ESPN’s daily live blog is the best news source for sports in India, with useful pages covering all the information about various Olympic sports and franchise leagues.

Saturday is an action-packed day for sports in India, with the first match of the AFC Asian Cup, the start of the Olympic qualifiers in hockey, and big matches in badminton and tennis.

Our live blog is updated throughout the day, so stay tuned for the latest information and analysis.

Key updates for Saturday, January 13th include:

India loses to USA in first Olympic qualifying match

The slow and toothless play of the Indian women was duly punished in their 1-0 loss to the USA in the opening match of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in Ranchi. Abigail Tamer scored America’s only goal of the game as India failed to create any significant chances.

India must win both of their remaining group matches against Italy and New Zealand to qualify for the Olympics.

Jaipur Pink Panthers dominate Puneri Paltan, Bengal Warriors defeat UP Yoddas.

Defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers produced one of the biggest upsets in PKL10 today as they defeated top-ranked Puneri Paltan. Arjun Deshwal was in great form as he scored 16 points in his team’s 36-34 win. Puneri Paltan continued to fight back and at one point took a huge nine-run lead, but Jaipur Pink Panthers, backed by a packed home crowd, showed their best kabaddi of the season to pull off a big win. Ta.

In the second match of the night, Maninder Singh-led Bengal Warriors defeated Pardeep Narwal-led UP Yoddas 42-37. Both star raiders posted super 10s, but it took a toll on Yoddas’ defense, which managed just six tackle points.

AFC Asian Cup: Australia defeats India 2-0

India defended bravely, especially in the first half, but Australia scored a goal after the break to seal the victory.

Jackson Irvine broke the deadlock in the 50th minute due to a mistake by goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and Jordon Vos added another goal in the 73rd minute. India, as expected, created few chances, but their defense deserves praise. Sandesh Jhingan was outstanding at the back.

Check out our blog for more details here.

Satwik vs Chirag advances to Malaysia Open Super 1000 final

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty played a sensational match, defeating reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae 21-18, 22-20 to reach the final of the season-opening Malaysia Open Super 1000 final. advanced. They became the first Indians to reach the finals of the tournament in its current version.

The highlight of their performance was a stunning comeback in the second game. After South Korea stepped up their attack, they were trailing 14-20, but held on to six game points and then won eight straight games to decide the match in straight games.

The Indians were clearly the better pair in the first game, starting with a 5-0 lead and maintaining the advantage throughout despite a strong second half performance by the world champion pair. However, in the second inning, it was the Korean team that took the lead after a close game, taking a comfortable lead of 11-6 and then 18-11 before the Indians made a remarkable comeback.

Their final opponents are yet to be decided, but whoever they face, there is a strong possibility that Satwik and Chirag will add a second Super 1000 title to their names. It is yet another first for Indian badminton.

Kickoff: India vs Australia

The Indian men’s football team will now begin the AFC Asian Cup against former champions Australia.You can join Sunaadh on our live blog here.

�� Team News ��

◼️Deepak Tangri starts
◼️ Manvir and Chantae on either side of Chhetri on the front line
◼️4-5-1#Asian Cup 2023 | #IndianFootball | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/yfnoN3q5j3

– ESPN India (@ESPNIndia) January 13, 2024

FIH Olympic Qualifier

The tournament is being held in Ranchi with Germany and Japan winning their respective matches.

Germany, the pre-tournament favorite to win, showed a strong performance and defeated Chile 3-0, but Japan struggled against the Czech Republic and won 2-0.

Two more matches follow, with New Zealand taking on Italy at 5pm, followed by hosts India taking on the USA. This match starts at 7:30 PM IST.

Vijayveer Sidhu earns Olympic berth

Vijayveer Sidhu secured India’s place at the Paris Olympics and reached the Olympic Asian Qualification final in Jakarta.

All he had to do was qualify for the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol final, where he placed fourth with 577 points. Four of the six finalists did not qualify for the quota, ensuring that India would qualify for the event. He then won a silver medal in the final.

Earlier in the day, there was another double podium to celebrate as Shift Kaur Samra and Ashi Choksi won silver and bronze medals in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions. All three Indian players in the fray made it to the finals, with veteran Anjum Mudgil finishing third.

India had not qualified for Paris as they have already secured the maximum two Olympic berths in this event, but the encouraging performances of Sift and Ashi, who had performed well at the Asian Games, ensured they would qualify for the first time. The Olympics is something I want to make a reality.

Bopanna vs Ebden loses by a narrow margin in the final

Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden narrowly lost in the Adelaide International final. Second-seeded Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury lost to the third-seeded pair 5-7, 7-5, 9-11.

The world No. 3 Indian took an early 3-0 lead, but Lamb-Salisbury fought back to take the first set. Bopanna-Ebden then scored a second goal by a similar margin, forcing a decisive tie-break and sending the game into extra time. As it turned out, that wasn’t the case for the India-Australia pair, but their last run showed they are picking up from where they left off in a prolific season last year.

What are you looking forward to today?

• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will play in the Malaysia Open Super 1000 semi-finals against reigning world champions Kang Min-hyuk and Seo Seung-jae – After 4pm

• Indian men’s soccer team begins AFC Asian Cup campaign against Australia – 5pm

• Indian women’s hockey team to open Olympic qualifying match against USA in Ranchi – 7:30pm

• Rohan Bopanna and Australian partner Matthew Ebden play in Adelaide International men’s doubles final – 9am

What happened yesterday?

• Satwik Sirag has reached the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open Super 1000.

• Indian shooters also achieved a double podium finish at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Jakarta.

• Bopanna vs Ebden advance to Adelaide International final.

• Sumit Nagal qualified for Australian Open main draw

• Jaipur Pink Panthers achieved victory over Telugu Titans. Puneri Paltan defeated Gujarat Giants.

See all the details of yesterday’s news events here