Page 1527 - Sports
Cricket South Africa announce new T20 league
Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced today that it will stage a Twenty20 tournament later this year featuring the country's top players and international stars. South African television company SuperSport will be partners in a deal which CSA acting chief executive Thabang Moroe said would be "the biggest in the history of South African domestic cricket". A CSA statement gave no details about the format of the tournament, which will be played in November and December. However, it seems unlikely to be as ambitious as the aborted T20 Global League, which was planned for last season but did not take place. The Global League was to be a city-based franchise tournament, with foreign owners of seven of the eight teams. But it fell through, leading to the departure of then CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat because no television deal and no major sponsors were in place. Although no details of the number of teams were revealed, it seems unlikely that there will be private ownership of the ...
Indian team aiming high in upcoming hockey champions trophy
With an eye on the upcoming Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup, the Indian Men's Hockey team continued their preparations for the Rabobank Men's Hockey Champions Trophy in Bengaluru.After the 18-member national squad was announced last week, the Indian team under chief coach Harendra Singh has upped the ante knowing well that the Rabobank Men's Hockey Champions Trophy Breda 2018, with world's top teams including Olympic Champions Argentina, defending World Champions Australia, World No.3 Belgium, hosts Netherlands and Pakistan in fray for the title, offers the right platform to test themselves ahead of the prestigious showpiece event in Field Hockey.At the camp in Bengaluru, gruelling training sessions are conducted everyday with the focal point remaining at enhancing the team's on-field communication. Retention of ball possession, front-line defence, counter control and Penalty Corner defending have been some of the other aspects the team has been working on."The team has moved on from ...
Thiem ends Cecchinato's French Open dream run
Austria's Dominic Thiem on Friday put an end to the French Open dream run of Italy's Marco Cecchinato with a 7-5, 7-6 (12-10), 6-1 victiry, earning a place in a Grand Slam final for the first time.
Roma sign Atalanta midfielder Cristante on loan
AS Roma have bolstered their midfield ahead of the next football season with signing on loan young Italian central midfielder Bryan Cristante from Serie A rival Atalanta.
12 elite women players for AICF WGM Chess
Twelve elite women players, six Indians and as many overseas players, will figure in the SBI Life-AICF Women Grandmaster Chess Championship at the Acres Club in suburban Chembur here from June 12-19. Among the leading foreign players are Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia (ELO rating 2410) and Anna Zozulia of Belgium (ELO 2314), both having full-fledged International Chess Masters (IM) titles. WGM Tokhirjonova Gulrukhbegim of Uzbekistan (ELO 2379), WGM Vo Thi Kim Phung of Vietnam (ELO 2376) and Nakhbayeva Guliskhan of Kazakhstan (ELO 2323), along with Woman International Master Tomilova Elena from Russia (ELO 2334), are the other contenders from overseas, a media release said today. The Indian challenge would be spearheaded by WIM Aakanksha Hagawane (2297), who is closely followed by WIM G.K. Monnisha (2295), WIM Vantika Agrawal (2279) and WIM Srija Seshadri (2207). Two of India's most promising youngsters, WFM Divya Deshmukh (2138), the reigning World Under-12 Champion ..
Sony Pictures announces panel for FIFA World Cup show
Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) on Friday announced a star-studded panel for Football Extraaa, the pre, mid & post-match live studio show that will be telecast in English and Hindi during the FIFA World Cup, starting from June 14.
Odisha ropes in Gopichand Foundation for badminton academy
The Odisha government on Friday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation to set up a world-class academy in the state.
World Record: NZ women score mammoth 490/4 vs Ireland, highest ever in ODIs
New Zealand women's cricket team posted the highest ever total in One-day cricket by scoring an incredible 490 for four against Ireland in the first match against Ireland in Dublin with skipper Suzie Bates leading from the front with a blistering 151-run knock. The total posted by the 'White Ferns' is the highest ever in ODIs including men's matches. In men's cricket, the highest total in ODI is 444 for three, made by England against Pakistan in August 2016 at Nottingham. With their incredible batting, New Zealand women team bettered their own 21-year old world record of 455 for five against Pakistan at Christchurch in January 1997. It's only third time that a 400-plus score has been made in women's ODIs. Australia was the first team to touch the 400-plus mark when it thrashed Danish women's team to score 412 for three in Mumbai in December 1997. In men's ODIs, a 400-plus score has been achieved 18 times by different teams. Bates blasted 151 off 94 balls, hitting 24 shots to the fence
Will support Brazil but also looking forward t Messi magic: Ganguly
A self confessed football buff, former India captain Sourav Ganguly like thousands of Kolkatans will be rooting for his favourite team Brazil but at the same time wants to be captivated by Lionel Messi's artistry. "I am looking forward to Messi magic. He's yet to win a World Cup. It's going to be a big World Cup for him," said Ganguly, who has plans to watch the finals. He further picked Brazil Argentina and Germany as the teams to watch out for in Russia 2018. "Brazil is my favourite team but I am a Messi fan," he conceded with a smile. Ganguly also extended best wishes to Arjun Tendulkar, who has been selected for the India Under-19 side which will be touring Sri Lanka next month. "Lots of wishes to him. I have never seen him play. I hope he does well," he said of the son of his long time teammate Sachin Tendulkar. Ganguly further said Virat Kohli and Co are overwhelming favourites to win the next month's full series in England. "I'm very hopeful that India will win in England. The .
