Indian cricket team captain Mithali Raj says reaching the semi-final will be their first target in the ICC Women's World Cup starting Saturday.
     Mithali, who led India for the 100th time in her ODI career in May, struck a century four years ago in a seventh- place play-off to salvage something for India in what was a disappointing campaign.
     However, after a record-breaking feat in a quadrangular series recently, she is optimistic about India's chances in the mega event.
     "The Quadrangular Series was very good preparation in terms of gaining confidence and sorting out the composition of the team, but we can't really depend on past glory," she said.
     "Our first target will be to reach the semi-finals, but for that you need to be able to play good cricket throughout the tournament and have good momentum," Raj was quoted as saying in the ICC's official website.
     Raj struck her sixth successive half-century in the final of the quadrangular series as India beat South ...

Mithali insists India will not be resting on laurels

PTI Automatic

The BCCI has decided to invite more applications for the post of Indian team's coach to give the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) a wide range of options for picking the suitable candidate.
     The cricket Board's move came following Anil Kumble's acrimonious exit from the job.
     Kumble yesterday refused extension of his contract till the West Indies tour, citing captain Virat Kohli's reservation over his 'style' of functioning.
     A top BCCI official associated with the process told PTI that another 7-10 days may be given for fresh applications so that other interested candidates with suitable qualification and stature can apply for the top job.
     "Look, when we had invited applications last time, Anil was an automatic entry. That might have prompted a lot of people from thinking that what's the need to apply when current coach is doing well and is in the mix," a senior BCCI official told PTI today.
     "Now the situation has completely changed. A lot of people will now be .

BCCI to invite more applications for coach's post

Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) got a bye into the quarterfinals as India were off to a good start at the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament with two wins on the opening day in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia today.
     Mary Kom, returning to competitive action after a one- year hiatus, will take on the winner of the bout between Russia's Anna Aedma and Korea' Chol Mi Bang tomorrow.
     Strandja Memorial silver-medallist Mohamed Hussamuddin (56kg) and King's Cup bronze-medallist Rohit Tokas (64kg) were among the winners in the men's draw.
     Hussamuddin defeated Kyrgyzstan's Almanbet Alibekov to enter the quarterfinals. He will face China's Ma Xin Ming tomorrow.
     Rohit defeated Russia's Dorjo Dakhaev to also enter the quarterfinals. He will now face Chinzorig Baatarsukh of Mongolia.
     However, Jaideep (75kg) bowed out after losing his opening bout to China's Zhan Chao Feng.
     Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships silver- medallist L Devendro Singh (52kg), King's ..

Mary Kom in Qfs, India off to good start at Mongolian tourney

Striker Rani Rampal will lead an 18-member Indian women's team at the Hockey World League Semi-Final to begin on July 8 in Johannesburg.
     Defender Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam has been named as Rani's deputy for the tournament.
     The team features an experienced line-up with Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Monika, Sushila and Gurjit Kaur forming a part of the defensive line.
     The team has two goalkeepers -- Savita and Rajani Etimarpu while the midfield consists of Ritu Rani, Lilima Minz, Navjot Kaur, Renuka Yadav, Nikki Pradhan and Namita Toppo.
     The forwardline features Rani, Vandana Katariya, Preeti Dubey, Anupa Barla and Reena Khokhar.
     Though the Indian eves suffered a 0-5 loss in their previous tour in New Zealand where they played the hosts in a five-match Series, they will aim for better results at the Hockey World League Semi-Final (Women) which also happens to be a qualifying tournament for the 2018 Women's World Cup in London.
     "While our first aim is to do 

Rani Rampal to lead Indian eves in HWL Semi-Final

India's chief coach Roelant Oltmans has warned his team to guard against complacency when they take on Malaysia in the quarterfinal of the Hockey World League Semi-Final, here tomorrow.
     Ranked sixth in the world, India start as overwhelming favourites against the 14th placed Malaysia but the 0-1 defeat against the same opponents last month in the Azlan Shah Cup Oltmans' men would be fresh in the minds of the Indians, going into tomorrow's game.
     "We need to play with caution and give no room for mistakes because even a little bit of complacency in the knockout stage will put us out of the tournament," cautioned Oltmans.
     "Malaysia is a good side and no opponent can be taken lightly."
     He is pleased with the display of his strikers so far in the tournament, but the Dutchman said India need to improve with every game.
     "This has been a good aspect for us with the team scoring some fantastic field goals and I am pleased with how the forwards have done so far.
     ...

