Little-known and batting with the tail, Akshay Karnewar struck his maiden first-class century to hand Vidarbha a crucial 95-run first-innings lead before Rest of India, riding on a fighting partnership, erased the deficit in the Irani Cup here Thursday.
With Ajinkya Rahane (25) and Hanuma Vihari (40) walking back unbeaten at stumps, the third day's play ended on an even keel.
The hosts, who resumed the day on 245 for six, ended their first innings at 425, courtesy Karnewar's unbeaten knock of 102 off 133 balls. The hosts had bowled Rest of India out for 330 in their first essay.
First-innings centurion Vihari then showed defiance and added 56 runs for the third wicket with skipper Ajinkya Rahane, which helped the visitors wipe off the deficit and finish the day seven runs ahead at 102 for two on a deteriorating pitch at the VCA Stadium.
Earlier, Karnewar, who has played just 11 first-class matches and also bowls slow left-arm spin, proved his mettle with the bat.
At the start of the ..

Karnewar's maiden ton gives Vidarbha first-innings lead before ROI fightback

PTI Automatic

Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal (49kg) Thursday got a first-round bye into the quarterfinals of the 70th Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Amit, who is in pursuit of a second successive gold at the tournament, will be up against Ukraine's Nazar Kurotchyn in the last-eight stage on Sunday. A win will assure him of a consecutive medal at the prestigious European event.
Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Naman Tanwar (91kg) was handed a bye into the pre-quarterfinals and he will face Poland's Michal Soczynski in his opening bout on Saturday.
Among the women, last edition's silver-medallist Meena Kumari Devi (54kg) was given a direct entry into the quarterfinals, while Neeraj (60kg) got into the pre-quarterfinals in the draws that came out Thursday.
World Championships bronze-medallist Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg), who is returning to top-flight action after recovering from a back injury, will be up against local favourite Emanuil Bogoev in the opening round on ...

Amit gets bye, enters quarters of Strandja Memorial

Indian driver Arjun Maini's road to Formula 1 has become tougher with his shock switch to sports car racing but he says it is a matter of time before he is back in a single seater series to pursue his "ultimate dream".
The 21-year-old from Bengaluru announced his switch to endurance racing last week and will be doing a full season of the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) besides making his debut in the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The move was unexpected to say the least as he was trying to find his feet in the world of single seater racing including F2 and F3, which are considered as feeder series to Formula 1.
"To be honest, I wanted to remain in single seaters but there were not many good options for 2019. A full season of endurance racing and the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans is what I have in hand and I am looking forward to this new challenge. Having said that, reaching Formula 1 remains the ultimate dream," Maini told PTI.
After an underwhelming F2 season last year when he felt let ...

Road to F1 has become tougher, says Maini after shock sports car switch

The founders of a new global athletes' body including Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Callum Skinner said Thursday they will ensure their concerns are no longer brushed aside by the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Skinner, the Briton who is one of the leading figures behind Global Athlete, told AFP there was a "disconnect" between the wishes of sports governing bodies and athletes in how their sports are run.
"It seems to be a constant issue that there is a disconnect between what the administrators want and what athletes want.
"Our aim is definitely to have voting rights on sports bodies and we are throwing the net wide." Global Athlete, a non-profit organisation funded by donations, aims to give a greater voice to competitors in Olympic and Paralympic sports.
Skinner, a member of Britain's victorious team pursuit trio at the 2016 Rio Olympics, spoke last year at an emergency summit at the White House to attack the IOC, accusing it of letting ...

New global body aims to give athletes a voice

The following are the top/expected stories at 1715 hours.
EXPECTED STORIES
*Day 3 report of Irani Cup match between Vidarbha and Rest of India in Nagpur.
*Report of Senior National Badminton Championships in Guwahati.
*Day 2 report of India A vs England Lions in the first unofficial Test in Mysuru.
*ISL match report between FC Goa and ATK in Margao.
*I-League match East Bengal and Shillong Lajong in Kolkata.
*Pro Volleyball League report.

 The following are the top/expected stories at 1715 hours.

Ace paddler Sharath Kamal, who is  currently ranked 33 in the world, on Thursday said he aimed to  burst into the top 20 in 2019 and the next big thing on his  mind was the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 36-year-old player also believes that the two  table tennis bronze medals which India won at last year's  Asian Games held in Indonesia have given them the confidence  that a medal at the 2020 Olympics was a possibility.
"Personally, for myself in 2019, the goal would be to  get into top 20 in the world ranking and 2020 Olympic Games is  the next big thing," Kamal told reporters here in the presence  of former national champion Kamlesh Mehta.
"The major thing in the plan is the Tokyo Olympic  Games 2020, especially after winning medals at the Asian Games  - we have won two bronze medals in 60 years. Those medals  gives us a lot of belief that even at the Olympics it is a  possibility (to win medals).
"Because in the Asian Games the competition is very  high and more or less they are the ...

