Page 1240 - Sports
Asiad Badminton: Sindhu, Srikanth led India's charge for elusive gold
In-form PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth will look to break new grounds as they spearhead India's charge for an elusive gold at the 18th Asian Games badminton event which begins with the team competitions here tomorrow. India ended a 28-year-old medal drought when the women's team, led by Saina Nehwal and Sindhu, clinched their maiden bronze medal at the 2014 edition at Incheon, South Korea. Before that, it was the men's team, comprising Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar, who had claimed a bronze in the 1986 edition. Among the eight bronze won by Indian shuttlers since the 1966 Asiad, Syed Modi remains India's only singles medallist in 1982 and Sindhu, who has been in rampaging form, will look to break that jinx when she begins her campaign in the individual event starting August 23. In the team competition, Sindhu and Co. will look to better their bronze medal show when the women's team begins its campaign on Monday against top seeds Japan in the quarterfinals after receiving a ...
Federer strikes down fellow Swiss to reach Cincy
World number two Roger Federer posted his second win of the day, amid a lightning fear interruption, to reach the semi-finals of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters on Friday. The seven-time champion beat fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (8/6), 6-2. The match was interrupted for 21 minutes with players being sent off court and crowds told to seek shelter as a storm cell passed near the site. But after the pause, the pair came back out, with Federer finally securing the first break of the match on his seventh chance to take a 4-2 lead over his longtime rival. Federer closed out victory two games later and will face David Goffin after the Belgian beat Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4). Federer began his day by beating Leo Mayer 6-1, 7-6 (8/6). "It's quite unusual to stop for lightning," Federer said after beating Wawrinka for the 23rd time in 26 meetings. "I didn't know if it meant the end of the night or that we would come back. "I got my energy back for the third set, a .
Usain Bolt arrives in Sydney for football trial
Former Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has arrived in Sydney ahead of his football trial with A-League club Central Coast Mariners.The 31-year-old, who has always been outspoken of his desire to play football once his athletics career was over, had confirmed in February that he is all set to switch from track to field.Reflecting on his future in the football, Bolt said that he is aware of his abilities and would like to show what he is capable of."I've said all along this is for real and I'm here to show what I can do. I know what I'm capable of and I know what I can do, so this is the opportunity," Sports24 quoted Bolt, as saying.Earlier, the sprinter had also joined German football club Borussia Dortmund in his build-up to give the game a serious try.The eight-time Olympic Gold winner, who holds the world record for the 100m (9.58 seconds), the 200m (19.19 seconds) and the 4x100m relay (36.84 seconds) besides having 11 World Championship titles to his name, retired from athletics ...
Nottingham Test: Trailing India look to turn tide against England
India will strive to put up a solid performance and keep their winning hopes alive, while taking on England in the third Test of the ongoing five-match series against England here at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground on Saturday.After trailing the series 0-2, another loss will prove to be a huge setback for the Indian team, who are already facing flak over their poor overseas performance.Earlier, England had crushed the Virat Kohli-led side by an innings and 159 runs on the fourth day of the second Test at Lord's.Trailing the second innings by 289 runs, none of the Indian batsmen could manage to stand firm on the crease as the entire team was bundled out for a meagre score of 130. The visiting team failed to counter England's bowling attack and suffered a dramatic collapse in the match.As far as head to head record is concerned, both the teams have faced each other six times at Nottingham. While the Indian side have won just one match on the ground, England have registered two games to ...
Cincinnati Open: Federer enters semi-final round
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer edged past Swiss tennis player Stanislas Wawrinka to enter the semi-final of the ongoing Cincinnati Open here on Saturday.The 37-year-old thrashed Wawrinka 6-7(2), 7-6(6), 6-2 to continue with his impressive record against the fellow countryman.Reflecting on the loss, Wawrinka said that he is happy to play a high-level tennis and further asserted that he needs to keep improving his game."For sure it was a great level. I think I'm playing great in general. I'm playing better every day, every week. Last week was really important and really good for myself, for my tennis, for my confidence.. I'm happy to see where I am right now. I had a tough match last week against Rafa. Close match, also. Today was against Roger. They are No. 1 and No. 2 in the world. I beat Schwartzman, I beat Nishikori, so the level is good," ATP website quoted Wawrinka, as saying."I need to keep improving, keep working, keep doing the right thing and keep pushing ...
