Sports Highlights

The following are the top stories at 2100 hours: SPO-CRI-IND-WTC-ARUN-SRIDHAR Being a little under-prepared can work in our favour during WTC final: Indian team support staff By Bharat Sharma New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) Quarantine restrictions might hamper the Indian cricket team's preparations for the World Test Championship final in England but bowling coach Bharat Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar feel that the players' abundant experience will be enough to counter that challenge.

SPO-CRI-IND-SHARDUL-ARUN Shardul has proved he can be an all-rounder: Bharat Arun By Bharat Sharma New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) India bowling coach Bharat Arun on Wednesday said Shardul Thakur has what it takes to be the fast-bowling all-rounder that the team has needed ever since Hardik Pandya's back injury restricted his role with the ball.

SPO-BAD-OLY-SINGAPORE-CANCELLED Chances of Saina, Srikanth qualifying for Olympics virtually over with Singapore Open cancellation New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) Star Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth's chances of booking berths for Tokyo Olympics are all but over after the world body on Wednesday cancelled the last qualifying event in Singapore due to the coronavirus-related travel restrictions.

SPO-WREST-SEEMA-INTERVIEW How coach Paramjeet changed Seema's wrestling career By Amanpreet Singh Farrukh Nagar (Haryana), May 12 (PTI) Qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics was an unimaginable dream realised for Seema Bisla, who did not even think of winning a national title until she bumped into a ''guru'' who believed in her talent more than anyone else.

SPO-ATH-OLY-NEERAJ Training is fine but I need competitions before Olympics: Neeraj Chopra Mumbai, May 12 (PTI) The training has gone along just fine but Olympic-bound star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday said he is desperate for some competition ahead of the Tokyo Games given that two years have simply been ''wasted'' because of injury and the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPO-FENCING-BHAVANI Oly-bound fencer Bhavani had wanted to skip qualifying event as her mother was infected with COVID New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) Olympic-bound fencer Bhavani Devi on Wednesday revealed that she was battling the agony of leaving out her coronavirus-stricken mother during the qualifying tournament in Hungary.

SPO-CRI-WATLING-LD RETIREMENT New Zealand wicket-keeper B J Watling to retire after WTC final against India Wellington, May 12 (PTI) New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman B J Watling on Wednesday announced that he will end his over-decade-long career in all forms of cricket after the World Test Championship final against India next month.

SPO-TT-CHANDRASEKHAR-3RDLD DEATH Arjuna winning former TT player V Chandrasekhar dies due to COVID complications Chennai, May 12 (PTI) Arjuna award-winning former India table tennis player V Chandrasekhar died at a private hospital here on Wednesday due to COVID-19 related complications, family sources said.

SPO-BOX-WOM-VACCINE Mary Kom, Lovlina get first dose of COVID-19 vaccine Pune, May 12 (PTI) Olympic-bound Indian women boxers M C Mary Kom (51kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) were given the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine here on Wednesday.

SPO-CRI-IPL-PIETERSEN If England's best players stand together, they will play IPL: Pietersen on ECB no London, May 12 (PTI) Kevin Pietersen believes that England's cricket board will relent if country's top players unanimously decide to participate in the currently-suspended Indian Premier League in case it resumes in September this year.

SPO-CRI-LD CHAPPELL Dravid picked cues from Australian structure and created solid pool for India: Greg Chappell Sydney, May 12 (PTI) Rahul Dravid picked Australian brains to create a talent identification system better than Australia in India, the legendary Greg Chappell has said, lamenting the current lack of a similar structure in his own country that was ''one of the best at developing young players.'' SPO-CRI-IPL-NZ-STEAD NZ's IPL players in Maldives might head to England this weekend: Blackcaps coach Stead Wellington, May 12 (PTI) New Zealand cricketers, including skipper Kane Williamson, who are quarantining in Maldives after the IPL's suspension might head to England this weekend for an upcoming two-Test series, team coach Gary Stead has said.

SPO-CRI-SL-SQUAD Perera appointed SL ODI skipper; Karunaratne, Angelo Mathews dropped Colombo, May 12 (PTI) Wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera was on Wednesday named Sri Lanka's ODI captain with Kusal Mendis as his deputy for the away series against Bangladesh this month.

SPO-CRI-TENDULKAR-LD NURSES Tendulkar pays tribute to nurses, says grateful for everything they do Mumbai, May 12 (PTI) Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to the nation's nursing staff on the occasion of 'International Nurses Day', saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has made everyone realise their value more than ever.

SPO-FOOT-IND-AIFF AIFF awaiting Qatar's approval to send team in advance for WC qualifiers New Delhi, May 12 (PTI) The All India Football Federation on Wednesday said the national team cannot train in the country right now given the COVID-19 surge and it is considering foreign options for a camp ahead of the World Cup qualifying round matches in Qatar next month.

SPO-GOLF-LAHIRI Lahiri returns to action at Byron Nelson Classic McKinney (Texas), May 12 (PTI) Having recovered from COVID-19, Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri will return to PGA Tour action after almost a month-long gap when he tees up at the AT&T Byron Nelson Championship.

SPO-CRI-IPL-PIETERSEN If England's best players stand together, they will play IPL: Pietersen on ECB no London, May 12 (PTI) Kevin Pietersen believes that England's cricket board will relent if country's top players unanimously decide to participate in the currently-suspended Indian Premier League in case it resumes in September this year.

SPO-CRI-IPL-STOKES I might be back in action in 9 weeks but playing IPL will be difficult as ECB indicated: Stokes London, May 12 (PTI) England's premier all-rounder Ben Stokes has hinted that he won't be available for the currently-suspended Indian Premier League this year even if he is fit to return to competitive cricket after recovering from his finger surgery.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)