Page 1558 - Sports
Nigeria regroup in London ahead of England friendly
The Nigeria football team have arrived here ahead of their pre-World Cup friendly against England at the Wembley on Saturday, with Chelsea FC star Victor Moses joining his teammates in camp.
Nepal, Scotland among 4 teams inducted in ICC ODI rankings
The ICC today included Nepal, Netherlands, Scotland and the UAE in their ODI rankings list apart from the 12 existing countries. The ICC release states that results of all the bilateral ODIs involving these new teams will henceforth be taken into account while calculating the rating points. The Netherlands secured ODI status and a place in the 13-team ODI league by winning the ICC World Cricket League Championship last year, while Scotland, Nepal and the UAE earned ODI status by finishing as the three leading associates (along with the Dutch) in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018. Scotland have been ranked in 13th on 28 points - 10 points behind 12th ranked Ireland - while the UAE are another 10 points behind on 18 in 14th position. The Netherlands have 13 rating points. Nepal and the Netherlands will need to play four matches more in order to get into the table. "Teams earn points from each match they play against opposition with an ODI rating. Points and matches played between
SLC president unhappy with government action against board
The Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala is unhappy that the government has decided to hand over the cricket board's administration in hands of Competent Authority (CA). I am saddened by the action of an individual, which has led to cricket being run by the government like nowhere else in the world," Sumathipala said after his term ended yesterday without an election to appoint office bearers. Sports Minister Faiszer Mustapha appointed Kamal Padmasiri, a state bureaucrat as the CA claiming the minister was powerless to extend the term of the Sumathipala administration or appoint an interim committee to run cricket. The SLC election scheduled on Thursday was stayed by the Court of Appeal following an intervention by Sumathipala's challenger to presidency Nishantha Ranatunga. The court issued a stay order until June 14. Mustapha said the election would be held before 31 July. Ranatunga alleged that Sumathipala is "ineligible to head the SLC given his connection with bookies
I am innocent, will challenge suspension: Sanjita Chanu
Indian weightlifter Sanjita Chanu today said she will challenge the provisional suspension imposed on her for allegedly failing a dope test, insisting that she is innocent. "I am innocent, I have not taken any banned substance. I will challenge this with the help of the national federation," Sanjita told PTI. Sanjita, who had won a gold in the women's 53kg category in the recent Gold Coast CWG, was suspended by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) tested positive for testosterone. The sample was taken during an out-of-competition test prior to the World Championship in Anaheim (US) in November last year. She, however, got the backing of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) President Sahdev Yadav, who said he was confident of the Manipuri's innocence. "We don't understand why the dope result took so long. After the sample was taken, she competed in the World Championship in November last and then she won a gold in the Gold Coast CWG in April. We will fight it out why
Rani to lead Indian hockey eves in Spain tour
Rani will lead the 20-member Indian women's hockey team while goalkeeper Savita will serve as her deputy in their upcoming tour to Spain, beginning June 12.The Indian team will play five matches against Spain as an exposure tour ahead of the much-important Hockey Women's World Cup in London in July.Youngster Swati too has been called up as goalkeeper for the tournament.India's defence will see the return of experienced Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, who was rested for the recently-held 5th Women's Asian Champions Trophy where the team won a silver medal.Sushila will be joined by Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Suman Devi Thoudam, Deepika and drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur. In the midfield, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Neha Goyal, Navjot Kaur and Nikki Pradhan will hold fort.India's forward-line will see skipper Rani return to action after being rested for the Asian Champions Trophy.Experienced forward Vandana Katariya, who was adjudged as the Player of The Tournament in Asian Champions ...