Asiad Hockey: Indian women eye gold to book Olympic berth
Former champions India will have to recover from their medal-less World Cup campaign as they look to clinch the title at the 18th Asian Games and seal a Tokyo Olympics berth when the women's hockey competition begins, here tomorrow. Indian women's team had won the gold medal at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi and ended runner up to South Korea in 1998 in Bangkok. They have managed to return with at-least a medal in all the nine editions, including a bronze at the 2014 Games at Incheon, South Korea. At world no 9, Indian women's team are the top-ranked side in the competition and will open its campaign against hosts Indonesia, ranked as low as 64, in a Pool B match here tomorrow. However, India's real test would be against defending champions Korea (ranked 10), China and Japan. Both China (ranked 11) and Japan (ranked 14) are in Pool A and India will not clash with them before the semifinals. Clubbed in pool B, India will face their toughest test in the league stage against Korea on .
Google sports colourful Doodle on opening day of 18th Asiad
Google on Saturday featured a colourful Doodle to celebrate the start of the 18th Asian Games where athletes from 45 countries will compete in 55 events.
Reigning world champ Hurd best of the rest at US gymnastics
Reigning world champion Morgan Hurd manages to be impressed by Simone Biles without being intimidated by the gap between the Olympic gold medalist and the rest of the women at the US gymnastics championships. Posting perhaps her best day in competition with a score that was better than her winning performance at worlds in Montreal last year Hurd finished the first rotation last night in second place, a healthy 3.100 behind Biles but comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack. With Biles returning after a two-year hiatus, the other American women know that second is probably the best they can do. "I'm just happy with how solid I was today," Hurd said. "I went out there and I did the absolute best I can do." Unlike Biles, who stepped out of bounds twice on the floor exercise and incurred a 0.6 point deduction (but still had the highest score in the world since the Rio Olympics), Hurd turned out a penalty-free performance to finish the first day with 57.000 points. Riley McCusker was ...
Saving a life more important than a gold medal - Phelps
Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps has opened up again about his ongoing battle with depression, hoping he can help others who struggle with the disease. "I'd like to make a difference, I'd like to be able to save a life if I can," Phelps said yesterday in an interview with CNN. "For me that's more important than winning a gold medal." Phelps won 23 gold medals -- and 28 medals overall -- in a glittering Olympic career that stretched from the 2000 Sydney Olympics through the 2016 Rio Games. "I was able to do some pretty incredible things in the swimming pool and I struggled outside as well," Phelps said. "There was part of my life I didn't want to be alive." Phelps has spoken before of falling into depression after each Olympics he competed in, hitting a low point after the 2012 London Games in which he stayed in one room for days. The 33-year-old, now married and a father of two, said his battle with depression hasn't ended. "Two to three weeks ago I went through a scary ...
Teenage shooting sensations face stiff Asian Games test
Teenage prodigies Anish Bhanwala, Manu Bhaker and Elavenil Valarivan will carry India's medal hopes in the shooting event of the Asian Games beginning here tomorrow, and standing in their way will be the mighty Chinese and South Koreans. Bhanwala and Bhaker, who are 15 and 16 respectively, stormed into the limelight with a gold in the 25m rapid fire pistol and 10m air pistol respectively at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. But the competition at CWG is much easier than Asian Games and it remains to be seen how they perform under severe pressure. While India won seven gold medals at Gold Coast, the country has managed the same number of gold medals in the history of the Asian Games. Only four shooters have won an Asiad gold Jaspal Rana, Ronjan Sodhi, Randhir Singh and Jitu Rai. Rana, who is now a coach and is here with the Indian team, has already talked about the unnecessary attention on the youngsters though he is not ruling out their medal chances. Bhaker will be in action on the ...
