Page 1314 - Sports
Dale Steyn to root for England in Test series against India
South African fast bowler Dale Steyn has said that he would be backing England in the upcoming five-match Test series against India as the hosts will be playing in their home conditions.India and England are slated to play five-match test series against India from August 1."The advantage probably lies with England, obviously being at home and with such a long tour, it tends to become very long. India have been there for ODIs and are a very good touring team now. If I put my money, I will probably put it on England. But it is going to be tight," ICC-cricket.com quoted Steyn, as saying."These are conditions that England are used to. Home series generally goes away with home sides," he added.37-year old Steyn, however, praised the Indian team and said that under the leadership of 'determined' captain Virat Kohli they are capable of achieving everything. He further suggested the Indian side should rely more on fast bowlers rather than spinners to yield better results in the English ...
India to face USA in Women's hockey WC
Indian women's hockey team will be in a do-or-die situation when they take on the United States of America (USA) in their third match of the ongoing 14th edition of the Women's hockey World Cup at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on July 29.The Indian team either need to win or draw their third game of the prestigious tournament if they want to remain in contention for a quarterfinal berth.After a spirited start to their World Cup campaign, where the Indian team drew 1-1 with England in their first match, the Rani-led squad slumped to 0-1 defeat against Ireland in their second match.Reflecting on team's performance in the tournament, Indian head coach Sjoerd Marijne said that in the second match India could not convert the numerous goal-scoring opportunities against Ireland while adding that this cannot be continued in the upcoming matches."The team's structure and planning is good which enabled us to create chances in the striking circle but not being able to convert these chances
Iniesta makes 1st start as Kobe beats Kashiwa in J-League
Andres Iniesta made his first start as Vissel Kobe beat Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 in the J-League on Saturday. Iniesta, who came off the bench in Kobe's 3-0 loss to Shonan Bellmare a week ago, had a scoring opportunity in the 15th minute when his right-footed shot from the edge of the area went wide. He created another chance seven minutes later but it was his teammate, Asahi Masuyama, who scored the winner in the 66th as Kobe moved into fourth place on 28 points. In other matches, forward Shinzo Koroki scored twice as visiting Urawa Reds thrashed league leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-1. Hiroshima remains in first place with 41 points, seven ahead of FC Tokyo. Yusuke Maruhashi scored twice, including an equalizer in the fifth minute of injury time, as Cerezo Osaka earned a 2-2 draw with Vegalta Sendai. Elsewhere, Sagan Tosu and Jubilo Iwata finished 0-0, while Gamba Osaka and Kashima Antlers ended 1-1. Nagoya Grampus vs. Consadole Sapporo, Yokohama F. Marinos vs. Shimizu S Pulse, and Shonan ..
Race-row Ozil fires Arsenal to big win over PSG
Mesut Ozil fired Arsenal to a 5-1 friendly win over Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday as he cast aside a turbulent week after quitting Germany's national team claiming racism. Ozil put Arsenal ahead in the 13th minute before Alexandre Lacazette's quickfire double and late strikes from Rob Holding and Eddie Nketiah against a youthful PSG side. The International Champions Cup win in Singapore was also a boost for Arsenal's new manager Unai Emery against his former club, now under Germany's Thomas Tuchel. Ozil, named as captain after his torrid week, was quickly into his stride with midfield partner Henrikh Mkhitaryan against a PSG line-up shorn of its World Cup stars. He opened the scoring with a tap-in at the far post after Mkhitaryan released Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in space and the Gabonese forward passed back across the face. Ozil's exquisite flick during a length-of-the pitch move nearly produced Arsenal's second but Gianluigi Buffon saved well from Nigeria's Alex Iwobi. The ...
Heena Sidhu hopes to break Asian Games gold medal jinx
The failed attempts to bag the top prize in her previous Asian Games appearances are fresh in her memory as shooter Heena Sidhu gears up to break the gold medal jinx in the upcoming quadrennial extravaganza. The 2018 Asiad will be organised in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2. "This is another opportunity to do that, improve my medal and performance. I have got two team bronze in the Asian Games, and hopefully, I will improve my performance and maybe even get the gold," said the 28 year-old today. The former world number one was speaking on the sidelines of a send-off event arranged by the Indian team's sponsors Edelweiss. Heena, however, cautioned that medals cannot be guaranteed even if the performance is an improvement on earlier displays. "I cannot guarantee a medal. Medals are subjective and it's a comparative sort of thing which comes at the end of a good performance. That's what I am trying to do, put up a good performance and improve
Dhoni advised me to avoid reading newspapers, reveals Shreyas
Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer has revealed that veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni advised him to stay away from all sorts of media platforms in order to stay focused.
