Page 1241 - Sports
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 ...
Amandeep wins 11th leg of women's golf meet
Amandeep Drall carded a three-over 75 in the final round of the 11th leg of the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour here on Friday to clinch back-to-back titles on the circuit.
Duleep Trophy: India Red reach 230/6 against India Green
Madhya Pradesh batsman Ashutosh Singh made a patient, unbeaten 57 as India Red reached 230 for six on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy match against India Green here. India Red captain Abhinav Mukund won the toss and elected to bat and provided the team a solid start as he put on 69 runs with Vidarbha opener Sanjay R Ramaswamy. He fell to a catch by Prashanth Chopra for 34 to give Ankit Rajpoot his first wicket. Test discard Mukund and Ramaswamy hit a flurry of boundaries as the rival bowlers strayed in direction and the 50 came up in the 15th over. The lanky Rajpoot, who provided the breakthrough by snaring the left-handed Mukund, bowled impressively and kept the batsmen in check and captured three wickets including that of the other opener Ramaswamy (37). All the batsmen got starts but failed to capitalise as India Green bowlers kept chipping away. Ashuthosh displayed a lot of patience as his 194-ball knock, which included just two boundaries. He was involved in a 61-run ...
Messi left out of Argentina squad for friendlies
Barcelona star Lionel Messi was left out of the first post-World Cup Argentina squad announced today ahead of four upcoming friendlies. The move was widely expected following media reports earlier in the week claiming the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had asked to be excused from the country's four remaining friendlies in 2018. Also absent from interim coach Lionel Scaloni's squad are Manchester City's Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria of Paris Saint-Germain and new AC Milan loan signing Gonzalo Higuain.
Mbappe set for first PSG appearance after World Cup
World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe has been named in Paris Saint-Germain's squad for the first time this season as the French champions go to Guingamp in Ligue 1 tomorrow. Mbappe did not play in their league opener, a 3-0 win over Caen last weekend, having only returned to training a few days earlier following a post-World Cup holiday. The 19-year-old, who scored one of France's goals in their 4-2 win over Croatia in last month's final in Moscow, will hope to feature alongside Neymar in the PSG attack in Brittany. However, Edinson Cavani is again missing as he continues his recovery from a calf injury suffered during Uruguay's run to the quarter-finals in Russia. Also named in PSG's squad is Thilo Kehrer, the Germany under-21 defender who completed a reported 37 million-euro (USD 42.3 million) move to the French capital from Schalke on Thursday, signing a five-year deal. Kehrer will hope to quickly break into Thomas Tuchel's side, but the German coach has left his compatriots Kevin Trapp .
India likely to play with six batsmen in 3rd Test
With Indian batsmen struggling against the England bowlers in the first two Tests of the five-match series, skipper Virat Kohli hinted that the visitors may employ an extra batsman in the crucial third Test which starts here on Saturday.
Son's Asian Games hopes rocked by minnows Malaysia
Son Heung-min's hopes of avoiding military service by securing Asian Games gold suffered a blow today as South Korea were stunned 2-1 by minnows Malaysia. The Tottenham Hotspur forward came off the bench just before the hour-mark but couldn't help the defending champions overturn a two-goal deficit, after Safawi Rasid's first-half double for 171st-ranked Malaysia. Son is skipping Premier League action for the regional Olympics, where victory would mean an exemption from South Korea's 21 months of military service. Son, 26, was released by Spurs for the tournament, which represents his final chance to avoid nearly two years in military barracks -- a serious setback to his career. South Korea, who thrashed Bahrain 6-0 in their opening match, dominated possession in the second half, particularly after Son's introduction, but were unable to claw their way back. Japan-based striker Hwang Ui-jo, who is also facing his final chance to avoid military service, pulled one goal back for the ...
World Cup fatigue could have caused De Bruyne injury, says Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has suggested post-World Cup fatigue could have been a factor in the knee injury that has ruled out Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne for around three months. De Bruyne only returned to training at City last week, having had a break after helping Belgium finish third in Russia in July. He played for the final 30 minutes last Sunday as Guardiola's side began their Premier League title defence with a 2-0 victory at Arsenal. However, the midfielder then suffered a knee injury in training on Wednesday, and was spotted on crutches that night at the premiere of 'All Or Nothing', a documentary that features behind-the-scenes footage of City's title victory. Guardiola expects De Bruyne to be fit again by the beginning of December, but acknowledges City will have a tough task dealing with his absence, just as they did when a knee injury ruled out left-back Benjamin Mendy for virtually the whole of last season. "We never know. My opinion is that when you ask a lot of the ...
