Sports World: Mirabai Chanu Qualifies For Olympics; Mumbai City FC Inch Closer To ISL League Shield - As It Happened

Today, April 1, 2024 was a busy day for sports. The day began with Jannik Sinner defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the Miami Open final to be crowned the men's singles champion. In football leagues, Arsenal drew 0-0 with Manchester City, while Real Madrid and PSG posted wins over Athletic Club and Marseille respectively. In cricket action, Sri Lanka ended day 3 of the 2nd Test against Bangladesh with a massive 455-run lead. In the evening, Mumbai Indians were handed their third straight loss this season, this time by Rajasthan Royals in what was Hardik Pandya's first game at the Wankhede Stadium as MI captain. Mirabai Chanu also booked her ticket to Paris Olympics today. Get all the highlights and updates on the sporting action right here. (Cricket News | Football News)

Jannik Sinner has won his third title of the season as he finally became the Miami Open champion.

The Italian, who claimed the Australian Open in January and followed it up with victory in Rotterdam, put in a scintillating display to beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 6-1 in Florida.

His success sees the 22-year-old become the new world number two and avenges defeats in the final here in 2021 and 2023.

Arsenal women's team manager Jonas Eidevall said it was "very scary" when Frida Maanum collapsed on the pitch at Molineux, but revealed she is "doing well" and was travelling back to London with the squad.

Play was paused in second-half stoppage time of last night's League Cup final, with paramedics called and medical staff encircling the 24-year-old Norway international, who was placed on a stretcher and carried off after about seven minutes.

Arsenal confirmed soon after the incident: "Frida is conscious, talking and in a stable condition. She will continue to be monitored closely by our medical team. We’re all with you, Frida."

Eidevall added: "I have been able to have a conversation with her but not on a medical perspective.

"I just checked in with her, how she is doing and telling her that we won and understanding a little bit about the next steps, but I don’t have any medical update.

"She is going to travel back with the team and after that we will provide an update."

Liverpool lead the way in the race for the English Premier League 2023-24 title after Manchester City and Arsenal played a 0-0 draw.

A 2-1 comeback victory over Brighton has left Jurgen Klopp's team on top of the table — two points ahead of second-place Arsenal and three clear of City in third, with nine games to go.

Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has been handed an INR 12 lakh fine for maintaining a slow over rate during the Indian Premier League 2024 game against Chennai Super Kings in Visakhapatnam last night. Delhi Capitals pulled off a convincing 20-run win over defending champions CSK.

"Rishabh Pant, the Delhi Capitals captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their IPL match against Chennai Super Kings," an IPL statement read.

"As it was his team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Pant was fined Rs 12 lakhs," it added.

Nelly Korda won her hometown event in a playoff after closing eagle-birdie. She withstood brutal wind in Southern California to win in another playoff last week. The world No. 1 made it three straight by staying steady through a soggy Sunday in the desert.

Korda became the first LPGA Tour player in eight years to win three straight starts, shooting a 7-under 65 to rally for for a two-stroke victory in the Ford Championship, Associated Press reports.

Stephan Jaeger couldn't have dreamed up a better scenario for his first PGA Tour victory. He played the final 36 holes with the best player in the world, and he won the Houston Open to earn his first trip to the Masters.

Jaeger closed with nine straight pars, and that was just enough for a 3-under 67 to finally win in his 135th attempt on the PGA Tour.

Chennai Super Kings coach head coach said his side were a "little bit off" during their loss to Delhi Capitals in Indian Premier League 2024 last night. He, however, lauded MS Dhoni for his pyrotechnics at the end.

"It was beautiful wasn't it. He has been playing incredibly well pre-season. He is coming back from quite a serious injury. His batting has been superb. it gave us a positive vibe towards the end of a tough day," Fleming said after the game.

Luka Doncic delivered another sensational performance by tallying 47 points and 12 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks cruised to a 125-107 victory over the Houston Rockets in a clash of the NBA's hottest teams.

Doncic added seven assists and Kyrie Irving contributed 24 points to the Mavericks' seventh consecutive win, tying a season high. Dallas also set a season best by making 24 3-pointers - with Doncic hitting nine in 16 attempts - while shooting 51.1 per cent from beyond the arc.

Emma Hayes, the incoming coach of the U.S. women's national team, appeared to push Arsenal women's team coach Jonas Eidevall and later called out his “male aggression” after Chelsea's quadruple bid ended with defeat in the Women's English League Cup final.

The incident followed a touchline fracas with Blues midfielder Erin Cuthbert late in the Gunners' 1-0 extra-time victory. Eidevall was quick to defend his behaviour, saying the disagreement began with a pre-match decision, favoured by Chelsea, to use a one-ball system in the final instead of Arsenal’s multi-ball preference.

