Page 117 - Sports
Rohit's career took off after 2011 World Cup snub, says former coach Lad
Rohit Sharma's international career took an upswing once he started focusing more on the game after being omitted from the 2011 World Cup squad, the right-hander's childhood coach Dinesh Lad said Wednesday. Rohit has already scored two-match winning hundreds in the ongoing World Cup against South Africa and Pakistan. "Since childhood I have seen his batting and there is no difference. The only different thing today is that he (Rohit) has got matured, because of experience", Lad told PTI here. "From 2007-2009 he had played well and scored two hundreds against Zimbabwe. After that (from) 2009-2011, because of fame and money, (he got) diverted. He was not looking after his cricket. Because of that he was dropped from the 2011 World Cup as he was not performing in that period," said Lad, also the father of Mumbai Ranji Trophy batsman Siddhesh Lad. "That was very shocking to him. I called him (Rohit) to my home and told him.. listen Rohit, you know why Rohit is here (it is) because of only
Mats Hummels to make a return to Borussia Dortmund
German football club Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday confirmed that defender Mats Hummels will be making a return to the club after three years."Borussia Dortmund has reached an agreement with FC Bayern Munich over the transfer of @matshummels," Borussia Dortmund tweeted.Hummels had left Dortmund in 2016 as he joined Bayern Munich. The defender had spent eight years at Dortmund and he established himself as one of the best defenders worldwide.The 30-year-old defender has won two Bundesliga titles with Dortmund.After joining Bayern Munich, Hummels appeared 118 times for the club and he won three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich.Bayern Munich also released a statement regarding Hummels' transfer."Mats Hummels is set to return to Borussia Dortmund. FC Bayern and BVB agreed to a deal for the transfer of the centre-back for an undisclosed fee on Wednesday. The 30-year-old previously played for Dortmund between 2008 and 2016. The move is subject to Hummels' completion of a medical," ...
PCB to review Pakistan's performance in last three years after World Cup
The Pakistan Cricket Board will carry out a "robust review and analysis" of the performances of the national team and its support staff, including head coach Mickey Arthur, in the past three years after the World Cup. The PCB Board of Governors which met in Lahore on Wednesday also agreed the team's performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to date has been below expectation. Pakistan has won just one match in its five games in the World Cup so far. The defeat to arch-rivals, India has led to a severe backlash in the country with fans, stalwarts and media backing an inquiry into the debacle. The PCB said in a statement that the Board of Governors had a discussion on the Pakistan team's recent performance across all formats. But the members, with four matches remaining for Pakistan in the World Cup, also expressed faith, support, and confidence in the side, and hoped team will bounce back strongly and finish on a high. "It was agreed, and as previously stated, following the World ..
Mohun Bagan rope in Spanish forward Chamorro
Former I-League champions Mohun Bagan on Wednesday announced signing of Spanish forward Salva Chamorro from Doxa Drama FC, a second tier Greek football club. The 29-year-old from Orihuela in Spain began his professional career in Villarreal playing for their reserve teams -- Villarreal C and Villarreal B between 2008-2012. "I am really looking forward to this challenge. I never had any doubts in mind after I spoke with (head coach) Kibu Vicuna and read about the legacy of Mohun Bagan. I am looking forward to get started," he said in a media statement. Chamorro also played for Barcelona B in 2016. He mostly played in Segunda Divisin and Segunda Divisin B in Spain. He helped UE Llagostera to become champions of Segunda Division B in 2013-14 by scoring 11 goals. Chamorro has also played in countries like Portugal, Greece and Hong Kong.
300 mn content pieces consumed on UC browser during India-Pak ICC World Cup Match
In a clear success of its strategy for digitizing sports, UC Browser - world's no. 1 third-party mobile browser and a content platform, celebrates the on-going ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, along with cricket content consumers and sports enthusiasts.The recently-commenced highly-tracked India Pakistan match saw over 300 million content consumption on the UC Browser platform. Exclusive cricket-related short videos, GIFs and memes amongst others were a key source of extensive engagement for sports enthusiasts during the high-stakes game. Cricket lovers are enjoying their favourite sport at the one-stop UC Cricket information hub.UC Browser has captivated content consumers with its wide-ranging cricket coverage, comprising of multiple in-app activities on the UC Cricket platform. With live commentary in multiple dialects, UC Browser has become the most preferred destination for sports content in recent times.UC is the only platform that has a partnership with officially-licensed audio ...
