Grandmaster S P Sethuraman showed his true mettle crushing Gawain Jones as Indian men drew with another higher ranked team, England, in the fifth round of the World Team Chess Championship here Saturday.
Krishnan Sasikiran suffered a rare defeat with white pieces on the second board against Luke McShane after B Adhiban and Surya Shekhar Ganguly had played out a draw with Michael Adams and David Howell with black pieces respectively.
After Sasikiran's loss it was left to Sethuraman and the way he responded was splendid as the Indian team remained undefeated in the biennial premier team competition.
With four rounds still to come, Russian men defeated Kazakhstan 3-1 to take their tally up to nine points out of a possible 10 match points. India and England share the second spot on seven points each while the United States follow them a half point behind.
Iran and China are on their way to resurrection as they share the fifth spot jointly on five points apiece and Kazakhstan and Sweden ...

Indian men hold England in world team chess

PTI Automatic

Chennai City's I-League-winning coach Akbar Nawas Saturday called for an unified league with 20 teams, saying it would "benefit" the national team.
Uncertainty looms over I-League's future with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) mulling bringing the league's top teams into the ISL fold.
"I hope we are there next season. It is not for me to comment. I think there should be a unified league with 20 teams. The national team would benefit more. Every professional player should play at least 45 games a season," said Nawas.
Chennai City were crowned champions of the 12th I-League following a 3-1 victory over Minerva Punjab in one of the last round matches here.
Nawas gave all the credit to his players after finishing on top of the table with 43 points from 20 matches.
"All credit to the players. They showed their character today. They helped each other and they delivered. There was a lot of pressure. During the half time, I told them that during every single attack we should look for .

I-League winning coach Nawas calls for unified league

Senegal's Mourtada Fall struck twice as FC Goa registered a dominating 5-1 victory against Mumbai City FC in the first-leg second semi-final of the Indian Super league here Saturday.
While Fall (39th and 58th minute) struck on either side of the break, Jackichand Singh (31st minute), Ferran Corominas (51st minute) and Brandon Fernandes (82nd minute) were the other goal-scorers as Goa continued their unbeaten run against Mumbai this season.
Earlier in the league stage, Goa had beaten Mumbai twice.
For Mumbai, Brazilian striker Rafael Bastos scored the lone goal in the 20th minute at the Mumbai Football Arena in suburban Andheri.
Mumbai, bolstered by the return of defender Joyner Monte Lourenco, began on an aggressive note.
In the 7th minute, Arnold Issoko took a running shot from outside the box, which bounced in front of Goa keeper Naveen Kumar, who pushed it to the corner.
The aggression reaped dividends for Mumbai as Bastos slotted in the 20th minute to give Mumbai the lead.
Issoko .

ISL semis: Fall's twin strike guides Goa to 5-1 win over Mumbai

Lucky loser Anvit Bendre from Pune  won a memorable double crown by winning the men's singles and  doubles titles in the Dhoot Transmission Poona Club AITA open  tennis championships here on Saturday.
In the men's well-contested singles final, local lad  Bendre stopped Delhi's second-seeded Kunal Anand 7-5, 1-6,  7-6(5) to win his first title of this season.
In the doubles final, Bendre teamedup with Rohan  Bhatia and clinched a 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory over Parikshit  Somani and Suresh Dakshineshwar.
In the women's singles final, seventh-seeded Nidhi  Chilumula of Hyderabad outlasted fourth-seeded Soha Sadiq of  Karnataka 6-4, 6-0 in 1 hour and 30 minutes. It was Nidhis  first singles title of this season.
In the women's doubles final, Vaidehi Chaudhariteamed  up with Telangana's Sravya Chilakalapudi to clinch a4-6, 6-1,  10-5 win over Humera Shaikh and Sara Yadav.
The men's singles winner received Rs 23,400 and 35  AITA points while the runners-up got Rs 16,200 and 25 AITA  ...

