Page 1290 - Sports
Semenya wins 400 meters at African championships
Caster Semenya won the 400 meters at the African championships yesterday and said she still plans to compete in middle-distance races at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics despite new IAAF rules starting in November that could prevent her running in her favored events. The world and Olympic 800-meter champion displayed her ability across a wide range to set a South African record of 49.96 seconds and win gold in Asaba, Nigeria. She finished well clear of Botswana's Christine Botlogetwe, who was second in 51.19. Nigeria's Yinka Ajayi was third in 51.34. This year's African championships was the first time Semenya had run the 400 at a major international meet. "I've run 400 meters previously, I just haven't really done it at competitive level," Semenya said. "But for me it's not about who I'm running against, it's just about me doing what I can do best." Dominant again this year, Semenya has the fastest times in the world in the 800 and 1,000 meters and now holds the South African records in the ..
Barcelona agree Vidal switch in '30-million-euro deal'
Barcelona has announced that they had reached an agreement with Bayern Munich to sign Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal in a deal reportedly worth 30 million euros. "FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the transfer of player Arturo Vidal," said Barcelona on their website yesterday. "The agreement is for the next three seasons and is pending the medical examination that the player will undertake over the course of the next few days. "FC Barcelona will shortly inform everyone about the arrival of the player and the agenda of the presentation ceremony." Vidal, 31, was whisked away from Bayern's pre-season training base on Friday morning with the club's director of sport Hasan Salihamidzic to finalise the details. Vidal will reportedly earn around nine million euros per season with the Spanish giants. His arrival will make up for the surprise departure of Brazilian midfielder Paulinho, who Barcelona loaned to Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande. Barcelona had to move
Putin signs law allowing visa-free entry for World Cup fans
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a law allowing people holding the "Fan IDs" issued during the 2018 FIFA World Cup to visit Russia visa-free until the end of the year.
U-17 football team returns home after becoming champion at SOAG
Members of the Under-17 football team from Tripura, who became champions of the Students Olympic Asian Games by defeating Pakistan, returned to India on Friday.Executive Member of Sports and Youth Affairs of ADC Parikhshit Murasingh welcomed the boys, who became the best football team of Asia Continent.The under-17 India team defeated Pakistan by 3-0 goals in Thailand's Pattaya.Earlier, the team defeated Bangladesh in the quarter-final and Thailand by 7-0 goals in the semi-final.Sports and Youth Affairs department of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) will felicitate the team on August 6.Along with the boys from Tripura, the team that represented India also had three players from Haryana and three from Delhi.
Edgbaston Test: Eng set India 194 target; visitors at 110/5
India bowled England out for 180 on the third day of the ongoing first Test match in Edgbaston Cricket Ground, and followed up with scoring 110 runs for the loss of five wickets to leave them 84 runs away from a historic win.England started the day having lost opener Alastair Cook to spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who initiated the England batting order's implosion by scalping the wicket of the other opener Keaton Jennings.The left-handed batsman, the kind Ashwin favours bowling to, was again beaten by the dip as he took up a defensive stance, edging it for K. L. Rahul to comfortably gather.English skipper Joe Root was next to fall as he looked to paddle an off-break ball from Ashwin down to fine leg, although, he directed it straight down the throat of Rahul at leg slip.England were rocked at 39 for the loss of 3 wickets, with their best batsman already back in the pavilion. Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow looked set to steady the ship thereafter, but having scored 20 from 64 and 28 ...
Know about the faculty of National Sports University, Manipur
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Friday said that National Sports University, to be set up in Manipur, will have sports persons, who participated in World Championships and Olympics, as the faculty.This came after Lok Sabha passed the National Sports University Bill 2018, which seeks to establish a first-of-its-kind sports university in Manipur."There are less people from sports background in sports institutes. But in this university, chancellor, people in academic and activity council will be sportspersons, who participated in World Championships and Olympics."According to Rathore, the National Sports University, Manipur is envisioned to offer courses in 13 departments through its four schools.There will be enhanced focus on sports coaching, physiology, nutrition, journalism and other verticals associated with sports.He tweeted about the bill saying, this is a major step towards bringing to reality Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of developing a world class 360° ...
