Page 1221 - Sports
Jyothi takes India to 2nd spot in ranking round of compound archery
Archer Jyothi Surekha Vennam finished second in the ranking round of the compound event to propel India to the second spot in the ranking round of the team event at the 18th Asian Games here on Wednesday.
Back-to-back Asiad, World Championships create ammunition headache for Indian shooters
Back-to-back scheduling of Asian Games and World Championships has forced the Indian shooting contingent to be frugal with the use of live ammunition. A shooter can only carry five kg of ammunition on international flights and they always have to be meticulous while planning for tournaments. The squad knew of the schedule (World Championships begin in Korea on August 31) well in advance but the 5kg rules had led to shooters being more careful than ever. Barring the 10m events where lead pellets are used, shooters shoot with live ammunition. "The 5 kg ammunition per person is also inclusive of the packaging, so basically it comes down to 4.5kg. For a rifle/pistol shooter, that quantity equals to 1200 shots, which is four days of training," pistol coach Ronak Pandit, who is here with the team, told PTI. "Here the organisers are co-operating but in World Cup and World Championships, you need about 700 shots for unofficial training, pre event training, elimination, qualification and ...
Olympic swim champ Balandin may quit after Asian Games
Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Balandin, who two years ago won his country's first-ever Olympic swimming gold medal, said Wednesday he will consider retiring after the Asian Games. The 23-year-old became a national hero in the former Soviet state after a stunning victory in the 200 metres breaststroke in Rio. But he suffered an almighty Olympic hangover and admits he is struggling to motivate himself after a miserable run of form and niggling injuries. "I think maybe I'm going to finish my swimming career," Balandin told AFP after placing second in his 100m heat and qualifying second overall for Wednesday's final in Jakarta. "I won everything I wanted in swimming -- I just don't find new motivation for swimming. "For my country I'm a hero, so many people know my face and it's great," added the beefy Kazakh, who withdrew from Tuesday's 200m breaststroke with a sore ankle. "But I've had some trouble with my health, I fractured the ankle -- it's been so bad. After the injury, for three or four ...
I miss cheesecake! Diaz reveals sacrifice on path to golden glory
Triumphant weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz has her sights set firmly on Olympic gold, inspired by her new Chinese coach, but first she might just indulge in a guilty passion -- cheesecake and bubble tea. "The sacrifices you make are so hard when you're training every day," she told AFP after winning the Philippines' first gold medal of the 2018 Asian Games on Tuesday. "I can't eat sugar and sweets. I miss eating cheesecake and drinking bubble tea with friends. It's hard," said the sweet-toothed 27-year-old from the southern Philippines island of Mindanao. Diaz was already assured a place in her country's sporting folklore, alongside the likes of Manny Pacquiao, as the only woman from the sprawling archipelago ever to win an Olympic medal. But now, with top Chinese coach Gao Kaiwen making "a difference" in her corner, she believes she can turn Rio 2016 silver into Tokyo 2020 gold after winning the women's 53kg event in Jakarta. "My coach has been with me for two months," she said of Gao, who
Real Madrid's Odegaard goes on loan to Vitesse Arnhem
Real Madrid's Norwegian midfielder Martin Odegaard will go on loan this football season to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, the Spanish football giants announced.
Indian women's compound archery team 2nd in Asiad ranking round
The Indian women's compound archery team qualified second for the Asian Games quarterfinals, pipped by powerhouse Korea in the ranking round, here today. India were already through to the quarters with a first-round bye and today's round only decided the placement of the teams in the draw based on their rankings. India ended up in the bottom half with Korea in the upper half. Jyoti Sureka Vennam was the star of the show, grabbing the second spot in the individual rankings. Jyoti finished with 706 points, just one less than top-ranked Yinsuhan Chen of Taipei. Muskan Kiran finished ninth with 691 points while Madhumita Kumari was 11th with 689. Trisha Deb, who had won a bronze in the 2014 Asian Games, managed 683 points, which placed her 19th. The Indian team tallied 2085 points behind Korea, which created a Games record of 2105. The compound event for the ongoing Games only has team medals on offer and individual medals have been done away. The quarterfinals are scheduled to be held on
FIFA takes control of Uruguayan football association
World football governing body FIFA has taken over the running of the Uruguayan football association, AUF and will oversee a transparent election for a new president, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) said.
Time has come for Tottenham to deliver, says striker Kane
Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has said that his side can no longer use their lack of experience as an excuse for not winning silverware.
Wushu: Gyandash misses taijijian medal by a whisker
India's wushu athlete Mayanglambam Gyandash Singh finished fourth in the men's taijijian category at the Asian Games here on Wednesday.
Asiad 2018: Indian team in Men's 4x100m freestyle relay finals
The Indian team qualified for the Men's 4 x 100 metre freestyle relay finals at the 18th Asian Games here on Wednesday.
