Sumo's top-ranked referee sexually  harassed a teenage referee last month, Japanese media reported  today, in a fresh blow to the ancient sport after a former  champion was charged over a brutal assault on a rival.
While drunk on the night of December 16, Shikimori  Inosuke, 58, molested his male junior by kissing him and  touching his chest at a hotel in Okinawa, where sumo wrestlers  were making a winter tour, public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo  News said.
The top referee, whose real name is Itsuo Nouchi,  apologised to his junior for the harassment, NHK and Kyodo  said, quoting Japan Sumo Association officials.
"I don't remember anything as I was heavily drunk,"  Shikimori said, according to Jiji Press. "I don't know why I  did such an act."
The junior referee has no plans to file a police report,  but the association is expected to take disciplinary action,  local media said.
"It's embarrassing as he is in a position to supervise  others as the top referee," association chairman ...

Top sumo referee apologises for sexual harassment: reports

PTI Automatic

Having regained form with a  convincing win in their last game, Bengaluru FC would look to  continue the momentum when they lock horns with a struggling  ATK in an Indian Super League (ISL) match here tomorrow.
Bengaluru FC beat Kerala Blasters 3-1 win in their last  outing.
The hosts are placed third on the standings with 15  points from five wins in eight games, while ATK are seventh  with nine points following two wins.
Bengaluru coach Albert Roca would like to have a win  before playing two games on the road - against Delhi Dynamos  and Mumbai City.
Roca would be hoping for some fireworks from skipper  Sunil Chhetri and the prolific Miku, who bulged the Blasters'  net twice.
ATK would like to forget the 1-1 draw against FC Goa  after a day-long ordeal of playing a delayed match, which  finished well past midnight at the Salt Lke Stadium in  Kolkata.
The Goan team had arrived at the airport after its  chartered flight got delayed following a technical snag and  later due to a crash 

Hosts Bengaluru eye top spot against ATK

Former Manchester United and Juventus  striker Carlos Tevez agreed a move back to boyhood club Boca  Juniors after 12 months in Chinese football with Shanghai  Shenhua, the Argentine team announced.
"Tevez is coming home! He joined the team today and is  already training with his teammates," Boca said on its various  social media accounts alongside a photo of the player working  out in a gym.
It will be the 33-year-old's third spell at Boca Juniors.
He was pictured in the gym wearing a Boca team shirt  although the club did not reveal the value of the transfer.
Argentine news agency Telam had said earlier that Tevez  had already negotiated what jersey he will wear at the Buenos  Aires club -- number 32.
Tevez joined Shenhua in January last year on an estimated  730,000 euros a week salary, making him one of the world's  highest-paid players.
A spokesman for Shenhua confirmed to AFP Friday that the  club had been in talks with the globetrotting Argentine to end  his contract.
Tevez ...

Tevez leaves China, signs for Boca Juniors for 3rd time

Virgil van Dijk scored a dramatic  late winner on his debut as Liverpool clinched a 2-1 victory  over Everton in a heated Merseyside derby FA Cup tie at  Anfield.
Liverpool had led 1-0 at the break after James Milner  converted from the penalty spot but Everton looked to have  secured a replay when Gylfi Sigurdsson equalised midway  through the second half.
But Van Dijk, who became the world's most expensive  defender when he joined the Reds from Southampton, headed home  six minutes from time in the 230th meeting between the sides.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp handed a debut to record  75 million signing Van Dijk as he selected arguably his  strongest available starting line-up, in contrast to the 1-1  draw in the Premier League played out by the sides in  December.
Brazil playmaker Philippe Coutinho was again ruled out  with a thigh injury as speculation continues to mount over his  future amid interest from Barcelona, while top-scorer Mohamed  Salah was missing with a groin ...

Van Dijk scores winner on Liverpool debut

Usman Khawaja scored his first Test  hundred in over a year and Steve Smith just missed yet another  Don Bradman record as Australia reached 277-3 at lunch on the  third day of the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket  Ground.
Resuming at 193-2, Smith and Khawaja extended their  partnership to 188 runs before Moeen Ali got the prize  breakthrough of Smith moments before lunch, to leave the hosts  69 runs behind England's first-innings total of 346.
At lunch today, Khawaja was 132 not out, with Shaun Marsh  unbeaten on two.
Khawaja's sixth Test century was timely given the 31-  year-old hadn't scored a hundred since his 145 against South  Africa in Adelaide in November 2016, and questions around his  spot in the team had begun to arise after only scoring two 50s  in six innings this series.
Resuming on 91, the left-hander answered those doubts  emphatically as he calmly guided his way through the 90s to  raise his century in the eighth over of the day with a cut off  Moeen Ali to ...

