Page 1523 - Sports
Lalbiakkima settles for bronze in President's Cup
Indian boxer Nutlai Lalbiakkima (49kg), who upstaged Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov in the quarterfinals, settled for a bronze medal along with two others after a semifinal loss in the President's Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan today. The 22-year-old Lalbiakkima lost to local favourite Erzhan Zhomart to bow out in the semifinal stage. "For us, the bout belonged to Lalbiakkima. He turned in another exceptional performance but unfortunately this time, he ended on the losing side," coach Jai Singh Patil, who is travelling with the team, told PTI. Also ending with bronze medals were former world youth champion Sachin Siwach (52kg) and Priyanka in the women's draw. Sachin lost to Filipino Rogen Ladon in his semifinal clash. "The competition in this tournament is world class. The draws were big and featured A teams of countries like the USA and Uzbekistan. We can be proud of our our performance so far," Patil said.
Enzo Perez covers for Argentina's injured Lanzini
River Plate midfielder Enzo Perez will replace the injured Manuel Lanzini in Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad, the country's football association said on Saturday. The 32-year-old Perez was called up by Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli after Lanzini ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during training on Friday. West Ham midfielder Lanzini, 25, had been linked with a summer transfer to Liverpool, but he now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines. His injury is a blow for Sampaoli who had counted on Lanzini for a place in his starting line-up, with Lucas Biglia and Ever Banega also carrying minor knocks. Former Valencia and Benfica midfielder Perez was part of the Argentina squad at the 2014 World Cup, starting in the final as his side lost to Germany 1-0 after extra time. Argentina's national team are due to travel to Russia from Barcelona later on Saturday ahead of the start of the World Cup on June 14. The two-time world champions have been drawn in Group D ...
Colombia blow as defender Fabra limps out of World Cup
Colombia left-back Franck Fabra limped out of the World Cup on Saturday in a significant blow to manager Jose Pekerman just 10 days before his side's first match. The Boca Juniors defender will miss the tournament after suffering a knee ligament rupture in training, the Colombian football federation said. Pekerman is due to announce the 27-year-old's replacement "in the next few hours", the federation said. Colombia are in Group H with Poland, Senegal and Japan who they face in their opening fixture on June 19.
Gaurav Bidhuri enters final of Russian boxing tourney
World Championship bronze-medallist Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg) continued a fine comeback from injury as he advanced to the semifinal of the Umakhanov Memorial boxing tournament in Kaspiysk, Russia today. Bidhuri defeated Russia's Magomed Shakhbanov to enter the final. Bidhuri had been out of action ever since his bronze medal at the Hamburg World Championship in September last year owing to a nagging back injury. However, the other Indian male boxer, Rohit Tokas (64kg), lost his quarterfinal bout to local favourite Ramazan Daudi to bow out of medal contention. Among the women, Saweety (75kg) was the lone Indian to make the final after she defeated Russian Kyubov Yusupova. However, world youth champion Shahsi Chopra (57kg), former Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Pinki Jangra (51kg) and Pavitra (60kg) lost their respective bouts to settle for bronze medals.
India should cash in on football's popularity (Column: Just Sport)
Once in four years the whole world gets excited about the World Cup. So do the Indians, taking stock of their own football.
Anu Kumar wins men's 800m at Asian Junior Athletics Championships
Middle distance runner Anu Kumar claimed a gold in the men's 800m and Arpandeep Kaur Bajwa grabbed a bronze in the women's discus throw as India added three more medals to its tally on the third day of the Junior Asian Athletics Championships. With one day to go, Indian athletes have already won three gold medals, one silver and nine bronze medals at the event. India won their third gold of the competition through Uttarakhand based runner Anu, who clocked 1:54.11 seconds to finish ahead of Iran's Abdolrahim Dorzadeh (1:54.23 seconds). The third step on the podium was claimed by Japan's Fuki Torii who clocked a time of 1:54.55 seconds. Anu, one of the brightest prospects in middle distance running in India, had won a silver medal in the 800m at the World School Games in France and had clocked 1:50.60 to take gold at the Junior Federation Cup in April this year. While Kumar won gold much as he was expected to, there was a sense of relief for sprinter Gurvinder Singh who managed to ...
Ahamed leads TVS Racing to 1-2 finish
K Y Ahamed rode a brilliant race to lead a TVS Racing 1-2 finish in the premier Super Sport Indian 165cc class in the Rolon Round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway here today. Finishing behind Ahamed, who started from fourth on the grid, was team-mate and reigning National champion Jagan Kumar, and pole-sitter Mathana Kumar of Honda Ten10 Racing in a race that was delayed by rain. Ahamed had a strong start as he slipped past Sarath Kumar (Honda Ten10 Racing) to third position. Stepping up the pace, he soon caught up with Jagan and Mathana and overtook them by the end of the second lap. Once in the front, Ahamed did not look back despite his visor getting fogged and at times missing the braking points. The race was re-started when Prabhu Arunagiri's bike engine blew in the very first lap on the start-finish straight leading to a red flag and a 'quick start'. Earlier, local lad Antony Peter (Vortex Racing), a ...
TVS racers top Rolon Round of Nationals
K.Y. Ahamed rode brilliantly to lead TVS Racing to a 1-2 finish in the premier Super Sport Indian 165cc class in the Rolon Round of the MRF national motorcycle racing championship at the Kari Motor Speedway here on Saturday.
Ronaldo-led Portugal fly to Russia for World Cup
Portugal's football squad, led by Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, flew on Saturday from Lisbon Airport to Russia ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
9,000 fans attend Russia's open training session
Some 9,000 fans attended an open training session of the Russian football team at the CSKA stadium on Saturday, five days ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on June 14.
