Page 1404 - Sports
Birthday celebrations away from home for Sindhu
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu is ringing in her 23rd birthday, this time, away from home.However, her fans have ensured that she does not miss being home on her special day.Local fans of the ace shuttler gave her a surprise visit and also brought a cake to celebrate her birthday.Sindhu thanked all her fans and supporters for wishing her and hoped to continue performing well for the country."Thank you, everybody and thanks to all my fans for supporting me and for your wishes also. Definitely, I will do best and keep winning many more and I hope I do well," Sindhu said.The Indian shuttler cemented her spot in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Indonesia Open after registering a convincing straight-game victory over Japan's Aya Ohori in the second-round of the women's singles event.She thrashed her Japanese opponent 21-17, 21-14 in a one-sided contest that lasted 36 minutes.Meanwhile, in the men's singles event, India badminton player HS Prannoy also moved into the quarterfinals after ...
Indonesia Open: Sindhu, Prannoy reach quarters; Saina bows out
Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V.Sindhu rang in her 23rd birthday with a straight-game win over Japan's Aya Ohori, while H.S. Prannoy notched up a brilliant come-from-behind win over Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei to enter the quarter-finals of the $1,250,000 Indonesia Open here on Thursday.
Colombia suffered 'monumental theft' against England, claims Maradona
Argentina football legend Diego Maradona said Colombia's defeat against England in the knockout round of the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup was a case of 'monumental theft'.Accusing American referee Mark Geiger of favouring the English side, the 57-year old said that the penalty awarded to Englishmen after Colombian player Carlos Sanchez was arbitrated to have pulled England captain Harry Kane down was actually a foul by the English player."I saw a monumental theft on the pitch. I apologise to all the Colombian people, but the players are not to blame for this," said Maradona was quoted by Goal.com, who sourced teleSUR, as saying."The penalty. The penalty was not a penalty. It was Kane's fault. The rules allow for VAR assistance, yes or no? Why did he not ask for the VAR? It is not possible, this has to be denounced," he added.Maradona further questioned FIFA referee Chief Pierluigi Collina's decision to appoint Geiger as the match referee."Here is a gentleman [Collina] ...
Tencent Games 'Arena of Valor' launches new game mode 'Football Fever'
Tencent Games' 'Arena of Valor', one of the most popular and addictive MOBA games (multiplayer online battle arena), has launched an all new game mode - Football Fever. Within a few months of being launched in India, Arena of Valor is all set with a new update for the gamers. The FIFA World Cup fervor and excitement has reached Arena of Valor this season with a new update "Football Fever". Instead of destroying towers and killing minions, players will instead take to the pitch in a three-on-three soccer match where attacking the ball sends it towards the goal.Aneesh Aravind, General Manager, Tencent Games India, "If you are a fervent Football fan then AOV's Football Fever, is going to leave you in a fever pitch. The best part-You can celebrate the World Cup by playing with your favorite heroes in quick 4-minute matches. We are very excited about this new game mode and am sure that our AOV Fans in India will enjoy these world cup themed matches alongside their AOV heroes on a football .
Football: India U-16 go down to Thailand
India Under-16 team currently on an exposure trip in China went down 1-3 against Thailand in the Four-Nation Hua Shan Cup CFA International Youth Football Tournament on Thursday.
Shah welcomes advisory to state associations on T20 tourneys
Former BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah has welcomed the advisory sent by the cricket board to state associations on hosting of T20 tournaments. The BCCI recently sent the advisory in which details regarding approval, eligibility of participants, when the tournament can take place, compliance with board rules, protocols to be followed regarding the board's Anti-Corruption unit, among others, are noted. "The general body had gone into the issue of the state associations-organised T20 tournaments and had deliberated on the issue in detail and had laid down guidelines for the organisation of such tournaments with a specific focus on anticorruption protocols and to provide an opportunity to those cricketers who neither play for the country nor do they play in the IPL," Shah was quoted as saying in a media release. The veteran cricket administrator said such tournaments can immensely benefit domestic cricketers. "Not only such tournaments organised and hosted by state ...