Khawaja century leads Australia to 277-3 at lunch, day 3

Yuki Bhambri and Divij Sharan failed to  take chances that came their way in the doubles semi-finals  against French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Gilles Simon  to crash out of the Tata Open Maharashtra, here tonight.
The unseeded Indians lost 4-6 6-7 (2), squandering as  many as eight break chances in the second set and 11 overall.
Indian challenge has now ended in both singles and  doubles event.
Simon, who earlier shocked top seed Marin Cilic in singles  semi-final and Herbert will now take on second seeded Dutch  pair of Matwe Middelkoop and Robin Haase, who defeated Czech  team of Jiri Vesley and Roma Jebavy 6-2 6-4 in the other last  four clash.
Simon's serve came under pressure in the second set but  Herbert, winner of US Open in 2015 and Wimbledon in 2016 in  the doubles, was as good at the net as he was from the  baseline.
It was far from an ideal start for the Indians with  Sharan dropping serve in the second game. It was Simon's lob  from back of the baseline that put ..

Sharan-Bhambri bows out of Tata Open Maharashtra

South Africa batting coach Dale  Benkenstein has credited AB de Villiers for changing the  momentum as South Africa managed 286 after tottering at 12 for  3 on the opening day of the first Test against India.
"At 12/3, it was not the best feeling as a batting coach.  I was thinking of taking an Uber and leaving for the hotel  because I didn't know how we were going to score runs on this  wicket," Benkenstein said after the day's play.
"They (India) are a quality bowling attack. The class and  genius of AB and the tenacity of our captain (Faf du Plessis)  changed the momentum of the game, or rather that innings (from  AB)," said Benkenstein.
"That one over (when de Villiers score 17 runs off  Bhuvneshwar) was a game-changer. It was definitely the genius  of AB. You cannot tell him how to bat as a coach. It made the  bowlers worry about their lengths and that partnership of 100  runs got us back in the game. It brought belief back in the  change room," he said.
South Africa were again ..

De Villiers changed the momentum: SA batting coach Benkenstein

Thiago Santos rescued a point for  Mumbai City FC with a 71st minute strike against hosts  Jamshedpur FC as the two teams settled for an entertaining 2-2  draw in an Indian Super League encounter, here tonight.
The draw took Mumbai City to the top four with 14 points  from nine matches while Jamshedpur FC are placed sixth on the  table with 10 points from eight matches.
Thiago put the visitors ahead in the 20th minute while  Nigerian striker Izu Azuka scored two late goals in the  first-half to give the hosts a 2-1 lead going into the break.
It was Thiago again, who struck midway in the second half  and helped them leave the Steel City with a point but there  was no denying the class of his first goal.
Thiago scored what can be best described as a stunning  goal for Mumbai City FC in the 24th minute.
After a throw in, Balwant Singh found Everton Santos who  simply rolled the ball into the path of Thiago. The Brazilian  was surrounded by Jamshedpur players all around, but he was  still 

Thiago restores parity as Mumbai hold Jamshedpur to 2-2 draw

Indian pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar  admitted that the bowling attack gave away 30 runs too many as  South Africa reached 286 in their first innings despite being  reduced to 12 for 3 within the first half an hour.
"If we want to be hard on ourselves, then yes we did give  away a few too many runs to South Africa. I think they scored  25-30-odd extra runs. In every hour of play, there were 2-3  overs, where we gave away easy boundaries. That is an area we  can improve on," Bhuvneshwar said at the end of the day's  play.
South Africa maintained a run-rate of over four runs per  over before ending at 3.90 in 73.1 overs.
"It is a concern for us. During the break also, we were  talking about bringing the run-rate down because in Test  cricket four runs per over is a lot. This is something we want  to improve when we bowl in the second innings but overall we  are happy with the lines and lengths we bowled," he added.
Bhuvneshwar finished with figures of 4 for 87 but missed  out on a five-for as 

We have given away 30 runs more to South Africa: Bhuvneshwar

Force India have appointed 22-year-old  Nicholas Latifi as test and reserve driver for the 2018 season  after a fine showing in Formula Two last year.
He will back up Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon and look  after some of the Friday test sessions.
"Force India is a team that has shown constant  improvement for the last few years and I'm proud to become a  part of one of the success stories of Formula One," said  Latifi, who hails from Toronto.
The Canadian came fifth in the F2 standings last season  after one win, at Silverstone, and nine podium finishes. He  also tested for Renault's F1 team.

