Lyon edged rock-bottom Guingamp 2-1 in Ligue 1 with a fabulous winner from captain Nabil Fekir, just days ahead of Barcelona's visit for a Champions League clash.
Lyon consolidated third place Friday in Ligue 1 while resting a couple of key players and even taking their foot off the gas with Barcelona in mind.
"It's our game of the year, it'll be a big match, but we often do well in them," Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas told French TV.
"Bruno (Genesio the Lyon coach) takes tactical risks and we have surprised (Manchester) City before, and this stadium was built for matches like this," he added on their 60,000-capacity home.
"Many of the players had Tuesday on their minds but with Barcelona coming that's normal," said Genesio, mastermind of the four points Lyon took off City in the group phase to squeeze into the last-16.
"We have some doubts still about who is playing on Tuesday, but you'll have to wait until Monday to find out," Genesio added.
Ahead of their Sunday game with Saint .

Lyon ready for 'game of season' with Barcelona after Guingamp win

PTI Automatic

Star cricketer Virat Kohli has postponed the RP-SG Indian Sports Honours, which was to take place on Saturday, as a "mark of respect" to the CRPF personnel martyred in the Pulwama terrorist attack.
On Thursday, at least 40 CRPF paramilitary troopers were killed in a terror attack while several others are battling for their lives following what is being termed as the deadliest terrorist strike in three decades in Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian Sports Honours is an initiative of Virat Kohli Foundation and RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group.
"The RP-SG Indian Sports Honours has been postponed. At this heavy moment of loss that we all find ourselves in, we would like to cancel this event that was scheduled to take place tomorrow," Kohli wrote on his twitter handle Friday night.
The sporting fraternity, including Kohli, had joined the country in condemning the dastardly attack.
The batting mainstay annually rewards excellence in sports and nurtures promising athletes through his foundation.
"The RP-SG ...

Pulwama terror attack: Kohli postpones Indian Sports Honours

: Kerala Blasters FC notched only its  second win of the Indian Super League season after a  comprehensive 3-0 win over rivals Chennaiyin FC at the  Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here Friday.
Matej Poplatnik scored a brace (23rd and 55th minutes) to  put Kerala Blasters in the driving seat and young midfielder  Sahal Abdul Samad finished things off in the 71st minute to  score his first ever ISL goal and end his team's 14-game  winless run.
On the other hand, Chennaiyin saw it nightmare season  continue after their 12th loss.
They are rooted to the bottom spot with eight points  from 16 games, while Kerala have climbed to the eighth spot.
The visitors never really got going and were on the  backfoot right from the start.
Chennaiyin custodian Karanjit Singh was called into  action twice early in the game as Kerala imposed themselves.
Slavisa Stojanovic's shot from the edge of the box was  saved by Karanjit and he had to be alert to block the  follow-up effort from Poplatnik as well.
But ...

Kerala Blasters FC beat Chennaiyin FC 3-0

Defending champions Railway Sports Promotion Board, Hockey Haryana, Hockey Madhya Pradesh and Hockey Maharashtra advanced to the semifinals of the 9th Senior Women National Championship 2019 (A Division) after winning their respective matches here on Friday.
In the first quarterfinal, Railway Sports Promotion Board secured a 7-0 victory over Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy to enter the semifinals. The defending champions produced a brilliant display with goals from Vandana Katariya (30th minute, 60th), Navneet Kaur (36th, 51st), Gurjit Kaur (11th), Navjot Kaur (13th) and Neha (54th).
In the second quarterfinal, Hockey Haryana produced an emphatic 8-3 win over Hockey Jharkhand to book their semifinal berth.
In the third quarterfinal, Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Hockey Karnataka 1-0. The only goal of the match came in the 30th minute through Jyoti Pal.
The fourth quarterfinal saw Hockey Maharashtra come back from a goal-down to beat Hockey Punjab 3-1. Hockey Punjab scored the first ...