Six Honda riders to compete at National Motorcycle Racing C'ship
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. is set to charge up the domestic motorsports season with six of its riders participating across various categories in the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship this weekend. Honda has already kick-started the 2018 motorsports season with IDEMITSU Honda Racing India by T Pro Ten10 competing at the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC). The team includes second timer Rajiv Sethu and rookie Anish Shetty who scored his first ever international points in Round 2 (Australia). In the 3rd round in Japan both riders finished in top 25. With three more rounds to go Honda 2Wheelers India riders are all set to enthral the spectators in the next round in Chennai. Identified for his performance in Honda One Make Race CBR 150R Novice class 2017, 17 year old Senthil Kumar from Coimbatore, is a part of the Pro Stock 165 class of Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship. Participating in the Thai Talent Cup, Senthil showcased promising talent,
Chhetri has been my idol: Udanta
Nippy Indian football team winger Kumam Udanta Singh says playing alongside "idol" Sunil Chhetri brings out the best in him. Udanta, a former AIFF Academy cadet, admitted that Chhetri, who is his club and country captain, has influenced him a lot on and off the field. "He (Chhetri) is an inspiration. I feel privileged to share the dressing room with Chhetri bhai both at the club level as well as the national team," said Udanta about his Bengaluru FC team-mate. "He has been my idol and for so many youngsters. At the end of the day we learn from our seniors and that comes best when you are playing alongside someone like him," said the Manipuri right winger. Ater staging two back-to-back wins in the ongoing Intercontinental Cup, head coach Stephen Constantine rang in as many as seven changes to the starting line-up against New Zealand to have a better understanding of his bench. Although the result did not come India's way against the Kiwis, Udanta stated the players have learnt from ...
France calls for more German ambition on the euro zone
BERLIN (Reuters) - France called on Friday for more ambition from Germany in reforming the euro zone, saying Europe faced a "now or never" moment with rising external threats from the United States and China.
Gopichand Foundation signs MOU with Odisha Govt
The Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation (PGMF) today signed an MOU with Government of Odisha with an aim to nurture and groom badminton talents in the state. The MoU was signed between the Sports and Youth Services Department and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation here at the Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera and P Gopichand. It is an honour for us to be associated with the Govt. of Odisha and we are aligned to their vision to keep producing world class talent," Gopichand said. "The trajectory of Badminton as a sport in India has hit new highs in the recent past, with top players like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu winning major honours at regular intervals. "The academy in Odisha will help in keeping the momentum up, and we hope to nurture great talent right from the grass roots to the international levels, he added. The PGMF will be driving the Badminton academy at Odisha and will be responsible for providing ...
Stephens keeps smiling through pain barrier
Sloane Stephens spent 11 months sidelined by a left foot injury and the surgery that followed, never dreaming that less than a year after her return she would be one match from a second Grand Slam title. But the 25-year-old American, who had reached only one major semi-final before her injury woes, could do just that by beating Simona Halep in Saturday's French Open final to add to her US Open crown from last year. Just six weeks after being ranked 957 in the world, Stephens claimed her maiden Grand Slam title by thrashing good friend Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 at Flushing Meadows last September. She saw off her compatriot again on Thursday in straight sets at Roland Garros to set up the clash with world number one Halep. "After not playing for 11 months, it's some great results," said Stephens, who also won the Miami Open title earlier this year. "Obviously a lot of hard work went into it, a lot of adversity, a lot of ups and downs. "A lot of emotions, like, you know, am I ever going to ..
