Page 1849 - Sports
Surprised at being conferred Padma Shri: Kidambi Shrikanth
Noted badminton player Kidambi Shrikanth on Tuesday said that he was surprised when he got a call from the government about his selection for the Padma Shri.
India to find right WC team in T20 tri-series: Mithali Raj
Indian women's ODI captain Mithali Raj on Tuesday said that her team, while playing in the T20I tri-series, would look to find their right combinations for the T20I World Cup in November later this year."It will be tough as both Australia and England are great teams and have won the T20 World Cup. But our team is looking to prepare for the T20I World Cup this year," Raj told ANI."We will look to obtain confidence from these matches and overcome the areas we are lacking in to present a strong team in the World Cup," Raj added.Mithali Raj, the world's highest run-getter in ODI, said that the series involving India, Australia and England will give the team an opportunity to groom their youngsters."The team is now preparing for the T20 World Cup this year and it is important to have our combinations right before it. And for that if we need to have some changes in the squad, irrespective of the result goes our way or not, it is important as we see the bigger picture preparing for the World
Tendulkar favours TVM to host India-WI ODI
Amid mounting opposition over the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA)'s plans to host the India-West Indies ODI in November at Kochi, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar today said hosting the match could damage the FIFA approved World class Football turf. He batted for Thiruvananthapuram to host the one-day international cricket match between India and West Indies on November 1 instead of the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi, which was last used for the U-17 Football WorldCup. "Worried about the potential damage to the FIFA approved World class Football turf in Kochi. Urge the KCA to take the right decision where cricket (Thiruvananthapuram) and Football (Kochi) can happily co-exist, he tweeted. Tendulkar said he has taken up the matter with the cricket board BCCI. Urged Shri Vinod Rai (chief of committee of administrators) who has promised to look into the matter. Hoping that neither the cricket nor the football fans are disappointed, he said. Kerala Football ...
Chennai City FC appoint Nawas as coach, Barcelona's Villa named assistant
I-League side Chennai City FC has appointed Singapore's Mohammad Akbar Bin Abdul Nawas as the team's head coach and Barcelona's Jordi Villa as assistant coach and director of the team's youth development programme. Akbar, who was the technical consultant, takes over as the head coach from V Soundararajan. The team had finished eighth in the recently concluded I-League. The 43-year-old Akbar, an AFC Pro Diploma Licence coach, is already guiding the team in the Super Cup. A former S-League and Singapore youth team player, Akbar has been active in coaching for the last seven years. He coached the national team's junior sides at various age group and also managed multiple top flight clubs in Singapore and the Philippines. "We expect them (Akbar and Villa) to help in building the club," club owner Rohit Ramesh said.
Cristiano Ronaldo says self-belief key to success
Cristiano Ronaldo says the key to his staggering success is believing nobody is better than he is -- and he advised his Portuguese teammates to adopt the same attitude. The Real Madrid star made the comments as he accepted the Portuguese player of the year award in Lisbon. "We should always believe we are the best," said Ronaldo, who led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title and who is now turning his gaze to the 2018 World Cup. "You need to think big. I always believe that nobody is better than me, out on the pitch at least," he said. "On a personal and collective level I have had a dream year. I won five trophies (Champions League, UEFA Supercup, World Club Cup, Spanish league title and the Spanish Supercup), the Ballon D'Or and the FIFA 'Best' title." Ronaldo, who has been voted Ballon D'Or winner five times, is currently in Lisbon with the Portugal squad who play fellow World Cup qualifiers Egypt on Friday and the Netherlands three days later. The 33-year-old has scored 79 goals in 147 .
Portugal train for Egypt friendly
Portugal's football squad undertook a training session on Tuesday at the Soccer City ground in Lisbon ahead of friendly games against Egypt and the Netherlands.
Santosh Trophy: Mizoram see off strong Goa
Former champions Mizoram completed a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over six-time champions Goa in their opening Group B game of the 72nd edition of the national football championship for Santosh Trophy at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium here on Tuesday.