French Open: Djokovic, Nishikori in action today
Former world number one and Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic will meet his toughest opponent in the ongoing French Open so far when he takes on 13th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the last-32 clash of the men's singles event here on Friday.Djokovis is coming off a convincing 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-4 win over Spanish tennis star Jaume Munar in the opening match of the Roland Garros.He will now face Roberto Bautista Agut for the eighth time for a place in the pre-quarterfinals of the tournament.Djokovic currently leads the Head-to-Head series against Bautista Agut 6-1, with the Spaniard last winning their semi-final clash at the Shanghai Masters in 2016.The 2016 French Open winner is bidding to reach the round-of-16 in Paris for the 12th time.In another men's singles clash, 19th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan will lock horns with France's Gilles Simon for a place in the pre-quarterfinals.Nishikori had earlier fought hard against his French opponent Benoit Paire in a five-set thriller before ...
Rani returns to women's hockey squad for Spain Tour
Rejuvenated after a break, skipper and ace striker Rani Rampal today returned to the 20-strong Indian women's hockey team announced for the tour of Spain starting June 12. The Indian team will play a five-match series against the Spanish team as part of its build-up for the World Cup in July in London, Hockey India said in a press release. The team will have goalkeeper Savita as vice-captain. Youngster Swati has been called up as the back-up goalkeeper for the tournament. Rani had been rested from theAsian Champions Trophy where India won a silver medal. India's defence will see the return of experienced Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam. She will be joined by Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Suman Devi Thoudam, Deepika and drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur. In the midfield, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Neha Goyal, Navjot Kaur and Nikki Pradhan will hold fort. India's forward-line will see skipper Rani return to action after being rested for the Asian Champions Trophy. Experienced forward Vandana .
French Open: Bopanna, Bhambri to play for pre-quarterfinal berths
Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna and his Hungarian partner Timea Babos will look to seal a pre-quarterfinal berth in the ongoing French Open when they play their last-32 clash of the mixed doubles event here on Friday.Bopanna and Babos will square off with the Australian-Chinese team of John Peers and Zhang Shuai in their last-32 clash at Roland Garros.In another mixed doubles clash, India's Divij Sharan and his Japanese partner Shuko Aoyama will face Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia for a place in pre-quarterfinals.Meanwhile, the Indian duo of Yuki Bhambri and Sharan will also aim to storm into the round-of-16 of the men's doubles event when they take on second-seeded Austria's Oliver Marach and Croatia's Mate Pavic later today.Earlier, Bhambri and Sharan bounced back from a set down to clinch a 6-3, 5-7,6-4 win over India's Purav Raja and France's Fabrice Martin and kick start their campaign at the French Open on a winning note.
West Indies too strong for World XI in charity match
Evin Lewis's quickfire fifty and economical bowling from spinner Samuel Badree saw the West Indies to an emphatic 72-run victory over the World XI in the Hurricane Relief Twenty20 Challenge at Lord's. Lewis struck 58 off 26 balls, including five sixes and as many fours in a West Indies' total of 199 for four with Marlon Samuels contributing 43 and Denesh Ramdin 44 not out. Badree then took two wickets in his first two overs for the reigning World Twenty20 champions before finishing with figures of two for four as the West Indies proved too strong for a World XI. Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera made a fine half century, his 61 coming off 37 balls but the World XI never had any chance of winning this match after slumping to eight for four. But he was the only World XI player to score more than 12. And, with Tymal Mills unable to bat, the World XI were all out nine wickets down when Mitchell McClenaghan was dismissed with the team on a total of 127. Kesrick Williams took three for 42 and ...
'I want to make my daughter proud of me,' says Serena
Serena Williams said she wants to make her daughter proud after fighting back to reach the French Open third round. The 36-year-old American came from a set and break down to defeat Australia's Ashleigh Barty 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The three-time champion and former world number one, dressed again in her all-black catsuit, is playing her first Slam since winning the 2017 Australian Open while two months pregnant. However, her stay in Paris almost proved short-lived until she summoned the same fighting spirit which helped her conquer life-threatening blood clots after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian in September. "It's just incredible," said Williams. "I am so happy to be back here. I lost the first set and thought I must try harder, I must try harder -- and then Serena came out. "I will be back tomorrow to play doubles with Venus. I don't mind playing singles and doubles -- I will fight my heart out." Williams said her daughter inspires her to keep winning as she targets ...