Double crown for Bendre, Nidhi wins women's title

East Bengal came close yet again before settling for the second place with a 2-1 victory over Gokulam Kerala FC in the I-League here Saturday.
The club and its Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia knew it had to win and then leave everything else to fate.
Marcus Joseph gave the hosts the lead in the 69th minute but a penalty from Jamie Santos Colado (79') and Laldanmawia Ralte's strike (85') helped East Bengal pick up full points.
The game began with the Red & Golds on the attack and pressing hard to take an early lead. Their first attempt to score came as early as in the second minute of the game, but East Bengal were unable to draw first blood.
As the half progressed, however, East Bengal looked more under pressure to score and the hosts slowly but surely began to take charge. The visitors also showcased high quality in defence and along with some stellar goalkeeping by Rakhsit Dagar ensured that the hosts did not take a lead.
Gokulam came close to scoring on a couple of ...

East Bengal end with win but again miss title

The iconic Harbourfront street circuit here has been a happy hunting ground for India's Mahindra Racing team in Formula E Championships with three podium finishes but its drivers and officials are not taking anything for granted in the race on Sunday.
Mahindra Racing's Nick Heidfeld finished third in 2016 and 2017 before joining the team as a support staff while Felix Rosenqvist won the race last season.
Currently, Mahindra Racing is leading the championships in team standings after four legs while Jerome D'Ambrosio is on top of drivers standings.
But the Indian team says it will start from the scratch in the fifth race of the season on Sunday.
"Past results will count nothing though we would love to continue our good show in Hong Kong. Anything can happen as we saw in the last leg in Mexico City. So, we will start from the scratch," Jerome said.
In Mexico City, which was the fourth leg of the season, none of the Mahindra Racing's two drivers could finish on the podium after three ...

Mahindra Racing team looks to consolidate lead position in Formula E Championships

India's Gaganjeet Bhullar endured a difficult day, carding a three-over 75 to slip from T-22 to Tied-58th after the third round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters here Saturday.
Bhullar, who had three bogeys on the back nine was one-under 215 for 54 holes.
Oliver Wilson took a one stroke lead into the final round after carding a three under par round of 69 in testing conditions at Doha Golf Club.
The 2008 Ryder Cup player was the last man in at this week's tournament and is making the most of his chance in Qatar - reaching a ten under par total with a birdie on the 18th hole.
This is the Englishman's first 54-hole lead on the European Tour since the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he went on to secure his first title.
His birdie on the last hole saw him pull away from a five-way tie for second place, which includes Nick Cullen, Nacho Elvira, Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Erik van Rooyen - all four of which are bidding for their maiden victory on the European Tour.
Australia's .

Bhullar slips to Tied 58th at Qatar Masters

An overwhelming 86 percent of fans prefer watching Tests compared to limited-overs cricket, announced the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Saturday, shattering fears that the longest format of the game is dying.
The MCC conducted a survey titled the 'MCC Test Cricket survey', where over 13,000 fans participated across 100 countries.
The survey found that an average of 86 percent of the participants said five-day cricket remained their "preferred" format followed by One-day internationals, Twenty20 Internationals and domestic T20s.
"Overwhelmingly, Test cricket came out as the format that interests fans the most, regardless of country supported or age," the MCC said in a release.
"Responders to the MCC Test cricket survey still consider the Test format to be the pinnacle of cricket and the favourite format of cricket to attend, follow and watch, with respondents describing the game as the "ultimate" form of cricket."
Among other key findings, the MCC said over half of the respondents ...

86 percent of fans prefer watching Tests compared to limited-overs cricket: MCC

Young Mumbai sailor Upamanyu Dutta  bagged the bronze medal in the Laser Standard race for men in  the Laser Asian Sailing Championship which concluded in  Singapore on Saturday, according to a media release.
Nethra Kumanan of Chennai achieved a creditable 4th  position in the Laser Radial event for women.
The championship saw tight racing between the top  Asian Laser sailors who used the event to warm up before the  Olympic sailing qualifier event for the upcoming Laser class  scheduled in Japan.
Upamanyu, who is currently training in Europe under  coach Trevor Millar, entered the event in Singapore as one of  the favoured contenders, having won the Euromed Championship  in Malta last month.
The young sailor sailed superbly to gain India's first  ever medal in the competitive single-handed Laser Standard  category, the release added.

