Page 1343 - Sports
Ronaldo re-ignites football frenzy in China after World Cup
The arrival of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo here on Friday added more heat to a steamy Beijing summer after the 2018 Russia World Cup sparked football mania across the country.
SESA academy gets AIFF accreditation
The AIFF today accorded accreditation to the SESA Football Academy, which will enable it to participate in the Under-13, U-15 and the U-18 Youth Leagues in the coming season. For promising young footballers in Goa, it is a major boost. President, SESA Football Academy, Annanya Agarwal said: "Sports can inspire and engage youth in a tremendous way and we at SFA envision to provide a platform to young budding footballers." I-league CEO Sunando Dhar said: "Goa is a talent pool for the football community in India and SFA has been doing some great work to take the Goan legacy forward by grooming young budding football talent." "It is good to see these players get such amazing guidance and facilities. I would like to congratulate SFA on receiving the AIFF accreditation and hope to see some good football from them in the coming Youth League.
Lakshya ensures a medal for India, sails into semi-finals at Jakarta
Sixth-seeded Lakshya Sen caused one of the major upsets so far in the Badminton Asia Junior Championships when he toppled second-seeded Chinese Li Shifeng 21-14 21-12 to enter the men singles semi-finals on the third day of the individual events at Jakarta today. Lakskya, who ensured himself at least a bronze medal, will take on Indonesian and fourth seed Ikhsan Leonardo Rumbay in the semi-finals tomorrow. However, the men doubles' pair of Manjit Singh and Dingko Singh bowed out in the pre-quarters to top-seeded Chinese duo of Di Zijian and Wang Chang, the title favourites. The Chinese pair won 21-7 21-15. In the match-up between sixth-seeded Indian and second-seeded Chinese, the scales were tilted heavily in favour of the latter. But it was a bit of a surprise for Li who got the first jolt when the Indian thumped him so royally that he could not recover from the shock. Employing his net-play to good effect and using half-court smashes assiduously Lakshya put his Chinese rival under ..
Maharaj's career-best figures restrict Sri Lanka to 277
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj claimed career-best figures of eight for 116 as South Africa restricted Sri Lanka to 277 for nine by stumps on the opening day of the second Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds today. Maharaj's figures are the third best against Sri Lanka by any opposition bowler following Imran Khan's eight for 58 in Lahore and Shannon Gabriel's eight for 62 in St. Lucia last month. After a promising start where the openers put on 116 runs for the first wicket, Sri Lanka collapsed as Maharaj bowled a probing line. In a bid to strengthen their batting after their poor show in Galle, the tourists went into the game with a lone spinner, leaving out Tabraiz Shamsi and they may have regretted the decision given Sri Lanka's troubles against the only spinner. After electing to bat first, Sri Lanka's openers dominated the morning session. Their 116-run stand is Sri Lanka's first 100 plus partnership for the opening wicket since October 2016. Since then Sri Lanka ...
Tottenham Hotspur's Son signs contract extension until 2023
South Korean winger Son Heung-min has signed a contract extension with Tottenham Hotspur until 2023, the capital football club announced on Friday.
Will start playing in another two to three weeks: Jadhav
India all-rounder Kedar Jadhav, who underwent a surgery after suffering a harmstring injury during the IPL, today said he would start playing in another two to three weeks time. Playing for Chennai Super Kings, Jadhav got injured in the opening game of this year's IPL against Mumbai Indians on April 7, which ruled him out of the lucrative event. He later underwent a surgery in Melbourne. "Rehab (rehabilitation) is good. Another maximum two-three weeks and I will be fit and start playing. I am allowed to bat now also, but because of rain, I am not able to. In two weeks I will start playing," Jadhav told reporters during a promotional event here today. "I am recovering faster than expectation, so I am happy," the 33-year-old Maharashtra cricketer said. Jadhav revealed that he suffered the injury on the same muscle for the third time. "Yes it was a recurrent injury. Almost the third time, the same muscle was injured. I got injured first in December against Sri Lanka in Dharamshala, then
Sports court annuls AC Milan Europa League ban
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday overturned a European ban imposed on AC Milan for violating UEFA's financial fair play rules, calling the punishment "not proportionate." UEFA banned Milan from playing in next season's Europa League citing the club's failure to meet the "break-even requirement," which bars clubs from taking on debt to fund daily operations. But CAS in statement ruled that "some important elements have not been properly assessed," by UEFA judges, notably that the "current financial situation of the club was now better following the recent change in the club's ownership." CAS referred the case back to UEFA as requested by AC Milan, whose executives appeared at the Lausanne-based court on Thursday to argue their case. The court "considers that the (UEFA's) Adjudicatory Chamber is in a better position than the CAS Panel to issue a new proportionate disciplinary measure on the basis of the current financial situation of the club," the statement said. AC Milan ..
