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Former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales has pressed that he 'can't understand' why his kissing incident with Spanish footballer J enni Hermoso was labelled as sexual assault. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced India’s squads for the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 on April 4, Thursday.
Read below to learn more about the latest sporting events in the last 24 hours.
Football
Luis Rubiales questions charges of 'sexual assault' for kissing Jenni Hermoso
Infamous Former Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales has pressed that he 'can't understand' why his kissing incident with Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso was labelled as sexual assault. Rubiales was charged with harassment after he kissed Hermoso after Spain's Women's World Cup women's final win against England last August. Rubiales has slammed the judge who charged him with sexual assault over his 'unwanted' Hermoso kiss. Speaking to journalist Ana Pastor, Rubiales said, "I think his way of describing my words is manipulative. I cannot understand that anyone could think this was a sexual assault" before rejecting any coercion by saying, "I only spoke 10 or 15 seconds with Miss Hermoso."
Fox runs into Fratton Park during Portsmouth vs Derby County League One clash
The League One match between title contenders Portsmouth and Derby County was interrupted by a fox who trotted across Fratton Park. The incident occurred in the first half when the Rams were in possession when the fox ran alongside the goal-line in front of the Fratton End. The Vulpine's appearance in Portsmouth was a short one as the play quickly resumed on a cold and windy night on the south coast. Derby's Joe Ward opened the scoring in the 23rd minute before Abu Kamara quickly slotted home to bring Pompey level in a space of four minutes. Soon Ward completed his brace, putting Derby in the lead again but substitute Moxon's stunning long-range strike in the second half helped Portsmouth settle for a 2-2 draw.
Major football results
Premier League
Arsenal 2-0 Luton
Man City 4-1 Aston Villa
India I League
Neroca FC 1-1 Sreenidi Deccan FC
Italy Coppa Italia SF
Fiorentina 1-0 Atlanta
France Coupe de France SF
PSG 1-0 Rennes
Badminton
BAI announces India’s squad for BWF Thomas Cup 2024
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) announced India’s squads for the BWF Thomas and Uber Cup 2024 on April 4, Thursday. The tournament is set to be played in Chengdu, China from April 27 to May 5. The Thomas Cup squad will have five singles players including Kiran George, HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and Priyanshu Rajawat with Sai Pratheek as a backup player to the doubles pair. The squad will have Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, and MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila for the men’s doubles.
BAI announces India’s squad for BWF Uber Cup 2024
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) decided to allow young players after top players in both singles and doubles pulled out. The squad will have Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha, and Isharani Baruah; (Doubles) Shruti Mishra, Priya Konjengbam, Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker. The BAI general secretary Sanjay Mishra said, “The Uber Cup team also looks good with the talented young players. I wish them the best of luck and hope they will make the nation proud with their performances."
Anmol Kharb and four Indians enter the Kazakhstan International Challenge
Young Indian shuttler Anmol Kharb progressed to the women’s singles quarterfinals along with four other Indians at the Kazakhstan International Challenge on Thursday. Devika Sihag, the former national champion Anupama Upadhyay, Tanya Hemanth and Isharani Baruh made it to the last-eight stage of the tournament. Anmol defeated UAE’s Nurani Ratu Azzahra 21-11, 21-7 in the second round. In her next match, Anmol will clash against Japan’s Sorano Yoshikawa.
Tennis
I became tired of Novak Djokovic, he became tired of me: Goran Ivanisevic
Goran Ivanisevic spoke about his split with Novak Djokovic and reflected upon the latter’s loss to Carlos Alcaraz and his decline after that. Ivanisevic told Sport Klub, “I mean, there isn’t really a “real” reason (for the split). One reason is indeed a sense of saturation/fatigue, this really was a difficult and intense five years. We reached a certain level of saturation, as I like to say: 'material fatigue’. Basically, I became tired of him, he became tired of me; in any case, I didn’t feel like I could help him anymore."
Credit to my dad, probably smartest guy I know: Emma Navarro
Emma Navarro thanked her father and revealed how her father, billionaire and owner of the Charleston Open, Ben Navarro, influenced her mindset. She said, “I got to give a lot of credit to my dad. He's probably the smartest guy I know and he's dropped a lot of knowledge and wisdom on my siblings and I over the years. He actually taught a class last semester at College of Charleston on mindset and, yeah, just being intentional to name the class was intentionality.”
Chess
Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen gives verdicts on Indian grandmasters at Candidates 2024
Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen gave his verdict on Indian grandmasters’ performance at the Candidates. Speaking about Praggnanandhaa, Carlsen said, “I don’t think Pragg is ready to win the tournament. He’s very unlikely to win. But I also cannot see it going really poorly for him. He has weak moments, but he’s fairly stable psychologically. He has an improving repertoire and is very serious.” About D.Gukesh, he said, “I cannot imagine him winning the Candidates. I think he will certainly win at least a couple of games but will have some fairly bad losses as well. I don’t think he will do poorly, but I don’t think he will do too well either. He’s not quite ready yet to make the leap. It’s more likely that he has a bad event.”
Hockey
Cash prize helps me support my family: HI Player of the Year Salima Tete
Hockey India women’s Player of the Year winner Salima Tete said that the award not only boosted her morale but also helped her support her farmer family back in Jharkhand. She said, “When my family heard that I had been presented with the award, they were also really proud of me. As part of the honour, we also receive cash incentives, which is also a huge thing for me. When I win this money, my family wins this money.” She added, “I express my gratitude to Hockey India for making such provisions, and because of their support, I am able to provide and help my family members in our day-to-day lives.”