BWF World C'ship: Sindhu books semi-final berth; Saina, Praneeth, Rankireddy, Ponnappa ousted
World No. 2 P. V. Sindhu on Friday stormed her way into the semi-finals of the BWF World Championships with an emphatic display against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, while Saina Nehwal, Sai Praneeth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa all crashed out from their respective quarter-final fixtures.Third-seeded Sindhu avenged her loss at the hands of Okuhara in the finals last year and confirmed yet another medal for her at the competition with a 21-17, 21-19 win, making this the Indian's second victory in three showdowns against the Japanese.The first game was closely contested by the two in the early stages, with the score Okuhara starting strongly to claim the majority of the early points, although an array of uncharacteristic errors from her gave Sindhu an edge on the scoreline, who capitalised on them to win the game 21-17 in 25 minutes.Okuhara looked better on the onset of a close second game, winning the first five points, before Sindhu eventually forced her way back into the ..
Kohli stands firm as India need 84 runs to win first Test vs England (Roundup)
Skipper Virat Kohli's unbeaten 43-run knock helped India score 110/5 at stumps on the third day of the first Test against England here on Friday. India need another 84 runs to win.
Kohli stands between victory and defeat in first Test
Chasing a coveted Test victory on English soil, a nervy India ended the action-packed third day of the first match at a precarious 110 for five, still 84 runs adrift from a tricky 194-run target, here today. India allowed England to put on board 180 runs, despite having them on mat at 87 for seven at one stage with Ishant Sharma (5/51) and R Ashwin (3/39) troubling the home batsmen in the first two sessions. It was young all-rounder Sam Curran who bolstered the England second innings with a fighting 63-run knock, which came off just 65 balls with nine fours and two sixes. England pace battery, led by Stuart Broad, gobbled up half the Indian batting line up under favourable overcast conditions as the visiting batsmen were either reckless with their shot selection or got too good deliveries to counter. Kohli, who turned it around for India in the first innings with a combative 149, now stands between victory and defeat for the visitors. The defiant Indian captain, who saw his batting ...
Chasing 194, India end day three at 110/5
Chasing 194 to win the first cricket Test against England, India were 110 for five at stumps on day three, here today. Pacer Ishant Sharma took five wickets and spinner R Ashwin scalped three batsmen as India bowled out England for 180 in their second innings. Sam Curran, with his 63-run knock, led a stunning rearguard fight to help the hosts extend their lead to 193 after the hosts were down 87 for seven at one stage. In a shaky start, India lost five batsmen before skipper Virat Kohli (43) and Dinesh Karthik (18) combined for a crucial unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership. If India manage to overhaul the target, it will be their only seventh Test win on the England soil. Brief Scores: England 287 and 180 all out in 53 overs (S Curran 63, J Bairstow 28, D Malan 20; I Sharma 5/51, R Ashwin 3/59, U Yadav 2/20). India 1st innings: 274 and 110 for 5 in 36 overs (V Kohli 43 batting, D Karthik 18 batting; S Broad 2/29, B Stokes 1/25).
Olympic high jump champ Chicherova barred from foreign competitions
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has refused to grant a neutral status to Olympic high jump champion Anna Chicherova and, so, barred her from performing at foreign competitions, the Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) said on Friday.
Sharath returns to top spot among Indians, one place behind his best ever world rankings
Achanta Sharath Kamal upstaged teammate G Sathiyan to become the highest ranking Indian table tennis player at world number 33, recapturing his top position among the Indians. This was Sharath Kamal's second best world rankings after the No. 32 in May 2015. That was after the Suzhou World Championships where he suffered a hip injury. But ever since he won his eighth national singles title at Ranchi, the 36-year-old has been coming into his own self. Sathiyan, who is at No. 39, has shown a jump of just one spot while Sharath has gained 10 positions. Harmeet Desai, who was at 79th before the Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, is also in the top 100 at No. 99. The ITTF's world ranking list released today takes into calculation the two important events that India played recently in South Korea and Australia. With three Indian men players in top 100, Manika Batra is the only woman that has been showing a steady improvement. She has gained 24 places to be at No. 57. She was previously at No.
