Page 1371 - Sports
Imam and Khan propel Pakistan to crushing victory over Zimbabwe
Pakistan stormed to a 201-run win over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo today in the opening game of their five-match one-day series. Career-best efforts from opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq and leg spinner Shadab Khan ensured that Pakistan kept control through both innings. Opener Imam cracked 128 runs as Pakistan made 308 for 7. Khan then made short work of Zimbabwe's lower order to collect 4 for 32 as the hosts were bowled out in the 35th over for 107. Imam was backed up by Fakhar Zaman, who continued his good form with 60, and Asif Ali, who smashed a rapid 46 on debut to boost Pakistan's total after they had been put in to bat under grey, wintery skies this morning. Pakistan started slowly with the bat. With the new ball nipping around Imam played and missed at several deliveries and was lucky to survive an edge off fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani, the ball dropping just in front of second slip. But Imam gritted his way through the difficult patch, and, with Fakhar scoring fluently, Pakistan put .
Rathore to skip Asian Games torch relay, IOA invites Goel
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has expressed his inability to attend the Asian Games torch relay here on Sunday, prompting the Indian Olympic Association to extend an invitation to his predecessor Vijay Goel, who has accepted it. An official of the Sports Ministry today informed the IOA that Rathore was "very keen to join but will not be able to attend the torch relay function this weekend as he will be required to visit Cochin in connection with some urgent work". IOA president Narinder Batra, with whose body the ministry has been at loggerheads in recent times on various issues, replied: "This event happens once only in four years and is very important part of our Indian sports history. It is unfortunate the Hon'ble Sports Minister cannot come. We understand he must have got more important work to attend." Batra informed that Goel, who served as sports minister just before Rathore, has consented to grace the event. "Mr. Vijay Goel, former sports minister and present ...
Costa Rica to play South Korea during Asia tour in September
Costa Rica's national team, which has already scheduled a friendly against Japan on September 11, will also play a match against South Korea four days earlier as part of that same Asia tour, the Central American nation's football federation said.
FIFA: VAR used 440 times, increased referee accuracy, ended off-side goals
President of FIFA Gianni Infantino on Friday praised the 2018 Russian football tournament as the best World Cup ever.
Southampton signs Danish defender Vestergaard
English Premier League side Southampton on Friday announced the signing of Denmark defender Jannik Vestergaard from Germany's Borussia Monchengladbach for a reported 18 million pounds ($23.64 million).
Goetze's descent into hell after 2014 World Cup dream goal
After his "goal of the century" against Argentina clinched the 2014 World Cup for Germany, Mario Goetze looked poised to become "the German Messi" who would lead the national team for the next decade. But the midfielder, who was just 22 when he came on as a substitute and hooked the ball into the net in Rio de Janeiro, has suffered a spectacular plunge from glory. Poor form after an injury and then a debilitating metabolic disease led to him being left out of the Germany squad for the World Cup in Russia. In a stark illustration of Goetze's battles over the past years, electronics giant Samsung has traced his darkest moments in a commercial. The video depicts him watching TV coverage of Germany's head coach Joachim Loew announcing he will not be going to Russia, and then traces his ups and downs on the field in the last few years, and ominous shots of a hospital corridor to illustrate his health struggles. The ad then switches gears to show Goetze fighting to get fit and win a place ..
Mane, Joshi tied-4th, Bhullar 8th in Indonesia Open
Khalin Joshi (68) and Udayan Mane (68) led a strong Indian campaign as they were at Tied-4th at the end of the second round of the ongoing USD 500,000 Bank BRI Indonesia Open here today. The Bengaluru duo was two shots adrift of the co-leaders Thai Natipong Srithong (68-65) and Justin Harding (67-66) of South Africa, who were at 11-under. The Indians were at 9-under while Australian Mathew Millar (66-68) was third at 10-under. In addition to Joshi and Mane, the in-form Gaganjeet Bhullar was once again lurking around after a 67 following a first round 69. He was 8-under and tied-8th while old warhorse Jyoti Randhawa (69-69) was tied-13 at 6-under. Other Indians making the cut were Shiv Kapur (70-73) at Tied-47th, Honey Baisoya (71-73) and Himmat Rai (76-68) at even par and Tied-56th. However, as eight Indians made it to the weekend round, four including Chiragh Kumar (71-74), Jeev Milkha Singh (71-78), S Chikkarangappa (75-74) and Viraj Madappa (75-79) missed the cut. Mane, starting ..
