Karman struggled to contain her unforced errors but prevailed 6-3 6-4 win over Eudice Chong to give India a 1-0 lead in the Asia/Oceania Group I tie.
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Star shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, will chase individual gold medals but doubles would also under the spotlight as India would aim to retain the mixed team title and continue their consistent run at the Commonwealth Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu were on Tuesday picked for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the sports ministry's selection committee.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is keen to revive a strong Asian bloc in world cricket but believes strained cricket relations with India are a hurdle in the way. PCB chairman, Shahryar Khan returned home from Colombo after chairing the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting without any one-to-one meeting with the Indian cricket board officials or discussions on revival of Indo-Pak cricket. "The Asian bloc can be revived in world cricket and made influential again but first Pakistan and India need to work on the same wavelength," Khan said.
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) and GeeBee Boxing silver medallist Dinesh Dagar (69kg) confirmed their places in the final, while Ankush Dahiya (64kg) and Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) made it to the semi-finals.
Sachin Tendulkar inspired me to make comeback after CWG snub, says Sardar
India's football coach Stephen Constantine announced his preliminary squad of 38 probables for India's forthcoming back to back 2018 World Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification matches against Oman and Guam respectively.
Describing north-east as the "gateway" to south-east asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said his government has been pro-actively pursuing the 'Act-East Policy'
Spinner Rashid Khan celebrated his 20th birthday in style by producing a stunning all-round display as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 136 runs in an Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
This will be the first time since the 1994 Hiroshima edition that an Indian team will not take part in the football competition of the Asian Games.
Unheralded teenagers Prabh Simran Singh and Prayas Ray Barman attracted astonishing bids during the IPL Players' Auction on a day when superstar Dale Steyn went unsold and once a hot-property Yuvraj Singh went for his base price.
World No 15 India will now compete in the Zone Group action later this year.
This is Sania Mirza's first tournament since her return to the circuit after a two-year break.
The capital of China's Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, was the sole bidder to stage the 19th edition of Asia's biggest multi-sports event.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday said it had documented cases where workers building venues for Russia's 2018 soccer World Cup had been left unpaid, made to work in dangerously cold conditions, or suffered reprisals for raising concerns.
New stars emerged on the horizon in Shubhankar Sharma and Ajeetesh Sandhu even as familiar faces strengthened their stranglehold by picking up their own set of titles in a season of new highs for Indian golf.
With Jadeja almost clinching victory with a boundary and Khaleel Ahmed scampering home for his life to tie the scores, only a single was all that was required off two deliveries.
The Indian team has set 16.1 as the Yo-Yo test benchmark for the past couple of years and any player failing to clear the test is not selected.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Anahat Singh seals berth for World Junior Squash C'ship after topping selection trials
Pirlo started his first season in charge of a senior side looking to make it 10 successive Serie A titles for Juve, but the rookie coach struggled.
It could reach more than 530 million viewers on TV and a few hundred million more online. But can it make money for Disney Star?
A defiant FIFA President Sepp Blatter declared there was no moving the 2022 World Cup form Qatar, despite widespread concerns about the bidding process that took the tournament to the Middle East for the first time.
Ashton Turner took an experienced Indian attack to the cleaners with some unbelievable hitting, helping Australia chase down a record breaking target of 359 runs and level the five-match series.
Manchester City's Abu Dhabi-controlled owner has agreed to sell a $500 million stake to US private equity firm Silver Lake, making it the world's most valuable soccer group with a $4.8 billion price tag.
All that's transpired on and off the cricket pitch on Wednesday.
Ravindra Jadeja finally scored his maiden century after almost a decade in international cricket and the Indian all-rounder says being calm in the nervous 90s helped him reach the 'special' milestone.
Will Ravi Shastri be retained or will the BCCI opt for a new face?
Rani Rampal will captain an 18-strong Indian women's team, while experienced goalkeeper Savita will shoulder the duties of vice-captain at next month's Commonwealth Games
India, without captain Virat Kohli and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni, won't have it easy against T20 World champions West Indies, who are bolstered by the arrival of star players Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell.
Argentina moved top as South America dominated the monthly FIFA rankings on Thursday with five teams, half of the continent's total, in the top 10.
Five-times world champions Brazil have returned to what they will consider their rightful place at the top of the FIFA rankings for the first time in seven years.
P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth continued their impressive run at the Malaysia Open, progressing to the semi-finals of the women's and men's singles competition with a straight-game wins in the US$ 700,000 world tour super 750 tournament, in Kuala Lumpur.
Ronaldinho has not played a competitive match since 2015 but had avoided calling a definitive halt to his career until now.
Images and summary of all the World Cup 2022 qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
'Unlike India and Sri Lanka, there was no internal air travel needed.' 'For all 8 teams, different hotels are available, a separate one for the broadcasting team too.'
Young India pacer Khaleel Ahmed is learning everyday on his maiden tour of Australia and getting the much needed help from senior pro Bhuvneshwar Kumar on how to bowl on the hard and bouncy tracks Down Under.
