China Archives

India’s tennis star Sumit Nagal denied visa to China

NEW DELHI: India’s leading men’s tennis player Sumit Nagal has revealed that China denied him a visa just weeks before he was scheduled to compete in the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff in Sichuan, leaving his participation in jeopardy.

Nagal, ranked 275 in the world, took to the social media platform X on Monday to express his frustration over the development.

“I am supposed to fly to China soon to represent India at the Australian Open Playoff. But my visa was rejected without reason,” the 28-year-old wrote.

The week-long qualifying tournament, which begins on November 24, offers players from the Asia-Pacific region a chance to secure direct entry into the main draw of the 2026 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year.

Nagal, who reached a career-high ranking of 68 in 2024, has represented India at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics.

He previously featured in the main draw at Melbourne Park twice, losing in the first round earlier this year and in the second round the year before.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

The tournament organisers have stated that players “should contact the Chinese consulate for information regarding visa requirements” and may request an official letter of invitation if needed.

However, they have yet to respond to inquiries from AFP regarding Nagal’s situation.

AFP also reached out to Nagal’s agent and China’s foreign ministry for comment, but received no immediate response.

The incident comes at a time when India and China are still working to rebuild ties strained by years of geopolitical tension.

The two nations, which share a long and disputed Himalayan border, only recently resumed direct flights after a five-year suspension following the pandemic and the deadly 2020 border clash in Ladakh.

READ: Zimbabwe arrive in Pakistan for T20I tri-series

Pakistan storms into U-18 Hockey Asia Cup semi-final with dominant win over China

DAZHOU: Pakistan eased past China with a 2-1 victory in the group stage fixture of the U-18 Hockey Asia Cup to seal a spot in the semi-final here at the Dazhou National Hockey Training Centre on Wednesday.

Green Shirts continued their unbeaten run in the tournament after displaying sheer dominance in the previously completed games.

Pakistan started the match in emphatic fashion, scoring a goal in the 11th minute thanks to Hassan Shehbaz’s brilliance.

Despite a thrilling second quarter that saw a total of four penalties awarded to each team, the score held steady at 1-0. Green Shirts netted a goal in the third quarter to take a decisive lead in the match.

Meanwhile, the hosts did make a comeback in the same minute as Jiaxing Lin scored a much-needed goal on a penalty corner.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

China made a valiant effort to score another goal and level the match, but their attempts were thwarted by goalkeeper Ghulam Mustafa, who ensured the scoreline remained intact.

The win continued Pakistan’s dominant winning run in the tournament, securing their position at the top of Group A with 12 points.

Earlier, defeated Bangladesh 6-3, Sri Lanka 9-0 and crushed Hong Kong 8-0 to mark the beginning of the campaign in a dominant fashion.

The Men in Green will now face Malaysia in the semi-final on Friday at the same venue.

The U18 Hockey Asia Cup, held in China from July 3 to July 13, features teams from 11 nations. The teams include China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.

Pakistan has been placed in Pool A alongside China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong.

Pakistan Hockey Squad for U-18 Asia Cup

Mohammad Usman, Atif Ali, Asam Junaid, Mohammad Abdullah Farooq, Abdullah Awan, Zubair Lateef, Mohammad Yaseen, Mohammad Ali Taj, Ghulam Mustafa, Ali Hamza, Ali Hamzad, Aamir Sohail, Adeel Afzal, Mohammad Zaman, Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Shaheer, Hasan Shahbaz, Yaseen Jamshaid

Team management

Shafqat Malik (manager); Mukhtar Ahmed, Touseeq Ahmed, Masood-ur-Rahman (coaches)

READ: Christian Horner sacked as Red Bull F1 team boss after 20 years

China edge past Pakistan in Asian Hockey Champions Trophy semi-final

HULUNBUIR CITY: China defeated Pakistan 2-0 in the penalty shoot-out during the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 semi-final clash here at the Moqi Hockey Training Base on Monday.

Pakistan and China both managed one goal each in the regular time after an intense battle, however, the Green Shirts failed to score a single penalty, leading to their ouster from the tournament.

The home side scored two goals in the penalty shoot-out to secure their place in the final.

For the unversed, Pakistan lost only one game in the group stages with arch-rivals India defeating them 2-1 in the final group match.

