Sports News: Heartbreak For India In Uber Cup QFs; Rohit Sharma, Ajit Agarkar Face Media - As It Happened

Another exciting day for sports fans. In badminton, India lost 0-3 to Japan in the Uber Cup whereas the men's team lost to China in the Thomas Cup quarterfinals today. In football, Dortmund beat PSG 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal. In the Madrid Open, Iga Swiatek won the match against Madison Keys in the women's singles semifinals. In IPL 2024, Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Rajasthan Royals by one run in a close encounter in Hyderabad. Catch the highlights of all the sporting action for today, 2 May 2024, here.

WS1: Aya Ohori vs Ashmita Chaliha
WD1: Nami Matsuyama - Chiharu Shida vs Priya Konjengbam - Shruti Mishra
WS2: Nozomi Okuhara vs Isharani Baruah
WD2: Rena Miyaura - Ayako Sakuramoto vs Simran Singhi - Ritika Thaker
WS3: Tomoka Miyazaki vs Tanvi Sharma

Canada have named their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Here's the full squad -

Ashmita Chaliha lost to Aya Ohori 21-10 20-22 21-15 to hand Japan the initiative in the first game. Next up its - Nami Matsuyama - Chiharu Shida vs Priya Konjengbam - Shruti Mishra.

To read more about this, check the article here -

India have lost their quarter-final bout to Japan in the Uber Cup 2024. Nozomi Okuhara defeated Isharani Baruah 21-15 21-12 to take the tie in Japan's favour.

Here's is the detailed schedule with IST timings for India vs China QF at Thomas Cup

PSG defender Lucas Hernandez suffered an injury in the 1st leg semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.

IND cricket captain Rohit Sharma and BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar will be facing the media soon and give their take on the 15-man squad that will fly out to the USA and West Indies in June.

The press conference will begin at 4:15 PM as we await Rohit Sharma and Ajit Agarkar's arrival.

"Not everything will go your way, it's been a great experience, it's nothing new to me to captain the side. Before in my life, I was also not captain and played under different captains. I have always tried to do what's required as a player and I have tried to do that in the last 1 month" said Rohit Sharma when asked about his captaincy in the upcoming T20 world cup.

"KL Rahul has been opening in the IPL. We were mainly looking for middle-order options. So, we felt that Samson and Pant are better suited for that. Samson can bat anywhere in the lineup. So, it was just about what we needed and not about who was better," said Ajit Agarkar when asked about the reason behind KL Rahul's exclusion from India's squad.

"Not his fault that he missed out. Did nothing wrong and Shubman Gill as well for that matter. It was all about the combination we wanted. Wanted to have enough options with regards to wristspinners. Chahal, Kuldeep give us that. Axar Patel is the allrounder and then two wicketkeepers," said Ajit Agarkar.

5 tareekh ko match hai, abhi bolke kya karunga? Abhi kyun jaanna hai aapko combination? (The match will be held on May 5, what is the point of saying that right now? Why do you want to know that?) said the skipper Rohit Sharma to the press.

"I wanted four spinners. Match starts at probably 10-10:30 am in the morning. There's a little bit of technical aspect in picking four spinners. Probably will address during the World Cup. And three seamers with Hardik being the fourth. You get the balance. With two spinners – Jadeja and Axar – allrounders can bat. We will decide our combinations depending on the opposition. There's a chance both Kuldeep and Chahal play together. All sorts of combination possible," said Rohit Sharma at the press conference.

Aimed at empowering underprivileged children, India's top tennis player Rohan Bopanna has picked 25 such kids from the remote areas of Majuli Island and Bongaigaon in Assam, for support.

The collaborative initiative between Rohan Bopanna Tennis Academy (RBTA) and Kamal India Foundation UK will provide comprehensive tennis training to the selected kids who are aged between 9 and 11. (PTI)

India captain Rohit Sharma on Thursday said the team management was crystal clear about picking as many as four spinners for the T20 World Cup in the Americas, asserting that IPL had very little role to play in deciding the final 15, according to PTI reports.