Impressive performance by Hero MotoSports Team Rally
After enduring some tough moments in the previous phase, fourth stage of the 2018 Atacama Rally proved to be full of positives for Hero MotoSports Team Rally with both riders making it to the finish line safely. The penultimate stage of the Atacama Rally saw Oriol Mena finish at the 11th place, while Joaquim Rodrigues ending at the 13th position here. Mena rode well avoiding mistakes and ensured that he enters the last stage of the Rally in a good position. A huge extra for the Team was that Rodrigues was able to start today, although with heavy penalty for not finishing the stage yesterday. He started right at the back and had to tackle poor visibility throughout because of the dust raked up by the riders ahead of him. It was a difficult and risky situation but he rode with his trademark calm and confidence to finish the stage. Rodrigues was happy that despite some odd circumstances, he was successfully completed the race. "After the technical issue yesterday I was happy to make a ...
German tennis player banned for placing 280 bets
German tennis player Luca Gelhardt was banned for eight months and fined USD 7,000 after being found guilty of placing 280 bets on matches, the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) said. Gelhardt, 23 and ranked a lowly 1,065 in the world, placed the bets through three online gambling accounts between December 2012 and November 2015 although none of the wagers involved matches in which he played. The TIA said that half of Gelhardt's ban would be suspended and the fine halved to USD 3,500 provided he commits no further breaches of the sport's anti-corruption programme. "Assuming no further disciplinary violations are incurred, he will be eligible to compete again from December 16, 2018," the TIU said in a statement. According to the ATP, Gelhardt has made just USD 11,775 in prize money in his career and only USD 3,000 in 2018.
Google Doodle marks commencement of Asian Games 2018
Google with a colourful doodle is celebrating the commencement of the 18th edition of the Asian Games on Saturday.The doodle features sports like Kabaddi, weightlifting, Archery, Baseball, Fencing, and Jujitsu.45 nations of Olympic Council of Asia, including India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Iran, Iraq, Nepal, and Japan, are participating in the event that is being hosted by Indonesia. The Asian Games is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia and held at an interval of four years.This year's game will also include non-physical events like esports, or competitive video games.Google in its official blog wrote, "Esports will be considered a "demonstration" category this year, so no official medals will be given, but they plan to do so at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
Guardiola faces up to spell without City star De Bruyne
Pep Guardiola begins life without Kevin De Bruyne against Huddersfield this weekend, but the build up to the match was dominated by reviews of his on-screen performance. Guardiola has found himself at the centre of intense media scrutiny this week, following the release of Amazon's fly-on-the-wall documentary series that covers City's Premier League-winning season. The unprecedented access granted to the film's producers created sensational headlines, even before it was officially launched for public viewing on Friday. And, although Guardiola concedes the series may reveal some of his managerial techniques, he is relaxed about that possibility. "We had cameras following us 24 hours a day so that can happen," said Guardiola. "People will see how a team is behind the scenes. "On the secrets, every game is completely different to the others, and the players make the tactics. You have Kevin De Bruyne playing one way, and if he is not available, you have to adapt to the players who are ...
Bolt arrives in Australia on football quest
Usain Bolt says he's deadly serious about becoming a professional footballer and plans to show the world what he's capable of after arriving in Australia today for a trial stint with an A-League club. The superstar athlete has been given the chance to prove his worth by the Central Coast Mariners, who have agreed to let him train with the team indefinitely in his pursuit of a playing contract. They hope to turn him into A-League material in time for the start of the 2018/19 season in late October. Bolt, wearing a Mariners scarf, was met by a media scrum at Sydney airport and said he would push himself hard to make the grade. "I always put my best foot forward and I'm going to show the world what I'm made of," he said. "This is real," added the 31-year-old when asked if it was simply a stunt. "I've said since my last season of track and field that I want to play football and I know what I can do. "I'm grateful to the Mariners for giving me the opportunity and am happy to call Australia
Djokovic to face Cilic as Cincinnati title dream draws closer
Former world number one Novak Djokovic won his second match of the day to set up a semi-final clash at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters with Marin Cilic. Djokovic, a five-time finalist here who has never broken through, is aiming to lift the trophy at the only one of the Masters 1000 series events that he has never won. The Serb tenth seed followed up a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 third-round defeat of holder Grigor Dimitrov earlier in the day of a rainy week by beating Milos Raonic 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 yesterday. It was the ninth win without a loss for Djokovic in the series with the Canadian. "I've played five finals here, so that's pretty OK," Djokovic said. "But I do wish to win the title, without a doubt. "I'm here to enjoy a sport that I love, I've got plenty of motivation. "I'm in a good position, so I'll take it step by step." Djokovic had to come from behind in the first and third sets, and helped seal the victory with a break for 5-3 in the third. "Milos is one of the best servers in the game," ...