So far India looked best, will make it to semis: Ganguly
India have lost Shikhar Dhawan to an injury and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been ruled out of next few games but the Indian team is so strong that despite the setbacks, it will qualify for the World Cup semifinals, reckons former skipper Sourav Ganguly. Dhawan was Wednesday ruled out of the World Cup due to fracture in his left thumb, though, the team had hoped the opener would recover before the semifinals. India's front-line pacer Bhuvneshwar is set to miss the next two-three games after pulling a hamstring during the match against Pakistan at the Old Trafford on Sunday. Bhuvneshwar had to leave the field after just 16 deliveries and all-rounder Vijay Shankar completed the pacer's spell. "It's a blow but they beat Pakistan comprehensively. So they are in good form. I hope Shikhar recovers well and recovers soon," Ganguly, who has returned from his World Cup commentary assignment, said here on Wednesday. "Injuries are part and parcel nobody has control on it. Hope others come ...
Lahiri hopes to repeat last year's Top-10 performance at Travelers C'ship
Going through one of the his worst slumps this season, India's ace golfer Anirban Lahiri would be keen to turn things around at the Travelers Championship, the tournament where he finished in Top-10 last year. Exactly a year ago, Lahiri had four rounds in the sixties to finish in the Top-10. Since then Lahiri has managed only two other Top-10 finishes at the WGC-Bridgestone last August and T-10 OHL Mayakoba in November. He desperately needs a turnaround as the season begins in final journey to the FedExCup play-offs in August. Time and again Lahiri has had one or two good rounds in a week, and the last three times that he made the cuts, he started with a 68 or better but was unable to build on that. At the Memorial, which Lahiri considers as one of his favourite events, he had a bagful of birdies but he also gave away a lot of bogeys to end at one-over total. However, Lahiri feels he has been hitting well and giving himself chances even though things have not gone his way on the ...
Ganguly's mother hospitalised with heart ailment
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly's septuagenarian mother Nirupa Ganguly has been hospitalised a couple of days back because of a heart ailment. This was confirmed by Ganguly at a function here. "She's under observation. I'm not sure of her release yet," Ganguly, who has returned from his World Cup commentary assignment, said on Wednesday. The iconic Bengal cricketer is scheduled to return to England on Tuesday, ahead of India's match against West Indies.
PCB to review Pakistan's performance after CWC'19
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would review the side and team support personnel's performances after the conclusion of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup."The BoG had a discussion on the Pakistan cricket team's recent performance across all formats. The members agreed the team's performance in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 to date has been below expectation, but expressed faith, support and confidence in the side, and hoped they will utilise all their talent and potential in the remaining matches to bounce back strongly and finish on a high," the PCB said in an official statement."It was agreed, and as previously stated, following the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, the PCB will carry-out a robust review and analysis of the side's and the team support personnel's performances in the past three years and submit their recommendations to the Chairman and the BoG for their consideration," the statement added.This decision was taken by the PCB during the 54th meeting of the PCB's Board
CWC'19: Key players to watch out in Australia-Bangladesh clash
Bangladesh will try to keep up their winning momentum whereas Australia would strive to seal their semi-final berth when the two sides clash with each other at Trent Bridge on June 20 in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.Australia will enter the match with four wins and one loss from their five games. Currently, Australia is placed in the second position with eight points. On the other hand, Bangladesh is placed at fifth position with five points.Bangladesh has never entered the semi-final stages of the World Cup whereas Australia has won the tournament five times -- 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2015).Following are the key players to watch out in the World Cup match between Australia and Bangladesh:Aaron FinchIn the five matches Australia has played so far, Finch has contributed 343 runs with the bat and he has also taken one wicket. Australia's one-day stint has seen a massive improvement and the major credit goes to skipper Finch, who earlier amassed 451 runs in five matches to
Bhuvneshwar's fitness status will be known shortly: Shankar Basu
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar's fitness status will be known very shortly, India team's strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu said on Wednesday."Our physiotherapists are looking after Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the moment and we will know the status very shortly," Basu said in a press conference.During the India-Pakistan clash in a World Cup match, Bhuveneshwar suffered tightness in his left hamstring and walked off the field, leaving the fifth over of Pakistan's innings in between. Vijay Shankar not only delivered the two remaining balls but also bagged his first World Cup wicket as Imam-ul-Haq was leg-before.Rohit Sharma's match-winning knock of 140 runs helped India seal an 89-run victory over Pakistan. The win also builds on India's winning streak against the arch-rivals in the marquee tournament. India now have a head-to-head 7-0 margin against Pakistan.Following the match, India captain Virat Kohli informed that Bhuvneshwar sustained a slight niggle and will be out of action for ...
