Page 1567 - Sports
New Russian Olympic chief pledges to 'restore trust'
The new head of the Russian Olympic Committee, former fencer Stanislav Pozdnyakov, pledged Tuesday to take "concrete steps" to "restore trust" in doping-tainted Russian sport. "Restoring trust in our sport depends on concrete steps. All events will take place under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee," Pozdnyakov said after he was elected to the position, Russian agencies reported. "We will pay the closest attention to restoring trust in our sport. The participation of our team in its entirety in the Olympic Games is among our priorities," added Pozdnyakov, who won five Olympic medals in fencing. Russia was banned from participating in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics earlier this year over what international authorities believed to be a state-sponsored cheating programme. In a statement ahead of the vote, President Vladimir Putin called for sports officials to restore Moscow's place in international sport. "It is important to ensure the restoration of our position in ..
Morgan expects quick return from finger injury
Eoin Morgan hopes to make a quick return from the fractured finger that has ruled the England one-day captain out of his appearance for the Rest of the World against the West Indies. Morgan will miss the Twenty20 fixture at Lord's after chipping the end of his right ring finger. It is believed the problem will sideline Morgan for seven to 10 days, meaning he should be fit to play in England's one-day international against Scotland at Edinburgh on June 10. The Scotland clash is followed by five ODIs against Australia next month. "It's not a huge concern, it's one that hopefully we can manage past about a week when the swelling goes down," Morgan said. "It's not fractured into the joint, which is a really good result. I'll be fine for the one-dayers. "I will hopefully be back for one more Middlesex game, potentially two. We will wait and see." Morgan's county Middlesex confirmed he suffered the injury when he was fielding during the Royal London One-Day Cup match against Somerset on ...
Yuki crashes out of French Open, Bopanna advances
Yuki Bhambri's maiden appearance at the French Open ended with a first round defeat even as Rohan Bopanna began his men's doubles campaign with an easy win along with French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin, here today. Yuki lost his opening men's singles match 4-6 4-6 1-6 to Belgium's Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets. It was second clash between Yuki, ranked 93, and the Belgian, who is placed 110 on the ranking chart. Yuki had got the better of Bemelmans at the ATP Delhi Open semifinals in 2015. With his defeat India's challenge ended in the men's singles. Prajnesh Gunneswaran had made it to the main draw as a lucky loser but he could not compete as he had confirmed his participation at a Challenger event in Italy after losing his final qualifying round and had left paris. The player has to be present at the venue to sign in and must have not committed to play in any other event to be eligible for entry into main draw. Bopanna, who won his maiden Grand Slam title here last year in ...
semi-finalists spotted in National basketball championship
Indian Air Force will take on Indian Railways and ASC will meet Customs in the semifinals of the 53rd All India Basketball Tournament for men here tomorrow. In the women's category for the 17th CRI Pumps Trophy, Eastern Railway will fight it out with Tamilnadu Juniors, while KSEB will take on Kerala Police. In the last league matches played today ASC, Bangalore walloped Indian Railways, New Delhi 71-45 while Indian Air Force narrowly pipped Punjab Police 78-74. In the women's matches, Tamilnadu Juniors beat CDBA 61-57 KSEB steamrolled Sports Hostels 81-25, South West Railway (69) eked out a one point 69-68 win over Eastern Railway and Kerala Police (58) Beat Arise Steels (51).
Warner, Bancroft to return in July
Disgraced Australian cricketers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft confirmed on Tuesday that they will return to competitive cricket in July.
Left back Min-woo hopes South Korea will carry good form into World Cup
South Korean left back Kim Min-woo on Tuesday said he hoped that the national football team can carry on its winning form at the 2018 FIFA World Cup following their 2-0 win over Honduras in a friendly match.
Toss to remain in Tests, tougher sanctions for poor behaviour and ball tampering
Toss will remain the fundamental starting point of a Test match as the Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee of the ICC today decided against abolishing the spin of coin in the game's traditional format, calling it an "integral part of the narrative". Led by the former India captain, the committee made a slew of recommendations with regards to poor player behaviour, and urged the world cricket's governing body to take tough measures and restore the "culture of respect" among competing teams and its players. It also called for greater sanctions for indulging in ball tampering. However, one of the primary points of discussion was whether to do away with the toss (visiting team getting right to choose) in order to minimise the home advantage during Test matches. "The committee discussed whether the toss should be automatically awarded to the visiting team but felt that it was an integral part of Test cricket which forms part of the narrative of the game," the ICC stated in a ...
