Page 1799 - Sports
Formidable Sunrisers chase second IPL title (Team Profile)
Into their sixth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) look a formidable unit after the 2018 IPL auction, despite having lost their banned skipper David Warner due to a ball tampering scandal.
Syringe controversy aside, exuberant flag hoisting at CWG village by India
The Indian athletes seemed unruffled by the syringe controversy that has cast a shadow on their Commonwealth Games build-up as they enthusiastically took part in the flag-hoisting ceremony at the athletes village, here today. The mood was cheerful and the entire boxing contingent, which is at the center of the syringe controversy, took part in the ceremony this evening. Five-time world champion MC Mary Kom was seen shaking a leg while the likes of javelin star Neeraj Chopra merrily posed for pictures at the event. "We are focussed on the training, nothing more. We don't know anything else," said a boxing coach with the team. India's build-up to the Games was marred when syringe were found outside the rooms of some Indian athletes, speculated to be boxers. The Commonwealth Games Federation is investigating the matter but hasn't named India as of now. At the ceremony today, India's chef-de-mission Vikarm Sisodia avoided speaking on the matter. The athletes cheered excitedly when the ...
Australian ball-tampering scandal 'a lesson for Pak': Aamer Sohail
Former Pakistani cricketer Aamer Sohail has asked Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to learn from Australia's handling of the ball-tampering scandal and change its lenient attitude towards controversies surrounding the game."We have a very lenient attitude to such problems and have shown no resolve in handling these problems head-on. If we had put our foot down on numerous occasions in the past, then the embarrassing and damaging scandals that hurt us so much would not have re-occurred and I suppose this is a big lesson for us to learn from the current ball-tampering issue," Pak Passion quoted Sohail as saying.The massive ball-tampering issue that rocked Australia saw skipper Steve Smith being banned for 12 months from international cricket by Cricket Australia along with David Warner.Sohail believed that CA's decision of handing a year ban to the erring cricketers was a reflection of the embarrassment felt by the Australian nation.The former PCB chief selector said, "The punishments are ..
Klaasen named Steve Smith's replacement for Rajasthan Royals
The BCCI today approved South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen as the replacement for former Australian skipper Steve Smith in the Rajasthan Royals team for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League. Smith has been barred from this year's IPL after Cricket Australia banned him for one year for his involvement in the ball tampering controversy during the third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town last month. "The wicketkeeper batsman was picked for INR 50 lakh from the Registered and Available Player Pool (RAPP) list," BCCI stated in a media release. "I am thankful to the Rajasthan Royals for giving me this opportunity and making me part of the squad. It would be my first IPL and in fact my first ever visit to India so I am really excited to be teaming up and sharing the dressing room with some great names. I have made it my mission to ensure my performance makes a large impact for my team in the tournament," Klaasen said. The 26-year-old Klaasen recently made ..
Ankita, Ramkumar touch career-best ranks
Ankita Raina leapfrogged 43 places to her career-best singles rank of 212 in the WTA chart while Ramkumar Ramanathan also achieved his career-best rankings after climbing four places to 132. Ankita became world No 212 on the back of her her first singles title in more than three years when she beat Amandine Hesse in straight sets in the final of the USD 25,000 ITF women's event in Gwalior. "One more milestone achieved, getting closer to one of my goals of playing Grand Slams. This has just made my belief stronger that dreams do come true, if you put the efforts and be patient, nothing can stop you to get to the top," Ankita told PTI. In the ATP rankings, country's top singles player Yuki Bhambri jumped two places and is now ranked 105 followed by Ramanathan, Sumit Nagal (213, +5), Prajnesh Gunseswaran (263, -17) and Arjun Khade (394, +29). Ramkumar had reached the quarterfinals of the Euro 43,000 Marbella Challenger in Spain. In the doubles, Rohan Bopanna (19) and Divij Sharan (43) ..
Coach Popovic feels FC Pune City ready for Super Cup
Indian Super League (ISL) franchise FC Pune City is back in action under the stewardship of head coach Ranko Popovic and is getting ready for the Super Cup."It's one more competition for us, and we are doing everything to keep up the motivation and put in the same efforts as we put during the ISL," said Popovic after completing a grueling practice session on Monday.The coach felt his team shouldn't only be prepared physically but also mentally since all of them joined back after a break post ISL season."Like ISL teams, even the I-League teams will come with the intention to win Super Cup, so we can't give anything less than 100% for this," said the Serbian.After seeing the qualifying rounds, the coach was impressed with the quality of competition and said the tournament should bode well for Indian football to grow in the near future."For us, every competition is a competition, be it ISL, Super Cup or anywhere else we participate. I want my players to be ready for any challenge and ...
