Page 1591 - Sports

Indian team bows out of Uber Cup after being blanked 0-5 by Japan

Saina Nehwal squandered four match points in her singles match as a young Indian women team bowed out of the Uber Cup Final after being hammered 0-5 by five-time champions Japan in a group A match, here today. India had won two bronze medals in the last edition but the team without top shuttlers such as P V Sindhu and Ashwini Ponnappa, was no match for the top seeds. Saina seemed extremely fit and dominated the match before a series of unforced errors in the fag end saw her blow away four match points to lose 19-21 21-9-20-22 to world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi in the opening match. Doubles pair of Sanyogita Ghorpade and Prajakta Sawant then lost 15-21 6-21 to world no 4 Ayaka Takahashi and Misaki Matsutomo. Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka had the tall task of taming world champion Nozomi Okuhara but the young shuttler lost 10-21 13-21 in just 26 minutes as Japan took the match away from India. In the fourth match, Vaishnavi Bhale and Meghana Jakkampudi went down 8-21 17-21, while Aruna Prabhudesai

Special athletes attend training camp ahead of Unified Football Cup

Six special athletes from Special Olympics Bharat and five mainstream footballers have teamed up with coaches from India Super League side Delhi Dynamos to prepare for the third Unified football training camp presently undergoing here. The 10-day camp at Amity University started from May 20-30 ahead of the Unified Cup to be held in Chicago in July. The participating athletes range from several states, including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Mizoram , Kerala, Goa and Delhi. The previous two training camps were held in Gurgaon and Goa in the months of March and April respectively. The resource team for the camp includes coaches from the Delhi Dynamos and Special Olympics Bharat, trained by the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. The training and participation of the Indian contingent is being supported exclusively by Herbalife Nutrition.

Asian Games: Dipa still not 100 percent, need to fight fear factor, says coach Nandi

Eyeing Asian Games glory nearly two years after a rare death-defying stunt in sport's biggest stage, gymnast Dipa Karmakar will still need to overcome the "fear factor" that plays out in the mind of an athlete following a career-threatening injury, feels her coach Bisweshwar Nandi. A knee injury has kept the 24-year-old out of competition since her historic fourth-place finish at the 2016 Rio Olympics, in which she landed her 'Produnova' perfectly enough to emerge among the top eight. The recovery has been slow ever since she underwent an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery in April 2017, but now she is "almost there", and the Asian Games is still some months to go. "I would say she is about 90 percent fit now. She will start taking full load from next month onwards," Nandi told PTI. The coach had pulled Dipa out of the Commonwealth Games trial as she was nowhere near full fitness. She was training back home in Agartala for the past one and a half month but the lack of foam pits .

Wolfsburg appoint Schmadtke as sporting director

VFL Wolfsburg have filled the vacant position of sporting director by signing Joerg Schmadtke, the Bundesliga club have confirmed.

Augsburg sign Berlin striker Schieber

FC Augsburg have completed their first summer transfer after signing striker Julian Schieber from Hertha Berlin on a free transfer, both Bundesliga clubs have announced.

China beat Indonesia to enter Uber Cup knockouts

Chinese women advanced to the knockout stage of the Uber Cup badminton tournament, as the top team in Group D, beating Indonesia 3-2 in their last group match here on Wednesday.

FRENCH OPEN '18: From Serena and Rafa to rain, what to know

As usual, all eyes are on Serena Williams, no matter what whether she's attending the most talked-about wedding of the year or practising at Roland Garros. That she recently engaged in those two activities on consecutive days, in different countries, highlighted what a star she is, in and out of tennis, and added to the buzz that Williams will, indeed, return to play at the French Open, which is what her coach has vowed. Main-draw action begins Sunday in what would be Williams' first Grand Slam tournament in more than a year. The owner of 23 major singles titles, a record for the 50-year Open era, Williams hasn't played on one of her sport's most prestigious stages since winning the Australian Open in January 2017, while pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter on Sept. 1, then dealt with medical complications, and while she originally had hoped to be back on tour by the Australian Open this January, that did not work out. Williams, a 36-year-old American, has played only four official

Pogba on Mecca pilgrimage ahead of World Cup

French midfielder Paul Pogba has posted a video of himself at the holiest site of Islam in Saudi Arabia, as he prepares to join his French squad for the World Cup next month. "Only the person that comes here can understand the feeling," the 25-year-old Manchester United star said in an Instagram video from the holy city of Mecca. "This a beautiful place -- beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And the feeling... I cannot even explain to you." The Frenchman posted the video of himself standing in front of the Kaaba, a black cube towards which Muslims turn for their five daily prayers. Pogba, who will be a key member of France's World Cup team in Moscow, made a similar pilgrimage last year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He told the BBC last week that he and his France team-mates must approach the World Cup finals with the right mindset, as that counts more than technical ability. The French -- World Cup winners in 1998 and finalists in 2006 -- are in Group C with Denmark, Australia

Arsenal name Unai Emery as new boss

Arsenal announced former Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery as their new boss on Wednesday, handing him the daunting task of revitalising a club that has slipped well behind their Premier League rivals. The Spaniard, who won the domestic treble with PSG this season, emerged as the shock favourite to replace Arsene Wenger earlier this week after it had appeared former Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta was in line to land the job at the Emirates. Wenger departed at the end of the season following a 22-year reign, with the club finishing sixth in the Premier League -- 37 points behind champions Manchester City -- and failing to qualify for the Champions League. Arsenal will be wary of the turmoil at Manchester United after the departure of long-serving manager Alex Ferguson in 2013 but said the choice of Emery was unanimous. "I am thrilled to be joining one of the great clubs in the game," Emery, 46, told Arsenal's website. "Arsenal is known and loved throughout the world for its style of ..

