Page 1350 - Sports
IOA asked to reconsider selection of teams, athletes for Asian Games
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) asking them to reconsider the selection of teams or athletes for the upcoming Asian Games 2018.In a letter, the Ministry pointed out that there are some teams and athletes who have been performing really well from past six months but could not qualify for selection due to lack of exposure or participation in ranking events.It added that these teams and athletes have a strong chance of winning a medal or making a top-four finish."There have been concerns raised from various quarters and in newspaper reports that many deserving sportspersons/teams are not able to participate due to their inability to meet the above guidelines because of various reasons, inter-alia, due to less exposure its tournaments, restrictive spread, etc," the letter by the Sports Ministry reads.It added, "Accordingly, a view has emerged in this Ministry that specific relaxation of the norms prescribed vide .
Shooter Jitu dropped from TOP scheme
Star shooter Jitu Rai has been dropped from the latest list of sportspersons being supported by the much touted Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
England Lions in driver's seat against India A
England Lions tightened the screws on India A as they dismissed the visitors for 197 and were going strong at 159 for 4 in their second innings on the third day of the only four-day unofficial Test here. England Lions were already leading by 385 runs with 6 wickets remaining. Resuming at 144 for 4, Ajinkya Rahane (49) and Rishab Pant (58) added another 45 runs to take India A to 189 before the latter was dismissed in the 62nd over by Chris Woakes after he completed his half-century. Pant, who was today included in the Test squad for India's senior team for the Test series against England, hit six boundaries and cleared the ropes once during his 111-ball innings. Rahane too was sent packing in the next over by Sam Curran as India A slumped to 189-6. Curran trapped Shahbaz Nadeem (0) LBW in his next ball, before picking up Mohammed Siraj (1) and Navdeep Saini (0) as India A were all out for 197. In their second essay, England Lions suffered an early blow when Siraj removed former ...
Twitter records 115 billion impressions during FIFA World Cup 2018
The FIFA World Cup 2018 drama not just unfolded on the pitch in Russia but was also played out on Twitter in a massive way.
Matos steps down as Indian Arrows coach
The All India Football Federation's (AIFF) developmental team Indian Arrows' coach Luis Norton de Matos, who also guided India during last years FIFA U-17 World Cup, stepped down from his post citing personal reasons on Wednesday.
Railways will need over 15,000 additional coaches from 2018-2021: Min
The Indian Railways will need more than 15,000 additional coaches from 2018-2021, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain today said, citing an internal assessment of the national transporter. The minister said that, including the current year till 2021, the total requirement of coaches would be about 15,269. In 2018-2019, 5,489 coaches will be required, in 2019-2020, 4,941 coaches will be required, while in 2020-2021 the number will stand at 4,839, he told the told the Lok Sabha. "Based on the assessed requirement, railways has not felt a need to set up new factories for manufacture of mainline coaches in near future. Presently, the railways does not plan to start the pending projects for mainline coach manufacturing. Sufficient manufacturing capacity is available in the Railway Production Units to cater to requirements," Gohain said.
Mission Olympic Cell sanctions Rs 50 lakh for sportspersons
The Mission Olympic Cell on Wednesday met to clear funding proposals related to various expenses and review the performances of athletes included under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).The meeting approved the proposals made by TOPS shooters of about Rs 50 lakhs, who will be representing India at the upcoming Asian Games and World Championships.Four Indian shooters, including Jitu Rai were dropped from the scheme, on grounds of recent below-par performances and non-selection in the Asian Games and World Championship squads.Other sports also received the funding clearances, including wrestling, while three people from Track and Field were dropped on grounds of below-par performance.
Ministry proposes IOA relaxation in selection norms for Asian Games
The Sports Ministry today intervened in the controversy surrounding team selection for the upcoming Asian Games, asking the Indian Olympic Association to reassess the criteria laid down by it and consider "specific relaxation of selection norms". In the letter written to IOA President Narinder Batra, the ministry said that athletes and teams may be cleared if there is a strong possibility of either winning a medal in the Asian Games or finishing in the top four. The IOA had said that it followed the criteria of top six finish in individual events and top eight in team sports for selection in the Indian contingent for the Asian Games. The IOA's criteria were akin to a circular of the ministry issued in 2015 for selection of team for multi-sporting events. "This Ministry has framed those guidelines for sending entries of athletes/teams for participation in multidisciplinary events like the Asian Games (on March 10, 2015). However, of late, there has been concerns raised from various ...
Lahiri banking on experience to succeed at British Open
Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri believes the feel-good factor will stand in his favour when he makes his sixth attempt at The 147th British Open starting here on Thursday.
Matos decides to step down due to personal circumstances
Former Portuguese footballer Luis Norton de Matos today stepped down from his position as head coach of Indian Arrows, the developmental team of All India Football Federation (AIFF), citing personal reasons. In a letter to AIFF, Matos, who had coached India in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, expressed his inability to continue owing to a combination of exigencies on the personal front and an aggravated knee injury that necessitated Matos' family to stay together in Portugal. Matos wrote: Certain personal reasons, chiefly the health-related issues of my parents have made it difficult for me to continue in the position of Head Coach, Indian Arrows and stay far away from Europe for the entire season. Hence, with deep regret, I have decided to step down as the Head Coach of the Indian Arrows, India's U-19 National team. I like to thank AIFF for providing me with the opportunity to work with the National youth team. I thank my staff, my players and wish them the best in their careers. "Once my ..