Rafael Nadal returns to world No. 1 ranking
Tennis ace Rafael Nadal on Monday returned to his lost number one spot in men's professional tennis.The Spaniard will now begin his 168th week as world No. 1.Nadal lost his top spot to his long-term rival Roger Federer when the latter defeated his Dutch opponent Robin Haase at Rotterdam Open to become the oldest world No. 1.The 16-time grand slam champion first ascended to the top spot nine-and-a-half years ago on August 18, 2008. Also, he has never lost his place in top 10 since April 2005.The 31-year-old has spent four previous stints at No. 1 - 46 weeks between August 18, 2008 and July 5, 2009, 56 weeks from June 7, 2010 to July 3, 2011, 39 weeks between October 7, 2013 and July 6, 2014 and 26 weeks from August 21, 2017 to February 18, 2018.Only Federer (309), Pete Sampras (286), Ivan Lendl (270), Jimmy Connors (268), Novak Djokovic (223) and McEnroe (170) have spent more weeks than Nadal at No. 1 since August 1973.
Du Plessis stretches South African lead
Faf du Plessis made his first major contribution of the series as South Africa moved further ahead of Australia on the fourth day of the fourth Test at the Wanderers Stadium today. South Africa were 202 for three at lunch, an overall lead of 469. South African captain Du Plessis made 81 not out and opening batsman Dean Elgar was on 59 not out. Du Plessis, who made only 55 runs in his first seven innings in the series, needed lengthy treatment after a ball from Pat Cummins split open the right index finger he broke earlier in the season. He suffered the blow when he was on 43. Only 20 overs were bowled on a heavily overcast morning. Bad light delayed the start, there was a 16-minute stoppage for more bad light and a further delay when Du Plessis was injured. South Africa, who lead the series 2-1 and need only to draw to clinch their first home series win against Australia since 1969/70, added 68 runs without losing a wicket. Elgar crawled to a half-century off 199 balls, ironically ...
Eastern Sporting Union, Sethu FC win in Indian Women League
Eastern Sporting Union kept their 100 percent record intact with a 2-0 victory over Gokulam Kerala FC in the Hero Indian Women's League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here today. In the day's other game, Sethu FC defeated Rising Student Club 2-0 to register their second win. Mandakini opened the scoring for Eastern Sporting Union in the first half with her strike in the 24th minute before Kamala Devi doubled the lead after the break in the 50th minute. The win took Eastern Sporting to 12 points from 4 matches. Eastern Sporting Union came into the match on the back of three victories while Gokulam Kerala FC thumped Indira Gandhi ASE 6-1 in their previous encounter. Both teams started off on a positive note, putting the ball into each other's boxes. In the other match, Bangladeshi striker Sabina Khatun struck in the 47th minute before Manisha doubled the lead for Sethu FC with her strike in the 90th minute. Rising Student Club came off stronger of the two as they went on the attack ...
Klaasen to replace Smith in Rajasthan Royals
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals have named South African explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen as the replacement for their banned skipper Steve Smith, the BCCI confirmed on Monday.
Women's League: ESU register 2-0 victory over Gokulam
Eastern Sporting Union (ESU) registered their fourth consecutive victory with a 2-0 triumph over Gokulam Kerala FC in the Indian Womens League (IWL) football tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.
Sethu beat Rising Indian Women's League
Sethu FC defeated Rising Student Club 2-0 to register their second win in the Indian Women's League here today. Bangladeshi striker Sabina Khatun struck in the 47th minute before Manisha doubled the lead with her strike in the 90th minute at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Rising Student Club came off stronger of the two as they went on the attack straightaway. Anju Tamang saw her shot go just wide in the 2nd minute before Sanju shot it straight toward Sowmiya in the 5th. The other frontline players Ngoubi and Pyari Xaxa also joined in as they had a crack at the goal in the opening 10 minutes. A brilliant save by Sowmiya off Anju kept the Southern side at parity in the 11th minute, in a spell which saw some frantic defending by Sethu. The game slowed down but Rising kept the pressure intact with Pyari coming close with her header in the 38th minute before Sanju's shot was saved just before half-time. Goalkeeper Sowmiya being the solid wall between the goal and Rising players. The 2nd ...
