Picture Credit: X
China defeated Indian women’s team 5-0 in the third and final round of the Uber Cup 2024 group stage match on Tuesday, April 30 in Chengdu, China. Rafael Nadal defeated Pedro Cachin to reach the fourth round of the Madrid Open on Monday, April 29.
Read below to learn more about the latest happenings across various sporting disciplines in the last 24 hours.
Badminton
China defeat India 0-5 in third round of Uber Cup 2024
China defeated Indian women’s team 5-0 in the third and final round of the Uber Cup 2024 group stage match on Tuesday, April 30 in Chengdu, China. The match saw Anmol Kharb leaving the badminton court in tears due to an ankle injury. India have already secured their quarterfinal spot by winning games against Canada and Singapore. Notably, the Indian team is playing without star and two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu. Ishrani Baruah, who lost the game against Olympic champion and world-ranked 2 Chen Yu Fei, said, “A little disappointed in my game because I made too many errors, I thought I would play good with her but it was an easy win for her...the pace was really high, I had to increase my speed.”
India blank out England 5-0 to reach Thomas Cup 2024 quarterfinals
Indian men’s team reached the quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup 2024 with a 5-0 victory against England on Monday, April 29, in Chengdu, China. Along with India, Indonesia have also reserved its berth in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament. The winners of the tie between India and Indonesia on Wednesday, May 1, will emerge as group toppers. After the game, HS Prannoy said, “The idea today was to be clinical. We saw against Thailand that one result here and that can affect us. I am happy to give a winning start as it also helps my confidence.”
Seven Indian shuttlers confirm Paris Olympics 2024 berths
Seven Indian shuttlers including two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics based on their Olympic Games Qualification rankings. While HS Prannoy, Sindhu, and Lakshya Sen had already confirmed their berth, the formalities concluded on April 29, which was the deadline set by the BWF. Apart from them, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, Tanisha Crasto, and Ashwini Ponnappa made the cut. On the other hand, the duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand missed out on the qualification narrowly.
Tennis
Rafael Nadal battles past Pedro Cachin to reach Madrid Open fourth round
Rafael Nadal defeated Pedro Cachin to reach the fourth round of the Madrid Open on Monday, April 29. The Spaniard defeated his rival 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 to make it to the fourth round at a tour-level event for the first time since 2022. After the game, he said, "Some moments were good, some moments not good, but I found a way to go through. In the third set, even with some mistakes, I was able to be a little more unpredictable and that probably changed the match."
Daniil Medvedev gets into heated argument with chair umpire in Madrid Open
Daniil Medvedev got into a heated argument with the chair umpire during the third-round match against the USA’s Sebastian Korda at the Madrid Open 2024. Medvedev asked the chair umpire to close the roof as it started drizzling after the first round. However, the umpire denied the request and said that he could not make the decision. Medvedev told the umpire, “Maybe close the roof no.” When he was told that it was an outdoor event he could not make the decision, and it was based on the weather, Medvedev reiterated and said, “Who they? Illuminati? Illuminati.”
Football
Messi, Suarez, Alba, & Busquests attend Miami's Playoff game vs Boston
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba paid a visit to the Kaseya Center in Florida to watch the NBA playoffs Game 4 between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics in the Round 1. The Inter Miami FC mates were accompanied by their friends and families. However, the presence of Messi and other stars didn’t inspire their NBA side as they went down to Boston Celtics with an 88-102 margin in the fourth game of the playoffs round 1. With this defeat, the heats are now trailing by 1-3 in the playoffs and another defeat could hand them defeat in round 1.
Anne Hathaway goes crazy reacting to Arsenal star Trossard's special message for her
The Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway was overjoyed as she reacted to a special message to Belgium forward Leandro Trossard, who plays for his favourite football club, Arsenal. Hathaway caught the eyes of football fans when expressed her loyalty towards the North London Premier League club during the promotions for her film, The Idea of You. Hathaway was out for words as expressed, "Are you kidding me? Yeah," before saying, "I'm a little like uh yeah um yeah no no I'm shaking okay." While Galitzine was left awestruck as he expressed, Yeah, I mean, so, okay, I'm way, like, I'm more starstruck with... athletes than anything else and so."
Premier League clubs vote in principle to introduce spending cap
On Monday, April 29, the Premier League clubs voted in principle to introduce a spending cap as part of the “squad cost” rules, which will come into effect from the 2025-26 season. It has been reported that the majority of the Premier League clubs have voted in favour of the spending cap at a Premier League stakeholders’ meeting in London. The spending cap in the Premier League will be determined by the amount of money earned in television rights by the lowest-earning club. If the spending cap is approved in the upcoming Premier League Annual General Meeting in June, then it will replace the current Profit and Sustainability from the 2025-26 season.
Major football results
Chile-Primera Division
Audax Italiano 0-1 Cobresal
Brazil-Serie C
EC Sao Jose 1-2 Confianca
England-Championship
Preston 0-3 Leicester
France-Ligue 2
Dankerque 1-3 Auxerre