Rashid spins Afghanistan to victory over UAE
Rashid Khan took a big leap towards becoming the quickest bowler to 100 ODI wickets when he grabbed his fourth five-wicket haul as Afghanistan overcame a top-order batting collapse to prevail over the United Arab Emirates in a Super Six fixture of the ICC World Cup Qualifier here today. Rashid returned figures of 5 for 41 as the UAE, after electing to bat, were bowled out for 177 in 43 overs. Afghanistan, in their run-chase, plunged to 54 for five before an unfinished 124-run sixth wicket partnership between Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran helped them reach the target for the loss of five wickets. The victory in the 35th over also helped Afghanistan to narrow the gap with Ireland and the West Indies on net run-rate, which will come into play if Scotland beat the Windies tomorrow, the UAE beat Zimbabwe on Thursday and Afghanistan beat Ireland on Friday. The winner of the match between the Windies and Scotland will qualify for the World Cup Qualifier 2019 and if Zimbabwe beat UAE, ..
Dhoni is a topper in University where I am still studying: Karthik
Dinesh Karthik has become the toast of the nation with his 8-ball-29 against Bangladesh in the tri-series final but he still feels like a "student in an University where Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a topper", when comes to the tag of a best finisher. "When it comes to Dhoni -- I am studying in an university where he is the topper. He is one of the guys I have always looked up to. It is unfair to compare me with him," Karthik told mediapersons during an interaction, here today. Interestingly, Karthik made his international debut in September 2004 during Champions Trophy in England, three months before Dhoni's debut against Bangladesh in a bilateral series in December. In the next 14 years, Dhoni became India's most successful captain and one of its greatest limited overs exponent while Karthik struggled in the fringes, waiting for his chances. "His (Dhoni) journey has been totally different and my journey is a different one. He is a terrific guy. He is somebody who used to be reserved, ...
IPL for women makes sense only when there is strong domestic set up: Mithali
Mithali Raj today said an IPL-like event for women will make sense only when the BCCI has in place for them a "strong domestic" setup. "It's important to have the pool of players, who will be qualified to play IPL kind of a league. As I mentioned (in) India A (team) itself we need quality players. Once we have those many players then it will be wise enough to have an IPL," Mithali, skipper of India's women's Test team, said. The Cricket Board is organising exhibition matches for women during the upcoming Indian Premier League's 11th season. With people starting to look up to the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali and Jhulan Goswami, the BCCI decided to organise these exhibition matches, which can also lay the groundwork for women's IPL. Mithali said, "You can feed in any domestic (players) but then there will be a stark difference between an international player and domestic player. It might go against promoting women's cricket." "So, I personally believe that when you have strong ...
Navratilova blames BBC of promoting gender pay gap
American tennis star Martina Navratilova has alleged that BBC paid a male voice ten times more as much as for the same role.The nine-time Wimbledon champion Navratilova said that she was paid 15,000 USD by the BBC for her commentator role at the Wimbledon, while her male fellow John McEnroe was paid 150,000 USD and 199,999 USD."It was a shock because John McEnroe makes at least £150,000 ... I get about £15,000 for Wimbledon and unless John McEnroe's doing a whole bunch of stuff outside of Wimbledon he's getting at least 10 times as much money," the Guardian quoted Navratilova as saying in a TV programme.The tennis star added that she was told that she was getting paid a comparable amount to her male fellow for the same work but it was not true."It's still the good old boys' network ... The bottom line is that male voices are valued more than women's voices," the 61-year-old year old said.Meanwhile, BBC Sport defended the discrepancy, saying the two had different contracts.It said .
Chiellini's thigh injury 'not serious'
Veteran Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini's right thigh injury, which he took against Spal in a Serie A match on Saturday, is not serious, the Italian football champions announced on Tuesday.