Cricket has cash, support Olympic sports: Bindra urges corporate houses
Cricket has cash and it is time the corporate houses look beyond and invest in other sports, India's lone individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra said today. The five-time Olympian, who called time on his decorated shooting career after the Rio Olympics in 2016, was in the capital to talk about his career and the effort he's put in to reach the pinnacle. "I think couple of things need to change in the landscape of Indian sports. There has to be lot more more corporate support in sports outside of cricket. Lot more investment needs to come into Olympic sport," Bindra said during an event. Bindra created history when he claimed the gold medal in 10m air rifle event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "I can give the example of United States Olympic Committee, the US Olympic committee does not get one dollar as subsidy from the government, they are completely funded by corporate support. Things are different between USA and India. "The second point is about governance, I think sports .
Shuttler Sindhu in Thailand Open semis
India's star shuttler P.V. Sindhu entered the semi-finals of the Thailand Open badminton tournament, defeating Soniia Cheah of Malaysia in the quarter-finals here on Friday.
France focus on World Cup glory, spurred on by 2016 Euro pain
France fine-tuned their preparations for the World Cup final against Croatia on Friday, desperate to overcome the bitter disappointment of losing the Euro 2016 final as FIFA declared Russia 2018 the best-ever tournament. Didier Deschamps' team are firm favourites to win Sunday's showpiece in Moscow and become world champions for the second time -- 20 years after their first triumph in 1998. But they will come up against a hungry Croatia side boasting one of the players of the tournament in Real Madrid star Luka Modric, who is desperate to win the trophy for the nation of just over four million people. France failed to click in the group stages but they have gone up through the gears during the knockout rounds and look a formidable blend of youthful vitality and experience. They will approach the match at the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium full of confidence and with the pain of losing the final of Euro 2016 on home soil to Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal spurring them on. "The tears ...
Spinners put Sri Lanka on top in 1st South Africa Test
Spinners led by Dilruwan Perera put hosts Sri Lanka in firm command of the first Test on Friday after South Africa were bowled out for 126 -- their lowest Test innings in the country. First innings centurion Dimuth Karunaratne then made a fluent 60 as the hosts ended day two on 111 for four, leading by 272 runs at the Galle International Stadium. Angelo Mathews, on 14, and Roshen Silva, on 10, were batting at close of play after left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj claimed three wickets for South Africa. But it was the Sri Lankan bowlers who starred on a dramatic day that witnessed South Africa slip to 51-6 before being bowled out for 126 in the second session of play. The dismal effort set a new low for South Africa in Sri Lanka, worse than their 169 in Colombo in 2006. Perera returned impressive figures of 4-46 with his off-spin, while paceman and stand-in skipper Suranga Lakmal took three wickets. Veteran spinner Rangana Herath started Sri Lanka's dominance by sending back nightwatchman
It's been like a dream so far: Das
"I am living a dream", said Hima Das as she tried to put in words her remarkable journey from being a stubborn footballer in a nondescript Assam village to becoming the first Indian woman world champion in athletics. The 18-year-old Das, daughter of farmer parents at Kandhulimari village at Nagaon district, has become the toast of the nation after she won a gold at the IAAF World U-20 Athletics Championships in Finland yesterday. She is also the first Indian -- male or female -- to have won a gold in a track event at the world level. She joined Neeraj Chopra who won a gold in javelin -- a field event -- in the IAAF World U-20 Championships in the last edition in 2016 in Poland. Her father Ronjit Das has a 2 bigha (0.4 acres) plot of land and her mother Junali is a housewife. The small piece of land was the only source of income for a family of six. "I know my family's condition and how we struggled. But the Almighty has something for everybody. I am a positive person and I want to ...
AFI refers to Hima's 'not so fluent' English, provokes severe backlash
The Athletics Federation of India today put its foot in the mouth when it referred to Hima Das' "not so fluent english" after her blazing run at the world under-20 championships, attracting the ire of fans which forced the governing body to issue an apology in chaste Hindi. The daughter of a rice farmer from a village in Assam's Nagaon district, Hima scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships, claiming the top spot in the women's 400m final race in Tampere, Finland. "#HimaDas speking to media after her SF win at #iaaftampere2018 @iaaforg Not so fluent in English but she gave her best there too. So proud of u #HimaDas Keep rocking & yeah,try ur best in final!" the AFI wrote on its twitter handle. Fans took to the social networking site to express their displeasure against the AFI for using what could be construed as insensitive. Miffed, fans ridiculed the tweet and said Das was in Finland to showcase her ...
