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.

Utsab Chatterji upsers Russian GM Andrei Devaitkin

PTI Automatic

Mumbai Maharathi outclassed Delhi  Sultans 5-2 on the opening night of Pro Wrestling League  season three at the Siri Fort Sports Complex today.
Rio Olympic Games bronze medallist for India, Sakshi  Malik, played her role as captain of the Maharathis with elan,  winning the crucial fourth point to put the contest beyond the  Sultans reach. She trounced her compatriot Monia 18-2 in what  proved to be walk in the park.
The two teams were locked 2-2 after four contests but  Satender Malik edged out Hitender 7-6 to put the Maharathis  ahead. Sakshi then walked into the stadium like a rock star  and showed what she is all about.
She jumped into a 10-2 lead in the first period of the  62-kg bout and wrapped it up 18-2 to the delight of her fans.
Delhi Sultans were on the back-foot right at the start,  with their captain and star player Sushil Kumar being removed  from the equation. She lost the toss and Sakshi Malik promptly  blocked him.
In return, Sushil opted to block Odunaya of Nigeria, 

Mumbai Maharathi demolish Delhi Sultans on day 1 of PWL

The season three of the Pro  Wrestling League got off to a lukewarm start with a modest  crowd turnout and top draw Sushil Kumar not making his  tournament debut after the opposition blocked the 74kg  category.
A handful of people who had come to watch the action at  the Siri Fort Sports Complex were left disappointed after  Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik, representing Mumbai  Maharathi, won the toss and took no time in blocking the 74kg  category, in which Sushil was to compete for Delhi Sultans.
The crowd numbers increased as the tie progressed but  still more than half of the 3000 capacity arena was empty.
PWL CEO Sunil Yash Kalra felt the turnout would improve  as the 18-day league progresses.
"I am sure there would have a lot more people if Sushil  was competing. But his category was expectedly blocked by the  opposition which is the beauty of this format," Kalra told  PTI.
"Wrestling is a sport where you are never worried about  the crowd support. It has a huge following. 

In Sushil's absence, PWL 3 receives modest response on day 1

Zenit Saint-Petersburg coach Roberto  Mancini said today he was open to taking over the vacant job  as Italy national football coach.
Mancini, 53, is being touted along with Chelsea manager  Antonio Conte and former Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti  to take the reins of the demoralised four-time World Cup  winners.
Giampiero Ventura was fired as coach last November days  after Italy's shock failure to reach the World Cup final for  the first time in 60 years.
Finding Ventura's successor has been complicated because  the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has to elect a  president to replace Carlo Tavecchio who was also forced to  resign.
"Before choosing a new coach it seems to me that we have  to choose a new FIGC president," former Manchester City and  Inter Milan boss Mancini told Italian talk show "Tiki Taka".
"But I absolutely don't rule out Italy, like the other  coaches I think. When you're a coach you can rule nothing  out."
Former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Juventus and AC ...

Mancini open to Italy coaching job

Real Madrid may have ended the year  badly, but Zinedine Zidane has been named French coach of 2017  for leading the club to a Liga and Champions League double.
"I want to show that I can also be a good coach in tough  circumstances," Zidane said in an article published on Tuesday  in France Football magazine, which gives the award.
Real are going through a bad run. They are fourth in La  Liga, 16 points behind leaders Barcelona, and they ended 2017  with a crushing 3-0 defeat at home in the Clasico.
On Sunday, they were held to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.
"Today, yes, the danger is there, but I'm not going to  change. I am aware that I have in front of me great players  who listen to me. Playing football, I know how to do that. So  things will sort themselves out in the end," Zidane said.
"Some people may think that everything is always easy for  me, that I do everything from instinct, but that's not true!  Whether it is as a player or as a coach, I've always worked,"  said ...

Zidane named French coach of the year

Sri Lanka Cricket said today the  sport's global governing body had found no evidence of  wrongdoing following allegations of match-fixing and other  forms of corruption.
The board said the International Cricket Council had  failed to uncover evidence of graft during an investigation  into explosive accusations levelled by former Sri Lankan  players.
SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva said ICC anti-  corruption investigators visited the island in September and  conducted a wide-ranging inquiry.
"They do not put out statements after an inquiry, but if  there is anything adverse, they would inform us. To date, they  have not told us of anything (against Sri Lankan players or  officials)," de Silva told reporters.
There was no immediate comment from the ICC.
The council's announcement in September that it had began  an inquiry followed corruption allegations by former skipper  Arjuna Ranatunga and ex-player and national selector Pramodya  Wickremasinghe.
SLC said its executive committee 