Defending champions Railways enter semifinals of Senior Nationals Hockey

: The inaugural Pro-Volleyball  League shifts to Chennai after the first leg in Kochi, with a  match between Chennai Spartans and U Mumbai Volley at the  Nehru indoor stadium here Saturday.
Three preliminary league matches, two semifinals and  the final will be held here.
Also, in a bid to promote womens volleyball in  India, the PVL organisers have organised an All-Star Women  Volleyball match to be played on the final day (February 22).
The match will serve as a platform to showcase the  Indian women volleyball talent and will be played between Team  Blue and Team Yellow.
PVL CEO Joy Bhattacharjya said, "It is a milestone  moment for us as this will be the first ever Womens All-Star  match in India for any other sport league except cricket."
Chennai Spartans require to win one of their  remaining two matches to qualify for the semifinals.
Spartans, who have one win (2 points) in three  outings, will play back-to-back at the weekend, against U  Mumbai Volley and Ahmedabad Defenders ..

Pro-Volleyball league shifts to Chennai

South Africa took three Sri Lankan wickets in three overs to finish in a strong position on the third day of the first Test on Friday.
Sri Lanka, needing 304 to win, were 83 for three at the close, 221 runs short of their target.
The tourists started their chase promisingly in Durban, with captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne putting on 42 for the first wicket but both openers were out in the space of five balls, to be followed shortly afterwards by Kusal Mendis.
Thirimanne fell for 21 to a sharp catch at second slip by South African captain Faf du Plessis when he edged an extravagant drive against Kagiso Rabada.
Karunaratne was out for 20 in the next over, leg before wicket to Vernon Philander for the second time in the match. As in the first innings it was a tight decision which Karunaratne reviewed. Replays showed it was "umpire's call" with the ball flicking the bails.
Duanne Olivier replaced Philander and struck with his fifth ball when Kusal Mendis flashed at a short 

South Africa ahead against Sri Lanka after burst of wickets

Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya claimed a five-wicket haul on his debut and sparked a South African collapse on the third day of the first Test on Friday.
Embuldeniya, 22, took five for 66 as South Africa were bowled out for 259 in their second innings, leaving Sri Lanka to get 304 to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.  Opening batsmen Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne reduced the target to 276 by adding 28 without loss by tea.
South Africa were on course to set the tourists a more challenging target when they reached 251 for five, with captain Faf du Plessis and Vernon Philander looking solid in a sixth wicket partnership of 60.
But Embuldeniya, who bowled with impressive control, bowled Philander to start a collapse in which the last five wickets fell for eight runs.
Left-arm swing bowler Vishwa Fernando dismissed Du Plessis for 90 three overs later and the rest of the batting crumbled.
Fernando took four for 71 to follow up a career-best four for 62 in ..

Embuldeniya takes five wickets in Sri Lanka debut

The coffin of footballer Emiliano Sala, who died in a plane crash between Nantes and Cardiff, arrived in Argentina on Friday ahead of his funeral in his hometown of Progreso.
The British Airways flight carrying the body landed shortly after 9:00am (1200 GMT) at Buenos Aires airport. A van waited to drive it to funeral ceremonies in northeastern Santa Fe, the capital of Santa Fe province, before it is returned to the family for final rites on Saturday.
"This is a day of historic grief for Progreso. We could never have imagined this, we are all in a state of shock," said Daniel Ribero, president of the San Martin de Progreso club, where Sala played for 10 years.
Sala's body was recovered from the plane wreckage in the English Channel last week. He was flying to his new team, English Premier League side Cardiff City, from his old French club Nantes when his plane went missing on January 21.
The 28-year-old died of "head and trunk injuries," an inquest in England heard on Monday.
He was ..