FIFA invites rescued Thai boys to London awards event
The boys soccer team in Thailand rescued from a flooded cave this week has been invited to FIFA's annual awards event. FIFA President Gianni Infantino says they will be invited to come to London, where the world's best player prize will be presented on September 24. The 12 boys and their coach were asked to attend the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday. They were unable to accept for medical reasons, after being rescued between Sunday and Tuesday to end a two-week ordeal. Infantino says FIFA will look at involving the team in another soccer event, possibly in Thailand.
Mohammad Kaif retires from all form of cricket
Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif has on Friday officially retired from all forms of cricket.According to ESPN cricinfo, this came 16 years after Kaif "steered India to one of their most memorable victories in ODI history - beating England by chasing down 325 at Lord's in the NatWest Series final."He began his two-decade-long first-class career in 1997-98.In an international career that spanned six years (2000-2006), he played in 13 Tests and 125 One Day Internationals."I am retiring today as it's been 16 years since the historic Natwest Trophy win in which I was glad to play my part, and I'd like to remember that as I bow out," ESPN cricinfo quoted Kaif as saying."I am grateful for the opportunity to have worn the India cap, and to have gone on to play 125 ODIs and 13 Tests for India, and for several other moments," he added.He played his last international game for India around 12 years ago, during the South Africa tour in 2006.He even captained India's U-19 team in their first-ever ...
Official Match ball carriers bring India on field at FIFA World Cup
India at the FIFA World Cup might be a long shot at this point but a couple of Indian kids got to live a dream by being the Official Match Ball Carriers (OMBCs) at the ongoing mega-event here. Selected after a nationwide talent hunt by automobile giant Kia Motors, one of FIFAs official World Cup partners, 11-year-old Nathania John and 10-year-old Rishi Tej became India's first set of official match ball carriers. While Nathania led the likes of Neymar and Phillipe Coutinho out with the match ball in her hands during the Brazil-Costa Rica clash in St Petersburg, Rishitej had his moment during the Belgium-Panama group stage match which featured stars such as Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku among others. "I am so thankful to football, it is the sweetest thing to have ever happened to me. It's bigger than a game, for me, football is life," Rishitej said. "I was a little nervous that day because this was a lifetime opportunity," he spoke about his experience at what is popularly called the .
Hima's historic feat has parents beaming with pride
Reacting to their daughter becoming the first Indian woman to win gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships, parents of Hima Das on Friday expressed their happiness on her achievement."We feel proud on Hima's achievement. She has always been a hard-working and resilient girl and with that, she has made the nation proud," said Hima's father Ranjit Das.Hima's mother, too, lauded her 'courageous' daughter for her feat.The 18-year-old sprinter scripted history on Thursday by clinching the top spot in the women's 400 m final race at the World U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.A pre-tournament favourite, Das clocked 51.46s to finish ahead of Andrea Miklos of Romania and USA's Taylor Manson.
Will focus on building right attitude in players: Samant
Newly appointed coach of senior Mumbai cricket team Vinayak Samant is keen to develop the right attitude in players who will, in turn, decide on his success as a coach. The 46-year-old former Mumbai wicket-keeper-batsman Vinayak Samant pipped ex-India off-spinner Ramesh Powar and former Rajasthan cricketer Pradeep Sundaram, who were in the race, for the post. "It is a tough responsibility. Sometimes the approach of our players is wrong and as a coach my focus will be to ensure that the approach or attitude is not wrong," Samant told PTI today. Mumbai have won the Ranji Trophy for a record 41 times, the last being in 2016. Samant, a First Class veteran, represented Mumbai and Tripura during his cricketing career. "Obviously, a coach alone can't do anything and players contribute to it. My success is in their (players) hands and it is important for me to co-ordinate with them. "It is important to be in their comfort zone and that players have faith in me. Many players know
Kaif retires from competitive cricket
Mohammad Kaif on Friday announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket via a post on social media.
Sindhu progresses to semifinals of Thailand Open
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu progressed to the women's singles semifinals after knocking out Malaysia's Soniia Cheah in straight games at the USD 350,000 Thailand Open World Tour Super 500 tournament here today. The second seeded Indian continued her consistent performance with a 21-17 21-13 win over world no 35 Soniia in a 36-minute clash. The world no 3 Indian will next face Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. The drift in the hall created troubles for both the shuttlers who struggled with the length of their strokes. Sindhu was erratic initially and the result was Soniia led 11-7 at the first interval. After the break, Sindhu slowly started dominating the proceedings and reeled off five points to lead 13-12. The Indian started putting pressure on the Malaysian with her attacking game and grabbed four game points when Soniia hit long. The Malaysian saved one game point before Sindhu sealed the first game with a smash. After the change of sides, Sindhu moved to a 6-3 lead ...