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Wednesday marks the start of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's season at the Malaysia Open Super 1000, while HS Prannoy also will be in action. The Super Cup action continues as well, with the Kerala Blasters kicking off their quest for silverware against Shillong Lajong.
The live blog is updated throughout the day, so keep checking back for updates and analysis.
Here are the key updates from January 10, Wednesday:
Greg Stewart leaves Mumbai City FC
Greg Stewart has left Mumbai City FC after agreeing to terminate his contract with the club, due to critical personal reasons the club said in a statement today.
This marks the end, at least for now, of one of the best stints in the ISL. Stewart won two league shield titles, one with Jamshedpur FC and one with Mumbai City FC, and has consistently been one of the best players in the league for the last two and a half years.
Alberto Noguera, who sat out the first half of the season with an injury, is now fit again, and takes Stewart's place in Mumbai City's squad. However, it's still a massive loss for Mumbai who relied on Stewart's dexterity and eye for a pass, in addition to his ability to find the back fo the net consistently as well. Stewart contributed 17 goals and 18 assists in 46 games for Mumbai City, in addition to 11 goals and 10 assists for Jamshedpur in the 2021-22 season.
His impact on his teams went far beyond just the numbers he put up, as he seemed to have the ability to raise the levels of those around him, with Lallianzuala Chhangte being a case in point in the last 18 months. Stewart will be missed in Indian Football, as he was a player who had the ability to make people watch him in awe.
Tamil Thalaivas thrash UP Yoddhas; U Mumba tie with Haryana Steelers
The Mumbai leg of PKL season 10 came to an end with a couple of enthralling matches, especially the hosts' 44-44 draw with Haryana Steelers, which kept both teams in fifth and sixth place respectively.
However, the Tamil Thalaivas came up with the result of the day. Led by Narendar Hoshiyar's 14 points, they thrashed UP Yoddhas 46-27, to move to within just two points of their opponents, although both teams remain far away from a playoff spot.
Key questions facing Igor Stimac
Meanwhile, India's opening match against Australia at the AFC Asian Cup is on Saturday. It is a difficult group that India have been drawn in, with clashes against Uzbekistan and Syria to follow - both also teams ranked higher than India.
There are some holes in the 26-man squad that Stimac has picked, largely forced by injuries to important players like Anwar Ali, Jeakson Singh and Ashique Kuruniyan. However, if India are to give a good account of themselves, then there are some questions that Stimac has to answer before the opening game at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.
You can read the article here.
Malaysia Open update: Sat-Chi advance, Prannoy, Lakshya out
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy- Chirag Shetty and HS Prannoy, the only two seeded Indians in the season-opening Malaysia Super 1000, had contrasting fortunes in what was a tough first round challenge.
While 2nd seeds Satwik-Chirag advanced after needing a fightback in the second game to beat Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana 21-18, 21-19, 8th seed Prannoy was unable to find his touch against Anders Antonsen going down 14-21, 11-21.
It was a close battle in the men's doubles as the margin stays, with Satwik and Chirag maintained their lead through the first game. In the second game, the Indonesians had the lead initially and after the mid-game interval, the Indians were trailing by 6 points. But they turned it around brilliantly, winning 10 of next 11 points and getting to 3 match points with a classic Sat-Chi style step up in attack. The first two match points were saved, but a service error from the opponents clinched the match.
On the other court, Prannoy started on the backfoot, trailing 1-9 in the first game against Antonsen. The Dane, who had reached the semis of the BWF World Tour Finals last month, was in good touch and despite a comeback from the Indian, the lead was too big to be chased. The second game started on a more even note but Anderson zoomed ahead in the second half to win it in straight games.
Later in the day, Lakshya Sen also went down in the opener, losing to China's Weng Hong Yang 21-15, 21-16.
Read more - Malaysia Open: Prannoy, Sat-Chi handed challenging draw in first tournament of 2024
Zagreb Open: Aman Sehrawat moves into final, Deepak Punia to fight for bronze
India's Aman Sehrawat got his 2024 off to a fine start as he progressed to the 57kg final of the Zagreb Open. The Zagreb Open is the first Ranking Series of the year.
Aman, the U23 world champion and Asian Championships winner, began his campaign by beating Turkey's Muhammet Karavus via Technical Superiority and then defeated Pan American Games champion Zane Richards in the same manner before easing past Georgia's Roberti Dingashvili in the semifinal.The teenager will face China's Zou Wanhao, a former bronze medallist at the U23 Worlds, for the title.
The two other Indians in the fray, Yash (74 kg) and Deepak Punia (86 kg), lost their opening bouts, but Deepak will have a shot at bronze via repechage.
India's 10m air rifle shooters shine
Indian air rifle shooters had a prolific day at the Asian Olympic Qualification Rifle/Pistol in Jakarta.