Footballer Sala's body arrives in Argentina

Promising Assamese player Ashmita Chaliha gave ample display of her immense talent, packing a punch during her women's singles semifinal clash with Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu at the Senior Badminton Nationals here Friday.
The 19-year-old from Guwahati, who had clinched two international titles at the Dubai Open and TATA Open in 2018, displayed a wide array of strokes and showed great temperament during her fighting 10-21 20-22 loss to Sindhu, a two-time World Championship silver medallist.
Initially, the occasion seemed to have got to Ashmita as she couldn't connect her strokes and lost the opening game rather meekly.
"I was nevous initially and hit out a lot and couldn't match her pace in the first game," Ashmita said later.
However, with the local crowd egging her, the Assamese progidy's prowess was in full display in the second game when she fought her way from 8-13 down to not only draw level but also grab a 19-16 lead at one stage, conjuring hopes of a decider.
The ...

New kid in the block: Ashmita packs a punch at Senior Nationals

The participation of walkers from  countries including Portugal, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia will  add an international flavour to the 6th Open National Race  Walking Championship here on February 16 and 17.
Around 200 walkers will take part in the championship  which is a qualifying event for the world championshiop and  the 2020 Olympics, Athletics Federation of India Secretary  C K Valson told reporters.
He said though invitations had been extended to  athletes from various Asian nations they could not take part  in the meet as they were preparing for the Asian race walking  championship to be held in Japan next month.
The meeet would serve as a trial for selection of  walkers for the Asian Race Walking Championship to be held at  Nomi City (Japan) on March 17.
Apart from the international walkers, Indian athletes  including K T Irfan and Ganapathy will be the ones to watch  out for, he added.
A Malaysian team, comprising a male participant and a  woman walker, would be taking part 

International flavour for Race Walking Championship

Udayan Mane delivered a top-class final round of five-under-67 to emerge champion at the Rs 30 lakh PGTI Players Championship at the Classic Golf & Country Club here on Friday.
The Pune-based Udayan, playing in only his fifth season as a professional, collected seven Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points for his seventh title.
The 27-year-old Udayan (71-64-71-67), who achieved his target total score of 15-under-273, climbed from fifth to second position in the 2019 PGTI Order of Merit and is likely to take a big jump in the world rankings from his current 962 when the updated list comes out on Monday.
India's top golfer Shubhankar Sharma (70-68-69-67) finished joint runner-up at 14-under-274 while veteran Mukesh Kumar (71-69-69-65) of Mhow came up with a spirited 65, the best round of the day, to also bag tied second place on a topsy-turvy day that saw at least four players in the lead or the joint lead at different stages.
Udayan, lying overnight second, had hit his wedges to ...

Udayan Mane delivers a top-class 67 to emerge champion

P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal won their respective semifinals in contrasting fashion to set up a mouth-watering women's singles summit showdown at the 83rd Yonex-Sunrise Senior National Championship here Saturday.
In a repeat of last edition's title clash at Nagpur, the two stalwarts will look to outdo each other and write another chapter in their on-field rivalry.
While Sindhu overcame a challenge from Assam's promising 19-year-old Ashmita Chaliha 21-10 22-20 in the first semifinal, Saina got the better of Nagpur qualifier Vaishnavi Bhale, who was part of India's Uber Cup squad last year, 21-15 21-14 to storm into the finals.
Saina had the last laugh against Sindhu in the last two encounters at the Nagpur Nationals in 2017 and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games gold-medal match last year.
While Saina has won the title in 2006, 2007 and 2018, Sindhu clinched the trophy twice, in 2011 and 2013.
"It will be just another match and I don't think it will help me for All England, I will just ..

Sindhu, Saina set up summit clash at Senior Nationals

Test cricket run machine Cheteshwar Pujara, Olympic medallists Mary Kom and P V Sindhu figured among a host of star sportspersons nominated for the second edition of Indian Sports Honours which will be awarded here on Saturday.
Pujara, his national team-mates Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were nominated for the Sportsman of the Year (Team Sport) award, along with Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri.
The Sportswoman of the Year (Team Sport) award will be chosen from among Indian women's cricket team members Smriti Mandhana, Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur, and national hockey side goalkeeper Savita Punia.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, badminton player Kidambi Srikanth, top wrestler Bajrang Punia, rising shooter Saurabh Choudhary and ace cueist Pankaj Advani were the candidates for the individual category of Sportsman of the Year award.
Along with shuttler Sindhu and boxer Mary Kom, others nominated for the Sportswoman of the Year (Individual Sports) were wrestler Vinesh ...

