Page 1431 - Sports
Rani to lead Indian hockey eves in World Cup
Rani will lead the 18-member Indian women's hockey team while goalkeeper Savita will serve as her deputy in the World Cup, which is slated to begin in London on July 21.Fellow Goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu has made a return to the team after being rested for the Spain Tour.India's defence will consist of Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur and youngster Reena Khokhar, who makes a comeback into the team.In the midfield, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Neha Goyal, Navjot Kaur and Nikki Pradhan will hold fort.Indian captain Rani, who returned to the team during their Spain Tour, will again be leading her team's forward-line.The ace-striker will be linking up with the experienced Vandana Katariya while Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami and Udita will also provide them support in attack.Hockey chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said that it was not easy picking up the World Cup squad and hoped that the selected players would prove to be the best combination."It was not an easy
India need draw against Netherlands to enter Champions Trophy hockey final
India would look to eke out at least a draw against hosts Netherlands in their last round robin match here tomorrow, a result that will be enough for the eight-time Olympic champions to grab a second consecutive final spot at the Champions Trophy hockey tournament. India are currently placed second in the standings with seven points from two wins, one loss and a draw. Defending and world champions Australia are atop the table with 10 points and have already secured a berth in Sunday's summit clash. As per the rules of the six-nation tournament, the top two teams from the round robin stage will play in the final. For India the equation is simple -- a draw tomorrow would surely guarantee their place in what can be termed as a repeat of 2016 Champions Trophy final in London. For Netherlands, it is a must-win match as only a victory can ensure their place in the final. In the other inconsequential match of the day, in-form Australia are considered as hands down favourites against Olympic
Striker Rani Rampal to lead India in women's hockey World Cup
Forward Rani Rampal was today named as the captain of India's 18-member squad for the women's hockey World Cup to be played in London next month. Hockey India today announced the 18-member Indian women's team for the prestigious tournament which is slated to begin on July 21. India have been placed in Pool B along side hosts and world no. 2 England, world no. 7 USA and world no. 16 Ireland. While experienced Rani will lead the team, goalkeeper Savita has been named as her deputy. The tournament will also witness the return of goalkeeper Rajani Etimarpu after having rested for the Spain Tour. India's defence will consist of Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur and youngster Reena Khokhar who makes a comeback into the team. In the midfield, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Neha Goyal, Navjot Kaur and Nikki Pradhan will hold fort. Skipper Rani returned to the team during their Spain Tour and will again be leading her team's forward-line. The ace-striker will
Inter-state Athletics C'ship: Javelin thrower Shiv Pal joins 80m club
Javelin thrower Shiv Pal Singh became the latest Indian to enter the 80m plus club, winning a gold medal at the 58th National Inter-State Athletics Championships here on Thursday.With a throw of 82.28m, the 23-year-old shattered the old meet record of 79.67m set by Jagdish Bishnoi in 2000.Singh was trailing in second place with the best effort of 78.11m before flinging the spear to a personal best mark with his final throw of the competition. He beat out former national record holder Rajender Singh who settled for silver with a throw of 80.63m.The thrower gets past the Asian Games qualification guideline, set at 81m by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).Amit Kumar, who had been leading until the final round of throws, claimed Bronze with a throw of 78.17m.Also crossing the qualification guidelines for Asian Games was steeplechaser Sudha Singh. She clocked 9.39.59 seconds to erase her own old meet record of 9:45.60 seconds set in 2013.The former national record holder finished ...
Reigning champion Pliskova knocked out at Eastbourne
Reigning champion Karolina Pliskova was surprisingly knocked out of the Eastbourne tournament after squandering a three-game lead in the final set. It seemed Pliskova was on course to reach the semi-finals of the grass-court event that acts as a warm-up for Wimbledon but surrendered her advantage against 20-year-old Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka to lose 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5). Sabalenka will now meet 2008 champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the last four. The Pole, continuing her return from a back injury, defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 7-5. Meanwhile, top seed Caroline Wozniacki, the 2009 champion and last year's beaten finalist, will face Angelique Kerber in Friday's other semi-final. World number two Wozniacki, the Australian Open champion, beat eighth seed Ashleigh Barty 6-4 6-3, while Kerber had a much tougher time before seeing off Russia's Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3). In the men's event, British number one Kyle Edmund was unable to build on his win over compatriot Andy ...