Canada's Latifi new Force India reserve driver

North Eastern Warriors kept their  hopes alive in the Premier Badminton League (PBL), beating the  formidable Bengaluru Blasters in the opening match of the  Chennai leg at the Nehru Indoor Stadium, here today.
The Warriors took an unbeatable 3-0 lead after three  matches.
It was the first win for the Warriors in this year's  League, having lost its previous three matches. The team from  the North-East won their trump match and also pulled off a  victory in Bengaluru's trump match.
Canadian Michelle Li did the star turn for the Warriors,  by turning the tables on Kirsty Gilmour after losing the first  game to post a 7-15 15-14 15-13 win in the team's trump match.
In the third match of the tie, Li bounced back after  losing the first game rather tamely at 7-15 to Kirsty Gilmour  by winning the second 15-14.
Li, currently ranked 21, got the better of her higher-  rated rival, by pulling off some impressive drops and  capitalising on Gilmour's errors at crucial junctures.
Earlier, ...

North Eastern Warriors 'trump' Bengaluru Blasters in PBL

Gilles Simon staged a dramatic comeback  to knock out top seed Marin Cilic and set up the title clash  with second seed Kevin Anderson, who prevailed in an  excruciating battle against a spirited Benoit Paire at Tata  Open Maharashtra, here today.
In a sensational turnaround, the unseeded Frenchman  toppled the world number six from Croatia 1-6 6-3 6-2 in a  gripping semifinal.
He had also sent packing third seed and defending  champion Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.
Simon, who was once a top-10 player but now placed a  humble 89th, shrugged off opening set debacle to stun Cilic,  the 2017 Wimbledon finalist, in one hour and 51 minutes.
He will now gun for his 13th ATP title, having played his  last final in September 2015 when he lost to compatriot Jo-  Wilfred Tsonga at home in Metz.
Anderson, the US Open finalist, rallied to edge out Paire  6-7(6) 7-6(2) 6-1 in two hours and 19 minutes.
Paire struggled with cramps in his right leg in the  deciding set and Anderson, who .

Simon shocks Clic to set up title clash with Anderson

English pro Alfie Burden started off  his campaign on a perfect note to down Ravi Goenka 3-0 with a  quality break of 89 in the individual invitation category of  Kolkata Open snooker championship at the Hindusthan Club here  today.
After winning the first frame against Goenka of Kolkata,  he started with fantastic long pot and went on for the red-  black combination.
At times, he was off-track but showed great recovery with  the aim to hit a 147 en route to winning in straight frames in  a group A fixture.
Multiple state champion Manish Jain registered an  excellent win against former Asian billiards champion Sourav  Kothari, blanking him 3-0 in first league stage match.
Manish dominated since the start and won first two frames  one-sided. Though Sourav fought back in third frame but Manish  held his nerve better and close the proceedings 3-0.
Kothari returned strongly in his second match to oust  hreevardhan Poddar with a third straight loss in a group C  battle.
Delhi's Sundeep ...

Burden starts off on winning note

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina stunned  second seed Karolina Pliskova today to reach her first  Brisbane International final in four attempts.
After falling at the semi-final stage in her previous two  attempts -- including a loss last year to eventual champion  Pliskova -- Svitolina recovered from 0-4 down in the first set  to win 7-5 7-5.
She mastered the huge Pliskova serve and outhit her Czech  opponent from the back of the court.
Svitolina also showed admirable mental strength when  after squandering a 5-2 second set lead and allowing Pliskova  to level at 5-5, she broke once more and held on to win on her  fourth match point.
"Karolina plays very well here in Brisbane and playing  against the defending champion is always tough," she said.
"I was playing very badly, I was making lots of mistakes  so I just said to myself try to take time, just go for your  shots, but one metre inside the court."
Svitolina won five tournaments on the WTA tour in 2017,  the most of any player, and ...

Svitolina stuns Pliskova to reach first Brisbane final

India were tottering at 28 for  three in their first innings in reply to South Africa's 286  all out at stumps on the first day of the opening cricket  Test, here today.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 1st innings: 230 for seven in 53 overs (AB  de Villiers 65, Faf du Plessis 62, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/87).
India 1st innings: 28 for three in 11 overs (Cheteshwar  Pujara 5 not out; Morne Morkel 0/1).

India 28/3 in reply to SA's 286 all out at stumps on Day 1

Shillong Lajong and Chennai City FC  played out a goalless draw in a Hero I-League match at the JN  Stadium, here today.
It was Lajong who had the upper hand in both the halves  with some dominating football but failed to find the back of  the net.
Lajong made two changes in their starting line-up as Alen  Deory replaced captain Samuel Lalmuanpuia and Kenstar Kharsong  was handed his I-League debut in place of experienced defender  Juho Oh.
It was the home side who were dominating straight from  the kick-off as they enjoyed most of the ball possession.
Ivory Coast striker Abdoulaye Koffi had the first chance  of the game in the third minute mark when Alen's through ball  fell at his feet and he launched his shot, but the ball went  straight into the hands of the Chennai City keeper.
Four minutes later Koffi was again in the thick of things  as Redeem's cross from the left found him, but the striker  failed to connect well.
The inclusion of Alen seemed to be the right move for the  ...