Yuki crashes out of French Open
Yuki Bhambri's maiden appearance at the French Open ended with a first round defeat as he lost his opening men's singles match to Belgium's Ruben Bemelmans in straight sets here today. Yuki, ranked 93, fought hard before suffering a 4-6 4-6 1-6 defeat against the Belgian, who is placed 110 on the ranking chart. It was the second meeting between Yuki and Bemelmans, whom the Indian had defeated at the ATP Delhi Open in 2015. Rohan Bopanna, who won his maiden Grand Slam title here last year in the mixed doubles with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, is also beginning his men's doubles campaign with French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin. They are up against the American team of Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.
Nadal, Sharapova survive scares as Serena returns
Rafael Nadal racked up his 80th French Open win, while Maria Sharapova battled back from a final set deficit to reach the second round as Serena Williams made her eagerly-awaited Roland Garros return to Grand Slam tennis on Tuesday. Nadal, the 10-time champion, defeated Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9). World number one Nadal had been two sets up but 0-3 down in the third when rain caused the tie to be suspended late Monday. He quickly levelled at 3-3 on Tuesday, saved four break points in the eighth game before saving four set points in the breaker. The top seed eventually claimed victory on a third match point when Bolelli dumped a forehand into the net. Nadal, bidding for an 11th title in Paris and his 17th major, next faces Argentina's Guido Pella for a place in the last 32. "I really suffered today but it was a good test," said Nadal who had been in danger of dropping his first set at Roland Garros since his 2015 quarter-final loss to Novak ...
Afridi to lead World XI in Lord's fund-raiser, Morgan ruled out
Pakistan's flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi will lead the ICC World XI in an exhibition Twenty20 International against West Indies after Eoin Morgan was ruled out of the May 31 game with a fractured finger. All the proceeds from the fund-raiser at the Lord's will be used to redevelop stadia in the Caribbean, damaged due to hurricanes last year. "Shahid Afridi will captain the ICC World XI in the absence of Eoin Morgan," the International Cricket Council tweeted. Morgan suffered the injury while fielding at backward point during a Middlesex game against Somerset at Taunton on Sunday as a ball caught him on the top of the ring finger on his right hand. After the blow caused a bruise, Morgan was sent for a precautionary x-ray which revealed a crack. Former Pakistan skipper Afridi represented his country in over 500 international matches and famously broke the record for the fastest ODI century in his maiden international innings as a 16-year-old, blazing his way to a 37-ball ...
Nishu, Semboi to play for BFC till 2020; sign new contracts
Defender Nishu Kumar and striker Thongkhosiem Haokip will continue to represent BFC till 2020 end. Both the players have signed new two-year contracts here, which was announced by the club on their twitter handle. "They're Blue for another TWO! @nishukumar22 Semboi Haokip. #WeAreBFC," BFC tweeted. Though former BFC coach Albert Roca fielded them infrequently in the Indian Super League, they played key roles in helping the team reach the knockout stages of AFC Cup. Nishu has played 26 times and scored three goals, while Haokip, who is popularly called Semboi, played eleven games and scored three goals for BFC this year. Haokip had represented FC Goa and Kerala Blasters in ISL, before joining BFC. He also had played for East Bengal, after having made his professional debut for Pune FC in 2013. In a group league encounter of the AFC, Nishu's right-footer in the first minute of the stoppage time helped BFC climb on the top of the Group E table. He also scripted a timely brace in an AFC ...
Vishal Singh maintains lead in round two in Faridabad
Jaipur's Vishal Singh produced a one-under-71 to maintain his lead in round two of the PGTI Feeder Tour event being played at the Aravalli Golf Club here today. Vishal, who had shot a four-under-68 to take the honours on the opening day, continued to lead the field by two strokes for the second successive day as his total stood at five-under-139. The second position was shared by Gurugram-based Dhruv Sheoran (70) and Karnal's Maniram Sharma (71) at three-under-141. The 45-year-old Singh, a former winner on the PGTI, recovered from a poor start as he was two-over through 10 holes having made three bogeys and a birdie. Singh, who began the round with a two-shot lead, then rallied with birdies on the 11th and 12th and negated the bogey on the 14th with a fabulous eagle-two on the 17th. I once again had a much better back-nine. The eagle towards the end was the highlight of the round. It gives me the momentum going into the final round, he said. Dhruv Sheoran, the winner of the season's ..
