Page 1339 - Sports
Fognini defeats Verdasco to enter Swedish Open final
Italian third seed Fabio Fognini of Italy reached the first Swedish Open final after defeating fifth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 on Saturday.
India concede late goal to draw 1-1 against England in women's hockey WC
India produced an impressive display before conceding a late goal to play out a 1-1 draw against world number two England in their opening Pool B match of the women's hockey World Cup here today. Neha Goyal gave India the lead in the 25th minute before Lily Owsley equalised from a penalty corner in the 54th minute. World number 10 India punched above their weight and gave England a run for their money in the keenly-contested duel. India matched higher ranked England stick for stick in the opening two quarters even though the hosts had more scoring chances with five penalty corners coming their way. But the Indian defence was up to the mark with goalkeeper Savita Punia stealing the limelight with some brilliant saves to keep England at bay. While India looked promising on open play, the home team kept on earning penalty corners. England earned their first penalty corner inside 32 seconds of the game and then another in the eighth minute but on both occasions the Indian defence kept a ..
Three silver and a bronze for India at Junior Asian Championship
Vishal Kaliraman frittered away a stupendous start in his gold medal bout while Sachin Giri and Naveen were outwitted by their opponents, settling for silver medals at the Junior Asian Wrestling Championships, here today. On the opening day of the Freestyle bouts, four of the five Indians reached the medal round with Karan winning the bronze in the 65kg category. Hussain Nasir, the fifth Indian in action today, could not reach the medal round. After Naveen (57kg) and Vishal (70kg) lost their gold medal bouts, the hosts hoped Sachin would end the wait for a gold but he lost the final in just one minute and 12 seconds. Sajjad Saberali Gholami of Iran outclassed him with a leg-lace move and rolled him four times in a row to end the bout in a jiffy, much to the disappointment of partisan Indian fans. Before that, Naveen could not breach the solid defence of Uzbekistan's Gulomjon Abdullaev, who used his goof height to consistently push the Indian out of the mat. The Uzbek opened up a huge
Vettel on pole in Germany, setback for Hamilton
Sebastian Vettel surged to pole for his home German Grand Prix today as Lewis Hamilton suffered a setback when his Mercedes broke down to leave him at the back of the grid. Vettel topped qualifying with a devastating final lap in his Ferrari to pip Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. A distraught Hamilton limped out in the first qualifying session when his car broke down with a hydraulics failure. Vettel rubbed salt in the British defending wporld champion's wounds by outpacing Bottas by two-tenths of a second. In front of a huge crowd of flag-waving Germans at the track near his Heppenheim birthplace, Vettel delivered a lap record in one minute and 11.212 seconds to top the Finn's 1:11.416. "Thanks to those fans," said Vettel. "It was amazing to see so many Ferrari and Germany flags. "It just kept getting better and I knew for the last lap I had a little bit more - I am full of adrenaline, but feel so happy." It is his second pole for a German Grand Prix and the 55th of his ...
Hima Das wins India's first ever gold in U-20 Athletics c'ship
Sprinter Hima Das, from Assam, scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win gold in the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World U-20 Athletic Championships.Creating another landmark, the daughter of a rice farmer from Nagaon's Dhing district has made everyone proud as she became the first woman to clinch gold for India at the IAAF in women's 400 m final race in Finland.The 18-year-old sprinter, Das, has clocked 51.46 to win the gold, taking the track by storm through her smashing run overtaking three strong rivals from countries including US and Jamaica.Taking about her victory, Das said, "I am very happy as I am the first girl in India to clinch gold in an athletic championship. Special thanks to my Indians and thanks to my coaches. Big thanks to the Athletic Federation of India for their support. I am a proud Indian and I love my flag. I am very happy. This is the traditional 'gamosa' of our state."Born and bought up in a poor family, Das, right .
Muskan, Shivam lift U-15 trophies at PNB METLIFE badminton event
Shivam Mehta and Muskan Sangwan clinched the under-15 boy's and girls singles titles respectively as the Delhi leg of Season 4 of PNB MetLife junior badminton championship concluded at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex here today. In the boys singles U-15 category, Shivam defeated Dev Maheshwari 22-20 13-21 21-19, while Muskan beat Mansa Rawat 21-17, 21-19 in girls singles U-15 category. The winners were felicitated by the Chief Guest, Shrikant Bakshi, former international badminton player and Thomas Cup player. The Grand Finale of this year's championship is scheduled from August 9 in New Delhi.
