Page 1148 - Sports
Italy forward Balotelli in doubt for Portugal game
Mario Balotelli is in doubt to play Italy's second Nations League game against Portugal in Lisbon on Monday, according to press reports on Saturday. The Nice forward was heavily criticised for his performance in his first competitive game for Italy since the 2014 World Cup, a 1-1 draw against Poland on Friday. Balotelli limped off after an hour before Chelsea midfielder Jorginho rescued a point for the Azzurri in Bologna. And the 28-year-old forward did not take part in a full training session on Saturday after undergoing tests. Mancini confirmed he was struggling for fitness, with the forward applying an ice pack to his thigh after being substituted on Friday. "His fitness levels are an issue right now," Mancini told Rai Sport. Balotelli has been short of match time as a result of a contract dispute with Ligue 1 club Nice after a planned move to Marseille failed to materialise. "I will have to talk to him a lot and he must improve a lot," said Mancini. "Mario has to find form. "I'm
Plane problems hit Wales trip to Denmark
Ryan Giggs and his Wales players were severely delayed on their journey to Denmark due to an aeroplane technical problem. Giggs' side are heading to Denmark for Sunday's Nations League clash, but their plane was left grounded at Cardiff Airport on Saturday. Wales face the awkward scenario of not being able to arrive in Aarhus until the early hours of Sunday morning after a new charter plane had to be ordered. Aircraft technicians had failed to fix the fault and the earliest the Wales squad could leave Cardiff on a new plane was at 1900 GMT local time. The late nature of the flight meant that the squad were unable to land at Aarhus airport. Plans were being made to land at another airport, possibly Copenhagen nearly 200 miles away, and bus the players to Aarhus. An FAW spokesperson said: "We cannot at the moment provide an estimate of what time the team will fly." The FAW were forced to cancel Giggs' pre-match press conference and could now face a fine from UEFA for doing so. It was ...
Chitra finishes creditable 4th, Jinson seventh in IAAF Continental Cup
PU Chitra finished a creditable fourth in women's 1500m race while Jinson Johnson ended seventh in men's 800m on the first day of the IAAF Continental Cup here Saturday. Chitra, who had won a bronze in the just-concluded Asian Games, crossed the finishing line a surprised fourth place with a time of 4 minute 18.45 seconds in the eight-woman field. She had clocked 4:12.56 in Jakarta. Winny Chebet of Kenya emerged as the winner in a time of 4:16.01 while Shelby Houlihan (4:16.36) of United States and Rababe Arafi (4:17.19) of Morocco took the silver and bronze respectively as all the competitors ran well below their best in the season-ending event. The IAAF Continental Cup was competed in 37 events in men and women sections taken together with two athletes from the four regions of Europe, Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific taking part in each of them. Chitra was representing Asia-Pacific. In men's 800m, national record holder Johnson clocked 1:48.44 to end at seventh in the race won by ..
Couldn't win singles gold due to high fever: Rower Dattu
Ace rower Dattu Bhokanal, who was part of Indias gold medal winning team in the mens quadruple sculls event at the 2018 Asian Games, on Saturday said his single sculls performance was affected due to high fever.
This boy from naxal-affected Malakangiri made India proud
Ajay Mandhra, a boy from Odisha's Malakangiri, a region notorious for its Naxal activities, recently bagged a gold medal for India in the first international Kho Kho tournament, which took place in the United Kingdom from September 1 to 4.Ajay was also a part of the Indian side that defeated hosts England in the finals of the tournament. Besides Ajay, Samiti Nathasharma also won the gold medal in the same tournament and was also a part of the women's team.'It's indeed a fantastic feeling that we went there, won gold and came back as champions. It's indeed a great feeling," a jubilant Ajay told ANI.Ajay, who hails from the Bonda tribal community --considered to be one of the most primitive tribes in the country, has thanked his parents who work as daily wage labourers for their continuous support and encouragement."Apart from all the hard work I put is, it is family members who provided me every kind of support I need and they are very happy too. I want more youngsters from our tribe ..
High fever cost me a gold in single sculls: Dattu
Ill health cost him a sure shot medal in his pet event single skulls but the backing of his teammates was key to a much-improved performance in the qualdruples where he won a gold medal, said ace rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal. Bhokanal was in second position for the most part of the single sculls race but would freeze around the 1200m mark before finishing sixth as his boat capsized. Recalling his plight, Bhokanal said he contracted cold while on flight to Indonesia. "I thought it was a minor thing but it got aggravated after landing there because of the climate change from Pune. On the race day, I rowed with 104-plus fever and the boat also toppled to add to the misery. Water got into my ears and nose and I lost out on a definite gold medal," Bhoknal said during a felicitation at the Calcutta Rowing Club on Saturday. But the entire team stood by him as he returned to make amends in the team event to win India's only second gold at the Asian Games rowing, the first being Bajrang Lal ...
There's no utility of tour games if you are not provided quality opposition: Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli has questioned the "utility" of pre-series tour games if the touring side is not provided with ideal conditions and opposition before a Test series starts. India have lost back-to-back Test series in South Africa and England with many former greats, including legendary Sunil Gavaskar questioning as to why the team did not play adequate number of warm-up games. During an interview with Michael Holding for 'Sony Liv', Kohli gave his point of view on the raging debate about team's mode of preparation. "Lot of people talk about tour games but where are those tour games happening and against what quality of bowling are very important questions to be asked," Kohli said. "Because if you don't get the preparation you need before a Test series, then it is actually not utilised well. Time is not utilised well if you don't get the quality of opposition that you will face in Test cricket," he added. Asked where exactly India went wrong in the ongoing series against ...
Kenya Olympic chief backs Senegal bid to host 2022 Youth Olympics
Kenya will throw its support behind Senegal in its bid to host the 2022 Summer Youth Olympic Games.