Tiger happy with new putter after level-par National start
Tiger Woods, pleased with a new mallet putter he used competitively for the first time, fired a level-par 70 in the opening round of the US PGA Quicken Loans National. But the 14-time major champion, playing his 11th event in a comeback year after spinal fusion surgery, stood seven strokes behind co-leaders Andrew Landry and J.J. Spaun after 18 holes at TPC Potomac. Woods, unhappy with his putting since sharing 32nd at the Masters, began practising last week with the new Ardmore putter and used it to replace his Scotty Cameron putter, the one that he used to win 13 major titles and in his latest return after years of back pain. "I rolled it well. I really did," Woods said. "I hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in. I hit a lot of nice putts. It was nice to feel that again and to feel them go in." Woods took a double bogey at the par-4 sixth but answered with birdies at the par-4 14th and 16th holes in a mostly routine round. "I shot about the score I should have shot," Woods said. .
Semenya back on track after challenging IAAF rules
Caster Semenya will bid to put her run-in with the IAAF over controversial new rules on testosterone behind her when she makes her Paris debut tomorrow in the seventh leg of the Diamond League. Semenya is unbeaten over the 800m since her elimination in the semi-finals of the 2015 worlds in Beijing. She has run the fastest time of the season, clocking 1min 55.92sec in Eugene, but she will have to better her own personal best by 0.19sec should she aim for the meet record of 1:54.97, held since 2008 by the Kenyan Pamela Jelimo. Semenya, double Olympic champion (2012, 2016) and twice world champion (2009, 2017), faces some tough competition in the shape of American Ajee Wilson, Burundi's Olympic silver medallist and reigning world champ Francine Nyonsaba, Ethiopian Habitam Alemu and Kenyan Margaret Wambui, bronze medallist at the Rio Games in 2016. Off the track, Semenya has turned to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in her challenge of IAAF rules on testosterone occurring in ...
England changes justified despite Belgium defeat, insists Southgate
England manager Gareth Southgate defended his decision to leave Harry Kane on the bench among eight changes after losing 1-0 to Belgium to finish runners-up in World Cup Group G. A brilliant strike by Adnan Januzaj six minutes into the second-half set up a last 16 clash with Japan for Belgium, who also made nine changes with qualification for the last 16 already assured for both sides. England appear to face a toughter task in Group H winners Colombia on Tuesday, but have avoided a loaded top half of the draw containing past winners Brazil, France, Argentina and Uruguay as well as European champions Portugal, by finishing second in the group. "If we put Harry on for 10 minutes and someone whacks him on the ankles that would be ridiculous," said Southgate when questioned why Kane, the tournament's top scorer with five goals wasn't even introduced from the bench. "Everybody knows the most important game is the knockout round." England haven't won a knockout game at a tournament since ...
No World Cup hooligans? Russia says told you so
Hooligans have been conspicuously absent from the World Cup and Russia's sense of vindication is palpable. The beating muscle-bound Russian thugs inflicted on England supporters in France during Euro 2016 was still a major talking point in the run-up to the biggest event in sport. Violence became a leitmotif of British and the broader media's coverage and a foil used by critics of President Vladimir Putin's rule. Few things insensed Moscow more than another retelling of the chairs thrown and punches landed in Marseille. Now the group stage of matches is over and little has disturbed the peace besides the all-night singing of happy fans in the streets. Some things have gone wrong. Argentina got fined after its supporters pounced on a Croatia rival and kicked him while he was down in Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. Three England fans were banned for performing an anti-Semitic song in a Volgograd pub. And several female TV reporters have been groped and sexually harassed while doing their ...