Kohli hits out at critics of chop-and change policy, calls it 'bizarre'
India skipper Virat Kohli today said his players don't feel threatened because of his chop-and-change policy and called it "quite a bizarre thought to have", taking a dig at those questioning the trend. Kohli has made 37 changes in 37 Tests as captain and that trend looks set to continue when India meet England in a must-win third Test here tomorrow. "I don't think anyone is thinking like that. These are just things that are created on the outside and people like to make a lot of nothing. For us the priority is to win games of cricket. We are not thinking whether someone's career is on the line or what's going to happen to their future," Kohli said. World number one India trail the five-match series 0-2. "We need to focus on this Test and not think about whether someone's career is on the line. It's quite bizarre thought to have," Kohli told reporters at the pre-match press conference. "That's basically your thinking. I'm definitely not thinking like that so I won't speak to the guys .
Jakarta workmen hold their own 'Asian Games'
Jakarta workmen held their own version of the Asian Games in the city's streets as they downed tools for Indonesia's annual independence day celebrations today. Workers played football, held tugs-of-war and climbed a greasy bamboo pole as part of their traditional celebrations, held this year a day ahead of the Games' opening ceremony. Adding to the sense of fun, the men -- who have helped prepare Jakarta for the Games, as part of their work for local authorities -- wore dasters, a tunic worn by Indonesian women, for the football game. "Yes, of course, of course I have contributed to a successful Asian Games. For instance all these colourful murals were done by us," one worker, Adul, told AFP, pointing to painted walls nearby. The two-week Asian Games, which are being held in Indonesia for the first time, are split between the capital Jakarta and Palembang, a port city on Sumatra island.
Megh Bhargav Kumar quells Arora, enters last four
Top-seed Megh Bhargav Kumar Patel of Gujarat rallied after losing the opening set to beat Haryana's Jagtar Arora 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 in the boys singles quarterfinals of the Adidas-MCC Junior National clay court tennis championship here today. Patel lost a close first set before raising his level of play in the second set to level the match. The Gujarat lad found his range in the decider and played confidently to close it out 6-1 to seal a berth in the semi-finals. However, second-seed Calvin Gomes of Maharashtra, crashed out losing 3-6, 4-6 to Krishan Hooda of Haryana. Rishab Sharda and Rhythm Malhora, the third and fourth-seeds, advanced to the last four. In the girls, Sharanya Garware, the 14th-seed, who had upset the No.1 seed Prinkle Singh yesterday, continued her good run, beating Ishita Singh to enter the semi-finals along with Salsa Aher, Humera Sheikh and unseeded Sara Yadav of Madhya Pradesh. In the boys doubles finals, 12th-seeds Kabir Hans of Odisha and Depender ...
Leaving out Sam was one of most difficult decisions: Root
England captain Joe Root today welcomed all-rounder Ben Stokes into the playing eleven but said leaving out the promising Sam Curran for the third Test against India was one of his "most difficult" selection decisions. Stokes will return to international cricket after being deemed 'not guilty' by a Bristol court on charges of affray. Curran will miss out as the hosts look to press their 2-0 advantage over in the five-match series. "It's probably one of the most difficult selections I've had to make as captain," Root told reporters at the pre-match press conference. "Sam misses out Ben comes into the side. The difficult part is the fact that everyone is performing so well. I think some people would see that as the easy option, to leave Sam out. "But he's offered so much to this bowling group - and at the start of the series I said to the team for us to win a five-match series against the best side in the world, it's going to take more than just 11 players." Root underlined that the ...
Hoffenheim forward Kramaric pens contract extension
TSG Hoffenheim and Croatian forward Andrej Kramaric have agreed on a contract extension ahead of schedule, the German football club announced on Friday.
Schalke sign Morocco defender Mendyl
Schalke have completed the transfer of defender Hamza Mendyl from Ligue 1 outfit Lille OSC, the German football club said on Friday.