Asked about the Cuthbert incident, Hayes told BBC Sport: “I think there’s a way to behave on the side of the pitch and, not for the first time… I’ve been in women’s football a long time and I don’t think we should tolerate male aggression like we did today. Fronting up or squaring up to a player is something that’s unacceptable."

If Rishabh Pant's incredible journey from a near-death car accident to hitting one-handed sixes in Indian Premier League 2024 does not inspire someone then they are probably "not true human beings", former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has said.

The 26-year-old returned to competitive cricket after a 14-month gap, having recovered from the horrifying car crash in December 2022. The wicketkeeper-batter had suffered severe injuries, which required a major knee surgery and extensive rehabilitation.

"You're not a true human being if you're not inspired by Rishabh Pant, the way he was able to come out and turn it on like that. It took him a little while to find his feet but once he let those shackles off, he played some 'Rishabh Pant' shots, and they were extraordinary," Watson said on Jio Cinema.

The BCCI has invited owners of the 10 IPL teams for an informal meeting in Ahmedabad on April 16, PTI reports. The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the game between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

"The IPL owners have been invited for an informal meeting. There is no set agenda. Since IPL will be into its second month, it will be a good time for all stakeholders to get together," a BCCI official told PTI.

India's weightlifting spearhead Mirabai Chanu has more or less confirmed her Paris Olympic Games 2024 berth, after finishing third in the women's 49kg Group B event of the IWF World Cup 2024 in Phuket, Thailand.

Returning from a six-month injury lay-off, Chanu lifted a total of 184kg (81kg+103kg) at the tournament, which is the final and a mandatory qualifier for the Paris Olympics.

Sri Lanka are in firm control of the second Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram. The hosts were bowled out for a modest total of 178 runs on Day 3 and SL are currently batting at 72/4.

This gives the visitors a massive lead of 425 runs, with six wickets still in hand. With two full days still to go, defeat looks imminent for the Bangla Tigers.

The National Esports Championships will commence on April 18, the Esports Federation of India announced today. The NESC will provide a platform for players across India to demonstrate their prowess in DOTA 2 (Open), eFootball (Open), and Counter-Strike 2 in the open and female categories. The online qualifiers, set to commence from April 18, will be played in a double-elimination format.

The National Esports Championships (NESC) will start on April 18, the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) announced on Monday, according to PTI reports.

The NESC will provide a platform for players across India to demonstrate their prowess in DOTA 2 (Open), eFootball (Open), and Counter-Strike 2 in the open and female categories.

The online qualifiers, set to commence on April 18, will be played in a double-elimination format.

Giving prominence to experience over youthful exuberance, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand feels the three Indian participants remain far from winning the Candidates chess title, saying they "should first settle into the tournament."

The tournament, which will determine the challenger for the next World Championship, will be held in Toronto from April 3-22.

The immensely talented R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh and Vidit Gujrathi are the three Indians competing in the meet's open category. (PTI)

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jasprit Bumrah, Kwena Maphaka

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal

Ace Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal on Monday achieved a career-high ranking of 95 in the ATP singles chart, following impressive results in recent times.

His previous best was 97 in February, which he had attained after winning the Chennai Open, an ATP Challenger series event. (PTI)

With the draw, Aizawl moved up to the eighth spot in the table with 25 points from 21 matches. Namdhari, on the other hand, remained in 11th spot with 24 points from 23 games.

Sthavi Asthana was crowned champion in the individual category at the National Eventing Championship that concluded here on Monday.

It is his second successive podium finish in the two-legged Nationals, having secured a third-place finish in the opening leg. (PTI)

Tokyo Olympics silver-medallist Mirabai Chanu all but qualified for the 2024 Paris Games after she finished third in the women's 49kg Group B event of the IWF World Cup on Monday.

Hardik Pandya and Tilak Verma scored thirties while Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal picked 3 wickets each.

Mirabai Chanu finished 3rd in Group B of women's 49kg at the Weightlifting World Cup with a total of 184kg.

Hyderabad 0-3 Mumbai City FC

Rajasthan Royals defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets to register their third consecutive win in this edition of the IPL and handing MI their third consecutive defeat.

The top seeded Indian men's doubles pair of Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah finished runner-up after losing 2-3 to Korean duo of Kim Minhyeok and Park Ganghyeon in the final of the WTT Feeder Otocec in Slovenia.

The Indian players lost 12-10 8-11 11-7 12-14 8-11 to the lower-ranked Koreans in the summit clash. (PTI)

The legendary Jeev Milkha Singh and his 14-year-old son Harjai Milkha Singh will be in action at the inaugural Chandigarh Open which will witness some of the top golfers teeing off at the Chandigarh Golf Club. (PTI)

As we bring an end to today's coverage, we hope you have enjoyed our live updates. Till then, good night!