Page 1533 - Sports
Amazon scores rights deal for UK Premier League soccer
Amazon.com on Thursday won the rights to broadcast some soccer games from the popular English Premier League, according to a report from the Dow Jones Newswires made available to Efe.
'I'm only human', says Nadal ahead of 11th French Open semi-final
Rafael Nadal insisted he still "feels pressure" and is "only human", after battling back from a set down to beat Diego Schwartzman on Thursday and set up a French Open semi-final clash with Juan Martin del Potro. The 10-time champion was much-improved under the sunshine on Court Philippe Chatrier after finding life difficult the night before, clinching a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over dogged Argentinian Schwartzman on his fourth match point. It is the 11th time the 32-year-old Spaniard has reached the French Open last four, becoming only the third man in history to achieve the feat at a Grand Slam tournament, after Jimmy Connors at the US Open and Roger Federer at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. "I don't have any obligation to win, first thing. Second thing, if you don't feel the pressure, it's because you don't love the sport," said Nadal, who has never failed to win the title in Paris after reaching the semi-finals. "Pressure is good. You are able to control that. That pressure,
Mumbai Mayor's tournament: Arjun, Ritwik among joint leaders
Two Indians, Fide Masters Erigaisi Arjun and Raja Ritvik R, along with three overseas players led the points table at the end of round 6 of the 11th Mumbai Mayor's International Chess Tournament today. Sponsored by LIC, the tournament is being hosted by Mount Litera International School, Bandra Kurla Complex. The other joint leaders in the tournament were top seed GM Kravtsiv Martyn (ELO 2662) of Ukraine, GM Tran Tuan Minh (ELO 2514) of Vietnam and GM Amanotov Farrukh of Tajikistan. All five players had 4.5 points to their credit. The most notable performance of this round came from unseeded Sammed Jaykumar Sethe (ELO 2375) of Kolhapur who drew with GM Tukhaev Adam (ELO 2557). Tukhaev opted for a Spanish opening against Sethe. In the middle stages of the game, the Indian won a rook for bishop and was able to gain a slight advantage with the exchange of queens. Tukhaev put his experience to good use but was forced to draw after the 46th move due to a repetition of ...
PCA-registered cricketer suspended for doping
Abhishek Gupta, who is registered with the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), has been suspended by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for a doping violation.According to a statement by BCCI, Gupta had inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.Gupta, a wicket-keeper batsman from Punjab had provided a urine sample as part of the BCCI's anti-doping testing program during a domestic T-20 competition on January 15 this year in New Delhi.His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain terbutaline, a specified substance, which is prohibited both in and out of competition in the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) prohibited list of substances.On April 17, Gupta was charged with the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV), under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 and has been provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge.He responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV but asserting that it ..
Nadal fights back to reach French Open semis
World number one Rafael Nadal continued his quest for 11th French Open title as he cemented his place in the semi-finals at the Roland Garros after struggling past Diego Schwartzma of Argentina here on Thursday.The Spaniard tennis maestro fought back strongly from a set down to clinch a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over 11th seed Schwartzma in a thrilling quarter-final clash of the men's singles event.On Wednesday, Nadal lost his first set at Roland Garros since 2015, trailing by 4-6, 3-5 to Schwartzma before a one-hour rain delay halted play.The top-ranked bounced back when the match resumed after some time before the clash abandoned for the day following a recurrence of rain.Nadal will now cross swords with the winner of another last-eight clash between Argentina's Juan Martín del Potro and Croatia's Marin Cilic for a place in the summit showdown.
Putin says 'impossible' to fire Deputy PM Mutko over doping
Russian President Vladimir Putin says it would be "impossible" to fire Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko after he was accused of covering up doping by Russian athletes. Mutko was Russia's sports minister during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where Russia allegedly operated a widespread doping program, including switching tainted samples for clean ones at the Olympic drug-testing laboratory. Russia rejects any suggestion its government ever covered up for dopers. Mutko is now deputy prime minister with a brief to oversee construction projects. Russia rejects the allegations, and Putin implied keeping Mutko in the government was an issue of loyalty because "we know the attacks made against him in connection with the doping scandal." Mutko was banned from the Olympics for life in December after an International Olympic Committee ruled his ministry was responsible for failing to stop doping abuses.