Pujara, Mary Kom, Sindhu among star sportspersons nominated for Indian Sports Honours

Hanuma Vihari Friday scripted history by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick of hundreds in the Irani Cup, helping Rest of India rally and set Vidarbha a tricky 280-run target here.
Enjoying a good run of form, the 25-year-old Vihari created the record with a single down the ground on the fourth day, his second century of the match and third straight in Irani Cup.
The India player had scored 183 for Rest of India during last year's Irani Cup match against Vidarbha, who recently retained the Ranji Trophy with another exemplary showing.
Besides Vihari's 180, India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane made 87 and Shreyas Iyer raced to a 52-ball 61, helping Rest of India to declare their second innings at 374 for three, a day after conceding a big first-innings lead.
Needing 280 for an outright win, Ranji champions Vidarbha were 37 for one at close of play, still 243 runs shy of the target with nine wickets in hand.
While Akshay Karnewar's gutsy century on the third day powered ..

Vihari creates Irani Cup history with hat-trick of hundreds, gives ROI edge over Vidarbha

With a staggering prize purse of Rs 2 crore, PokerBaazi, India's leading online poker platform, has announced its biggest international level tournament.
The event, starting from February 20, has received a plethora of responses from many sectors and is expecting a big turnout with an entry fee of Rs 11,000 for each participant.
The tournament, dubbed 'Game Changer', is good news for poker enthusiasts, the organisers feel.
The tournament will feature three starting flights -- Day 1A (20th), Day 1B (21st),Day 1C (22nd), with each of the participants being allotted five re-entries.
Players will test their skills in poker during the first three days of round one, and those who grind it out till the end will lock horns on February 24, the final competition where the winner will be declared.
With no existing eligibility criteria for participation, any player can enter with the tournament by spending Rs 11,000 and play for the initial three days to qualify for the final day.
The platform's .

India's biggest online poker event announced, prize purse is Rs 2 crore

Second seed Ruma Gaikaiwari of  Maharashtra capped her dream run by bagging the girls under-14  singles and doubles titles at the Rotary Club All India  Ranking Super Series Tennis Friday.
Ruma defeated top seed Chandni Srinivasan, her doubles  partner from Telangana, 6-1, 6-4 to lift the singles title at  the MSLTA courts here.
The under-14 boys' singles crown was bagged by third-  seeded Manas Dhamne, also from the host state of Maharashtra.
He upset 8th-seeded Aryan Shah of Gujarat in two  well-fought sets in the singles final. Dhamne won 6-3, 6-3 in  the final.
Other results (Finals): Girls doubles: Chandni  Srinivasan/Ruma Gaikaiwari beat Jennika Jaison/ Swara Katkar  6-0, 6-0.
Boys doubles: Nithish Baalaji/Aryan Shah beat Manas  Dhamne/Cahir Warik 7-6(9), 6-1.

Maharashtra's Ruma clinches U-14 tennis double crown

Aryaan Bhatia became the first Indian tennis player to fail a dope test and has been put under provisional suspension, the National Anti-Doping Agency said on Friday.
The 16-year-old Bhatia's urine sample was taken during the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship held here in October last year. The NADA had collected samples for the first time from tennis players during the championship.
All India Tennis Association Secretary Hironmoy Chatterjee claimed it was a case of ignorance and the banned substance entered into Aryaan's system from a medicine prescribed by a doctor.
"It's a case of ignorance, a mistake has been made. The player had cold and he took a medicine as prescribed by a doctor. He was not aware that the medicine carried banned substance. He has already appealed and it will be heard soon," Chatterjee told PTI.
"We will also put it strongly before NADA that he be excused since he is a junior player and mistake happened due to lack of awareness," he added.
The national .

