Page 1037 - Sports
Shanghai Masters: Federer moves to quarters stage
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has advanced into the quarter-final of the ongoing Shanghai Masters after beating Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in their pre-quarters clash here on Thursday.The 37-year-old edged past his Spanish opponent 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in a closely fought match that lasted one hour and 52 minutes.The Swiss player, who managed an easy victory over Agut in the first set, lost his way in the second set after the Spaniard won four straight games to take a 4-1 advantage in the penultimate set.The defending champion, however, made a strong comeback and broke his opponent's serve in the eighth game to eventually book his place in the last eight of the tournament.In other matches, Japanese player Kei Nishikori registered a straight-set 7-6, 6-4 win over Sam Querrey of America to move into the Shanghai Master quarter-final.Earlier, Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic had also entered the quarter-final of the tournament after thrashing Marco Cecchinato of Italy 6-4, .
Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team announces four-rider squad for Dakar 2019
Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team on Thursday announced a four-rider squad for the Dakar Rally 2019, scheduled to take place between January 6 to 17 in Peru. The team includes the experienced Metge brothers -- Michael and Adrien -- from France, Enduro Champion Lorenzo Santolino from Spain and an Indian rider will also be a part of the rally. The team will be riding specially built RTR 450 rally motorcycles. With strong performances, this year in the Baja Aragon, PanAfrica Rally & Rally of Morocco, the SHERCO TVS Rally Factory Team is aiming for a top-10 finish at Dakar 2019. Lorenzo Santolino will be participating for the first time in Dakar, while it will be the 6th Dakar for Michael Metge and 4th for Adrien Metge. India's Aravind KP is recovering from the injury sustained during PanAfrica rally. He will undergo a fitness test on Oct 26th in France post which the team will decide on his selection. If Aravind KP is not selected, the team will have the option to select another Indian ..
Rishabh Pant in squad for first 2 Windies ODIs
Rising wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was on Thursday included in the India squad for the first two One-Day Internationals (ODI) of the five-match rubber against the West Indies on October 21 and 24, the BCCI announced.
PKL-6: Monu replaces injured Surender as Haryana Steelers captain
Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) franchise Haryana Steelers on Thursday suffered a major blow when their captain and ace defender Surender Nada was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a broken elbow.
AFC nominates I-League for best developing league award
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Thursday shortlisted the I-League among the top three nominations for the SPIA Award in the "Best Developing Football League of the Year" category.
Vipasha shocks top seed Bhakti at Fenesta Nationals
In a giant-killing effort, Vipasha Mehra knocked out top seed Bhakti Parwani 0-6 6-0 6-4 to move to the semifinals of the girls under-16 event at the Fenesta Open Junior National Tennis Championship on Thursday. It was a remarkable turn around by Vipasha who had struggled to get on board in the opening set. "I don't think I even got five points in the first set. But I tried to refocus and start again in the second set. I got my rhythm back slowly but then the third set was like a roller-coaster for me mentally. The win today still has not sunk in yet. I knew I was playing with the top seed but I did not let that affect me and remained focused on my game," said the girl from Tamil Nadu. Also advancing to the last-four was fourth seed Sunskriti Damera, who eased past Bela Tamhankar 6-2 6-2. Sanjana Sirimala rallied past Rutuja Chaphalkar 7-6(4) 6-3 . In the last quarter-final, Gargi Parwar was tested in the first set before she thumped Kasish Bhatia 7-6 (5) 6-1. In the under-16 boys' ...
Ton-up Khawaja helps Australia draw first Test against Pakistan
Opener Usman Khawaja hit a fighting hundred to foil Pakistan and help Australia escape with a draw in the first Test in Dubai on Thursday. The left-hander hit a solid 141 for his seventh Test hundred, while skipper Tim Paine (61 not out) and Travis Head (72) also hit half centuries as Australia finished at 362-8 late in the day with lights coming on at Dubai stadium. After Khawaja was dismissed with 14.3 overs left and Yasir Shah quickly removed Mitchell Starc (one) and Peter Siddle (nought), Paine and number ten Nathan Lyon (five not out) survived 12.1 overs. Both had some anxious moments before players shook hands with one ball to go in leg-spinner Yasir's final over. Yasir had shaken the Australian innings with 4-114 but Australia clung on. They have now won two and drawn two of their 16 Tests in Asia since 2012. Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed was full of praise for Khawaja. "We hoped to roll them out but we have to give credit to Khawaja," said Sarfraz. "We had an idea that he ...
Norde set to return to Mohun Bagan
Star Haitian forward Sony Norde is set to return to city football giants Mohun Bagan for a fifth consecutive season, the club announced on Thursday.
