Page 1440 - Sports
Sony announces panel members for India's England tour
Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), the official broadcaster of India's cricket tour of England that begins from July 3, on Wednesday announced its panel line-up and programming initiatives for the series.
Alkmaar striker Weghorst joins Wolfsburg
vfL Wolfsburg have completed the signing of Dutch striker Wout Weghorst from AZ Alkmaar on a four-year deal.
England, Belgium to ring changes in final Group G game (Preview)
Both England and Belgium, who have secured their positions in the FIFA World Cup pre-quarterfinals, are expected to make changes to their starting line-up when they meet for their final Group G match here on Thursday night.
Cricket has over one-billion global fans: ICC
Unveiling the largest ever market research project into the game of cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed that the sport has over one-billion fans, globally.The research further revealed that the average age of a cricket fan is 34 years with a demographic breakdown of 61 percent male and 39 percent female.Talking about the relevance of the research, ICC chief executive David Richardson stated that it would enable the ICC and its members to understand the growth potential of cricket."It is the first global market research project ever undertaken in the sport and having more than one billion fans in the surveyedage category of 16-69 alone, with an average age of 34, is undoubtedly an exciting and strong position from which we can drive the sport forward," he said."There are opportunities to grow in both our traditional markets, where the focus will be on attracting more women and girls, children and families, to the game, as well as non-traditional cricket ...
British tennis teen getting used to racist abuse
Teenage British tennis player Jay Clarke says he has come to expect a flood of racist tweets, especially when he loses. The 19-year-old -- who earned a wild card invitation to Wimbledon which will be the first time he contests a singles in a Grand Slam event -- won his first ever match on the ATP Tour on Monday beating number 58 Ryan Harrison of the United States in Eastbourne. However, it was the world number 236's loss in the qualifying tournament for Eastbourne which provoked racist tweets -- he was to gain entry to the tournament as a lucky loser. "It's sad, but I have normalised it," Clarke told BBC Radio referring to receiving racist abuse. "It's not really a surprise anymore. It's more of a surprise when I don't get it. "I got something like 15 (abusive messages) after losing that tight match (the qualifier). "It's happened a few times now so I just block them and move on with my life. They are sad people." Clarke takes on fellow Briton Cameron Norrie later on Wednesday in the
Gaurika lead by three in 8th leg of Hero WPGT
Gaurika Bishnoi fired a near-perfect round to open up a handy three-shot lead in the eighth leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour here today. Gaurika, who has played only two events so far this year, the second and the sixth legs, shot 3-under 69 with four birdies against one late bogey. The 19-year-old Gurgaon-based Gaurika had made a stunning impression in her first full year on the Pro Tour in 2017 by topping the Hero Order of Merit. She won once and finished second numerous times. Gaurika, who was second in the sixth leg of the current season, was three shots clear of Neha Tripathi and Amandeep Drall, who carded even par 72 each. Gaurika found her first birdie on the Par-5 second hole but parred the rest of the holes right up to the 12th, which she birdied again. When she parred the 13th and found back-to-back birdies on 14th and 15th, Gaurika was 4-under with three more holes to go. A bogey on Par-13 spoilt the card but she finished with pars on 17th and 18th holes. Trisha Sunil .
Loew's job safe even if Germany exit World Cup early
Joachim Loew is safe in his role as Germany coach even if the defending champions exit the World Cup early, the boss of the German FA said ahead of Wednesday's crunch clash against South Korea. Germany must win by two clear goals in Kazan on Wednesday to be sure of reaching the last 16. They lost their opening game 1-0 to Mexico and needed Toni Kroos's dramatic late free-kick to beat Sweden 2-1. Failure to qualify for the World Cup knockout rounds would significantly dent Loew's reputation after 12 years as head coach but his job is understood to be safe after he signed a contract extension until 2022 last month. The president of the German Football Association (DFB) expects there to be changes in the squad after the tournament in Russia but insists Loew, 58, will oversee the grooming of the next generation. "We decided in the DFB executive committee before the World Cup to offer a contract extension," DFB boss Reinhard Grindel told Frankfurt-based newspaper FAZ. "We believe there ...