Hamilton limps out of German qualifying
Lewis Hamilton's bid for a fifth world title suffered a setback today when his Mercedes car broke down and forced him to abandon qualifying for the German Grand Prix. After running wide and locking up at Turn Eight, the defending four-time champion lost use of his gearbox and was told by the team to stop to avoid further damage following a hydraulics failure in the first part of Saturday's hour-long session. He is likely to start Sunday's race in 14th place or worse, if the team have to replace his gearbox or other parts. The setback is a blow to his hopes of mounting a fight-back against home hero Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari in the drivers' world championship. Vettel, who is also bidding for a fifth title, leads Hamilton by eight points.
Coleman withdraws from Diamond League 100m
World indoor 60m champion Christian Coleman was forced to withdraw from the 100m at the London Diamond League after suffering a recurrence of hamstring trouble while warming up for the heats today. Coleman, who took world championship 100m silver at the London Stadium last year, only returned to action in the Rabat Diamond League meeting eight days ago. The 24-year-old American won that race in 9.98 seconds after being out of action for 44 days because of the hamstring problem. Coleman had been due to run in the opening heat in London on Saturday, alongside Jamaica's former 100m world champion Yohan Blake, with a much-anticipated clash against compatriot Ronnie Baker potentially awaiting in the final. Coleman, who broke the 60m world record and took the world indoor 60m title during a trailblazing indoor season earlier this year, claimed on Friday that he was "100 percent healthy" but not yet in peak form. It remains to be seen whether he will risk aggravating the problem by ...
Top seed Chou advances to Singapore Open final
Taiwanese shuttler Chou Tien-chen powered into the finals of the Singapore Open after a thrilling 21-12, 18-21, 21-16 win over China's Qiao Bin today. The top seed dominated the first game of the men's singles semifinal match, wrapping it up in just 12 minutes. While a spirited Qiao fought back to claim the second game, Chou's swift reflexes saw him out-rally his unseeded opponent in the rubber to secure a spot in the finals on Sunday. He will face compatriot Hsu Jen-hao, who beat Vietnam's Nguyen Tien Minh 21-15, 21-11. "I'm very excited to be in the finals, my hard work had paid off. I have to focus on my shots if I want to win," said the world number 7 after the match at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Chou is gunning for his second title of the year after winning the German Open in March. In the women's singles, China's Gao Fangjie exacted revenge on second seed Nitchaon Jindapol with a 21-15, 12-21, 21-14 win to advance to the finals. Seventh seed Gao had lost to her Thai opponent .
Football will be promoted in Pondy: Kiran Bedi
Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi today said football will be promoted in the Union Territory by conducting tournaments frequently. A trophy-"Puducherry Collector Cup" would be instituted and a tournament for various institutions would be conducted, she said in a release here. Bedi witnessed a football match at the Government Higher Secondary School at Alankuppam village in Kalapet Assembly constituency during her weekend visit. The Lt Governor said a tournament would be held to culminate with the finals on January 12, coinciding with the birth anniversary of saint-philosopher Swami Vivekananda, adding events would be conducted on a regular basis. She further said traders in Puducherry can come forward to sponsor trophies to encourage the game.
Hockey India congratulates Namita Toppo on completing 150 International Caps
Hockey India (HI) today congratulated midfielder Namita Toppo for completing 150 international caps for India. Toppo reached the milestone today during the Indian women's team's opening match of the World Cup against hosts England. The 23-year-old from Odisha made her International debut for the senior team in the FIH Champions Challenge I in Dublin in 2012. I would like to congratulate Namita Toppo on completing 150 International Caps for India. She is a player who brings stability to India's midfield and helps the team in transitioning from defence to attack quickly," said Md. Mushtaque Ahmad, Secretary General, Hockey India. "Her contribution during the six years since making her debut has been immense and has seen her win many medals. I would like to wish Namita the very best for the future and hope that she keeps contributing to the team's victories." The young midfielder first represented her state team in 2007 and her performances in the domestic competitions saw her getting ...
Sports can bridge Indo-Pak gap: Md. Riaz
Pakistan wrestling team manager Muhammad Riaz on Saturday said that sporting events can bridge the gap between the two countries.The Pakistan wrestling team is currently here in India to participate in the ongoing Junior Asian Wrestling championship."I believe sports can bring the two nations together. Be it cricket, hockey, kabaddi or wrestling, if you organise an Indo-Pak event, then you will definitely observe the excitement people have for such matches," Riaz said.He gave special credit to Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for resolving the visa issue in a short span of time. He further stated that the issue had to be resolved as it was turning into a political tussle.Echoing the similar views, Pakistani Wrestler Haseeb Mustafa said that political matters act as an obstacle in the sporting event and players should not face the brunt of the same."Due to politics, players often face difficulty to participate in cross country events. We do not ...
