Page 1826 - Sports
Rising Students blank Gokulam 2-0 in Hero women's League
Rising Students, who finished runners-up in the last edition, began their quest in the Hero Indian Women's League with a 2-0 win over debutants Gokulam Kerala FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here today. After a barren first half, goals from Ngoubi Devi in the 73rd minute and Anju Tamang in the 76th enabled Rising to clinch all three points. Rising controlled the pace and tempo of the match in the opening 10 minutes but slowly Gokulam clawed themselves back as their Ugandan international Fazila made regular forays into the box down the left flank. It almost paid off too in the 16th minute as Fazila headed it in from a terrible mix up at the back but the lineswoman ruled her offside. The momentum of the match too shifted towards the Southern side but they were unable to find the net. Meanwhile on the other side, Rising came close once when Anju found herself in the clear, but she hit it over to the disappointment of her coach. The decisive moment of the half arrived in the 42nd ...
Eastern Sporting Union win a thriller in Hero IWL opener
Riding on Prameshwori's twin strike, defending champions Eastern Sporting Union notched up a thrilling 3-2 win over Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports & Education in the opening fixture of the Hero Indian Women's League here today. Two goals from Prameshwori in the 47th and 59th minute was difference between the two sides in an edge-of-the-seat thriller. For ESU took the lead in the 25th minute through Kashmina before Paromita equalised in the 43rd for IGASE. Prameshwori again gave the upper hand to ESU in the 47th but Sandhiya scored the second goal for IGASE in the 48th as IGASE again bounced back. In the end, it was the 59th minute goal from Prameshwori, which sealed the contest in their favour at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. Eastern Sporting Union started out strongly as they strung together a wave of attacks. Prameshwori and Kashmina combined well to trouble the IGASE backline. Sweety came close with her free-kick in the 16thminute, which just brushed the crossbar on its .
England's Butland relishes battle for goalkeeping slot
England's Jack Butland is backing manager Gareth Southgate's policy of keeping his goalkeepers guessing as to who will be the number one for the World Cup in Russia. The Stoke player is set to start against Italy at Wembley on Tuesday and needs to keep pace with Everton's rising star Jordan Pickford, who made it two clean sheets from two appearances during Friday's 1-0 win in the Netherlands. Long-serving first-choice Joe Hart is also in the frame while uncapped Burnley man Nick Pope has also been training with the squad for the first time. Southgate's reluctance to nominate his preferred candidate with just three more friendlies before heading to Russia is controversial but Butland said the internal battle drives up standards. "It's a good thing isn't it, having competition? I enjoy it," he said. "Training between all of us is extremely intense. Obviously it's one we're all trying to take for ourselves but ultimately whoever deserves it, whoever the manager feels, will get it and ...
'Ghost' of 7-1 Germany mauling still haunts Brazil: Tite
Brazil coach Tite says the "ghost" of their 7-1 mauling by Germany at the 2014 World Cup still haunts the 'Selecao', as the teams prepare to meet on Tuesday. Brazil suffered their heaviest home defeat when Germany hit four goals in six devastating first-half minutes of the Belo Horizonte semi-final nearly four years ago. Toni Kroos and Andre Schuerrle both scored twice over the 90 minutes as Germany's attack ran riot en route to winning the World Cup title. The teams meet in a friendly for the first time since at Berlin's Olympic Stadium and Tite says Brazil still bear the scars. "This has a huge psychological meaning - no one needs to fool themselves about that," Tite told German magazine Kicker. "The 7-1 from the World Cup is like a ghost. "It's present, people still talk about it, but the more you talk about it, the less this 'ghost' disappears. "It won't just be a sporting challenge, but a huge emotional challenge too. "We are preparing to give our best performance, which will be .
IPL 2018: Rahane replaces Smith as captain of Rajasthan Royals
In the aftermath of the recent ball tampering controversy which forced Australia skipper Steve Smith to step down, his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals on Monday also stripped Smith of the captaincy and named Ajinkya Rahane to lead the side in the upcoming Indian Premier League.
