Page 1177 - Sports

Will provide 'world-class' cricket training to J&K youth: Rajiv Shukla

IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla today assured Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik that "world-class" cricket training will be provided to the local youth in a bid to promote the sport in the state. "Shukla assured the Governor that he will take every possible step in his capacity as Chairman of IPL to promote cricket in the state by providing world-class level training to the local youth, organising talent hunt events and by sending national level cricket teams to play tournaments in the state," an official spokesman said after the meeting. The Governor and the IPL chairman discussed various matters relating to promotion of sports in the state, the official added. The Governor emphasised the vital importance of sports in the holistic development of the youth and urged Shukla to provide enhanced opportunities to them for participation in national and international cricket competitions.

Bengaluru FC sign Spanish defender Albert Serran

Bengaluru FC today announced the signing of 34-year-old centre-back Albert Serran, ahead of their Indian Super League campaign. "It is a great experience in my career to sign for Bengaluru FC. The pre-season in Spain was great and I had the chance to meet the staff and players," he said in a statement. Serran's most recent contract was with Morrocon side Chabab Rif Al Hoceima. A widely travelled defender, Serran joins the Blues as their seventh foreign signing, having turned out for Carles Cuadrat's men in two pre-season friendlies, against Villarreal CF B and FC Barcelona B. Born in Barcelona, Serran is a product of RCD Espanyol's youth system and appeared in three La Liga games during his time with the Periquitos. In 2008, Serran signed a three-year deal with Swansea City, then in the Football League Championship. Serran left Swansea in 2011 and went on to play for AEK Larnaca, Alcorcon, Anorthosis Famagusta and Doxa Katokopia, before joining Albanian Superliga champions FK Kukesi ..

Sarita: the girl who once ran barefoot is now Asiad gold

Sarita Gaekwad, daughter of a farm labourer who was part of the women's 4X400 relay team which won a gold at Asiad, once used to run barefoot. Gaekwad hails from a remote village in the tribal-dominated Dang district of Gujarat. After the Indian relay team's feat at Asian Games in Indonesia yesterday, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced an award of Rs 1 crore for Gaekwad. As she is a former student of Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, its Vice Chancellor Shivendra Gupta also announced an award of Rs 2 lakh for her. Gupta recalled that there was a time when she ran barefoot, not affording specialised shoes. "She comes from a poor family. In the beginning, when she was a student, she used to take part in local competitions without wearing shoes," he said. Now, the varsity has decided to appoint her its brand ambassador, Gupta informed. Gaekwad's parents live at village Karadi-Amba. Her father Laxmanbhai works as a farm labourer. Her journey as a professional athlete ...

Chennaiyin FC sign Palestine forward Carlos Antonio Salom

Indian Super League (ISL) title holders Chennaiyin FC on Friday announced the signing of Argentine-born Palestine forward Carlos Antonio Salom Zulema on a season-long loan from Thailand League One outfit Bangkok United.

ISL: Mumbai City FC rope in Portuguese international Machado

Indian Super League (ISL) franchise Mumbai City FC on Friday confirmed the signing of Portuguese international Paulo Machado on a one-year deal.

Ashwin, Vishnu, Joseph start as favourites in 2nd round of JKNRC

The Chennai trio of Ashwin Datta, Vishnu Prasad and Joseph Matthew will aim to consolidate their positions at the top of the leaderboard as the curtain goes up on second round of the 21st JK Tyre national racing championship here on Saturday.

Honda racers all set for 3rd round of racing nationals

After a blockbuster performance in the opening two rounds, Honda riders are all set to extend their lead in the third round of the 2018 National Motorcycle Racing championship that takes place at the Madras Motor Race Track this weekend.

Bengaluru FC sign experienced defender Albert Serran

Bengaluru FC on Friday announced the signing of centre-back Albert Serran ahead of their Indian Super League (ISL) campaign, set to kick off in a month's time.

