Page 1461 - Sports

How Mohammadi's needless somersault cost Iran the game against Spain

Milad Mohammadi's ill-timed, attention-seeking antic was an epic failure

Boxer Gaurav storms into Chemistry Cup final

India's Gaurav Solanki stormed into the final of the Chemistry Cup boxing tournament after registering a thrilling win over Ireland's Quinn Conor here on Friday.

India thrash Pakistan in Kabaddi Masters opener

Favourites India began their campaign on a rousing note crushing arch-rivals Pakistan 36-20 in the inaugural Kabaddi Masters Championship, here this evening. At the packed Al-Wasl Sports Complex, Indian skipper Ajay Thakur's brilliance found India opening up a commendable 22-9 lead at the break and there was no looking back. Thakur scored 15 raid points and was equally strong in tackle which fetched the team 12 more points. It was a clinical performance by India in the first-half of that opening game. After a rather sedate start for the first 10 minutes, the Indian team switched gears to completely destabilise Pakistan, taking a 13-point lead at the half-time. Giving full credit to Thakur for his incisive raids, India coach Srinivas Reddy said: "He broke both their corners and dismantled their defence early on." Pakistan were no match to India once they built the momentum and their coach rued it on their late arrival after the team faced some Visa hurdles. "We arrived only at 7am here

Three Sweden players to miss Germany clash

Three Swedish players, who are not feeling well due to stomach ache, will not play in the team's second FIFA World Cup match against Germany, Sweden head coach Janne Andersson said on Friday.

Sanil shocks World No 22 Quadri as Falcons score big win in UTT

India's Sanil Shetty scored a scintillating victory over World No 22 Aruna Quadri to inspire Falcons TTC to a big 15-6 victory against Warriors TTC in their CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) tie at the Thyagaraj Stadium here on Friday.

Sanil shocks World No. 22 Quadri as Falcons flay Warriors in UTT

India's Sanil Shetty scored a scintillating victory over World No. 22 Aruna Quadri to inspire Falcons TTC to a 15-6 victory over Warriors TTC in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) here tonight. Sanil then paired up with Bernadette Szocs to engineer another crucial victory 3-0 (11-4, 11-7, 11-9) over the formidable duo of A Sharath Kamal and Sofia Polcanova. His double wins helped Falcons TTC jump into a comfortable 8-1 lead after the first three matches. Captain Liam Pitchford too played his part, winning both his singles 2-1 each. Matilda Ekholm and Bernadette also won to extend their domination over Warriors. In the last match, Hana Matelova won 2-1 against Sutirtha Mukherjee for Warriors' only success of the evening. The 23-year-old Shetty, ranked 88 places below Aruna Quadri, staged a brilliant fightback in the third game to seal a well-deserved win. With the clash tied 1-1 after the first two games and down 7-10, he attacked fearlessly to take three straight points. He won the .

Halle Open: Federer's winning run continues, reaches semi-final

Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer handed over a crushing defeat to his Australian Opponent Matthew Abden here on Friday.In a hard-fought battle, the 36-year-old defeated his Australian rival in straight sets 7-6, 7-5 to enter the semi-final of the Halle Open.After a firm beginning, defending champion stumbled a little in the first set which went on till tie-breaker. But soon he gained the momentum and succeeded in booking a semi-final berth for himself.With this win, Federer extended his winning streak on the grass-court to 19 matches.Federer, who recently won his 98th title by defeating his Canadian opponent Milos Raonic in straight sets in the finals of Stuttgart Open, is spending his second consecutive week on the grass court in the build-up to the third major of the season, that is, Wimbledon.The nine-time Halle Open champion, who recently climbed up to the top ranking for the sixth time in his career, will have to defend the Halle title if he wants to retain the top ..

