FC Goa would look to get their  campaign back on track after the shock loss to strugglers  NorthEast United when they host Jamshedpur FC in the Indian  Super League (ISL) here tomorrow.
It will be a battle of the opposites as the team that has  scored the most number of goals hosts the team that has  conceded the least.
FC Goa scored at a rate of 2.5 goals per match, scoring  20 in eight games so far. But Jamshedpur have let in just four  goals in as many matches, and as the visiting head coach Steve  Coppell put it, it looks like offence versus defence on paper.
"Sounds like a good contest - test of our defence against  what has been the most fluid attacking unit until now. They  score goals freely as they've shown against a number of sides  and it is a challenge to do our best to stop them and hurt  them.
"We've certainly not come (here) to only keep them out -  but also try to expose any weaknesses they might have at the  back," said the former Manchester United player.
It may seem 

FC Goa look to recover after NorthEast shock

PTI Automatic

Former world champion L Sarita Devi  (60kg) and Asian silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) advanced  to the semifinals after clinching facile quarterfinal wins in  the National Women's Boxing Championships, here today.
Representing the All India Police, Sarita out-punched  Arunachal Pradesh's Aquillia Dupak in the first round itself  to make the medal rounds.
Railway Sports Promotion Board's Sonia, on the other  hand, defeated Uttarakhand's Kamla Bisht 5-0.
Among other prominent names, former junior world champion  Nikhat Zareen (51kg) sailed past Chattisgarh's Abha to be  assured of her second successive medal.
Also entering the semifinals was RSPB's Pavitra (60kg), a  former world championships quarter-finalist, got the better of  Manipur's Chaoba Devi.
Former World Championships silver-medallist Sarju Bala  Devi (48kg), competing for Manipur, was also among those  entering the medal rounds. She beat Madhya Pradesh's Deepa  Kumari 5-0.
Asian Championships quarter-finalist Shiksha ...

Sarita, Sonia enter semifinals of National Boxing

India will be up against Russia  in their first clash of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) next  month, a much-anticipated return to the semi-professional  event sanctioned by the International Boxing Association  (AIBA).
The team has been named 'Indian Tigers' but the boxers,  who will make up the outfit, have not yet been finalised.
The franchise, fully owned by the Boxing Federation of  India, will replace Mumbai Fighters, the team that had  withdrawn in 2012 due to lack of support from the national  body at that time.
The clash against Russia is scheduled to be in the first  week of February, a Boxing Federation of India official told  PTI.
In March, the country will host the Kazakhstan franchise  on March 24. The other home clashes for India would be on  April 20 and 21 against Russia and China respectively.
In the away schedule, India will take on Kazakhstan and  China on February 10 and March 9 respectively.
India, Russia, Kazakhstan and China make for Group Asia  in the eighth .

Boxing: India to take on Russia in first WSB clash

India's top singles players Yuki  Bhambri and Ramkumar Ramanathan came from behind to win their  respective matches at the Australian Open qualifiers but it  was end of the road for Sumit Nagal and Prajnesh Gunneswaran.
Bhambri, seeded 15th, overcame Canada's Bradely Schuner  1-6 6-3 6-4 in the opening round and will next take on Spain's  Carlos Taberner.
Ramkumar, seeded 28th, edged out American Bradley Klahn  6-7(8) 7-6(3) 6-2 in his match to set up a second round clash  against French man Gleb Sakharov.
Prajnesh made a good start but lost steam as the match  progressed, losing 6-1 1-6 2-6 to Germany's Tobias Kamke.
Nagal, who recently played his maiden ATP World Tour  event in Pune, went down fighting 6-7 (5) 6-3 3-6 to Italy's  Alessandro Giannessi.

Yuki and Ramkumar advance in OZ Open qualifiers

The Indian Olympic Association  (IOA) today appointed Harjinder Singh as the Chef De Mission  for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games to be held in Pyeongchang  next month.
Singh currently holds the post of General Secretary in  the Ice Hockey Association of India.
"On behalf of the IOA I am pleased to inform that  Harjinder Singh has been appointed as a Chef de Mission of  Indian Contingent participating in the Winter Olympics," IOA  President Narinder Dhruv Batra said in a release.

Harjinder Singh appointed Chef de Mission for Winter Olympics

The best of international boxing,  including traditional powerhouses such as Cuba and Russia,  will be in action at the richest boxing tournament ever in the  country -- the USD 100,000 India Open starting January 28  here.
"The India Open is an international Championship that is  being held in Delhi. It will have participation from 25  countries such as Cuba, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia,"  the Boxing Federation of India President Ajay Singh said.
India will be fielding four teams in the event, which  will have both men and women pugilists fighting it out at the  Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi.
Every gold-medallist will be richer by USD 2500, while  the silver and bronze winners in each weight category will be  presented USD 1000 and USD 500 respectively.
"India will be fielding four teams - so a lot of our  players will get experience competing against the best in the  world," Singh told PTI at the sidelines of a promotional event  for the movie Mukkabaaz.
"It is a great ...