No room for complacency in knockout stage, says Oltmans

Jolted by a loss to the Netherlands, India would look to regroup quickly when they take on Malaysia in the quarter-final of the Hockey World League Semi-Final, here tomorrow.
     After registering three convincing wins against Scotland, Canada and Pakistan, India wasted chances galore to slump to a 1-3 defeat against the Netherlands, their first in the tournament.
     The loss meant India finished second in Pool B behind Netherlands, who kept a clean slate.
     The Indians only have themselves to blame for the defeat against the Dutch as besides conceding soft goals, they wasted numerous scoring chances.
     And come tomorrow, Roelant Oltmans' men cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes against Malaysia, who are capable of springing surprises on their day.
     "This was our toughest match in the group and we had our chances, too. The good thing is that we came back after being 3-0 down but we didn't do enough and got punished," coach Oltmans had said after the defeat against ...

Misfiring India eye perfect game against Malaysia

Indian shuttlers had a mixed day at the Australian Open Super Series as Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth progressed to the second round but four others were knocked out in the first round itself, here.
     Srikanth, who won the Indonesia Open last week, continued his good form by defeating Chinese Taipei Kan Chao Yu 21-13 21-16 in the men's singles opening round while Sai Praneeth had to sweat it out to register a hard-fought 10-21 21-12 21- 10 win over Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto.
     Srikanth will next play top seed Son Wan Ho of Korea, while Sai Praneeth will be up against Huang Yuxiang of China.
     In the women's singles, Saina was up against a tough opponent in fourth seed Sung Ji Hyun of Korea but the former world no.1 showed her masterclass to beat her opponent in straight games 21-10 21-16.
     Later in the day, fifth seed PV Sindhu will play Japan's Sayaka Sato while Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will take on Chen Xiaoxin of China.
     However, it was curtains .

Srikanth, Saina, Praneeth advance in Australian Open

Top seeded Leander Paes and Adil Shamasdin came from behind to secure a quarterfinal berth at the Aegon ATP Challenger while Purav Raja and Divij Sharan had no problems in progressing to the last eight, here.
     Paes and his Canadian pair overcame Australian pair of Matt Reid and John-Patrick Smith 4-6 6-3 12-10 in their opening round of the Euro 127,000 grass court event.
     They next face Belarus' Andrei Vasilevski and Chile's Hans Podlipnik-Castillo for a place in the semifinals.
     Raja and Sharan, second seeded, humbled Victor Estrella Burgos and Darian King 6-2 6-4 in their first round.
     They are now up against Thai twins Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana.
     Meanwhile, at the ATP500 Aegon Championships in London, Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig got the better of Kyle Edmund and Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3 6-7(5) 10-7 in the first round.
     They now run into top seeded Henri Kontinen and John Peers, who battled past American team of John Isner and Steve Johnson 7-6(10) 7-6(6) 

All Indians advance to quarterfinals

With their World Cup winners absent in Russia, Germany's rising stars are relishing their chance to shine at the Confederations Cup.
     None of the side that won the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil is present in coach Joachim Loew's squad in Russia, with some having retired and others either injured or rested.
     After a season in a struggling Schalke team, central midfielder Leon Goretzka was one of those who seized his chance in Monday's opening 3-2 win over Australia.
     He scored Germany's third goal in the Group B game with a deft strike from Joshua Kimmich's pass having won the penalty which Julian Draxler converted for the second goal in Sochi.
     But it was not all completely smooth and Germany's young guns know there is still much room for improvement as they prepare to face Chile next on Thursday in Kazan.
     "We cannot allow so many mistakes against Chile and we need to be more efficient up front," said Bayern Munich's Kimmich, Germany's first-choice right-back at .

Germany's rising stars relishing chance to shine

Jordan Thompson savoured the best moment of his life as the Australian underdog handed world number one Andy Murray a humiliating first round defeat at Queen's Club.
     Thompson had never won a Tour-level grass-court match before and the world number 90 wasn't even in the tournament when he woke up on Tuesday morning.
     But 24 hours later Thompson was the talk of the tennis world after an astonishing 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory over Wimbledon champion Murray.
     The 23-year-old thought his chance of playing a first Tour-level tournament this year had gone when he was beaten by France's Jeremy Chardy in the second round of Queen's qualifying on Sunday.
     But Thompson remained at the west London venue as an alternate in case any players pulled out and his patience was rewarded when Aljaz Bedene, Murray's scheduled opponent, withdrew with a wrist injury just hours before the match.
     "I signed in for the 'Lucky Loser' spot. There weren't too many matches yesterday, but I hung ...

