Page 1024 - Sports
Australia target first Asia series win since 2011 - Paine
Australian skipper Tim Paine vowed his team would do its utmost to win the second Test against Pakistan starting in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday for a first series win in Asia since 2011. The trying conditions of the pitches and hot weather have stopped Australia from winning a series since they beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in 2011. Since then they have lost 4-0 in India (2013), 2-0 in United Arab Emirates to Pakistan (2014), 3-0 in Sri Lanka (2016), 2-1 in India (2017) and drew 1-1 in Bangladesh last year. But Paine's side snatched a morale-boosting draw on the fifth and final day in the first Test in Dubai, the skipper and number 10 Nathan Lyon seeing out the final 12.2 overs after being set a daunting target of 462 runs. "We want to win every series we are involved in," Paine said Monday. "We are focusing on what we do and if we can do well for five days then we have a really good chance of winning it. "We are reasonably confident. After the last few days we got a little bit of relief and a little
ICC set to impose tougher sanctions for mushrooming T20 leagues
Wider scrutiny of the mushrooming Twenty20 and T10 leagues around the world will be the key issue on the discussion table when the International Cricket Council (ICC) begins a series of meetings, from Tuesday. The threat of corruption in the game has increased with many ICC members following the cash-rich IPL in starting their own T20 leagues. Afghanistan is the latest to join the T20 bandwagon and its league is going on in the UAE. After the exponential growth of the T20 format, the ICC now also has to deal with the T10 league which got the world body's sanction last year. Ahead of the meeting, Geoff Allardice, ICC general manager of cricket, had acknowledged the risk posed by the growing list of leagues. "One of the things we will be talking about in our meeting next week is around regulations and sanctioning of events and also the release of players (for leagues)," said Allardice . "So you look at all of the documentation and the ownership structures and how the league is going to .
Halep secures second year-end No. 1 ranking
Simona Halep has secured the year-end number one ranking in the WTA standings for the second year running. The Romanian spent 40 weeks at No. 1 in 2018, a season that saw her win three titles from a tour-leading six final appearances, amassing a 46-11 win-loss record. This year Halep has won the Shenzhen Open, the Rogers Cup and her debut Grand Slam crown at Roland Garros. In addition, she reached the title match at the Australian Open, in Rome and Cincinnati. "Finishing the season as the WTA World No.1 last year was a huge honour for me," said Halep. "To do it for a second time in 2018 feels like a special achievement, especially having also won my first Grand Slam this year. To be able to see my name again alongside the other legends who have achieved the year-end No.1 ranking makes me very proud." WTA rankings as of October 15 1. Simona Halep (ROM) 7421 pts 2. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 6461 3. Angelique Kerber (GER) 5400 4. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 4740 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 4465 ...
Women's cricket: Australia 'A' thrash India 'A' by 91 runs
Australia 'A' women cricket team crushed India 'A' by 91 runs in the opening match of the three -game ODI series here Monday. Electing to bat at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex facility, Australia 'A' put up a decent 271/8 in their alloted 50 overs before bundling out the hosts for a meagre 180. For the visitors, Tahila McGrath top-scored with 58. The 22-year-old, during her 66-ball-knock, hit 10 fours and a six as she punished the India 'A' bowlers. McGrath received good support from Heather Graham (48) and Naomi Stalenberg (47), who played their parts to perfection as they guided their team to a competitive total. Skipper Molly Strano then made an unbeaten quick-fire 37 off 27 balls to take her team past the 270-run-mark. For India 'A', Preeti Bose (3-42) was the pick of the bowlers. While chasing, the Indian women made a mess of the target and were 55/6 at one stage. Expectations were high from skipper Poonam Raut, but she was trapped in front of .