Cuba, Russia to take part in India Open boxing

The games had begun, the top  seeds were comfortably seated on their boards, but American  Grandmaster Timur Gareyev was nowhere to be seen.
The clock was ticking and the walkover time-limit of 30  minutes was fast approaching, as 14-year-old Koustav  Chatterjee waited anxiously for his opponent in the 16th Delhi  International Open Chess Tournament.
Gareyev did reach the venue eventually, three minutes  late, forcing the chief arbiter, Vasanth BH, to award the  point to the Chatterjee.
Desperate to score or a GM or IM norm, Chatterjee played  the higher rated American and lost the game after a fight, but  but the point went to the Indian.
Third seeded Indian Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta  comfortably beat Ankit Gajwa.
GM Arkadij Naiditsch, the top seed with a rating of 2701,  had another normal day at the office as he managed to defeat  Egyptian Adham Kandil, rated 2294.
On the second table, unheralded Tamil Nadu youngster A L  Muthiah managed to hold second seed GM Amonatov Farrukh to .

Player misses deadline, plays and wins, but loses point

In-form Dhruv Shorey showed  a different facet of his batsmanship, hitting four sixes in  his unbeaten 59 off 44 balls as Delhi beat Haryana by seven  wickets in a North Zone encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20  Trophy.
Chasing 154, Delhi romped home in 17 overs to remain  in contention for the knock out stages after losing their  opener against Punjab by two runs.
Shorey added 82 runs with Nitish Rana (39 off 26  balls) as Delhi were not for once put under pressure by  Haryana.
Veteran Amit Mishra -- looking overweight and unfit  -- was blasted for 32 runs in his three overs.
Dhruv, normally known for his defensive batting in  longer formats, hit some straight sixes with ease as he  controlled the proceedings from the start after Gautam Gambhir  (19) and Rishabh Pant (9) didn't score many.
When Delhi bowled, medium pacer Subodh Bhati (3/25  in 4 overs) replacing leg-spinner Tejas Baroka, used clever  variation of slower deliveries as Haryana failed to deliver in  the back ...

Shorey, Bhati star in easy Delhi victory

Mithali Raj was today named  captain of the Indian women cricket team that will travel to  South Africa for a three-match away ODI series next month.
Harmanpreet Kaur will be Mitahli's deputy as the BCCI  announced a 16-member squad for the series beginning February  5.
The ODI series will be followed by a five-match T20I  series and the squad for it will be named later.
India Women's ODI squad: Mithali Raj (Captain),  Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Sushma Verma (wicket-keeper),  Ekta Bisht, Smriti Mandhana, Poonam Yadav, Punam Raut,  Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Jemimah Rodrigues, Jhulan Goswami, Deepti  Sharma, Shikha Pandey, Mona Meshram, Pooja Vastrakar, Veda  Krishnamurthy, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper).

Mitahli to lead Indian team in South Africa

Asserting that issues plaguing  the Senior Men's National Championship in Imphal have been  addressed, Hockey India CEO Elena Norman today said the  players will vouch for the effort the national body has put  in.
Hockey players arriving in the Manipuri capital to  participate in the 8th national championship (B Division) had  complained of inadequate facilities.
The athletes had said they were not provided blankets,  adequate food or proper toilets.
"Infrastructure is not a problem, there weren't enough  resources. I went there personally, visited each and every  room, ate with the people there. And now, I can say that every  issue has been addressed," Norman told PTI.
She said the organisers, perhaps, "underestimated" the  logistical requirements of the event before getting things  back in order.
"The athletes understood we are there to help them, and  they are now satisfied," the Australian, who was appointed  HI's first Chief Executive Officer in 2011, said.
Asked about the logic .

All problems addressed, athletes satisfied: Hockey India CEO

China's national marathon champion  and Olympian Wang Jiali has been banned for eight years after  failing a drugs test, her second violation, the Chinese  Athletics Association (CAA) said today.
The 31-year-old, who won gold at the 2017 National Games,  tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO during out-  of-competition testing in August and her career now appears  over.
The CAA also fined Wang 40,000 yuan ($6,000) and banned  her coach Lyu Qiang for life.
Wang -- who came 57th in the marathon at the 2012 London  Olympics -- was banned for two years in 2013 for a previous  violation, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Separately, China's  Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) said it  uncovered 77 violations last year, calling it proof that the  country is stamping down on drugs cheats ahead of next month's  Winter Olympics in South Korea.
China this week banned speed skater Shi Xiaoxuan for two  years for failing a drugs test, the second such case to hit  the national team in ...

