Former US Open champion Coco Gauff was preparing to shower in a dark locker room after play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended and then postponed because of a major power outage in Spain and Portugal. Then Gauff realized that the water was off, too. "So I just had to take baby wipes and wipe myself,: Gauff said on Monday, "and spray some perfume and call it a day." Gauff managed to beat Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-2 shortly before the outage, which apparently cut off the sound as she was giving a post-match interview on the court. Then the 2023 US Open champion posted an Instagram story showing only an emergency light working in an otherwise dark locker room. The ATP Tour said that two singles matches and one doubles match were underway when power went out at 12:34 p.m. local time (10:34 GMT). "The cut is preventing the use of electronic line calling systems and also left a spider cam dangling over the court inside Manolo Santana Stadium," the ATP added. Tournament organisers said they "had no choice but to suspend/cancel all sporting activity in order to guarantee the safety of the players, fans and personnel." They recommended all spectators leave the sports complex. The event is scheduled to resume on Tuesday. There will be third-round matches in the top of the draw, and fourth-round matches in the bottom of the draw. Grigor Dimitrov was leading Jacob Fearnley 6-4 5-4 inside the main stadium when play was stopped. Also, Matteo Arnaldi was leading Damir Dzumhur 6-3 3-2 when play was suspended. That match later continued " apparently with manual line calling " and Arnaldi won 6-3 6-4. The doubles match was also completed and some players were practicing despite the outage. A a few people remained in the stands to watch. The blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill, knocking out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines. Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica said restoring power to large parts of the country after the outage could take up to 10 hours. The company declined to speculate on the causes of the blackout. Gauff also posted a photo of candles being distributed. "I don't think we're even going to be able to go back to the hotel because the traffic lights are out," Gauff said. "It's just crazy how much we depend on electricity. It's really insane and puts it in perspective." Another fourth-round women's match was also completed before the blackout: Mirra Andreeva beat Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-1 6-4. Second-ranked Iga Swiatek "sat in the darkened players' lounge, talking with members of her team," ahead of her scheduled match against Diana Shnaider, the WTA Tour said. Swiatek and Shnaider had been scheduled to play in the main stadium after the Dimitrov-Fearnley match. Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka had been scheduled to play Peyton Stearns later. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
29 April,2025 12:01 PM IST | Madrid | AP | PTIWhile the Mumbai Schools Sports Association (MSSA) has been organising their Free Summer Camp for school kids for over 50 years, this time the event focussed on the mental aspect of sport besides the physical needs. MSSA has roped in renowned sports psychologist Mugdha Bavare in a bid to offer the children a holistic experience that focuses on the mental aspects of all sports. In asssociation with Dream Sports, the camp (April 16 to 30) at Azad Maidan has 305 boys and girls between the age group of eight and 14 honing their skills in football, basketball and tennis. “We believe in the power of grassroot development. By encouraging both boys and girls to participate in this camp, we are not just creating players, we are also building the future of sport. We strongly believe that the young minds need to be trained well too and that’s the reason we brought in Ms Bavare,” MSSA football secretary Sebastian Fernandes told mid-day. Also Read: Children’s Academy boys, St Theresa’s girls win WCG rink hockey titles Sports psychologists Kiran Salunkhe (Left) and Rasika Kalgutkar at the MSSA camp Interactive session On Monday, after their practice sessions on the ground, the kids had an interactive session with Bavare’s team members Rasika Kalgutkar and Kiran Salunkhe. The duo addressed the kids about the importance of mental well-being. They also made the kids do simple exercises like balancing on one foot for a minute, practising deep breathing and meditation. “It’s still early for these kids to learn about the deeper impact of sports psychology. That learning happens at a senior or elite level. But here, we are basically trying to develop the mindset of these kids at a younger age with basic ethics. Building a strong mindset “The idea currently is to build a strong which will get stronger as they grow. The one-leg balancing act increases focus and helps build concentration. Deep breathing and meditation enhance calmness of the mind,” said Kalgutkar, going on to explain how sports psychologists can help athletes. Pressure at elite level “There will come a stage in the lives of these children when they will win medals on major platforms. Some players may lose focus after achieving glory while others may miss out due to injury or some other reason. Overall, competing at higher levels always impacts the minds of players. We [psychologists] try to understand their joy or setback and accordingly motivate the player or look for a solution. At the end of the day, an athlete’s career is very short and needs to be handled with care,” explained Kalgutkar. The parents also came away impressed with what they saw at the MSSA camp. “I am quite surprised. I didn’t know my son [Lavish Chirag of Thakur Public School, Kandivli] was so talented. This camp has been very exciting for our kids and even the facilities provided have been great throughout. Also, the mental training aspect that is being done this time is extremely interesting,” said a parent, Pooja Chirag.
