Page 1435 - Sports
Indian colts gear up for 4-nation football tourney
After winning four-nation tournament in Serbia, the Indian U-16 national team are getting better and more confident as they prepare to participate in another four-nation tournament in China.The other two teams that will be participating in the tournament will be DPR Korea and Thailand.India recently finished as champions in the four-nation tournament ahead of hosts Serbia, Jordan, and Tajikistan, but head coach Bibiano Fernandes believes the team are still in the process of being the best versions of themselves."We are in the process of being the best versions of ourselves keeping in mind the goal and working hard every single day. The boys have proven their mettle in Serbia and hopefully they will keep the same focus until the championship," Fernandes said about the Indian colts, who will also be participating in the AFC U-16 Championship slated to be held in Malaysia later this year.Reflecting on the exposure these tournaments provide to the team, Fernandes said that these events ...
Portugal-Uruguay more than Ronaldo v Suarez, says Alves
Portugal defender Bruno Alves said Saturday's World Cup last-16 clash with Uruguay will be more than simply a battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez. The European champions will face Uruguay in Sochi for a place in the quarter-finals after finishing as runners-up behind Spain in Group B. Uruguay won all three of their group matches, beating hosts Russia 3-0 in their last outing, and are the only team yet to concede a goal at the tournament. Real Madrid forward Ronaldo has scored four of Portugal's five goals so far, while Barcelona star Suarez netted against Saudi Arabia and Russia. "I don't think it will be a duel between Suarez and Ronaldo," Alves said on Thursday. "It's a match between the two teams, Portugal and Uruguay, and we'll do everything we can to win." Portugal survived a late scare against Iran on Monday, as Ronaldo missed a penalty and was fortunate to escape a red card for an elbow. "At this stage we still believe we have room for improvement," Alves said. "I .
India, Iran firm favourites in Kabaddi semis
Reigning world champions India and runners-up Iran will be favourites to make the final when they take on their respective semifinal opponents in the Kabaddi Masters here tomorrow. Living up to their heavyweights tag, India topped group A with easy wins over Pakistan and Kenya and they will face Korea, who finished behind toppers Iran in group B in what seems to be a one-sided affair for the world champions. Iran, on the other hand, are likely to face a stiff competition from Pakistan in the first semifinal of the evening at the Al Wasl Sports Complex. This will be a repeat of the Asian Championship semifinal for India when they had beaten Korea 45-29 to avenge their World Cup 2016 league stage loss in Ahmedabad. India have beaten Korea four times from five exchanges and the only loss was in the 2016 World Cup. To make matters worse for Korea, their top raider Lee Dong Geon is ruled out with a leg injury that he sustained during training. But India coach Srinivas Reddy is not taking ..
Germans thank Russian hospitality after World Cup exit
The German national football team on Thursday thanked Russia for their hospitality after crashing out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Didn't do anything suspicious, was battling personal problems: Nirmala
Indian quartermiler Nirmala Sheoran arrived back on the scene after a year of "battling personal problems" to qualify for the Asian Games with an impressive timing of 52.36 seconds in the women's 400m heats of the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships here today. Since last year's World Championships, Nirmala has not run a competitive race and her whereabouts and training place were not known to the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). But today, the Haryana athlete did not show any signs of rustiness of a long break as she came first by clocking 52.36 in heat number two at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium here. The Asian Games qualifying time for this event set by AFI is 52.47. "I am feeling good at my timing but I am not still 100 per cent, I just recovered from typhoid," Nirmala, who has a personal best of 51.28, told PTI after the race. Nirmala, who resurfaced in the last few months, said she was battling personal problems during this phase. "I did not do any ...
Kabaddi Masters: Formidable India favourites against South Korea (Preview)
World Champions India will aim to enter the final with a big win when they face South Korea in the second semi-final of the Kabaddi Masters at the Al Wasl Sports Club here on Friday.
