Page 1407 - Sports
Ashbeer, Vishal, Nur Hossain share opening day honours at Lucknow event
Kapurthala's Ashbeer Saini, Jaipur's Vishal Singh and Nur Hossain Sardar of Kolkata produced the opening day's best efforts of two-under-68 to take the early lead at the PGTI Feeder Tour event being played at the Lucknow Golf Club here today. Delhi-based Bhanu Pratap Singh shot a one-under-69 to occupy fourth place in round one of the season's fifth and penultimate event. Ashbeer, who won his maiden title at the Feeder Tour event in Karnal last month, continued his top form as he sank five birdies in exchange for three bogeys. The 24-year-old, currently third on the Feeder Tour Order of Merit, thanks to his top-10s in all four events this season, was one-over through the first seven holes. However, two conversions from 15 to 25 feet on the eighth and 10th got his game up and running. Thereafter, some quality iron-play ensured two more birdies for Ashbeer on the 12th and 13th. He dropped his third shot of the day on the 15th to close with a 68. Nur Hossain has had a forgettable Feeder .
This century means the world to me: KL Rahul
The drought of international hundreds was playing big time in his mind and that's why the century in the opening T20 International against England "means the world" to the talented Indian batsman KL Rahul. Rahul's unbeaten 54-ball-101 ensured a walk in the park for India as they chased down 160 against the home team yesterday. "This is very satisfying. I have a few international hundreds, but this means the world to me. This is very special because the last international hundred I got was about two years ago," Rahul told senior teammate Dinesh Karthik during an interview for the bcci.tv. The earlier century he was referring to was against England in a Test match -- 199 in Chennai in 2016. Rahul admitted that it has been a rough road for him as far as his place in the limited overs squad is concerned. "I have been getting fifties in the IPL and Test matches, been in and out of the one-day team. It's been a rough road in the last one, one-and-a-half years with injuries, going out. I ...
Warner named captain of Canadian Twenty20 franchise
Banned former Australia vice-captain David Warner was on Wednesday named captain of Canadian Twenty20 franchise Winnipeg Hawks.
England striker Vardy in injury doubt
England striker Jamie Vardy is now a serious injury doubt as the side turns their attention to preparing Saturday's World Cup quarterfinal clash against Sweden in Samara.
Ex-Brazil star Ronaldo defends Neymar against play-acting claims
Brazil football great Ronaldo has leapt to the defense of his compatriot Neymar, refuting claims the Selecao forward has been play-acting during the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Renegades and Finch extend deal for 2 more BBL seasons
A day after Aaron Finch broke his own individual record for the highest T20 International score, the Australia T20I skipper's contract with Big Bash League (BBL) franchise Melbourne Renegades was extended for two more years.
Sale of tickets for Asian Games commences
The sale of tickets has begun for the 18th Asian Games, a regional multi-sport event to be held later this year.
Real Madrid deny links to France star forward Mbappe
Record European football champions Real Madrid released a statement Wednesday to categorically deny they are interested in signing emerging France star Kylian Mbappe.
Buoyed Lahiri to tee up at Greenbrier Classic
Buoyed by two good finishes in his last two outings, Anirban Lahiri is battle ready to tee off at the Greenbrier Classic here tomorrow. The 31-year-old Indian, who finished in top-10 at Travelers and followed that up with tied 13th at the Quicken Loans National, has a noon tee off from the first tee. Paired alongside Martin Piller and Tyler Duncan for the first two days, Lahiri will be hoping to build on his return to form. The last couple of weeks have shown me where I was lacking and we (my coach and I) have worked on those areas. It was great at Travelers and then at Quicken Loans, we saw that I was not scoring well on the second nine. In such heat as it has been this summer I was not refueling myself and not eating or having enough fluids. We identified and then on the weekend, it worked well and I felt I had more energy. Hopefully I do as well, or better, this week, said Lahiri. The Indian ace, who re-entered the top-100 last week, and is now 86th on FedExCup rankings, will take .
Raja-Martin bow out of Wimbledon after losing five-set battle
India's Purav Raja and Fabrice Martin lost an excruciating five-set battle to Mirza Basic and Dusan Lajovic to make an early exit from the Wimbledon championships, here today. The Indo-French pair was staring at the barrel as they trailed by two sets but put the match on even keel before eventually tumbling 2-6 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 9-11 in three hours and 37 minutes on court number six. Serving at 9-10, Raja and Martin saved two match points but their opponents latched on to the third to claim a memorable win. "They hit good returns in that game and it made a difference," Raja told PTI after the match. Both Lajovic (58), who lost to Roger Federer in the men's singles opening round, and Basic (78) are top-100 singles players. There are five more Indians competing in the men's doubles.
