New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) The Global Chess League has announced the list of women superstars, who will be competing in the second season scheduled from October 3 to 12 at Friends House in London.

In the second season, the reigning FIDE World Champion, Ju Wenjun, will be making her debut. She will be joined by World No. 1, Hou Yifan, who is returning to the premier annual chess event, alongside Indian chess superstars Koneru Humpy and Harika Dronavalli.

The line-up also includes some of the biggest names in women’s chess, such as Kateryna Lagno, Gunina Valentina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tan Zhongyi, and Nurgyul Salimova.

“I followed the first season of the Global Chess League and it was very exciting to watch the unique format. The tremendous response from fans and the chess fraternity made it even more special. I am eagerly looking forward to the second season in London, where I can once again immerse myself in this wonderful experience,” said World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun.

In addition, the upcoming season of the Global Chess League will feature Vaishali Rambabu, the latest Indian woman to achieve grandmaster rank, alongside her brother Praggnanandhaa. This makes them the first brother-sister duo to participate in the league. The roster of women superstars also includes Alina Kashlinskaya, the 2019 European Women’s Individual Chess Champion, and Bibisara Assaubayeva, former World Blitz Champion.

“The world of chess has long sought a worldwide sports event that places male and female players on the same pedestal. The Global Chess League is bridging this gap and truly bringing chess as a visual spectacle to television screens across the world. I am delighted to be a part of the league this year and am looking forward to competing in front of fans in London,” said Grandmaster Vaishali R.

–IANS

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Chateauroux, July 30 (IANS) After Sarabjot Singh’s historic bronze medal win in the Paris Olympics, the shooter’s coach Abhishek Rana has revealed that was confident because his ward has always returned with a medal from every event he participated in. Sarabjot, partnering with Manu Bhaker, won bronze in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event after beating South Korea 16-10 on Tuesday.

“I have been with Sarabjot since day one. It is a matter of great happiness for me that we won the bronze medal today. We have participated in numerous national and international tournaments, and Sarabjot has never returned empty-handed from any event,” Rana told IANS.

Last year, Sarabjot won gold in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s team event and silver in the Mixed Team in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. He also won multiple medals on the international stage across junior and senior levels.

He has won a bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol Individual event along with Olympics 2024 quota place for the country at the 2023 Asian Championship in Korea, a gold medal in the Individual event at the 2023 World Cup in Bhopal and gold in the Mixed Team event at the 2023 World Cup in Baku.

Sarabjot also won one gold in the Team event and two silver medals in the Individual and Mixed Yeam competition at the 2022 Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, before winning two gold medals in the Team & Mixed Team events at the 2021 Junior World Championship in Lima, Peru.

“We began training in 2016, and in 2017, Sarabjot won his first medal, a bronze, at the nationals. After that, he won 5-6 medals consecutively at the nationals. In 2019, he became the Junior World Champion and continued to win medals consistently. Till today the journey has been fascinating,” said Rana.

The 22-year-old, Sarabjot, who was playing his maiden Olympics, is now the sixth Indian shooter to win a medal at the Summer Games.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore — Athens 2004, Abhinav Bindra — Beijing 2008, Vijay Kumar — London 2012, Gagan Narang — London 2012, and Manu Bhaker – Paris 2024 are the other shooters to have won medals at the Olympics.

–IANS

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Paris, July 30 (IANS) Defending Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra arrived in Paris Olympic Games village on Tuesday and joined his fellow teammates in the French capital.

Neeraj, who won the historic gold medal in Tokyo Olympics, took to social media to share the news of his arrival in Paris.

“Namaskar, Paris! Excited to finally reach the Olympic Games village,” Neeraj wrote on his X post.

The 26-year-old also wrote an inspiring message for the Indian athletes on the ‘Wall of Positivity’. “This is the time for the performance,” he wrote on a sticky note, pasted on the wall.

Neeraj will compete in the Men’s Group A Javelin Throw Qualification Round at Stade de France on August 6. The countrymen are hoping of another podium finish for the star athlete in the Olympics.

In Tokyo, he became the first track and field athlete to win an individual gold medal for the country. He was the second Indian athlete to win an Olympic gold after Abhinav Bindra, who won the gold in 2008 Beijing Olympics in 10m air rifle competition.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 30 (IANS) When former England manager Gareth Southgate announced his squad for the 2024 Euros in Germany, many people questioned his choice on the left flank as he had left out both Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford. Southgate instead chose Anthony Gordon, who played for just one minute in the tournament that ended a few weeks back.

In an interview, Grealish has opened up on how not being in the squad was perhaps the ‘most difficult thing he has ever faced in his career’

“I’ll be honest it was probably, football-wise, the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my career. I was absolutely heartbroken and then obviously when you’re on your holidays, wherever I was, every time you turn on the phone or turn on the TV or whatever, you just see it. So it was hard not to see it,” said Grealish to The Athletic.

Grealis joined Manchester City in 2021 for a massive fee of 100m British Pounds after being the star player for Aston Villa. He has gone on to make 125 appearances for the club while racking up a menial 14 goals and 18 assists which has seen many people question his price tag over the years.

“In my first season at City, I don’t think I performed as well as I could and in the second season I played in a lot of the games and that was down to the first season. I had wanted to come back stronger and I certainly did that, so hopefully I can do that again,” he added.

Grealish is now more motivated than ever to turn his career around starting this season, Manchester City will be playing against FC Barcelona and Chelsea FC in their remaining pre-season friendlies before getting set to face local rivals Manchester United in the Community Shield Cup match on August 10.

“This is my chance to get my fitness, to have a two-week head start and try to be as fit as possible. And I’m playing with confidence. I feel like that’s what I need, and fingers crossed I can do that,” concluded Jack.

–IANS

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Chateauroux (France), July 30 (IANS) While the whole of India was waiting to hear Sarabjot Singh after he and Manu Bhaker scripted history in the Paris Olympic Games, the 22-year-old shooter was asked by his mother to call later as she was busy. Sarabjot and Manu on Tuesday bagged India’s second medal in Paris, becoming the first shooters from India to win an Olympic medal in a team event.

Following the victory, Sarabjot spoke to IANS and revealed the conversation he had with his mother following his triumph.

‘I spoke to my mother, and she said, ‘Mai busy hun, baad me baat karna mere se (Talk to me later I am busy)’,” said Sarabjot to IANS.

The shooter from Ambala district of Haryana opened up on his feelings post the event and has stated he ‘is not satisfied’ with his performance and is already thinking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“My journey started when I was very young and this medal is very good for me but I am still not satisfied with my performance as I feel I faced a lot of technique issues this time, but I will do even better in 2028,” added the bronze medallist.

Before the Mixed Team event, Sarabjot had finished ninth in the Qualification Round of the men’s 10m Air Pistol Individual event on Saturday, narrowly missing out on a spot in the final. He ended with a score of 577 points after 60 shots, tied with Germany’s Robin Walter but was eliminated having hit the inner 10’s one time less than his German opponent.

“I have gotten a lot to learn from my time here. I have learned about how to deal with pressure, work on my breathing, and what kind of mentality is required at this stage. I will go to my room and reflect on it all,” he concluded.

Sarabjot is referring to the bronze medal match against South Korea in which he and Manu displayed tremendous amounts of resilience and mental toughness to stop the late charge from the South Koreans and win the match 16-10.

–IANS

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