Page 1643 - Sports
Shuttler Praneeth advances at Australian Open
India's B. Sai Praneeth defeated Misha Zilberman of Israel in straight games in the opening round of the Australian Open badminton tournament here on Wednesday.
IPL 2018: Play-offs, final set for early start
The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council has decided to tweak the timings of play-offs and final match of the ongoing 11th edition of the tournament.Confirming the news, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla said that the playoffs and summit showdown will now begin at 7 pm instead of the usual time of 8 pm.It should be noted that all the matches have been starting at 8 pm since the beginning of the tournament.With the development, the games would now conclude at around 10:30 pm instead of 11:30 pm.Earlier, the Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium in Pune was scheduled to host the playoffs, but since it became the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) home ground, the IPL governing council decided the shift the matches to Kolkata's Eden Gardens.The Qualifier 1 and finals will go ahead as scheduled at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on May 22 and May 27 respectively.
Pakistan tour possible, says Cricket Ireland chief
Ahead of their Test debut against Pakistan on Friday, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom has expressed his country's willingness to tour the Asian country after revisiting the security situation with the International Cricket Council's (ICC) security team.
We can get medal in Asiad with good draw: Paddler Sathiyan
Paddler G Sathiyan, who was part of the men's team that won the gold medal in last month's Commonwealth Games, has set his eyes on the Asian Games in August with much tougher teams to compete against. The Chennai-based player feels that with a favourable draw, another podium finish is a distinct possibility. "We all are playing really well and are really high on confidence. Even though the CWG was really good for us, the Asian Games will be much tougher as teams who are ranked top in the world will be competing," Sathiyan told PTI. Asked if it all depends on the draw, the paddler said, "Absolutely, if you happen to play China in the quarterfinals, it is going to be a little hard. If we go up against Korea or Japan, then we can probably cause an upset but at the same stage China will be an uphill task. We could probably beat them in future, but not right now. "If we have a good draw, then we can surely secure a podium finish. I think we need a slight amount of luck in the
IBPA plea to confer Dronacharya award on Patel posthumously
An association of basketball players has appealed to Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to consider conferring the Dronacharya Award posthumously on basketball coach Rajesh Patel who died recently. The Integrated Basketball Players Association (IBPA), made the plea in a letter to the Minister, a copy of which was released to the media here. "We wish to make an appeal to you in conferring posthumously the Dronacharya award to one of the best coaches in Indian basketball, Rajesh Patel who passed away last Monday while on duty - travelling in train for the National junior basketball championship in Ludhiana," the IBPA said in the letter. Patel, who had retired from Bhilai Steel Plant, had helped hundreds of basketball players make a career from the game for over three decades, at the national and international level, it said. He had the unique record of helping Chhattisgarh teams winning the national titles at all levels from mini junior to seniors, ...
Shoaib Malik reiterates commitment to play until World T20 2020
Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik has reiterated that he wants to continue playing at least until ICC World T20 2020 before he bids adieu to international cricket.The 36-year-old veteran called curtains on his Test career at the end of 2015, after appearing in just three matches following a shocking return to the national side from a five-year hiatus.Malik, however, has been a regular member of the country's limited-overs side, and now he has also set his sights on both the World Cup 2019 in England and Wales and the premier T20 event in Australia the following year."The 2019 World Cup, 50-over cricket, is my last World Cup, but I want to play in the World T20 in 2020, that is my goal for Twenty20 cricket," the International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Malik as saying.Malik admitted that he would have to perform consistently if he wants to achieve the two big goals."These are the two big goals which I'm looking at, let's see how it goes. If I'm consistently performing then I want to .
Malik sets eyes on 2020 World T20
Former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik has set the 2019 World Cup as his final 50-over tournament but insisted on continuing in the shortest format till the ICC World T20 in Australia in 2020.
Praneeth, Sameer progress in Australian Open badminton
Indian shuttlers started on a positive note at the Australian Open with second seed B Sai Praneeth and fourth seed Sameer Verma progressing to the second round of the men's singles event here today. While Praneeth beat Israel's Misha Zilberman in straight games 21-17 21-14, Sameer had to toil hard to get the better of New Zealand's Abhinav Manota 13-21 21-17 21-12 in the opening round of the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 event. Sameer's brother, Sourabh Verma, however, suffered a hard-fought 19-21 21-17 21-12 defeat at the hands of Japan's Takuma Ueda. It was curtains for unseeded Ajay Jayram too despite offering a valiant fight before going down 20-22 22-20 21-17 to Japan's Riichi Takeshita in a pulsating contest that lasted for one hour and 12 minutes. Praneeth will next play Panji Ahmad Maulana of Indonesia, while Sameer will be up against Takuma, who defeated his elder brother in the opening round. Other lesser-known Indians, who fell by the wayside in men'singles first round, ...
