Stay Updated with the Latest in Indian Sports: Bajrang Punia’s Suspension Revoked, Bopanna’s Thrilling Win, and More!
Welcome to ESPN India’s daily blog, where we aim to bring you all the news from the dynamic world of Indian sports: from the wide variety of Olympic sports to franchise leagues.
June has plenty of sporting action taking place – which you can find listed out in ESPN India’s sporting calendar.
ADDP revokes Bajrang Punia’s suspension till NADA issues Notice of Charge
The National Anti-Doping Agency’s Disciplinary Panel (ADDP) revoked the provisional suspension imposed on Bajrang Punia till NADA issues a Notice of Charge to the wrestler, who had refused to provide his sample for a dope test after the selection trials in March.
NADA had suspended Tokyo Games bronze medallist Bajrang on April 23 and subsequently the world governing body UWW also took similar action.
The trials to pick the men’s national team for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Bishkek were held in Sonepat on March 10 and Bajrang had walked off the venue without providing his urine sample after losing a bout. He did not compete in the 3rd-4th place bout.
Bajrang had challenged the provisional suspension through his lawyers and reiterated in his reply to ADDP that he never refused to provide a sample but just wanted to know why NADA has not replied to his earlier query on action taken by the National Anti-Doping Agency for sending an expired kit to take his sample in December 2023.
It remains to be seen if NADA pursues the matter further and decides to issue a Notice of Charge to Bajrang.
If the Notice of Charge is not issued, the matter will be closed and if it is issued, a final hearing will be conducted.
Bopanna beats Balaji in thriller to make French Open men’s doubles quarterfinals
Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden came from a set down to beat N Sriram Balaji and MA Reyes-Varela Martinez in the Super Tie-breaker to advance to the French Open men’s doubles quarterfinals.
The second-seeded pair needed all their experience to come out on top in the crunch moments for their 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6 (10-8) win.
The doubles schedule at Roland Garros has been thrown into disarray due to the rain delays in the initial days and Bopanna played two matches yesterday (men’s and mixed doubles) The second seeds had a walkover in the second round and will play the quarters tomorrow.
Esha Singh in sport pistol final, Ramita finishes sixth in air rifle
Esha Singh made the final of the women’s 25m pistol while Ramita Jindal finished sixth in the women’s 10m air rifle on day two of the on-going ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol in Munich.
Esha’s two-day qualification total of 584, gave her the sixth qualifying spot for Tuesday’s final. She shot 291 in the second rapid-fire round on Monday. Meanwhile, Ramita shot 166.3 to bow out sixth in the women’s air rifle final.
Esha’s final will be held on Tuesday.
Chess – Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali lose
R Praggnanandhaa lost to Alireza Firouzja in the Armageddon tie-breaker after a tight draw in the Norway Chess tournament. His sister, Vaishali, meanwhile was defeated by reigning world champion Wenjun Ju. While a setback, Vaishali remains close to the leaders, just half a point behind Ju and Anna Muzychuk who are on 10.5 points.
Praggnanandhaa at 9.5 is slightly further behind former 5-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, who capitalized on a blunder from reigning world champion Ding Liren to defeat him and take sole lead with 12 points. Trailing him by one point is Hikaru Nakamura, who lost to Fabiano Caruana. World Champ Ding, though, has had a disastrous campaign, and currently sits last with just 2.5 points.
There are four rounds remaining in the tournament.
What’s on today?
Chess: R Vaishali and R Praggnanandhaa are in action in the Norway Chess tournament.
Tennis: Rohan Bopanna and his men’s doubles partner Matthew Ebden in action in French Open.
Shooting: Indian shooters in action at the ISSF World Cup (rifle and pistol).
What happened yesterday?
FIH Pro League hockey: India men and women lose to Great Britain
Boxing: Amit Panghal, Jaismine seal Paris Olympics quotas
Tennis: Bopanna wins tough men’s doubles opener, out of mixed doubles
Athletics: Long jumper Nayana James wins gold in Taipei, Animesh tops 200m in Spain
Shooting: No Indian in men’s 10m air rifle final at Munich World Cup
Chess: Praggnanandhaa beats Caruana, Vaishali leads women’s section
Golf: Aditi Ashok tied-29th after tough third round at US Women’s Open
You can find all the details of yesterday’s events here.