Sports Highlights at 2100 Hours

Following are the top/expected stories at 2100 hours: EXPECTED STORIES:

*Report of Russia Open badminton tournament. *A lead report of Indonesia Open badminton.

STORIES ON THE WIRE:

SPO-IND-LD SELECTION

Selection meeting postponed but focus remains on Dhoni's future, Kohli's availability Mumbai, July 18 (PTI) The national selection panel's meeting to pick squads for the West Indies tour has been pushed to Sunday amid intense focus on skipper Virat Kohli's availability and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni's future.

SPO-BCCI-LD SELECTORS

Rule Change: Chairman of selectors not secy to convene selection committee meeting New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) Chairman of selectors will replace BCCI's general secretary as the convener of selection meetings, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) directed on Thursday, continuing the reforms mandated by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Panel.

SPO-BAD-IND

Sindhu battles past Blichfeldt to enter Indonesia Open quarters Jakarta, Jul 18 (PTI) Top Indian shuttler P V Sindhu had to dig deep into her reservoir of experience to beat unseeded Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark and claim a quarterfinal berth in the women's singles event of the Indonesia Open here Thursday.

SPO-SUNRISERS-COACH

Bayliss replaces Moody as Sunrisers head coach New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) England's World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss Thursday replaced Australian Tom Moody as the head coach of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.

SPO-SHOOT-IND

Sarabjot wins India's ninth gold at junior shooting World Cup Suhl (Germany), Jul 18 (PTI) Extending India's domination at the ISSF Junior World Cup, Sarabjot Singh shot a 239.6 to bag the men's 10m air pistol gold, country's ninth yellow metal at the event, here Thursday.

SPO-TT-COMMONWEALTH

Commonwealth TT: Indian men's and women's teams in semis Cuttack, July 18 (PTI) The Indian men's and women's teams sailed into the semifinals of the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships after convincing victories over their respective opponents, here Thursday.

SPO-WOM-IND-HIRWANI

Hirwani to work with Indian women's team as spin consultant New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) Former India international and National Cricket Academy (NCA) spin coach Narendra Hirwani is set to work as a consultant with the country's women's team.

SPO-ATP-IND

Ramkumar exits from Hall of Fame Open Newport (US), July 18 (PTI) Ramkumar Ramanathan made a second round exit from the ATP Hall of Fame Open following a straight set defeat against Ugo Humbert, a result which will severely impact his singles ranking.

SPO-SHOOT-HEENA

India must put up united front: Heena on shooting's exclusion from 2022 CWG New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) Pistol ace Heena Sidhu Thursday said India is a "big" enough nation to put up a "united front" against the 2022 Commonwealth Games organisers' move to exclude shooting from its roster.

SPO-LD AZHARUDDIN

Azharuddin to contest for HCA president's post Hyderabad, Jul 18 (PTI) Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin Thursday said he would contest for the post of president of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) whenever the elections are held.

SPO-NEEESHAM-COACH

When Neesham hit six in WC Super Over, his formative coach breathed his last Auckland, Jul 18 (PTI) When New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham was trying to get his team over the line in the Super Over of the World Cup final against England, his high school teacher and formative coach David Gordon breathed his last back home.

SPO-ATH-USHA

PT Usha nominated for IAAF's Veteran Pin New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) India's track and field legend PT Usha has been nominated for the International Association of Athletics Federation's (IAAF) 'Veteran Pin' for her outstanding service to the sport.

SPO-WC-BOULT

Will take dog for walk by beach: Boult on coping with WC heartbreak Auckland, Jul 18 (PTI) New Zealand pacer Trent Boult's plans of getting over the gut-wrenching World Cup loss to England include walking his dog along the beach but he concedes that losing the trophy on boundary-count will be hard to swallow for at least a couple of years.

SPO-CHAPPELL-CANCER

Ian Chappell reveals battle with skin cancer Melbourne, Jul 18 (PTI) Former Australian captain Ian Chappell Thursday revealed he is battling skin cancer but the 75-year-old expects to be fit enough to commentate when the Ashes comes calling next month.

SPO-HOCK-MANPREET

Next three months critical for us: Manpreet Bengaluru, Jul 18 (PTI) Men's captain Manpreet Singh Thursday said the next three months will be crucial for Indian hockey ahead of the final round of Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers in November.

SPO-VIJENDER

I am ready for a bout, Vijender challenges Amir New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) "Stop fighting children, I am ready for a bout," Indian boxing ace Vijender Singh, fresh from his 11th straight pro win, challenged British star Amir Khan here on Thursday.

SPO-FOOT-INTERCONTINENTAL

Tajikistan-North Korea to fight out in Intercontinental Cup final Ahmedabad, July 18 (PTI) Tajikistan and North Korea, the two lowest ranked teams of the tournament, will clash in the final of the 2019 Hero Intercontinental Cup football tournament, here Friday.