New Delhi to host torch relay of Asian Games on July 15
A host of sports personalities from the past and present will be part of the 2018 Asian Games' torch relay to be held in the national capital on July 15. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Organising Committee of the Indonesia Asian Games (INASGOC) to conduct torch relay of the 18th Asian Games, to be held in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2. IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said he was delighted about the torch relay being organised where it all began for the Asiad in 1951. The first-ever Asian Games were held in New Delhi in 1951 with 11 nations competing in it across eight sports. Japan had topped the medal tally and was followed by hosts India.
Nadal survives mini-crisis as Serena returns
Rafael Nadal survived a mini-crisis to rack up his 80th win at Roland Garros today as the 10-time champion defeated Italian lucky loser Simone Bolelli 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9) to reach the second round. Nadal had to save four set points in the tiebreaker before wrapping a victory which preceded the widely-awaited return to Grand Slam tennis of 23-time major winner Serena Williams. World number one Nadal had been two sets up but 0-3 down in the third when rain caused the tie to be suspended late Monday. He quickly levelled at 3-3 today, saved four break points in the eighth game before saving four set points. Nadal eventually claimed the match on a third match point when Bolelli dumped a forehand into the net. The top seeded Nadal, bidding for an 11th title in Paris and his 17th major, next faces Argentina's Guido Pella for a place in the last 32. "I really suffered today but it was a good test," said Nadal who had been in danger of dropping his first set at Roland Garros since his 2015 ...
Intercontinental Cup is good preparation for Asian Cup: Sandesh Jhingan
Indian football team defender Sandesh Jhingan says playing physical teams like Kenya in the upcoming Intercontinental Cup will help when the side competes in the Asian Cup next year. Asked about India's prospect in the Intercontinental Cup, Jhingan said, "This is the first time India are playing Kenya and they are a different team, the way they play football and the way it is played in their continent is something new for us to experience. "I know they are going to be physical, but it will be a good test for us." The four-nation Intercontinental Cup is starting from June 2. Jhingan said: "In the Asian Cup, we are going to get physical teams. Bahrain is a physical team, so is UAE. So now if we play teams like Kenya we will get to know our weaknesses and on what aspects we need to work on before the Asian Cup." He added that these matches will help the team get a clear understanding of its preparation for the AFC Asian Cup. "You don't want to go and play against teams that are not ...
Cilic powers past Duckworth into French Open 2nd round
Croatian Marin Cilic, third-seeded, on Tuesday beat Australia's James Duckworth 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the second round of the French Open.
Angry Figo parts ways with Premier Futsal, calls it "complete failure"
An irate Luis Figo has parted ways with Premier Futsal, calling the five-a-side tournament a "complete failure" while slamming the organisers for "continuous breach of obligations" towards the legendary Portuguese footballer and other players involved in the project. As president of Premier Futsal, Figo has been involved with the multi-city tournament since its first edition in 2016. "I would like to announce that I am no longer the Honourary President of Premier Futsal, having ceased my relationship with Premier Futsal Management (P) Limited," legendary former Portugal skipper said in a statement. "After two years of intense collaboration, I have decided to leave the project having in mind the complete failure of their representatives and and officers to fulfill the agreement and, most important, for their continuous breach of their obligations towards me and other players involved in the project," he added. The former Real Madrid 'galactico', who was part of the famed Galcticos, ...
Muguruza beats Kuznetsova after rain delay, heads to French Open 2nd round
Spain's Garbiñe Muguruza, third seeded, prevailed on Tuesday over Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (7-0), 6-2 in the first round of the French Open, after the match was suspended for around half an hour due to rain.
Injured South Korean midfielder will be fit for World Cup: Official
Crystal Palace's South Korean midfielder Lee Chung-yong picked up a hip injury during a friendly match against Honduras but is likely to be fit for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a national football team official said on Tuesday.
I earned my place in the national squad: Spain's forward Aspas
Celta de Vigo striker Iago Aspas on Tuesday said he merited his place in the Spanish national football team's 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia through persistent hard work.