India sailed into the quarterfinals of Badminton Asia Team Championship with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Singapore here today.
     India, thus, made a strong comeback after suffering a defeat to China in their first Group A tie on Monday.
     Each tie comprises three singles and two doubles matches.
     To begin with, Kidambi Srikanth scored a comfortable 21-16, 12-21, 21-13 win over Zi Liang Derek Wong in the first singles match at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.
     The Singaporean tried to compete but the world number 9 Indian, after losing the second game, bounced back to have the last laugh.
     It turned out to be a one-sided affair for Ajay Jayaram in the second singles against Kean Yew Loh as he went on to score a 21-11, 21-18 victory.
     India's doubles players, too, came up with an impressive performance and won the two matches quite easily. Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy beat Yong Kai Terry Hee-Kean Hean Loh 21-15, 21-14.
     While the duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra .

India register 5-0 win against Singapore, enter quarters

PTI Automatic

The Union Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today congratulated the Indian contingent for their record breaking medal winning performance in the just-concluded South Asian Games co-hosted by Guwahati and Shillong.
     Briefing reporters after the meeting today, Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said Prime Minister Modi  has congratulated the athletes and observed that all SAARC nations have participated in the Games which were conducted successfully by India.
     The 12th South Asian Games concluded yesterday with a grand closing ceremony.
     The event has been widely hailed as the best South Asian Games ever organised, a statement from the Sports Ministry said.
     The Games involved about 4500 participants, including around 2600 athletes in 22 disciplines. All the eight countries participated in the 12-day sporting extravaganza.
     The 12th South Asians Games saw a record medal haul by India. Out of total 789 medals on offer, 

Cabinet congratulates Indian teams for best-ever show in SAG

India's leading denim brand Numero Uno will be the official clothing supplier of next month's ICC World Twenty20.
     The company will also be official clothing supplier manufacturer and retailer of ICC-branded apparel and merchandise till December 2020.
     The ICC World Twenty20 will be held from March 8 from April 3.
     As an official supplier of clothing for the tournament, Numero Uno Jeanswear will manufacture and retail ICC branded apparel and merchandise, which will be available at selective exclusive brand stores and online.

Numero Uno becomes official clothing supplier for World T20

Neymar hit with fraud proceedings in Brazil

Brazilian authorities have blocked assets of Barcelona star Neymar, including a yacht, a jet and several properties worth almost $50 million

Brazil court freezes Neymar assets, including yacht and jet

Press Trust of India

Paris Saint-Germain emergence as a new football force in Europe may have augured well for image of French football but their complete dominance at their domestic club level has posed serious questions about the standard of 'Ligue 1' with other clubs paying the price of a complex tax structure.
     Even the top officials of League de Football Professional (LFP) admit that PSG in the last four years have made it a 'One Team Show' in the French League.
     Sample this: After end of 26 rounds, PSG have sealed the Ligue 1 title with 70 points to their credit. The second placed Monaco are 24 points behind at 46 points. There are still 12 rounds to go in the 38-round competition and PSG's stellar show has made the French League inconsequential.
     "Earlier, PSG used to win Ligue 1 title on match day 35 or 36. This time they had clinched it by match day 25. It is a very complex situation. PSG is the flagship of Ligue 1 but the competition has become very uneven. With huge Qatari ...

Complex tax structure leads to lack of competition in Ligue 1

For the 12th successive time, none could match up to India's regional might but the host country's record-breaking medal haul of 308 can hardly hide the fact that the standard of competition in the South Asian Games has failed to rise significantly.
This was the best performance by any country in the Games' 32-year history
 But what is worrying for the relevance of the event 
is that it has been reduced to an Indian show of dominance for most part.
     This time too, the Indian athletes ran away with 188 gold, 90 silver and 30 bronze medals. The host country bagged more than three-fourth of the total 239 gold on offer in the February 5-16 showpiece.
     Sri Lanka were a distant second with 25 gold, 63 silver and 98 bronze while Pakistan finished at third with 12 gold, 37 silver and 57 bronze.
     The only edition in which India's domination was near comparable was the 1995 Games in then Madras where India won 106 gold -- just less than three-fourth -- out of 143.
     India has ...

