Page 1089 - Sports
In a first, full-time foreign coach to be hired for junior players
Indian table tennis will soon have the services of a full-time foreign coach each for senior and junior teams, an unprecedented move aiming to build on the historic gains made this year. MP Singh, secretary general at the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), told PTI that the Sports Authority of India (SAI) gave a go ahead to having a separate head coach for senior and junior teams after a dream campaign at the Asian Games where the country won a couple of bronze medals. The junior head coach will be appointed by next month while senior coach Massimo Costantini's replacement will be named by December. The stellar performance at the Asian Games, where India won its first table tennis medal in 60 years, came after the high of Commonwealth Games where the nation topped the tally with eight medals including three gold. "We have to have two separate foreign coaches for seniors and juniors. With senior likes of Sharath Kamal and Mouma Das not getting any younger, we have to ensure the ..
Aditi Ashok pulls out of women's Indian Open
Former champion Aditi Ashok Wednesday pulled out of the USD 500,000 Hero women's Indian Open golf tournament scheduled to be held from October 18 to 21 at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram. The fast-rising 20-year-old from Bengaluru has decided to play at the Buick LPGA, a co-sanctioned event by the China Golf Association, the LPGA and the CLPGA, which will be held on the same dates in Shanghai, China. "It is with disappointment that I have decided to not play the Hero Women's Indian Open this year," Aditi wrote on her official twitter page. "This would have been my 8th Indian Open in a row but right now playing the BUICKK LPGA during the same week is important to me. As a past champion, it wasn't easy to make this decision but I look forward to playing many more Indian Opens in the coming years." The 12th edition of the Women's Indian Open is set be the richest with the winner claiming prize money of USD 75,000 and Aditi hoped it will be another successful edition this ...
Shuttler Ashwini announces women's doubles meet Red Bull Shuttle Up
Indias ace shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa on Wednesday announced the first ever exclusive womens doubles tournament in the country, Red Bull Shuttle Up.
Bangladesh opt to bat against Pakistan in virtual semifinal
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat against Pakistan in a virtual semifinal of the Asia Cup here on Wednesday. Teams: Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed(captain), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Shaheen Afridi. Bangladesh: Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Mehidy Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman.
India U-16 take on Indonesia in pursuit of quarters berth at AFC C'ship
India's under-16 football team will take on Indonesia in its last group match in which a win or a draw would end a 16-year wait to make the quarterfinal of the ongoing AFC Championship here Thursday. It was back in 2002 when India had last qualified for the quarterfinals of the AFC U-16 Championship their best ever performance in the competition. Both India and Indonesia have four points from their two matches. But Indonesia sit atop Group C courtesy their superior goal difference. A win or a draw against Indonesia will see India progress to the quarter-final. A loss can also end in India progressing but only if the other match between Iran and Vietnam, which also kicks-off at the same time, ends in a draw. Permutations and combinations aside, coach Bibiano Fernandes is looking for nothing less than a win to secure the progression. "We always play for a win and we will do so against Indonesia as well. We know how the group stands and it would be favourable for us if we get the win ...
Barty knocks out Kerber, advances to Wuhan Open quarters
Australia's Ashleigh Barty caused another upset at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday, knocking out Germany's third seeded Angelique Kerber to advance to the quarterfinals.
Espanyol blank Eibar 1-0 to go 5th in La Liga
Espanyol defeated visiting Eibar 1-0 to climb into 5th place in La Liga with 10 points from six matches.
Tie against India as good as a victory: Afghanistan captain
Tying a match with a team like India was equivalent to a memorable victory, Afghanistan captain Asgar Afghan has said. India and Afghanistan played out a thrilling tie on Tuesday night after Mohammad Shahzad led his team to 252 for eight with a sensational hundred. "When you tie a match with a side like India, it's just like a win. India have chased easily in the last two games but we made it tough for them. Such tough games are good for the fans as well," said Afghan after the nail-biting finish of the Asia Cup. Afghanistan came into the game, having lost two close games against Pakistan and Bangladesh earlier in Super Four. They had comprehensively beaten Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the group stage, reaffirming their rapid rise in international cricket. "I was sure we'll play in the final. I knew the conditions in Dubai were suitable for us, because the amount of cricket we've played here. For us the hard luck was all our matches were in Abu Dhabi. "If it was on this track, I can ...