Baker dominates Coleman again to win 100m in Rome
Ronnie Baker sprinted to a second men's 100m triumph in less than a week, winning the Rome Diamond League meet as US rival Christian Coleman faded to fourth. A late acceleration saw the US 60m indoor champion power to a new personal and season best 9.93sec with France's Jimmy Vicaut second in 10.02 and Italy's Filippo Tortu snatching third place in 10.04 yesterday. Coleman, the world silver medallist, complained of a leg problem and pulled up towards the end. "Today was definitely a confidence booster, to have two wins in two races under my belt is great but I know I have to keep working hard," said Baker. Baker had beaten Coleman last Sunday with a wind-aided 9.78 in Eugene as the battle heats up for men's 100m supremacy in the post-Usain Bolt era. "Every race is anybody's race, it's never a definite between myself and Christian," said 24-year-old Baker. "I was third here last year so to win is super exciting, to run a personal is amazing for me. "It's really exciting that things are
Passion and pride on show at alternative World Football Cup
With drums thundering and flags swirling, fans at the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup revelled in the rare chance to see their often-disputed homelands take their place on the international stage. The tournament, being contested in London by 16 sovereign nations, partially-recognised states, minorites and peoples outside the auspices of football's official governing body FIFA, got off to a raucous start Thursday. Fans of Tibet and Abkhazia streamed to the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium in north London. It may have a majestic name, but the 3,000-capacity 1950s athletics ground on Donkey Lane, the home of seventh-tier club Enfield Town, epitomises semi-professional English football -- with a burger stand, an ice cream van and a tiny club shop selling programmes through a hatch. However, for the 300-odd fans who turned up, it was the biggest sporting stage they could hope to see their homelands on. - Hopes for recognition - ========================= "I'm not a football fan. I've hardly ever ..
No room for error for Brazil at World Cup, says Willian
Brazil midfielder Willian believes that his side cannot make any mistakes at the upcoming Football World Cup at Russia if Brazil wanted to win its record sixth title."My expectation is the best possible. I think we did a great job in the qualifiers and we have to follow in the same way in the World Cup because we are on the right track," Willian was quoted by goal.com as saying."I think we (Brazil) will get on well in the World Cup. It's hard to pinpoint favorites. There are four or five teams, including Brazil, that can reach the same level. The World Cup is a tournament that practically does not allow errors, especially in the final," he added.Recalling Brazil's 7-1 defeat against Germany in the 2014 World Cup, Willians continued, "From the last World Cup, we've learned the good and the bad sides of the tournament, which was the moment we were eliminated. This time my expectation is that we can experience only the good side."Willian added that it will be his "second experience" to ..
French Open: Halep, Sharapova moves to third round
Top seed and Romanian tennis ace Simona Halep and Russia's Maria Sharapova comfortably beat their opponents and progressed to the third round of the French Open here on Thursday.Halep, who is currently ranked No. 1 in WTA ranking, defeated Taylor Townsend, 6-3, 6-1, to progress to the next round of the Roland Garros series.Sharapova, who made a comeback to the French Open for the first time since 2015, after serving a doping ban in 2016 and refused a wildcard entry in 2017, comfortably saw off Croatia's Donna Vekic, 7-5, 6-4.Spaniard Rafael Nadal, got the better of Guido Pella of Argentina, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 to progress to the third round, thereby dominating on his favourite clay court surface.The Spanish tennis maestro, who is bidding to clinch his 11th French Open trophy, will match Margaret Court's all-time record for most singles titles at the same Grand Slam event if he lifts the title again.Nadal continued his streak of not losing a set at the Roland Garros since 2015 and has an ...