Anderson eyes Lancashire return to prove fitness ahead of India Test series
Senior England pacer James Anderson will be aiming to prove his fitness ahead of the five-Test series against India, when he makes a comeback to competitive cricket for Lancashire on July 15. The 35-year-old seamer, who has snapped 540 wickets in 138 Tests, will play in a second XI match for his county Lancashire after being out of action since June last year due to a longstanding shoulder injury. He will also play a County Championship match against old rivals Yorkshire in the "Roses match" on July 22. "England seamer Jimmy Anderson will make his return to competitive cricket for Lancashire second XI in a three-day match against Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford starting on July 15," England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement. "Anderson, who has not played since the second Test victory over Pakistan on June 3, has spent the past month rehabilitating a long-standing right shoulder injury and returned to bowling working with Lancashire and England staff in the past seven ..
Himmat among four Indians in T-15 in Sarawak
Himmat Rai showed a welcome return to form with a four-under 68 that saw him Tied-15th alongside three other Indians after the opening day of the Sarawak Championship here today. Rai, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Khalin Joshi and Gaganjeet Bhullar -- all shot 68 each to be five shots behind the leader, American Paul Peterson, who fired a personal best of 63 on Asian Tour. Rai, starting from the 10th, had four birdies in his first six holes and finished at 68, while Joshi, who was one-under through 15 holes, fired birdies on last three holes for a fine finish. Sandhu, who won his maiden Tour title last year, started from tenth and had four birdies in his last seven holes, while Bhullar had a tidy five birdies against one bogey after his second place finish at Queens Cup. As for other Indians, Jeev Milkha Singh, Jyoti Randhawa, S Chikkarangappa and M Dharma carded two-under 70 each to T-49th. Honey Baisoya, Rashid Khan and Aman Raj shot one-under 71 each, while Chiragh Kumar and Viraj Madappa ...
Ajmer-Jammu Tawi Express derails near Jaipur; no casualty
Three coaches of the Ajmer-Jammu Tawi Puja Express derailed on Jaipur-Phulera double track around 3.43 pm today. No casualty was reported, officials said. Three sleeper coaches S2, S3 and S9 derailed when the train had just departed from a yard at Phulera junction towards Jaipur, North Western Railway (NWR) CPRO Tarun Jain said. No passenger was injured in the mishap, and restoration work is underway. The track would be restored soon," he said. Senior officers from the North Western Railway also supervised the work. This is the second such incident in the zone since this morning. An SLR coach of Lalgarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed near Hanumangarh in Rajasthan after hitting a wild animal in the wee hours today. There was no casualty and restoration of track was completed for smooth running of trains, an NWR spokesman said.
Keys beats Kumkhum, marches into Wimbledon 3rd round
World No.11 Madison Keys of the United States defeated World No. 91 Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand 6-4, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round of Wimbledon.
Rana, Bamhane earn quota spots for Youth Olympics
Javelin thrower Kunwer Ajairaj Singh Rana and middle distance runner Tai Bamhane today secured quota places for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, to be held in Buenos Aires in October. Rana was the star of the show for India on the opening day of the Asian Area qualification leg of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. The 18-year-old managed to win the gold medal and qualify for the Games after throwing the spear to a distance of 76.13 metres. The throw was nearly four metres further than that managed by second placed Kentaro Nakamura of Japan, who threw 72.04m. Rana was not the favourite before the competition as his personal best until then was 68.94m, which he had managed at the Junior Federation Cup in April this year. However, he surprised everyone at the Thai Japan Bangkok Youth Center with the throw of the competition. Vikas Yadav claimed the bronze medal with a throw of 68.65m. Yadav though missed out on a Youth Olympic quota with only the top two athletes winning places for the ...
