Page 1132 - Sports
Germany retirement can help Ozil rekindle Arsenal form - Emery
Arsenal manager Unai Emery is hoping a break from international football can help Mesut Ozil recover his best form at club level for the Gunners. Ozil, capped 92 times, walked away from the Germany set-up in the wake of their disastrous World Cup campaign, complaining of facing racism and being made a scapegoat for the team's failure. Yet, despite being handed a hugely lucrative new contract until 2021 in January, he has also struggled to make an impact since Emery took over at Arsenal in June. Ozil, though, has had a rare chance to train for a full two weeks over the international break ahead of Saturday's trip to Newcastle. "The players have the habits to play in the international break, in important matches, defending their identity and when one player stops doing that, I think it is also good for them to focus only on their team," said Emery on Thursday. "For Mesut it is important, for me also, (to have) this focus every day with us." Ozil was substituted by Emery in Arsenal's ...
Vijay hits ton in dream County debut, his team Essex win
India's Murali Vijay struck a fine century in a dream county debut, guiding Essex to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire in a Specsavers County Championship Division One match at Trent Bridge Thursday. Vijay scored exactly 100 from 181 balls and shared a second-wicket stand of 204 with Tom Westley, who finished with an unbeaten 110. Set 282 to win, the visitors reached their target just before lunch to complete a convincing win. The Chennai-born right-hander had earlier scored a half-century in his debut innings. Vijay's feat matched that of South African Hashim Amla, who scored 181 against Glamorgan in 2009, as the last Essex batsman to score a century on his county debut. The 34-year-old Vijay, who struggled in the just-concluded Test series against England before being dropped from the India squad, was eventually bowled off an inside edge by Samit Patel, with 61 required for victory. This was Essex's fifth victory of the championship this season.
Income Tax defeats Vijaya Bank, takes PSG Trophy
Income Tax defeated Vijaya Bank by 82-78 to annex the 54th all-India men's basketball tournament for PSG Trophy after a tie-breaker here Thursday. As both the teams were equal at 71-71 at the scheduled time, extra time was extended for five minutes during which the taxmen won the match by four points. The winners received Rs one lakh and the trophy and the runners-up Rs 50,000 even as the best player award of Rs 10,000 was given to Jeeva of Income Tax.
Puig advances to quarter-finals of Quebec City WTA event
Puerto Rico's Monica Puig has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Coupe Banque Nationale, moving through when American Madison Brengle retired from the match while trailing 7-5, 3-0.
Coutinho, Melo absent from Barça practice ahead of Real Sociedad clash
Only Brazil's Philippe Coutinho and Arthur Melo on Thursday did not join Barcelona's latest practice, a training session to help the squad gear up for the upcoming La Liga clash against Real Sociedad.
Spain's Carreño, Frenchman Paire to kick off Davis Cup semifinal
Debutant Benoit Paire of France and Spain's Pablo Carreño are set to kick off the Davis Cup semifinal clash to be held on the Pierre Mauroy stadium's indoor hard court in the northern French city of Lille, after the draw made on Thursday.
Sarita, Mary Kom in semis; 7 medals assured for India at Polish boxing tourney
The seasoned duo of L Sarita Devi and M C Mary Kom were among the six Indian boxers to enter the semifinals and be assured of a medal along with a youth pugilist in the 13th International Silesian Championship for women in Gliwice, Poland. Sarita, a former world champion and Asian Games bronze-medallist, defeated Czech Republic's Alena Czechy 5-0 Wednesday night after going past Kazakhstan's Aizan Khojabekova in the opening round of the 60kg category the day before. She will now square off against another Kazakh in Karina Ibragimova in the semifinals. Five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist Mary Kom is yet to set foot inside the ring but is through to the semis owing to the small size of the draw in the light flyweight 48kg category. India's first and only Asian Games gold medal-winning woman boxer is returning to the ring after missing the recently-concluded edition in Jakarta due to minor fitness issues. Among other Indians in fray, Ritu Grewal won her bout against ...