Vettel fastest in last free practice for Hungarian Formula 1 GP
Germany's Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) set the fastest time on Saturday in the third and final free practice for the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix.
Patience pays for Kapur, moves to second in Pattaya
Shiv Kapur reaped the benefits of staying patient as he birdied three times in last five holes to close the gap between him and the leader at the end of the third day of Royal Cup here. Kapur, who is the defending champion, started the day six behind leader Justin Harding (71) but finished two adrift, as he carded 3-under 67. Kapur is now second and 9-under 201 to Harding's 11-under 199. Gaganjeet Bhullar also made a move up into the Top-10 as he registered 1-under 69 to get to 5-under 205 and was tied at 9th place. Bhullar had one birdie and 17 pars. Among other Indians, Viraj Madappa (69) is 2-under and T-24, while Honey Baisoya (72) and S Chikkarangappa (67) are 1-under and T-30. Himmat Rai (70) and Khalin Joshi (71) are even par through 54 holes and T-38th and Rashid Khan (72) is 4-over and T-63. Early this morning when the second round was completed, Chiragh Kumar, Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa missed the cut. Kapur, speaking on the third round and the conditions said, "It
Neeraj, Hima to take part in prestigious Continental Cup
Seven Indian athletes, including star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and sprint sensation Hima Das, are set to compete in the prestigious IAAF Continental Cup to be held in Ostrava, Czech Republic on September 8-9. The Asian Athletics Association (AAA) selected seven top Indian athletes to represent Asia-Pacific Team in the International Association of Athletics Federation Continental Cup, an event competed among the season's top rankers from the regional associations. Based on current IAAF world rankings, Neeraj (javelin), Muhammed Anas (400m), Jinson Johnson (800m) and Arpinder Singh (triple jump) made it to the AAA list of athletes for Asian-Pacific in men's category while Hima Das (400m), P U Chitra (1500m) and Sudha Singh (3000m Steeplechase) were included in the women's event. In his communication to the Athletics Federation of India, AAA Secretary Maurice R Nicholas said, "The excellent performances of these selected athletes are based on the top lists rankings of IAAF and our ..
Golfer Shiv second at Royal Cup
Indian golfer Shiv Kapur carded a three-under 67 in the third and peultimate round to move into the second spot in the $500,000 Royal Cup here on Saturday.
Coach under whom Neeraj scripted history no more
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's former coach Gary Calvert, under whom he scripted history by winning the gold medal in the Junior World Championships in 2016 with a world record throw, has died in Beijing. The 63-year-old Calvert, an Australian serving as the Chinese national javelin coach, died of a heart attack in China's capital yesterday. Under Calvert, who served as India's javelin coach from February 2016 to April last year, Neeraj won a historic gold at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Poland, with a throw of 86.48 metres. Neeraj, who is currently training in Finland as part of preparations for the upcoming Asian Games, paid tribute to his former coach, saying he had learnt a lot under the Australian. "Very saddened to hear about the demise of coach Gary Calvert, who died of a heart attack yesterday. I had done a lot of hard work under him in 2016-17 and got to learn a lot. You were a good friend and coach, you will always be remembered. RIP," Neeraj tweeted. Calvert
Chennaiyin FC appoint Kevin Hitchcock as goalkeeping coach
Indian Super League (ISL) holders Chennaiyin FC on Saturday announced the appointment of Englishman Kevin Hitchcock as goalkeeping coach ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Russia Open: Indian shuttlers in final round
It was a good day for Indian shuttlers in Russia as Sourabh Verma stormed into the final of the men's singles while the Indian pair of Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg entered the last round of mixed doubles event of the Russia Open on Saturday.The 25-year-old Verma defeated his Indian counterpart Mithun Manjunatha 21-9, 21-15 in a completely one-sided contest. The shuttler will now take on Japanese Koki Watanabe in the final match. Watanabe beat Russian Vladimir Malkov 21-12, 21-16.Verma had earlier thrashed Israeli player Misha Zilberman 21-14, 21-16 within 36 minutes in his quarter-final match.In the mixed doubles, Kapoor and Garg got past the Malaysian duo of Chen Tang Jie and Yen Wei Peck 21-19, 11-21, 22-20 to enter the finals. They will now face the Russian-Korean pair of Vladimir Ivano and Min Kyung Kim.The men's singles and mixed doubles final is slated to be held on July 29.