India lose to Brazil in U-17 football tournament
The Indian women's team lost to Brazil in the ongoing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) U- 17 football tournament here on Saturday.After starting the match on an attacking note, the Indian team was thrashed 5-0 by the Brazilian side.Brazil put in some amazing effort after initially losing the grip over the match and scored four goals in the second half of the clash.Indians had a wonderful opportunity to take a lead in the 8th minute of the match when team's forward Soumya Guguloth burst onto goal with only the opposition goalkeeper to beat. But she missed the shot by hitting it way too wide of the goal post.It was Indian goalkeeper Archana Arumugam who kept the team in the game by making some fantastic saves in the first half of the match. But Brazil succeeded in taking lead in the 40th minute.The half-time scoreline read 1-0 in Brazil's favour.The Brazil team came back strongly in the second half and possessed the ball for most of the time. In the 65th minute, ...
Bairstow urges England to carry forward momentum into Tests
England's wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has urged his side to carry forward the momentum of their come-from-behind 2-1 ODI series win against India into the five Tests starting next month.
Diakhaby moves from Monaco to Huddersfield
Talented attacking player Adama Diakhaby has completed a move from Ligue 1 outfit Monaco to Premier League side Huddersfield for an undisclosed fee.
Sandeep, Arjun score fluent wins in racing nationals
Tamil Nadu racers Sandeep Kumar (MRF F1600) and Arjun Narendran (Indian Touring Cars) chalked up impressive victories to grab the spotlight in the third round of the national championship at the Madras Motor Racing Track here on Saturday.
Pole vaulter Rakesh sets new youth national record
Rakesh Gond set a youth national record in the pole vault competition to grab the spotlight on the opening day of the 15th National Youth Athletics Championships here today. Gond cleared a height of 4.90m to erase the national mark of 4.75m set by Kanhaiya Singh in 2017. The Uttar Pradesh pole vaulter was far ahead of the rest of the field in the competition, finishing half a meter clear of Shekhar Kumar Pandey who claimed the silver with a best effort of 4.40m. Ganesh Priyan of Tamil Nadu took the bronze with an effort of 4.20m. Meet records were set in both the men and women's 2000m steeplechase competitions. Md. Noor Hassan of Uttar Pradesh clocked 5:54.37 to smash the old meet record of 6.00.28 set by Raj Kumar at the 2016 edition. Also finishing below the old meet record was Atul Gavit of Gujarat who clocked 5:58.13 to win the silver. The women's 2000m steeplechase saw a similarly fast race. The competition was won by Uttar Pradesh's Kajal Sharma who clocked 7:11.99 to eclipse ...
India beat New Zealand, take unassailable 2-0 lead in Test series
The Indian men's hockey team registered its second successive victory against New Zealand, beating the visitors 3-1 to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series at the Sports Authority of India's Bengaluru Campus here. India began the opening quarter with a structured attack. It was striker SV Sunil who took the team's first potential shot on goal in the opening minute but was well defended by New Zealand goalkeeper Richard Joyce. India dominated the quarter as the team's attack won two PC opportunities, however, the home team could not convert and the two teams ended the first quarter in a stalemate. The second quarter saw India showcase an improvised attack. They won three back-to-back PCs in the 18th minute and Rupinder Pal Singh was third-time lucky after two of his previous flicks were blocked by New Zealand's first rusher. It was Manpreet Singh who made a perfect injection that was powerfully picked up by Rupinder to fire it past Joyce, fetching India their ...
Key to Root's ODI success was picking Kuldeep from his hand: Tendulkar
England Test captain Joe Root may have decoded how to tackle chinaman Kuldeep Yadav but Sachin Tendulkar feels that the young wrist spinner could still prove to be a handful if the home team prepares dry surfaces for the upcoming five Test series against India, starting August 1. "Whatever I saw on television, Root picked Kuldeep from his hand and did that really well. Now Kuldeep's wrist action is a complex one and once he lands the ball, I don't think too many batsmen in world cricket have got the ability to tackle him off the pitch. Root could afford to play Kuldeep late because he was picking his wrist position early," Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview today. When asked if these are ominous signs for the Indian team, Tendulkar however begged to differ. "I don't think all the other England batsmen have played Kuldeep well. The kind of weather that has been in England with the sun baking the pitches, Kuldeep will be very much in action and so will be the other Indian .
Chepkoech smashes women's steeplechase world record in Monaco
Kenya's Beatrice Chepkoech grabbed the spotlight as she shattered women's 3000m steeplechase world record at the IAAF Diamond League meeting here.