Godin, Uruguay look to stop Ronaldo as Madrid rivalry comes to World Cup
The man who has marshalled the best defence in the World Cup so far will relish the task of trying to stop his old foe Cristiano Ronaldo when Uruguay and Portugal meet in Sochi tomorrow. The Madrid derby comes to the shores of the Black Sea in the last 16 with Uruguayan captain Diego Godin, of Atletico, and his club team-mate Jose Maria Gimenez coming up against Real and Portugal's five-time Ballon d'Or winner. It will be a fascinating battle at the Fisht Stadium with Ronaldo, at 33, enjoying his best World Cup but Uruguay the only side to come through the group stage in Russia without conceding a goal. Godin is an expert at keeping clean sheets, as the leader of an Atletico defence that is the most formidable in the European club game -- they kept 34 in all competitions last season -- and of a Uruguay side that has not conceded a goal in 2018 in six games. Ronaldo, though, has already scored four times at this World Cup, including a hat-trick on his last visit here when Portugal drew
Martinez hails value of Belgium second string after win against England
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said he was delighted with his reserve line-up's win over England that sealed top spot in World Cup Group G and set up a last-16 match against Japan. Martinez made nine changes from the team that beat Tunisia 5-2 and Adnan Januzaj scored the only goal with a superb strike in the 51st minute against an England team that was also much changed and without Harry Kane. The debate before the match was about how much either side really wanted to win because finishing second arguably leads to an easier route through the knockout stage. "The victory is a consequence of a very good performance. You cannot plan the ideal scenario, you've seen big nations already eliminated," Martinez said. "We need to look at ourselves. We are a stronger group than we were before the game." Martinez said he was "delighted in the manner we won it". "Many debutants were desperate to be involved and that pleases me," he added. "We have a stronger team than we did 90 minutes ago." ...
Samurai Boo: Japan fans sheepish over World Cup fiasco
Japanese salarymen dashing to work today exchanged high fives with bleary-eyed football fans celebrating after the country reached the last 16 of the World Cup -- most blissfully unaware of a backlash against their team. Japan lost 1-0 to Poland in Russia yesterday in a match that ended in farce as the Samurai Blue ran down the clock knowing unless they picked up a pair of yellow cards or Senegal equalised against Colombia in the other Group H game, they would go through. "It was definitely a little bit fishy and it's not nice to hear a crowd booing like that but, well, we reached the knockout stage -- so 'banzai!'... I guess," advertising copywriter Ken Yazawa told AFP. "It's only the third time we've got this far," added the 44-year-old. "Hopefully we can go even further, although now we have to beat Belgium to reach the quarter-finals -- nightmare!" Jeered off the pitch, Japan's tactics in Russia were slammed on social media, with some Japanese Twitter users also putting the boot ..
Africa's 'step back' in worst World Cup since 1982
Senegal's elimination on fair play rules not only made World Cup history, it is also the first time since 1982 an African team failed to reach the tournament's second round. Thirty six years ago such a poor performance by African teams was seen as less shocking. In 2018, with the current crop of African stars such as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, matching the record from the Spanish World Cup underlines what a disastrous tournament this has been for Africa. The failure of five nations to qualify from the group stage triggered instant retrospection. Didier Drogba, who appeared at three World Cups with Ivory Coast, said African teams had taken a "big step back" in Russia. "Africa is going to be successful one day but we need to think again how we approach these big competitions," he told the BBC where he is working as a television pundit. Drogba called for better structure and planning to help African teams at future competitions and urged them to emulate European sides. In some ways it
Winning return for Aussie Smith in Canada T20
Disgraced former Australia skipper Steve Smith made a successful return to cricket on Thursday, scoring a half-century in the Global T20 Canada in his first game since the ball-tampering scandal which led to his suspension. Smith, who was sacked as Australia captain and banned from international and domestic cricket for a year following the scandal which erupted in South Africa in March, is allowed to play in the low-key Canadian event. Australian cricket's tarnished golden boy eased his way back by scoring 61 off 41 balls for the Toronto Nationals in a six-wicket victory over the Vancouver Knights at King City. Smith's knock included eight boundaries and one six before he was out stumped off the bowling of Fawad Ahmed. New Zealander Anton Devcich, with an unbeaten 92, and skipper Darren Sammy, with 22 not out, steered Toronto home, finishing on 231-4 off 19.2 overs after Vancouver hit 227-4 off 20 overs. Smith is playing in the Canada competition along with David Warner, who was also
FIFA WC: Tunisia beat Panama 2-1
Tunisia battled their way to victory over Panama with a fantastic 2-1 in their third and last Group G clash of the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup here at Mordovia Arena on Thursday (local time).This is Tunisia's second victory in World Cup since beating Mexico in 1978 in what was their debut in the competition.Tunisia's Y Meriah scored an own goal deflecting Jose Rodriguez' shot in the first half to give Panama 1-0 lead.Fakhreddine Ben Youssef equalised for Tunisia in the 51st minute of the match.Tunisia's Wahbi Khazri, who had set up the first goal, scored the second to give his side their first World Cup win in 40 years over debutants Panama.Both Panama and Tunisia have been eliminated from this year's FIFA World Cup respectively while Belgium topped Group G table with nine points and England finishing second with six points.Belgium brushed aside England 1-0 in their Group G encounter to take the top spot.Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul had made six changes to the side that .