Report: Rabiot refuses to be among French World Cup reserves

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot has reportedly written to the French soccer federation and asked to be taken off the list of reserve players for the World Cup. Rabiot was left out of France's 23-man World Cup squad last week and was instead named by coach Didier Deschamps in a list of standby players who could be called up in case of injury. The biggest surprise in Deschamps' list came with the inclusion of Sevilla holding midfielder Steven Nzonzi, who was preferred to Rabiot. Deschamps is expected to address the issue later Wednesday. When unveiling his list, Deschamps justified his decision to not include Rabiot because of the 23-year-old player's mediocre performance with the national team. "Adrien's performances with France are not at the same level as those he delivered with PSG this season," Deschamps said. Rabiot has made six appearances for France. According to L'Equipe newspaper, he took the decision to write to the federation alone and was disappointed not to ...

Australian Open semifinalist Chung pulls out of French Open

Surprise Australian Open semifinalist Chung Hyeon won't have a chance to repeat his Grand Slam heroics at the French Open: the 22-year-old Korean withdrew from the year's second major today with a persistent ankle injury. Chung, who had to retire in his semifinal against eventual champion Roger Federer at Melbourne Park in January because of severe blisters, said he had been carrying the ankle injury through the clay-court season. He had earlier withdrawn from the Lyon Open and Italian Open. In a post on Twitter the 20th-ranked Chung said: "Unfortunately I had to withdraw from Lyon yesterday and now Roland Garros. I have been struggling with an ankle injury during the entire clay season. An MRI scan has revealed that I have build up of fluid in the ankle joint which might require a small procedure and then an extended period of rest." The French Open begins Sunday.

Thomas Cup: India bow out post 0-5 defeat to China

Following a thrilling 5-0 triumph over Australia on Monday, the Indian men's badminton team led by HS Prannoy made a humiliating exit from the Thomas and Uber Cup after slumping to a shocking 5-0 defeat to China last evening.In the opening men's singles match, world number nine Prannoy was stunned by two-time former world champion and Olympic gold medallist, Chen Long in straight sets 9-21, 9-21 in a clash that lasted just 27 minutes.Subsequently, Zhang Nan joined forces with Liu Cheng in the first doubles clash to double China's lead as they swept aside the Indian pair of MR Arjun and Shlok Ramchandran 21-12, 21-15.Though B. Sai Praneeth made world number three Shi Yuqi sweat for almost an hour in the second men's singles clash, he eventually failed to come out victorious as he suffered a 9-21, 21-15, 12-21 defeat to his opponent to see India go down 0-3 to China.Arun George and Sanyam Shukla then gave a tough fight to the Chinese team of Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen in the second men's .

U-18 Youth League: Lajong, East Bengal to battle for final spot

East Bengal and Shillong Lajong FC will collide in the second semi-final of the ongoing 2017-18 U-18 Youth League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong on Thursday.This clash promises to be an entertaining affair as both sides play an attacking brand of football and will be full of confidence after posting some impressive results during the group stage.With three wins on the trot, Lajong are the only team to progress with the full nine available points compared to their opponent East Bengal who won all but one game, namely, a goalless draw against FC Pune City in their final Group B game.However, many believe East Bengal went through a harder test in the group stage. The Red and Golds are battle-tested as they enter the semifinals beating strong teams like SAI Trivandrum and Minerva Punjab FC and yet to concede a goal.Skipper Manoj Mohammad has been an immovable object at the heart of the East Bengal defence but he will have his hands full in dealing with the presence of ...

Egypt's World Cup preparations boosted by final training camp

The Egyptian national team has started itsfinal preparatory camp ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup that will kick off on June 14 in Russia.

Cruzeiro beat Racing in Copa Libertadores tie

Brazil's Cruzeiro beat Argentina's Racing Club 2-1 and took top position in Group E of the 2018 Copa Libertadores football tournament.

Neymar returns to training with Brazil

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar trained freely as Brazil began their preparations for next month's FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Flower to head ECB till Strauss' compassionate leave ends

Andrew Strauss has taken a summer-long break from his role as director of England cricket with Andy Flower stepping into the role as a temporary replacement.

Clark, Coezter, Hesson included in Kumble-led ICC cricket committee

Former Australia womens captain Belinda Clark, Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer and New Zealand coach Mike Hesson were on Wednesday appointed to the ICC cricket committee headed by former India skipper Anil Kumble.

Uruguay team assemble for World Cup training

The coach of the Uruguay national football team has announced the start of their training here for next month's 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Hernandez joins Mexico training

Star striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, the all-time top scorer for the Mexican national team with 49 goals, joined up with the team for training here for the final stages of preparations for the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.