Chinese marathon champion banned for eight years over doping

British  motorcyclist Sam Sunderland abandoned his Dakar Rally title  defense Tuesday due to back pain, and Portuguese soccer coach  Andre Villas-Boas was taken to a hospital after his car  crashed against a sand dune.
Rally organizers said Sunderland, the overall leader on a  KTM, withdrew near the end of the 330-kilometer (205-mile)  special around San Juan de Marcona when he was hurt after a  jump.
Adrien van Beveren of France won the fourth stage in  about four hours. He also moved into the overall lead, taking  a 1:55 advantage over Pablo Quintanilla of Chile.
In the car race, the 40-year-old Villas-Boas was in 43rd  position for team Toyota at the time of his accident. There  was no word on whether the former Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham  coach was staying in the competition.
Another Frenchman, Sebastien Loeb, won the car stage  after dueling with defending champion and Peugeot teammate  Stephane Peterhansel.
Loeb and Peterhansel swapped checkpoint leads. Loeb  finally led ...

Sunderland out of Dakar Rally, Villas-Boas crashes

Aanchal Thakur has just one wish  after becoming the first Indian to win an international medal  in skiing -- an end to the government's apathetic attitude  towards winter sports.
The response to her bronze medal winning performance in  Turkey has been overwhelming to say the least. She still can't  believe that none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi  congratulated her on the achievement in a sport that usually  begs for attention.
"I never thought the Prime Minister would tweet for me.  It is unreal. I just hope we are finally treated at par with  athletes of popular sports. As of now, there has been no  support whatsoever from the government," Aanchal told PTI from  Turkey where she secured the bronze in Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup  organised by the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS).
"I just want to say that we too are fighting, working  hard day in and day our for India," she said.
Skiing runs in her blood but it has not been an easy ride  thus far for the the 21-year-old, who 

Aanchal hopes ski medal ends govt apathy for winter sports

Former world and Asian champion L  Sarita Devi was today elected representative of women boxers  in the national federation's Executive Council.
Sarita, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships  last year, was voted in by 22 of the 31 team captains at the  election conducted during the ongoing National Championships  in Rohtak.
She beat Railways Sports Promotion Board's Seema Punia,  the lone candidate up against her in the polls.
"I would be aiming to raise the problems faced by women  boxers because I have practical experience of how things  work," the Manipuri, who is a four-time Asian champion, told  PTI.
"I decided to contest the polls two days ago because as a  senior boxer, I thought it is important that I give voice to  girls and their issues," she added.
Sarita joins former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist  Manoj Kumar as a boxers' representative in the executive  council. Manoj was elected to the position in 2016 during the  national championships in Guwahati.
"I ..

Sarita elected women boxers' representative in BFI EC

Opener Kedar Devdhar struck a  whirlwind 61-ball century as Baroda whipped Gujarat by 36 runs  to leap to the top of the table in the West Zone Mushtaq Ali  Trophy T20 league at the SCA Stadium here today.
Baroda rode on Devdhar's chanceless ton  the first of  the zonal league - to pile on 175 for 7. They then bowled out  their rivals for 139 in just 18 overs to notch up their second  win on the trot and boosted their points tally to 8 from two  games.
Gujarat, who suffered their third successive defeat in  the league, are now left with no chance to make the knock-out  even with a game still in hand in the five-team league.
Batting first, Baroda were in deep trouble against  leggie Piyush Chawla and medium pacer Jayweer Parmar and were  reeling at 25 for 4 with the wickets shared equally by the two  bowlers.
Devdhar, who cracked exactly 100 runs laced with 4  sixes and eleven fours, and Swapnil Singh (44 in 28 balls)  came together and rescued the innings with a blistering  ...

Devdhar scores ton as Baroda trounce Gujarat

The US has welcomed North  Korea's decision to participate in next month's Winter  Olympics in South Korea, saying this is an opportunity for  Pyongyang to see the value of ending its international  isolation by denuclearising.
North Korea yesterday decided to send athletes and  cheerleaders to Winter Olympics in South Korea after the two  countries held their first official talks in more than two  years.
The breakthrough came after months of rising tensions  over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
"The North Korean participation is an opportunity for the  regime to see the value of ending its international isolation  by denuclearising. We hope that we can continue to move  forward on that front, but certainly doesn't affect our  participation," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told  reporters at her daily press conference.
Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula is the number-  one priority of the Trump administration, she said.
"We are in very close contacts with our 