Up against Kyrgyz, India look to continue unbeaten run
Having already secured qualification to the 2019 Asian Cup, India will look to continue their unbeaten run when they lock horns with Kyrgyz Republic in an inconsequential final group match of the qualifying campaign here tomorrow. Coached by Stephen Constantine, India are in the middle of a record 13-match unbeaten run. At the pre-match press conference, Constantine has said that "regardless of our qualification, we'll push for win". "We haven't come here to lose, he stressed. "Our objective was to qualify to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 and we have achieved our aim. From now on, it's part of our preparation for the Asian Cup to be held next year," he added. India are currently at pole position in Group A with 13 points from five matches so far. The last time the two teams met in Bengaluru, Sunil Chhetri's sublime strike made the difference. Constantine also dismissed speculations that the cold weather in Bishkek may play a crucial role. "The weather is not playing any crucial part," he
No blame game in the team, says Jemimah
The Indian women's team is disappointed at being knocked-out of the ongoing tri-nation series and takes collective responsibility for the failure, said teenaged all-rounder Jemimah Rodrigues, who vowed the side would bounce back in the next series against Sri Lanka. India today suffered a 36-run defeat at the hands of Australia, their third successive loss, to be out of contention to make the final. The best part of our team is that we are together and there is no blame game going on because of these consecutive losses. Each one is taking their responsibility and they are agreeing that it is because of us," Jemimah told reporters at the post match media conference. "They are sad and I believe in our team and the support staff we have the thrust they are putting in us. We are going to bounce back and we are going to come back in the coming series and specially in the (T20) World Cup, said the 17-year-old, who added 54 runs with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur today. Jemimah scored her maiden .
Nehra backs Smith, Warner to play IPL
Reacting to the recent ball-tampering controversy in the South Africa-Australia Test series, former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra, while being critical of the incident, felt that banning skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner from the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be "too harsh".
Smith steps down from Royals captaincy, Rahane to lead
Steve Smith today stepped down as Rajasthan Royals captain and was replaced by Ajinkya Rahane in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal that has left the Australian skipper's reputation in tatters. The under-fire Smith will, however, continue to be a part of the franchise for the Indian Premier League starting April 7. "Steve believes given the current circumstances it's in the best interest of the Rajasthan Royals that he steps down as captain so the team can get ready for the start of the IPL without the ongoing distractions. He would like to extend his gratitude to the BCCI officials and all the fans in India for their constant support," Rajasthan Royals' head of cricket Zubin Bharucha said in a media release. The decision was expected after Cricket Australia indicated that harsher penalty was on cards for Smith and some other senior players such as David Warner for their role in an episode that has shaken Australian sporting fraternity. Australian opener Cameron Bancroft was ...
IPL 2018: Ajinkya Rahane replaces Steve Smith as RR captain
Right-hand Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane will replace Steve Smith in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 after the Australian skipper admitted to ball-tampering during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.Following the ball-tampering fiasco, Smith stood down as Australia captain and was banned for one Test by the ICC and fined 100 per cent of his match fee."Steve believes given the current circumstances that it's in the best interest of the Rajasthan Royals that he steps down as captain so the team can get ready for the start of the IPL without the ongoing distractions," Zubin Bharucha, Rajasthan Royals' head of cricket, said in an official statement.Bharucha further said, "Ajinkya Rahane has been an integral part of the Royals family for a long time now and he understands the culture and values of our team. We have absolutely no doubt that he will be a great leader of the Rajasthan Royals."Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals co-owner Manoj Badale assured ..
Sunrisers to wait for Cricket Australia decision on Warner: Laxman
Amid doubts over David Warner's participation in the Indian Premier League, Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman today said the franchise would wait for Cricket Australia's decision on the player, who finds himself embroiled in a ball tampering controversy. Steve Smith and Warner stood down as captain and vice-captain for rest of Australia's third Test match against South Africa yesterday for involvement in ball tampering on the third day of the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. "It's very unfortunate what has happened in the Cape Town Test. As far as Sunrisers is concerned, it's too early for us to comment. Because, it was, just which has happened day before yesterday. We will wait for decision of Cricket Australia," Laxman told PTI in an interview. Facing severe backlash for his role in ball tampering , Smith today relinquished captain at Rajasthan Royals and the script could pan out similarly for Warner, too. Asked if there is an alternative plan in the event of any ..
T20I Tri-series: Schutt takes hat-trick as Aussies thump India to reach finals
Megan Schutt bagged a hat-trick in span of two overs as the Australian women's cricket team handed India their third straight defeat with a 36-run win in the fourth match of the T20I tri-series at the Brabourne Stadium here on Monday.With the defeat, the Indian women's team crashed out of the tri-series, while Australia stormed into the finals of the tournament, which also features England.After being asked to bat first, Australia set the host a huge target of 187 runs for victory in their stipulated 20 overs.India's Pooja Vastrakar nipped out opener Alyssa Healy and Ashleigh Gardner cheaply for nine and 17 runs respectively.However, opener Beth Mooney (71) and Elyse Villani (61) not only struck a fifty each, but they also stitched together a century stand to power Australia to a decent total of 186/5.For India, Vastrakar finished with the figures of two for 28 while Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav and Radha Yadav all chipped in with a wicket each.In reply, Megan Schutt became the first .