Will take couple of years to get our 2nd string in place: Mithali
Indian women's ODI captain Mithali Raj today admitted that not having a bench-strength of desired quality is a reality and it will take at least two more years before the next crop of international standard players emerge. The Indian women's team were soundly thrashed 0-3 by their Australian counterparts but the more worrying aspect has been lack of replacements for a lot of non-performers. The India A team which played a few warm-up games against Australia A and now England A have been wallopped in most of the matches, raising serious questions about reserve bench. Save Jemimah Rodrigues, no top quality talent has emerged from the women's game with most players having been around for 3-4 years now. "We have just started with India A tours and formation of an A team, since last year, after we came back from the World Cup. It will take sometime. It will take a couple of years to get our second string in place," the straight-talking Mithali put things as it is currently in the women's ..
Peru's suspended star striker returns to training with Flamengo
Peruvian national team star striker Paolo Guerrero, who was hit with a six-month doping ban by FIFA, will be back in training on Tuesday with Brazilian club Flamengo, the team has announced.
Spain trains without Pique ahead of friendlies
The Spain national football team on Tuesday practised at its second-to-last training camp before the 2018 World Cup without Gerard Pique, who missed the first session in which Rodrigo Hernandez, Marcos Alonso and Dani Parejo took part, under coach Julen Lopetegui's helm.
Mizoram upset Goa to top group B, Punjab beat Odisha
Mizoram produced a stunning upset to down six-time champions Goa 3-1, while an own goal by Odisha gave Punjab a lucky 2-1 win, in the group B opening fixtures of the national football championship for the 72nd Santosh Trophy here today. Goa drew the first blood through captain Victorino Fernandes in the 11th minute but it was a one-way traffic for Mizoram from the 25th minute onwards as F Lalrinpuia brought the scores level before Lal Romawia's brace (81st and 84th) sealed three points for the 2013-14 winners at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium. Former champions Punjab also rallied from a goal down to beat Odisha 2-1 at the Sailen Manna Sports Complex in Howrah Maidan. Mizoram went on top of the group with with three points and lead Punjab on a better goal difference. After a goalless stalemate in the first-half, Arpan Lakra gave Odisha the lead in the 62nd minute their joy was shortlived, with Sarbjit bringing up the equaliser in a space of seven minutes. There was more misery in store ..
FIFA satisfied with high tempo of World Cup ticket sales
The worlds governing football body, FIFA, is satisfied with the progress in ticket sales for the 2018 World Cup, which kicks off in 11 cities across Russia this June, a FIFA official said on Tuesday.
Santosh Trophy: Punjab rally past Odisha 2-1
Former champions Punjab rallied from a goal down to beat Odisha 2-1 and open their campaign with a win in the 72nd edition of the national championship for Santosh Trophy here on Tuesday.
Chandigarh, Punjab & Sind Bank, Air India in quarters of hokey nationals
Hockey Chandigarh, Punjab & Sind Bank, Air India Sports Promotion Board and Railway Sports Promotion Board were among the teams to have registered victories in the 8th National Hockey Championship here today. Hockey Karnataka and Comptroller & Auditor General of India also tasted success on the sixth day of the men's competition. The opening match of the day saw Hockey Chandigarh beat Central Reserve Police Force 2-0 in Pool D and qualified for the quarterfinals with six points, even as CRPF kept the top spot with seven points. In the other Pool D match, Comptroller & Auditor General of India continued to top the group with eight points as they defeated Namdhari XI 2-1 in a close encounter. In Pool B, Punjab & Sind Bank secured a quarterfinal berth as they thrashed Hockey Jharkhand 4-0. In another Pool B match, Air India Sports Promotion Board beat Hockey Haryana 3-1 to secure their third win of the tournament and advance to the quarterfinal as the top-placed team with
FIFA experts satisfied with Yekaterinburg Arena's readiness
Experts from football's governing body, FIFA, are satisfied with the readiness of the football arena in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg for hosting matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a FIFA official said on Tuesday.