Indian Railways, IOC post contrasting wins
Indian Railways and Indian Oil Corporation posted convincing wins while defending champion ONGC opened its campaign with a 3-3 draw against Central Secretariat in the 92nd All India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup Hockey tournament here Saturday. Railways posted its second win, hammering Indian Army 5-1, which had won by a similar margin Friday against Mumbai HA. IOC defeated Bengaluru HA 7-4. The IOC-Bengaluru HA match saw action from the second minute when the former went ahead through a goal from Roshan Minz. Bharat Chikara increased the lead in the 13th minute when he beat the rival goalkeeper. The IOC onslaught continued as they pumped in four more goals going into the interval. Minz and Chikara added one each to their tally while Arman Qureshi and Gurjinder Singh too contributed goals. The Bengaluru team fought back and pulled one back in the 45th minute through Sandeep Kumar Singh. Later, Pratap Lakra reduced the margin to 2-6 courtesy a penalty corner conversion. IOC made
Fifth Test: India 53/1 in reply to England's 332 (Tea report)
Replying to England's first innings total of 332 runs, India were 53/1 at Tea on the second day of the fifth and final Test at the oval here on Saturday.
Rahul, Pujara take India to 53/1 at tea after England's 332
A cautious India reached 53 for one in reply to England's first innings score of 332 at tea on the second day of the fifth and final cricket Test at the Oval here on Saturday. At the break, opener KL Rahul was batting on 35, while giving him company was Cheteshwar Pujara on 15. The duo had put on 47 runs for the unbroken second wicket stand. Left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan's torrid time with the bat continues in the tour as he made just 3. India still trail England by 279 runs with nine wickets in hand. Replying to England's total, the visitors made a poor start and lost opener Dhawan early, out trapped LBW by Stuart Broad (1/12) in the second over. Rahul though batted with more freedom than in the earlier Tests, and looked to play his shots as he hit four fours. Pujara, meanwhile, was solid at the other end as they played out a nearly chanceless session. Pujara, though, survived a good LBW shout as TV replays showed England should have opted for DRS but they didn't. After a ...
Murali Vijay to feature in county cricket for Essex
After being axed from the Indian squad for the last two Tests against England, opener Murali Vijay has signed up with Essex County Cricket Club to represent them in the remainder of the 2018 County Championship.
India 53/1 in reply to England's 332 at tea on Day 2
India were 53 for one in their first innings in reply to England's 332 at tea on the second day of the fifth and final cricket Test here on Saturday. Brief Scores: England: 304 for 8 in 115 overs (Alastair Cook 71, Jos Buttler 63 not out; Ishant Sharma 3/62, Jasprit Bumrah 3/64). India: 53 for 1 in 18 overs (KL Rahul 35 not out, Cheteshwar Pujara 15 not out; Stuart Broad 1/12).
Vijay signs up for Essex County Cricket Club
Indian batsman Murali Vijay has been roped in by the Essex County Cricket Club for the remaining season of the 2018 English county championship, according to the official BCCI statement.Expressing delight over his inclusion in the club, the 34-year-old said that he could not wait to play for Essex and is hoping to win some matches for the team."I was here with the India side about a month ago and saw first-hand just how good the crowd is. I can't wait to play for Essex and hopefully win some matches," Vijay said.Essex Head Coach Anthony McGrath welcomed the right-hand batsman into the team while expressing confidence that Vijay's run-scoring abilities would make a great difference in the team."We're delighted that Vijay has chosen to come here. He's a great batsman who can score runs at the top of the order. Vijay's run-scoring ability means he can be the difference-maker in a game, and that skill is something we were looking to bring in towards the end of the season and something ...
Suarez scores brace in Uruguay's 4-1 win over Mexico
FC Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored a brace in Uruguay's 4-1 friendly win over Mexico at the NRG Stadium here.
Haryana to fund development of sports medal winners' villages
The Haryana government will carry out development work on priority in the villages of the winners of sports medals in the Asian Games and the Olympics, a minister said on Saturday.
Sohil Shah, Prabhu clinch titles in national racing
Bengaluru schoolboy Sohil Shah capped a memorable debut season Saturday by winning the title in the Formula LGB 1300 category in the fifth and final round of the MRF-MMSC FMSCI National Racing Championship at MMRT track at nearby Sriperumbudur. Namakkal's A S Prabhu (Arka Motorsports) annexed the title in the Indian Junior Touring Cars class. In the decisive final race, Prabhu finished second behind close rival Chrys D'Souza (Unimek Racing) from Goa. However, D'Souza was docked a 30-second penalty "for causing collision" which pushed him to third while Surat's Nikunj Vagh (Team N1) was elevated to second spot. Prabhu finished the championship with 103.5 points to D'Souza's 95.5. Raghul Rangasamy moved a step closer to his dream of winning the MRF F1600 championship as he finished second behind Mumbai's Nayan Chatterjee. He took his tally of points to 152 which put him 14 clear of Goutham Parekh who finished third in Saturday's race. The championship, whose winner becomes
Bengaluru teen triumphs at National racing C'ship
Chennai, Sep 8 (IANS ) Sohil Shah, a 17-year-old schoolboy from Bengaluru, scripted a fairytale finish to his debut season by emerging the champion in the highly competitive Formula LGB 1300 category in the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship here on Saturday.
Djokovic, Federer to join Nadal in ATP Finals
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic and Switzerland's Roger Federer are set to join Spain's Rafael Nadal in the ATP Finals, the Association of Tennis Professionals announced on Saturday.
Fifth Test: England bowled out for 332 in first innings
England were bowled out for 332 in their first innings on the second day of the fifth and final Test rubber against India at the Oval here on Saturday.