Ramkumar makes exit, Prajnesh progresses to 2nd round in Ningbo
Third seed Ramkumar Ramanathan was knocked out of the ATP Challenger event in Ningbo, China after a stupendous start but his compatriot Prajnesh Gunneswaran advanced to the second round on Monday. Ramkumar took the opening set for the loss of just one game but Korea's Yunseong Chung turned the tables on the Indian, winning the opening round match 1-6 7-6(7) 7-6 (2) in two hours and 16 minutes. Left-handed Prajnesh moved to the pre-quarterfinals after taming Mohammad Safwat 7-6(2) 6-2 in one hour and 29 minutes. He will next face China's Zhe Li in the USD 150,000 tournament. Meanwhile, Saketh Myneni qualified into the singles main draw with an easy 6-0 6-2 win over Ryota Tanuma and faces Japan's Renta Tokuda in his first round. Arjun Kadhe, the national championship runner-up, though stumbled at the final hurdle in the qualifying event, losing 4-6 1-6 to Japan's Yusuke Takahashi. Young Sumit Nagal, who has been struggling badly this year for form, will open his campaign against Italy's
Panama head coach wary of South Korean threat ahead of friendly clash
Panama's caretaker head coach on Monday said his team would be ready to handle the threat posed by South Korea, who come into their friendly match unbeaten in four games.
Barca's Vermaelen out for six weeks with hamstring injury
Barcelona's Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen will be sidelined for around six weeks after picking up a right hamstring injury while on international duty, the Spanish giants said Monday. The 32-year-old, who has been hit by a string of injuries since signing for the Catalan club in 2014, limped off the field in the second half of Belgium's 2-1 win over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday. "Tests carried out this morning confirm that first team player Thomas Vermaelen has a right hamstring injury. He will be sidelined for approximately six weeks," the club said in a statement. The injury leaves Barcelona short of options in defence as the team is already without French centre-back Samuel Umtiti who has a knee injury, with only Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet at their disposal.
India U-18 men's, women's Hockey team bag silver at Youth Olympics
The Indian Under-18 men's and womens Hockey team finished their 2018 Youth Olympic Games campaign with silver medals.
Rahul Johri's continuance with BCCI 'untenable': Sources
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday stated that Chief Executive Officer Rahul Johri's continuance with the country's apex cricketing authority has become "untenable' in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations by an anonymous ex-colleague.Sources in the BCCI told ANI that they are "very concerned" regarding the allegations against Johri, adding that "the continuance of Rahul Johri has become untenable, especially keeping in mind the presence of women employees in the office and the kind of message sent to women cricketers playing from different states across the nation.""Associations are likely to hold a meeting to discuss the plan of action over the issue," the sources added.An anonymous woman has alleged that prior to his association with the BCCI, Johri took her to his house for the final part of an interview and assaulted her.The BCCI has directed Johri to provide an explanation regarding the allegations within a week.Following the allegations, Johri will ..
Youth Olympics: Indian eves settle for silver in Hockey
The Indian U-18 Women's Hockey team have finished their campaign at the ongoing 2018 Youth Olympic Games campaign with the Silver Medal as they suffered a heart-breaking 1-3 loss against hosts Argentina in the Final of the Hockey 5s competition.India's Mumtaz Khan opened the scoring in the match after just 49 seconds, but the hosts scored thrice through Gianella Palet, Sofia Ramallo and Brisa Bruggesser to secure the gold medal.India started the first period well, as they attacked the hosts right from the opening whistle, and were rewarded after just 49 seconds as in-form Forward Mumtaz Khan scored to give her team a crucial lead.However, Argentina put the pressure on their opponents to find the equaliser in front of their home crowd and were successful in their efforts, as Gianella Palet and Sofia Ramallo scored to turn the match around and help their side to a 2-1 lead at half-time.The second period saw Argentina keep most of the possession, not allowing the Indian team to find ...
Nadal holds top spot in ATP rankings, Djokovic in 2nd
Spain's Rafael Nadal maintained the top spot of men's Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world singles rankings released on Monday with 7,660 points.
ICC Test Rankings: Prithvi Shaw, Rishabh Pant make substantial gains among batsmen
Riding on their impressive show against West Indies in the just concluded two-match Test series, youngsters Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant have made substantial gains in the ICC player rankings for Test batsmen, released on Monday.
Shaw, Rahane boost for Mumbai in Vijay Hazare semis
Formidable Mumbai got a major boost for the crucial semi-final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament with the availability of three top players, two of whom missed the whole or part of the league phase. Rohit Sharma, teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw and seasoned batsman Ajinkya Rahane are the three batsmen who will turn out for Mumbai in the semis. Of these, Sharma, who played in the quarter-finals of the national ODI tournament, will be available for at least the semis along with Shaw and Rahane, who both featured in the victorious Test squad against the West Indies. Mumbai's chief selector and former India pacer Ajit Agarkar confirmed that all the three players were available to play in the semis. Mumbai crushed Bihar by nine wickets in a lop-sided affair in the quarter-finals to make it to the semis. Shaw had played in the initial part of the tournament for the domestic giants before making a spectacular debut in the Test series against the Windies in which he picked up .