Jemimah gears up for her first World Cup
Teenage cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues is all geared up for the upcoming T20 World Cup in West Indies and says it's all about mental preparation. "Now I am preparing for the World Cup and I am preparing with the boys at the MIG (Club). It's my first World Cup and it's more of a mental preparation. I am also practising at the Bandra Kurla Complex with the senior women's Mumbai team," Jemimah said at the annual awards function organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai at the Cricket Club of India on Thursday. The 18-year-old right-handed batswoman has been impressive in the series in Sri Lanka and is a regular in the Indian team. Jemimah also recalled how her seniors, veteran Mithali Raj ,Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet Kaur "gelled up" with her after she first entered the dressing room when she was "nervous". She also recalled about the interaction she had with cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar in Mumbai before she embarked on the tour to South Africa earlier ...
Odisha to set up High Performance Centres for athletics, hockey and badminton
Bhubaneswar, which has of late, become a hub for hockey, is set to come up with High Performance Centres for athletics and hockey besides a state-of-the-art badminton academy, to be run by celebrated coach Pullela Gopichand. The capital city of the coastal state has hosted important international events such the Hockey Champions Trophy in 2014, Hockey World League Final and Asian Athletics Championships last year. Bhubaneswar is also set to host the men's hockey World Cup from November 28 to December 16 this year and preparations for the mega-event are all but over with the unveiling of the refurbished Kalinga Stadium by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday evening. "The total budget spent on renovating the stadium for the World Cup is about 82 crores," Vishal Dev, Sports and Tourism Secretary of the Odisha government, told PTI. "The Chief Minister gives a lot of priority to sports and the idea now is to move towards strengthening sports at grassroots level. Our High Performance .
Paddler Archana Kamath loses bronze play-off, women's hockey team suffers first defeat
India endured a medal-less outing at the Youth Olympics after the gold rush of the previous three days as the women's hockey team lost to Argentina and rising table tennis player Archana Kamath went down in the bronze medal match here. Kamath, who became the first Indian paddler to enter the semifinals of Youth Olympics, gave her all against Romania's Andreea Dragoman before losing 11-8, 11-13, 9-11, 5-11, 9-11 in the semifinal played on Wednesday night (wee hours of Thursday in India). The Indian under-18 women's hockey team suffered its first loss of the Youth Olympics' five-a-side competition, going down 2-5 to hosts Argentina. After three successive wins, India lost the toughest match they played in the event. Argentina opened the scoring with a seventh minute goal through Celina Di Santo. India's Mumtaz Khan equalised soon after in the eighth minute but the hosts regained the lead in the 10th minute with a field goal by Sofia Ramallo. Just before the half time, Reet scored a fine
Bajrang seeded third at World Championship
CWG and Asian Games gold medallist Bajrang Punia is the only Indian wrestler from a strong 30-member squad to get a seeding at the upcoming World Championships as he has been seeded third in the 65kg category in men's freestyle competition. Going by his form, Bajrang will be a strong medal contender at the World Wrestling Championships, scheduled to held in Budapest, Hungary, from October 20 to 28. The United World Wrestling (UWW) has introduced the ranking-points based seeding system for the first time for the World Championships. Bajrang has 45 points in the ranking list released by the world body. In the past, wrestlers were pulled into the brackets via a random draw of lots. Recent ranking tournaments such as Tbilisi Grand Prix in Georgia and Yasar Dogu International in Istanbul have been used to determine the ranking points for the World Championship. Turkey's Selahattin Kilicsallayan is the top seed (50 points) in the 65kg while Ilias Bekbulatov from Russia is second and Haji ...