On his maiden UK tour, Kuldeep Yadav feeling at home
It is still early days in his maiden tour of the UK but Kuldeep Yadav feels he has adapted well to the conditions with a four-wicket haul against Ireland in the opening T20 here. Yadav also underlined that India's easy 76-run win over Ireland yesterday was down to hosts' inability to play spin properly. The score was good so it was easier as we had a target to bowl at and defend. A spinner always tries to bowl according to the target. From an individual point of view, it was quite good because I was bowling the way I wanted to bowl and I used the variations well too, said Yadav. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored attacking half-centuries and India finished with 208-5. Ireland could only manage 132-9 in response with Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal sharing seven wickets. They batted well against pace and got a good start too. But they struggled against our spinners because they weren't using their feet too much. Also, we vary our pace and bowl slower at times, and perhaps they are not ..
Rooney set to finalise Major League Soccer move - source
Wayne Rooney will arrive in Washington on Thursday to finalise his long-awaited Major League Soccer move to D.C. United, a source with knowledge of the situation told AFP Wednesday. The former England captain and Manchester United star is expected in the US capital to tie up the details of a two-and-a-half-year contract which reports have said will be worth USD13 million. The Washington Post reported D.C. United had agreed to pay an undisclosed transfer fee to Everton for the 32-year-old. Rooney will not be eligible to play for United until the league's transfer window opens on July 10. The club is hoping that he can start training with the team sooner rather than later, possibly by the end of the week, the Post said. D.C. United are hoping Rooney will be ready to play for them by the time they open their new stadium, Audi Field, in mid-July. Rooney will be available for 20 league matches this season. Although D.C. United officials have refused to comment publicly during the transfer .
Shock Germany win 'shook South Korea upside down'
South Korean fans rejoiced Thursday and called for national service exemptions after their team went out of the World Cup in a blaze of glory, eliminating defending champions Germany with a shock 2-0 victory. In one of the great World Cup upsets, Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min both scored in injury time to condemn footballing superpower Germany to their first opening-round exit in 80 years. South Korea were pelted with toffees, a Korean insult, when they returned winless from Brazil 2014 and although they again leave early, after defeats to Mexico and Sweden, they finished above Germany on goal difference in Group F. "We didn't make it to the round of 16... but we sent the world number one packing," said a headline in Seoul's major Dong-A daily. "We are so proud of you," the newspaper said on its front page, adding the game "shook South Korea upside down". Germany went into the game knowing that a win by two clear goals would have seen them into the last 16. But instead it was ...
Malaysia Open: Nehwal bows out in pre-quarters
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal suffered a major blow as she crashed out of the ongoing Malaysia Open badminton championships after going down in straight games to second-seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan here on Thursday.The 28-year-old failed to capitalize on her opening-match win and slumped to a 15-21,13-21 defeat at the hands of Yamaguchi in a second-round clash that lasted 36 minutes.London Olympic bronze-medallist Nehwal had earlier kicked off her tournament with a comfortable 21-12, 21-16 win over Hong Kong's YIP Pui Yin in a one-sided opening round that lasted 42 minutes.In other matches of the day, Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu and star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth will aim to book their place in the quarter-finals when they play their respective last-16 matches later today.Sindhu will shuttle it out against local girl Lee Ying Ying in pre-quarterfinal match of the women's singles event, while Srikanth will lock horns with Taiwan's Wang Tzu-wei for a place in last-eight.
Sachin Tendulkar urges fans to play the sport they love
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar on Thursday shared a video on Twitter, urging fans to play the sport they love.Tendulkar also nominated Indian footballer Sandesh Jhingan, Hockey player Sardara Singh, cricketers Virat Kohli and Mithali Raj, along with badminton players Srikanth Kidambi and P. V. Sindhu to join in and motivate youth to engage in sports.Master Blaster took to Twitter to throw the challange to fans and wrote, "I'm kitting up to go play the sport I love. Share a video of you playing the sport you love. I nominate, @SandeshJhingan, @imsardarsingh8, @imVkohli, @M_Raj03, @srikidambi, @Pvsindhu1, @yesmrinmoy & @NavaniRajan. @PMOIndia #HumFitTohIndiaFit #KitUpChallenge #SportPLAYINGIndia" (sic)On a related note, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on May 22 took to Twitter and urged Indian citizens to adopt a fitter lifestyle and kick-started the #HumFitTohIndiaFit challenge."#HumFitTohIndiaFit Post pictures and videos of how you keep ...
