Page 1616 - Sports
Bengaluru FC qualify for AFC Cup knockouts
Benguluru FC produced a professional performance to blank Abahani Dhaka 4-0 before outside help from Aizawal FC ensured their qualification for the Inter-Zonal semifinals of the AFC Cup. Daniel Segovia (13th min), Nishu Kumar (16th, 58th) and Sunil Chhetri (60th) struck for Bengaluru, who topped Group E with a resounding win and advanced in the competition. Bengaluru needed a win to qualify and were also relying on Aizawl FC to beat Maldives' New Radiant. Moments after Bengaluru's win, Aizawl came to their rescue by defeating New Radiant 2-1. Bengaluru finished the group on 15 points, New Radiant 12 and four points apiece for Abahani and Aizawl. The Blues were always in control of the game and led 2-0 at half time courtesy goals from Segovia and Kumar. Bengaluru had 55 percent ball possession with 11 of their 16 shots on target. Abahani only entered the striking area five times and had just one shot on target. The outcome was on expected lines but with qualification on the line, ...
Chess: Eight share lead in Kolkata Open
Eight players shot into the lead with a full score at the end of what turned out to be a stable day for most of the high ranked players in the ongoing 3rd Kolkata Open Chess Tournament here on Wednesday.
Park Ji-sung expects Brazil to reach World Cup final
Former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung said on Wednesday that he thinks Brazil will be one of the finalists at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Suwon beat Ulsan to reach ACL quarters
Suwon Samsung Bluewings advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) after they overturned a first-leg deficit against fellow South Koreans Ulsan Hyundai FC on Wednesday.
Mexico is ready to compete for World Cup, says Ramirez
Mexico has high-quality players with experience in international competition, putting the national team in a position to win the World Cup, said Jesus Ramirez, who coached the Mexican under-17 team to a world title in 2005.
Ray Wilson, member of England's 1966 World Cup winning side, dies
Ray Wilson, a member of the England team that beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, has died aged 83, former club Everton announced. An outstanding left-back, Wilson won 63 caps with 1966 a memorable year for him as he won the FA Cup with Everton at Wembley and a few weeks later the World Cup as hosts England beat West Germany 4-2 at the same stadium. Wilson had bene diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2004. "Everton Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ray Wilson," read a statement on the club website. "Unquestionably one of the finest footballers to wear the royal blue jersey, Ray passed away on Tuesday evening, aged 83." Wilson, named Ramon after pre-World War II film star Ramon Navarro and married for 61 years to Pat, who survives him, and the father of two boys, Russell and Neil, never lost his love for Everton whom he joined in 1964. "He loved it at Goodison, absolutely loved it," Pat said last year. "He still does. If they are on television, that is it.
Real Madrid have best players in the world: Messi
FC Barcelona's talismanic forward Lionel Messi rated Real Madrid as an outfit that has the best footballers and can win games like no other.
Nadal powers into Rome third round
Rafael Nadal powered his way into the third round of the ATP Italian Open on Wednesday with a straight sets win over Bosnian Damir Dzumhur. The Spaniard won through 6-1, 6-0 in an hour as he targets an eighth title at the Foro Italico and first since 2013. Nadal lost his first match on clay in over a year last week in the Madrid quarter-finals to Austrian Dominic Thiem and as a result lost his world number one ranking to Roger Federer. The 31-year-old, who claimed the 11th titles of his career at both Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, took the first set in 34 minutes coasting to victory in just one hour. The 16-time Grand Slam winner next takes on either Canadian Denis Shapovalov, 19, or Robin Haase of the Netherlands. But he will not be able to take revenge on sixth seed Thiem who lost his second round match 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to Italian Fabio Fognini.
Ramos, Fognini pull off upsets in Italian Open 2nd round
Spain's Albert Ramos and Italy's Fabio Fognini pulled off upset victories on Wednesday to advance to the third round of the Italian Open.
IPL: Punjab opt to field vs Mumbai
Kings XI Punjab skipper Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and opted to field against Mumbai Indians in a crunch Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday.
Russian inspectors likely to carry out doping tests of US athletes
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) is currently in talks with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on Russian experts' participation in the collection of doping samples from American athletes.
Blow to BCCI: Amicus Curiae's sticks to most of Lodha Reforms
In what could possibly be termed as a blow to the senior officials of the BCCI, the amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium has not tinkered with most of the recommendations from Justice RM Lodha Committee in the draft constitution of the cricket board. The only major point, where the amicus suggested a change was reverting back to the five-man selection panel from the current three-member committee. It also suggested a change in 'Test Players Only' clause to minimum 20 first-class matches. The five recommendations, which majority of BCCI office bearers found contentious were: one state-one vote, tenure of 18 years (9 plus 9), cooling off after every three years, age cap of 70 years, allocation of duties between office-bearers and paid employees (Secretary and CEO). Almost all the affiliated units had these points in common but to their dismay, the suggestions from the Amicus with regards to the draft constitution submitted to the Supreme Court on October 27, sticks to original ...