ICF Chennai set to sponsor customised shoes for Swapna Barman

Asian Games gold medallist heptathlete Swapna Barman may soon find her problem sorted as Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) are in talks with footwear giants Nike to design customised shoes for her. Swapna by birth has six toes on both feet and has often found it very painful to wear normal shoes. Learning about her plight, ICF General Manager S Mani, instructed the Sports Branch to immediately arrange to get the custom-made shoes and ensure that they reach Barman at the earliest. Subsequently, ICF's Sports Branch officials contacted Nike for arranging supply of such special custom-made shoes for Barman, sources said. As the size of her shoes needs to be ascertained, they are now in touch with the Indian High Commission officials in Jakarta and also AFI officials to ascertain the same. Since the Heptathlon event consists of seven different activities such as 100 metres hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin throw and 800 metres, it requires the athlete to

Asian Games: Indian Men's squash team win bronze

India on Friday clinched their 63rd medal at the ongoing 18th edition of the Asian Games as the men's squash squad won a bronze medal after they lost to Hong Kong in the semi-final of the team event.The team, comprising Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Singh, Ramit Tandon and Mahesh Mangaonkar, suffered a 0-2 defeat at the hands of their opponents to settle for the third-podium finish.In Roller Skate, India's Aarathy Kasturi and Varsha Sriramakrishna finished seventh and eighth respectively, in Women's Road 20km race.In Boxing, Amit Panghal defeated Carlo Paalam of Philippines to enter the final of Men's Light Fly 49 kg category.In Diving, India's Ramananda Sharma qualified for Men's 3m Springboard finals.India's total medal tally at the ongoing prestigious tournament now stands at 63-thirteen gold, 22 silver, and 28 bronze.

Kohli becomes second fastest Indian to reach 6000 Test runs

India skipper Virat Kohli on Friday became the second fastest batsman of the country, after Sunil Gavaskar, to reach the milestone of 6000 Test runs.The 29-year-old, who was just six runs short of the figure, achieved the feat on Day Two of the fourth Test of the ongoing five-match series against England by smashing a boundary off James Anderson's delivery in the 22nd over.While former cricketer Gavaskar had reached the milestone in 65 Tests and 117 innings, Kohli acheived the same in 70 Tests and 119 innings.Congratulating the Indian skipper, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took to the official Twitter handle and applauded the swashbuckling batsman for his achievement."Another day, another milestone for captain @imVkohli. 6K and counting in Tests #TeamIndia #ENGvIND," they wrote.Kohli, who is in a phenomenal form in the ongoing Test series, has scored a total of 440 runs, including two centuries, in the first three matches.After bowling out the England side for 246 ..

SLR coach derails at Howrah yard

An SLR coach got derailed at Howrah yard this evening during shunting and cleaning, an Eastern Railway spokesperson said here. No one was injured in the incident, ER spokesperson R N Mahapatra said. There was no one in the SLR (seating cum luggage rake) coach during the shunting and cleaning work which were being done at the Howrah yard of Eastern Railway at around 5.00 pm, he said.

4th Test: Kohli, Pujara propel India to 100/2 at lunch on Day 2

India rode an undefeated half century stand between skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara to reach 100/2 after losing two early wickets in the morning session on Day 2 of the fouth Test against England at the Rose Bowl Cricket Ground here on Friday.

ISL: Mumbai City FC sign Portugal international Paulo Machado

Indian Super League (ISL) club Mumbai City FC today announced the signing of Portuguese international Paulo Machado for a period of one year. An experienced campaigner in some of Europe's most elite competitions, 32-year-old Machado joins Mumbai City FC after a successful campaign with Portuguese side CD Aves, winning the Taa de Portugal. Machado has represented his country at the U-17 level, winning the 2003 UEFA U-17 European Championships. He has also represented his country at the U-20, U-21 and U-23 levels before becoming a full international, with six caps to his name. "He (Machado) brings with him so many years of experience and a strong winning mentality. I am excited to work with him once again and Im confident he can be an important figure in this side," said Mumbai City FC's head coach Jorge Costa. Machado said, "When Jorge Costa and Mumbai City FC presented me this opportunity to join this club, I did not have to think twice. There are so many reasons for me .

Farukh, Manvir shine as India U23 thrash Rydalmere Lions

India U-23 team wrapped up its exposure trip Down Under in style, registering an emphatic 4-0 victory over Rydalmere Lions FC, at the Valentine Sports Park in Sydney today. Farukh Choudhary (6th minute, 38th minute) bagged a first-half brace before super-sub Manvir Singh (74', 77') added two more in the span of three minutes to hand India a comfortable victory. India, during their preparatory camp in Sydney, have won two of the three friendly games against APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC and Rydalmere Lions FC. They went down fighting against reigning A-League premiers champions Sydney FC. Farukh did not take more than six minutes to find the back of the net when he converted a long cross from Sajid Dhot from the heart of defense. Four minutes later, he created an opportunity for Ashique but the Lions defense intercepted to thwart the danger. Having enjoyed the lion's share of possession, India came very close to doubling the lead quite a few times but the Rydalmere defense was up to the ...

