Page 1284 - Sports
Kuznetsova saves four match points, wins Washington WTA title
Two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova saved four match points and rallied to defeat Croatia's Donna Vekic and win her 18th career WTA title at the Washington Open. The 33-year-old Russian, ranked 128th in the world, defeated 44th-ranked Vekic 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-2 for her first WTA title since 2016 in Moscow. It was also Kuznetsova's first title since left wrist surgery that had sidelined her earlier this year. "I know I've been a little bit lucky today," Kuznetsova said. Kuznetsova, winner of the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, claimed a second Washington title to go with the one she won in 2014, her only other appearance. "There's something going on with Washington," Kuznetsova said. "I never lose here. I played two times and I won both." Vekic, 22, won her only WTA titles in 2014 at Kuala Lumpur and last year at Nottingham. Missing out on another after coming so near left her wiping away tears on the court as she accepted a runner-up trophy following only her second ...
Das spearheads Bangladesh
A career-best innings from Liton Das highlighted Bangladesh's effort in reaching 184 for five batting first against the West Indies in the deciding final fixture of the three-match T20 International Series at the Central Broward Stadium in Florida. Das set the tone at the top of the order for his team after captain Shakib al Hasan chose to bat first with a blistering innings of 61 off just 32 balls with six fours and three sixes. He stole the show from his more experienced and prolific opening partner, Tamim Iqbal in an opening stand of 61 off just 4.4 overs. Along the way the pair registered the fastest-ever fifty by Bangladesh in T20 International cricket off only 21 deliveries as they tore into the spin of Samuel Badree and Ashley Nurse before also putting the pace of Andre Russell to the sword. It took the introduction of West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite himself to engineer the breakthrough when he had Tamim caught at short fine-leg for 21 while Keemo Paul removed Soumya ...
Alexander Zverev defends Washington Open title
Top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany has defeated 19-year-old Alex de Minaur from Australia 6-2, 6-4 to win the Washington Open.
Dovizioso wins Czech MotoGP event
Italy's Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati on Sunday won the Czech Grand Prix in MotoGP, while Spain's Marc Marquez of Repsol Honda Team stretched his lead in the world standings after finishing third.
City back in the groove as Aguero ruins Sarri's Chelsea bow
Sergio Aguero spoiled Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri's first taste of English football as the Argentine's double gave Manchester City a stylish 2-0 victory in the Community Shield today. Blues boss Sarri, hired to replace the sacked Antonio Conte last month, endured a miserable debut in the prestigious friendly at Wembley as lacklustre Chelsea were swept aside by Premier League champions City. Picking up where they left off in their record-breaking campaign last term, Pep Guardiola's team took an early lead through Aguero, who rewarded City's dominance with a second goal after the break. The last side to win the Community Shield and then go on to clinch the Premier League title were Manchester United in 2010-11. On this evidence, City could follow in their arch rivals' footsteps at the end of the season. City's German winger Leroy Sane was forced off injured at half-time, giving Guardiola a scare ahead of their Premier League opener at Arsenal on August 12. But that was the only sour .
AC Milan name Maldini as Sporting Strategy & Development Director
AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini on Sunday was appointed as the Italian football club's new Sporting Strategy and Development Director.
Gomez retires from international football
Veteran German striker Mario Gomez announced his retirement from international football on Sunday.
Indonesia holds massive event to welcome Asiad
The Indonesian capital of Jakarta held a mass event on Sunday to welcome the upcoming Asian Games with the participation of 65,000 people including the president, ministers and senior officials in the government.
Gaurav Gill wins INRC Round 2
Gaurav Gill and Amittrajit Ghosh gave Team Mahindra Adventure a grand 1-2 finish in the MRF Rally of Coimbatore, Round 2 of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) here on Sunday.
Kroos named German footballer of the year
Real Madrid's Champions League winner Toni Kroos has been named German footballer of the year for the first time, Kicker magazine said on Sunday.
England name batsman Ollie Pope, all-rounder Woakes in squad for 2nd Test
England on Sunday brought in young batsman Ollie Pope and all-rounder Chris Woakes in their squad for the second cricket Test against India at Lords, which commences on August 9.
Can't take five days off before Test series: Gavaskar
Critical of the way India prepared for the Test series against England, Sunil Gavaskar says lack of serious practice ahead of the Birmingham game hurt India dearly as batsmen's poor technique against moving deliveries was thoroughly exposed. Gavaskar is livid with the fact that India played only eight days of competitive cricket (3 ODIs and T20Is against England and 2 vs Ireland) and that too limited overs before the Test series. After the ODI series defeat, Indian team was given a five-day break and the players spent time in Europe. "It was no preparation at all," Gavaskar told 'India Today' channel, referring to the three-day warm-up game. "I can understand that you need to switch off after a series but that can't be five days at a stretch. It can be three plus three day breaks between matches but not five days," Gavaskar said. Gavaskar was also critical of Indian team for changing an official first-class game into a glorified practice session in the name of warm-up game with all 18
ISL: Defender Pena signs for FC Goa
FC Goa on Sunday announced the signing of Spanish full back Carlos Peña. The 35-year old will add plenty of experience to the Indian Super League (ISL) club's backline, having made over 500 appearances in Spanish league football.
