The Melbourne Cricket Ground  (MCG) has been given an official warning for producing a  'poor' pitch for the fourth Ashes Test, ICC said today.
The fourth Boxing Day Test between Australia and England  played at the venue from December 26-30 last year was the only  match of the five-Test series that failed to produce a result  over the five days.
ICC Match Referee, Ranjan Madugalle had rated the pitch  as "poor" in his official report but ICC let it off with a  warning after Cricket Australia showed commitment to improve  the pitch provided for future matches.
"In arriving at the sanction, the ICC noted the  comprehensive response provided by Cricket Australia, which  did not contest the rating given to the pitch by the ICC Match  Referee, Ranjan Madugalle, but highlighted that the ground is  a frequently used venue that has no history of preparing poor  pitches for international cricket," ICC said in a release.
Cricket Australia also "indicated that there was a  commitment by both ...

MCG handed an official warning by ICC for 'poor' pitch

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Senior sports administrator Anil  Khanna was today named Chairman of the Finance Commission  of the Indian Olympic Association, which also formed a four-  member advisory committee.
The IOA also formed a Medical Commission and Games  Technical Conduct Committee and nominated office bearers of  IOA and National Sports Federations (NSFs) to the Committees.
The advisory committee comprises Tarlochan Singh, GS  Mander, S Regunathan and BS Landge.
The Khanna-led Finance Commission has Sahdev Yadav,  Secretary General, Indian Weightlifting Federation and DK  Singh, Secretary, Uttarakhand Olympic Association, as members.
Mukesh Kumar, President, Judo Federation of India, has  been nominated Chairman of the Games Technical Conduct  Committee (GTCC) for National Games.
Pawan Deep Singh Kohli, son of Tarlochan, was named  Chairman of the Medical Commission.
Kohli's name was embroiled in a controversy when he was  appointed as the Chief Medical Officer of the Indian  contingent for the 2016 Rio .

Anil Khanna to head IOA Finance Commission

Struggling Mohun Bagan today  announced the signing of Lebanese striker Akram Moghrabi for  the remainder of the 2017-18 I-League season.
Mohun Bagan, languishing at fifth place in the points  table, parted ways with Liberian forward Anusmana Kromah  yesterday following a string of poor outings.
"With immense pleasure we wish to state that Mohun Bagan  have roped in Lebanese striker Akram Moghrabi for 2017-18  season. The striker is in Lebanon and will apply for his visa  today," the club said in a statement.
Moghrabi, who has previously plied his trade on Indian  soil in the 2012-13 season with Churchill Brothers when he  helped the Goan side clinch the I-League title, is expected to  fill the void up front along with Dipanda Dicka.
The Green and Maroons lost to Minerva Punjab FC 1-2 in  their last game in which Kromah missed a spot kick.
Mohun Bagan have 13 points from nine matches.

Mohun Bagan sign of Lebanese striker Akram Moghrabi

Juan Martin del Potro reached  his third final in his last four tournaments when he beat  David Ferrer in straight sets to set up an Auckland Classic  decider against Robert Bautista Agut today.
Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion and Auckland winner,  beat Ferrer 6-4, 6-4 to continue his strong form from the end  of last season, which included victory in Stockholm and losing  the Basel final to Roger Federer.
The Argentine world number 12 now goes into a final  against 2016 Auckland champion Bautista Agut, who came from  behind in an epic a battle against Dutchman Robin Haase  featuring three tie-breaks.
After nearly three hours on court, the classic encounter  was settled by a Bautista Agut lob that landed on the line,  ending 6-7 (7/9), 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5).
"Unfortunately the match cannot have two winners and I'm  so happy I won," said the relieved Spaniard, who sank to his  knees at the end.
"The end was unbelievable when I saw the ball in I went  crazy, I was so happy."
The ...

Del Potro floors Ferrer to reach Auckland final

Experienced golfers Anirban  Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia failed to fire but young Asian stars  sizzled as the Arjun Atwal-led team grabbed a historic opening  day 3  to 2  lead over the star-studded European squad at  the third EurAsia Cup here today.
In three editions of the event, this was the first time  the Asians led after the opening day's fourball action. Asia  trailed 0-5 in 2014 and 1  to 4  in 2016.
The 22-year-old emerging Chinese star, Li Haotong holed a  final birdie to snatch a crucial half point alongside local  Nicholas Fung against Europe's Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Bernd  Wiesberger.
Earlier, the bunch of new faces in Asian team, including  18-year-old Phachara Khwongwatmai, the smiling and strapping  Haotong, the 24-year-old Poom Saksansin and the highly  articulate Asia No. 1 24-year-old Gavin Green, with their  partners brought in a full point each.
Arjun Atwal said, "These youngster were just too good. My  stars included all youngsters from Poom to Phachara to (Gavin)  

