sports.ndtv.com - Shiva Thapa, Amit Panghal Storm Into Quarters At Men's National Boxing Championships

Shiva Thapa, Amit Panghal Storm Into Quarters At Men's National Boxing Championships

Six-time Asian Championships medallist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) and World Championships runner-up Amit Panghal (51kg) maintained their impressive form to advance into the quarterfinals of the Men's National Boxing Championships on Wednesday. Thapa, who won a gold medal in the last edition, demonstrated his prowess with a commanding 5-0 victory over Santhosh HK from Karnataka. The Assam pugilist will now face Shashank Pradhan of Delhi in the quarterfinals. Representing SSCB, Panghal warded off a challenge Punjab's Jayshandeep Singh 4-1 to set up quarterfinal bout against Mohammad Aarif of Jammu and Kashmir.

Honda Brings In Luca Marini To Replace Marc Marquez In MotoGP

Honda announced on Monday it had signed Italian Luca Marini, the half-brother of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, to a two-year deal with its factory team. Marini, 26, will take over from Marc Marquez, the six-time world champion who is leaving Honda a year early to join his brother at Ducati satellite team Gresini Racing. After making his MotoGP debut in 2021, Marini earned his first two podium finishes this season -- in the United States and Qatar -- as he came eighth overall riding for VR46, the Ducati satellite team owned by Rossi. He also finished in the top three in four sprint races and twice took pole position. Marini will get a first outing on his new Japanese bike at the post-season tests in Valencia on Tuesday. He will pair up at Honda with 2020 world champion Joan Mir, who endured a disastrous past season in which he finished 22nd after scoring only 26 points. Honda finished bottom of the constructors' standings this season, just as they did in 2022.

Steve Smith Pushes For Rule Reform, Urges Intervention On Leg-Side Bouncers

Australian star batter Steve Smith has said that the cricketing authorities should urgently address the issue of pacers persistently bowling bouncers to a leg side field, as it restricts a batter's ability to hit the ball "anywhere in front of the wicket". The former Australia captain, who is playing the opening Test against New Zealand in Wellington, added a bowler should be allowed just one or two such deliveries, after which he should be warned or the delivery be called a wide.

Make Track And Field Events More Attractive And Marketable: Neeraj Chopra

Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday emphasised on making track and field athletics events more attractive and marketable for Indian fans. The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, with which he became the first Indian to stand on the podium in track and field events at the sporting showpiece, shared his thoughts on what ails this discipline of athletics in the country. "First of all, I feel that the international competitions where we compete such as the Diamond League, Continental Tours, and World Athletics Championships, should be broadcast in India. "Currently, we only get to watch the highlights though people want to watch the athletics, they stay up till 1-2 am in the night, and wait for the athlete to play but they face disappointment after not being able to watch," Chopra said.

India Start With 12-0 Thrashing Of Canada In FIH Women's Junior World Cup

The Indian team made a resounding start to its FIH Women's Junior Hockey World Cup campaign by securing a commanding 12-0 victory over Canada in Santiago, Chile. Annu (4th, 6th, 39th minute), Dipi Monika Toppo (21st), Mumtaz Khan (26th, 41st, 54th, 60th), Deepika Soreng (34th, 50th, 54th), and Neelam (45th) were the goal scorers for India on Wednesday. India began the match with an attacking approach, and swiftly secured an early advantage as Annu scored two early goals through penalty corners.

MotoGP Legend Valentino Rossi To Compete In Endurance Championship

Retired Italian MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who has switched from two wheels to four, will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) next season, according to the list of participants published on Monday. The seven-time MotoGP world champion, will race with the Belgian WRT team, driving one of 18 cars entered in the LMGT3 class, which replaces the LMGTE Am category.

HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen Withdraw From Syed Modi International

Indian shuttlers HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen have pulled out of the Syed Modi International, taking some sheen out of the Super 300 badminton tournament starting on Tuesday. Asian Games bronze medallist Prannoy had recovered from a back injury to reach the semifinals at China Masters Super 750, while Canada Open winner Sen, world No. 17, hasn't looked his self with six first-round exit since August. It has been a hectic schedule for the players and with the Olympic qualification on the line, players would like to be fresh for the next season. The BWF 'Race to Paris Ranking Lists' of 30 April will be considered for qualification. Olympic medallist P V Sindhu is also missing in action as she recovers from an injury. World No. 24 Kidambi Srikanth is now the top-ranked Indian in men's singles draw, which also has Tokyo Olympian B Sai Praneeth, Indonesian Masters Super 100 winner Kiran George and Priyanshu Rajawat, who won the Orleans Masters Super 300 title this year.

"We've Lost Here But...": Brendon McCullum Issues Huge 'Bazball' Statement

England cricket team head coach Brendon McCullum continued to show his support for 'Bazball' despite his team losing the five-match Test series against India. The visitors won the first match in Hyderabad but ended up losing three matches in a row with experts and fans criticising their style of play and questioning their ability to adapt according to situations. However, McCullum said that they have improved over the last 18 months and added they are capable of doing "some special shit".

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Sports.ndtv.com Sport News

Shiva Thapa, Amit Panghal Storm Into Quarters At Men's National Boxing Championships

Honda Brings In Luca Marini To Replace Marc Marquez In MotoGP

Steve Smith Pushes For Rule Reform, Urges Intervention On Leg-Side Bouncers

Make Track And Field Events More Attractive And Marketable: Neeraj Chopra

India Start With 12-0 Thrashing Of Canada In FIH Women's Junior World Cup

MotoGP Legend Valentino Rossi To Compete In Endurance Championship

HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen Withdraw From Syed Modi International

"We've Lost Here But...": Brendon McCullum Issues Huge 'Bazball' Statement