Blame game started in Afghanistan camp after dismal WC show
A dejected Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons on Wednesday hinted that chief selector Dawlat Ahmadzai had a role in shock removal of Asghar Afghan from captaincy days before the World Cup. Lying at the bottom of the table after losing all of their five matches so far, a blame game has started with Ahmadzai holding the Simmons-led coaching set-up responsible for Afghanistan's below-par show in the ongoing World Cup. "I am in the middle of a World Cup and trying to get our team to perform to the level we expect but at the end of the World Cup I will tell the Afghanistan people about the part that Mr Dawlat Ahmadzai had to play in our preparation and his part in the dismissal of #AsgharAfghan," Simmons tweeted. Simmons was reacting to a tweet by an Afghanistan journalist where he wrote that Ahmadzai believes the poor show of the national team was because of lack of preparation on the part of the coaching staff. In a surprising move, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Gulbadin Naib as the .
Dhawan ruled out of World Cup, cover Pant drafted into India squad
Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan was Wednesday ruled out of the ongoing World Cup and replaced by young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant after failing to make enough recovery in a fresh assessment of his thumb fracture. Dhawan, 33, picked up the injury on his left thumb during the June 9 clash against Australia in London and was initially ruled out of three games -- against Pakistan (June 16), Afghanistan (June 22) and the West Indies (June 27). "Shikhar Dhawan has fractured the base of the metacarpal (bone) of his left hand. His hand will remain in cast till mid July which rules him out of the ICC 2019 World Cup," team's administrative manager Sunil Subramanium told mediapersons. "We have written to the ICC requesting Rishabh Pant as replacement," he added. Pant comes in with an accumulated ODI experience of five matches but is considered a trump card owing to his fearless approach. He was part of the official standbys list along with Ambati Rayudu. Dhawan was always running against ...
Chitra wins gold with season's best run
Asian champion P U Chitra ran her season's best to win the women's 1500m gold at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sollentuna, Sweden. Chitra, who won the gold in the Asian Championships in Doha in April, clocked 4 minute 12.65 seconds to finish ahead of Kenya's Mercy Cherono, who won 5000m gold in 2014 Commonwealth Games, on Tuesday. Asian Games gold medallist Jinson Johnson won the silver in the men's 1500m clocking 3:39.69. Johnson had, on June 15, bettered his own national record by clocking 3:37.62 at the Next Generation Athletics Meet at Nijmegen, the Netherlands. In another separate competition, national record holder long jumper Murali Sreeshankar won the gold at the Copenhagen Athletics Games in Denmark with an impressive opening round effort of 7.93m. Sreeshankar had jumps of 7.89m, 7.88m and 7.61m in other rounds.
CWC'19: Shikhar Dhawan ruled out, Rishabh Pant comes in as replacement
Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remainder of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, while the BCCI has requested the ICC to bring in Rishabh Pant as the replacement, India team manager Sunil Subramaniam confirmed on Wednesday."Dhawan has a fracture on the base of his first metacarpal on his left hand. Based on several specialist opinions, he will remain in a cast till mid-July, which rules him out of the World Cup. We have requested ICC to allow Rishabh Pant to be as a replacement," Subramaniam said in a press conference.On June 12, wicket-keeper batsman Pant was called in as a back up for injured Dhawan. During the India-Pakistan clash on June 16, Dhawan was rested while KL Rahul opened along with Rohit Sharma and at number four Vijay Shankar played.Dhawan is currently nursing an injury on the back of his left hand in the region between the index finger and thumb. During a fixture against Australia on June 9, he was hit by a Pat Cummins bouncer. However, Dhawan went onto play a ...