Windies outshine World XI in Hurricane relief charity match
West Indies rode on an all-round effort to thrash a star-studded World XI by 72 runs in one-off the Hurricane relief T20 match at the Lord's here on Friday.
Sanjita Chanu tests positive for doping
Two-time Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold medallist Sanjita Chanu has been tested positive for a banned anabolic agent, the International Weightlifting Federation confirmed on Thursday."IWF reports that the sample of Ms. Sanjita Chanu KHUMUKCHAM (IND) has returned an Adverse Analytical Finding for Testosterone (S1.1 Anabolic Agents). As a consequence, the Athlete is provisionally suspended in view of a potential anti-doping rule violation," the IWF wrote on its website."In any case where it is determined that the Athlete did not commit an anti-doping rule violation, the relevant decision will also be published. IWF will not make any further comments on the case until it is closed," it added.24-year-old Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu, who was also the champion of Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014, won the gold medal for the country at the Gold Coast CWG in the 53kg category in weightlifting, as she lifted 84kg in the snatch category and 108kg in the clean and jerk category.Chanu, who has been ...
Peru's Guerrero cleared to feature in World Cup
34-year-old Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero has been cleared to feature in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia after his ban for doping was lifted by the Swiss Federal Court on Thursday.The Flamengo striker had tested positive for cocaine metabolite benzoylecgonine after a World Cup Qualifier match against Argentina in October 2017, following which he received a six-month ban from the apex football governing body.That six-month ban was later protracted into a 14-month one following a successful appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), thus ending Guerrero's hopes of leading Peru into its fourth ever World Cup Finals campaign and the first since 1982.Guerrero had also received the support of Hugo Lloris, Simon Kjaer, and Mile Jedinak, the captains of Peru's Group C rivals France, Denmark, and Australia respectively, with the three penning a letter to FIFA, urging it to allow the striker to feature in Russia.According to Goal, the Peruvian FA had revealed that they would further
IPL 2009: ED imposes penalty of Rs 121 cr on BCCI, others
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has slapped a penalty of Rs 121 crore on BCCI, its former Chairman N. Srinivasan, former Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi and others for alleged violation of the FEMA during second edition of the cash-rich Twenty-20 cricket tournament in South Africa.
ED slaps 121 Cr fine on BCCI, N. Srinivasan, Lalit Modi for FEMA violations
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday levied penalties on the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) and its former chief N. Srinivasan among others over alleged violations in Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations in the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).Apart from an 82.66 Cr fine on the BCCI, and an 11.53 Cr fine on Srinivasan, penalties have also been imposed upon the former chairman of the IPL Lalit Modi (10.65 Cr), former BCCI treasurer MP Pandove (9.72 Cr) and the State Bank of Travancore (7 Cr).The penalties amount to a total of 121.66 Cr.On July 20, 2011, the ED had issued show cause notices to Modi and the BCCI under provisions of FEMA regarding the alleged transfer of a sum of Rs 243.45 crores to Cricket South Africa without prior permission of the RBI, ahead of an IPL tournament in 2009.The ED was subsequently allowed by the Bombay High Court to summon several former BCCI officials, including Manohar and then secretary N Srinivasan as
IOA says its move to run ski sport till elections approved by FIS
The Indian Olympic Association today said that its recent decision to appoint an ad hoc body to run ski and snowboard in the country has got a stamp of approval from the international parent body of the sport. The IOA said the matter was discussed in the meeting of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Council during the FIS Congress held in Costa Navarino in Greece from May 13-19. "The IOA was assigned as the governing body for the sport until the next election of the Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) was held as per the norms of the Sports Code and the IOA Constitution," the IOA said in a statement. WGFI, established in 1984, was for long perceived as the governing body for all winter sports. But over time, separate National Sports Federations have been formed for all Olympic winter sports and WGFI was reduced as the governing body for only ski and snowboard with affiliation to International Ski Federation (FIS). The last election of WGFI was held in 2014. Within months the ..