NCR's 1st Corporate Olympics 2018 concludes amidst enthusiasm
Professionals working in corporate mostly enjoy their weekends by going out for lunches or dinners. But this week was quiet different for Gurgaon (DELHI NCR) professionals as they showcased their talent in NCR's maiden Corporate Olympics 2018at Sector 58, Golf course extension road. A first of its kind event, it was organized by Sports Management firm Sports Maidan who are going to hold such events at regular intervals in multiple cities. More than 500 participants from 10+ corporate participated, which included Vatika, Induslaw, Zenica, Om Infra, Bain, Brenntag Asia, PPDi, Altech Infra, Groomefy on a two-day event."Playing a game or a sport is one of the most collaborative activities we ever experience! Plus it's entertaining, social, often has strategy, requires communication skills, is competitive and lots more! So why think team building happens only in office spaces and HR training sessions! Sports Maidan brought this through its maiden NCR Corporate Olympics 2018 which will be ..
The wait for finale of Poker Sports League Season 2 is over
The second season of the Poker Super League is all set to witness a nerve-wracking finale in Goa from May 9 to May 13 at Deltin Royale.The second edition of the league will see 11 city-based teams from across the country competing for a whopping prize money of Rs 4.5 crore.The teams this year will consist of a total of 10 players each, comprising of one mentor/ playing captain, two pro-players, two from free live qualifiers, three from free online qualifiers and two wild-card entries.All 11 teams and owners collectively chose their players through a snake drafting process and announced their wild cards.Mentors were selected by the teams, from amongst the biggest names in the poker industry. All PSL tourneys were free of cost and began with the selection of two Professional Players, after an intricate examination of applications submitted with their highest achievements for the past three years.After that, two players were chosen from Live Qualifiers basis their performance in the live
Mark Wood ends IPL stint early for Pakistan Tests
England pacer Mark Wood has cut short his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to prepare for this month's Test series against Pakistan.The 28-year-old was released by the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side after appearing in just one match for the team and now he is all set to head Durham for the five-match series.Taking to his Instagram account, Wood wrote that he had worked really hard to get back into the Test side and, therefore, he would now play for Durham to boost his chances of selection in Playing XI, ESPNcricinfo reported."The decision has been made for me to return home to England to prepare for the English summer.Having worked so hard to get back into the test team, and because I'm not currently not in the CSK side, I am coming home to play for Durham to hopefully put my name in the hat for Test match selection," Wood said.Having brought by CSK for Rs 1.5 crores, Wood went on to make his debut against Mumbai Indians in the opening match of the IPL ..
Lyon sets sights on 2019 WC post surprise ODI recall
After getting a surprise call-up in the national squad for the ODI series against England in the United Kingdom, Australian spinner Nathan Lyon believes he has a golden opportunity to cement his spot in the side ahead of the World Cup.The 30-year-old, who did not feature for the national side in an ODI since August 2016 in Sri Lanka, was included in the 15-man squad for next month's five-match series against England in what seemed to be a preparation tour ahead of next year's World Cup.Despite being Australia's second-highest wicket-taker among spinners in Tests after Shane Warne, Lyon has featured in just 13 ODIs in comparison to 78 matches in the longest format of the game.And the off-spinner admitted the call-up was unexpected, especially when he recently had a conversation with selector Trevor Hohns on the final days of the controversial South Africa Test tour."Four weeks ago, I had a meeting with 'Cracker' (Hohns) in Jo'burg and he didn't rate my chances very highly," Lyon said ..
Ferrari will win in Barcelona: Sebastian Vettel
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has expressed confidence that Ferrari will continue to dominate in Barcelona.Ferrari are currently standing at the top spot in Formula One Constructors' Championship behind Ferrari, with many pundits claiming that the Italian team can finally clinch their first drivers' title since 2007 this year.Meanwhile, Mercedes had performed brilliantly in the pre-season tests in Barcelona, where this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix is to be held.However, Vettel played down the same, saying they will surely win the upcoming race because their pace is good."If we're in front, we will win. I'm not worried at all. The most important thing is that we have a good car to work with in qualifying. If we're in front, we can win because our race pace is good," Sport24 quoted Vettel as saying.The German driver further insisted that Ferrari cars have been comparatively better in 2018 as compared to the past few years."Especially in qualifying we were not competitive ...