Argentina name midfielder Enzo Perez as Lanzini's replacement
Argentina on Saturday named midfielder Enzo Perez as their replacement for injured Manuel Lanzini in their squad for the FIFA World Cup, starting next week in Russia.
Athlete Anu wins gold at Asian junior meet
India's Anu Kumar won gold in the men's 800 metre event at the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships here on Saturday.
Agarwal, Shruti clinch double crown in U14 tennis tourney
Pune boy Daksh Agarwal and Delhi girl Shruti Ahlawat lifted the boys and girls singles titles here today to complete a coveted double crown each in the MSLTA- KPIT Arun Wakankar Memorial Asian Under 14 tennis championship here. In the boys final, fifth seed Agarwal easily overcame under 12 national champion and city mate Manas Dhamne, partnering whom he won the doubles title yesterday, 6-4 6-2 in ten minutes under two hours at the Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex in Balewadi. In the girls final, third seed Shruti downed fourth seed Veda Raju Prapurna of Hyderabad 6-0 6-3 in 75 minutes. Shruti and Veda had won the girls doubles crown yesterday. Agarwal and Shruti logged 300 Asian Tennis Federation points while the beaten finalists earned 200 points each.
High jumper Tejaswin wins American Inter-University title
National record holder high jumper Tejaswin Shankar, who has decided to skip the upcoming Asian Games citing a strained neck, today won gold in the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Track and Field Championships here. The 19-year-old Delhi athlete Tejaswin, who holds the national record of 2.28m, cleared 2.24m to win the American Inter-University (NCAA) title. He became only the third Indian to win the NCAA title after Mohinder Singh Gill, who won five titles from 1969 to 1971 in the triple jump, and discus thrower Vikas Gowda (in 2006), who recently quit the sport. Tejaswin, who was representing Kansas State University, was the fifth freshman to win the national championship in high jump. He is studying business administration at the University on a four-year scholarship. Tejaswin took just one attempt each in clearing 2.08m, 2.13m, 2.18m and 2.21m. There were four jumpers who cleared 2.21m and the bar was raised to 2.24m. Tejaswin was unsuccessful in his
Vikramaditya shocks Ukrainian GM Tukhaev
Mumbai's IM Vikramaditya Kulkarni stunned GM Adam Tukhaev of Ukraine in an eighth round match of the 11th Mumbai Mayor's Cup International Open Chess Tournament today. In another match in the Rs 35-lakh prize money LIC of India-sponsored tournament, former champion and IM Visakh NR of India scored an upset victory over GM Rozum Ivan of Russia. Top seed, GM Kravtsiv Martyn of Ukraine drew with GM Amonatov Farrukh of Tajikistan and the two rivals shared the lead with six points each. Playing with black, Kulkarni (ELO 2323) opted for French defense classical variation. On the 22nd move, he won an extra pawn which he had to forego when Tukhaev (ELO 2557) exchanged his knight for a bishop. After the queens were exchanged, Kulkarni attacked the base pawn which was difficult to protect and Adam sacrificed his bishop for 2 pawns. Since the Indian had one extra piece on board, Adam had no chance of survival and accepted his defeat in 42 moves, boosting Kulkarni's tally to ...
I'm on the mend - Salah tells Egypt's President
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah has told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi he is well on the road to recovery following a shoulder injury in the Champions League final. "The president was reassured on the health condition of the player 'Mohamed Salah', who affirmed that his condition is improving notably and that he is on his way to recovery, god willing," presidency spokesman Bassam Radi said today. Salah, who hit a stunning 44 goals for Liverpool last season in all competitions, was forced out of the May 26 Champions League final in tears clutching his left shoulder after being wrestled to the ground by Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos. Salah has undergone treatment in Valencia, Spain, in the hope of playing a role in Egypt's first appearance in the World Cup since 1990. He was included in the Egyptian squad announced on Monday. The Pharaohs will carry out their final training session in Egypt on Saturday night in Cairo before they travel to Russia on Sunday. On May 30, the ...
Achilles the Cat, Russia's deaf but highly gifted World Cup soothsayer
A deaf, white cat named Achilles is soon to begin his work as Russia's official soothsayer for the World Cup, following in the tentacle-prints of Paul the Octopus who became a star in 2010. Paul predicted winners for that years' World Cup by choosing one out of two boxes containing food, while Achilles will be presented with bowls marked with teams' flags. "We went for Achilles because he is beautiful, first of all, but also because -- like all white cats with blue eyes -- he is deaf, so he has a great deal of intuition, he sees with his heart," said Anna Kasatkina, a vet who oversees guard-cats at Saint Petersburg's Hermitage museum. For the World Cup, Achilles will move out of his lifelong home of the basements of the Hermitage, where he works with a team of dozens of other cats to keep the world-famous museum free of rodents. Instead he will live at the "Cat Republic" cafe nearby. "He's going to live here for the duration of the tournament to keep him 'on form', since he has more ..
Spain a front-runner in Russia, says Spanish Ambassador to India
In just five days, the 2018 FIFA World Cup will kick off in Moscow's Luzhniki stadium with a 80,000 capacity crowd. While defending champions Germany may be favourites, India's footbal crazy crowd will be cheering for almost 32 countries including other favourites such as Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil among others.
Women's hockey squad leaves for Madrid to play 5 matches vs Spain
The Indian womens hockey squad left for Madrid on Friday to play five matches against hosts Spain starting June 12 as part of their preparations for next month's World Cup in London.
FC Barcelona to start 2018-19 preseason on July 11
FC Barcelona will start their 2018-19 preseason on July 11 with those footballers who are not participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the Catalan club announced on Saturday.