Page 1283 - Sports
Nadal maintains 1st spot in ATP rankings
Spain's Rafael Nadal continued to lead the men's Association of Tennis Professionals world singles rankings released on Monday with 9,310 average points, ahead of Switzerland's Roger Federer.
Paddler Swastika wins bronze at Hong Kong Open
Young Swastika Ghosh annexed a medal in the Hang Seng Hong Kong Junior and Cadet Open table tennis meet, claiming the bronze in the junior girls doubles along with Singapores Jingyi Zhou.
More motivated than ever for Asian Games: Sandeep Sejwal
He almost quit swimming due to boredom and stagnation but Asian Games-bound Sandeep Sejwal says he is now more motivated than ever after being driven back to the pool by a fear of regrets. Sejwal claimed a bronze in the 50m breaststroke event of the 2014 Asian Games, making him just the ninth Indian ever to achieve the feat. He called it quits last year after his timings became stagnant and started coaching young children instead. "I did not swim for 8 months. I was getting bored of my performance; it was not improving, for almost 8 years I was stuck on a particular time. I thought I was done with swimming but (coach) Nihar (Ameen) sir convinced me to give it another shot," Sejwal told PTI in an interview. "The only motivation I had was that I wanted to finish on a good note. I wanted to be satisfied with my performance, so instead of regretting it later in life I decided to give it another try. We changed my programme and it has worked very well so far," he added. The 29-year-old ...
Sao Paulo return to top of Brazil's Serie A
Colombian forward Santiago Trellez struck late as Sao Paulo returned to the top of Brazil's Serie A standings for the first time in three years with a 2-1 victory over Vasco da Gama.
Germany's Mario Gomez bids adieu to int'l football
German professional footballer Mario Gomez has announced his retirement from the national team, saying that it is now time for the youngsters to step up in his shoes.Announcing the news, the 33-year-old striker said that he has fulfilled his childhood dream of gracing the 2018 World Cup."For me, a huge dream has come true with the World Cup in Russia. Even if the cut-off and the pathetic departure in the group-round [meant] we all failed," goal.com quoted Gomez, as saying."I've met a lot of people with whom I will be very connected. Now it's time to make room and give the many young boys the opportunity to fulfill their dream, prove themselves, collect experiences and reach the best for Germany," he added.Gomez, who made his debut for Germany in 2007, is now looking to pay his full attention to the domestic football league, Bundesliga.The player, who was also associated with German football club Bayern Munich for four long years, moved back to his first professional club Stuttgart in .
Dota 2: AI makes a record by defeating human players
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking over the battlefield both in the real and digital sense. Valve's multiplayer online battle arena video game, Dota 2, is the latest example of that.OpenAI Five, an AI bot has once again proved that the makers of the technology, humans, are a step behind their own creation. At a recent battle between the human players and the bot, the team of human players managed to win just one game from the artificially intelligent bot, Cnet reported.In the three-game series, OpenAI Five won the first two games and in the final game, lost it to the human players, as the audience selected their team of five against the bot. This resulted in the bot predicting a lower chance of winning of the match.The bot has been developed by OpenAI which is a non-profit organisation founded by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, and Sam Altman. The company's aim is to build a team of bots which can beat a team of Dota 2's human professionals at this year's annual tournament and another ..
Washington Citi Open: Kuznetsova wins first title since 2016
Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova won the Washington Citi Open WTA tennis tournament, beating Croatia's Donna Vekic to clinch her first title since 2016.
India U-20 team stun Argentina counterparts in COTIF Cup
A 10-man India Under-20 football team defeated powerhouses Argentina U-20 2-1 in what Coach Floyd Pinto described as one of the "biggest days for Indian Football" in the U-20 COTIF Cup in Spain.
India U-16 colts stun Asian champions Iraq
The India U-16 football team registered a historic 1-0 victory over current Asian U-16 Champions Iraq in the WAFF U-16 Championship in Amman and head Coach Bibiano Fernandes dedicated this "to all the fellow Indian Coaches."