Would like to coach European club teams in near future: Sardar Singh
Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh, who called time on his international career Wednesday, is planning coach premier European club teams in near future. "After taking permission from Hockey India and Haryana government, I will start coaching. I am planning to work with clubs in premier European leagues," Sardar, who has played in Dutch and German leagues, told mediapersons on Thursday. While there has been a demand for foreign coaches in Indian hockey, Sardar admitted that communication is a problem as not every player is fluent in english. "Definitely, communication gap does exist at times. During a match, the two minute break after each quarter is very crucial for he players and during this time, coach is to explain about his analysis of the game. When he (foreign coach) speaks in English, usually there not much time left for translation," Sardar explained the practical difficulty. Having confirmed his retirement on Wednesday, Sardar reiterated that he has not been forced into
Bihar Cricket: U-23 selector 2 months ago, now picked as player for Vijay Hazare Trophy
Making a comeback after 18 years, Bihar cricket straightaway found itself in the midst of a controversy, with the state body picking an U-23 selector in the senior squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. While there are a number of allegations of conflict of interest with regards to the senior team that will be led by out-of-favour India spinner Pragyan Ojha, the selection of Ashish Sinha has raised quite a few eyebrows. The 28-year-old Ashish, who is the son of MLA (Patna Central) Arun Kumar Sinha, had played one Ranji Trophy match for Jharkhand against Rajasthan in 2010, scoring 16 and 12 in both innings. However, as per documents in possession of PTI, Ashish was appointed as one of the selectors in June for the U-23 state team trials, which was conducted by the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA). In fact, on June 8 this year, he performed the duties of an U-23 zonal selector for districts Katihar, Araria, Bhagalpur, Kishangunj, Purnea, Banka and Jamui. When Ashish was contacted, he ...
IOC, PSB in drawn match
A strong Indian Oil Corporation and Punjab & Sind Bank played out a 2-2 draw in a Pool 'B' fixture Thursday to book semi-final spots in the 92nd All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament here. Meanwhile, Railways outplayed Central Secretariat (Delhi) 3-1 to make sure of a last four berth from Pool 'A', joining Army, which had qualified Wednesday. Indian Railways will meet Punjab & Sind Bank while IOC will clash with Indian Army in the semi-finals tomorrow. In the Railways-Central Secretariat match, Harsahib Singh put the former ahead with a goal in the 17th minute. Down 0-1 at half-time, the Delhi team levelled early in the second half when Mohit Kumar scored from a penalty corner. Ajmer Singh with a strike in the 40th minute and Karan Pal Singh's goal in the 44th minute put the match beyond Central Secretariat's reach. Railways held on to the lead to dash Central Secretariat's hopes. In the IOC-PSB encounter, the latter took the lead when Ashish Kumar ...
Cook a great ambassador of cricket: Anderson
Terming just-retired Alastair Cook as the 'mentally toughest cricketer', English pace great James Anderson has said his former skipper was unflusterable on the pitch which helped him become a great ambassador of the game.