PSV poised to qualify for Champions League
PSV Eindhoven defeated hosts BATE Borisov 3-2 in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier, while Benfica could manage only a 1-1 draw at home to PAOK Salonika.
Shooters Anjum, Gaayathri miss out on Rifle 3P finals
India's shooters Anjum Moudgil and Gaayathri Nithyanandam failed to qualify for the finals in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the 18th Asian Games here on Wednesday.
Ankita Raina assures India of another medal
Anikta Raina today confirmed just the third singles medal in women's tennis for India at the Asian Games as she reached the semifinals after being 1-4 down at one stage. India's top-ranked women's singles player, Anikta breezed past Eudice Chong 6-4 6-1 of Hong Kong in their quarterfinal match. She won the first set in 54 minutes and took only 27 minutes to claim the second set. Raina came back from behind to take the first set 6-4 against Chong of Hong Kong. Raina was trailing 0-3 and 1-4 at the beginning of the match before staging a comeback. Raina thus assured herself of at least a bronze medal.
Shooters Manu, Rahi in 25m pistol finals
India's women shooters Manu Bhaker and Rahi Sarnobat entered the finals of the 25m pistol competition at the 18th Asian Games here on Wednesday.
Dipa pulls out of artistic team finals as knee injury flares up
Star Indian gymast Dipa Karmakar today pulled out of the artistic team finals of the ongoing Asian Games here after a career-threatening knee injury flared up again. "...there was risk of a dangerous injury, so she could not be her best. We will give her rest from the team event but she will definitely do well in (balancing) beam finals," Dipa's coach Bisweswar Nandi told PTI. Asked if competing in beam finals will affect the knee adversely, Nandi said, "No, the landing is not hard on balancing beam." A sobbing Dipa blamed it on a jerk felt during the 'podium practice' and insisted she will strive to make up for the lost opportunity by shining in the balancing beam finals. Dipa, who attained global fame attempting the death-defying 'Produnova' vault at a stage no less than Olympics for a fourth-place finish in 2016, could not even qualify for her pet event here. "I felt jerk during podium training. I could not do my best. I had trained hard for this," Dipa said. After the high of Rio,
Juventus midfielder Pjanic extends contract
Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic has extended his contract and will remain with the Serie A reigning champion until 2023, the Italian club has confirmed.
Asiad 2018: Avinash, Sajan miss 100m butterfly swimming finals
India's Avinash Mani and Sajan Prakash failed to qualify for the men's 100 metre butterfly swimming finals of the 18th Asian Games here on Wednesday.
Rowers Bhagwan Singh-Rohit Kumar qualify for lightweight double sculls final
Indian rowers Rohit Kumar and Bhagwan Singh topped the repechage round in the men's lightweight double sculls with a timing of 7:12.23 in the Asian Games here today. They qualified for the main A-final, and will now take a shot at winning a medal. Bhagwan Singh-Rohit Kumar finished top in Heat 1 repechages.
Indian swimmers fail to qualify for finals
Indian swimmers Sandeep Sejwal, Sajan Prakash and Avinash Mani topped their respective heats but still failed to qualify for the finals of the Asian Games here today. Sejwal finished first in his heat with a timing of 62.07 but could not make the final of the men's 100m breaststroke despite his impressive outing at the GBK Aquatic Center. Before that, Sajan Prakash won his heat with a timing of 54.04 in men's 100m butterfly, while Avinash Mani beat Saudi Arabia's Bu Arish in their two-man unseeded heat. Mani had a timing of 56.98. Both the Indian swimmers failed to qualify for the finals. Earlier, Sajan had surged ahead of the pack to top Heat 2, while Mani topped Heat 1. In the men's 4 x 100m freestyle relay, the Indian team of Sajan Prakash, Virdhawal Khade, Anshul Kothari, Aaron Dsouza finished top of Heat 1 by clocking 3:25.17, but chances of making the final with this score were grim as this was an unseeded heat. There were two more heats to go before the announcement of the ...
Coach keeps Argentina guessing about Messi's future
Argentina's interim coach Lionel Scaloni refused to be drawn on Lionel Messi's international future after leaving the five-time World Player of the Year out of his squad for upcoming friendlies next month. Local media had claimed the Barcelona star asked to be excused from international duty for Argentina's four remaining friendlies in 2018, starting with a trip to the United States in September to play Guatemala and Colombia. "I've spoken with Messi and from that conversation I picked my squad," said Scaloni, who took over from the sacked Jorge Sampaoli after Argentina's underwhelming World Cup last-16 elimination to eventual champions France. "We didn't speak about what could happen in the future. We know what Messi represents for us and we'll see for the future." Messi, 31, has retired from international duty once before after missing a penalty in Argentina's shoot-out defeat by Chile, for the second year running, in the 2016 Copa America final. That lasted little more than a ...