Carlos Pea signs for FC Goa
FC Goa today announced the signing of Spanish full back Carlos Pea for the Indian Super League. The 35-year old will add plenty of experience to the Gaurs' backline having made over 500 appearances in Spanish league football. Pea came through the ranks at Barcelona, representing their C and B teams before moving to play for Albacete in the Spanish second division. After spending for years at the club, the left back spent one season at Recreativo de Huelva before moving to Real Vallodolid in 2010. Pea spent five years at the club helping them return to La Liga during his second season at the club. He has also gone on to represent Oviedo, Getafe, and finally Lorca FC before being roped in by the Gaurs. Pea expressed his delight after putting pen to paper on the new contract. "I am very glad to be joining this exciting project that Sergio (Lobera) is building. I can't wait to finally meet my new teammates and to begin working with them. I am very ambitious about this coming season and am
Sanctions-hit Philippines to send Asian Games team after all
The Philippines said today it would send a men's basketball team to the Asian Games in Indonesia, just days after abruptly pulling out in the wake of an on-court brawl with Australia at a World Cup qualifier. The Gilas announced their withdrawal from the Asiad basketball tournament on July 27 after basketball's governing body FIBA suspended 10 of their players and two coaches over the July 2 Manila melee, which saw players and fans exchanging punches and flying kicks. However a special aide to President Rodrigo Duterte announced Sunday that the national federation and the country's professional basketball league had since agreed to field a team, a decision confirmed to AFP by the Gilas team manager. "We are not obligated to win. We are obligated to keep trying and do the best we can do everyday," the aide, Christopher Go, said in a statement announcing the team's participation. "This is Filipino Pride. And nothing unites Filipinos of every social class more than what happens on the ...
Hendricks' ton on debut inspires South Africa to ODI series win
Batsman Reeza Hendricks smashed a century on his one-day international debut to set up South Africa's series-clinching 78-run victory over Sri Lanka in the third match in Pallekele today. Hendricks made 102 off 89 deliveries to help South Africa post 363-7 and then bowl out the hosts for 285 in 45.2 overs. They took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Dhananjaya de Silva tried to keep the chase alive with a career-best 84 but Sri Lanka's batting crumbled under the ever-increasing run-rate. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi claimed four wickets while fellow paceman Andile Phehlukwayo took three. But it was Hendricks, a right-hand batsman who has played 12 Twenty20 internationals, who set up the win for his side that had been swept aside in the two Tests. The 28-year-old became only the third South African batsman to register a hundred in his first ODI. Colin Ingram and Temba Bavuma are the other two. Jean-Paul Duminy's 92 off 70 balls, and half-centuries by Hashim Amla and David ..
Gaurav Gill wins MRF Rally of Coimbatore
Ace Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill combined with co-driver Musa Sherif to win the MRF Rally of Coimbatore as Team Mahindra enjoyed a 1-2 finish in round 2 of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, here today. Gill and Sherif romped home to victories in each of the stages over the weekend to outclass the field. He needed 1:14:30.1 to complete the five stages, winning the round with a handsome margin of 1 min 1.1 sec. His Mahindra teammate Amittrajit, with co-driver Ashwin Naik, was equally sharp all through the rally, not yielding the second position even once. He kept pace with Gill too, finishing just 10-15 seconds off him in almost all the stages. I am happy that we made it 2 out of 2. It is a great show by the team that allowed us to be on the attack all through the weekend. I am very pleased with my performance. I was quick all through," Gill said. FMSCI President Akbar Ebrahim claimed the third position in the INRC 1 category. The 2016 INRC champion, Karna Kadur (with ...
Bopanna skips Rogers Cup to save shoulder for Asian Games
Doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna, recuperating from a shoulder injury, will skip the ATP Rogers Cup beginning in Toronto tomorrow, and will reach Palembang on August 14 to get acclimatised to the conditions ahead of the Asian Games. It means that Bopanna will compete at the Asian Games without any competitive match since the Wimbledon Championships. Bopanna and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin had conceded their men's doubles second round after the Indian suffered the injury on July 6. The Coorgi had also planned to play the Bastad event with Divij Sharan, his men's doubles partner at the Asian Games, but his injury did not let him participate. "Rohan has recovered from his shoulder injury but he thought it does not make sense to travel all the way to US for just one week. Those are big tournaments and you need to be match sharp," India's men's squad captain Zeeshan Ali told PTI. "He is losing about 1000 points by not playing these two weeks but he thought it's a better ...
SL U-19 beat India U-19 by 7 runs to lead series 2-1
India U-19 team suffered a batting collapse towards the end of their run chase to lose the third Youth ODI against Sri Lanka U-19 by seven runs here today. Chasing 221 for a win, the Indian team was placed at 181 for 5 at the end of 45 overs but they could not score the required 40 runs from the remaining five overs as they were all out for 213 in 49.3 overs. The last four wickets fell for six runs. Sri Lanka U-19 team leads the five-match series 2-1. India U-19 had won the first match on July 30 while Sri Lanka U-19 had won the second game on August 2. The India were 207 for 4 at 48.2 needing 14 runs 10 balls but lost the last four wickets in the next seven deliveries for the addition of just six runs. Mohit Jangra (13) and Harsh Tyagi (0) was out in consecutive deliveries but there was still hope for India as number four batsman Pawan Shah (77 from 94 balls) was still there. But Shah, who came into bat in the 17th over, failed to finish the job as he became the ninth batsman to be ..
India have to get over touring troubles quickly (Column: Just Sport)
There are similarities in Indias defeat in the Birmingham Test and Pusarla Venkata Sindhu losing the World Badminton Championships final. Both were expected to win, yet lost.