Saina crashes out of Malaysia Open
Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal's run in the Malaysia Open ended with a straight-game loss to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles competition of the USD 700,000 world tour super 750 tournament here today. The former world no 1 Saina went down 15-21 13-21 to world no 2 Yamaguchi in 36 minutes at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, a suburb in Kuala Lumpur. This is Saina's sixth straight loss to the Japanese in seven meetings. The only time Saina had defeated Yamaguchi was in the 2014 China Open. Yamaguchi, who had struggled a bit against Saina during their last meeting at the Uber Cup Final, produced a dominating show as she led 9-2. Saina fought back to narrow the gap to 10-11 but the Japanese again jumped to an 18-11 advantage and eventually secured the opening game comfortably. In the second game, Yamaguchi again raced to an 8-2 advantage before shutting the door on the Indian.
India's Jinson Johnson snaps 42-year 800m national record
Middle-distance runner Jinson Johnson created history last evening as he shattered the oldest standing record in Indian athletics at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati.The 27-year-old from Kerala clocked 1:45.65 seconds to win the gold medal in the men's 800m event at the 58th National Inter State Championships.In doing so, he erased the 42-year-old mark of 1:45.77 seconds set by Sriram Singh at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.It had taken a hard-fought race to push Johnson to the mark with the first four athletes in the race all managing to run inside the qualification guideline of 1:47.50 seconds set by the Athletic Federation of India for the Asian Games.Taking silver behind Johnson was Haryana's Manjit Singh, who clocked 1:46.24 seconds - a mark that was faster than the old meet record of 1:46.26 seconds set by Pankaj Dimri at the 2010 edition of the Inter State Championships.Claiming bronze was Mohammad Afsal of Manipur who clocked 1:46.79 seconds while coming in a credible ...
Expect a lot of experimentation in next four T20s: Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli wants to "surprise the opposition" by experimenting with his middle order in the remaining T20s against Ireland and the subsequent three-match series against England. Kohli pushed himself down the order at six in the opening T20, which India won by 76 runs. Suresh Raina came to bat at three and M S Dhoni four after the openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma put up a 160-run stand. "We have already announced that apart from the opening combination we are going to do a lot of experiments in the middle order. We are going to be flexible in the next few T20s. We will look to throw in guys when the situation requires them to come in and try to surprise the opposition," said Kohli in the post-match presentation. "It presents the opportunity for the batsmen who couldn't get the opportunity to bat. The guys who couldn't get a chance today will get an opportunity in the next match. The guys had a great time in IPL but they need to get time in the middle here ...
Murray beaten in Eastbourne to cloud Wimbledon decision
Andy Murray slipped to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to British compatriot Kyle Edmund at Eastbourne on Wednesday to put the former world number one's participation at Wimbledon in fresh doubt. Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion, has slipped to 156 in the world after only returning to action at Queen's last week following 11 months out with a hip injury. The 31-year-old lost first up at Queen's but was buoyed by beating fellow three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the opening round at Eastbourne on Monday. Murray suffered his hip injury in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon last year and underwent surgery in January. This year's Wimbledon gets underway on Monday. "It was a bit of a tough match, mentally, playing Andy, but I had to try to view it as another match," Edmund, who has taken over from his mentor as national number one, told reporters. "I've looked up to Andy so much, and he's looked after me and really been good for me, so it's a bit of a weird feeling. "I was a bit nervous towards .
