Page 1305 - Sports
Ministry steps in after IOA tells minor sports to bear cost of Asiad kits
The Sports Ministry today said it will bear the cost of kits and uniforms of the Asian Games-bound athletes, whose federations are not affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association, after the IOA refused to cover these expenses. "NO team participating in #AsianGames2018 will have to bear the expenses of kit & uniform by themselves I have directed @IndiaSports @Media_SAI to issue kits and apparel to EVERY team representing India," Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tweeted. Earlier, the IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said expenses of the ceremonial dress and playing kits of the athletes do not come from its coffers. He claimed that cost will be borne by the sponsors who have signed a contract with it to deal with only the affiliated federations. He said the IOA cannot force the sponsors Li Ning (apparel) and Raymond (ceremonial dress) to also take care of those athletes, who are from non-affiliated federations. Mehta said this has been an established norm and the IOA has
Badminton World C'ship: Nehwal enters second round
Former world number one Saina Nehwal edged past her Turkish opponent Aliye Demirbag in straight games to enter the second round of the ongoing Badminton World Championship here at Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre on Tuesday.The 28-year-old Indian made an easy task of the Turkish player as he registered a 21-17, 21-8 victory in a one-sided opening-round match that lasted 34 minutes.Taking the first serve, Nehwal looked a bit unsettled as her opponent took the initial lead in the opening game of the match.Riding on the back of her experience, the Indian shuttler managed to get a lead of two points but she continued to make unforced errors on the court.Subsequently, Demirbag smashed her way into the game by building a one-point lead, but soon Nehwal came from behind and collected some quick points to make it 17-14 in her favour.Making no further mistake in the game, Saina won the first game 21-17 with the help of a strong body smash.Right from the onset of the second game, both players ...
Saina, Srikanth advance at Badminton World Championships
Indian stars Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth won their respective matches at the Badminton World Championships here on Tuesday.
Asiad-bound hockey team's camp gets underway Wednesday
Ahead of the forthcoming Asian Games, starting August 18 in Indonesia, the 25-member core group of Indian men's hockey team will take part in the 11-day preparatory national camp from Wednesday at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus in Bengaluru.
Indian men's hockey team to round off Asiad preparation with 11-day camp
The Indian men's hockey team will round its preparations for the upcoming Asian Games with an 11-day camp at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru starting tomorrow. The camp will include seven standby players besides the 18-member selected squad. After a hectic 21 days where the national campers played back-to-back matches against Bangladesh, South Korea and New Zealand as part of their preparations for the upcoming tournament, the players were given a much-needed break to recover and return fresh for the national camp which concludes on August 11. "We will be starting high-intensity training after a gap of almost one week. The rest was much-needed after a hectic and busy schedule where the players played high-tempo matches against Bangladesh, South Korea and New Zealand," chief coach Harendra Singh said in a statement. India, who are the defending champions, have been grouped in Pool A along side South Korea, Japan, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong China and Indonesia. "This ..
Goa to probe if Bandodkar Gold Cup trophy switched
Goa Sports Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar on Tuesday said the government will investigate whether the Bandodkar Gold Cup -- one of the most expensive sports trophies made of pure gold plating -- has been surreptitiously replaced with one made of a cheaper metal.
India's limited overs NZ tour to start with 1st ODI on January 23
India's tour to New Zealand early next year, which will comprise five ODIs and three T20 Internationals, will start with the first One-day International in Napier on January 23. The opener will be followed by two matches in Mount Maunganui on January 26 and 28, Hamilton on Janaury 31 and the final 50-over game in Wellington on February 3. The three-match T20 series will start on February 6 in Wellington, followed by matches in Auckland on February 8 and Hamilton on February 10. Besides, the Indian women's teams will also feature in three T20I double-headers in early February. Prior to the T20Is, the Indian and New Zealand women's teams will also square off in three ICC Women's Championship fixtures that will help to identify seven direct qualifiers (excluding the hosts) for the 2021 Women's World Cup to be held in New Zealand. According to the fixture announced by New Zealand Cricket today, the men's and women's ODIs between India and New Zealand will be played over consecutive days ..