Thiem ends Cecchinato fairytale to reach French Open final
Dominic Thiem ended Marco Cecchinato's French Open fairytale on Friday, reaching his first Grand Slam final with a 7-5, 7-6 (12/10), 6-1 victory. Seventh seed Thiem is the first Austrian to make a final at the majors since Thomas Muster was champion in Paris in 1995. Thiem will face either 10-time champion, and world number one, Rafael Nadal or Juan Martin del Potro, the fifth-seeded Argentine, in Sunday's final. World 72 Cecchinato had knocked out three seeded players to reach the semi-finals, including 12-time major winner Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. Thiem, 24, has a losing record against both Nadal (3-6) and Del Potro (0-4) but he is the only man to have defeated the Spaniard on clay in the last two years. He believes he has a particularly powerful weapon on his side -- breakfast. "I need to regenerate and have a good breakfast to keep up my good level. "Full power on Sunday." Thiem, who was playing in his third successive French Open semi-final, admitted the second set .
Women's Asia Cup: India face Pakistan with eyes on final (Preview)
Comfortably placed atop the points table, arch-rivals India and Pakistan will lock horns in a virtual semi-final clash of the women's Asia Cup at the Kinrara Academy Oval here on Saturday.
Haryana Govt's order on Athletes' earnings put on hold
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday asked the state government to put on hold the order which would require athletes to hand over a third of their earnings to the state.Taking to his Twitter handle, Khattar said, "I have asked for the relevant file of Sports Department to be shown to me & the notification dated 30th April to be put on hold till further orders.We are proud of the immense contribution by our sportspersons & I assure them of a just consideration of all issues affecting them."Earlier, the Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs department had asked its sports-persons to deposit one-third of their income earned from professional sports or commercial endorsements to the Haryana State Sports Council.It further stated that athletes who are employed in any department of the state government or any other government bodies participating in professional sports or commercial endorsements will be accorded extraordinary leave without pay.22 athletes from the state .
Disappointing start by Ajeetesh, Shiv Kapur
It was a rough opening round for Indian golfers Ajeetesh Sandhu (77) and Shiv Kapur (79) at the inaugural Shot Clock Masters at Diamond Country Club near Vienna here today. Sandhu dropped four bogeys and a double bogey against a lone birdie, while Kapur had five bogeys, two double bogeys and a couple of birdies in his opening round. The duo will need a very strong second round to stay on for weekend action. Swede Oscar Lengden leads the way at the end of round one after he signed for a six-under par round of 66 on a day in which the fastest round came in at 55 minutes under the average time across the European Tour in 2018 for 18 holes in three balls. The group of Nico Geyger, Henric Sturehed and Kristian Krogh Johannessen posted a round time of three hours and 53 minutes, compared with the 2018 season average of four hours and 48 minutes. Five groups completed their rounds in under four hours, as the average for the day came in at four hours and 13 minutes, with no penalties imposed .
Trump may eye Ali pardon, ask football players for ideas
President Donald Trump said today he may pardon the late heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, and for futures acts of clemency, he may seek recommendations from pro football players and other athletes who have protested racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. Trump said that "instead of talk," he is going to ask protesting players to suggest "people that they think were unfairly treated by the justice system." The president said football players have "seen a lot of abuse" and "a lot of unfairness" and that he wants their input on his use of this executive power. Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a meeting with in Canada with US allies that his team was "looking at literally thousands of names" of people for potential pardons because they were treated unfairly or their sentences are too long. Ali is one name on this list. Ali was born Cassius Clay, and changed his name after converting to Islam in the 1960s. He refused to serve in the Vietnam War
Jisna clinches gold, Sreesankar makes a comeback with a bronze in Asian Junior Athletics
Quartermiler Jisna Matthew clinched a gold to lead India's medal charge on the second day of the Asian Junior Athletics Championships here today. Five other Indian athletes also grabbed a bronze each today as India took their total medal tally on the second day to two gold, one silver and seven bronze. Mathew, who had gone into the competition as the pre-race favourite and defending champion, clocked 53.26 seconds in the women's 400m final race to finish well ahead of Dilshi Kumarasinghe of Sri Lanka who clocked 54.03 seconds. Jui-Hsuan Yang of Chinese Taipei took the bronze in 54.74 seconds. Mathew, a trainee at PT Usha's Athletics School, has a personal best of 52.65 secs. She has already won a senior Asian Championships bronze medal as well as a gold medal in the 4x400m relay. She was also part of the Indian women's 4x400m relay teams at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2017 World Championships in London. Meanwhile, junior national record holder long jumper M Sreeshankar did not come ...