Sailor Upamanyu Dutta clinches bronze in Asian regatta

'The only way is up from hereon,' a dejected WV Raman said Saturday while questioning the technical acumen of some of his players, after the Indian women's team went down to England for its seventh straight T20 loss.
India's batswomen failed to score three runs in the final over in an embarrassing capitulation, gifting England a one-run win in the third T20 International and a 0-3 series whitewash here.
"Basically, first they need to work a lot on their skills," coach Raman told reporters when asked if a mental conditioning expert is the need of the hour for the women's team.
"Once the development in terms of skills happen, then all other things come into play because tactically everybody is aware of what needs to be done, but tactics cannot be executed unless the technical base is good enough," he added after the final T20I.
Chasing a mediocre 120-run target, India looked in control as they needed just three runs in the final over but they failed to achieve it after Kate Cross ...

Raman questions Indian women cricketers' technical acumen

Chennai City were Saturday crowned champions of the 12th I-League, which refused to be dwarfed by the uncertainty around its future, twisting this way and that till the last moments.
Chennai City came from behind and got the better of Minerva Punjab 3-1 on the final day of the league. Chasing the leaders, travellers East Bengal finished second after beating Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 in Kozhikode.
At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, Roland Bilala had handed Minerva Punjab a shock lead in the third minute. But Pedro Manzi, one part of a deadly triumvirate that served Chennai City with distinction through their third season, converted from the spot to draw parity.
Assam's 20-year-old Gaurav Bora's brace (69' and 90+3') then sealed the title for the Akbar Nawas-coached side.
Chennai City ended on top of the league table with 43 points, one more than East Bengal who finished second in yet another photo finish. East Bengal's bid to end their 15-year-old wait for the top-flight title continued 

Chennai City crowned I-League champions after another photo finish

Karnataka's M S Arun hit the high  notes as he brought off a break of 95 to breeze past Swapnil  Patil of Maharashtra 3-0 in a first round match of the CCI All  India Open Snooker Championship here on Saturday.
Arun's tournament-high break bettered the 83 done by  Abhishek Bajaj and helped him notch up a 67-16, 95-30, 76-23  victory over the Aurangabad-based Patil at the Cricket Club of  India.
Mumbai's Nitesh Madan also impressed as he rolled in  two notable breaks of 49 and 78 to blank city rival Harmehr  Mago 3-0 to enter round three.
Results (all from Mumbai unless stated otherwise)  Round 1: Shiva Sharma (Andhra Pradesh) beat Khushit Shah 3-0;  Saad Sayed beat K Venkatesham 3-0; M S Arun (Karnataka) beat  Swapnil Patil (Aurangabad) 3-0; Raj Khandwala beat Joseph  Menezes 3-1 (59-24, 61-29, 51-62, 70-37); Dhaval Gadhvi beat  Nilesh Sagar 3-0; Hanish Sharma (Delhi) beat Rohan Kothare  (Aurangabad) 3-2; R Loganathan (Tamil Nadu) beat Ajinkya Yelve  3-1; Luv Kukreja (Delhi) beat ...

Arun compiles break of 95 to enter round two

India women's cricket team head coach W V Raman believes the country's young cricketers need to work on their technical skills in order to execute their strategies during match situations.
India's batswomen failed to score three runs in the final over in an embarrassing capitulation, gifting England a one-run win in the third T20 International and a 0-3 series whitewash here Saturday.
"Basically, first they need to work a lot on their skills," Raman told reporters when asked if a mental conditioning coach is the need of the hour for the women's team.
"Once the development in terms of skills happen, then all other things come into play because tactically everybody is aware of what needs to be done, but tactics cannot be executed unless the technical base is good enough," he added after the final T20I.
Chasing a mediocre 120-run target, India looked in control as they needed just three runs in the final over but they failed to achieve it after Kate Cross dismissed Bharati Fulmali and ...