Anand beats Ragger as Indian men crush Austria 3.5-0.5
World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand put it past Markus Ragger in a brilliant positional game as the Indian men's team cruised to a 3.5-0.5 victory over Austria in the second round of the 43rd Chess Olympiad here. Back to the Olympiad after a gap of 12 years, Anand was precise in calculation and brilliant in judgement giving away nothing to Ragger who was all at sea defending a difficult position out of the opening on Tuesday evening. P Harikrishna, on the second board, benefitted from a late blunder by Valentin Dragnev after Vidit Gujrathi ensured an Indian lead with a fluent victory over Andreas Diermair. On the fourth board, B Adhiban was held to a draw by Peter Schreiner. With their second 3.5-0.5 victory, the Indian men remain in joint lead on four points with 40 other teams and will next take on Canada. The Indian women scored a 4-0 victory defeating Venezuela on all four boards. On the top board, Grandmaster D Harika was stretched but not hassled by Sarai Carolina Sachez ...
Inter Milan edge Fiorentina 2-1
Mauro Icardi got his first goal of the 2018-2019 Serie A season and assisted in scoring the second as Inter Milan beat Fiorentina 2-1.
Atletico Madrid impress in 3-0 win over Huesca
Atletico Madrid eased supporters' concerns about their slow start to the season by cruising to a 3-0 win over newly promoted Huesca here to take provisional possession of third place in La Liga.
Frustrating at times but can't sulk: Rahul on ODI career
Opener K L Rahul finds it "frustrating" that he has played only 13 ODIs since making his India debut in 2016 but concedes that he cannot afford to sulk given the competition for places in the team. "I know how I have to work on my game. Whatever position I get I have to make best use of it. It is disheartening and frustrating at times. But given the competition, nobody is a sure-shot," Rahul told reporters after the tie against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup on Tuesday -- a game in which he scored 60 coming in as an opener. "So you have to wait your turn. You have to be patient and work hard. Whenever I am not playing, it's easy for me to sit and sulk why am I not playing. But I use that time to improve my fitness and game," he said. Rahul's ODI career might be just 13-match old but he has already batted in four different positions, turning up most time (7) in the opening slot. Rahul said being in the top order is his position of comfort. "It has been challenging to bat at different ...
I shouldn't have taken the review: Rahul on unsuccessful DRS call
Indian batsman K L Rahul says he regrets exhausting the review that could have saved the wickets of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh karthik in the tied Asia Cup clash against Afghanistan here. Both Dhoni and Karthik were given out LBW in calls that would have been overturned under the Decision Review System (DRS) but India could not appeal as opener Rahul (60) had used up the only review unsuccessfully. "Obviously, looking back at it, I felt like I shouldn't have taken the review but at that time, in the middle, I felt like maybe I was struck outside and I wanted to take that chance," Rahul told reporters in the post-match press conference on Tuesday. "Sometimes you can sit back here and review the review you took and say maybe you could have left it to the guys at the end but I felt like I could have been struck outside so I took that chance. Rahul said he would be more cautious in future situations. India are already through to the tournament final, which is scheduled for ...
Bayern leak late goal to lose 100 percent record
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich dropped points for the first time this season as Felix Goetze scored a late equaliser for Augsburg at his old club in Tuesday's 1-1 draw. Bayern were cruising to a home win, which would have left them four points clear, before Goetze nodded home the equaliser four minutes from time. Despite the draw, Bayern stay two points clear of second-placed Werder Bremen. With star striker Robert Lewandowski on the bench, evergreen Arjen Robben gave Bayern the lead three minutes after the break at the Allianz Arena. When Bayern winger Serge Gnabry chested down the ball, Robben, 34, snapped up his pass and rounded the defence to smash home a goal off his left. Franck Ribery, 35, who replaced Gnabry, had the ball in the Augsburg net with 10 minutes to go, but Thomas Mueller was ruled offside. With time almost up, second-half sub Felix Goetze, younger brother of fallen Germany star Mario, popped up with a shock equaliser having only left Bayern in July after four ...