Rift between Afghanistan coach and chief-selector out in open
The rift between Afghanistan coach and chief-selector came out in the open as team coach Phil Simmons on Wednesday said that he would let people know chief selector Dawlat Ahmadzai's role in the dismissal of former captain Asghar Afghan."I am in the middle of a World Cup and trying to get our team to perform to the level we expect but at the end of the World Cup I will tell the Afghanistan people about the part that Dawlat Ahmadzai had to play in our preparation and his part in the dismissal of #AsgharAfghan," Simmons tweeted.Simmons had replied to a journalist who revealed that chief-selector Ahmadzai blamed the coaching staff for the dismal performance of Afghanistan in the ongoing World Cup.Before the World Cup, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) decided to change the captaincy in the limited-overs format. Asghar Afghan was replaced by Gulbadin Naib as the ODI captain.This decision by ACB was criticised by the current team members including Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan.Afghanistan ...
England's Wood has no regrets over Afghanistan short stuff
England fast bowler Mark Wood said he had no regrets about persisting with short-pitched deliveries after hitting Afghanistan batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi with a bouncer. Shahidi had made 24 when he took his eye off a 90 mile-per-hour (145 kilometres-per-hour) delivery from the Durham quick that thudded into the side of his helmet at Old Trafford on Tuesday and saw him hit the turf immediately after the impact. But instead of retiring hurt, the 24-year-old donned a new helmet and carried on to top-score for Afghanistan, with 76 in a lopsided 150-run loss. Wood, while concerned enough to check on Shahidi's condition, had no regrets about testing him and the other Afghanistan batsmen with more short-pitched deliveries. "Well, I was concerned when I first hit him, obviously," said Wood. "It was a bit of a bad blow and then it's out of my hands really. You have to let the medical staff do their thing. I checked he was all right himself, said 'are you OK?'. Then I was back in the game ...
Jamaica's football coach heaps praise on Australian Sam Kerr
Australian skipper Sam Kerr starred for the team as she scored four goals against Jamaica in the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup. This effort was lauded by Jamaican coach Hue Menzies as he said it does not get better than that."It doesn't get any better than that. The kid is just resilient, she's a goal scorer, she plays for her badge and her country. I love her attitude, particularly in the box, you can't teach that. I would pay to come and watch her," Goal.com quoted Menzies as saying on Tuesday (local time).Australia defeated Jamaica 4-1 in the Women's World Cup and Australian coach Ante Milicic praised Kerr saying that she is an inspirational leader and the whole Australian football setup should be proud of her."She's an inspirational leader. We as an Australian footballing community should be thankful that we're witnessing one of the best players in the world, live," Goal.com quoted Milicic as saying."I think all the accolades must go to Sam, but also the service she got ...
Sehwag shares frame with 'two masters'
Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Sunil Gavaskar sharing the same frame, does it get better than this? Sehwag's latest Instagram post is here to treat Indian cricket fans."With the two master's #iccworldcup2019 #commentary," Sehwag captioned the picture which he shared on Wednesday.The three legends are in the UK, busy commentating in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.Earlier Sehwag clicked a selfie with Tendulkar and the West Indies great Brian Lara during the India-Pakistan clash, which India won by 89 runs."Having a great time... electric atmosphere," Sehwag said.Last week, Sehwag shared a picture with his then teammate Sourav Ganguly and Gavaskar. "Kasam se.... kya smile hai yaar #smileplease #dada #sunny bhai #openers #commentary #iccworldcup2019," he said.This year's World Cup is no less than a throwback picture season, bringing all the legends together who are making commentary a delight to listen.
HI sacks Jude Felix, advertises for new junior men's hockey coach
Hockey India Wednesday sacked the junior men's hockey team coach Jude Felix after the national side finished a disappointing sixth in the just-concluded eight-nation tournament in Madrid. The development came to light after HI advertised for the position on its official website Wednesday. A source in HI said the decision to remove Jude was on expected lines following a series of below-par performances by the reigning junior world champions. "It was expected, especially after India's below-par performance in the recent eight-nation tournament in Madrid," the HI source told PTI. In that tournament earlier this month, the Indian colts lost 0-4 to Australia, 2-3 to Netherlands, 1-3 to Spain and 1-2 to Great Britain. India's only win in the event was against Austria who they beat 4-2. Jude, who took over the reigns in August 2017, confirmed the development. "Yes, I am no longer the coach of the junior team. I was conveyed the decision 2-3 days via an email," he told PTI. Asked whether he ..