November 15, 2023 saw a bunch of notable headlines in Indian sports, the big one among them being India beating New Zealand to advance to the final of the men's ICC Cricket World Cup. HS Prannoy was the only Indian to win at the Japan Masters, while Rohan Bopanna and Mathew Ebden bounced back top winning ways in the ATP World Tour Finals.
Here's how the day transpired:
A phone call that saved Kishore Kumar Jena's career
Indian javelin star Kishore Kumar Jena had a breakthrough where he won silver at the Asian Games and qualified for the Paris Olympics. However, there was a time back in July when he contemplated quitting sport. A tear-filled 3am conversation with his father convinced him to pull along and today, he is India's second-best javelin thrower.
He spoke to our correspondent Shyam Vasudevan today and open up about how he very nearly walked away from athletics -
The 3am phone call that saved Kishore Jena's career and gave India its second javelin hero
Shami, Kohli steer India into World Cup final
A scintillating batting display from Virat Kohli and some incredible bowling from Mohammed Shami see India beat New Zealand by 70 runs and advance to the final of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. Kohli smashed his career's 50th ODI century to help India to a formidable total of 397, while Shami wreaked havoc with the ball to seal the deal. New Zealand, powered by Daryl Mitchell's century, looked well-poised until the 30th over but that's when Shami came to the fore.
The Indian pacer finished with 7/57 - the best figures in a World Cup for an Indian. Shami is also the leading wicket-taker of the 2023 World Cup with 23 wickets.
Now, who will India face in Sunday's final? We'll find out tomorrow when Australia and South Africa face-off in the second semifinal in Kolkata.
INDIA HAVE MADE THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP FINAL SINCE 2011 ��#INDvNZ #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/7FSngF0tuD
- ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) November 15, 2023
Bopanna-Ebden notch up a win at ATP World Tour Finals
India's Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden got back to winning ways as they beat the Australian duo of Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler 6-4, 6-4 in the ATP World Tour Finals today. The third seeds had lost their first match yesterday and will now have to watch tomorrow's other match between Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury and Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski to find out whether they will progress.
Prannoy keeps the flag flying in Japan
The Indian interest at the BWF Japan Masters has been reduced to just HS Prannoy, after losses for Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat today. Prannoy himself was made to work extremely hard by Hong Kong's Lee Cheuk Yiu, winning in three games 22-20 19-21 21-17. Lakshya was comprehensively beaten by Japanese third seed Kodai Naraoka 21-17 21-10. Rajawat also lost in straight games, going down 15-21 12-21 to Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi.
Back in the game after a break, relishing a hard-fought win on the court. Missed this feeling more than words can express. There's truly nothing better than that.#HSP #Japanopen pic.twitter.com/Mj5zgQF1UJ
- PRANNOY HS (@PRANNOYHSPRI) November 15, 2023
Wenger to launch AIFF-FIFA Academy on November 21
FIFA's chief of global football development, the legendary Arsene Wenger, is set to open the AIFF-FIFA Academy on November 21 in Bhubaneswar. Wenger will launch the academy which has been set up under the FIFA Talent Development Scheme.
The AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey said that during his visit to India from November 19 to 23, Wenger is set to meet various stakeholders involved in youth development in Indian Football.
Incidentally, India also face Qatar in a World Cup qualifier in Bhubaneswar on the same day, a match that the former Arsenal manager is set to attend as well.
The academy marks another milestone in Bhubaneswar becoming a hub for Indian sports, with Indian hockey also setting up base in the Odisha capital.
And then there were two...
Priyanshu Rajawat has suffered a first-round loss in the Japan Masters, with the world no. 30 going down to world no. 21 Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei in straight games. Priyanshu had begun the tie well, leading 5-2 in the first game, but quickly relinquished the lead and never led in the tie thereafter, going down 15-21, 12-21 in 32 minutes. It leaves HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen as India's only two representatives left in the tournament.
Priyanshu's loss continues the spate of disappointing results for India in Japan, especially after top seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a shock exit in the first round yesterday, going down 21-16, 18-21, 16-21 to Lu Ching Yao and Yan Po Han of Chinese Taipei - a pair they had defeated in straight games at the French Open last year.
After their gold-medal winning heroics at the Asian Games that saw Satwik-Chirag become the world no.1, the duo have made first and second round exits in the three tournaments thereafter. For those worried about their form taking a downturn ahead of the Paris Olympics - it might be a bit too soon to ring any alarm bells. This is the fifth time Satwik-Chirag have made a first-round exit in 2023 - the pair seem to time their peaks perfectly in time for the big tournaments.
What's in store today?
It's a fairly quiet one. Apart from the match at the ICC Cricket World Cup. We need not remind you that India face New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal at the Wankhede in Mumbai today - unless you've been living under a rock. Which, given Mumbai's real estate situation, is a distinct possibility.
Either way, you can follow live coverage from the game, which begins at 2pm IST, here. We also have the ODI World Cup digest for a quick roundup of the tournament in general, here. For those catching the game on their television screens, keep an eye out for Manchester United legend, David Beckham, who is slated to attend the game.
Apart from the cricket, Indian sportspersons are also in action at the Japan Masters 500. Lakshya Sen begins his tournament with a tough tie against third seed Kodai Naraoka of Japan - with Lakshya trailing 2-3 in their H2H. HS Prannoy starts against Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong (2-2 H2H). Those are some tough fixtures for India's badminton stars - and we could very well end the day with the Indian interest in the tournament ending in the first round itself. Ouch.
There's also squash to look forward too, with Saurav Ghosal and Ramit Tandon in action at the Vitagen Singapore Squash Open. Ghosal takes on world no. 3 Mostafa Asal of Egypt, hoping to book his spot in the quarterfinal, as does Tandon, who faces former world no. 1 Diego Elias of Peru.
We will also have a lookahead for India's crucial FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kuwait, which takes place on Wednesday. With injuries to his starting XI, coach Igor Stimac has his work cut out.
What happened yesterday?
The detailed version of yesterday's events can be accessed here. Here are the cliff notes, however:
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy - Chirag Shetty suffered a shock exit from the Japan Masters in the first round.
Neeraj Chopra was named among the five nominees for the IAAF's World Athlete of the Year award.
UWW announced the axing of gold medal bouts at the Continental and World Qualifiers for the Paris Olympics, with the winning semifinalists automatically earning quotas.