Young guns help Asia take slender lead; Lahiri, SSP lose

Aizawl FC will try to get back to  winning ways after losing their last match against Mohun Bagan  as the reigning champions host Chennai City FC for the year's  first home match in the I-League here tomorrow.
Aizawl FC are trailing league leaders Minerva Punjab by  nine points having played two matches fewer. Chennai City will  play their penultimate away match of the season after showing  their potential against Shillong Lajong to garner a hard-  earned point from the capital city of Meghalaya.
Chennai City garnered 4 points from their last two away  matches against Mohun Bagan and Shillong Lajong and head coach  V Soundararajan is brimming with confidence as they are to  face the champions.
"We have recruited more players from the rural areas this  season and the boys are doing well. Aizawl will be our second  last away match and we hope to have a better result in our  home matches. Top 4 is still a possibility and we will fight  in our remaining matches," said V ...

Menezes demands more from his troop to tackle Chennai City FC

Putting up a dominating show,  Yuki Bhambri outclassed Spaniard Carlos Taberner to reach the  third and final qualifying round of the Australian Open, here  today.
Bhambri, who is in good nick, routed the world number 183  6-0 6-2 in the second round of the men's singles qualifiers.
The 25-year-old Indian, ranked 122, won 54 points in the  57-minute contest, breaking his rival six times in the match.
Bhambri will now fight it out with Canadian Peter  Polanksy for a place in the main draw.
If Bhambri clears the final hurdle, it will be his third  appearance in the Australian men singles main draw.
In 2015, as a qualifier, he had lost to Andy Murray in  the  first round and in 2016 he bumped into Tomas Berdych to make a  first round exit.
Ramkumar Ramanathan, India's next best singles player in  the rankings at number 139, will play his second round later  in the day.
The 23-year-old from Chennai is up against French man  Gleb Sakharov, ranked 156.

Yuki inches closer to Australian Open main draw

Jamshedpur FC defender Andre Bikey  remains confident that the debutants can finish among the top  four and qualify for the semi-finals despite winning only two  of their nine first leg matches in the Hero Indian Super  League.
At the end of the first leg, Jamshedpur FC are placed  seventh with 10 points from nine matches. But the debutants  will be encouraged that they matched FC Goa for most parts of  the 90 minutes even though they ended up on the losing side  (1-2) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, on Thursday.
"Everything is open and we are still on it. We are a  strong team mentally and it is not easy to come here and  perform like we did tonight. But unfortunately we lost the  game. That's football and we have to manage it, keep going and  I am sure we will be in the top four," said the former Premier  League footballer.
Commenting on the game, Bikey said, "It was a brilliant  game to be honest. We were in the game all throughout and we  were prepared for this kind of ..

Unfazed by loss, Bikey hopeful of JFC's top four finish

Saudi women will be allowed for the  first time to enter a sports stadium to watch a soccer match  between two local teams, though they will be segregated from  the male-only crowd with designated seating in the so-called  "family section."
The first stadium is to open its doors to women in the  Red Sea city of Jiddah today.
The move is Saudi Arabia's first social reform planned  for this year giving women greater rights.
To prepare for the change, the kingdom has designated  "family sections" in the stands for women. The stadiums have  also been fitted with female restrooms and separate entrances  and parking lots for female spectators.
On Saturday, the national stadium in the capital, Riyadh,  will open its gates for women to attend a soccer game.

Saudi women to enter stadiums for first time to watch soccer

Experienced seamer Ishant Sharma is  too erratic and has failed to lead the country's pace bowling  attack, feels former India pacer Raju Kulkarni.
"He (Ishant Sharma) has played 78 (79) Test matches, to  play 78 (79) Test matches for India is amazing. But I don't  think he has ever led from the front and that has been a  problem with him," Kulkarni told reporters here last night.
"He is too erratic, every-time he comes with new  techniques, strategies, and that itself is very confusing for  him," added the 55-year-old, who has played three Tests and 10  ODIs for India.
Kulkarni spoke on the sidelines of a function organised  by Legends Club at the Cricket Club of India here.
Sharma, who made his Test debut against Bangladesh in  2007, has grabbed 226 wickets in 79 Test matches. The Delhi  pacer has also picked up 115 wickets in 80 ODIs.
"In the last two series, he (Sharma) was acting very  stupidly, reacting to the situations badly, and I think every  time he comes out with something 

Ishant Sharma is too erratic, says Raju Kulkarni

Hockey skipper Manpreet Singh  feels the season-opening Four Nations Invitational Tour in New  Zealand will set the pace for a hectic season and give impetus  to India's goal of clinching the coveted gold at the Gold  Coast Commonwealth Games.
The Indian Men's Hockey team left for New Zealand this  morning to play two separate five-day series against Belgium,  New Zealand and Japan starting on January 17 at Tauranga and  Hamilton.
With a young team that features four debutants, Manpreet  stressed on the importance of this tournament.
"It is always good to start the season with some good  matches against top teams. We have Belgium in our pool in the  World Cup this year and as many matches we play against them,  the better for us," he said on the eve of their departure.
"With teams like New Zealand and Japan in the fray, this  tour will certainly help us in our preparations for the Gold  Coast Commonwealth Games," expressed the 25-year-old  midfielder.
Looking back at the Odisha Hockey 