16-year-old Aryaan becomes first Indian tennis player to flunk dope test

Ridhima Dilawari rallied from a three-shot deficit to a three-shot win while Gaurika Bishnoi slipped in the final round of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour's fourth leg here on Friday.
Ridhima carded a second successive one-over 73 but Gaurika crashed to seven-over 79. Ridhima ended the week at two-over 218, while Gaurika, who had four runner-up finishes last season, added one more at 221.
It was a winning start for Ridhima, who was making her first appearance on the Tour this season.
Ridhima became the fourth winner this season, following Neha Tripathi, Gursimar Badwal and Tvesa Malik in the previous three legs. It was also Ridhima's third title on the Hero WPG Tour, following two in 2018, once each as an amateur and a pro.
Neha Tripathi (75) was third despite a double bogey finish, while Amandeep Drall (79), runner-up in the last two legs, also had a disappointing final round and was fourth.
On a rather tough scoring day, Gurimsar Badwal (77), winner the week before, was Tied-fifth ...

Ridhima grabs first title of the season in Hero WPG Tour

Former champions Aizawl FC and Mohun Bagan will play for pride when face each other in a return leg fixture of 12th I-League at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.
Aizawl FC are seventh on the points table with 14 points from 15 games. The Mizoram team has now picked up five points since new coach Stanley Rosario took over and have a game in hand over their Saturday opponents Mohun Bagan.
Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, are currently sixth after 16 games with 23 points and they would want to finish as high up the table as possible in the closing stages of the league.
Aizawl go into the game as favourites in their home game. The first leg in Kolkata ended in a 2-2 draw, thanks to a brilliant freekick by David in added time and that was probably the game which started Mohun Bagan's slide.
Aizawl have also defeated Minerva Punjab FC in their previous match, which would boost their confidence, while Mohun Bagan have lost one and drawn two, going into Saturday's ...

Battle of pride as Aizawl FC host Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan

A pained Indian sporting fraternity, including Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Saina Nehwal, Friday condemned the "dastardly and cowardly" terror attack on CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.
At least 40 CRPF paramilitary troopers were killed in a terror attack on Thursday, while several others are battling for their lives following what is being termed as the deadliest terrorist strike in three decades in Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli wrote on his twitter handle, "I'm shocked after hearing about the attack in Pulwama, heartfelt condolences to the martyred soldiers & prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured jawaans."
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar said, "Cowardly, dastardly, meaningless...... my heart goes out to the families of those who lost their loved ones and prayers for recovery of those brave hearts in hospital. Salute to your commitment to 'Service and Loyalty'.
Top batsman Rohit Sharma also expressed his ...

Sportspersons condemn 'dastardly' terror attack

India's SSP Chawrasia survived some anxious moments before making his first cut of the year at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth golf tournament here Friday.
Chawrasia, who was tied fifth after the first round, shot two-over 74 and was placed tied 37th after two rounds of the tournament, which is a mix of stroke play and match play.
It was Chawrasia's first cut in three starts in 2019.
Also making the 36-hole cut was another Indian, Shiv Kapur (73-70) who was placed tied 49th after the second round.
However, four other Indians, Ajeetesh Sandhu (71-73), S Chikkarangappa (73-71), Khalin Joshi (73-72) and Viraj Madappa (74-75) missed the cut.
Chawrasia had three birdies against five bogeys, while Kapur made five birdies and two bogeys.
Thailand's Panuphol Pittayarat is placed at the top of the leaderboard after firing seven birdies against one bogey to share the second round lead with New Zealand's Ryan Fox, Matthew Griffin of Australia and Belgium's Thomas Pieters.
Starting his round ..

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