India's supremacy unrivalled but competition in SAG a concern

Pakistan cricket team might be fretting over safety concerns ahead of the ICC World T20, but Shillong-leg South Asian Games Organising Committee CEO R K Sharma said by successfully hosting over 300 athletes from the neighbouring country India has proved that security is not a concern at all.
     The senior IPS officer, who was posted in Pakistan, further said the South Asian Games (SAG) reinforced the fact that security cannot be a concern for sportspersons visiting India from Pakistan.
     "By hosting over 300 Pakistani top athletes and officials for over two weeks during the South Asian Games at the highly volatile region of Assam and Meghalaya we have showed that security is not a concern," said Sharma, a recipient of Indian Police Medal in 1997 and Police Medal for meritorious services.
     "It was fully incident free and ask anyone from Pakistan about their experience here and they would tell you," he said.
     The hill town of Shillong hosted eight of the 23 disciplines ...

SAG proved Pak players security not a concern at all: CEO

English professional motorcycle endurocross riderDougie Lampkin will be the star attraction for the India Bike Week scheduled at Arpora in Goa between February 19-20, an official said today.
     "Headlining this year's India Bike Week (IBW) is a moto trials show, featuring for the first time ever the international sensation and undisputed king of trialsDougie Lampkin," Martin Da Costa, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Seventy EMG announced here today.
     Seventy Event Media Group alongside FOX Life is organizing the IBW in Goa.
     Lampkin, renowned globally for his unparalleled skills in the discipline, will take centre stage as IBW 2016's main attraction, he said.
     During the IBW, CEAT which is festival's official safety partner will bring acclaimed national sensation C S Santosh to the festival.
     "India's finest off-road raced, Santosh will host CEAT safety session for the crowd, offering key insights into the riding safety drawn from his rich history and experience 

Dougie Lampkin star attraction of IBW in Goa

Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani came in as a late substitute and scored a winner from an acute angle to give Paris Saint Germain a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in a UEFA Champions League last 16 match, here.
     Although Chelsea lost the match, an away goal keeps them in the contest when the two teams meet at Stamford Bridge on March 9 for the return leg game, feels Blues' coach Guus Hiddink.
    "The defeat hurt us but the away goal gives us some hope," Hiddink said after the match.
     Home team coach Blanc, though happy termed an away goal by Chelsea as the "only regret" in the match.
     It is an eventful win for the French giants, who feel that it is their make-or-break year to assert continental supremacy, so necessary to make the club a bigger global brand.
     Cavani, who replaced Lucas in the 73rd minute, had the winning strike to his credit in the 78th minute after the teams were on even keel at the half-time courtesy Zlatan Ibrahimovic (39th minute) and John Obi Mikel ...

Cavani nets winner in PSG's 2-1 win over Chelsea

The race to host the 2024 Olympic Games gets underway in earnest on Wednesday with the four bid cities -- Budapest, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome -- presenting their initial candidature files to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
     The first step in an 18-month campaign to host one of the world's top sporting events will be a lowkey affair with IOC president Thomas Bach and leading officials currently attending the Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehammer.
     Bids will be transmitted by USB key to IOC headquarters in Lausanne with Los Angeles and Budapest deciding not to mark the occasion, unlike Paris and Rome.
     The Californian city, the 1984 Olympic hosts, will publish their bid on their website once the IOC have confirmed receipt.
     The celebration on the US west coast will take place on Tuesday with the unveiling of the city's official logo, a week after Paris unveiled theirs at a special ceremony in front of the Arc De Triomphe.
     The Los Angeles bid is in line ..

2024 Games candidates unveil their plans

Volleyball's world governing body says "misunderstandings" in Iran are to blame after female spectators were denied entry to a men's Beach Volleyball World Tour event.
	Allowing women to attend the five-day competition at Kish Island had been a condition of world body FIVB for the Iranian volleyball federation to host the event.
	Female fans are traditionally barred from attending male-only sports matches in Iran.
	FIVB spokesman Richard Baker tells The Associated Press "there were some misunderstandings with regard to security" during play today.
	He says women could then watch games from a cafe overlooking the main court.
	Baker says "there have been misunderstandings throughout the day, and we have had to seek clarification."
	He says the Iranian federation "has the best intentions but there are cultural issues.