Indian women cricketers need to work on their skills: Raman

Refusing to be dwarfed by uncertainty around its future, the 2018-19 I-League twisted this way and that before Chennai City triumphed here Saturday in the manner befitting their dominant campaign, fulcrum of which was a sustained possession-based football.
Chennai City came from behind and got the better of Minerva Punjab 3-1 on the final day of the league. Chasing the leaders, travellers East Bengal finished second after beating Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 in Kozhikode.
At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, Roland Bilala had handed Minerva Punjab a shock lead in the third minute. But Pedro Manzi, one part of a deadly triumvirate that served Chennai City with distinction through their third season, converted from the spot to draw parity.
Gaurav Bora's brace (69' and 90+3') then sealed the title for the Akbar Nawas-coached side.
Chennai City ended on top of the league table with 43 points, one more than East Bengal who finished second in yet another photo finish. East Bengal's bid to end ...

Chennai City triumph in I-League in another last-day title race

The International Athletics Federation (IAAF) will look for the 10th time at the reinstatement of Russia, at meetings in Doha on Monday and Tuesday.
Russia has been suspended since November 2015 after the eruption of a vast state-sponsored doping scandal. The IAAF, which convenes three times a year, has discussed the issue at every meeting since then.
While the situation has changed in recent months, the IAAF's requirements for the return of Russian colours to the track do not seem to have been satisfied.
At their meeting in Monaco in December, the IAAF set two conditions.
The first, the recovery of data from the Moscow anti-doping lab seems, to have been met and the World Anti-Doping Agency is working its way through the files they have recovered.
The second is that Russia pays what the IAAF says are substantial costs created by the scandal.
"For the moment all the conditions have not been met," Bernard Amsalem, French athletics federation president and one of the 27 members of the ..

IAAF weighs Russian reinstatement again, still seeks compensation

Domestic giants Mumbai thrashed  Delhi by 8 wickets in their Super League Group B match of the  Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Saturday.
This is Mumbai's first win in the Super League stage,  after they suffered a defeat in their lung-opener against  Karnataka.
Put into bat at the Emerald Heights International  School Ground, Mumbai bowlers led by medium-pacer Tushar  Deshpande (4-19) put out a splendid performance to restrict  Delhi to 144/7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Delhi lost opener Hiten Dalal (4) early after he was  stumped by wicket-keeper Eknath Kerkar off spinner Shams  Mulani.
Experienced Unmukt Chand (22) and Dhruv Shorey (33)  conjured a 58-run stand for the second wicket to rally Delhis  innings.
But then pacer Tushar Deshpande broke the stand  removing Chand and also sent skipper Nitesh Rana (0) back to  the pavilion.
Akash Parkar stuck immediately after removing Shorey  with Delhi in a spot of bother at 66-4.
Then, Himmant Singh (24) and Lalit Yadav (33), with  their .

Mushtaq: Mumbai maul Delhi by 8 wickets; Maha, K'taka register

Star-studded Indian Oil, the  defending champions, and South Central Railway from  Seceunderabad notched up resounding quarter final victories to  advance into the semi finals of the 53rd All India Bombay Gold  Cup hockey tournament here on Saturday.
The oilmen trounced local challengers Central Railway  7-2 in a lopsided match at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium.
Later, Pratap Lakra scored a hat-trick of penalty  corner goals to power South Central Railway to a 6-3 win  against Army XI in the second quarter-final.
Boasting of several former internationals in their  line-up, Indian Oil dominated the match against a defensive  Central Railway.
Indian Oil took the lead in the sixth minute when a  combined move between Roshan Minz, Vickram Singh and  TalwinderSingh resulted in the last-named beating Central  goalkeeper Mujahid Khan with a firm reverse hit.
Three minutes later drag-flicker Neelam Sanjay Xess  scored from the first penalty corner to double the lead for  the title holders in the ..