Lahm-led Germany against Turkey in race to host Euro 2024
Having lifted the World Cup in 2014, Philipp Lahm now hopes to bring Euro 2024 finals to Germany on Thursday when UEFA announce the hosts for the European Championships. After retiring last year, ex-national team captain Lahm, 34, is head of Germany's bid to host Euro 2024 against rivals Turkey, the only other nation seeking to host the event in six years time. The announcement is expected to be made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, around 1300 GMT on Thursday. "We are a football nation and our fans always want to show their passion for football," declared Lahm. Germany want to stage their first Euro as a unified country, West Germany having hosted the event in 1988. Turkey are hoping to be awarded their first major football tournament after missing out to France by one vote for the right to host Euro 2016. - German advantages - ===================== Nevertheless, Germany has a clear advantage in terms of stadiums and transport. Their official bid sees 10 existing stadia ...
Paul Pogba stripped of Man United vice captaincy by Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has stripped Paul Pogba of the Manchester United vice captaincy, but wouldn't offer an explanation for the decision. Mourinho insisted that it wasn't because of a dispute with the World Cup-winning France midfielder who returned to United in 2016 for 105 million euros (then $116 million). Mourinho told broadcaster Sky Sports that "the only truth is that I made the decision of Paul not to be the second captain any more but no fallout, no problems at all." Mourinho added that it was "just one decision that I don't have to explain." Pogba had appeared to criticize United's style of play under Mourinho this weekend when he called on the team to attack more. Pogba watched from the stands Tuesday as United was knocked out of the League Cup by second-tier side Derby.
Rashid, Shahzad star in Afghanistan's thrilling tie against India
Afghanistan rode on sheer determination to pull off a stunning tie against two-time world champions India in one of the most memorable dead rubbers in international cricket, claiming a moral victory to sign off on a high at the Asia Cup here. India entered the match Tuesday a depleted side after five from its first XI, including skipper Rohit Sharma and his deputy Shikhar Dhawan, took a break to be fresh for the final on Friday. The wholesale changes gave former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni the chance to lead the team out for the 200th time. he gave up the position more than two years ago. Set a target of 253, the Indians were cruising along nicely at 204/4 in the 39th over before another collapse left them with seven runs to get in the final over with just one wicket in hand. Twenty20 cricket's global superstar Rashid Khan showed a big heart as he defended those seven in the final Super Four encounter. With the dangerous Ravindra Jadeja almost clinching the victory with a boundary ...
Griezmann on target as Atletico cruise to victory over Huesca
Atletico Madrid are finally finding their groove in La Liga and just in time for a city derby against Real Madrid after they strolled to a 3-0 win over newly-promoted Huesca on Tuesday. One victory from their opening four league games left Atletico seven points adrift of Barcelona a fortnight ago but three on the spin have now steered Diego Simeone's side back on track. This was as routine a three points as they come at the Wanda Metropolitano, where Antoine Griezmann scored early in the first half before going off early in the second, along with partner Diego Costa. Thomas Partey and Koke added numbers two and three before the interval as Atleti climb to third. Huesca drop to 18th. Griezmann and Costa jogging off with half an hour to spare was the dream scenario for Simeone, particularly given Real Madrid already have one day less rest ahead of Saturday's grudge match at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real's assignment against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Wednesday is likely to ..
Lampard's Derby knock Man Utd out of League Cup, City ease into last 16
Derby County manager Frank Lampard piled more misery on his former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho as the Rams beat 10-man Manchester United 8-7 on penalties, while Manchester City cruised into the last 16 of the League Cup on Tuesday. Mourinho paid the price for making nine changes in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Old Trafford before spot-kicks with Paul Pogba rested on another day dominated by the Frenchman's frosty relationship with his manager. Phil Jones finally missed from the spot after 15 successful penalties in a high quality shootout. According to reports before kick-off, Pogba will not captain United again under Mourinho due to his persistent public outbursts criticising the Portuguese's tactics. Early on it seemed like Mourinho would get a positive response to Saturday's 1-1 draw with Wolves as one of Lampard's former Chelsea team-mates Juan Mata slotted home the opener after just three minutes at the end of a fine team move. However, an unchanged Derby side struck back after the ...
15-year-old striker Elliott plays for Fulham in League Cup
Harvey Elliott has become the youngest-ever player to feature for Fulham at 15 years and 174 days. The striker made his debut for the Premier League club after coming on in the 81st minute of a 3-1 victory over Millwall in the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday. Luca de la Torre, a 20-year-old American midfielder, scored his first goal for Fulham. Joe Bryan and Cyrus Christie also opened their accounts for the west London club.