Page 1749 - Sports
US Open to use 25-second clocks, timed warmup in main draw
The U.S. Open will have 25-second serve clocks on all of its courts during main draw matches this year to enforce time limits between points. The Grand Slam tournament, which begins in New York on Aug. 27, will also have a strict 7-minute period from when players enter a court until action starts after the warmup. Both the serve clocks and strict timing for the warmup were tested during qualifying matches at Flushing Meadows in 2017. "We would like to keep the pace of play moving," U.S. Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said in a telephone interview Wednesday, confirming the main-draw changes that were first reported by The New York Times. "That's our goal." One other element that the USTA tried out during qualifying matches at last year's tournament that will not make it into the main draw this time around is allowing coaches to communicate with their players during matches. "We certainly will not see coaching in the main draw this year," Widmaier said. The amount of time ..
'Referee has garbage bag instead of heart', rages Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon told English referee Michael Oliver he "has no heart" and should have been watching Juventus' Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in the stands "with his wife and a Sprite". Oliver awarded Real a penalty in the 93rd minute at the Santiago Bernabeu, after Juve defender Mehdi Benatia brought down Lucas Vazquez with a clumsy challenge from behind. Buffon was then sent off for his protests and Cristiano Ronaldo scored the resulting spot-kick to drag Real through to the semi-finals with a dramatic 4-3 aggregate win. "This referee has no heart, he has a garbage bag instead of a heart" Buffon told Italian channel Mediaset Premium after the second leg tie which his team had won 3-1. "If you do not have personality and courage, you should go to the stands to watch the match with your wife and with a Sprite." Real looked like they would cruise into the semis following last week's 3-0 victory in Turin but Mario Mandzukic gave Juve hope with two first-half headers .
Northern Ireland say fined Games boxer 'innocent victim'
Northern Ireland have given their full backing to "innocent victim" Sean McComb after the Commonwealth Games boxer was fined over a disturbance at a nightclub on Australia's Gold Coast. The light-welterweight, 25, was fined by police following an incident in the Surfers Paradise area early on Tuesday morning. His Games had ended on Sunday when he was defeated by England's Luke McCormack. Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council (NICGC) managers said they had studied CCTV footage "that raises concerns as to the accuracy of the initial information" and had asked Queensland police to review their decision. "The NICGC has reviewed the latest evidence and determined that team sanctions will not be taken against Sean in relation to this incident and we can confirm that he remains an integral member of the boxing squad and the wider team," said the statement. "In our opinion he is an innocent victim in this matter and he retains the full support of the NICGC." The NICGC is seeking legal ..
Crystal meth to gold: now Manyonga eyes long jump world record
South African long jumper Luvo Manyonga said he aimed to go another season unbeaten and set his sights on the world record after snatching a brilliant victory at the Commonwealth Games. The former crystal meth addict, who shook off his problems to claim Olympic silver in 2016, underlined his growing status with a final leap of 8.41m to set a new Games record and grab gold from Australia's Henry Frayne. Manyonga said that with more time to acclimatise he could have challenged Mike Powell's world record of 8.95m set in 1991 -- the year he was born. "If I could get some more time, I could give it a try," he said of the damp and slippery Gold Coast track. "Anything can happen. I just have to focus on the run-up and technique, the rest will do itself." Such confidence underlines the heady rise of Manyonga, who was banned after testing positive for methamphetamine in 2012 and struggled with addiction before his triumphant return. Now, a first Commonwealth Games title is all in a day's work .
Slippery pitch and sluggish outfield weighed against us: Amre
A slippery wicket and a sluggish outfield due to intermittent rain made it difficult for Delhi Daredevils to chase a revised but stiff target of 71 in six overs in the rain-hit IPL match against Rajasthan Royals, said assistant coach Praveen Amre. Rajasthan Royals were on course to post a competitive total before heavy rain lashed the Sawai Mansingh Stadium with Royals reaching 153 for five in 17.5 overs. Intermittent rain led to a two and a half hour stoppage before umpires gave their go ahead for a shortened game. Royals' innings eventually ended at 153 for five and Delhi were set a revised target of 71 runs in six overs as per Duckworth-Lewis method. "The wicket was slippery and batsmen could not stand on it. The nature of the wicket also changed a lot because some of the moisture had seeped under the covers and outfield was also sluggish making difficult to get the boundaries, said former Test cricketer Amre. We had to continue because it was the decision of the officials. Many a .
CWG: Shooter Sawant takes silver in women's 50m Rifle Prone
Indian shooter Tejaswini Sawant took silver in the women's 50m Rifle Prone event at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) here on Thursday.
CWG 2018: Shuttlers Sindhu, Srikanth ease into quarters
Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu continued her rich vein of form as she cemented her spot in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 21st Commonwealth Games after sweeping aside Australia's Hsuan-Yu Wendy Chen in straight games here at the Carrara Sports Arena on Thursday.On the eighth day of CWG 2018, the 22-year-old from Hyderabad made everything look so easy as she clinched a comfortable 21-15, 21-9 win over Wendy Chen in a one-sided last-16 clash of the women's singles event that lasted 34 minutes at the Carrara Sports Arena.Sindhu will now lock horns with Brittney Tam of Canada for a place in the semi-finals of the prestigious quadrennial event.In men's singles clash, ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth took the final step to the summit of the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) rankings as he also made it to the last-eight after outplaying Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka in straight games.Srikanth, who has been in sublime form for quite some time now, clinched an identical ...