Sri Lanka cricket cleared of corruption, board says

HS Prannoy kept Ahmedabad Smash  Masters' semifinal hopes alive in the third Premier Badminton  League with an impressive display against the Mumbai Rockets  here today.
The World No. 10 won his men's singles by upsetting World  No. 5 Son Wan Ho 15-12, 15-12 in straight games to help  Ahmedabad gain an early 3-0 advantage over Mumbai at the  Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
After losing the first game, the Korean fought back in  the second by taking a 12-9 advantage, but Prannoy stood upto  the challenge and ended up fetching a crucial point for his  team.
Prannoy had made his intentions clear earlier in the day,  tweeting: "1% chance, 99% faith that's how we go tonight for  our last league match!! Do or die for a spot in the semis of  PBL Season 3."
The 25-year-old backed his words on court by defeating a  higher ranked player.
World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying then extended Ahmedabad's  domination by defeating Beiwan Zhang 15-9, 15-12.
Tai Tzu wrapped up the first game pretty quickly but in  

Prannoy ensures Ahmedabad stay in semifinal hunt

Exciting contests are on the cards  as the last leg of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) begins  here tomorrow.
All four teams featuring in the last leg are in  contention for the top four slots.
Delhi Dashers and North Eastern Warriors (both 11  points), who are placed sixth and seventh in the eight-team  table, have as much a chance as the top two teams currently  leading the standings, Bengaluru Blasters and Hyderabad  Hunters.
Table-toppers Bengaluru Blasters (15 points) and  Hyderabad Hunters  (14 points), who play the last match of the  league before the semis, cannot breathe easy either as the  other teams can overhaul their tally and displace them from  the top.
Each team can rake up a maximum of six points if they win  all their five duels (four points each from four wins and two  points from the Trump match).
The only advantage for Bengaluru and Hyderabad before  they clash on Thursday is that they would clearly know how  many points they need, to maintain their status at ..

Last leg of PBL begins here tomorrow

North Korea's decision to take part  in the Winter Olympics in the South was a "great step  forward", IOC chief Thomas Bach said today.
North Korea, which boycotted the 1988 Summer Games in  Seoul, will send its athletes to the Winter Games in the  South, the rivals announced today after their first formal  talks in more than two years following high tensions over  Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
"These proposals mark a great step forward in the Olympic  spirit," said Bach.
The IOC will now wait for the "official reports and the  official proposals from the Tuesday meeting", an IOC  spokesperson said.
"The IOC will then discuss these proposals in particular  as far as the participation, the number and names of athletes  from the NOC of DPRK, and the format of their participation  (flag, anthem, ceremonies, etc.) are concerned.
"We will continue to have these discussions in a positive  and constructive way. Following this consultation, the IOC EB  (executive board) will take the 

NKorea Pyeongchang participation 'great step forward' for

Canara Bank and Hockey Madhya Pradesh  were the only teams to record victories while others drew  their matches on the second day of the eighth Hockey India  Senior Men National Championship (B Division).
Verghese John Kallikkadan scored though a penalty stroke  in the 56th minute to Canara Bank a 1-0 win over Vidarbha  Hockey Association in a Pool B match. It was their second  consecutive win in the competition.
In a Pool C encounter, Hockey Madhya Pradesh edged out  Chhattisgarh Hockey 4-3. Hockey Madhya Pradesh were given a 2  -0 lead after just seven minutes into the game as Prakash  Singh Rawat (6) and Meet Singh Thakur (7) scored.
However, Chhattisgarh Hockey pulled one back in the 18th  minute through Upendra Pillay. But Hockey Madhya Pradesh  scored two more to establish a 4-1 lead as Shivam Bahmare  scored in the 30th minute and Meet Singh Thakur scored his  second of the game in the 38th minute.
Chhattisgarh Hockey made it a nervous final few minutes  by scoring twice ...

Canara Bank, Hockey MP score wins on second day

Former world champion Sarita Devi  (AIP) and Asian boxing championship silver medallist Sonia  Lather stormed into the quarterfinals of the the National  Women's Boxing Championship here.
Sonia (Railway Sports Promotion Board) dominated her bout  against Preeti (Punjab) in the featherweight category,  connecting repeatedly with her combination punches to win  unanimously.
Her 5-0 win put her on course for a potentially exciting  final against Shashi Chopra.
Shashi, who was crowned the World Youth Champion recently  and is fighting her first elite championship, came through her  round with equal ease. She toyed with Saloni Shah  (Maharashtra), showing her usual aggression and speed before  winning 4-1.
Sarita Devi too showed her class in the lightweight  category, beating Muthulakshmi (Tamil Nadu) without much of an  effort.
In fact, she was so effective in the squared ring that  the referee had to stop the contest in the first round itself.
Earlier, entering the quarters was ...

