After Asian C’ships gold in 50kg, Vishvanath Suresh ready to go up to 55kg to make Asian Games squad Having made his mark at the Asian Boxing Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Vishvanath Suresh, the newly-crowned champion in 50kg, is ready to go up to 55kg in order to make it to the Indian teams for the Commonwealth and the Asian Games.A World youth champion in 2022 and an Asian Under-22 champion in 2024, Vishvanath, a product of the Army Sports Institute (ASI), Pune, waited for his time to compete at the elite level.“I was No. 2 in my weight in the Services team and the No. 1 boxer went to the National Championships. After regular training, I did some extra work, which helped me. I got a chance and won the National title (in January last). The Asian Championships was my first major event. In the past few years, India didn’t have an Asian champion (in men’s boxing). Now I’ve become one,” Vishvanath told Sportstar.“My one-sided quarterfinal win over World champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay was satisfying. The Kazakh fell off a punch in the last round. No Indian had beaten him after Amit Panghal (in the 2024 Strandja tournament). That gave me a lot of confidence.”The 21-year-old is delighted to have made his boxer father M. Suresh, who bagged junior medals in the Nationals in the mid-1990s before hanging up his gloves to support his family, super proud.Now the Chennai boy faces the challenge of going up to an Olympic weight, 55kg, for the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.“Life is incomplete without challenges. My first target is assessment (to get selected). My body weight stays around 54kg. It will be advantageous as I can eat a bit and box. All eyes will be on me. But my hard work will keep me ahead. I need to increase my strength for 55kg.”Vishvanath’s ultimate aim is to shine at Los Angeles 2028. “I want to win a gold in the Olympics, not just any medal. Vijender Singh’s bronze in 2008 inspires me, but it’s a shame that we’ve not won an Olympics medal (in men’s boxing) since then. I want to change Indians’ mindset,” said Vishvanath.Published on Apr 14, 2026 #Asian #Cships #gold #50kg #Vishvanath #Suresh #ready #55kg #Asian #Games #squad

World number two Carlos Alcaraz eased to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Tuesday to begin his push for a third Barcelona Open title.

The Spaniard, who lost the Monte Carlo Masters final to new number one Jannik Sinner on Sunday, can reclaim top spot if he triumphs this week in Barcelona, as he did in 2022 and 2023.

Alcaraz, who finished as runner-up last year in Catalonia, started the first round clash slowly but found his rhythm in a dominant second set.

“I didn’t have much time to adjust in terms of training — this morning was the first practice session I’d done here in Barcelona, which makes it a bit hard to find good sensations at the start,” said Alcaraz afterwards.

“I’m happy to have come through the problems I had in the first set.

“Little by little I started feeling maybe a bit better, and I’m happy to win the match in straight sets and give myself another chance to try to feel a bit better in the next round.”

Alcaraz received some treatment from the physio on his forearm but said he hoped it was “nothing” and without time to rest between tournaments that it was normal to have “little niggles”.

World number 130 Virtanen started strongly in front of a full crowd at the court named after Spanish great Rafael Nadal, pushing hard on Alcaraz’s serve, while holding his own relatively comfortably.

However, Alcaraz broke in the 10th and final game of the first set to take the lead.

In the second set, the players exchanged breaks before Alcaraz broke to love and consolidated for a 4-1 lead.

Alcaraz opened up a triple match point on Virtanen’s serve and hit a cross-court winner to capitalise on the first of those.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner will face Czech Tomas Machac in the second round.

Earlier on, second seed Lorenzo Musetti defeated Martin Landaluce 7-5, 6-2 for his first win since the Australian Open.

Australian Alex de Minaur overcame Sebastian Ofner 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, while Karen Khachanov suffered a surprise 6-3, 6-4 defeat by Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

Published on Apr 14, 2026

#Barcelona #Open #Alcaraz #beats #Virtanen">

Barcelona Open 2026: Alcaraz beats Virtanen in first round World number two Carlos Alcaraz eased to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Tuesday to begin his push for a third Barcelona Open title.The Spaniard, who lost the Monte Carlo Masters final to new number one Jannik Sinner on Sunday, can reclaim top spot if he triumphs this week in Barcelona, as he did in 2022 and 2023.Alcaraz, who finished as runner-up last year in Catalonia, started the first round clash slowly but found his rhythm in a dominant second set.“I didn’t have much time to adjust in terms of training — this morning was the first practice session I’d done here in Barcelona, which makes it a bit hard to find good sensations at the start,” said Alcaraz afterwards.“I’m happy to have come through the problems I had in the first set.“Little by little I started feeling maybe a bit better, and I’m happy to win the match in straight sets and give myself another chance to try to feel a bit better in the next round.”Alcaraz received some treatment from the physio on his forearm but said he hoped it was “nothing” and without time to rest between tournaments that it was normal to have “little niggles”.World number 130 Virtanen started strongly in front of a full crowd at the court named after Spanish great Rafael Nadal, pushing hard on Alcaraz’s serve, while holding his own relatively comfortably.However, Alcaraz broke in the 10th and final game of the first set to take the lead.In the second set, the players exchanged breaks before Alcaraz broke to love and consolidated for a 4-1 lead.Alcaraz opened up a triple match point on Virtanen’s serve and hit a cross-court winner to capitalise on the first of those.The seven-time Grand Slam winner will face Czech Tomas Machac in the second round.Earlier on, second seed Lorenzo Musetti defeated Martin Landaluce 7-5, 6-2 for his first win since the Australian Open.Australian Alex de Minaur overcame Sebastian Ofner 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, while Karen Khachanov suffered a surprise 6-3, 6-4 defeat by Camilo Ugo Carabelli.Published on Apr 14, 2026 #Barcelona #Open #Alcaraz #beats #Virtanen

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World number two Carlos Alcaraz eased to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Tuesday to begin his push for a third Barcelona Open title.
The Spaniard, who lost the Monte Carlo Masters final to new number one Jannik Sinner on Sunday, can reclaim top spot if he triumphs this week in Barcelona, as he did in 2022 and 2023.
Alcaraz, who finished as runner-up last year in Catalonia, started the first round clash slowly but found his rhythm in a dominant second set.
“I didn’t have much time to adjust in terms of training — this morning was the first practice session I’d done here in Barcelona, which makes it a bit hard to find good sensations at the start,” said Alcaraz afterwards.
“I’m happy to have come through the problems I had in the first set.
“Little by little I started feeling maybe a bit better, and I’m happy to win the match in straight sets and give myself another chance to try to feel a bit better in the next round.”
Alcaraz received some treatment from the physio on his forearm but said he hoped it was “nothing” and without time to rest between tournaments that it was normal to have “little niggles”.
World number 130 Virtanen started strongly in front of a full crowd at the court named after Spanish great Rafael Nadal, pushing hard on Alcaraz’s serve, while holding his own relatively comfortably.
However, Alcaraz broke in the 10th and final game of the first set to take the lead.
In the second set, the players exchanged breaks before Alcaraz broke to love and consolidated for a 4-1 lead.
Alcaraz opened up a triple match point on Virtanen’s serve and hit a cross-court winner to capitalise on the first of those.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner will face Czech Tomas Machac in the second round.
Earlier on, second seed Lorenzo Musetti defeated Martin Landaluce 7-5, 6-2 for his first win since the Australian Open.
Australian Alex de Minaur overcame Sebastian Ofner 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, while Karen Khachanov suffered a surprise 6-3, 6-4 defeat by Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
Published on Apr 14, 2026

#Barcelona #Open #Alcaraz #beats #Virtanen">Barcelona Open 2026: Alcaraz beats Virtanen in first round