Lakshya looks to continue impressive run at Vietnam Open
Asian junior champion Lakshya Sen will look to continue his golden run when he switches to the senior circuit, competing at the USD 75,000 Vietnam Open BWF Tour Super 100 starting here tomorrow. The 16-year-old from Uttarakhand had ended India's 53-year long wait for a men's singles gold when he clinched the title at the Asia Junior championship last month. Lakshya will begin his campaign against Singapore's Ng Zin Rei Ryan, while Ajay Jayaram, who finished runners-up at the White Nights International Challenge, will meet local player Le Duc Phat. Mithun Manjunath, who had reached the semifinals of the Russian Open, will play a yet-to-be-decided qualifier. Abhishek Yeligar will face Maurius' Georges Julien Paul, Shreyansh Jaiswal will also take on a qualifier and Rahul Yadav Chittaboina will square off against the experienced Tien Minh Nguyen. Siddharth Pratap Singh will fight it out with Chinese Taipei's Lu Chia Hung, Kartikey Gulshan Kumar will clash with Indonesia's Shesar Hiren ...
Bindra, Ganguly lend support to new sports talent hunt campaign
Olympic medallists Abhinav Bindra and Yogeshwar Dutt, along with former cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, have lent their support to a nationwide crowd-funding campaign to develop sporting talent at the grassroots level. Online cab network company Ola has launched the 'Road to Gold' campaign under which its customers can contribute a sum of Re.1 per ride across the over 110 cities it operates in, a press release stated. "The collected funds will be used to identify promising talent from India's heartlands...These future sporting stars will also benefit from support and guidance from Indian sporting legends such as Sourav Ganguly, Mahesh Bhupathi, Abhinav Bindra and Yogeshwar Dutt, among others," the company stated. The campaign's awareness drive will be spearheaded by Akshay Kumar, and the cast of the upcoming film 'Gold'. "We are glad to partner with JSW Sports and Excel entertainment who have been staunch supporters of sports in India through infrastructure and entertainment. ...
We are underdogs but pressure will be on opponents: TT star Sharath Kamal
Still basking in the afterglow of Commonwealth Games glory, India's top paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal feels the country's upswing in table tennis will keep its more fancied rivals on their toes at the Asian Games although the team will set foot in Indonesia as underdogs.
I am very much available for UAE tour: Mitchell Starc
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who was out of action due to a tibial bone stress reaction in his right leg, has said that he is very much available for the upcoming two-match Test series against Pakistan.The 28-year-old, however, added that his comeback plan would keep changing depending on his recovery progress."I'm definitely available for selection, as long as it all goes well over the next few weeks. There are not many opportunities to play very much competitive cricket before that tour. I'm aiming to play some practice games for NSW when they're up in Brisbane if that plan goes ahead," Cricket.com.au quoted Starc, as saying."The (comeback) plan will keep changing and developing with how my progress is. At the moment I'd like to think I'm very much available for selection for that UAE tour," he added.The Australian bowler sustained the injury during the third Test match against South Africa at New Lands owing to which, he was ruled out of the fourth Test and had to miss ...
Pressure on other Indian batsmen will put Kohli under pressure: Trevor Bayliss
England coach Trevor Bayliss feels the seemingly peerless Virat Kohli can be put under pressure if the home team's bowlers can continue to tame the rest of the Indian line-up in the ongoing Test series. "If Virat Kohli is not the best batsman (in the world), he's very close to it. The way he played the first and second innings was high-class stuff. If we can put pressure on the other batsmen in the Indian team, that's going to add to the pressure on him," Bayliss told reporters here. "I don't think it's any different for us. We've got a few guys who are not necessarily cemented in the team and that put extra pressure on people like Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow," said Bayliss. India lost the first Test here by 31 runs after two successive batting collapses, during which Kohli stood out with his heroics -- a hundred in the first innings and a half century in the second essay. "In this first Test, the four innings had wickets falling left, right and center all batsmen were in trouble, ...
India U-16s stun Iraq 1-0 in WAFF Boys' Championship
An injury time goal by Buevenesh earned India U-16 team a stunning 1-0 victory over current Asian U-16 Champions Iraq in the WAFF U-16 Championship here. India produced a dominating performance as Buevenesh headed in the match-winner in the dying minutes to provide the perfect finish to a sublime build-up. This is the first-ever victory for any Indian football team against Iraq in any format and among all age-groups. "I would like to dedicate this win to all my fellow Indian coaches who train the boys before they join us at the AIFF Academy and eventually the National Team," India U-16 head coach Bibiano Fernandes said. "We need to start believing in ourselves. The team thanks the fans and well-wishers of Indian Football who have always stood by us." Bibiano smiled when reminded about this being the first-ever Indian victory against Iraq. "Whether it's a final or just a friendly match, when you score a winner in the dying minutes of a match, it's always special," he said. Bhuvenesh's .