Indian male recurve archers disappoint
Indian men's recurve archers came a cropper, making first round exits in their respective sections of stage four of the Archery World Cup here today. Qualified as 16th seed, the Asian Games bound men's team of Atanu Das, Viswash and Jagdish Chowdhary were no match to their Briton opponents Patrick Huston, Alex Wise and Tom Hall as they lost 2-6. The Indian team won the third set but could not hold the momentum as the English trio led 4-2 before wrapping the issue in the fourth set. Earlier in the morning session, Das, Viswash, Chowdhary and fourth member Sukhchain Singh all bowed out in the first round.
Junior Badminton Asiad: Indian girls shine on opening day
Junior shuttlers drew mixed response for India on the opening day of the Asia Junior Badminton Championships here on Wednesday.
Shubhankar set for Open debut, Lahiri ready for another crack
Young Shubhankar Sharma will look to make his first Major cut this week when he becomes the latest Indian golfer to tee off at The Open starting here tomorrow. With experienced Anirban Lahiri making his sixth appearance at the Open, it will be only the third time that two Indians will be teeing up at the Open, the first being in 2004, when both Jyoti Randhawa was T-27 and Arjun Atwal missed the cut. Then in 2012, when Lahiri made his debut, veteran Jeev Milkha Singh also played in it as they finished T-31 and T-69 respectively. Sharma, who turns 22 on Saturday, will hope to stay on and tee up in the third round. He has already played the Masters, on a special invite, and the US Open after coming through the qualifiers. Both were great experiences, says Sharma, but now I want to do better than just tee up on first two days. His coach, Jesse Grewal, and father, Col ML Sharma, who has been a mentor and inspiration for the young lad, are with him, as is Vicky, the Indian caddie, who was ..
Real Madrid chief expects to bolster squad with strong new signings
Real Madrid's President Florentino Perez said on Wednesday that he expects to bolster the squad with strong new signings in the summer transfer window, while speaking at the presentation of new defender Alvaro Odriozola.
Full-back Odriozola says surreal feeling to sign for Real Madrid
Real Madrid's newest full-back Alvaro Odriozola said on Wednesday that his road to joining the record European football champions has been surreal.
4th leg of 3x3 Basketball League in Chennai on July 21-22
The fourth leg of the 3x3 Basketball League (3BL) will be held here on July 21 and 22.
Viresh prevents medal-less day for India, wins bronze at Junior Asian
Viresh Kundu saved the day for India by winning an exciting battle against Korea's Jeongyul Kwon to claim a bronze medal in the 97kg category while four of his compatriots bit the dust on the second day of the Asian Junior Wrestling Championships here today. Viresh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh and trains in Zirakpur, won 14-5 against his Korean opponent before the first three-minute period was completed, winning by technical superiority. It's the first international level medal for the 20-year-old. Kundu had got past China's Yiming Li 8-6 in the quarterfinals before losing his close semifinal 6-8 to Iran's Vahid Dadkhah Ghasem Abadi. Of the five Indian Greco Roman wrestlers in action today, only two reached the medal rounds. Malkit Hooda was outclassed 0-7 by Iran's Sajad Ali Imentalabfoumani in the 67kg bronze medal bout. Sachin Rana (60kg), Kuldeep Malik (72kg) and Sanjeet (82kg) failed to make it to medal round. The Greco Roman style competition ended today with India finishing .
Shooter Jitu among seven dropped from TOP Scheme
Top Indian marksman Jitu Rai was today dropped from the Target Olympic Podium Scheme, along with three other shooters, on grounds of recent lack of form. Three track and field athletes were also dropped on the basis of recent below-par performances. The decisions were taken after a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell here. Commonwealth Games gold medallist table tennis player Manika Batra has been sanctioned Rs 2.4 lakh (approximately) for her training till the Asian Games. This amount includes her training with coach Sandeep Gupta, use of support staff (physiotherapist, fitness trainer and masseur) and purchase of playing equipment. Rs 93,555, which was already approved for Vinesh Phogat's participation at the Gran Premio De Espana Wrestling tournament where she won the gold medal, was ratified at the meeting. "Proposals of TOPS shooters of about Rs 50 lakhs who will be representing India at Asian Games and World Championships were approved at the meeting. A thorough performance ...
Singapore Open: Defending champ Praneeth bows out, Sourabh advances
Defending champion B. Sai Praneeth crashed out of the Singapore Open while Sourabh Verma advanced to the next round here on Wednesday.
BCCI to host 2000+ matches in upcoming domestic season
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its plans to host over 2000 matches in the upcoming 2018-19 domestic season.The domestic cricket season 2018-19 will take place in August with Duleep Trophy across various age groups in the men's and women's category, an official release noted.The Ranji Trophy will include a total of 37 teams, out of which 9 teams will participate for the first time. The tournament will have nine teams each in Elite Group A and B and 10 teams in the Elite Group C.The nine new teams will be placed in the Plate group category. The nine teams are Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.The team that qualifies for quarter-finals from the Plate group will be promoted to Elite Group C in the next season. The top two teams that qualify for the quarter-finals from Elite Group C will be promoted to Elite Group A & B in the next season.The Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy next year will also ...