Dutee will continue to train in Hyderabad until next year's Asian, World Championships
Asian Games silver medallist Dutee Chand's coach Nagpuri Ramesh Thursday said that his ward will continue to train in Hyderabad until next year's Asian and World Championships. "Dutee will continue with same training regime in Hyderabad until next year's Asian Championships and World Championships. This is the schedule we have planned for her, which is part of our 'Train Domestic, Compete Abroad' policy," Ramesh told PTI over phone. Dutee will resume training from October in Hyderabad, he added. However, Dutee will also train abroad whenever she participates in international competitions, Ramesh said. "We would like Dutee to compete in brief competitions before she participates in Asian and World Championships. It is in those brief competitions that Dutee will get a chance to train abroad," he said. Asked about the reason behind training in India, Ramesh said it is better to train athletes where they feel comfortable and things have worked out well for Dutee, which is reflected in her
Gaurika takes lead, Khushi lying second in 14th leg of Hero WPG Tour
Gaurika Bishnoi finally found the form she was searching for with five birdies in the second round of the 14th Leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour on Thursday. Gaurika, who is still looking for her first win this season, shot 2-over 74 despite a bogey-bogey finish on the challenging Gary Player layout at the DLF Golf and Country Club. With rounds of 77 and 74, Gaurika is now 7-over 151 and leads her closest rival, young Khushi Khanijau (71) by two shots. Khushi, who has been showing a lot of promise and also finished second in the 11th Leg at Hyderabad in August, carded the first sub-par round of the week, as she compiled 1-under 71 which also included five birdies. Afshan Fatima, winner last week in the 13th Leg of the Hero WPG Tour at Greater Noida, shot 76 and at 154, she was third and one ahead of Neha Tripathi, who after a disappointing first round of 82 made a nine-shot improvement with a 73. At 155 she is fourth. Gaurika birdied third and ninth but dropped shots on second, ..
Tanya, Mansi impress as Indian women beat Sri Lanka, clinch series
The Indian women's cricket team Thursday held its nerves in pressure situations to beat Sri Lanka by seven runs in the second ODI, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. India also earned two additional points as the match is a part of the ICC Women's Championship. Batting first, India were all out for 219 in 50 overs on a slow track where young wicketkeeper Tanya Bhatia's 68 off 66 balls turned out to be a match-winning knock. In reply, the visitors bowled out the hosts for 212 in 48.1 overs with seamer Mansi Joshi taking 3/51 and left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad chipping in with 2/37. Earlier, put into bat, the Indians failed to get going primarily due to slow batting from veteran skipper Mithali Raj, who consumed 121 balls to score 52 with four boundaries. Mithali simply couldn't keep the scoreboard ticking as she failed to find the gaps during the middle overs. Coming to bat in the fifth over, she was finally dismissed in the 39th over, after which the ...
Bhullar gets off to a flying start in Korea lies second after Day 1
Extending his good form, Gaganjeet Bhullar shot a 4-under 67 to position himself tied second at the end of the first round of the Shinhan Donghae Open on Thursday. Bhullar, who has five Top-10s in his last seven starts, is two shots behind local man, Sanghyun Park (65) along with six others including South African Jbe Kruger and Frenchman Lionel Weber. Bhullar, who won the 2016 edition here, was the best Indian, as Rashid Khan (68) was T-9th, Viraj Madappa, winner of Take Solutions last month, was T-28 and Ajeetesh Sandhu (71) and Arjun Atwal (71) were T-41st. Shiv Kapur, Jyoti Randhawa and S Chikkarangappa carded 72 and were T-67, while Khalin Joshi (70) was T-90th. Bhullar started from the back nine and birdied the 11th, dropped just one bogey on Par-5 14th and he birdied 15th and 17th to turn in 2-under 33. On the second nine, he birdied his closing holes eighth and ninth. "It was a steady round of golf today. I hit 11 fairways and 14 greens in regulation. I gave myself a lot of ...
Boys need to perform consistently for selection in Asian Cup squad: Constantine
Indian football team chief coach Stephen Constantine Thursday made it clear that the SAFF Cup is a platform for talented players to impress and earn their places in the squad for the Asian Cup. The Asian Cup will be held early next year in the UAE. "These boys have a carrot in front of them which is a berth in the Asian Cup squad. They are well aware of the fact that they need to perform constantly to earn the same," Constantine said. With India having secured a summit clash with Maldives in the final of the SAFF Suzuki Cup, Constantine said the "final will be a tough one". "Maldives have shown their worth in the semi-final against Nepal. A 3-0 win against Nepal was not an easy task. Some of their players didn't play against us and they did some major damage work against Nepal," Constantine stated. "We are expecting a tough game against Maldives. But as I said before, we have come with a strong intent to win the tournament." Manvir Singh who scored a brace against Pakistan in the ...