Badminton World C'ship: Srikanth storms into second round
Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth eased into the second round of the ongoing Badminton World Championship following a convincing straight games victory over Nhat Nguyen of Ireland here at Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre on Tuesday.The 25-year-old thrashed his Irish opponent 21-15, 21-16 in a one-sided first-round clash that lasted 37 minutes.Srikanth, who was facing the unseeded Irish player for the very first time, made everything look so easy as he did not break much sweat to get past Nguyen.Making a strong start, the Indian shuttler took the initial lead of six points in the first game as his opponent made a series of unforced errors.Nguyen, out of nowhere, came back strongly and gained back-to-back points to lead the opening game for the first time. The scoreline now read 15-14 in the favour of Irish player.As the game started to tilt in favour of Nguyen, the Indian shuttler collected six back-to-back points to clinch the first game 21-15.The second game looked more balanced as ..
Women's Hockey WC: India face Italy in knockout round
India will look to book their place in the last-eight of the ongoing 14th edition of the Women's Hockey World Cup when they take on Italy in their pre-quarterfinal match here at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Tuesday.Earlier, India had to fight their way into the knockout round after they drew their opening game 1-1 against England before losing to Ireland 0-1 in their second Pool B match of the prestigious tournament.However, they put up a spirited performance and settled for a 1-1 draw against the United States of America in a do or die third-round match to make it to the knockout stage.Italy, on the other hand, had a smooth journey so far in the tournament, having edged past China 3-0 and Korea 1-0 in their first two matches of the tournament.However, the Italian team will be under some pressure as they are coming off an embarrassing 1-12 defeat at the hands of defending champions Netherlands in their third match of the World Cup.It should be noted that India have faced ...
Saina advances at Badminton World Championships
Indian star Saina Nehwal defeated Aliye Demirbag of Turkey in straight games to enter the third round of the women's singles category at the Badminton World Championships here on Tuesday.
Spain win European women's U-19 title
Maria Llompart converted a penalty to give Spain a 1-0 victory over Germany in the final of the 2018 UEFA European Women's U-19 Championship.
Saina, Srikanth win at World Championship
Top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth notched up comfortable victories over their respective opponents to make an impressive start at the BWF World Championship here today. Saina, who won a silver and bronze in the earlier editions of the championship, defeated Turkey's Aliye Demirbag 21-17 21-8 in the second round to set up a pre-quarterfinal clash with 2013 champion Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand. The Olympic medallist Indian had received a bye in the first round. Fifth seed Srikanth dispatched Ireland's Nhat Nguyen 21-15 21-16 in his campaign opener to join compatriots HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma and B Sai Praneeth, who received a walkover after his opponent, Korea's Son Wan Ho, pulled out in the second round. Srikanth, who won four titles last season, will face Spain's Pablo Abian next, while Praneeth will meet another spaniard, Lus Enrique Penalver. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa staved off a challenge from 15th seeded German pair of Mark Lamsfuss and .
Jamaica sweep 100m sprint golds at Central American Games
Jamaica's Nesta Carter and Jonielle Smith won gold in the men's and women's 100 meter sprints respectively at the 23rd Central American and Caribbean Games here.
India eye perfect start to English summer in home team's 1000th Test
India would be driven by the desire to shed the poor travellers' tag, while England would be desperate to arrest the recent slide at home when the two teams clash in a five-match Test series, starting here tomorrow. The English side will be celebrating its 1000th Test at Edgbaston, and it will be up to world No.1 India to spoil the home party. India last won a Test series in England in 2007 under Rahul Dravid, and it will be no easy task ahead of the Virat Kohli-led side to duplicate that feat. Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India failed in 2011 and 2014, losing by heavy 4-0 and 3-1 margins, respectively. In fact, India have only won six out of the 57 matches on English soil. England's Test form coming into this series is also a cause of concern. Since September 2017, England have only won one out of nine Tests against Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan. They have been beaten twice in their last five home Tests by West Indies and Pakistan, with both sides' pace attack exploiting the ...
Snapchat teams up with NFL, NBC to bring more sports videos for users
Audio-video sharing platform Snapchat has struck deals with the National Football League (NFL) and NBC Sports Group to offer more sports programming to its users.
Murray tests hip, comes back to edge McDonald in Washington
Andy Murray let out one yell, then another, and violently pumped his right fist. Quite a reaction, considering this was merely a first-round victory over an inexperienced opponent who recently cracked the top 100 for the first time. Still, this meant something to Murray. It was a test of his surgically repaired hip, and he put aside a deficit and some real rust to win his first hard-court match in nearly 1 years, coming back at the Citi Open to edge Mackenzie McDonald of the U.S. 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. "I enjoyed getting through that one obviously, you see by the celebration," Murray said after a match that began a little past 10 p.m. Monday because of a rain delay, and ended at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday. "It was great to get through that one," he said, "but in terms of the actual way that I went about the match and played the match, I wasn't that happy with it." There were stretches when Murray looked very much like exactly what he is at the moment: a guy working his back from an operation in ...