Injury-prone Sri Lanka skipper will not bowl against S.Africa
Sri Lanka's injury-prone skipper Angelo Mathews has ruled himself out of bowling during the one-day internationals against South Africa which start Sunday. Mathews has been troubled by recurring injuries since being brought back as one-day captain in January and had to sit out some matches before the current series against South Africa. The 31-year-old all-rounder said he still expected the team to show new signs of recovery after a disastrous 2017. They convincingly beat South Africa in a two-match Test series. "We would like to play better cricket than what we have been doing in limited overs," Mathews said ahead of the first ODI at Dambulla. "We started very well in the Test series, and hope we can continue with the momentum in the ODIs." Mathews, who has taken 114 wickets in 196 ODIs, said he will not risk himself against South Africa. "I won't be bowling in this series. Hope to start bowling in the nets and see how I feel." Asked if the six-match ban against opening batsman ...
United to step up chase of England star Maguire: reports
England central defender Harry Maguire's impressive performances at the World Cup has made him a prime target for Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, according to British media reports on Saturday. The 25-year-old is believed to want to secure the move although Leicester's Thai owners are reluctant to sell after another of their stars Algerian forward Riyad Mahrez moved to champions Manchester City last month for a club record fee of USD 79million. Maguire, who impressed alongside John Stones in England's run to the World Cup semi-finals, will cost 65 million pounds with part of the outlay being offset by selling Argentinian defender Marcos Rojo -- United value him at 30million pounds -- and Italian full-back Matteo Darmian, the Daily Mirror claims. Rojo is attracting interest from Premier League newboys Wolverhampton Wanderers whilst Darmian is coveted by both the Milan clubs. According to the Daily Mail the injury-prone 28-year-old Rojo -- who cost United 16million pounds when .
Girona FC take on the best of India and Spain at Chess
Spanish top division side Girona FC, currently in India, swapped football for chess pieces as they played a friendly tournament against the Spanish and the Indian national chess teams. The Spanish chess team is in India to prepare for the 43rd Chess Olympiad in September while Girona FC is competing in the Toyota Yaris LaLiga World Tournament. It has been a highly memorable trip to India for the LaLiga side, who beat Australia's Melbourne City FC 6-0 in their opening fixture. The final fixture of the three team tournament will see hosts Kerala Blasters face Girona FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. However, the Spanish side are looking to leave their mark off the pitch as well as on it, as they become the first LaLiga side to make the trip to India. Bernardo Espinosa, Girona FC player, said, "It was a wonderful experience to get to meet professional chess players and experience the sport with them. I was thrilled to see how well prepared these players were and people also ...
Hockey World Cup: Indian eves face formidable US in must-win tie (Preview)
After a below-par start to their women's hockey World Cup campaign, India face a do-or-die situation against a higher-ranked United States in their final Pool B match at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre here on Sunday.
Women's WC Hockey: Sloppy India face US test in ' do-or-die' game
Stung by a lower-ranked Ireland, Indian women's hockey team will need at least a draw against USA in tomorrow's pool B match to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the World Cup alive. After settling for a draw against world no 2 England in the opening match despite grabbing an early lead, Rani Rampal-led India suffered a disappointing 0-1 loss to Ireland in their second round robin match to squander the chance of making a direct entry to the quarterfinals. Only the top teams from the four pools directly qualify for the quarterfinals, while the remaining four slots would be filled from the cross-over stage. The sides finishing second and third in their respective pools would clash with each other in the cross-over stage with the four group toppers making it to the quarterfinals. With one draw (1-1 against England), one loss (0-1) against Ireland, India are placed third in the Pool B points table. USA too have drawn once against England and lost 1-3 to Ireland. Though ...
FC Goa launch women's soccer team
Indian Super League (ISL) outfit FC Goa on Saturday announced the launch of its womens team.
Cristiano's departure from Real Madrid similar to Iniesta's: Barca coach
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said on Saturday that the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid was similar to the loss of Andres Iniesta when he retired from the Catalan club.