Thompson in dreamland after stunning Murray

Sunil Gavaskar today described the resignation of national cricket head coach Anil Kumble as a sad day for Indian cricket and patted him for doing a great job in his one-year stint.
     "I have very little knowledge about the differences between Virat and Anil. But it is a really sad day for Indian cricket," Gavaskar said.
     "India have won everything since the time Anil took over. I can't see Anil doing much wrong in one year. Difference happen in any team but see at the results," he told NDTV.
     During his playing days, Kumble was known as a feisty fighter, even winning matches by bowling with a broken jaw, and Gavaskar wondered why he did not stand up this time.
     "Anil must have had his reasons (of resigning). I would have thought Anil would carry on. Once the CAC expressed their confidence in him, Anil should have stuck around. Hope he will take it on the chin and comes back stronger. But it is the first time a known fighter like Anil did not stand up," said the former .

Sad day for Indian cricket: Gavaskar on Kumble exit

Former cricketers including Michael Vaughan and Bishan Singh Bedi today said Anil Kumble stepping down as head coach was a big loss to the Indian team.
     "India are losing a Great man in @anilkumble1074 ... realty hope he stays in some role .... Far too good a bloke to lose ... #India," tweeted Vaughan.
      Former India spinner Bishan Bedi tweeted: "Gratitude has obviously been thrown out of the window by whoever raising 'revolt' against India's giant @anilkumble1074! Loser's Indian Cricket of course!"
     Former India opener Aakash Chopra said the situation could have been handled better.
    "It (the coach selection process) should have been done after the home season and not just before the Champions Trophy. It could have been handled better but that is how the cookie has crumbled," he said.
    Kumble today stepped down from his position after a widely-speculated feud with captain Virat Kohli, marking a bitter end to a highly successful tenure.
    The team did well under ...

Kumble stepping down a great loss to Indian team: Vaughan

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) today said it has lodged a police complaint against five players for allegedly submitting forged documents at the time of registration with it.
	These five players were identified as Soham Panwalkar, Mohd. Faiz Rathod, Amey Chemburkar, Govind Yadav and Altamash Khan, an MCA release issued here said.
	"The decision to lodge a complaint was taken at the MCA's annual general meeting. The Managing Committee members were today informed about this decision," MCA sources said.
	The complaint was lodged at the Marine Drive police station, they said.
	Sources said that the association would also take action against other players, if they were found guilty on a similar charge.
	"The association is continuing on the path of investigating different cases of players registered with suspicious documents and will proceed with lodging police complaints against the guilty players," the release said.
	"MCA's legal committee is also in the process of finalising the ..

MCA lodges complaint against 5 players for 'forged documents'

India cricket coach Anil Kumble today stepped down from his position after a widely-speculated feud with captain Virat Kohli, marking a bitter end to a highly successful tenure.
     "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirms that Anil Kumble has withdrawn his services as the post of the Head Coach for the Senior India Men's team," said the BCCI in a statement.
    "While the Cricket Advisory Committee had endorsed an extension to his tenure as Head Coach, Anil Kumble has decided not to continue as the coach," read the statement further.
     Kumble's decision comes in the wake of reports claiming rifts between him and Kohli, and just two days after India's embarrassing loss to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final.
     His one year contract expired at the end of the Champions Trophy but he was given the option to travel with the team to the West Indies for the limited overs series beginning on Friday.
     However, Kumble decided to stay back in London for the ICC ..

Kumble steps down as India coach

The young Pakistani players who played in the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time and won the title have become instant millionaires after a string of cash and other rewards announced today.
     Opener Fakhar Zaman, pacer Rumaan Raees and all-rounder Fahim Ashraf all made their ODI debuts in the Champions Trophy while 18-year-old spinner Shadab Khan has just played seven ODIs for Pakistan.
     Others like captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Hassan Ali, Emad Wasim were also playing in their first Champions Trophy tournament.
     For all these players, the Champions Trophy is turning out to be a bonanza in financial terms.
     Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced to give cash award of ten million rupees to each player.
     Information minister Maryam Aurangzeb told the media in Islamabad that Sharif will also host a grand reception for the winning team. The players have also been invited to visit the Senate with the trophy to honour them for their victory.
   

Pakistan players turning instant millionaires after CT win

Anil Kumble has reportedly stepped down as India's chief cricket coach amid speculation of a rift with captain Virat Kohli.
     Although, none of the BCCI top officials, who are in London for the ICC Annual Conference, were available for confirmation but it is being widely reported that Kumble has submitted his resignation.
     Kumble's decision comes in the wake of reports claiming rifts between him and Kohli, and just two days after India's embarrassing loss to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final.
     His one year contract expired at the end of the Champions Trophy but he was given the option to travel with the team to the West Indies for the limited overs series beginning on Friday.
     However, Kumble decided to stay back in London for the ICC 'Annual Conference' as he is the chairman of the Cricket Committee while the Indian team boarded the flight to Barbados.
     The BCCI had invited fresh applications for the post of head coach days before the start of Champions ...