FIFA WC: Neymar, Coutinho's injury-time goals sink Costa Rica

Star striker Neymar and midfielder Philippe Coutinho pulled up injury-time goals as second-ranked Brazil brushed aside 23rd-ranked Costa Rica 2-0 in their second match in Group E at the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup here at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Friday.Heading into the match, five-time champions were hoping to get their campaign at the showpiece event back on track following their disappointing 1-1 draw against Switzerland in the opening match.Costa Rica, on the other hand, were too looking for their first win in the tournament as they came off in the clash on the back of a shocking 0-1 defeat against Serbia on a free-kick goal.Prior to this match, the two sides had met each other twice in the World Cups with Brazil winning both the encounters.And Brazil once again managed to repeat their heroics over Costa Rica with a convincing two injury-time goals.In most of the first half, Brazil remained in possession while an organized Costa Rica side's defense kept the ..

McCullum sheds lights on positive drug test in 2016

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has opened up about his positive drug test during his small stint with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Lions in 2016, saying that it was nothing like a "failed drug test.""I certainly don't see it as a failed drug test. It was just a case of we just need to seek clarification and apply for this. "I have no ill-feeling about [the process] and I also have no guilt or remorse about it because I needed a puff of my inhaler at that time," he further said.The 36-year-old, who has asthma since childhood, was reported to have exceeded the allowable limit for salbutamol, a drug that is used to treat asthma.The urine sample of players was taken after the match between Gujarat Lions and Delhi Daredevils at New Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, where McCullum scored 60 runs off 36 balls as Lions won the match by one run in an absolute thriller.Keeping in view the bad air quality of the national capital at that time, the cricketer took more .

Kabaddi has all ingredients to become Olympic sport: Rathore

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today said indigenous sport kabaddi has got all the ingredients to become an Olympic sport. Unveiling the first edition of Kabaddi Masters Dubai, Rathore said: Hopefully kabaddi will very soon become a global sport and we will see it emerge as a strong contender for an Olympic sport. The nine-day six-nation meet has participation from football-crazy Latin American nation Argentina who are competing at the international level only second time after the 2016 World Cup in Ahmedabad. Kenya are also making their international debut here. Kabaddi has got all the qualities to become an Olympic sport. It has got speed, agility, power and teamwork. Hopefully when kabaddi comes to Olympics we will clinch the first gold medal, the 2004 Olympic silver medallist said.

2018 team better than previous World Cup edition: Belgium's Witsel

Belgium's midfielder Axel Witsel on Friday said his team have performed much better at 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia than at the previous competition in Brazil.

Kyrgios slams 32 aces to book Cilic clash in Queen's semis

Nick Kyrgios blasted 32 aces for the second successive match as the brash Australian powered into the Queen's Club semi-finals with a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3) win over Feliciano Lopez on Friday. Kyrgios ended Lopez's reign as Queen's champion with his latest astonishing display of big-serving at the Wimbledon warm-up event. The 23-year-old had also hit 32 aces in his second round victory against Kyle Edmund, setting a personal-best for a three-set match. Kyrgios needed only two sets to reach that mark against Spanish veteran Lopez as he set up a semi-final showdown with top seed Marin Cilic. It is the sixth time in his career that Kyrgios has served over 30 aces, with his highest total coming when he blasted 37 in his famous Wimbledon upset of Rafael Nadal in 2014. The world number 21 now has a tournament-leading 82 aces in his three matches at Queen's this week. Cilic is no slouch when it comes to the power serves and the Croatian remains on course for a fourth Queen's final after ...

Tearful Neymar finds his spark just in time for Brazil

It took until virtually the last kick after 96 minutes of frustration, but Neymar and Brazil have lift-off at the World Cup. For most of a sunny afternoon in Saint Petersburg, the world's most expensive player battled against his own lack of match sharpness, an inspired Keylor Navas in the Costa Rica goal and referee Bjorn Kuipers. However, once Philippe Coutinho broke the deadlock in stoppage time, Brazil's swagger returned. The relief of sealing Brazil's first win in Russia was all too visible as Neymar broke down in tears moments after tapping home Douglas Costa's cross for a 2-0 victory. Still haunted by demons after losing 7-1 in the semi-finals at their own World Cup four years ago -- a game Neymar missed -- this threatened to turn into another World Cup nightmare for the five-time winners. Battered and bruised by Switzerland in a 1-1 draw on Sunday, Neymar's appeals for more protection did not impress Kuipers, who consistently told the Paris Saint-Germain star to get to his ...