Pakistan started the blockbuster clash on a high as they took the lead just 10 minutes into the first quarter, courtesy of a precise assist from Hannan Shahid, who fed the ball inside the circle to Nadeem.

Nadeem effortlessly smashed the ball into the net to give Pakistan a head start.

Pakistan’s lead, however, was short-lived as India earned a penalty corner.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

India’s skipper Harmanpreet Singh took the penalty corner for India and successfully sent his drag-flick into the bottom-right corner, helping India equalise just a few minutes later.

The defending champions took the lead in the second quarter when Abhishek fed the ball to Harmanpreet near the circle, who similarly converted it into a goal.

The remaining two quarters of the blockbuster Asian Hockey Champions Trophy clash between arch-rivals Pakistan and India remained goalless despite both sides making ferocious attacks on each other’s goalposts.

The 2-1 victory over Pakistan, meant India won all of their group-stage fixtures and topped the standings with 15 points. Whereas, Pakistan had two victories and as many draws before their defeat against India.

Remember, Pakistan have already qualified for the semi-final of the ongoing Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 after thumping China 5-1 on Thursday.

Abdul Rehman opened the scoring for Pakistan before Nadeem Ahmed and Hannan Shahid scored two goals each to secure a dominant 5-1 victory for the Green Shirts.

This is Pakistan’s second consecutive victory in the tournament as they defeated Japan 2-1 in their third game.

READ: Former cricketer backs Mohammad Rizwan as future Pakistan captain

India beat China to kick off triumphant Asian Champions Trophy campaign

HULUNBUIR: Defending champions India kicked off their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory over China at the Moqi Hockey Training Base here on Sunday.

Sukhjeet Singh opened the scoring in the first quarter to give the defending champions an early lead.

China posed no threat to the Indian side as Uttam Singh and Abhishek scored in the second and third quarters, respectively to seal the victory.

India will next face Japan on September 9 before facing Malaysia, South Korea and Pakistan on September 11, 12 and 14 respectively.

Earlier today, Malaysia came from behind to draw 2-2 against Pakistan in their Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024 opener.

The Green Shirts started the game strongly as they took the lead in the second quarter, thanks to a goal by Sufyan Khan.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

In the third quarter, Nadeem Ahmed extended their lead with another goal, before Malaysia made a comeback with a goal from the penalty corner.

Pakistan were cruising towards victory with a 2-1 lead, however, Aiman Rozemi’s late goal helped Malaysia level the scores in the dying minutes of the game.

Meanwhile, in the opening game of the tournament, South Korea and Japan settled for a 5-5 stalemate in the opening game of the Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2024.

The ongoing tournament is the 8th edition of the Asian Champions Trophy. Pakistan have won the tournament in 2012 and 2013, while India have won in 2011, 2016 and 2023.

The 2018 edition saw Pakistan and India jointly sharing the trophy as the final was forfeited due to persistent rain.

Defending champions India won the prestigious tournament last year by defeating Malaysia 4–3 in the final.

READ: Afghanistan captain demands ‘one good home venue’ in India to improve in Test cricket

China top Asian Games 2023 with record 201 golds

Hosts China finished top of the Asian Games 2023 medals table with a record 201 golds, as Taiwan’s Gu Shiau-shuang won the final event in Hangzhou on Sunday.

Gu triumphed in the women’s karate -50kg kumite class, beating Kazakhstan’s Moldir Zhangbyrbay in the gold medal match by “Hantei” after a tight battle finished 5-5.

Earlier, Japan beat Macau to take the men’s team kata gold as the final karate competitions brought the curtain down on more than two weeks of action by 12,000 athletes in 40 sports.

China, who surpassed the 199 gold medals they won at the Guangzhou Games in 2010, also won 111 silvers and 71 bronze for a grand haul of 383 medals.

The hosts finished well clear of Japan on 52 golds and South Korea, on 42, in the final medals table.

The first gold medal of the Asian Games 2023 was won by China on the rowing lake on a drizzly Sunday morning two weeks ago.

Their 201st came in the pool in the final artistic swimming event, the team-free routine.

“We had a lot of expectations for these Games and really hoped to do well,” said victorious artistic swimmer Feng Yu.

“But we are not that satisfied with some of the performances today, so everyone is still a little bit nervous.

“We are very happy to get the qualification to the Paris Olympic Games.”

READ: Markram, South Africa smash World Cup records with Sri Lanka thrashing