Want to crack top 20 ranking in 2019: Sharath Kamal

She has been scorching the track with one record after another but India's new sprint sensation Hima Das doesn't want to be left behind in studies either and is juggling between training and board exams these days.
The transformation of Hima, the reigning world junior champion in 400m, into a top quartermiler has been nothing short of phenomenal considering that she has already run sub 51 sec at only 19 years of age and that too after a dozen competitive races since late 2016.
The sprinter from Assam's Kandhulimari village in Nagaon district became a star overnight and kept improving her timing through the last year, culminating in a national record time of 50.79 seconds while winning silver in the Asian Games.
But, just like any other youngster she realises the need to have educational degrees. She is currently appearing for her class 12 exams under the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council.
"I am looking at some major tournaments in 2019 and I am trying to focus on my training ...

Hima sprints from track to classroom in board exam season

The Pakistan Open will return to the Asian golf calendar as part of its Development Tour after a 10-year hiatus and will be held from March 30 here, a top Asian Tour official said Thursday.
The country's National championship, which was inaugurated in 1967, will be held on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) at the Defence Raya Golf and Country Club, offering a prize fund of USD 80,000.
"We are delighted to announce the return of the Pakistan Open for the first time since 2009. We are confident the championship course will be in superb condition once again when we return next month," Asian Tour Chief Operating Officer Cho Minn Thant said.
The Asian Tour did not state why the tournament had not been held for the last 10 years but local media reports here said that security concerns were a primary factor.
Lieutenant General Mian Muhammad Hilal Hussain (Retired), President of the Pakistan Golf Federation, said the PGF was delighted to have the tournament back on the calendar.
"The PGF works 

Pakistan Open golf back on Asian Tour calendar after 10 years

South African fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander plunged Sri Lanka into trouble on the second morning of the first Test at Kingsmead on Thursday.
Sri Lanka were 133 for six at lunch, still 102 runs behind South Africa's first innings total of 235. They lost five wickets in adding 84 runs during the morning.
Steyn and Philander did the early damage, taking three wickets in the first ten overs of the morning, before fellow fast bowlers Duanne Olivier and Kagiso Rabada followed up with a wicket each.
Steyn struck in the third over of an overcast day when Oshada Fernando went across his stumps and was given out leg before wicket for 19. After consultation with captain Dimuth Karunaratne he decided not to seek a review, although replays showed the ball was missing his leg stump.
Philander claimed the key wicket of Karunaratne, who was trapped leg before wicket for 30 in the next over.
Philander followed up by having Kusal Mendis caught at second slip for 12 before Olivier, with ..

South African bowlers have Sri Lanka on the run

Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu sailed into the quarterfinals with a straight game win but three pre-quarterfinals of the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championship had to be rescheduled after Saina Nehwal refused to play due to uneven surface of the court, here Thursday.
A former champion, Sindhu, top seed, took time to get into the groove before opening her campaign with a 21-11 21-13 win over Nagpur's Malvika Bansod in the women's singles, while top seed Sameer Verma, playing the next match at the Assam Badminton Academy courts, conceded a men's singles encounter against Aryamann Tandon midway at 21-16 1-8 after aggravating a achilles heel problem.
Up against Shruti Mundada in the pre-quarters, Saina then decided to have a look at the surface and made it clear that she won't risk playing on that "uneven" court with the All England Championship round the corner.
BAI secretary (events) Omar Rashid then postponed the three pre-quarterfinal matches, involving Saina, Parupalli ...

Sindhu enters quarters, 3 matches postponed due to uneven court

New Delhi will host the National Ranking Archery tournament from April 15 to 19, ahead of the first stage of the World Cup in Medellin, Colombia the same month.
This was finalised during the newly-elected Archery Association of India's first executive committee meeting here.
AAI President BVP Rao also unveiled the annual calendar for the national and international events.
The AAI will field cadet archers for the upcoming ISSF World Ranking Championship in Dhaka this month, while the juniors will compete in the Asia Cup in Bangkok next month.
The cadet team will be picked from the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune, while the top archers from the ongoing Junior National Archery Championship will make the cut for the Bangkok-bound first Asia Cup from March 24-31.
Rao said the backlog of national meets of last year, which were not held by the old regime, will be finished by April 12 with the Senior National-2018, Para National-2018 and Sub-Junior National-2018 in Cuttack, Rohtak and ...