Serena Williams seeded for Wimbledon, Murray misses out
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams has been seeded 25 for this year's women's singles by the organisers despite being ranked 183 in the world. The 36-year-old -- who was not seeded for the French Open -- has made only a tentative return to action following complications during daughter Alexis Olympia's birth last September. Williams played her first Grand Slam for over a year at the French Open last month, reaching the fourth round before a shoulder injury forced her to quit ahead of her clash with old rival Maria Sharapova. By contrast Britain's two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has not been seeded in the men's singles although he has returned to action in the past fortnight. The 31-year-old -- who spent nearly 11 months off the court due to a hip injury and then a subsequent operation -- has not yet committed himself to play at Wimbledon and is due to play compatriot Kyle Edmund at Eastbourne later Wednesday. Some had argued against Williams being seeded with world .
Cricnwin becomes fan engagement partner of Global T20 Canada League
The Global T20 Canada League has announced Cricnwin as its fan engagement partner for the inaugural edition, scheduled to start on June 28.
Escobar meme lands Kolkata police in hot water
Kolkata police has landed in hot water after posting on its Facebook page a meme of Colombia footballer Andres Escobar's infamous own goal at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the US which cost him his life days later.
NADA for targeted testing during National Inter State Athletics, to collect 50-60 samples
A team of National Anti-Doping Agency has started targeted testing of a small sample size of 50 to 60, putting an end to the confusion over dope sample collection during the 58th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships here. Till late in the evening session yesterday, none of the medal winners were called for dope sample collection but it is now learnt that all the top finishers will not be asked for dope testing as the NADA has decided to undergo targeted testing of the athletes. In fact, it is now learnt that four to five samples were collected yesterday itself. There were seven medal events yesterday. "We are collecting samples according to our TDP (Test Distribution Plan). We are targeting a sample size of just 50-60 samples," a NADA source told PTI. This meet assumes significance as it serves as the final selection trial to pick the Indian track and field team for the upcoming Asian Games. Around 750 athletes from all over the country are taking part in this ...
Indian Online Poker Championship returns with a grand Rs. 7+ Cr GTD
The Spartan Poker has announced the 2nd edition of IOPC - India Online Poker Championship. This online extravagant tournament is going to be a 10-day fiesta of a total of 55 rounds. The previous edition that ended on a grand note and the growing awareness about the online Poker playing industry have raised the benchmark and hence the flagship tournament this time offers guaranteed prize-pool of over INR 7 Crores.The showstopper of the tournament is the luxury SUV Jeep Compass which is up for grabs. The other goodies include a Bajaj Dominar 400, a Bose Sound Bar, an Apple Watch along with many lucrative cash and gift prizes. Apart from this, The Spartan Poker will be attracting Poker magnets with leaderboard prize of 30 lakhs.There are 16 featured events this time with huge cash prizes and giveaways at various stages of the game. The main event and the millionaire round will be the attraction of the gala with both the events offering 1 crore each to the respective lucky ...
Winning trumps style for Portugal at World Cup, says Cedric
Portugal defender Cedric Soares said the European champions are more concerned about results than style ahead of a last-16 clash against Uruguay at the World Cup. Portugal will return to Sochi, the site of their thrilling 3-3 group stage draw with Spain, on Saturday to face a Uruguay side featuring Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. Uruguay are the only team yet to concede at the tournament, while Portugal have relied heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo -- the Real Madrid star has scored all but one of Portugal's five goals. "The most important thing is to win and our objective is to win every game," Cedric said on Wednesday. "Every team has its own strategy and we have ours. No matter if the game is spectacular or not our number one goal for now is to beat Uruguay." Portugal looked on course for a meeting with hosts Russia before a dramatic late flurry of events in the final round of games in Group B on Monday. Cedric was harshly penalised for handball as Iran converted a late spot-kick in a ..
FIFA WC: Brazil looks to march forward as they face Serbia
Five-time world champion Brazil would be looking to head forward to round 16 of the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World cup, where they will lock horns with Serbia in the third match of Group E here at Spartak Stadium on Wednesday.The Thiago Silva-led side will be heading into the match on the back of a thrilling 2-0 win against Costa Rica that was 0-0 at the 90th minute. They have played a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their opening clash of the tournament.Currently, Brazil is sitting on top of the table with 4 points and will easily enter the knockout round if they beat Serbia in today's clash.Serbia, on the other hand, also stand an equal chance of advancing into the tournament having won the opening clash against Costa Rica 1-0.The Latin American nation had lost their last encounter 2-1 against Switzerland, but are still at the number 3 spot on the points table.In the other matches of the day, 6th-ranked Switzerland will collide with 23rd-ranked Costa Rica in their third ...
