Sports News Highlights: Gukesh Beats Pragg In Warsaw; IND-W Sweep BAN-W T20I Series 5-0

Welcome to the highlights of our coverage of all the sporting action from today, May 9 across the globe. The India women's cricket team beat Bangladesh by 21 runs in the fifth and final T20I to secure a 5-0 clean sweep. In IPL 2024, Punjab Kings lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 60 runs in match 58. As for football, Real Madrid are through to the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 final, after beating Bayern Munich 2-1 (4-3 aggregate) in the semis. Speaking of tennis, Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal notched up wins to advance in Italian Open. Meanwhile,Nikola Jokic won the NBA MVP award for the third time in four seasons. Catch all the highlights from the sports world on May 9, right here.

Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, has agreed to plead guilty to charges in the US. He is accused of illegally transferring nearly $17 million from Ohtani's bank account. As part of the deal with Los Angeles prosecutors, Mizuhara will plead guilty to bank fraud and subscribing to a false tax return.

Rory McIlroy's attempt to rejoin the PGA Tour's influential policy board has been thwarted. He revealed that old tensions resurfaced during discussions about how to move forward in golf's ongoing internal conflicts. Just five months ago, the world No. 2 stepped down from his position on the six-member player board in frustration.

Ellie Kildunne and Meg Jones from England to join Great Britain Sevens women's squad for SVNS Grand Final and Paris Olympics preparation.

In a thrilling showdown at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks demonstrated resilience and determination, securing a crucial victory against the Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night.

GM Kirill Shevchenko scored a perfect 6/6 on day one of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour in Poland, taking advantage of mistakes by GMs Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, and Vincent Keymer. GMs Magnus Carlsen and Nodirbek Abdusattorov are in second place, two points behind, after an eventful start to the tournament.

Twenty-one-year-old Shevchenko, born in Ukraine and now representing Romania, is playing as a wildcard in the first leg of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour.

Day two begins on Thursday, May 9, at 4:30 pm IST.

The third round of the 2024 Diamond League will take place on Friday, May 10th, in Doha, Qatar. Many athletics Olympians and champions will compete in track and field events, aiming to leave their mark in this highly anticipated stage of the Diamond League, which is held to Olympic standards.

The Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra and Asian Games silver medalist Kishore Jena will represent India in the 10-man javelin field at the Doha Diamond League on May 10. Both Neeraj and Kishore will kick off their season at the highest level in the Olympic year during this prestigious leg of the Diamond League meetings.

India won the toss and opted to bat first. Check out the streaming details below.

India set the target of 157 runs for Bangladesh.

Brief Score:

Shafali Verma - 14/14, Smriti Mandhana - 33/25, Dayalan Hemalatha - 37/28, Richa Ghosh - 28/17, Sanjeevan Sajana - 1/3, Deepti Sharma - 5/9

India - 156/5 in 20 Overs

Wrestling's global governing body United World Wrestling (UWW) has suspended India's Bajrang Punia till the end of 2024 after NADA's decision to hand him a provisional suspension for refusing to undergo a dope test. But surprisingly, the Sports Authority of India has allocated around 9 lakh INR for his overseas training despite being aware of NADA's order.

Former Indian tennis star and Davis Cupper Gaurav Natekar has announced the launch of World Pickleball League in the country. The opening edition of the league is likely to be held either towards the end of 2024 or in early 2025.

The Indian women's cricket team has vanquished hosts Bangladesh by 21 runs in the fifth and final T20I to sweep the series 5-0. Chasing India's target of 157 runs, Bangladesh could only muster 135/6 in their 20 overs. Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav is named the Player of the Match for her three-wicket haul.

Sri Lanka have included injured and recovering pacer Matheesha Pathirana in their squad for next month's ICC T20 World Cup. The team will be led by Wanindu Hasaranga, who is also returning from an injury.

Sri Lanka squad: Wanindu Hasaranga (captain), Charith Asalanka (vice-captain), Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madhushanka.

Travelling reserves: Asitha Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Janith Liyanage.

Jorginho, Arsenal's star midfielder, has signed a one-year contract extension with the club. His contract was due to expire at the end of this season, having penned an 18-month deal when he left Chelsea to join the Gunners in a £12million transfer last January.

Rain has stopped play in the Indian Premier League 2024 match between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Dharamsala. Hail could be seen falling on the HPCA stadium, set in the picturesque hilly terrain of Himachal Pradesh.

Before play was halted, the visitors were batting at 119/3 after 10 overs, with Virat Kohli (42 not out off 23 balls) at the crease and Rajat Patidar just dismissed. If the match gets washed out, both PBKS and RCB will be eliminated from the IPL 2024 play-offs race.

India's chess sensation, FIDE Candidates champion D Gukesh has recovered from a sedate start to defeat compatriot R Praggnanandhaa and Vincent Keymer in the Superbet rapid and blitz tournament, a part of the Grand Chess tour. Gukesh, with a lone draw out of three games, fights his way back at the expense of Praggnanandhaa in the first round of the day.

Indian table tennis star Manika Batra's giant-killing run at the Saudi Smash in Jeddah has ended in the women's singles quarter-finals. Manika loses to Japan's Hina Hayata 1-4, after becoming the first Indian woman TT player to enter the last-eight stage of an elite WTT event. She was coming off victories over world number two Wang Manyu and world number 14 Nina Mittelham.

Indian Greco-roman grapplers have failed to impress on the first day of the World Olympic Games Qualifiers, as they bow out in preliminary rounds in all six weight categories in Istanbul. Sumit (60kg), Ashu (67kg), Vikas (77kg), Sunil Kumar (87kg), Nitesh (97kg) and Naveen (130kg) lose their bouts, with the focus now shifting to freestyle.

India's trailblazing 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji has struck gold at the Harry Schulting Games at Vught, the Netherlands - the first outdoor competition of the season. The 24-year-old Yarraji, who won a silver medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, clocks 12.87 seconds to clinch gold in the World Athletics category E event.

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has recorded her first win over a top-20 opponent on clay, beating world number 20 Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round of Italian Open. Before this match, Osaka was 0-8 on clay against opponents in the top 20 of the WTA rankings. 

That concludes our coverage tonight. We will back in the morning with all that's current in the world of sports. Until then, goodbye.