Delhi to host National Ranking Archery in April

Controversy erupted at the Senior National Badminton Championship Thursday with defending champion Saina Nehwal refusing to play her singles match, citing a "poor playing surface" at the venue here.
Olympic bronze-medallist Saina, who had suffered a shin injury late last year, took the court after Sameer Verma conceded his men's singles tie following an achilles heels problem during his match.
Up against Shruti Mundada in the pre-quarters, Saina had a look at the surface and immediately made it clear that she won't risk playing on it given that the All England Championship was around the corner.
The officials, led by Badminton Association of India Secretary (event) Omar Rashid, swung into action to sort out the issue. The BAI officials later convinced Saina, Kashyap and Sai Praneeth to play in the evening.
"The wooden planks came out at a couple of places after Sindhu played her match. So they are now going to fix it. We will come back in the evening to play our pre-quarterfinal ...

Court controversy: Saina refuses to play due to uneven surface

Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu Thursday opened her
campaign in the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championship with a straight game win over Nagpur's Malvika Bansod to enter the women's singles quarterfinals here.
A former champion, Sindhu took time to get into the groove before claiming a 21-11 21-13 win over Malvika, who is a gold medallist at the South Asian U-21 Championship in Nepal and a runner-up at Khelo India Games.
Like last year, the top eight players of the competition on the combined basis of world and domestic rankings were given direct entry into the singles pre-quarterfinals for which a Super Draw was held Wednesday night.
Malvika made a dream start, moving to a 4-0 lead. Soon Sindhu clawed her way back to level the scores with a push at the back court.
Sindhu eventually grabbed a 11-7 advantage at the break. She continued to force the younger shuttler to commit errors.
At 19-11, Sindhu unleashed a couple of smashes to seal the first game.
In the second game, ...

Sindhu begins campaign in Senior Nationals with an easy win

Cristiano Ronaldo is set for a rare start on the bench as Juventus host struggling Frosinone on Friday looking to pull 14 points clear in Serie A with an eye towards next week's Champions League trip to Atletico Madrid.
Portuguese star Ronaldo brought his tally to 20 goals for Juventus in all competitions last weekend in a 3-0 win over Sassuolo.
But the 34-year-old will start on the bench for just the second time this season before the former Real Madrid player returns to the Spanish capital next week.
Paulo Dybala returns to the starting line-up, forming an attacking trident alongside Mario Mandzukic and Federico Bernardeschi.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri's defensive problems have been eased with trio Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini back training.  Juventus captain Chiellini is expected to return on Friday.
Second-placed Napoli dropped points last weekend with a goalless draw against Fiorentina and face a potentially tricky test at home against ...

Ronaldo on bench as Juve warm up for Atletico against Frosinone

Tottenham took a huge step towards reaching the Champions League quarter-finals as Son Heung-min inspired their 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 first leg.
Mauricio Pochettino's side had been under the cosh as Dortmund dominated the first half at Wembley on Wednesday, but Hugo Lloris kept them level with a series of fine saves.
That set the stage for a sublime second half from Tottenham, who were sparked into life by a fine finish from South Korea forward Son.
Son's fourth goal in his last four appearances took him to 16 for the season, but none have been as priceless as this one.
Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen capped his own powerful performance when he swept in their second goal in the closing stages and substitute Fernando Llorente's late third put the seal on a remarkable result.
Although Tottenham still have to survive the second leg at Signal Iduna Park on March 5, they have a golden opportunity to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time ...

Son shines as Spurs power surge rocks Dortmund

At least three people were stabbed in a mass brawl between Lazio and Sevilla fans in Rome, with one suffering serious injuries, Italian media reported.
Two Spanish fans and an American were hurt in the fight, which broke out ahead of Thursday's UEFA Europa League match, La Repubblica daily said.
"Everything was quiet, when suddenly we heard shouting and the sound of broken glass. We rushed to the window and saw guys with hoods armed with clubs and batons that were attacking other guys," one local bar owner told the daily.
Some forty people were involved in the clashes in Monti, near the Colosseum in the historic centre, which was broken up by police in riot gear, it said.
The Gazzetta dello Sport daily put the number of people being treated in hospital for stab wounds after the attack at four, including one British man reportedly in critical condition.
It said knives had been used in the attack, adding that one of the Spanish fans was also critical, while the other Spaniard and the ...