29 April,2025 07:58 AM IST | Mumbai | Rufus VedanayagamFaced with a herculean task to trump a formidable Indonesia and stay afloat in the competition, an under-strength India will need its struggling singles stars to deliver the goods in a must-win Group D contest at the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals here on Tuesday. India’s campaign began on a disastrous start on Sunday with a 1-4 defeat to Denmark, a result that put their qualification for the knockout stage in serious jeopardy. Also Read: Children’s Academy boys, St Theresa’s girls win WCG rink hockey titles With only two teams progressing from Group D, India must secure a win against Indonesia to keep their hopes alive otherwise, their third and final group match against England will be reduced to just a formality. The poor form of their star singles players — Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, and PV Sindhu has not helped the team.However, there is some hope for India. Lakshya has defeated Indonesia’s top men’s singles player Jonatan Christie in their last two encounters — at the Paris Olympics and the All England Championships. In the women’s singles, with Indonesia’s top player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung pulling out, Sindhu will face world No. 11 Putri Kusuma Wardani, a player she has beaten twice before. Despite this, Indonesia boast a strong contingent of doubles players, including Fajar Alfian, Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Leo Rolly Carnando, Muhammad Shohibul Fikri, and Daniel Marthin — all ranked among the world’s top 10. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
29 April,2025 07:55 AM IST | Xiamen (China) | PTIRian Gada netted a fine hat-trick as Children’s Academy (Malad) beat St Stanislaus (Bandra) 4-2 in the U-14 school boys final of the 44th Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana (WCG) rink hockey tournament at Santacruz. Also Read: Zverev, Sabalenka battle through Harshiv Goel scored the fourth goal for the Malad side. Goel was named Player of the Tournament. For St Stanislaus, Jaden Dias and Xander Vaz scored a goal each. In the U-16 school girls final, St Theresa’s (Bandra) beat Duruelo Convent (Bandra) 1-0 in a closely contested encounter. Yukti Dabho scored the winner for the Duruelo girls.
29 April,2025 07:53 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentAditya Shandilya came from behind to record a 4-2 win over Rushabh Gohil in the first round of NSCI Baulkline All-India snooker tournament here on Monday. Also Read: Zverev, Sabalenka battle through Down by two frames, Aditya, who is the son of former world billiards champion Ashok Shandilya, staged a comeback with a couple of tidy breaks to win the next four on the trot. Arivind Goud clinched a hard-fought 4-3 win against Jay Tollawala.
29 April,2025 07:52 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentIndia bagged 13 gold and three silver in an impressive medal haul in the South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championships here. The qualification event for this year’s Youth Asian Championships saw the Indian contingent dominate the competition across various categories on Sunday. Also Read: Zverev, Sabalenka battle through The Indian teams grabbed three gold medals in the U-19 girls, U-15 boys, and U-15 girls sections and made a clean sweep of all six golds in the U-19 and U-15 doubles. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
29 April,2025 07:50 AM IST | Kathmandu | PTIWorld No.2 Alexander Zverev was taken to the limit by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a gripping Madrid Open third round battle on Sunday, progressing 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-0). The Spaniard, roared on by the partisan home crowd, broke in the first and third games to claim the first set with ease. Zverev fought to get back on serve after falling a break behind at the start of the third, and saved two break points in the ninth game before a tie-break. The German won it and was stronger in the third set, breaking for a 5-4 lead. However serving for the match, Zverev was broken to love by the in-form Davidovich Fokina, ranked 29th, but it was his last hurrah as the top seed dominated the second tie-break. Also Read: ‘Way better than 2020’ Zverev was warned by the umpire after he took a photograph during the match of a ball mark, debating an electronic line-call which said one of the Spaniard’s shots was in. Earlier, Andrey Rublev’s Madrid Open title defence hit the rocks in a defeat by Alexander Bublik. Bublik beat Rublev 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 for his 10th win over a top-10 player, although the Russian is set to sink to 17th after his surprise exit in the Spanish capital. In the women’s draw, last year’s defeated finalist Aryna Sabalenka fought back to beat Elise Mertens and reach the last 16. Women’s World No.1 Sabalenka progressed 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 against Belgian Mertens, ranked 26th. Zverev gets warning for shooting photo of ball mark Top-seed Alex Zverev was warned by the umpire for taking a photo of a ball mark during the Madrid Open after complaining about electronic line-calling. Zverev told umpire Mohamed Lahyani there was a system ‘malfunction’ after shot from Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was called in while Zverev felt it had gone wide. When the umpire didn’t change his call, Zverev grabbed his phone and clicked a photo of the ball mark on the clay. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