Langer hopes Australia emerge unscathed from England 'jungle'
Australia coach Justin Langer said he hoped his side would return a better team come next year's World Cup after going through the "jungle" in their tour of England. Having been whitewashed 5-0 by England in a preceding one-day international series, Australia's limited overs tour ended with a 28-run defeat by Eoin Morgan's men in a one-off Twenty20 international at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Once again Jos Buttler put Australia's bowlers to the sword, a 22-ball fifty following his match-winning century in a dramatic one-wicket win in the fifth ODI at Old Trafford. And, not for the first time this trip, spin proved Australia's Achilles heel with England leg-break bowler Adil Rashid taking three for 27 as the tourists, chasing 222 to win, were dismissed for 193. Australia, the reigning 50-over World Cup champions, arrived in England -- the 2019 tournament hosts -- without a raft of first-choice players. Former captain Steve Smith and his deputy, David Warner, were both missing after being .
Hamilton on high in Alps as British icons left with mountain to climb
Championship leader Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team will be hoping for more of the same at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. After dominating last Sunday's French Grand Prix to claim his 65th career victory, the four-time champion arrives in the Styrian Alps with a 14-point lead in this year's title chase and a sense of reinvigoration thanks to his updated engine. On another picturesque circuit with traffic access problems this weekend, where power will again be a major factor, Hamilton and his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas will start as favourites for Sunday's race, albeit reluctantly. After a disappointing performance on one of Hamilton's favourite circuits, at Montreal in Canada, their French triumph came on a day when chief rival and fellow-four-time champion Sebastian Vettel experienced another of his periodic days to forget. His opening lap collision with Bottas ruined both of their races and ensured Hamilton had a straightforward afternoon as he regained ...
Blistering Buttler sets up England T20 win over Australia
Jos Buttler hit the fastest fifty by an England batsman in a Twenty20 international to lay the platform for a 28-run win over Australia at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Australia, set 222 for victory, lost half their wickets inside nine overs to be 72 for five. Aaron Finch, their captain, kept them in the match with a fine innings of 84 while sharing a sixth-wicket stand of 86 with Ashton Agar. But the run-rate required Finch to keep going for big hits and when he holed out off Adil Rashid, Australia were 158 for six in the 16th over. Leg-spinner Rashid, the official man-of-the-match, led England's attack with three for 27 in his maximum four overs before paceman Chris Jordan struck twice in two balls to leave Australia on the brink of defeat at 174 for eight. Australia were bowled out for 193 with two balls to spare. This latest reverse meant they had still to win an international match since Justin Langer became their coach after his fellow former Test batsman Darren Lehmann resigned in .
Tiger eyes new putter in bid to end five-year win drought
Tiger Woods, bolstered by surprising power in his return from back surgery, has tested new putters while hosting the US PGA Quicken Loans National in hopes of ending a five-year win drought. The 14-time major winner plays his 11th event of the year, and only planned tuneup for next month's British Open, starting Thursday at TPC Potomac. "I'm pretty excited the way I've hit the golf ball. I've done some things I haven't done in over a decade," Woods said Wednesday. "No one has had clubhead speeds as what I've had on the tour this year with a lower back fusion. These are things that I didn't know I could do and all of a sudden I'm doing it." What the 42-year-old American hasn't done lately, however, is show the sharp putting that saw him share second at the Valspar Championship and fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. "If I have the same putting stroke I had earlier in the year with the ball-striking I've had, that would be where I want to get to," Woods said. "Just got to .
Costa Rica coach unsure about future after early exit
Costa Rica coach Oscar Ramirez admitted he was unsure about his future after his team exited the World Cup Wednesday and he faces becoming the first World Cup managerial casualty. Ramirez has been under growing pressure back home after a disappointing Costa Rica followed up their 2014 quarter-final heroics by falling at the first hurdle this time round. Their 2-2 draw with Switzerland on Wednesday was their only point gained at this World Cup. Asked if he would stay on as coach, Ramirez, who has been in charge since 2015, was non-committal and downcast. "I don't know. Tomorrow we will fly back to our country and I will see," he told reporters. "Right now I know nothing about my fate. I know I am going back to see my family." Ramirez, 53, had hit out at his online critics prior to the match, saying that if they threatened his family he "would show there's a tiger inside him". Despite their poor showing, Costa Rica narrowly lost their opening match 1-0 against Serbia and were beaten by