Asian Games: Men's squash team win bronze

India on Friday clinched their 63rd medal at the ongoing 18th edition of the Asian Games as the men's squash squad won a bronze medal after they lost to Hong Kong in the semi-final of the team event.The team, comprising Saurav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Singh, Ramit Tandon and Mahesh Mangaonkar, suffered a 0-2 defeat at the hands of their opponents to settle for the third-podium finish.In Roller Skate, India's Aarathy Kasturi and Varsha Sriramakrishna finished seventh and eighth respectively, in Women's Road 20km race.In Boxing, Amit Panghal defeated Carlo Paalam of Philippines to enter the final of Men's Light Fly 49 kg category.In Diving, India's Ramananda Sharma qualified for Men's 3m Springboard finals.India's total medal tally at the ongoing prestigious tournament now stands at 63-thirteen gold, 22 silver, and 28 bronze.

Domestic Cricket: Now umpires will assess match referees, BCCI getting NE states battle ready

In a departure from convention, the BCCI will have its registered umpires evaluating the performances of its match referees instead of other way round, informed GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim. Karim and his team has prepared an elaborate blue print for this year's domestic cricket which will witness nine states being integrated into the first-class structure. "We have addressed the issue of paucity of match referees, umpires and scorers. We will have 12 new match referees and 14 new umpires this season to meet with the growing demand. This time the evaluation process will change. The umpires will evaluate match referees and the process will be monitored by cricket operations team," Karim told reporters during an interaction here today. With a whopping 2017 matches (across all formats, gender and age-groups) set to be conducted by the BCCI, Karim's main emphasis this year is to ease the North Eastern teams into mainstream. "Some of the new teams like Bihar, Uttarakhand and ...

It's was not a glamour race, it was stressful: Varsha

A bitter court battle almost forced Varsha Gautham to quit but perseverance helped her to tide over the crisis and clinch a silver medal in sailing at the ongoing Asian Games. Competing in 49erFX, the 20-year-old Varsha and her crew partner Sweta Shervegar, completed the 15-race event with 40 net points to finish second behind the winners from Singapore, who had just 14 net points. Sailors are given points after each race, and the pair, which gets the least points, is declared the winner. Varsha and Sweta were initially not chosen by the the Yachting Association of India to represent India in 49erFX event and only after a court battle, they reached the Indonesian capital. "These were stressful three months. But everything has paid off. There were a lot of up and down. A lot happened. At least 10 times I thought, it's not worth it, I can't handle it but somehow I continued. It was certainly not glamorous race, there was pressure," Varsha said. "And there was a realistic chance of ...

FC Pune City dethrone KMP XI to win WIFA U14 title

FC Pune City scored a second half goal to record a hard-fought 1-0 win against defending champions Keshav Madhav Pratishtan (KMP) XI, Pune in the final of the 2nd WIFA Youth Boys (U-14) Championship 2018-19. Striker Dinesh Singh netted the crucial winner to help Pune City emerge champions on their debut. After the first half failed to produce a goal, Dinesh broke the deadlock scoring with a left-foot essay in the 49th minute. Thereafter, the Pune City defended doggedly to hold onto to their lead till the end of the match to troop out victorious. Pune City captain Franklin Nazareth won the 'Best Player of the Tournament' award while Kenkre FCs sharpshooter Dexter Fernandes was awarded the 'Golden Boot' for scoring 11 goals in the championship. Result: Final: FC Pune City, Pune 1 (Dinesh Singh 49th minute) beat KMP XI, Pune 0. Golden Boot: Dexter Fernandes (Kenkre FC). Player of the Tournament: Franklin Nazareth (FC Pune City).

Solid India build on day one advantage, reach 100/2 at lunch

Building on their day one advantage, India reached 100 for two at lunch on the second day of the fourth Test against England here. At the break, Cheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten on 28 runs, while Virat Kohli was batting on 25. The duo put on 50 runs for the third wicket as India are now adrift by 146 runs in the first innings. Starting from overnight 19 for no loss, Shikhar Dhawan (23) and KL Rahul (19) made a sedate start. The duo were watchful for any hint of lateral movement, similar to what the Indian pacers generated on the first morning of the match. James Anderson (0-37) didn't find much movement, while Stuart Broad (2-34) did hit on a troubling length to the left-handed Dhawan whenever he pitched the ball up. Broad struck in the fourth over of the morning, trapping Rahul lbw in the eighth over of the innings. The batsman opted for DRS, but the decision stayed in England's favour. The pacer had another appeal against Dhawan turned down, this time for caught behind in the 14th ...