Female spectators denied entry to beach volleyball in Iran

Leaders Patna Pirates beat Bengal Warriors 32-27 to maintain their unbeaten record in the Season 3 of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi here today.
     The match seemed to be tilting the winners' way in the first half after they made up for the early deficit to lead 17-11 at half-time.
     Patna Pirates have now tallied 38 points in eight matches while Bengal Warriors with one consolation point have 27 points in as many matches.
      After a tense five minutes initially in the second half Bengal Warriors were well paced at 22-15 but a blunder by their otherwise safe bet Pardeep Narwal who sent the crowd in raptures with a super raid, literally brought their rivals back in the match. Bengal Warriors managed to come close to 24-25 when Rohit Kumar back from the success in the South Asian Games again swung the match with a two-point raid. The hosts managed to hold their nerves to rake out a win.
      Both teams were a bit hesitant to attack although Manpreet Singh and Jang Kun Lee started on a 

Patna Pirates beat Bengal Warriors to maintain unbeaten run

As part of a nationwide initiative to spread awareness on sanitation and need to use toilets, UNICEF, ICC and BCCI have launched Team Swachh clinics, which will cover every venue which will host matches of the upcoming ICC World T20 tournament in the country.
	With Rishi Dhawan, a member of the Indian cricket team, hitting for a six tennis balls representing "germs" into the specially-designed WASH clinics, the launch of the clinics took off from the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) cricket grounds premises here.
	Dhawan, who hails from Himachal Pradesh, soon saw children from an NGO reciprocating his act after they recited before him messages on sanitation.
	Though Dhawan chose to remain mum before the media during the entire event, students from local schools spoke with eloquence the purpose behind the act.
	"Through this act, we want to explain the need to avoid defecating in the open," said Manan, a class VII student.
	UNICEF Communications Officer Ideris Ahmad raised ..

ICC, UNICEF launch Team Swachh clinics ahead of T20 World Cup

All-rounder Axar Patel showed his value in the shorter formats with a match-winning knock for his side Reliance 1 against Air India on the second day of the IDBI Federal Life Insurance DY Patil T20 tournament today.
	At the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Axar (50: 29b, 4x4, 2x6) came in to bat when his side was struggling at 66 for four in their chase of Air India's 172-4.
	The 22-year-old added 75 runs for the fifth wicket with Yogesh Nagar (32) as Reliance 1 eked out a four-wicket win with one ball to spare.
	Earlier, Paul Valthaty (81: 58b, 5x4, 5x6) starred for Air India as they posted a challenging 172-4 in their 20 overs.
	The match of the day, however, was the encounter between Tata Sports Club and the State Bank of Hyderabad which ended in a thrilling tie at the University Ground.
	Brief scores:
	Group A: At DY Patil Stadium: Air India 172-4 in 20 overs (Paul Valthaty 81, Prashant Naik 41; Baltej Singh 2-33) lost to Reliance 1 177-6 in 19.5 overs (Axar Patel 50, Yogesh Nagar 

Reliance 1 ground Air India in T20 match; Axar Patel shines

U-17 World Cup tournament director Javier Ceppi today expressed displeasure at the lukewarm response to football by the fans in Goa.
      "Having 500 people watching the I-League matches doesn't show too much of willingness from Goa to be honest. Goans need to show up not only for ISL to watch FC Goa but also for their I-League teams. That's a very large component to it. Also for the AFC U-16 in India will be playing here. We expect nothing but full stadium. That is a show of willingness by the population of Goa," Ceppi remarked at the media interaction after the inspection by the FIFA delegation.
      Each venue will be given the opportunity to host the matches of one group and also a Round of 16 match.
      Ceppi will be one of the decision makers when it comes to deciding the venue for the final. Nonetheless, he believes that the U-17 World Cup will bring a level of football that has not been previously witnessed in the sub-continent.
     "To be honest, in terms of football ...

U-17 World Cup director wants more attendance for games in Goa

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President N Ramachandran hailed the 12th South Asian Games, which concluded here today amid much fanfare, as the "best ever", saying the athletes have raised the bar.
     The curtains were brought down on the 12th edition of the Games today with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also present on the occasion.
     "I can say that the 12th South Asian Games are the best ever. Not only the biggest ever with participation of nearly 4000 athletes, these Games in Guwahati and Shillong were the best. The bar has been raised. The athletes have been at the centre of these Games and they have many Games records," Ramachandran, who is also the South Asian Olympic Council president, said while addressing the gathering during the closing ceremony.
     He congratulated all the athletes who took part in the Games.
     "I congratulate all the athletes who have won medals and those who have not won medals also because .