29 April,2025 07:47 AM IST | Madrid | AFPFormer Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and legendary hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh were conferred with the prestigious Padma awards by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on April 28. The star-studded ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries. Congratulations to @ashwinravi99 on being conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award by the Hon'ble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn, honouring his remarkable achievements and an illustrious career with #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/8HlYQx3Dsl — BCCI (@BCCI) April 28, 2025 While Ashwin was honoured with the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honours, PR Sreejesh, who announced his retirement last year, was conferred with the Padma Bhushan. Sreejesh played a pivotal role in India's historic back-to-back Olympic medals in men's hockey, leading from the front at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and delivering an outstanding performance during his final Olympic appearance in Paris. #PadmaAwards2025 ||President #DroupadiMurmu confers the Padma Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan.Award: 𝐏𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐚 𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐧P R SreejeshField: SportsSreejesh P. R. is a Hockey Goalkeeper – 2 Olympic Medals, Awarded for outstanding performance and leadership. He has been… pic.twitter.com/yQHKglMnrB — All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) April 28, 2025 On the ceremonial day, Sreejesh made a notable impression by donning a traditional silk shirt and mundu as he received the award from President Murmu, with his family proudly cheering him on from the audience. Ashwin, meanwhile, appeared in a smart navy blue two-piece suit and was seen greeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah before stepping forward to accept his award. Ashwin, widely regarded as one of the finest spinners in Indian cricket history, announced his retirement from international cricket last year after India's Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He is currently playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. In addition to Ashwin and Sreejesh, several other notable athletes were honoured. Former footballer IM Vijayan and Paralympian Harvinder Singh, who won gold in archery at the Paris Paralympics, were both awarded the Padma Shri. Renowned para-athletics coach Satyapal Singh was also conferred with the Padma Shri. These accolades were announced earlier on January 25, on the eve of Republic Day. The Padma Awards, among India's most esteemed civilian honours, are presented in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. These awards recognise exemplary achievements across a range of fields, including the arts, public affairs, science and technology, commerce, literature, medicine, and social service. In the order of precedence, the Padma Shri is ranked as the fourth-highest civilian award, following the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, and Padma Bhushan.
28 April,2025 07:35 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentThe latest edition of the Baulkline snooker tournament will begin on April 28 at NSCI Worli. Baulkline 4.0 will feature 32 players, including India’s accomplished snooker star Pankaj Advani — the tournament’s defending champion. The winner will take home Rs 5 lakh at the conclusion of the competition on May 11. Also Read: Man Utd grab late goal for 1-1 draw vs Bournemouth
28 April,2025 07:59 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentIndian boxers continued their good run with as many as 14 pugilists moving to the finals of the Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships here in the capital city of Jordan. Nine of the 12 women’s U-15 boxers competing in the semis, won their respective bouts, while five boys secured at least a silver medal. Also Read: Barcelona edge Real Madrid in extra-time to win wild Copa del Rey final This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
28 April,2025 07:52 AM IST | Amman (Jordan) | PTIThe Indian women’s hockey team put in a gritty performance, but fell short against Australia A, going down 2-3 in their second game tour game, in Perth on Sunday. Also Read: Madrid Open: Sabalenka, Zverev into Round-of-16 It was India who took the early lead through Jyoti Singh (13’), after which the home side hit back with goals from Evie Stansby (17’), Dayle Dolkens (48’), and Jamie-Lee Surha (52’) finding the back of the net. The visitors’s second goal was scored by Sunelita Toppo (59’). This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
28 April,2025 07:46 AM IST | New Delhi | IANSADVERTISEMENT