Bayern's Rummenigge slams German federation bosses as 'amateurs'
Bayern Munich's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge today ripped into bosses at Germany's football federation, calling them "amateurs" over their handling of the squad's disastrous World Cup campaign. "For me, there is a lack of clear professional handling in a crisis situation," he said. "At the same time, I'm not surprised given that the DFB is filled with amateurs," added Rummenigge, although he fell short of demanding resignations of DFB boss Reinhard Grindel. Rummenigge however lent backing to coach Joachim Loew, stressing his massive contribution to Germany. "He has done an outstanding job in 12 years, he was seven times in a semi-final, became world champions, one is more than obliged to be thankful to someone like that," he said. Likewise he spokes out in defence of Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil, who faced criticism even before the World Cup for posing for a photograph, along with teammate Ilkay Gundogan, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After Germany crashed out of the
Fabinho backs Liverpool to win title, dreams of luring Mbappe to Anfield
Liverpool's new midfielder Fabinho says his club can wrestle the Premier League title away from Manchester City while he tries to lure France star Kylian Mbappe to Anfield. Fabinho moved to Liverpool from French side Monaco in a USD 57 million deal earlier in the close-season and the Brazilian is confident of a memorable first season on Merseyside. Two of Fabinho's former Monaco colleagues, Benjamin Mendy and Bernardo Silva, play for Premier League champions City. Liverpool finished 25 points behind City in fourth place last term. But Fabinho is sure Liverpool, who reached the Champions League final last season, are in good shape to win the club's first English title since 1990. Jurgen Klopp's squad has been bolstered by the recent arrivals of Fabinho, Naby Keita, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson. "I believe we have a very good team and we will be able to fight for the title," Fabinho was quoted as saying by the British media. "I understand we have excellent players. We have an excellent ..
Fakhar Zaman becomes first Pakistani to hit ODI double ton
Left-hand batsman Fakhar Zaman has become the first ever Pakistani player to hit a double century in the one day internationals (ODIs).The 28-year-old achieved the feat while playing in the fourth clash of the ongoing five-match ODI series against Zimbabwe here at Queens Sports Club on Friday.The ODI proved to be a historic one for Pakistan as along with Zaman's double ton, they broke a series of records.Riding on the back of the smashing knock of 201 runs by the latest sensation, Pakistan put up their highest-ever total of 399 runs in the ODIs.Earlier in the match, Zaman and Pakistan batsman Imam-ul-Haq had built a record-breaking 304-run partnership surpassing the previous record of 263 runs set by Aamir Sohail and Inzamam-ul-Haq against New Zealand in 1994.Pakistan is leading the ongoing series 3-0 against Zimbabwe.On a related note, following are the Pakistan and Zimbabwe squad:Pakistan- Imam ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c/w), Asif Ali, Faheem ...
Women's Hockey WC: India to face England in opener
Indian Women's Hockey team is all set to take on hosts England in their opening match of the World Cup here at Lee Valley Hockey Center on July 21.Reflecting on the opening match, Indian skipper Rani asserted confidence and said that the pressure will be on England and not on the Indian side."They will have the home ground advantage but we are not new to playing in front of big crowds. We have done well against England before and we will carry the confidence of doing well in our recent tournaments including the CWG where we had tasted victory against England in the Group Stage in Gold Coast. We will go into the match with the belief that we can beat them," Rani said.She further said that the Indian team should only make sure that they don't make silly mistakes as it did in the Bronze Medal match at the Commonwealth Games (CWG)."We have had good match practice against two of the top teams in the World. The team is upbeat and excited ahead of the first match and right now, our only ...
India, China to play international friendly in October
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed on Friday that the Indian team will take part in an international friendly against Asian powerhouse China during the scheduled FIFA window in October.
Rashid's chances of Test comeback gain momentum
England leg-spinner Adil Rashid's stunning form in white ball cricket could earn him a recall to Test cricket in the upcoming five-match Test rubber against India, starting August 1.