Pak eyeing 2018 Asian Games gold to qualify for Olympics
Jakarta [Indonesia], Aug 18 (ANI): Pakistan men's hockey team goalkeeper Imran Butt has revealed that his side are looking forward to put their best and clinch a gold medal in the upcoming 18th edition of Asian Games in order to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.In an exclusive interview to ANI, Butt, however, admitted that the Asian teams are very competitive and that India are not going to take any of them lightly."We want to win gold to progress to the Tokyo Olympics. But not only us, anyone who would win would qualify directly to the Olympics. These Asian teams are very competitive. We cannot take these countries like China, Korea, Japan and Malaysia lightly. Everyone will attempt to give them a tough time," he said.Talking about the matches between India and Pakistan, which grabs eyeballs, Butt admitted that the matches between the two nations are always high stake regardless of the sport.He continued, "There is pressure between the two teams (India and Pakistan). There is no ..
Asian Games: Indian archery team optimistic of winning gold
Jakarta [Indonesia], Aug 18 (ANI): Just a few hours before the commencement of the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, the members of the Indian compound archery team have expressed confidence of defending the gold medal at the prestigious quadrennial tournament.Speaking to ANI, coach Lokesh Chand said that the team have undergone rigorous practice in last few months and that they have a great chance of clinching a medal."We have undergone rigorous training for this competition in the last four to five months. We have been the defending champions last time. So we have good chances. We will definitely give our best," he said.Chand also lauded the performance of the women's archery team in past few months while also showering praises on the mixed and men's teams as well.Talking about the challenges the teams are likely to face against countries like China, Japan and Korea in the event, Chand elucidated, "If we talk about Asia, it is good (for the archers) to perform here (in the ...
Federer to face Wawrinka in quarter-finals at rain-hit Cincinnati
Roger Federer wasted no time in defeating Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) as the rain-plagued ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters made up ground after two days of disruption. Only hours after his comprehensive third-round win, the second-seeded seven-time champion was to face a quarter-final against compatriot Stan Wawrinka, who beat Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-3 in another rain-delayed third-round clash. It will mark the first time since Gstaad in 2004 that Federer has played two matches on the same day. With cloudy skies a constant weather threat, Federer raced through the opening set in 23 minutes but found the pace slowing in the second as Mayer began to make a match of it. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 37 last week, needed a tiebreaker to close it out, taking a 5-1 lead in the decider before firing a ninth ace to seal victory after 72 minutes "I haven't played two on the same day for a long time," Federer said. "But I'm pleased to be playing Stan again." Federer wasn't ..
India thrash Bangladesh in hockey warm-up game
The Indian men's hockey team crushed Bangladesh 7-1 in a practice match here today to enter the 18th Asian Games on a confident note. India are the defending champions, having won gold in the 2014 edition at Incheon, South Korea, and chief coach Harendra Singh and skipper PR Sreejesh have already expressed their desire to win a second successive yellow metal. A win here will secure them qualification to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and act as morale booster ahead of the year-end World Cup at home, where Harendra is eyeing a podium. "In the last couple of years we have proved to the world that India is back on the hockey map. We are number five in the world but by the end of the year we want to be in top 3 in the world," Harendra had said. While there was plenty to cheer about on the field, the situation was not exactly the same off it for Sreejesh, who is worried about the unprecedented flood in his native Kerala. The situation in Kerala remains precarious with water levels still rising ...