Ibrahimovic joins Ronaldo in skipping MLS All-Star Game
The MLS All-Star Game will feature one of the world's most storied clubs. Unfortunately for the more than 70,000 fans expected at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Cristiano Ronaldo is not along for the ride. After Portugal's elimination from the World Cup and his transfer from Real Madrid, the five-time FIFA Player of the Year took time off rather than accompany Juventus on its American preseason tour, which includes tomorrow's night's game against top players from Major League Soccer. The decision will surely be a disappointment to the big crowd that had hoped Ronaldo would make his unofficial debut while touring the United States with the Italian club that has won seven straight Serie A championships. Juventus acquired the 33-year-old from Real Madrid on July 10 in a deal his new club said was worth USD 131.5 million the largest for a player older than 30 . Also sitting out the US tour, which includes three other exhibitions, is Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain. He is coming off a scoreless
Neymar under fire after World Cup 'mea culpa' advert
Neymar's decision to use a sponsored advert to admit he sometimes over-reacted to fouls at the World Cup has backfired, with Brazilian marketing experts saying it had made the Paris Saint-Germain striker's image even worse. Under the title 'A New Man Every Day,' Sunday's video was backed by personal care products maker Gillette and broadcast on several Brazilian TV networks. "You may think I exaggerate. And sometimes I do exaggerate. But the truth is I suffer on the pitch," Neymar said in the advert, referring to the constant fouls he received at the World Cup. "I took long to accept your criticism. I took long to look at myself in the mirror and become a new man." Brazil was knocked out by Belgium in the World Cup quarterfinals earlier this month. Marketing specialists said the advert damaged the 26-year-old player's brand as much as his histrionics did in Russia. "The whole market waited 15 days since the end of the World Cup to hear from him," Amir Somoggi, a partner at marketing ..
Nishikori feeling 'tough' after overcoming wrist injury
Japan's Kei Nishikori, back on form after a torn right wrist tendon, returns to the scene of his most recent outdoor title hoping to launch another strong US Open run. The 28-year-old seventh seed enters the 50th Washington Open with confidence after his first Wimbledon quarter-final appearance, where he lost to eventual winner Novak Djokovic. "After coming back from injury, I'm enjoying the challenge this year," Nishikori said yesterday. "I feel like I'm going to be tough again. My wrist is OK now. I'm going to try and get into the top 10 again. That's my goal and motivation." Nishikori, the 2015 champion on the Washington hardcourts, has not won a title since taking the 11th of his career at Memphis in 2016. He has lost his past seven ATP finals, the most recent in May to Rafael Nadal on Monte Carlo clay. Nishikori reached a career-best fourth in the rankings in 2015, but has tumbled after his six-month ATP wrist injury layoff since Canada last year. But this year he has begun to ...
Dustin Johnson extends lead as world number one
American Dustin Johnson extended his lead over Justin Rose as world number one today, after easing to victory in the Canadian Open the previous day. The former US Open champion has now won three PGA Tour titles this year and spent 72 of the last 76 weeks at the top of the world rankings. The world's top 50 will all be in action this week at the 19th and final WGC Bridgestone Invitational event to be held at Firestone Country Club in Ohio. World top 20 1. Dustin Johnson (USA) 10.34 average pts 2. Justin Rose (ENG) 8.75 3. Justin Thomas (USA) 8.16 4. Brooks Koepka (USA) 7.54 5. Jon Rahm (ESP) 7.40 6. Francesco Molinari (ITA) 7.28 7. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 7.18 8. Jordan Spieth (USA) 7.13 9. Rickie Fowler (USA) 6.61 10. Jason Day (AUS) 6.26 11. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 6.07 12. Patrick Reed (USA) 5.45 (+1) 13. Alex Noren (SWE) 5.45 (-1) 14. Bubba Watson (USA) 5.23 15. Paul Casey (ENG) 5.22 16. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 4.78 17. Henrik Stenson (SWE) 4.67 18. Xander Schauffele ...