Sonia, Shashi on course for clash in final of national boxing

India's swing bowler Bhuvneshwar  Kumar today jumped eight places to a career-best 22 following  his impressive show in a lost cause in the first Test against  South Africa but Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara slipped in  the ICC ranking ladder.
Kumar had taken six wickets across two South African  innings in the first Test, which India lost by 72 runs.
In the rankings for the Test batsmen, Australia's Steve  Smith remained on 947 points in first position, but there was  some movement just behind him.
India skipper Kohli lost the second position to his  England counterpart Joe Root and was placed third ahead of  Kane Williamson, who was ranked third before.
Root earned 26 points from the Sydney Test, in which he  was dismissed once while scoring 141 runs, but Kohli dropped  13 points after his contributions of five and 28 at Newlands.
Pujara's scores of 26 and four resulted in his total  falling by 25 points.
South Africa's Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar slipped three  places apiece to ..

Bhuvneshwar achieves carer-best rank; Kohli, Pujara drop

He is the only Indian to get a  start in an Europa League game but the country's numero uno  goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu revealed that Bengaluru FC  pays him much more than what he used to get at Norwegian club  Stabaek FC.
"People had that perception that I was earning more  playing for the Norway club. But it wasn't the case. I am  earning more playing Indian Super League," he told PTI during  an interaction.
However the gigantic Punjab lad won't mind if he is paid  Rs 17 crore like India captain Virat Kohli, who represents  city's cricket franchise Rpyal Challengers Bangalore.
"Whether it's me or any footballer, we would love to get  paid as top cricketers, who get Rs 16-Rs17 crore playing IPL,"  Gurpreet said.
Gurpreet, however, said he would go back to European  clubs if it meets his terms and conditions.
"When I went to Europe, I did not set any terms. I only  thought of improving and developing my game. Now, I have some  international exposure, if I get a chance to play ...

I earn more playing for Bengaluru than Stabaek: Gurpreet

Annoyed by the "gutter media  campaign" against his plan to get married for a third time,  Pakistan's flamboyant cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan  today asked whether he had "sold" state secrets to India or  "laundered" the country's wealth to deserve a bad press.
Breaking his silence over reports of his "marriage" to  his spiritual guru Bushra Maneka, Pakistan's Opposition leader  blamed ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and owner of a  private media house for the "vicious, gutter media campaign"  against him in recent days.
In a series of tweets, the 65-year-old former cricket  captain said that he was only concerned about "his children  and the very conservative family of Bushra begum."
He alleged that the "vicious, gutter media campaign" was  being led by NS [Nawaz Sharif] and MSR [Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman],  adding that it did not bother him. Shakil-ur-Rahman is the  founder of Geo Television Network.
In another tweet, he told "NS & MSR" that their vicious  campaign has ...

Imran Khan hits out at critics against his 3rd wedding plan

The 68th Senior National  Basketball Championship for men and women will be held in  Chennai from January 17t to 24.
Uttarakhand men and Kerala women are the defending  champions.
The championship is being organised by the Tamil Nadu  Basketball Association under the aegis of the Basketball  Federation of India. The center of attraction would be the  number of International players participating in this  championship, increasing the level of competition.
The prestigious event will feature the best basketball  talent from various Indian states and union territories and  will be played in a league cum knockout format.
The championship is one of the biggest and most important  basketball events in the country anually because it plays a  major role in the selection process for the senior Indian  men's and women's teams based on the players' performances.

Senior Basketball Nationals in Chennai from January 17

The winless run broken, Mohun Bagan  will look to continue the momentum when they take on Minerva  Punjab FC in their penultimate Hero I-League home game here  tomorrow.
The Green and Maroons are high on confidence after  finally scoring in a game from open play after four matches.
Chief coach Sankar Lal Chakraborty, who is only a game  old in his new position, will be looking to lift his side from  mid-table incongruity.
"We are trying hard to do well but unfortunately that's  not happening. No one wants to lose or draw but it happens.  The big teams, who are title contenders, will never want this  bad patch to continue. We have promised to come back soon,"  said Chakraborty.
With league leaders East Bengal dropping points the other  night, Mohun Bagan can ill-afford to take any chances against  Minerva Punjab FC, who looked like the runaway favourites for  the title when the season began.
Sony Norde is still nursing his injury but the focus will  be on Cameron Watson who played the .