There was a double podium in the women's 10m air rifle with teenage shooter Nancy won the gold with an Asian junior record score of 252.8 and Elavenil Valarivan finishing second, only 0.1 points behind. China's Shen Yufan prevented an India sweep of the medals finishing third as Mehuli Ghosh, the third Indian in contention, finished fourth. The trio also won the team gold by a distance over Singapore.
Earlier in men's air rifle, Rudrankksh Patil had clinched bronze in the individual event, with Arjun Babuta finishing sixth in the final. The duo also won the team bronze along with Sri Karthik Sabari Raj Ravishankar.
Australian Open qualifiers: Sumit advances, Ankita out
India's challenge in the women's singles of the Australian Open qualifiers came to an end in the second round. Ankita Raina, ranked 208, lost to world No 134 Sara Bejlek 1-6, 5-7. She had beaten higher ranked Jessica Maneiro 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 in first round.
In the men's singles, Sumit Nagal beat Geoffrey Blancaneaux 6-3, 7-5 in the first round. He will take on Edward Winter in the second round.
Hockey India announces squad for South Africa Tour
Harmanpreet Singh will lead India in the four-nation tournament in Cape Town, South Africa, starting on January 22, 2024. The 26-member squad will face the likes of France, Netherlands and hosts South Africa.
No big changes to the squad however, two members from the junior team make their way to the senior team. Youngsters Araijeet Singh Hundal and Boby Singh Dhami have been included following their impressive outing at the Junior World Cup.
The tournament is crucial for India considering this is an Olympic year and the team will also begin their Pro League campaign in February. Head coach Craig Fulton has picked a big squad with an aim to provide exposure to youngsters. The team's previous campaign in Europe was not a good one, they lost three matches against Spain, Belgium and Germany. Their only victory came against France.
Goalkeepers Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Pawan.
Defenders Jarmanpreet Singh, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Varun Kumar, Sumit, Sanjay, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem.
Midfielders Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Hardik Singh (VC), Manpreet Singh
Forwards Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Boby Singh Dhami.
India's table-tennis stars make it to the main draw of the WTT Star Contender in Qatar
Harmeet Desai caused quite the upset as the Indian, ranked 75 in the world, beat Benedict Duda of Germany by a 3-2 scoreline to qualify for the main draw, where he faces world no. 39 Wong Chun Ting of Hong Kong in the round of 64. Sharath Kamal is the other Indian in men's singles, facing off against Alvaro Robles of Spain (WR #44) in the Ro64.
Manika Batra and Yashaswini Ghorpade are the Indian representatives in women's singles, with Manika facing a tough draw. If she gets past Yangzi Liu of Australia (WR #27), she has the 'fortune' of facing world no. 3 Wang Manyu of China in the Ro32.
Yashaswini also features in the women's doubles main draw, after pairing up with Sreeja Akula to defeat fellow Indians Manika Batre-Archana Kamath 3-1 in the qualifiers. Yashaswini-Sreeja and Manika-Sathiyan in mixed doubles both face high-ranking Chinese opponents, while Manav Thakkar-Manush Shah are the only Indians in men's doubles after making it through the qualifiers.
What to look forward to today?
Sat-Chi and HS Prannoy look to start 2024 on a positive note at the season-opening Malaysia Open Super 1000.
The Kalinga Super Cup continues as Kerala Blasters face Shillong Lajong (2:00pm) and NorthEast United face Jamshedpur FC (7:30pm).
The Indian Women's League resumes with league leaders Odisha FC hosting second-from-bottom HOPS FC (2:00 pm).
Indian rifle and pistol shooters look to seal more Paris Olympic quota at the Asian Olympic Qualification.
India's best table tennis stars begin their 2024 season at the WTT Star Contender in Doha.
Qualifiers for Australian Open, the first tennis Grand Slam of the year, are ongoing in Melbourne.
It's the final day of the Mumbai leg and the home team, U Mumba, take on Haryana Steelers and the opening game of the evening will see Pardeep Narwal's UP Yoddhas take on Tamil Thalaivas.
Updates and developments in Indian wrestling as Sanjay Singh's WFI defies the Sports Ministry.
What happened yesterday?
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Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal got off to winning starts in the Kalinga Super Cup.
Telugu Titans fell to their 10th loss in 11 matches in PKL 10, going down 26-46 to Bengal Warriors.
Rudrankksh Patil and Mehuli Ghosh won gold at the 10m air rifle mixed team event at the Asian Championships in Jakarta, while Rhythm Sangwan and Arjun Singh Cheema claimed a silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event
PV Sindhu will return to action in February at the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Hockey India appointed Herman Kruis as its high performance director.
You can check all the details of yesterday's news events here