India have picked four spinners and three pacers in the squad, a move that has attracted diverse views. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are the two wrist spinners while Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are the all-rounders who bowl left-arm spin.

India chief selector Ajit Agarkar on Thursday defended Hardik Pandya's inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad, saying that "there is no replacement for what he can do" and also asserted that players' performances in IPL did not influence the selection, according to PTI reports.

Hardik, who is enduring a very difficult IPL season as captain of Mumbai Indians, was not just picked in the Indian team for the upcoming showpiece but was also made the team's vice-captain, leaving many in the cricket fraternity surprised.

Sakshi Malik on Thursday lashed out at BJP for choosing former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's son, Karan, as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from the Kaiserganj seat in Uttar Pradesh, saying the decision has defeated the country's daughters, according to PTI reports.

Top wresters, including Sakshi, Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, had accused Brij Bhushan of sexually harassing women wrestlers during his tenure as Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and sat at Jantar Mantar for months demanding his arrest.

"Not everything goes your way," acknowledged Rohit Sharma on Thursday as he reflected on a whirlwind last few months during which he lost his IPL captaincy to Hardik Pandya before finding him as his deputy for next month's T20 World Cup, according to PTI reports.

One of India's most admired cricketers, Rohit's removal as captain of Mumbai Indians surprised many in the fraternity and was a bitter pill to swallow for his legion of fans, many of whom also booed Hardik while he led the team out in the first few matches this IPL season.

Reims coach Will Still is leaving with three French league games left to play. The decision was mutual after a meeting involving Still and club president Jean-Pierre Caillot, the Champagne-based side said on Thursday, according to AP reports.

“In view of this decision, and in order to allow Stade de Reims to look ahead to the next season, it has also been decided that Will Still and his assistant Nicolas Still will step down from their respective roles with immediate effect,” the club said.

Paris Saint-Germain defender Lucas Hernandez will have surgery after rupturing his left knee ACL, almost certainly ruling him out of playing for France at the European Championship, according to AP reports.

Hernandez was injured on Wednesday night during the Champions League semifinal first leg against Borussia Dortmund, which PSG lost 1-0 in Germany.

West Indies batter Devon Thomas was banned for five years by the International Cricket Council on Thursday for match fixing, according to AP reports.

The Dubai-based ICC said 34-year-old Thomas admitted to “breaching seven counts of the anti-corruption codes of Sri Lanka Cricket, the Emirates Cricket Board, and the Caribbean Premier League.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a nervy one-run win over Rajasthan Royals in their Indian Premier League match in Hyderabad on Thursday, according to PTI reports.

Nitish Reddy (76 not out) and Travis Head (58) scored half centuries to help Sunrisers Hyderabad post 201/3 after opting to bat.

In reply, Riyan Parag (77) and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal (67) stitched a 133-run stand after Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked two wickets in the first over.

Virat Kohli's vast experience is worth its weight in gold in an event like the T20 World Cup and the selection committee never discussed about his strike-rate in the ongoing IPL, chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar said on Thursday, according to PTI reports.

Kohli has so far scored 500 runs in 10 innings with a hundred and four half-centuries. But what has been questioned is a strike-rate of 147 plus after opening the innings, which is less compared to some of the overseas openers like Travis Head (194 plus), Phil Salt (180 plus) and Sunil Narine (182 plus).

Kolkata Knight Riders' assistant coach Abhishek Nayar said on Thursday that Shreyas Iyer had taken some major disappointments, including an injury setbacks ahead of a crucial international season, in a "positive way" and will return to the grind of playing domestic cricket to come back stronger, according to PTI reports.

Iyer was grappling with a back problem ahead of IPL 2024 and there were reports he could even miss a few games for KKR in IPL 2024. But the skipper has come back strongly, scoring more than 250 runs, including a half century.

We will be taking your leave now. That's all for today. Thank you for joining. Goodnight!