13 African athletes go missing at Commonwealth Games
Five more African athletes may have vanished from the Commonwealth Games, organisers said today, after eight competitors from Cameroon were suspected of fleeing a day earlier. Gold Coast organisers confirmed reports that athletes from Rwanda and Uganda were thought to have gone missing, while they were also looking to verify the whereabouts of two squash players from Sierra Leone. "We're obviously looking at it very carefully," Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg told reporters. "We have a service to people who have legitimate visas to be in this country," he added. "Until it becomes a true issue and somebody has outstayed their visa, or have formally applied for asylum, we just need to continue to monitor the situations. "The focus now is to support teams in trying to track down the athletes who are missing." More than 100 athletes overstayed their visas at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Athlete visas for the Commonwealth Games expire on May 15, Grevemberg ...
Raina to miss CSK's next two games owing to calf muscle injury
Suresh Raina will miss Chennai Super Kings' next two games in the ongoing IPL after sustaining a calf muscle injury during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the M A Chidambaram stadium here on Tuesday. The news was announced on CSK's website. The left-hander suffered the injury while taking a single off Sunil Narine's bowling and limped off. He struggled to run subsequently and holed out off Narine's bowling. CSK next play Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on April 15 and Rajasthan Royals in a home game on April 20. The team is already missing the services of all-rounder Kedar Jadhav, who was ruled out of the tournament on Monday, due to a hamstring injury sustained in the match against Mumbai Indians. Also, South Africa captain Faf du Plessis is recovering from a slight side strain and opener Murali Vijay is finding his way back to full fitness after taking a knock in the ribs early during the pre-tournament camp, CSK batting coach Mike Hussey said at a press conference ahead of the
CWG: Paddlers Manika, Mouma in singles quarters; Madhurika ousted
India's Manika Batra and Mouma Das entered the quarter-finals of table tennis women's singles but it was cutains for Madhurika Patkar, after losing her round of 16 match at the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.
RCB look to open account against Kings XI Punjab
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are hoping to get their campaign back on track after an opening game defeat, as they lock horns with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) here tomorrow. RCB finished second best in a cliffhanger to Kolkata Knight Riders after Sunil Narine snatched victory with a 17-ball fifty. RCB will be expecting some fireworks from Brendon McCullum and AB de Villiers, who blasted a 27-ball 43 and a 23-ball 44, respectively, in the first game. McCullum's confidence will be high as he has completed 9,000 T20 runs in the last match. Skipper Virat Kohli, surprisingly, played second fiddle by scoring 31 off 33 balls, and he would like to have a better outing against KXIP. Other top-notch batsmen like Quinton de Kock, Sarfaraz Khan and Chris Woakes, who did not get many runs under their belts, would be keen to contribute. Assisted by India's 2011 World Cup winning duo of Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra as batting and bowling coaches, Kohli could think of letting ...
Tejaswini bags silver in women's 50m rifle prone
The seasoned Tejaswini Sawant brought her years of experience into play en route to claiming the silver medal in the women's 50m rifle prone event of the 21st Commonwealth Games here today. Tejaswini shot 102.1, 102.4, 103.3, 102.8, 103.7, 104.6 for a cumulative score of 618.9 over six series to claim her six CWG medal. Young Anjum Moudgil, the other Indian shooter in the fray, finished a lowly 16th with 602.2. Singapore's rifle ace Martina Lindsay Veloso won the gold medal with a Games record 621.0, while Seonaid Mcintosh of Scotland bagged the bronze with 618.1 at the Belmont Shooting centre here. The 37-year-old former world champion was placed second after four series even as Moudgil faced elimination. She maintained her position at the end of the fifth series and ensured another medal for India with a final-series score of 104.6, her best effort of the day. A gold medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in 10m air rifle singles and pairs with Avneet Kaur Sidhu events, Tejaswini .
Wrestler Babita enters CWG final
India's Babita Kumari entered the final of the women's 53 kilogram wrestling competition at the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.
CWG: Shuttlers Sindhu, Ruthvika in quarters of women's singles
India's P.V. Sindhu and Ruthvika Gadde sailed into the quarter-finals of women's singles with easy wins in their respective round of 16 encounters at the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.
CWG: Shuttlers Srikanth, Prannoy in quarters of men's singles
Star Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and H.S.Prannoy sailed into the quarter-finals of men's singles with easy wins in their respective round of 16 encounters at the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.
Harbhajan Singh 'heartbroken' over shifting of IPL matches from Chennai
After all the Chennai Super Kings' Indian Premier League (IPL) matches were shifted from the state's Chepauk Stadium in the wake of Cauvery water dispute, some of the CSK players and coaching staff have expressed their displeasure over the move.On Wednesday, all the IPL matches,which were scheduled to be held in Chennai, were moved out of the state in the wake of the ongoing protest against the Centre's negligence for the formation of Cauvery Management Board (CMB).Later , the IPL Governing Council confirmed that CSK's IPL matches would now be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association's (MCA) Stadium in Pune.Taking to Twitter, CSK batting coach Michael Hussey said that although he is quite sad with the decision, he is hoping for a peaceful and swift resolution to the ongoing issue."Very sad that we have to play our remaining home games away from Chennai. Feeling for the players and the fans but also hoping for a peaceful and swift resolution to the current problems. Thanks for the
CWG: India's squash mixed pairs in quarters
The Indian squash mixed doubles pairs of Dipika Pallikal and Saurav Ghosal, and Joshna Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhu won their respective round of 16 matches, to advance to the quarter-finals here on Thursday.
CWG: Arpinder, Babu enter triple jump final
Indian athletes Arpinder Singh and A. V. Rakesh Babu entered the final of the men's Triple Jump competition at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) here on Thursday.
Shooter Neeraj shines at CWG
Indian shooter Neeraj Kumar topped Stage 1 of the qualifying round in the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG) here on Thursday.
CWG: Indian TT mixed pairs reach quarters
India were off to a bright start in table tennis mixed doubles competition at the 21st Commonwealth Games with all the three pairs advancing to the quarter-finals here on Thursday.