Indian wrist spinners can do well in England, says Swann
Former off-spinner Graeme Swann believes English batsmen don't pick wrist spin well and India can exploit the weakness during their much-anticipated tour of England. The India cricket team is scheduled to tour England between July and September 2018 to play five Tests, three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is). Swann said that Indian wrist spinners can do well in England. "Wrist spinners can do well in England. Yasir Shah did well for Pakistan last year. So, the English players don't tend to bowl wrist spin or pick it very well. If they're fit and they're picked and bowled, they could do very well," Swann told reporters. "The trick is that in England you've to get people on the front foot, because the wicket's slightly slow, so as soon as you're slightly short, you get murdered around the ground. Why Yasir did really well for Pakistan is that he bowled quick leg spin..didn't allow batsmen to go on the backfoot. "So, if they heed the advice of Shah, .
French veterans among the Roland Garros wild cards
Veteran French players Pauline Parmentier and Nicolas Mahut are among those who have received wild-card entries to the main draw at Roland Garros, the French Tennis Federation announced today. Mahut, a 36-year-old veteran ranked 116th in the world, was a member of France's Davis Cup winning team in November and will be able to play in the French Open for a 16th time. It will be the 14th time at Roland Garros for Parmentier, who is 32. She is 76th in the world after winning her first title in a decade in Istanbul at the end of April. But the boost in her rankings came too late to qualify her automatically for her home Grand Slam. Because of a deal with the US Tennis Federation, two Americans also received wild cards. Taylor Townsend, a 22-year-old who is ranked 72nd was given a place in the women's draw and Noah Rubin, also 22 and ranked 198th, was added on the men's side. Two Australians will be added because of a similar agreement. Five young French men also received invitations: ...
Sri Lanka cricket reaps record profits despite shocker year
Sri Lanka's cricket board today announced a profit of USD 14 million last year, far above all previous records despite one of the worst on-field performances by the islanders in years. The board said it made a net profit of 2.12 billion rupees ($14 million) in 2017 -- a staggering 33 times what it made the year before. Revenues, at six billion rupees, were roughly double 2016 figures, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. "This was a result of SLC's strategic growth plans and prudent financial management," the board said in a statement. The board did not elaborate on its dramatic turnaround. But sources attributed the sharp rise in profits to a packed 2017 calendar which featured home series against Bangladesh, India and Zimbabwe. Earnings from the broadcasting of the Indian tour were thought to be a major contributor to the coffers, but Sri Lanka Cricket would not comment. The record-breaking profits were the only good news from an otherwise woeful spell for Sri Lanka cricket, with .
Yamaha's Rossi says ready for French MotoGP
Yamaha's Italian rider Valentino Rossi said he is looking to race at the top of his game during the upcoming French MotoGP, in a statement released by the team on Wednesday.
Ireland's Kevin O'Brien enters ICC Test rankings
Kevin OBrien made the second best start in terms of rating points for batsmen from sides playing their first Test and the best by a batsman from a debutant side since the first ever Test 141 years ago, after his remarkable performance against Pakistan at Malahide in Dublin helped Ireland put up a resilient display.
'Proper big dog' coming to County, Moeen Ali on Kohli
Some assumptions in the Surrey dressing room are sure to come crashing down when "proper big dog" Virat Kohli joins the side, said England all-rounder Moeen Ali as he reflected on the Indian captain's much talked-about county stint next month. While there aren't too many big local names in the Surrey squad, there are a few international stars in the line-up, headlined by South Africa's Morne Morkel, Tom Curran, Dean Elgar and Australia's Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Finch. Moeen and his compatriot Chris Woakes are playing under Kohli for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL. "I know a few of the Surrey guys and they are not what people make them out to be a lot of the time. But if anyone in that dressing room does think they are a big dog, they will need to sit down for a little while because there is a proper big dog coming," Moeen was quoted as saying by 'The Guardian'. Moeen and Woakes also rejected the perception that the Indian captain is intimidating and aggressive. "You see him ..
India 'selfish' for refusing to play Day-Night Test
Australian batting great Mark Waugh feels India have acted "selfishly" by refusing to play a Day-Night Test during their tour Down Under later this year. "It's a little bit selfish from India's point of view because we need to revitalise Test cricket," Waugh was quoted as saying by 'Big Sports Breakfast' show on a local radio station here. "Day-night Test cricket in some countries is going to be one of those ingredients that could transform Test cricket back to where it should be. So it's really only Australia, India and England where Test cricket is alive and well. For me that's a concern," he said further. Cricket Australia had tried hard to convince the the BCCI to play a Day-Night Test at the Adelaide Oval but the powerful Indian board turned down the offer saying its team was not ready for Pink-Ball cricket yet. Waugh, who will soon step down as Australian team selector, doesn't understand why India refused to play under lights. "Their team is pretty well suited to day-night ...
Ireland's Kevin O'Brien makes impressive entry in Test rankings
Ireland batsman Kevin O'Brien's brilliant score of 158 runs during his side's debut Test match placed him at the 66th spot in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings .The 34-year-old all-rounder produced a knock of 40 in the first innings and a valiant 118 in the second to help Ireland fight back after they were asked to follow-on, eventually losing their maiden Test match by five wickets against Pakistan at Malahide in Dublin .As a result, he is now standing with a total of 440 points in the ICC Test Player Rankings released on Wednesday.Opener Charles Bannerman of Australia has the best rating of 447 points in a team's debut Test, scoring 165 not out and four in the first ever cricket Test played between Australia and England in Melbourne in March 1877.Aminul Islam of Bangladesh (432 in 2001) and David Houghton of Zimbabwe (431 in 1992) are third and fourth in the list.Fast bowler Tim Murtagh has also made a fine start, entering in 67th position among bowlers after a match haul of six ..