Arsenal's Joel Campbell joins Serie A club
Costa Rica forward Joel Campbell joined Serie A Frosinone Calcio on a transfer from English Premier League Arsenal, both teams announced on Friday.
Couldn't be happier with Pogba: Man United coach Mourinho
Contrary to midfielder Paul Pogba's statements recently, Manchester United chief coach Jose Mourinho on Friday said he "couldn't be happier" with the French World Cup winner.
Amandeep holds nerves to win third title on Hero WPG Tour
Amandeep Drall notched up her second successive win on the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour, registering a two-stroke win in the 11th leg of the tournament here today. Amandeep kept control of her nerves in the closing stages as she carded 75 in the final round to take her total to eight-over 224 and finished two clear of Tvesa Malik (75) and overnight leader, Khushi Khanijau (78). It was her third title in four events. She had earlier won the eighth and tenth legs, both at Clover Greens. Khushi started the day with a one shot lead, but three bogeys against one birdie meant she allowed Amandeep with two birdies and two bogeys to move ahead. Khushi, looking for her maiden title, stayed in strong contention even as she made the turn at two-over. At that stage Amandeep was five-over for the tournament while Khushi was one shot behind. It was on the back nine that Khushi's nerves began to take a toll. Amandeep had four bogeys, but she also found one birdie on the Par-5 14th, while Khushi ...
Raghul Rangasamy takes pole in MRF F1600 event
: Raghul Rangasamy took a big step towards realising his dream of earning a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout in U.S.A later this year by grabbing his first pole of the season in the MRF F1600 class in the fourth round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI National Racing Championship at nearby Sriperumbudur. "As I am already 25, this is my last chance to make it to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout and I am giving it everything I have," he said, referring to the upper age limit for participation in the shootout whose winner is eligible for a scholarship of USD 200,000. The Mamallapuram-based Rangasamy,currently second in the championship, just 12 points adrift of leader Ashwin Datta, clocked one minute, 39.828 seconds, ahead of Sandeep Kumar (01:40.028) and Kolkata's Arya Singh (01:40.268). Earlier, Chennai's Nabil Hussain (MSport), who heads the Formula LGB 1300 leaderboard, also qualified in pole position in his category with a lap of 01:53.679, followed by Ashwin Datta of ...
Disappointing outing for India in basketball and handball at Asiad
Indian women's basketball team opened its campaign at the 18th Asian Games on a disappointing note, losing 61-79 to Kazakhstan in the Group A preliminary round here today. The Indian women were outclassed in the first two quarters (13-18, 12-19) before they tried to make a comeback with a 21-22 score in the third quarter but Kazakhstan outwitted their rivals 20-15 in the fourth quarter. They will face Chinese Taipei on Sunday, before taking on Unified Korea and hosts Indonesia on August 20 and August 23 respectively in the basketball 5x5 preliminary group A matches. In handball, the Indian men's team also had a dismal outing today as they went down 29-40 to Iraq in a Group D preliminary match here. Deepak Ahlawat (8) and Karamjeet Singh (6) were the top-scorer for India but it was not enough as they were outclassed 13-18 in the first period and then 16-22 in the second period here. The Indian men's team had lost to Chinese Taipei (28-38) on August 13, before losing 25-32 to Bahrain on
CCI Billiards: Dhvaj Haria dazzles with solid 288 break
DhvajHaria of Indian Oil smoothly rolled in a mammoth 288-point break to bulldoze his way past SSimachalam of Railways by an overwhelming 777-227 points margin of victoryin a pre-quarter-final match of the Rs 3.8 lakh prize-money CCI Billiards Classic 2018 here. The tournament is organised by the Cricket Club of India. Left-handed cueist Dhvaj was completely focused as he went about his task. He played with a soft touch and controlled the balls to his liking. Besides the double century run, he managed a break of 96 and a century run of 141 to completely knock the fight out of his opponent, who was not given much opportunities to be at the table. In the quarter-final, Dhvaj will clash with former Asian Billiards Champion Alok Kumar of ONGC who scored a slick 520-417 win against Devendra Joshi of BPCL in the another pre-quarter-final encounter. Young Tamil Nadu cueistS Shrikrishna tamed seasoned campaigner and former two-time Asian Billiards champions Dhruv Sitwala of ...