Bolt fumes over drug test notice
Sprint legend Usain Bolt says he's stunned after being handed a drug testing notice despite retiring from athletics and having no professional contract as he bids to launch a football career in Australia. The 100m world record-holder quit athletics last year and is yet to be offered a deal by Australia's Central Coast Mariners, where he is currently on trial. "So guys I've retired from track and field looking to become a footballer but look at this," Bolt said Monday via an Instagram video as he zoomed in on the notice. The demand for the out of competition test -- to collect urine and blood -- appears to have been issued by Football Federation Australia. "How am I going to get a drug test today? I'm not even a professional footballer yet. Seriously," said Bolt. "So I asked the lady, 'Why am I getting drug tested when I haven't signed for a club yet?' and she said they told her I'm an elite athlete so I have to get tested. Okay then." Despite his displeasure, it appears the Australian
Beijing 2022 seeks proposals for winter Olympic opening ceremony
Beijing Winter Olympic organizers have invited the world to make proposals for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
It would be a dream to win Ballon d'Or: Griezmann
French footballer Antoine Griezmann, who has been nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or, has said that it would be a dream to win the prestigious award.The last Frenchman to win the coveted trophy was former player Zinedine Zidane.Griezmann said that it would be a proud moment if the award is won by a Frenchman, this time, as they had a great World Cup tournament as well."We'll see what happens. It's always appreciated that I'm considered for this trophy. Without the collective, you can't aspire to anything, less so to win the Ballon d'Or. It would be a dream to win it, that's clear," Marca.com quoted the 27-year-old, as saying."It would be good if the winner was a Frenchman if it's my turn, even better. If a Frenchman wins, I'd be proud that he won it because we had a great World Cup," he added.Speaking about the highs of his football career so far, the Atletico Madrid forward player hoped that his best in the game is yet to come."I hope my best moment is still to come. I am enjoying
Chinese soccer fans fume as China draws 0-0 with India
Chinese football fans are angry and distraught over their much-fancied team's failure to score against gritty India in a rare football match between the two countries leading to a tame goalless draw. The international friendly match held in the city of Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, on Saturday was the first between the two Asian giants in 21 years. Most Chinese fans were sure of victory at home in the Suzhou Olympic Sports Centre, but despite attacking most of the match, China failed to finish off multiple attempts, state-run Global Times reported. A 0-0 draw with India in the "planet derby" between the world's two most populous nations enraged Chinese soccer fans, official media reported on Monday. "It is absolutely devastating to think that these are the best 30 players from a population base of three billion," the daily quoted China Central Television (CCTV) soccer commentator He Wei as saying after the match. "The weak opponent has made the Chinese soccer team look worse.
Patrick Baumann, int'l basketball chief, dies in Buenos Aires
Switzerland's Patrick Baumann, the secretary general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), died here of a heart attack. He was 51.
Maiden Youth Olympic silver medals for India's hockey teams
The Indian men's and women's hockey teams went down in their respective finals but managed to script history by picking up their maiden silver medals in the five-a-side competition of the Youth Olympic Games here. While the men lost 2-4 to Malaysia, the women's team suffered a 1-3 defeat at the hands of Argentina in match that took place Sunday night. The silver medals claimed in the Argentine capital are India's first set of hockey medals in the Youth Olympics. The Malaysian men and Argentina women made history of their own by winning their first-ever Youth Olympic Games Hockey5s gold medals. Argentina men and China women secured the bronze medals respectively following 4-0 and 6-0 wins over Zambia and South Africa. In the men's gold medal match, India took the lead after only two minutes through captain Vivek Sagar Prasad. However, just about two minutes later Malaysia levelled through Firadus Rosdi, but the lead was short-lived as Prasad grabbed his second goal of the match for ...
Del Potro fractures right kneecap
World No. 4 Argentine tennis star Juan Martin del Potro has fractured his right kneecap, initial medical tests said.