Spanish, Japanese leagues to collaborate to promote women's football
The women's professional football leagues in Spain and Japan signed a collaboration agreement in Tokyo on Friday to promote the growth of the sport, which will include training exchanges between clubs and the organization of friendly matches.
Talented Indian boys will get chance to train at Middlesex Academy: Tendulkar
It is his dream to ensure that talented Indian boys get state-of-the-art training facilities and Sachin Tendulkar today said that the Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy (TMGA) is a giant step towards realising that. "Without doubt talented boys will get an opportunity to travel to England and train at the Middlesex Academy. There will be focus on the children coming from the less privileged society. We will try to provide them every assistance that they couldn't afford," Tendulkar told PTI. It is learnt that 100 percent scholarship will be provided to the talented cricketers. The TMGA is planning to have its centres across various countries including one in Tendulkar's home city Mumbai. Asked what made him prefer the London-based county for a tie-up, Tendulkar said: "Whenever I have been in the UK during my playing days, I have trained a lot at the Middlesex Academy (headquartered at the Lord's). So I had a fair idea about how they function. They came up with the idea last ...
India U-19 thrash Lanka U-19 by innings and 21 runs
The India Under-19 cricket team produced a fine all-round performance to thump Sri Lanka U-19 by an innings and 21 runs in the first Youth Test at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground, here today. Wicketkeeper-batsman Nishan Madushka's brilliant ton (103) and a valuable 78 from Nuwanidu Fernando went in vain as India bundled out Sri Lanka for 324, 21 short of the visitors' first innings' score on the fourth and final day of the match. The Lankans added just 147 runs for the last seven wickets as Mohit Jangra turned out to be the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of five for 72. He was well supported by Ayush Badoni, who took two wickets. The iconic Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun, who grabbed the limelight after a tidy spell on his debut, picked up one wicket in the second innings as well. He was, however, out for a duck in his maiden U-19 knock. Earlier, after bowling out Sri Lanka U-19 for 244, India rode on centuries from Badoni (185 not out) and opener Atharwa Taide (113) to ...
Amateur Pranavi wins 9th leg of Hero WPGT
Amateur Pranavi Urs displayed a strong sense of purpose to shoot even par 72 for a total of 4-over 220 as she clinched the ninth leg of the Hero women's Pro golf Tour at the Eagleton golf resort here on Friday.
India U-16 team loses to Thailand
The India U-16 team, currently on an exposure trip, today lost to their counterparts from Thailand 1-2 in Bangkok. The Indian colts had surged into the lead in the 18th minute when Vikram Pratap Singh beat an off-side trap to slot home. But the hosts scored twice in the second half, the match-winner coming as late as the 89th minute. The result is reminiscent of the last match played between the two teams in China earlier this month when the Indian colts had conceded two in the last three minutes to go down 1-3. The Indians attacked from the opening minutes and as early as the second minute, they pressed on to the opposition goal, only to be denied by the defence line. In the 9th minute, an Indian free-kick was saved by the Thai custodian. In the 18th minute, the Indian Colts took the lead when Vikram Pratap Singh capitalised on a through ball by Givson and slotted it past the Thai custodian. After stunning the Thai opponents the Indian colts enjoyed a healthy share of possession but .
FC Goa sign Senegalese defender Mourtada Fall
FC Goa on Friday announced the signing of Senegalese central defender Mourtada Fall for the upcoming Indian football season.
Indian mixed pair team in bronze play-off; recurve archers return empty-handed
Compound mixed pair of Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam kept India in the hunt for a second medal, advancing to the bronze play-off at the stage four of the Archery World Cup here today. The recurve archers, on the other hand, continued their poor show ahead of the Asian Games, making a quarterfinal exit in the mixed pair event. The duo of Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari, who qualified as 10th seed, were blown away by the Chinese Taipei pair of Tan Ya-Ting and Wei Chun-Heng 0-6. A day after women's compound team advanced to the final to be assured of a medal, Jyothi partnered Abhishek Verma in a dream run that saw them ousting top seed Netherlands 158-155 in the quarterfinals. But their run was halted in the semifinals when they lost narrowly to fourth seed USA pair of Kris Schaff and Paige Pearce Gore. Trailing by a point in first two ends, the Indian pair levelled it 115-all in the third. But, USA had a perfect finish with four 10s including one X (closest to the centre) to pip