Stage set for 2nd round of national motorcycle racing
The second round of MRF MMSC FMSCI National Motorcycle Racing Championship will be held at the MMRT track at Sriperumbudur near here over the weekend. Races will be held in the premier Super Sport Indian 165cc class besides the Pro-Stock (301-400cc and 165cc), Novice (Stock, 165cc) and Girls (Stock, 165cc) categories, a press release said. Further, two of country's leading bike manufacturers, Honda and TVS, will be running their own One-Make Championships in association with the MMSC, in the Open and Novice categories. For the first time ever in the national championship, slick tyres will be used in the races, the release said. MRF will be supplying the slick tyres for the Super Sport Indian 165cc and Pro-Stock 301-400cc categories, it added. The Novice category, a move initiated by MMSC last season to promote racing at the grass-root level, has attracted over 40 entries. The "Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup 2018 organised by MMSC" one-make championship comprises two ...
Sindhu static at No.3; Saina, Srikanth rise in BWF rankings
Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu continued to be the top-ranked Indian shuttler, after retaining the No.3 spot even as her compatriots Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth rose a few notches in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released here on Thursday.
India U-16s concede late goals to go down against Thailand
The Indian U-16 team today lost 1-3 to Thailand in the Four-Nation Hua Shan Cup CFA International Youth Football Tournament in Wei Nan City, China. Two lapses of concentration, the first in the 88th minute and the other in the 90th minute proved costly as Thailand capitalised on the same to score two goals in the last three minutes. The Indians, however, started the match on an attacking note and tested the opposition defence early on. In the 9th minute, Vikram Pratap Singh shot inches wide of the goal as the Indian U-16s pressed to take an early lead. In the 12th minute, Rohit Danu released a pass for Givson inside the box but the latter failed to make the most out of the chance. The best chance for India came in the 15th minute when Rohit Danu's rasping shot beat the opposition custodian bewildered but was cleared from the goal-line. Thailand, nevertheless, were not to be suppressed and their persistence eventually paid off when the surged into the lead in the 41stminute. Changing ..
India to open title defence against Oman in ACT hockey
Defending champions India will open its campaign in the fifth men's Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) hockey tournament against hosts Oman on October 18 in Muscat. The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) today announced the schedule of the tournament to be held from October 18 to 28. Besides title holders India, other participating nations in the six-team competition are Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan and hosts Oman. The Indian team will be the highest ranked side in the tournament, and will be the favourites to retain their title. However, world no 6, India will face tough challenges from the likes of world no 12 Malaysia and world no 13 Pakistan. Each team will play a total of five round-robin matches between October 18 to 25, the conclusion of which will see four teams qualify for the semi-finals that will take place on October 27. The remaining two teams will play each other in a qualification match for the fifth spot on the same day. The final and bronze medal matches will take ...
IOA chief defends football's exclusion, says no pace for "also rans"
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra today defended football's exclusion from the Asian Games contingent and justified the decision of including lesser known sports like pencak silat, saying they are potential medal winners and there is no place for "also rans" in the squad. "It is not that we personally like those sports and have included them. They have been winning medals and are expected to win at the Asian Games too. There were another 5-6 lesser known sports besides pencak silat but we did not include them because they were not potential medal winners," Batra told PTI today. Men and women football teams will not be travelling because they are "unlikely" to win medals while a 22-member pencak silat squad (an Indonesian form of martial arts) will represent India at the August 18-September 2 Games in Jakarta and Palembang. India had won two silver and five bronze medals at the Asian pencak silat championships in 2016. India will also be competing in lesser ...
Costa Rica look for national football manager
The Costa Rican Football Federation (Fedefutbol) has announced it will not extend the contract of national team manager Oscar Ramirez after disappointing results at the 2018 Russia World Cup.
Ghana, FIFA work to improve football management
The Ghanaian government and world football's governing body FIFA have agreed to collaborate closely to restore normalcy and integrity in the administration of the game the country, Minister of Youth and Sport Isaac Kwame Asiamah said.