Arab World Cup hopes now pinned on Tunisia: coach

The World Cup dreams of the entire Arab world now rest on Tunisia, coach Nabil Maaloul said Friday, after Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Egypt all failed to perform at football's showpiece. Maaloul said the run of results meant Tunisia's do-or-die Group G clash with Belgium in Moscow on Saturday had added resonance for supporters far beyond the North African nation. "There's no doubt the eyes of the Arab world are turned towards Tunisia and their hopes are pinned on our team," he said via an interpreter. "Obviously we feel more pressure, we feel a sense of responsibility -- we can't lose tomorrow, we can't disappoint tomorrow." Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Egypt have all been eliminated after losing their first two World Cup games. Tunisia lost their opening match against England 2-1 but can keep alive their slim hopes of advancing from the group with a win over Belgium on Saturday. "We have to deliver and do our best in spite of the many difficulties we'll be facing," Maaloul said. Saudi ...

Germany set to be without Hummels against Sweden

Germany are likely to be without centre-back Mats Hummels in Saturday's crunch World Cup clash against Sweden, coach Joachim Loew said. "Mats Hummels will probably not be able to play. He somehow dislodged a vertebra in his neck yesterday and has not improved," Loew said at Friday's pre-game press conference. "There is still time, but when things like that happen you don't generally improve overnight." Chelsea's Antonio Ruediger would be the likely replacement for Hummels alongside Jerome Boateng in the heart of the German defence. The defending world champions come into Saturday's game in Sochi with their hopes of reaching the last 16 hanging by a thread after losing their opening match 1-0 against Mexico. A defeat on Saturday could eliminate Loew's side, depending on the result of the day's other Group F game between Mexico and South Korea.

Simeone slams Argentina 'anarchy', takes jab at Messi

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has blasted Argentina's World Cup campaign, lambasting the "anarchy" on and off the field that has left the two-time champions facing first-round elimination. In an audio recording published by Spanish media outlets, the former Argentina international said the current squad lacked leadership on and off the field following Thursday's 3-0 rout by Croatia in Group D. And in a veiled dig at Argentina star Lionel Messi, Simeone even hinted he would pick Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo in his team if forced to choose. "What is happening right now is what has happened to the national team over the past four years, unfortunately: anarchy," Simeone said. "There is no leadership from the management or from those who are supposed to lead. I see a team that is lost." With Messi struggling for form and yet to score in Russia, Simeone indicated that he would prefer to have Ronaldo in his team. "Messi is very good, but it is clear that he is very good because ..

Pakistan recall Hafeez for Zimbabwe tour

Selectors have recalled experienced all-rounder Muhammad Hafeez to the Pakistan squad for a tour of Zimbabwe where the team plays a T20 series also involving Australia and a five-match ODI series with the hosts. The selectors apparently also turned down a request from left arm pacer Muhammad Aamir to be given a break as he was named in both the T20 and ODI squads. Hafeez, who has been cleared to bowl again in international cricket again, makes a comeback to the team after last playing in January in New Zealand. The veteran of 50 tests, 200 ODIs and 81 T20 Internationals, whose bowling action was cleared for the third time in three years in May, had lashed out at the implementation of rules on bowling action by the sports's world governing body ICC. The selectors sidelined opener Ahmed Shehzad from the T20 squad confirming reports that he has tested positive in a dope test for marijuana. Shehzad was in the squad that played two T20 internationals in Scotland earlier this month. The ...

Hopefully India will play in 2026 FIFA World Cup: Bhaichung

With FIFA expected to expand participation of Asian countries from four to eight in the football World Cup by 2026, former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia on Friday said, that India's best chance at making it to the mega event lay eight years down the line.

Brazil edge past brave Costa Rica with last gasp goals

Philippe Coutinho and Neymar Junior scored late in the second half as Brazil ensured their passage to the second round with a hard earned 2-0 win over Costa Rica in a Group E clash of the FIFA World Cup here on Friday.

Golf: Usha JTP's fourth camp concludes in Delhi

The fourth camp of the Usha Junior Training Programme (JTP) for Golf concluded at Delhi Golf Club here on Friday.