Bangladesh seal T20 series with 19-run victory over Windies
Bangladesh withstood a withering assault from Andre Russell to complete a series-clinching 19-run victory on the DLS Method over the West Indies in the rain-affected deciding final fixture of their three-match T20 International Series. Russell smashed 47 off just 21 deliveries with six towering sixes and one four to keep the Caribbean side in with a chance of surpassing Bangladesh's formidable total of 184 for five at Central Broward Stadium yesterday. However his dismissal at the start of the 18th over, giving left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman his third wicket of the innings, effectively sealed the result in favour of Bangladesh. Russell's departure at 135 for seven off 17.1 overs was immediately followed by a sharp shower which ended any further prospect of play although there was little chance of the West Indies getting anywhere close to the target off a full 20 overs with all their big-hitters gone. Having been thrashed in both Tests at the start of the tour, this T20 series ...
Aditi records her best finish at Major with T-22 at British Open
A flawless four-under 68 helped Aditi Ashok record her best ever finish in a Major as she ended her campaign at Tied-22nd in the Ricoh Women's British Open here. The 20-year-old Indian finally found some rhythm in her game this week as she produced a bogey free round that included a hat-trick of birdies from sixth to eighth and a fourth one on 16th. Her earlier rounds were 72, 72 and 73 and she totalled three-under 285. Aditi's previous best at a Major was T-29 at the 2017 Women's PGA Championships. The Bangalore girl has made cuts in ANA Inspiration with a best of T-42, while missing the weekend action at the US Women's Open and Evian Championships. England's Georgia Hall with her father Wayne on the bag made history on Sunday. Hall carded a final round five-under 67 to win the Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes for her first victory on the LPGA Tour. With her win, she becomes the fourth Englishwoman to win the Championship and first since Karen Stupples in ...
Lahiri registers best WGC finish with Tied-6th; Thomas wins title
Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri produced his best-ever finish at WGC-Bridgestone Invitational as he signed off tied sixth after carding a two-under 68 in the final round here. Playing his first WGC event since the 2016 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Lahiri registered his first ever Top-10 in a WGC event and it put him in the right frame for next week's PGA Championships, where he was T-5th in 2015. Other Indian in fray, Shubhankar Sharma shot his best round of the week at even par 70 and finished 69th at 13-over. Justin Thomas never let anyone closer than two shots and turned in a one-under 69 to win his third PGA TOUR title this season as the final WGC at Firestone lacked drama yesterday. Thomas thus becomes the fifth and youngest player to win a FedExCup, major championship and World Golf Championships. Tiger Woods, an eight-time winner at Firestone, tried to go out with a bang but shot 73 to finish 15 shots behind. Rory McIlroy, playing in the final group with Thomas, said he was tired
India stun Argentina in U-20 COTIF Cup football tourney
India notched up one of its most memorable football triumphs when the country's under-20 team stunned traditional giants Argentina 2-1 despite being reduced to 10 men in a pulsating contest at the COTIF Cup here. Deepak Tangri (4th minute) and Anwar Ali (68') were the stars for the Indian U-20 team last night as the Floyd Pinto-coached side scripted a historic result against the six-time U-20 world champions, coached by 2006 World Cupper Lionel Scaloni and former mid-field star Pablo Aimar. It was a massive boost for Pinto's side, which had lost 0-2 to Murcia before going down 0-3 to Mauritania. They were held to a goalless draw by Venezuela in their previous match in the tournament. "This victory will definitely earn Indian Football more respect in the world of football. It opens up a window of opportunity to test ourselves against the best in the World on a regular basis," Pinto said after the match. "It's unbelievable! I am a very proud Indian today. This win is a testament to the .
Zverev beats De Minaur to defend Washington ATP crown
Alexander Zverev says defending his ATP Washington Open title shows growing in strength and maturity, but the world number three still sees a big gap to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. The 21-year-old German won his third title of the year and the ninth of his career by defeating Australian teen Alex De Minaur 6-2, 6-4 in the 50th edition of the US Open tuneup event. "What a fantastic week for me," Zverev said. "Winning a tournament on its 50th anniversary is something amazing. This has been a very special week for me. "(Defending a title) feels great and shows mental strength as well. It shows a little maturity I think." While Zverev stands atop a generation of rising young stars, he still puts 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer, 36, and 17-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, 32, on the highest of pedestals. "Roger and Rafa are still the best out there and still competing for Grand Slam titles," he said. "I haven't won a Grand Slam title. Saying I'm on their level wouldn't be fair to ...