Indian Oil, South Central Railway storm into semis

Manipur shuttler Meiraba Luwang entered the pre-quarterfinals of the men's under-19 competition at the German Junior in Berlin, Germany on Saturday.
Meiraba overcame Indonesia's Yonathan Ramlie, seeded sixth, 13-21 21-16 21-18 to set up a meeting with another Indonesian 10th seed Bobby Setiabudi. He had earlier beaten compatriot Ishaan Bhatnagar 21-6, 21-19.
Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy and Gayatri Gopichand also progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the women's under-19 competition with straight game wins.
Second seed Vaishnavi beat Denmark's Simona Pilgaard 21-16 21-18 and will face  10th seeded Chinese Han Qianxi next, while Gayatri defeated Korea's So Yul Lee 21-14 21-13 to set up a clash with Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani, seeded third.
Gayatri had won an all-Indian clash with Treesa Jolly 21-15, 21-15 on Friday.
In other women's U-19 matches, Samiya Imad Farooqui lost 14-21 17-21 to Pornpicha Choeikeewong of Thailand, while Anastasiia Shapovalova of Russia ended Amolika Singh ...

Meiraba, Gayatri, Vaishnavi enter pre-quarterfinals at German Junior

The Federation of International Players Associations (FICA) CEO Tony Irish Saturday said that the global players' representative body is ready to support Pakistani cricketers whenever they decide to form their own unit.
"It is really up to the Pakistani players when they want to do that but we will be there to support them whenever they decide," Irish, who is on a three-day visit to witness the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches here, said.
Irish, who as FICA CEO was in the lead in advising foreign players against touring Pakistan in recent years because of the security issues, also said that their security consultant is very satisfied with the plans in place for the PSL matches.
"I am not a security expert but what I see for this event is pretty good. I am impressed. We would like to see more cricket being played in Pakistan but it is really dependent on the security situation," he said.
"We think security situation needs to be assessed for every tour."
FICA has grown in importance .

FICA ready to support Pakistan in setting up its own players' body: Irish

After a convincing start against Railways in the opener, a lacklustre Bengal suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Maharashtra in the second Super League Group A game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here Friday.
The duel here saw Maharashtra opting to bowl first after winning the toss and restrict Bengal to 138 for seven from their 20 overs.
Bengal were 25 for five at one stage but Shahbaz Ahmed with 60 off 44 balls and skipper Manoj Tiwary's 41 (44 balls) ensured a 130 plus total.
In reply, Maharashtra scored the runs in only 17.3 overs. Rahul Tripathi scored 60 off 46 balls with nine boundaries.
At the start of the Bengal innings, Maharashtra bowlers removed the opponent's top-order within powerplay overs.
Left-arm pacer Samad Fallah started off the proceedings dismissing veteran Wridhdhiman Saha (0) in the very first over when he was beaten by movement.
Shreevats Goswami, who played a fantastic knock against Railways, looked a mere shadow of himself scoring just 1 and was bowled by 

Batsmen falter as Bengal lose to Maharashtra in Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Aizawl FC ended their I-league campaign on a high, notching up a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Churchill Brothers FC here Saturday.
Churchill Brothers drew first blood through Willis Plaza in the 4th minute but an unfortunate own goal in the 42nd minute from Hussain Eldor of Churchill Brothers brought up the equalizer for Aizawl FC.
Kromah then converted a penalty in the 87th minute to earn the win for Aizawl.
Aizawl FC goalkeeper Lalawmpuia was adjudged the hero of the match.
With this win, Aizawl FC finished their I-League campaign in the seventh place with 24 points, while Churchill Brothers finished their campaign three places above with 34 points.
Churchill started on an attacking note, putting pressure on the home side right from the first minute.
They were penetrating deep quite easily into the Aizawl FC defence and the results soon showed when Churchill Brothers drew first blood as early as the 4th minute.
Plaza scored his 21st goal of the season through a beautiful cross from 

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