president's post, while Mishra threw his hat in the ring for the general secretary's position.

The elections are scheduled to be held on March 25.

"After long discussions and weighing all the pros and cons, Gopichand has filed his nominations for VP's post, while Sanjay Mishra is now the unanimous choice for the general secretary's post," a source privy to the developments told PTI.

Gopichand will now become one of the 12 vice presidents.

Outgoing secretary Ajay Singhania and Tamil Nadu Badminton Association president Ambumani Ramados are also set to assume the roles of vice-president, while Arun Lakhani will be the treasurer and Omar Rashid will take over as joint secretary.

Himanta Biswa Sarma is set to be reelected as the President of the governing body.

Friday was the last date for candidates to file nominations, while the last date for withdrawal is March 19. The Returning officer will prepare the final list of the contenders on March 20.

Earlier, there were reports that Gopichand, 48, was in the running for the general secretary's post.

However, there were question marks over his eligibility as according to the BAI constitution, only outgoing office-bearers or a member of the outgoing Executive Committee are eligible to contest for the general secretary's post.

Toor, Sreeshankar and Dutee to compete in World Athletics Indoor C'ships later this month

India will field shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, long jumper M Sreeshankar and sprinter Dutee Chand in the World Athletics Indoor Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia from March 18 to 20.

Athletics Federation of India President Adille Sumariwalla said Toor and Sreeshankar got entries on the basis of their rankings, while Dutee was extended an invitation by World Athletics to run in the women's 60m event.

"Sreeshankar is ranked 14th and Tajinderpal Singh Toor 18th on the Road to Belgrade 2022 lists," said Sumariwalla, who is also the jury member of the championships.

“We have seen them both show good early season form in the National Open Jumps and National Open Throws Competitions respectively and are looking forward to them giving off their best in the World Indoor Championships. Dutee Chand has been invited by World Athletics to participate in the 60m event,” he said.

All the three Indian athletes will be seen in action on March 18. Dutee will be the first one in action in 60m heats. Later that day, Sreeshankar will be among the competitors in the long jump final.

Toor will be in action in the shot put final late on March 19 evening.

There will be 12 events each for men and women in the three-day championships.

The Indian athletes will leave for Belgrade on March 15.