Anirban Lahiri shoots 67, lies T20

Lahiri shoots 67, lies T20

Playa Del Carmen (Mexico): India’s Anirban Lahiri carded a 4-under 67 that placed him at tied-20th at the end of the opening round of the World Wide Technology Golf Championship here. Lahiri struck four birdies on the front nine and three more on the second nine. But he also dropped three shots between 12th and 17th. Matthew Wolff fired a 10-under 61 to match his career low on the PGA Tour. It gave him a two-shot lead.

Aditi tied-40

Kaec (Saudi Arabia): Indian golfers Aditi Ashok, Tvesa Malik and Diksha Dagar were off to modest starts in the Aramco Saudi Ladies International here. Aditi (73) was the leading Indian at T-40th, while Tvesa and Diksha carded 2-over 74s each and were T-53rd. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko shared the lead at 5-under.

Jaglan T-13 after 69

Dubai: Shubham Jaglan carded a 2-under 69 in the third round of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. With three straight under-par rounds, the 17-year-old Jaglan is 6-under and five behind the leader at T-13th. — PTI

Riga (Latvia)

Indian GM Sasikiran loses to Firouzja, slips to third

Indian Grandmaster K Sasikiran went down to Alireza Firouzja of France in the eighth round of the open event to slip to third spot in the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament here. Firouzja won in 43 moves to move up to 6.5 points and grab the sole lead by a full point. Sasikiran remained on five points to share the third spot with a bunch of players, including compatriots Nihal Sarin and P Harikrishna.

Dubai

Under-strength NZ squad to head to India for Test tour

New Zealand will head into their Test series against India without pace spearhead Trent Boult and all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme and with a number of players lacking match practice due to Covid-19 lockdowns. Boult and De Grandhomme opted out of the two-Test tour due to ‘bubble’ fatigue.

Barcelona

Qatari club agrees to let Xavi become Barcelona coach

Xavi Hernandez, the player who personified the attacking style popularized by Barcelona and Spain’s national team, is close to returning to Camp Nou as coach. Xavi’s current employer, Qatari club Al-Sadd, said today that the former midfielder would be freed from his coaching contract once his release clause is paid. His current contract runs into 2023. The buyout clause is reportedly ^5 million. — Agencies