Anand loses to Caruana in Norway Chess
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand went down fighting against Fabiano Caruana of United States in the eighth and penultimate round to slip to fifth spot in the Altibox Norway Chess tournament here. After jumping to joint lead following a crushing victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France, Anand could not repeat the magic and Caruana deserved all the credit for taking chances. The American started with his pet Petroff defense against the King pawn and Anand went for a solid system that was akin to the exchange variation in the French defense. Early in the middle game, Caruana fearlessly pushed his king side pawns and then accepted doubled pawns in the middle of the board. The position remained complicated and Anand decided to give an exchange sacrifice to liven things up. However, Caruana was again up to the task in managing complications better and his queen and rook proved superior to Anand's queen and bishop in the end. In the other games of the day, Hikaru Nakamura of ...
Jakhar claims hammer gold on opening day of Asian Junior Athletics
Indian track and field athletes clinched four medals, including a gold, as they got off their campaign at the 2018 Asian Junior Championships to a strong start here today. Ashish Jakhar was the star among the Indians on the opening day as he set a junior national record en route to winning a gold medal in the men's hammer throw event. Jakhar, a former gold medallist at the 2016 Asian Junior Championships, threw the 6kg iron ball and chain to a distance of 76.86m at the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium to shatter the previous mark of 75.04m that he himself had set at the Junior Federation Cup in April. Jakhar began strongly with a throw of 74.97m in his first attempt before managing to set a new national mark in his second effort. He was joined on the podium by compatriot Damneet Singh who also managed a personal best of 74.08m to clinch the silver medal. Singh, the 2017 World Youth silver medallist, bettered his previous best effort of 70.37m recorded at the Junior Federation Cup earlier this .
Japanese League bets on Iniesta to attract more football stars
The Japanese league is hoping to attract more international football stars and increase revenue from broadcast rights, after former Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta was signed by Vissel Kobe, said Chairman Mitsuru Murai on Thursday.
Protinex ropes in Shubman Gill for 5 years
Danone, a global food company, has roped in promising cricketer Shubman Gill as the brand ambassador for its popular protein brand Protinex, it was announced on Thursday.
Women's T20 Asia Cup: India outclass Sri Lanka by 7 wickets
India bounced back from the humiliating seven wicket loss to Bangladesh, outclassing Sri Lanka by the same margin to register their third win and almost seal their place in the final of the Women's T20 Asia Cup.
Federer hasn't thanked me for beating Nadal, jokes Soderling
Robin Soderling joked today that he's still waiting for Roger Federer to thank him for becoming the first man to beat Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros which allowed the Swiss to take the 2009 title. Soderling dumped Nadal, who was then the four-time champion, out of the French Open in a four-set last-16 stunner nine years ago. It ended the Spaniard's 31-match win streak in Paris. The Swede went on to make the final where he lost to Federer allowing the Swiss to complete the career Grand Slam. "No, he hasn't thanked me. I'm still waiting," joked 33-year-old Soderling at Roland Garros on Thursday. "When he saw I beat Rafa, I think he was a little bit happy, of course. But maybe he could have beat him in the finals. Who knows?" Soderling made the final as well the following year when Nadal gained revenge to claim a fifth French Open. The Swede, whose career ended abruptly in 2011 after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, believes that Federer would be playing at Roland Garros if the title ..
IndianOil to recruit more athletes
Outside the 10 sports it has been supporting for over three decades, PSU IndianOil has decided to expand its recruiting base by employing athletes from six more disciplines including volleyball, basketball, archery, wrestling, boxing and kabaddi. IndianOil so far has 80 top athletes on its payrolls covering cricket, chess, tennis, table tennis and badminton. Besides hiring more elite athletes, IndianOil also plans to increase the scholarship number to 250 from the current 150. "Sports is an integral part of IndianOil's core philosophy and we have been supporting sportspersons for over three decades now. Apart from the existing 10 sports that we are promoting now, we are also planning to include sports like volleyball, basketball, archery, wrestling, boxing and kabaddi in our scheme of things," said Ranjan K Mohapatra, Director (HR), IndianOil. "IndianOil is also actively looking at the prospect of promoting sports in rural areas with plans to provide coaching facilities and kits in .
Injured Ozil to miss Germany's final World Cup warm-up
Arsenal star Mesut Ozil will miss Germany's final warm-up match tomorrow with a knee injury, but the attacking midfielder's participation in the World Cup is not in danger, according to the German football federation. Ozil, 29, will sit out the friendly against Saudi Arabia in Leverkusen with light bruising to his left knee, but was able to run in training today. The midfielder, who picked up the injury in Saturday's shock 2-1 defeat to Austria, has not taken part in full training over the last four days at Germany's pre-World Cup camp in Eppan, north Italy. "It's nothing dramatic, we just don't want to take any risk and he was able to sprint in training. I assume he will be okay for the World Cup," said Germany's team director Oliver Bierhoff. Ozil, who finished the 2017/18 season with a back injury, faces a race to get his knee ready for Germany's first World Cup game against Mexico in Moscow on June 17 having also drawn South Korea and Sweden in Group F.