US welcomes N Korea's decision to participate in Winter

Since the job was created 72 years  ago, every manager of the England men's football team has been  white.
When a successor to Gareth Southgate is eventually  required, at least one black or ethnic minority candidate is  set to be interviewed.
Drawing inspiration from the NFL, the English Football  Association announced yesterday it had adopted its version of  the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview a diverse  pool of candidates for coaching and management positions.
"It is the right thing to do but there is also a business  case for it," FA chief executive Martin Glenn said while  overlooking the pitch at Wembley Stadium.
"If your management team reflects more the people that  you are serving then you're going to make correct decisions."
The FA's Rooney Rule covers jobs across all 28 national  teams organized under the England flag, including youth and  disability squads for men and women. Currently, only one  manager is black: Kevin Betsy, who runs the men's ...

Rooney Rule adopted by England soccer teams in diversity bid

Cricketer Yusuf Pathan might soon be  completing BCCI's retroactive five-month ban imposed on him  for a first-time dope offense but as per the World Anti Doping  Agency's protocol, the case is an active one.
Indian all-rounder Pathan was yesterday handed a five-  month retrospective suspension for failing a dope test, a  sanction which will end on January 14 after the BCCI accepted  his plea that the violation was inadvertent.
"As this is a pending case, we are not in a position to  comment," informed Maggie Durand, WADA's Manager, Media  Relations and Communications in response to an email query by  PTI whether the period of the ban imposed on him was WADA-  compliant.
As per WADA Doping Code of 2015, a first-time offense  automatically invokes a four-year suspension.
The BCCI had said in a statement, "Mr Yusuf Pathan has  been suspended for a doping violation. Mr. Pathan had  inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be  commonly found in cough syrups."
The ...

Pathan's case a pending one, says WADA

Navigating a  tough stage involving hidden way points and a difficult  terrain, Hero MotoSports Team Rally riders C S Santosh  overcame a crash to gain over 40 places while Oriol Mena was  ranked 24th overall in the Dakar Rally.
The fourth stage of the rally camped itself in San Juan  De Marcona for one more day of dunes and navigation.
It turned out to be a tough stage for the competitors  with hidden way points and difficult terrain.
Hero MotoSports Team Rally's debutant Oriol Mena  continued his fine form of yesterday to begin the stage well  but lost some time in finding a way point in the later part of  the stage. He finished the stage at 33 position, which placed  him at 24 position in the overall rankings.
C S Santosh came out with purpose and rode hard to cover  a lot of positions despite a nasty crash in the second half of  the stage. He gained over 40 positions on his overnight  ranking of 98, to finish the stage and overall at 56th place.
The stage offered a changed ...

Santosh gains over 40 positions, Mena placed 24th

Ahmedabad Smash Masters secured a  berth in the semifinals of Premier Badminton League (PBL) with  a crushing 5-0 win over Mumbai Rockets on the final day of the  Chennai leg here tonight.
The Ahmedabad team became the first to qualify for the  semifinal, at the Nehru Indoor Stadium.
Sourabh Verma outclassed his brother Sameer 15-14, 15-11  in the trump match to ensure Smash Masters' progress.
Sourabh took a closely fought first game and looked like  running with the second as he opened up a 10-4 lead. Sameer  fought back briefly but that wasn't enough as his brother  looked in control.
It was a thoroughly dominant performance from the  Ahmedabad team, making its debut in the league with World No.1  Tai Tzu Ying underlining her class and H S Prannoy registering  an upset 15-12, 15-12 win over World No.5 Son Wan Ho.
Tzu Ying was in her elements as she dismantled Beiwen  Zhang 15-9, 15-12 in quick time to put Smash Masters 3-0 ahead  after three matches.
Tzu Ying wrapped up the first ...

Ahmedabad Smash Masters secure last-four spot in PBL

Unheralded West Bengal youngster  Utsab Chatterji shocked Russian GM Andrei Devaitkin while top  seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch and second seed GM Abhijeet Gupta  enjoyed easy wins at the Delhi International Open Chess  tournament, here.
In another upset, Karthik Kumar Pradeep rated 2004,  managed to beat GM Himanshu Sharma, rated 2470.
Naiditsch, rated 2701, had a very easy outing after his  opponent Varshini V, rated 2062, failed to create any chance.
"I am wary of the Indian youngsters as they are known to  be dangerous and underrated. Today, it was an easy day," said  Naiditsch.
Arjuna awardee GM Abhijeet Gupta rated 2610 also had an  easy day in office as he beat Karnataka's Likhit Chilukuri  with black pieces.
A total number of 264 players, which include 27  Grandmasters, 24 International Masters are taking part in the  premier section.

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