12th South Asian Games best ever: IOA president

Luck deserted Viswanathan Anand again as the Indian had to be content with a second place finish in the Zurich Chess Challenge that concluded here.
     It turned out to be close call for Anand who played some exemplary chess after a disastrous showing in the Gibraltar International.
     Hikaru Nakamura of the United States pipped the Indian at the post once again as he had the better tiebreak score.
     Last year too, Anand had come to Zurich after a forgettable show in the Grenke Classic at Germany and had won the Classical section.
     After eventually tying for first with Nakamura, Anand had the better tiebreak but an unannounced Armageddon game was played in which Nakamura won and became the winner.
     This year when Nakamura had better tiebreak, there was no Armageddon announced or played.
     Overall it was a very satisfactory performance for Anand and he can now look up to the forthcoming Candidates tournament at Moscow next month. The Indian ace scored seven points out .

Anand finishes second in Zurich Challenge

Old warhorse Mukesh Kumar of Mhow, who missed the cut at the PGTI's season-opener at Kochi last week, came back with a vengeance on day one of the PGTI Players Championship as he snatched the lead with a determined bogey-free eight-under-64 here today.
     Bengaluru's Udayan Mane capitalised on the familiar conditions at his home course to grab a share of second place at seven-under-65 along with Gurgaon's Shubhankar Sharma and unfancied Shivendra Singh Sisodia of Delhi.
     Local favourite Chikkarangappa produced a 67 to be within striking distance of the lead in tied fifth along with Delhi's Kapil Kumar on a day that witnessed 51 under-par scores.
     Veteran Mukesh Kumar, who finished second in the Rolex Ranking 2015, hardly misses a cut in professional golf, but even when he does so, he has a reputation of coming back stronger in the next event. The 50-year-old missed the cut in Hyderabad last year but went on to win the next week in Kochi.
     Mukesh would look to repeat the .

Mukesh Kumar shoots opening round 64 to be in sole lead

Dishing out a superlative display, Dabang Mumbai swamped Uttar Pradesh Wizards 6-3 in their concluding round-robin game of the Hockey India League to keep their hopes of entering the semifinals alive, here today.
     Mumbai scored three excellent field goals, which count as a double strike as per the rules of the tournament, through Gurjant Singh (14th minute), Florian Fuchs (42nd) and Yosuf Affan (59th).
     For UP Wizards, who were knocked out of semifinal contention, V R Raghunath (19th penalty corner) and Chinglensana Singh (30th field goal), were the goal-getters.
     It was only the fourth win for Mumbai from 10 outings, but it was enough to put them level on points with Kalinga Lancers (25) who play Delhi Waveriders tomorrow in the last round robin encounter.
     If Lancers win, Mumbai will be through, but if Delhi win they will be through abd goal difference will come into play to decide the final semifinal spot from among Lancers and Mumbai.
     With both the teams UP ...

Mumbai outclass UP to keep semifinal hopes alive

Northeast India's diverse and colourful culture were in full display as the curtains were brought down on the 12th South Asian Games amid magnificent fireworks that lit the night sky over the capital city today.
     Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal declared the Games closed at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium here to mark the formal end to the 12-day biggest multi-sporting spectacle of the eight SAARC countries, jointly co-hosted by Guwahati and Shillong.
     "I declare the 12th South Asian Games closed," Sonowal said in the presence of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Meghalaya Sports Minister Zenith M Sangma and Indian Olympic Association top bosses to bring a sombre end to the Games competed among more than 2500 athletes from eight countries.
     The Games flame at the cauldron was extinguished as the Guwahati night sky was lit with fireworks. The flag of the South Asian Olympic Council was lowered and handed over to the officials of next host country -- Nepal.
     .

South Asian Games end with a colourful closing ceremony

His father had won the first Olympic medal for Pakistan in boxing and 22 later years, judoka Shah Hussain Shah, is aiming to emulate that feat come August in Rio de Janeiro.
     With the failure of hockey team to make the Olympics cut, their only hope lies with Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist Shah, currently world no 46 in IJF rankings.
     "He's the only one who can now quality for Olympics. We have a lot of hopes on him back home," Pakistan Judo Federation secretary general Masood Ahmed told PTI after he won the gold in minus 100kg at the 12th South Asian Games today.
     It's the sixth gold for the Shah family from the regional mega event with his father Syed Hussain Shah having won five in the past.
     "I miss him, this one is for him. I've got full support of him but he never wanted me to take up boxing and judo being very popular in Japan it became an automatic choice," the tall Shah Hussain Shah said.
     "My aim is to get more than 200 points to qualify for ..

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