Skipper Sharma, other limited overs specialists leave for Asia Cup
The seasoned Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma were among the limited overs specialists who left for Dubai on Thursday to take part in the Asia Cup. To be played in the 50-over format by six teams, the Asia Cup starts from Saturday. All-rounder Kedar Jadhav posted a picture on his Twitter handle of him along with Sharma, Dhoni, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. Jadhav is making a comeback to the national side post his surgery for a hamstring injury, which he sustained during the opening encounter of this year's Indian Premier League. "Some of the players have left for the Asia Cup Thursday while the others will join them," a BCCI official said. Chahal and Kuldeep also posted a picture with Dhoni. India begin their campaign against minnows Hong Kong on September 18 before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan in a marquee clash the next day.
Ramkumar to open India's campaign against Serbia
An unpredictable Ramkumar Ramanathan will open India's campaign against fifth seed Serbia with a match against Laslo Djere even as coach Zeeshan Ali downplayed Yuki Bhambri's absence from the side in the World Group Play-off tie, starting Friday. Djere is ranked higher than Ramkumar at number 86 but he is yet to win a match in Davis Cup. On the other side, Ramkumar is placed 135 in the world but is far more experienced, having played six ties with a 7-5 Win-Loss record. Left-handed Prajnesh Gunneswaran, being the number two singles players from India, will take on Serbia number one Dusan Lajovic, the highest ranked singles player of the tie at number 56. On Saturday, Rohan Bopanna and N Sriram Balaji will take on the home pair of Nikola Milojevic and debutant Danilo Petrovic in the doubles rubber. The reverse singles will be played on Sunday with Ramkumar taking on Lajovic and Prajnesh, ranked 162, locking horns with Djere. Ramkumar has played against Lajovic in 2017 and had emerged ..
Goetze's career stalls since scoring World Cup-winning goal
Mario Goetze's career has stalled since he scored Germany's World Cup-winning goal in 2014, and it shows no sign of picking up again. Goetze was challenged by Germany coach Joachim Loew to "show the world that you're better than Messi" before he sent him on in the final against Argentina, but now the 26-year-old attacking midfielder can't even get a game for Borussia Dortmund. There's a chance Goetze may be left out of the squad altogether for Eintracht Frankfurt's visit in the Bundesliga on Friday. "You have to be honest. Mario can play in the middle. He can play (as part of a) 4-3-3. He can play this system. But there is an enormous amount of players in midfield," Dortmund coach Lucien Favre said. "He can play as a false-nine, but we have (Shinji) Kagawa and (Marco) Reus there." Favre has a squad of 26 players for Friday, but the Swiss coach can only pick 16 outfield players and two goalkeepers for the game. "We are too many here," he said. Goetze might yet profit from questions ...
Crunch time for Cannavaro's Evergrande in Chinese Super League
Fabio Cannavaro's Guangzhou Evergrande face a critical five days that could go a long way towards deciding who wins the Chinese Super League's most closely contested title race in years. The stakes could hardly be higher for the Italian World Cup winner, as failure to steer Evergrande to an eighth successive CSL crown would put his job under severe scrutiny after only a year in charge. With a third of the season left, Beijing Guoan lead the CSL, two points clear of Shanghai SIPG and three ahead of Evergrande -- and with a game in hand over both. Cannavaro's side host the capital club on Friday knowing they could go top with victory, then travel to SIPG on Tuesday. The title chase is too close to call but Evergrande have impetus after dragging themselves back into contention thanks largely to the July loan signings of Brazilian midfielders Paulinho, from Barcelona, and Anderson Talisca, from Benfica. Evergrande needed a 91st-minute winner to defeat mid-table Shanghai Shenhua 2-1 in ...