Vidal set to quit Bayern for Barcelona - reports
Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal is reportedly on the verge of signing for Barcelona after briefly leaving the Bayern Munich training camp today. The 31-year-old midfielder was whisked away from Bayern's pre-season base on Friday morning with the club's director of sport Hasan Salihamidzic, reportedly to finalise details. He returned for afternoon training and several media outlets claim an announcement of his transfer to Barcelona is imminent. According to Spanish newspapers Mundo Deportivo and AS, plus UK daily The Guardian, Barcelona are prepared to pay a 30-million-euro ($35 million) transfer fee. Vidal would reportedly receive a three-year contract and earn around nine million euros per season with the Spanish giants. The Guardian claims Vidal met Barcelona officials last week and has already passed his medical after being granted permission to leave by new Bayern coach Niko Kovac. Bayern officials reportedly want to move Vidal on and reduce their star-studded squad. Having signed ..
Super Smriti smashes 60 ball hundred, takes Western Storm to victory
Smriti Mandhana continued her dream run smashing her way to a 60-ball-hundred as she powered Western Storms to an an easy seven wicket win over Lancashire Thunder in a Kia Women's T20 Super League encounter. Smriti hit 102 off 61 balls as Storms chased a target of 154 set by the home team in 18.4 overs. The left handed opener hit 12 boundaries and four sixes in her innings. This was her first T20 hundred in franchise cricket while she has five half centuries in T20Is. Interestingly, Smriti's national team captain Harmanpreet Kaur, failed to open her account for Thunders. Smriti's sequence of scores in the competition so far has been 48, 37, 52 no off 19 balls, 43 no off 27 balls and 102 off 61. This was the first time she had been dismissed in the tournament having already scored 282 runs. She is now the top run getter in the tournament.
Gaurav, Amittrajit favourites at INRC Round 2
Indias top rallyists Gaurav Gill and Amittrajit Ghosh will hope to extend their lead in the MRF Rally of Coimbatore, Round 2 of the MRF FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2018, here over the weekend.
Sindhu in semis; Saina, Praneeth, Ashwini-Satwik exit Badminton Worlds
Women's singles star P.V, Sindhu was the lone Indian to enter the semi-finals of the Badminton World Championships, with Saina Nehwal, B. Sai Praneeth and the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa losing in the quarter-finals here on Friday.
Sindhu beats Okuhara in straight games; enters semis to be assured of a medal
Star Indian shuutler P V Sindhu beat Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight games to cruise into the semifinals and assure herself of a medal in the World Championships here today. Sindhu defeated Okuhara 21-17 21-19 in a 58-minute quarterfinal match to set up a semifinal clash against World No. 2 and another Japanese Akane Yamaguchi tomorrow. The World No. 3 Indian produced a dominant display against her World No. 6 rival as she avenged her defeat in the last edition summit clash. In both the games today, Okuhara led initially but Sindhu was able to come back to take the honours. Sindhu had lost to Okuhara in the final last year 19-21 22-20 20-22 but today, it was the India who got the upper hand throughout the match. The win by Sindhu meant that the head-to-head record between the two is now levelled at 6-6. After the World Championships final last year, they had played five times against each other, including today's, and Sindhu have won three of them as against two by Okuhara. This ..
Gambhir to recuse himself from Ranji team interviews; Manhas, Bhatia apply
Gautam Gambhir will recuse himself from all the support staff recruitment interviews for the senior men's team, to be conducted by the high powered DDCA Cricket Committee, with some of his old teammates in the fray. Gambhir is a special invitee to the committee comprising Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra and Rahul Sanghvi. However, there are likes of Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia, who have applied for the senior team's coach's post. They have played first-class cricket alongside Gambhir for a decade. "Gautam will not be a part of any Ranji Trophy recruitment meetings as it might lead to Conflict of Interest. However he is expected to play an active part in drawing blueprint for Delhi cricket. He will very much be a part of recruitment process of U-19, U-16. He wants to have a close look how DDCA is looking after its grassroots programme," a senior DDCA official told PTI today. While KP Bhaskar has once again applied for chief coach's post, there is very little chance that he would get .
Leganes present Uruguay forward Santos
Spanish top-division football club CD Leganes on Friday presented its newest acquisition, Uruguay forward Michael Santos, who signed a one-year loan contract, transferred by fellow Spanish side Malaga.
England out for 180; India need 194 to win first Test (Tea report)
India bowled out England for 180 in their second innings at tea on the third day, getting a target of 194 runs to win the opening Test at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground here on Friday.