IPL 2018: Heinrich Klaasen replaces Smith in Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals have named South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen as a replacement for former Australian skipper Steve Smith for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), beginning April 7.Smith was due to lead the Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming edition of the T20I lucrative league, but he was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after being imposed a 12-month suspension by the Cricket Australia for his involvement in ball-tampering scandal that took place during the four-match Test series against South Africa.Considered as one of the few South African players to have managed to cope with Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, Klaseen has been bought at his base price of Rs 50 lakh after being went unsold at the IPL Players Auction that took place in Bengaluru in January , ESPNcricinfo reported.Klaseen, who made his international debut for South Africa against Indian in February, has a strike rate of 146 after 44 innings in .
No ring, shared gloves: Kiribati boxers have fight on their hands
Even Anthony Joshua would struggle to beat the world's best faced with the hardships confronting Kiribati's Commonwealth Games boxers. While Britain's undefeated heavyweight world champion counts the millions from Saturday's win over New Zealander Joseph Parker, Kiribati's boxers have had to prepare without even a boxing ring. "We make do outside or in a house as our ring is broken at the moment," said Tekamwi Rabaere, coach of the two boxers representing the Pacific Ocean island in Australia's Gold coast. "We try to design a ring, but it is not the same." Worse still, the tiny nation has just two pairs of useable boxing gloves. "When we spar we share the gloves with everyone," added Rabaere, saying that while Kiribati -- population 115,000 -- is woefully short of facilities and equipment, they have plenty of talented boxers. "If we have more capacity, more gloves, more rings and better coaches, it will encourage many more to come and train," said Rabaere. No matter how Tevii Steven ..
Klaasen officially named Steve Smith's replacement for Rajasthan Royals
The BCCI today officially approved South African wicket-keeper batsman Heinrich Klaasen as the replacement for former Australian skipper Steve Smith in the Rajasthan Royals team for upcoming edition of Indian Premier League. Smith has been barred from this year's IPL after Cricket Australia banned him for one year for his involvement in the ball tampering controversy during the third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. "The wicket-keeper batsman was picked for INR 50 lakh from the Registered and Available Player Pool (RAPP) list," BCCI stated in a media release. The 26-year-old Klaasen recently made his international debut against India in 50-over format and picked up the Man of the Match award in his second ODI. He then made his debut in the shortest format of the game in the following three-match T20I series. He has so far played four ODIs and 3 T20 Internationals.
Coach Popovic says his team is ready for Super Cup
After an impressive performance in the Indian Super League, FC Pune City is all geared up to continue their good show in the Super Cup when they take on I-League side Shillong Lajong in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday, April 4. "It's one more competition for us, and we are doing everything to keep up the motivation and put in the same efforts as we put during the ISL, head coach Ranko Popovic said after a gruelling training session today. The coach felt his team shouldn't only be prepared physically but also mentally since all of them joined back after a break post ISL season. Like ISL teams, even the I-League teams will be aiming to win the Super Cup, so we can't give anything less than 100% for this, Serbian coach added. After watching the qualifying rounds, the coach seemed to be impressed with the quality of competition and said the tournament should bode well for Indian football to grow in the near future. For us, every competition is a competition, be it ISL, Super Cup or anywhere else
Sindhu, Srikanth bag top honours at ESPN Multi-Sport Awards
Shuttlers ruled the roost as PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were today named 'Sportspersons of the Year' with their coach Pullela Gopichand being adjudged 'best coach' at the inaugural ESPN Multi-Sport Awards. Srikanth claimed the title of 'Sportsperson of the Year - Male' for his incredible run, bagging four Super Series titles. He became the only Indian and the fourth player ever to achieve it in one calendar year. Rio Olympics silver medalist Sindhu clinched the Sportsperson of the Year - Female' title for her fantastic performance round the year, winning the Indian and Korean Open Super Series titles. Other winners included the Indian National Women's Hockey Team, which bagged the 'Team of the Year' title for their first Asia Cup triumph in 13 years. The Moment of the Year' award was decided through a public poll and was awarded to Jeakson Singh for scoring a memorable goal against Columbia in the U-17 FIFA World Cup. The goal made Jeakson the only Indian to score in a FIFA ...
Real Sporting downs Almeria, taking another step toward Spanish 1st division
Real Sporting, thanks to its away 3-1 triumph over Almeria, took another decisive step toward ascending to Spain's First Division, while its rivals could not overcome their problems and remain close to relegation.
Malaga downs Villarreal 1-0 in Spanish football
Malaga triumphed over Villarreal in Spanish First Division football action, scoring the only goal of the match after a penalty that was converted by Uruguayan midfielder Chory Castro.
Vandeweghe, Barty win women's doubles final in Miami Open
American Coco Vandeweghe and Australia's Ashleigh Barty won the women's doubles final in the Miami Open, downing the Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.