Winning gold medal in CWG a realistic goal: Manpreet

It's considered the stepping  stone for the stars of the future and 15 teams, including  three-time champions India, would be aiming to discover their  Virat Kohlis and Steve Smiths when the ICC Under-19 World Cup  starts off here tomorrow.
From Kohli to Smith, most modern-day greats have learnt  the ropes in the biennial event, which has gained significance  with every passing edition.
The boys not only become men here, they also become  household names with millions following the live broadcast of  the competition.
The event begins tomorrow with Pakistan taking on  Afghanistan, and hosts New Zealand facing reigning champions  West Indies.
India, eager to prove themselves after their disastrous  showing in the Asia Cup, open their campaign against Australia  at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui.
The tournament's stature has risen to such an extent that  a great like Rahul Dravid, the current India U-19 coach, would  love to have been part of it back in the day.
"We never played this ...

U-19  World Cup: An opportunity like never before

Sprinter Dutee Chand will be part  of the 13-strong Indian team for the Asian Indoor Athletics  Championships, while reigning Asian champion distance runner G  Lakshmanan has been selected in the 36-member contingent for  the Asian Games test event competition.
The 21-year-old Dutee Chand, who won a bronze each in the  100m and the 4x100m events at the Asian Championship last  year, will carry India's hopes in the eighth edition of the  tournament to be held in Tehran, Iran from February 1 to 3.
Dutee Chand was banned by the Athletics Federation of  India in 2014 under the Hyperandrogenism policy but she fought  her back in 2015 after challenging the decision at the Court  of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne.
Lakhsmanan, who won double gold in 5,000m and 10,000m at  the Asian Athletic Championships, will lead Indian challenge  in the Asian Games test event slated from February 11 to 14 in  Jakarta, Indonesia.
The team also comprises Davinder Singh Kang, who became  the first Indian .

AFI names teams for Asian Indoors & Asian Games test event

Outplayed in the lung-opener,  India will have to resolve a few selection puzzles and respond  better to the sharp bounce when they square off against a  redoubtable South Africa in the do-or-die second Test,  starting here tomorrow.
India's record of nine consecutive series victories will  be on the line from tomorrow after the hosts took a 1-0 lead  in the three-match series by registering a 72-run win in the  first Test in Cape Town.
It is only the second match in India's 12-Test long  overseas schedule in 2018-19, and already they are faced with  a must-not-lose situation in a bid to keep this series alive.
Surrendering a 2-0 lead to South Africa will not dent  their No.1 ICC Test ranking, but that will be of little  consolation when the postmortem of the performance is done  back home.
In order to get this Test off on the right foot, the  Indian team management will be looking to get their selection  on the money.
On Thursday, 48 hours before the first ball is bowled,  Team India 

Jittery India aim to stay afloat against daunting South Africa

New Zealand skipper Kane  Williamson has called on his bowlers to be more accurate in  the final overs as they look to take an unbeatable lead over  Pakistan in the third one-day international in Dunedin  tomorrow.
New Zealand are already 2-0 in the five-match series but  Williamson is not completely happy, especially with the  bowling to lower-order batsmen.
Pakistan rocketed from 141 for seven in the 37th over to  make 246 for nine in game two, repeating a pattern that has  been all too common in recent seasons where New Zealand have  let the score get away on them after a solid start.
"We learnt a few lessons from the last game," Williamson  said Friday.
"They bat very deep, the Pakistani side, and that is a  sign of a good team," he added."
"To see their lower order come out and put together a  partnership that gave them a total which could have been a  tough chase... it's important that we learn from that."
Despite the big hitting, particularly by Hasan Ali and  Shadab Khan who ..

'Death bowling' concerns for unbeaten New Zealand

Former batsman Chandu Borde has some  advice for the Indian batsmen who struggled in the first Test  in South Africa - stay a bit outside the crease and leave the  balls pitched outside the off-stump.
India were crushed by 72 runs in the first Test at Cape  Town as the visiting batsmen failed to chase a modest 208  target after being shot out for 135 to give South Africa a 1-0  lead in the three-match series.
Borde, who served as the vice-captain of the Indian team  under Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, also exuded confidence that the  Virat Kohli-led side would bounce back in the second Test  starting at Centurion tomorrow.
"First thing is to stay there on the wicket, which is  important, and particularly to leave the ball that is pitched  outside the off stump. Many of our batsmen were either caught  behind or were caught in the slips," Borde told PTI in an  interaction at his hometown.
"Therefore they should change their technique in such a  way that anything that pitches outside the off .