Khazri strike ends Tunisia's 40-year World Cup match victory drought
Wahbi Khazri struck a second-half winner as Tunisia secured their first win in FIFA World Cup after 40 years by overcoming debutants Panama 2-1 in a Group G clash here on Thursday.
Belgium pip England to top Group G
Belgium topped Group G after beating England 1-0 here on Thursday in a clash between teams who had already qualified for the FIFA World Cup pre-quarterfinals.
FIFA WC: Belgium dethrone England to top Group G
Belgium brushed aside England 1-0 in their Group G encounter to take the top spot in the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup at Kaliningrad Stadium here on Thursday (local time).Both Belgium and England, who already qualified to the round of 16 prior to this game, needed a win to top the group table.Right from the beginning, Belgium played attacking football, targeting for the net to gain an early advantage.England's defence came under pressure as the defenders and midfielders repeatedly thwarted Belgium's chances of gaining an upper hand in the match.However, in the first 10 minutes, Belgium made two attempts to score a goal.In the 6th minute, Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans almost found the net but was spectacularly saved by English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.In the 10th minute, striker Michy Batshuayi, helped by a pass almost scored a goal. However, the ball was blocked by English defender Gary Cahill.Thereafter, England pulled up its socks on seeing Belgium being charged
Januzaj stunner sees Belgium beat England to top spot
A brilliant strike by Adnan Januzaj lit up an otherwise insipid clash as Belgium beat England 1-0 to secure top spot in World Cup Group G in Kaliningrad today. Januzaj's superb second-half goal sent Belgium into a last 16 clash with Japan while England will now advance to a second round meeting with Colombia on Tuesday. By finishing second in the group, England have though avoided a loaded top half of the draw containing past winners Brazil, France, Argentina and Uruguay as well as European champions Portugal. The fact second place in the group was no disaster seemed to be a big factor in both coaches' team selection with their places in the last 16 already secured. Southgate made eight changes with Belgian boss Roberto Martinez going one better as only Thibaut Courtois and Dedryck Boyata retained their places from the 5-2 thrashing of Tunisia. Star Belgian duo Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne joined England captain Harry Kane in watching from the sidelines and their ability to thrill .
Hockey Champions Trophy: Belgium hold India to 1-1 draw
World No. 3 Belgium stretched the Indian men's hockey team till the final minutes of the match to split the points with a 1-1 draw in a thrilling encounter at the Rabobank Men's Hockey Champions Trophy Breda 2018 here on Thursday.India made too many slip-ups in their defence that gave away five penalty corners (PCs) in the last quarter, eventually messing up their 1-0 lead as Loick Luypert (59') converted Belgium's 10th attempt at a PC to equalise.Harmanpreet Singh (10') was India's lone goal scorer that put Belgium on the back foot right at the start.Sitting at the bottom of the pool table, Belgium were desperate for a win and they began with that very intent, playing aggressive and attacking hockey.If not for an early save by India's ace goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh off Cedric Charlier in the opening minute, Belgium would have well been ahead by a goal.But that did not dent Belgium's pursuit as they continued to keep possession and even won the first PC of the match after the ball hit ..