India aim T20I series win against England (Preview)
Fresh from a clinical eight-wicket victory over England, India will aim to clinch the series when they face the hosts in the second Twenty-20 International of the three-match rubber at Sophia Gardens here on Friday.
Draws for Asiad football announced, India not part of it
It's official now. The Indian football teams have no chance of competing in the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia as the country didn't feature in the event's official draws released today. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had decided against sending the men's and women's football teams to Indonesia this time after they failed to meet the qualifying criteria set by the Olympic body. The IOA chose not to clear Indian men's and women's football teams after deeming them "incompetent" to win any medals. The Indian men's football team was hoping to use the Asian Games as a build up for next year's AFC Asian Cup. The decision has led to a controversy with All India Football Federation (AIFF) calling IOA's decision "myopic". The move can be seen as a retrospective one given that Indian football has been witnessing a steady rise in the past few years. The national side has jumped from 173 to 97 in the FIFA rankings, qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 and has successfully hosted the FIFA
Morgan calls on England to play better against Kuldeep
England captain Eoin Morgan has admitted that his side need to perform much better against Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav if they want to keep alive their hopes in the ongoing three-match T20I series.England are currently trailing 0-1 in the T20I series after slumping to an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of India in the opening match at the Old Trafford on Tuesday.Kuldeep was the pick of the bowlers for the Virat Kohli-led side as he finished with the brilliant figures of five for 24."He completely deceived us, and I thought he bowled well. We know we can do better - so we need to. Kuldeep bowled well. Between now and the next game, we need to assess our plans, make sure they're the right ones, and stick with them," Sports24 quoted Morgan, as saying.The 31-year-old further advised the team to spend more time on the ground to stand better chances against the spinner."The more time you spend at the crease, the better you see the ball. You go from sitting in the dug-out to match pace, ...
Russia enjoying advantage at World Cup due to fan support
Russia has a strong team and it has an additional advantage at the FIFA World Cup in the form of support from the fans, Croatia forward Ante Rebic said.
Asiad gold will give us ample time to be podium contenders in Tokyo: Harendra
Back with a creditable silver medal from the Champions Trophy, the Indian men's hockey coach Harendra Singh is determined to seal India's 2020 Olympic berth in the upcoming Asian Games as he feels it will give the eight-time winners ample time to become realistic medal contenders in Tokyo. Harendra, who returned to coach the men's team for a record fourth time two months back replacing Sjoerd Marijne, could not have asked for a better start to his new stint as India excelled in almost all areas before losing to world champions Australia via penalty shoot-out in the CT final. "As a coach I am happy with our performance but not with the colour of the medal because I wanted to change the colour and we had our moments," Harendra told PTI in an interview. "Now the Champions Trophy is history for me and our complete focus should shift to the Asian Games in Jakarta where I will settle for nothing less than gold. "Defending the Asian Games title will secure our place in the Olympics. We will .
Japan boss blasts World Cup haters, eyes new coach
Japan's football chief took aim at critics of the Blue Samurai today after the team's World Cup return and confirmed he was on the lookout for a new coach. JFA president Kozo Tashima told a news conference that caretaker boss Akira Nishino would not continue in the role after steering Japan to the knockout stages in Russia. And after the Japan team was welcomed home by hundreds of flag-waving fans, Tashima appeared to take a veiled dig at commentators who slammed their tactics in their final group match against Poland. Under orders from Nishino, the Japan players ran down the clock despite losing 1-0, knowing unless they picked up two yellow cards or Senegal equalised against Colombia in the other Group H game, they would go through. "I want to thank all the people who said they hated Japan or wouldn't support Japan anymore," said Tashima. "Thank you for your interest in us. There were positives and negatives but that's all part of creating a football culture in Japan." Japan were ...
Tencent Games rolls out new mode for 'Arena Of Valor'
Keeping in line with the FIFA World Cup excitement, China-based Tencent Games on Thursday announced a new "football fever" game mode for its famous multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game titled "Arena of Valor" (AOV).