Lajong, Chennai play out goalless draw

ACT Fibernet, India's largest fiber  broadband ISP (Internet Service Provider) today announced its  partnership with IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK), as  its official connectivity and internet partner.
ACT Fibernet, with its extensive fiber broadband  connectivity in Chennai aims to ensure seamless internet  broadband connectivity for the ardent followers of the CSK  team during the IPL matches, a press note said.
The company will be providing wi-fi coverage to the  entire Chennai stadium, taking the in-stadium experience to a  whole new level.
Over 40,000 fans in the stadium will be able to enjoy HD  quality speeds on wifi simultaneously, access internet in the  stadium, catch up on live videos, watch match replays, and  indulge in social media activities.
ACT Fibernet COO Sandeep Gupta said, "We take immense  pride in announcing that we are the chosen connectivity  partner of the CSK team."
"CSK is not just a team but an emotion and passion  amongst millions, and through ...

ACT Fibernet partners with Chennai Super Kings

Six-time world champion Viswanathan  Anand today expressed interest to be part of the Indian team  for the Chess Olympiad to be held in Georgia later this year.
He said this after being felicitated by All India Chess  Federation (AICF) and Tamil Nadu State Chess Association  (TNSCA) here for winning the World Rapid title in Riyadh  recently.
He also claimed a bronze in the Blitz event at the  tournament.
The Chennai Grand Master, who has not played in the  sport's premier team event for a while now and his presence  could add strength to the national squad.
While AICF presented him a cheque for Rs five lakh, TNSCA  gave away a specially designed silver cascade.
Speaking at the event, Anand said it felt happy to be the  world champion again after the tough time he had endured in  the last year and more.
He said he had missed out for a few  years the feeling of  people calling him a world champion. His performance in the  last two years on occasions has been 'wobbly', with good and  bad 

Anand interested to be part of India team for chess Olympiad

Scoreboard at the end of South  Africa's first innings in the opening cricket Test against  India, here today:
South Africa first innings:
Dean Elgar
c Saha b Bhuvneshwar
0
Aiden Markram
lbw b Bhuvneshwar
5
Hashim Amla
c Saha b Bhuvneshwar
3
AB de Villiers
b Bumrah
65
Faf du Plessis
c Saha b Pandya
62
Quinton de Kock  c Saha b Bhuvneshwar  43
Vernon Philander b Shami
23
Keshav Maharaj
run out (Ashwin)
35
Kagiso Rabada
c Saha b Ashwin
26
Dale Steyn
not out
16
Morne Morkel
lbw b Ashwin
2
Extras: (B-2, LB-3, NB-1)
6
Total: (all out in 73.1 overs)
286
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-7, 3-12, 4-126, 5-142, 6-202,  7-221, 8-258, 9-280, 10-286.
Bowling: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 19-4-87-4, Mohammed Shami 16-6  47-1, Jasprit Bumrah 19-1-73-1, Hardik Pandya 12-1-53-1, R  Ashwin 7.1-1-21-2.

 Scoreboard at the end of South

Five-time World Champion MC Mary Kom  will be missing the Elite Women's National Boxing Championship  starting tomorrow even as celebrated names like L Sarita Devi,  Sarajubala Devi vying for top honours and berth in the Indian  squad for this year's Commonwealth and Asian Games.
The reigning Asian Champion Mary Kom will be nursing a  few niggles.
Over 300 top boxers will be stepping into the ring during  the second edition with the Boxing Federation of India (BFI)  indicating that the week-long tournament will be seen as  selection trials for the CWG and the Asian Games.
Most of the newly-crowned champions at the Youth World  Championships from 36-member units have registered themselves  for this competition.
Indian boxers have been on a roll in the year gone by and  will be eager to make the new year equally rewarding for the  country.
"This will be my first shot at the senior level and I am  positive about doing well against the best boxers in the  country," Shashi Chora, gold ...

Injured Mary Kom to skip Women's Nationals, Sarita top draw

NorthEast United FC will look for  change in fortunes under former Chelsea manager Avram Grant  when they take on FC Goa in an Indian Super League match, here  tomorrow.
Having guided Chelsea to the UEFA Champions League final  in 2008, Grant has been roped in as technical adviser in place  of Joao de Deus Pires as NorthEast United FC hope to salvage  their chances despite a poor start to the fourth edition of  ISL.
The Gaurs come here after playing a valiant 1-1 draw  against ATK in a bizarre ISL clash that finished well past  midnight in Kolkata and will pose a strong challenge to the  home outfit.
NorthEast United are ninth on the table with four points  from seven matches just ahead of Delhi Dynamos.
"The mood has changed (in the dressing room) with arrival  of the new (technical) adviser. The boys are geared up and  ready for tomorrow's match," goalkeeping coach Joseph Siddy  said during pre-match media interaction.
With three home matches in a row against FC Goa, ATK  (January ..

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