Francisco Santos and N Ravichandran to coach Maharashtra United
Portuguese Francisco Santos and N Ravichandran will coach Maharashtra United in the upcoming edition of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), to start from June 14 to July 1. A former Portuguese national player, Santos helped Portugal bag bronze medals in both the singles and doubles in the European Youth Championships. He then led Portugal to 2nd place in the European Championships in 2017. He also guided Falcons TTC to the title in the inaugural edition of UTT last year. "We have seen what Ultimate Table Tennis has done to the sport and Maharashtra United's campaign last season was impressive. With a crisper format this year, it will get exciting this season and I look forward to the player draft and then the season, Santos said. Meanwhile, Ravichandran became a name to reckon during his stint with the National team from 2013-2017. He was a part of the Indian team that won three gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals at the 2015 Commonwealth TT Championships. He also managed the ...
ISSF Junior WC: Anish Bhanwala bags gold in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
National Champion Anish Bhanwala bagged a gold medal in the men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event of the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Sydney, Australia on Monday.Anish got the better of China's Zhipeng Cheng 29-27 in the 40-shot final.Anish, who had in January broken the world record in the event with a score of 37 in the National Trials, topped the qualification round before that by quite a distance; shooting 585 while second placed qualifier Jueming Zhang of China managed 579, a good six points behind.In the final, Anish and Zhipeng were fastest of the blocks shooting four out of five after the first five-shot series and the Haryana teenager went ahead 9-8 after the second series itself, maintaining a gap of two over Zhipeng throughout to clinch the his first Junior World Cup Gold.He also teamed up with Anhad Jawanda and Adarsh Singh to win the Team Silver medal in the event with a combined score of 1714, behind China ..
CWG a stepping stone, my target is World C'ship: Heena
Least affected by the recent controversies around her, India's pistol ace Heena Sidhu's primary target is the World Championship, as she looks to use the upcoming Commonwealth Games as a "stepping stone" to achieve success in bigger events. "These Games are important -- CWG and Asian Games give you a heads up to Olympics. It's a very important year and the biggest challenge for me is the World Championship," Heena told PTI. A former world number one in air pistol, Heena added, "Training is going very well and we have accomplished a lot. It is a stepping stone for the rest of the tournaments, especially the World Championship." The 52nd World Championships will be held from August 31 to September 15 in Changwon, Korea. There are 48 individual Olympic quotas and 12 mixed team Olympic quotas set to be assigned there. A disappointed Heena recently let out her frustration on social media amid reports that the Sports Ministry had called for dropping of 21 names, including that of her ...
India lose again, Australia claim 36-run win
India were knocked out of reckoning from the Twenty20 tri-series final after Australia handed the hosts their third successive defeat, the highlight of which was medium pacer Megan Schutt becoming the first bowler from Down Under to claim a hat-trick in the format. Australia outplayed Harmanpreet Kaur's team by 36 runs. Having failed to secure a single win in the series so far, India are without any points right now and would be aiming for a consolation win over England in their last league match on Thursday. Australia set India a challenging target of 186 for five with the help of twin half centuries by Beth Mooney and Elyse Villani. They then restricted the hosts to 150 for 5 in 20 overs. Schutt (3-31) wreaked havoc at the Branourne Stadium by claiming a hat-trick. Her scalps included the in-form Smriti Mandhana (3), veteran Mithali Raj, who was dismissed for a duck, and Deepti Sharma (2). While Schutt cleaned up Mandhana and Raj off the fifth and the sixth ball of the second over. .
Argentina's Biglia stresses importance of ball possession against Spain
Argentina midfielder Lucas Biglia on Sunday highlighted the importance of ball possession against Spain in their upcoming international friendly, to be played at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium here.
Anish wins India's 3rd individual gold in Jr. World Cup
Rising shooter Anish Bhanwala secured India a third individual gold medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup when the 15-year-old finished atop the podium in men's 25m rapid fire pistol here today. Having qualified for the final with the highest score, Bhanwala prevailed over two of his India teammates -- Anhad Jawanda and Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu -- and three Chinese participants in the medal round. India are now placed second in the overall standings with 15 medals -- comprising six gold, three silver and six bronze -- behind China and ahead of top shooting nations such as Italy and hosts Australia. China secured the gold medal and set a new junior world record with 1733 points, while India's Bhanwala, Jawanda and Adarsh Singh took silver. The bronze medal was awarded to another Indian team comprising Sandhu, Japtyesh Singh Jaspal and Mandeep Singh. Anish, who was placed seventh in this event at the ISSF World Cup Stage 1 in Guadalajara, Mexico earlier this month, led the match since its ...
Fans eagerly await Tavares's return to Mexican Clausura tournament
The return of Cape Verdian Djaniny Tavares, the leading scorer in the Mexican soccer league, is expected to be the highlight when the 2018 Clausura tournament resumes next weekend.
Miami Open: Cilic beats Pospisil to enter quarters
Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic qualified for the ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals in Miami with his 7-5 and 7-6 (4) victory over Canada's Vasek Pospisil.