Thu, Feb 22, 2024 page7

• SPORTS BRIEFS

  • Agencies
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  TENNIS

  Taiwan’s Wu makes quarters

  Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and her Norwegian partner, Ulrikke Eikeri, yesterday beat seventh seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 10-6 in their round-of-16 women’s doubles match at the Dubai Open. They next face Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Germany’s Laura Siegemund in the quarter-finals after they shocked top seeds Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and her Belgian partner, Elise Mertens, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 10-8.

  CHESS

  Eight-year-old takes record

  An eight-year-old on Sunday became the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess when Ashwath Kaushik beat Poland’s Jacek Stopa at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. Indian-born Ashwath, who lives in Singapore, defeated 37-year-old Stopa to break the record set a month earlier by Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia when he beat grandmaster Milko Popchev, the Chess.com Web site said. Ivanovic is also aged eight, but was born five months before Ashwath. “It felt really exciting and amazing, and I felt proud of my game and how I played, especially since I was worse at one point, but managed to come back from that,” Ashwath told Chess.com. Ashwath learned to play the game at the age of four, and became a World Under-Eight Rapid Champion in 2022, the Web site said. “He picked it up on his own, playing with his grandparents,” his father Kaushik Sriram said. “It’s surreal as there isn’t really any sports tradition in our families. Every day is a new discovery.” Ashwath finished the tournament in 12th place after losing to International Master Harry Grieve.

  SOCCER

  Son, Lee ‘sorry’ for fight

  Son Heung-min yesterday apologized for his role in a bust-up with South Korea teammate Lee Kang-in at the AFC Asian Cup and urged fans to forgive the Paris Saint-Germain player. “Kang-in has been going through a very difficult time after the incident,” Tottenham Hotspur’s Son wrote. South Korea were beaten 2-0 by Jordan at the tournament earlier this month and it later emerged that skipper Son had dislocated a finger in an altercation with Lee on the eve of the semi-final. Lee, who has been blamed by fans for the fracas and dumped by advertisers, said yesterday that he had traveled to London to apologize to Son in person. The incident at the Asian Cup reportedly happened after some younger players, including Lee, rushed through their meal so they could leave to play table tennis. This displeased Son and some of the older players, because meals on the eve of big games are seen as a time for bonding. Lee then tried to punch Son, local media reported.

  CRICKET

  Kohli has second child

  Virat Kohli has announced the birth of his second child, ending speculation over the reason for his absence from India’s ongoing home Test series against England. Kohli said his wife, the Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, delivered a baby boy on Thursday last week. The couple already have a daughter named Vamika. “With abundant happiness and our hearts full of love, we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February, we welcomed our baby boy Akaay and Vamika’s little brother into this world,” Kohli wrote on Instagram.
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