Sharapova insists she's still Grand Slam force despite Wimbledon misery
Maria Sharapova insists she is not finished as a Grand Slam force despite her worst ever performance at Wimbledon, a tournament which should be her perfect showcase. The 31-year-old gave up a set and a 5-2 lead to lose in the first round on Tuesday to fellow Russian Vitalia Diatchenko, an injury-plagued qualifier ranked a lowly 132 in the world. Diatchenko, who needed treatment on her back on three occasions, celebrated an unlikely 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 triumph after more than three hours on Court Two. The match ended in twilight, a fitting metaphor for Sharapova who slipped to her first ever opening round defeat at the All England Club where she first burst upon the scene in 2003. One year later, as a 17-year-old, she stunned Serena Williams to capture the Wimbledon title, the first of her five majors. However, she has been back to the Wimbledon final only once since 2004, losing to Petra Kvitova in 2011. Before Diatchenko, there had already been some embarrassing howlers -- in .
Akinfeev's 'Foot of God' answers Russia's World Cup prayers
The World Cup joke around Russia is that goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev has the "Foot of God". Comparisons to the "Hand of God" goal Argentina great Diego Maradona scored against England in 1986 came naturally to Russians enraptured by the unlikely performance of their team. Akinfeev had already won admiration for stopping two Spain penalties that sent the 2010 champions packing and Russia through to their first World Cup quarter-final since 1970. But his winning left-foot save against Spain's Iago Aspas has some in the host nation thinking of the 32-year-old in even more reverential terms. "Akinfeev himself is a god," said his childhood coach Pavel Koval. "I think Igor is better than (Spain 'keeper David) de Gea." - In Yashin's shadow - ====================== This level of exuberance is relatively new terrain for a solid player with his share of bad luck. During the 2014 World Cup Akinfeev palmed a soft shot in Russia's opener against South Korea that somehow arched in over his head. The ..
Srikanth's title defence ends, Sindhu wins at Indonesia Open
Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth's campaign ended with a narrow opening-round loss but Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu eked out a thrilling win to progress to the women's singles pre-quarterfinals of the USD 1,250,000 Indonesia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament here today. Former World No 1 Srikanth suffered his second successive loss to in-form Japanese Kento Momota, ranked 11th, in two weeks. The Indian lost 21-12 14-21 15-21 in the opening match that lasted exactly an hour at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno. Momota had ended Srikanth's campaign at Malaysia Open last week and even though the Indian failed to avenge the loss, it was a far superior performance by the 25-year-old fourth seed. Overall, it was Srikanth's seventh loss to the former world no 2 Momota, who has been in impressive form since coming back from a one-year ban due to illegal gambling. However, Sindhu brought some smiles back in the Indian camp after seeing off Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-15 ...
Pakistan knocks hosts Zimbabwe out of T20I series
Pakistan knocked Zimbabwe out of the Twenty20 tri-series in Harare in a closely-fought encounter today, beating the hosts by seven wickets with five deliveries to spare. Opener Fakhar Zaman top-scored for Pakistan with 47 before captain Sarfraz Ahmed overcame a spirited Zimbabwean fightback and saw his side home with an unbeaten 38. Their efforts meant that Zimbabwean allrounder Solomon Mire's bellicose earlier innings earlier went in vain. Mire struck 94, the highest score by a Zimbabwean in Twenty20 internationals, but Zimbabwe's 162 for 4 was not enough to overcome the world's top-ranked T20 side. Zaman said Pakistan was always confident they could pull off a successful chase. "We have a very deep batting line-up, so we were confident we could chase it," he said. Pakistan given a rapid start by Zaman and fellow opener Haris Sohail, who took 56 from the Powerplay. Sohail holed out soon afterwards, but Zaman continued to show the sort of touch that made him vital to Pakistan's ...
David Warner to be captain again
Tainted Australian opener David Warner, who has been handed over a year ban from domestic and international cricket for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal, is all set to captain Winnipeg Hawks in the Global T20 Canada tournament.The 31-year-old was handed over the responsibility after the appointed captain Dwayne Bravo pulled out of the rest of the tournament.The left-hand batsman, who is also banned from holding any leadership position for Australian cricket, has previously led Indian Premiere League Franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad to the title victory in 2016. Moreover, he has led Australian team for three one day internationals and nine T20 internationals where he won all the encounters except for one T20I against India.Winnipeg Hawks coach Waqar Yonis has shown faith in the cricketer and said that he is good when it comes to captaincy.I'm sure he's going to be a good leader when it comes to captaincy. (Warner) is a leader. He's a team man. I've seen him in IPL and I've ...