Germany go to World Cup atop FIFA rankings
Defending champions Germany will have the psychological advantage of going to the Russian World Cup finals sitting atop the FIFA rankings. The Germans are in good shape heading to Russia after their talismanic goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, a key player in their 2014 victory, returned to action after a long absence through injury. Neymar's on-form five-time World Cup winners Brazil are second, multi-talented Belgium are third, Cristiano Ronaldo's European champions Portugal fourth and Lionel Messi's Argentina are fifth. British bookmakers would agree with the top two as they make Germany and Brazil joint World Cup favourites at odds of five to one followed by Spain, France and Argentina. World Cup host nation Russia meanwhile slide to 70th position after a seven-game winless streak. They kick off the tournament against Saudi Arabia on June 14. Standings June 7: 1. Germany 2. Brazil 3. Belgium 4. Portugal 5. Argentina 6. Switzerland 7. France 8. Poland (+2) 9. Chile 10. Spain (-2)
Mithali becomes first Indian to score 2000 T20I runs
Star batswoman Mithali Raj today became the first Indian cricketer to amass 2000 runs in Twenty20 Internationals (T20I). The 35-year-old right-hander from Jodhpur achieved the landmark after scoring a single off Oshadi Ranasinghe en route to her knock of 23 during India's seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Women's Asia Cup T20 here. She now has 2,015 runs in 75 matches. The ICC acknowledged Mitahli's milestone and congratulated her on Twitter. "Congratulations to @M_Raj03 on reaching 2,000 T20I runs - the first player to reach the landmark for @BCCIWomen #INDvSL #WAC2018," ICC wrote on its twitter handle. BCCI also congratulated Raj on her achievement. "Congratulations to @M_Raj03. She becomes the first Indian woman to score 2000 runs in T20 Internationals. #INDvSL #ACC #WAC2018," BCCI tweeted. Mithali is the seventh woman to reach 2,000-runs, a list which is being headed by Charlotte Edwards (2,605), followed by Stafanie Taylor (2,582) and Suzie Bates (2,515). Interestingly, ...
Like home-away format, bring back local curators in Ranji Trophy: Tare
Mumbai captain Aditya Tare feels the BCCI should revert to the traditional home and away concept in Ranji Trophy even when it comes to preparing pitches as it makes the players better-prepared for the higher levels. While the home and away format was brought back last year after much criticism, the BCCI introduced the neutral curator concept in its bid to stop home teams from preparing "designer pitches". The board has decided to continue with the experiment in the upcoming season as well. Tare, however, doesn't see anything wrong in having the home advantage. "Last year, the neutral curators did a decent job. I can't complain about the pitches. But I also feel you need to take the local curators into consideration so that the true nature of the pitch is preserved," Tare told PTI today. "I would also not mind local curators preparing the pitch completely because that gives home advantage to the teams. Also it makes it a bit more challenging when you go away and play against your ...
Chennaiyin FC signs two goalkeepers
Indian Super League holders Chennaiyin FC today signed goalkeepers Sanjiban Ghosh and Nikhil Bernard on a two-year and one-year deal respectively. 26-year old Ghosh joins on a free transfer after spending the 2017-18 season with Jamshedpur FC while 28-year old Bernard moves to the two-time ISL champions following expiry of his contract at I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala FC, said a press note. The two join the experienced Karanjit Singh, who had signed a two-year contract in July 2017. "Joining the ISL champions is a huge achievement for me. I'm eagerly looking forward to joining the squad in pre-season and help the club retain the title," said Ghosh, who deputised for Subrata Paul at Jamshedpur FC last season, making one appearance in the ISL. Bernard too is relishing the challenge and said, "I am very happy to join Chennaiyin FC. They are a fantastic club with a brilliant coach and management. I am really excited for this next chapter in my career." Head coach John ...
Ighalo confident of Nigeria's entry to knockouts at FIFA World Cup
As the only forward playing in Chinese Super League to compete at Russia World Cup, Changchun Yatai's Nigerian Odion Ighalo holds confidence about his country's prospects to reach the last 16 at the biggest football event
Lyon open to Australia Test vice-captaincy
Seasoned off-spinner Nathan Lyon has expressed his willingness to step up as the vice captain of Australia's Test side and fill the leadership vacuum left by Steve Smith and David Warner.