Sindhu makes positive start at Malaysia
Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu made a positive start, staving off a stiff challenge from Japan's Aya Ohori in the women's singles opening round at the USD 700,000 Malaysia Open World Tour super 750 tournament, here today. Sindhu, who had skipped the Uber Cup Finals to regain full fitness after claiming a silver at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, took some time to get into the groove before she edged out world No.14 Ohori 26-24 21-15 in the opening round match. The third-seeded Indian will face the winner of the match between Malaysia's Ying Ying Lee and Chinese Taipei's Chiang Ying Li next. However, it was curtains for Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth as he went down 12-21 7-21 to Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei in a men's singles contest. Sindhu's slender 8-6 lead vaporised when Ohori had a 12-10 and 15-13 advantage at one stage. But Sindhu managed to turn the tables, reaching 19-17. The Japanese came back to grab game points at 20-19 but the Indian saved one. However, ..
When an Indian kid nearly bumped into Iker Casillas at World Cup
Surya Varikuti is delighted at representing India in the 6th Gazprom Football for Friendship International Championship and at the same time a bit disappointed at missing out on a chance to meet Spanish World Cup-winning goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The event this year brought together about 1500 children from 211 countries to share the pitch and promote a message of tolerance, friendship, equality and peace. Surya was chosen by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to represent the country at the event. Casillas graced the forum this year and had some encouraging words for the children. "Iker Casillas had come but I couldn't get near him because there were a lot of kids and also bodyguards. If I could have met him, I would have asked him about his career, how he reached so far, the hard work required etc. Also may be get his autograph," Surya said on his return from Moscow. The trip to the World Cup host nation has been a learning experience for the 12-year-old Bengaluru boy. "It ...
One more national record for swimmer Swadesh Mondal
Bengal swimmer Swadesh Mondal made yet another national record in the 100m breast stroke clocked at 01Mondal elevated the benchmark of excellence earlier in the Boys Group II category by winning his third gold medal with a national record breaking time of 02:10.93.Reigning Overall best swimmer Champion in the Boys Group I category Srihari Nataraj created an aura of invincibility around him as he broke the National record in the 50 m backstroke with a time of 00:26.31 breaking his own record set in the morning. He thus broke the same record twice in a day.Xavier Dsouza who trains at Glenmark Aquatic Foundation representing Goa gave a tough fight to Srihari to win silver with a time of 00:27.13 while Soumyajit Saha of Bengal won the bronze with a time of 00:27.89While Harsha R of Karnataka won the silver with a time of 01:11.48, Pragun Dev of Karnataka won the bronze with a time of 01:13.29.Shoan Ganguly from Goa swam a fantastic race to win his second medal silver with a time of ...
I'm fine: Maradona on health scare
Argentina legend Diego Maradona said he was "fine" after being seen by a doctor during the team's World Cup victory over Nigeria.
Hockey Champions Trophy: India to take on Australia
After a sensational start to their campaign at the Rabobank Men's Hockey Champions Trophy with two back-to-back victories, the Indian Men's Hockey Team will take on the formidable World No.1 Australia at the BH and BC Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday.The PR Sreejesh-led side earned their first winning point against arch-rivals Pakistan with a stupendous 4-0 win, followed by a spirited 2-1 victory against Olympic Champions and World No.2 Argentina in a closely fought encounter to acquire top position in the pool table.Reflecting on the two victories India coach Harendra Singh said that change in attitude worked for the team and allowed the players to play freely."We made some key changes in how we defend and attack during our preparations for this tournament. I think one of the main elements is that our strikers are willing to take that extra risk in the circle knowing well enough that the defenders will support them if by chance they lose the ball. I think this change in attitude made
Not the 'Australian way': critics leap on goal-shy Socceroos
Australia's footballers were urged to rediscover their cutting edge and sense of direction as they headed home after a winless World Cup where they failed to score any goals from open play. National media called it a "meek exit" as the Socceroos, under caretaker coach Bert van Marwijk, lost 2-0 to Peru to finish bottom of Group C -- their third straight failure to reach the knock-out rounds. The reigning Asian champions only scored two goals in three matches, both penalties drilled in by captain Mile Jedinak, highlighting their lack of a top-class striker. Graham Arnold will now take over for his second stint as coach after Ange Postecoglou walked out in November, a turn of events which prompted Dutchman van Marwijk's hiring as an interim measure. "There are valuable lessons to be learned. At this level you need a quality number nine, someone who can take their chances. If you don't you will get punished," said The Australian's football writer Ray Gatt. "To go through the tournament ..