Leave outside off-stump deliveries: Borde to Indian batsmen

The selection committee of  Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has announced a 13-member  team for the 8th Asian Indoor Athletics Championships to be  held in Tehran, Iran from February 1 to 3.
Under the chairmanship of former Olympian G S Randhawa,  the committee also selected a 36-member contingent to  represent India at the Asian Games test event competition to  be held from February 11 to 14 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Jakarta will host the 18th Asian Games later this year  from August 18 to September 2.
After the meeting at AFI headquarter here on Wednesday,  CK Valson, Secretary AFI said, "The athletes were selected on  the basis of their performances in the International and  National Championships including National Junior Championships  held in 2017 and confirming their present fitness levels.
"The team is short as we have excluded certain events due  to inexperience of our athletes on a 200m track."
Meanwhile, Indian cross country athletes will participate  in the 14th Asian ...

AFI names team for Asian Indoors & Asian Games test events

India's C S Santosh and  Oriol Mena of Hero MotoSports team continued with their strong  show in the gruelling Dakar Rally even as the sixth stage from  Arequipa in Peru to La Paz was affected by weather.
The first part of the sixth stage from Arequipa to La Paz  was cancelled owing to bad weather and foggy conditions for  the riders.
The revised sixth stage was limited only to a 194km of  timed section from the originally planned 313km but not before  the riders tackled everything from snow, freezing temperature  and rain, all this at an altitude of 4800m.
Both the bikers from Hero MotoSports team decided to be  safe and cautious with an aim to successfully complete the  first half of the Dakar Rally without any unwanted incident.
Spaniard Mena continued his solid run to finish the sixth  stage at 23rd position and an overall 21st place.
Santosh continued his resurgence in the rankings, despite  a troubled ankle owing to an earlier crash. He finished the  sixth stage at 38th position 

Santosh, Mena continue good show at Dakar Rally

Lionel Messi put on a masterclass in  front of new recruit Philippe Coutinho as Barcelona trounced  Celta Vigo 5-0 to ease into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals 6  -1 on aggregate.
Coutinho, dressed in a black shirt dotted with white  stars, was in the stands at the Camp Nou for the first time  since his 160 million-euro ($192 million) move from Liverpool.
It didn't take long for the Brazilian star to appreciate  the playing riches on show on the pitch.
"The first half was extraordinary," said Barca coach  Ernesto Valverde.
Level at 1-1 after the first leg, the three-time  defending champions were 4-0 up by half-time.
Messi grabbed the opening two goals in the 13th and 15th  minutes, both finished with a sublime first touch with his  left foot, both created by Jordi Alba.
Messi then returned the favour by setting up Alba to  score past the hapless Sergio Alvarez in the Celta goal before  Luis Suarez made it 4-0 on the night after 30 minutes when the  Uruguayan burst through the ...

Messi puts on masterclass for watching Coutinho

The debate on using technology to  help football referees took a twist as the French league  suspended its use of goal-line reviews following some "serious  dysfunctions".
The goal-line technology (GLT) system, provided by German  company GoalControl, was "suspended immediately" by French  football authorities after incidents in League Cup games on  Wednesday between Amiens and Paris Saint-Germain and Angers  and Montpellier.
In Amiens, the problem centred around PSG's second goal  in a 2-0 victory. Adrien Rabiot's flicked header hit the post  and bounced over the line before goalkeeper Jean-Christophe  Bouet pulled the ball back. However "the GLT did not make the  referee's watch vibrate", Didier Quillot, the director general  of the French league said in a conference call on Thursday.
In the second incident, which involved Montpellier  defender Daniel Congre, the problem was the reverse. The  technology "made the referee's watch vibrate in error even  though the ball taken by Daniel 

French glitches put technology under review

Manuel Lanzarote scored a goal in  each half to guide FC Goa to a 2-1 win over Jamshedpur FC in  the Hero Indian Super League here.
FC Goa, who controlled the proceedings in both the  sessions, scored through Lanzarote (45+1, 60th).
Jamshedpur FC, who defended well to deny the home team an  early lead, pulled one back in the 54th minute through  Trindade Matheus Goncalves.
With todays win, FC Goa have collected 16 points from  nine matches, the same as Pune City but are placed behind them  on fourth place. While Jamshedpur FC remained on 10 points  from nine matches and are placed seventh.
F C Goa, who needed a win to stay among the first four,  controlled the proceedings with fluid passes.
Eduardo Debia Pelaez and Ahmed Jahouh combined well in  the midfield and orchestrated the moves with delicate passes  but the rival defence stood firm.
Ferran Corominas, who is the leading scorer with nine  goals, had an opportunity to strike but he was in two minds as  he directed a weak shot ...

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