Decks cleared, Chennai to host T20 International against West Indies
The third T20 International between India and West Indies, scheduled in Chennai on November 4, will be held as per schedule after the Committee of Administrators accepted the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association's request of sticking to the old formula on complimentary tickets. "We are awaiting a confirmation mail from the BCCI and I can tell you that match will be happening in Chennai. There had been extensive discussions and COA has understood our rationale behind sticking to the old formula of membership passes. It's a great news for cricket lovers in Chennai," a TNCA official told PTI Thursday. A host of associations had raised objection to the new arrangement under which only 10 percent of tickets are kept complimentary and 90 percent released for public viewing. Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association gave up their hosting rights before the second ODI, on October 24, was shifted from Indore to Visakhapatnam. Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly was also unhappy with
Selectors and team management on same page: MSK
In the line of fire with regards to 'communication policy', national chief selector MSK Prasad Thursday said his panel and the Indian team management are on the "same page". There has been a raging debate over the past few days after two players senior opener Murali Vijay and youngster Karun Nair -- said on record that there has been no communication from either the selectors or team management regarding their exclusion from the Test side. "Team management and selection committee are always on the same page. We are very, very clear on our selection policy and I stand by that," Prasad said during a media interaction here. The Committee of Administrators (CoA) chief Vinod Rai met the selection panel on Wednesday along with the team management, comprising captain Virat Kohli, coach Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma, to enquire about the communication process and the policy employed. It has been learnt that from now on, every selection meeting will be followed by a press conference to ensure
Jharkand beats Services
: Jharkhand beat Services by 25 runs to finish on top of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group'C' League here Thursday. Haryana finished second behind Jharkhand and qualified for the knockout phase. In other matches, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir registered victories. Brief scores: J&K 272 for seven in 50 overs Ahmad Omar Banday79 (99b, 10x4, 2x6), Shubham Khajuria 72 (72b, 6x4, 3x6) beatAssam 193 in 48.2 overs Amit Sinha (skipper) 81 (108b, 8x4, 2x6), Irfan Pathan three for 38, Umar Nazir three for 54 Points: J & K 4 ; Assam 0. Gujarat 214 for nine in 50 overs Parthiv Patel 37, Priyank Panchal 50 (65b, 4x4), Rujul Bhatt 38) beat Bengal 173 in 44.2 overs; Manoj Tiwary (skipper) 34,Sudip Chatterjee (lhb) 36, Rush Kalaria three for 31). Points : Gujarat 4; Bengal 0 . Jharkhand 290 in 50 overs Saurabh Tiwary (lhb) 65 (64b, 2x4, 4x6s) Kumar Deobrat 88 (112b, 5x4, 4x6s), Anukul Roy (lhb) 58 (43b, 3x4, 4x6s) beat Services 265 in 47.4 overs G. Rahul Singh (lhb) 75 .
John Terry joins Aston Villa's coaching team under Dean Smith
Aston Villa on Thursday announced the appointment of new head coach Dean Smith, with former England captain John Terry named as assistant head coach and Jesus Garcia Pitarch as sporting director.
Sherco TVS Rally Factory awaits Aravind's fitness test to complete Dakar squad
With India's Aravind K.P. still recovering from an injury, the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team will have to wait till October 26 to complete their four-rider squad for the Dakar 2019, scheduled to take place from January 6 to 17 in Peru.
Asian Para Games: Sharad Kumar smashes continental record for gold in men's high jump
India took over the podium in men's high jump T42/63 category, claiming all the medals up for grabs with defending champion Sharad Kumar smashing two records to snare a second successive gold in the Asian Para Games here on Thursday. The 26-year-old world championships silver-medallist bettered the Asian as well as the Games record with a jump of 1.90m to claim the top honours. The T42/63 covers lower limb deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power and impaired range of movement. The silver was claimed by Rio Paralympic bronze-medallist Varun Bhati (1.82m) and the bronze went to the Rio gold-medallist Thangavelu Mariyappan (1.67m). Bhati's jump was his season's best effort. Sharad, who hails from Bihar, suffered paralysis in his left leg at the age of two after being administered a spurious polio medicine at the local eradication drive. He has been a former world number one. Earlier, Indian javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar won a silver medal in the men's F46 category .
We have to do lot of defending: Chhetri
Keen to see India improving their away record, national football team captain Sunil Chhetri Thursday said defense will be the key when they play an international friendly against China after 21 years on Saturday. "We have to defend really well. By the look and feel, I believe we have to do a lot of defending. We should not afford them much space. At the same time, whenever we find a little room of opportunity, we have to construct the moves and counter them," said Cheetri. "To sum it up, it's a game where we must be at the top of our game in every single department. If we are not being able to combine well and operate as a team, then they'll make us struggle a lot," he said. Chettri said India have not done well away from our home and it's time to better "our records". "It's the time to do so. I just hope we can utilise this opportunity to go back and give a good account of ourselves. We have to convince ourselves first that yes, we are improving. Come January, it will be very ...
Punjab CM presents cash rewards to Commonwealth and Asian games winners
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday presented cash rewards to 23 players in recognition of their medal winning performances at the Commonwealth and Asian Games. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister reiterated his government's commitment to promote sports at the grassroots to motivate youngsters. Legendary athlete Milkha Singh was also present at the felicitation ceremony. Among those honoured were Heena Sidhu, who has been awarded Rs 1.75 crore for clinching gold, silver and bronze medals in shooting at Commonwealth and Asian Games. Other awardees in the Commonwealth category include Pranav Chopra (Rs 75 lakh for gold in Badminton), Anjum Moudgil (Rs 50 lakh for silver medal in shooting), Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (Rs 40 lakh for winning bronze medal in discus throw), Vikas Thakur (Rs 40 lakh for bronze in Weightlifting). The Asian Games gold medal winners including Tejinder Pal Singh Toor and Swaran Singh were presented Rs 1 crore each. The silver medallists received