Kumble quits as India coach

Jose Mourinho was today accused by Spanish authorities of failing to pay 3.3 million euro (USD 3.7 million) in taxes at Real Madrid as star player Cristiano Ronaldo was summoned to appear before a judge next month.
	The 54-year-old Mourinho, who coached Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, was accused of "two offences against the public treasury," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
	Prosecutors claim that the Portuguese manager -- who took over at Manchester United last year -- failed to declare income of 1.6 million euros in 2011 and 1.7 million euros in 2012.
	Real Madrid star Ronaldo was last week accused of evading 14.7 million euros through offshore companies and will appear before a judge on July 31, judicial sources told AFP.
	The 32-year-old Portuguese star is facing four charges of fraud through offshore companies between 2011 and 2014.
	The hearing will take place on July 31 in a court at Pozuelo de Alarcon, in the suburbs of Madrid, according to Spanish press ...

Football: Mourinho accused of tax fraud, Ronaldo before judge

India fought hard before losing 1-3 against higher-ranked Netherlands to suffer their first defeat in the Hockey World League League Semi-Final here today.
     All the goals came in the first two quarters of the match with Netherlands scoring through Thierry Brinkman (2nd minute), Sander Baart (12th) and Mirco Pruijser (24th), while Akashdeep Singh sounded the board for India with a brilliant field strike.
     The loss, however, did not make any impact on India's chances in the tournament as they had already qualified for the quarter-finals before today's encounter as they had registered wins in their first three games.
     Netherlands topped Pool B with an all-win record from four matches, while India finished second with three wins from four games.
     India will take on Malaysia on Thursday while Netherlands will face fourth-placed team in Pool A -- China -- in the quarter-finals on the same day.
     Going by world rankings, Netherlands (4th) were rated as favourites against ..

India lose to Netherlands 1-3, to face Malaysia in quarters

Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman, who became overnight hero following his match-winning knock against India in the ICC Champions Trophy final, has credited former captain Shoaib Malik for inspiring and motivating the team after it's disastrous start to the tournament.
     Zaman, who won the man-of-the-match award for his scintillating century in the final against India, said Malik had boosted the team's morale with his inspirational talk after morale-shattering loss against the arch-rivals in the tournament opener.
     Zaman returned to Peshawar today to a hero's welcome from where he journeyed by road to Mardan, his birth place.
     "Shoaib Malik gave an inspirational talk at the meeting and he said things about our proud cricket history that really hit us. I think it breathed new life into our campaign. We decided at that meeting that we will play all remaining matches with a changed approach and be more aggressive," he said.
     Zaman, who nearly missed the final due to a stomach ..

Malik's pep talk lifted our spirits, says Zaman

Ace cueist Sourav Kothari suffered a setback but led his team RKG Snooker Champs in defeating City Knights 4-3 on the opening day of the Bengal Premier League here today.
     Kothari lost to Himanshu Jain 49-61 but in the next match Manish Jain beat Manan Chandra 54-26 to make it 1-1.
     RKG then won successive matches in the doubles to make it 3-1. The Jain and Benay Agarwala pair got the better of Chandra and Rajesh Tulsian 69-40 before Kothari and Abhishek Kedia beat Himanshu Jain and Ravi Goenka 44-29.
     City Knights pulled one back as Benay Agarwala lost to Rajesh Tulsian 58-65 but Saif Khan beat Rohan Gandhi 43-09 in a dominant display in the next rubber to clinch the issue.
     Kothari had another setback when he and Anil Poddar lost to Himanshu Manan Chandra 29-85 but they had already settled the match.
     In another match, Rockets defeated Alpha Cueists 4-3 while Pappu Penguin beat Cue Magicians in an identical result.
     Each team has to play 9 league matches and .

Kothari loses but his team wins in BPL Snooker

Cristiano Ronaldo's woes deepened today when the star striker who reportedly wants to quit Real Madrid was summoned to appear before a judge investigating tax fraud.
     Ronaldo, 32, said to have vowed that he would never play for Real Madrid again, was ordered to appear in a Madrid court on July 31 to answer four counts of tax evasion of 14.7 million euro ($16.5m).
     Spain's Budget Minister
     Urged media to respect the presumption of innocence regarding the four-time world player of the year.
     "What is very important for me is to insist that no one is a criminal if he is not convicted," Montoro told a press conference.
     "That is why we must apply the principle of presumption of innocence in all areas."
     Unhappy Ronaldo has left his future at the Spanish giants in doubt after angrily announcing last week that his "conscience is clear."
     Spanish tax authorities are also targeting Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United manager who was on Tuesday accused of evading ..

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