Ugandan athletes ready for IAAF Shanghai Diamond League
Ugandan athletes Joel Ayeko, Stephen Kissa and Peruth Chemutai are set for the 2018 IAAF Shanghai Diamond League slated for May 12.
Italian Cup final 'like World Cup' for Gattuso's AC Milan
AC Milan manager Gennaro Gattuso compared Wednesday's Italian Cup clash with holders Juventus to "the World Cup final". Juventus -- set to be crowned Serie A champions for the seventh straight year -- are bidding for a fourth consecutive domestic league and Cup double. Milan are sixth in Serie A and have not won a major trophy since now Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri led them to the Serie A title in 2011. "This is like the World Cup final for our enthusiasm, the enthusiasm of the fans and their desire to get back to lifting a trophy again," 2006 World Cup winner Gattuso told a press conference on Tuesday on the eve of the game at Rome's Stadio Olimpico. "We're playing against a side that have dominated Italian football and been a protagonist in Europe for seven years, so they have a great mentality." Milan lost the Italian Cup final to Juventus in 2016, but beat the Turin side for the Italian Super Cup in Doha later that year. And former AC Milan midfielder Gattuso conceded he ...
Season over at Bayern for Neuer, doubts over World Cup
Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes said Wednesday Manuel Neuer will not play again for the club this season while the goalkeeper has poured serious doubt on his World Cup chances. "I do not think it's imaginable that I go into such a tournament without match practice," Neuer said at an event on Tuesday night. Neuer, 32, has been sidelined by a fractured foot since September and is running out of time to be fit in time for Germany's opening World Cup match against Mexico in Moscow on June 17. Heynckes said there was no chance Neuer would play in Bayern's last two games this season -- the final Bundesliga game at home to Stuttgart on Saturday and the German Cup final on May 19 against Eintracht Frankfurt in Berlin. "Manuel won't play against Stuttgart -- and also not in the German Cup final," Heynckes told Kicker magazine. That means Neuer can only get the necessary match practice in two games before the World Cup -- Germany's friendlies away to Austria in Klagenfurt on June 2 and at ...
Lehmann earns new coaching role with CA, to mentor NPS
Forced to step down as Australia's coach owing to the ball-tampering scandal, Darren Lehmann will now groom young talent as part of a National Performance Programme here, Cricket Australia announced today. In his new role, Lehmann will work under Cricket Australia's National Performance Programme head coach Troy Cooley. Lehmann, who worked with National Cricket Centre in Brisbane before taking charge of the national team, will oversee the development of the National Performance Squad (NPS) over the winter months alongside Cooley, Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers. The 48-year-old Lehmann was appointed as head coach of Australia till 2019, but was forced to resign midway through his tenure following the Cape Town ball-tampering fiasco in March, despite being cleared of any wrongdoing. The former batsman had annouced his resignation in an emotional press conference during which he broken down repeatedly. According to CA, Lehmann will now work in his new position until October. "I had a good .
IPL betting racket busted in Indore, seven arrested
The Indore police has arrested seven people for allegedly betting on the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches, an official said today. The police also recovered Rs 4.3 lakh cash from them, he said. Based on a tip-off, the police raided an apartment in Rajendra Nagar area of the city last night, Superintendent of Police S K S Tomar told reporters here today. "We caught seven people placing bets on the ongoing IPL cricket matches," he said. Tomar said all the seven accused, hailing from the neighbouring Ujjain district, were staying in Indore since the last two months and running the betting racket. Apart from Rs 4.3 lakh cash, the police also recovered 50 mobile phones, an LED television set, two laptop computers, a recorder and a special telecommunication device from their possession, he said. When the police raided the apartment, the accused were found to be using the telecommunication device to connect 16 mobile phones simultaneously to place bets on the
Leganes coach Garitano to leave
Coach Asier Garitano will leave Spanish La Liga club Leganes at the end of the football season, the club has said.
Kenya postpones premier Africa athletics tour meeting
The third leg of the African Athletics Tour, which was scheduled for May 19 in Nairobi, has been postponed indefinitely.