Fans stabbed in Rome ahead of Sevilla-Lazio: reports

The video assistant referee (VAR) system was used to rule out a goal in the Champions League for the first time in last 16 game between Ajax and Real Madrid.
Ajax defender Nicolas Tagliafico appeared to have headed the Dutch side ahead on 38 minutes, but referee Damir Skomina disallowed the goal after Dusan Tadic was shown to be offside on replays.
Tadic was deemed to be interfering with Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after the Belgian spilled a header at a corner and Tagliafico nodded in the rebound.
UEFA later confirmed why the decision was taken.
"The referee identified that Tagliafico's team-mate Dusan Tadic was in an offside position and interfering with the goalkeeper -- preventing him from playing or being able to play the ball -- as the header was being made," said UEFA on Twitter.
"This was in line with VAR protocol and the goal was correctly overturned and a free-kick given for offside."
The VAR system, widely used during last year's FIFA World Cup, and now called upon in .

VAR denies Ajax goal in Real Madrid Champions League clash

Real Madrid needed a late winner from Marco Asensio and VAR's debut in the Champions League to beat a spirited Ajax 2-1 in the first leg of the last 16.
Ajax have not beaten Madrid in 24 years and thought they were on their way at the Johan Cruyff Arena when Nicolas Tagliafico headed home after a Thibaut Courtois error.
But referee Damir Skomina judged Dusan Tadic to be offside upon review and Madrid showed no pity on their youthful opponents, Karim Benzema and Asensio scoring two precious away goals in the second half.
Hakim Ziyech's equaliser at least keeps Ajax in touch heading into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu but Asensio's 87th-minute winner was a sucker-punch in a match the Dutch team had largely dominated.
Their ruled out opener will only add to the sense of what might have been and it was no surprise to see a cluster of red and white shirts surrounding the officials at the final whistle.
VAR has been introduced to the Champions League for the first time in this ...

Asensio and VAR help Madrid snatch victory against Ajax

The IAAF is to argue that Olympic women's 800m champion Caster Semenya should be classified as a "biological male" and forced to take testosterone suppressants if she is to compete in women's competition, according to reports.
Ahead of a landmark hearing at the Court of Arbitration (CAS) next week, The Times said that the IAAF will contest Semenya and other athletes with "differences of sexual development" (DSD) should only be able to compete with lower testosterone levels to ensure a level playing field.
However, the IAAF hit back at the "biological male" claims on Wednesday.
"The IAAF is not classifying any DSD athlete as male. To the contrary, we accept their legal sex without question, and permit them to compete in the female category," the IAAF said in a statement.
"However if a DSD athlete has testes and male levels of testosterone, they get the same increases in bone and muscle size and strength and increases in haemoglobin that a male gets when they go through puberty, which ..

IAAF hits back at Semenya to be classed as 'biological male' reports

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp faces a touchline ban or a fine after being charged by the Football Association for comments he made about referee Kevin Friend after his side's Premier League clash at West Ham on February 4.
Klopp intimated after the 1-1 draw that Friend's second half performance had been affected by an assistant referee's mistake for Sadio Mane's opening goal.
Mane's goal stood at the London Stadium despite James Milner being clearly offside in the build-up before Michail Antonio's equaliser cost Liverpool two points in the title race.
"As a human being, if I know I have made a big mistake in the first half, I don't want to open the gap any more," Klopp said after the game.
"Referees are obviously human beings, and I understand that, but I didn't during the game because I had no clue that our goal was offside."
The FA confirmed Klopp had been charged for questioning "the integrity" of the match official.
"Jurgen Klopp has today been charged with a breach of FA Rule ...

Klopp faces sanction from FA charge

UEFA on Wednesday announced that disciplinary proceedings had begun against both Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain after numerous incidents involving their supporters during Tuesday's Champions League clash at Old Trafford.
Both sides face charges that their fans threw objects during the last 16, first leg, which PSG won 2-0. PSG's former United winger Angel di Maria was photographed holding a bottle that had been thrown towards him from the crowd.
In addition, PSG face charges after fireworks were lit by their supporters, as well as for "acts of damages" and "crowd disturbance".
The Premier League side also face charges that their fans blocked stairways during the game, going against the safety and security regulations of European football's governing body.
UEFA said their Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body will deal with the case on February 28.
The second leg of the tie will be played in Paris on March 6.
PSG had one end of their Parc des Princes stadium closed for their 

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