Mariners face Minerva Punjab FC challenge

World Corporate Golf Rankings  (CGR) today launched a unique web-based ranking system for  corporates that takes into account various factors along with  their golfing skills.
They  website - www.worldcgr.com - will have 11000  members by Invitation only, reaching out to 200 golf clubs and  more than 300 corporate houses all over the country.
It will  be taken across the world in 18 countries such as Japan and  Singapore.
The rankings will look at a person's designation,  percentage increase in company's net worth, market  capitalisation along with their performance in CGR Golf  tournaments.
CGR will feature a golf tournament and fourball parties  in Delhi, Mumbai and other metros culminating into a grand  finale wherein the top 60 golfers from the 30 categories will  play over three days in Goa.
Founder of CGR Suneal Mangal said, "CGR has embarked upon  the plan to create a worldwide network of corporate golfers to  facilitate networking, and recognition of the premium and  affluent .

Unique Corporate Golf Ranking launched

FC Goa have announced the signings of  India U-19 goalkeeper Mohammed Nawaz and winger Lalmuankima  with the former joining the development team in the Goa Pro  League while the latter will ply his skills in the first team  set-up.
Nawaz is a Manipuri born goalkeeper, who was part of the  Indian team that took part in the 2016 BRICS U-17 tournament  held in Goa and started for the team in their fixtures against  eventual winners Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa.
He was also a part of the Indian U-19 team that took part  in the AFC U-19 championship in Saudi Arabia recently.
Lalmuankima is an established I-league player, who was a  part of the Aizawl FC set up. He is a winger, who can play as  a forward/inside forward as well.
He made history with Aizawl when the club won the 2016-  2017, finishing ahead of a number of Indian heavyweights.
Additionally, he was awarded the Best Forward of 2017 in  the Mizoram Premier League.

FC Goa sign Mohammed Nawaz and Lalmuankima

Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir  began their quest to get fresh IPL contracts in earnest,  hitting half-centuries, as Punjab pipped Delhi by two runs in  a marquee North Zone encounter of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Yuvraj scored 50 off 40 balls, an innings that was  overshadowed by Manan Vohra's 74 off 50 balls, as Punjab  scored a decent 170/3 in 20 overs.
In reply, Gambhir kept Delhi in the game with a 54-ball  66, but his team finished at 168/4 in 20 overs.
Three IPL franchises -- Delhi Daredevils (CEO Hemant  Dua), Mumbai Indians (TA Sekar) and RCB (Avinash Vaidya) had  their representatives checking out the form and fitness of  various players before the auctions on January 27 and 28.
The BCCI tournament's sole purpose is to give talent  scouts of various franchises a taste of new talent and an  update on the form of some proven performers.
The two seasoned pros, Yuvraj and Gambhir, who till  recently were soughtafter T20 players, showed their prowess,  albeit with sporadic ...

Yuvraj scores 50 in Punjab's thrilling 2-run win vs Delhi

Bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos will  have their task cut out when they host Kerala Blasters in an  Indian Super League (ISL) match here tomorrow.
The Dynamos started the season with a bang, beating FC  Pune City 3-2 in their opening match. But, in the seven  matches played since then, they have lost six and drawn one -  and find themselves rock bottom in the table.
Another club that wasn't expected to be caught in the  quagmire of the bottom three is Kerala Blasters, but they are  in eighth. A disappointing start has seen them recall David  James as head coach. His first job will be to secure a victory  after a run of three matches without a win.
The Dynamos continue to hog possession and stitch up good  passing play, but their failure to win has left fans  exasperated.
"Kerala are strong in defence and very experienced. They  are compact and difficult to break down. But it is also  difficult for them against us," Dynamos' head coach Miguel  Angel Portugal said.
"At home it is most ...

Struggling Dynamos host rejuvenated Blasters

Former world and Asian champion L  Sarita Devi (60kg) today advanced to the quarterfinals of the  National Women's Boxing Championships here.
Sarita, who won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships  last year, defeated Tamil Nadu's Muthulakshmi in a bout that  had to be stopped in the opening round itself. Sarita is  competing for All India Police at the event.
Also entering the quarters was President's Cup bronze-  medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) of Assam. Borgohain got the  better of Maharashtra's Almas Shaikh in a unanimous 5-0  verdict.
Railways Sports Promotion Board's boxers had a good day  with Asian Championships quarterfinalist Shiksha (54kg) and  former national champion Pavitra (60kg) entering the quarters.
While Pavitra out-punched Bihar's Shivani Bharti, Shiksha  defeated Rajasthan's Jyoti 5-0.
Results from Morning Session:
Light Fly (45 - 48 KG) : Monika (Har) bt Pallavi (HP) RSC  Round 1; Rebecca Lalinmawii (Miz) bt Puja Ranpal 5:0; Archana  Thapa (Utk) bt Fancy ...

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