Page 1865 - Sports
Germany's Tommy Haas retires
Germany's Tommy Haas, the Indian Wells Tournament Director, has announced his retirement from professional tennis at the age of 39.
Independiente beat Millonarios 1-0 in Copa Libertadores
Argentine football club Independiente, winners of the Copa Sudamericana, on Thursday beat Colombia's Millonarios 1-0 in a group G match of the Copa Libertadores.
Germany's Haas retires from ATP Tour
Former world number two Tommy Haas, who won 15 singles titles throughout his career, announced his retirement from the ATP Tour on Thursday. "I consider myself extremely fortunate that I was able play professional tennis for a living for more than two decades," Haas, 39, said. "The sport gave me cherished friendships, an ability to travel the world, and opportunities to create incredible memories." Haas, who is the tournament director of the Indian Wells Masters tournament which is being played in southern California this week, made the announcement during Thursday's evening session. Haas reached a career-high number two ranking in 2002, and finished eight seasons ranked in the top 20. His most recent singles titles came in 2013 when he won in Vienna and Munich.
Khade to test himself at CWG for Asiad
Young swimmer Virdhawal Khade, who is gearing up for the next month's Commonwealth Games, says the Gold Coast event will give him a sense of his preparations for the challenging Asian Games ahead. Khade, who had become youngest Indian to swimmer to qualify for Olympics in 2008 at the age of 16, had won a bronze medal at 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. "I will be participating in the Commonwealth Games in 50m freestyle and butterfly. Training has been going very well since the past few months and I am keeping an eye on medal at the Asian Games. I am sure the Commonwealth games will give me a good platform to test myself and prepare for the Asian Games," Khade told PTI. Khade, who hails from Kolhapur in Maharashtra, also said that he is very positive for a podium finish at the Asian Games. "I am very positive about winning a medal in Jakarta. Training has been going well and it's a matter of only a few micro-seconds which I am positive of shaving off in the coming months to get into the ...
Coric edges past Anderson, reaches first Masters 1000 semis
Croatia's Borna Coric rallied for a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) victory over South African Kevin Anderson in the quarter-final action at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament here.
Santos FC beats Nacional with double goal from Sasha
Brazil's Santos FC rode on two goals by Eduardo Sasha and another impressive one by 17-year-old Rodrygo Goes to beat Uruguay's Nacional 3-1, and rise from the last to the second place in Group F of the Copa Libertadores.
Could put up only minimal resistance against Venus, says Suarez
Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro has said she could only put up minimal resistance to American Venus Williams in their quarter-final match at the Indian Wells tennis tournament.
Federer beats South Korea's Chung to reach Indian Wells semis
Swiss tennis great Roger Federer beat South Korea's Hyeon Chung 7-5, 6-1 in one hour and 23 minutes to reach the semi-finals of the Indian Wells tournament in the US, the first Masters 1000 competition of the season.
Model club Bengaluru FC eye ISL glory on debut
Chennaiyin FC stand in the way as Bengaluru FC, the model club of Indian football, seek a triumphant conclusion to what has been a remarkable maiden campaign in the Indian Super League, here tomorrow. Having clinched the prestigious Federation Cup and I-League twice, Bengaluru FC will attempt to crown themselves with the ISL trophy before their home fans at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium. After moving into ISL from I-League, Bengaluru have scripted a fairytale narrative, winning 13 of their 18 matches and qualifying for the playoffs with four games to spare. They were eight points clear of second-placed Chennaiyin. Miku and skipper Sunil Chhetri have got Bengaluru major chunk of the goals, bulging the net on 24 occasions, a feat which has the potential of sending shivers down the rival's spine. Miku stands second on highest goal-scorers' list by scoring 14 times and Chhetri stands fifth with 10 to his credit, which includes his fantastic hat-trick in the second leg semifinal against FC ..
Aditi Ashok starts Founders Cup with solid 70, lies T-17th
Aditi Ashok shot a highly creditable 2-under 70 in demanding conditions at the Wildfire Golf Club in the opening round of the Bank of Hope Founders Cup. This has only been her second start on the LPGA this season, after missing the cut in her season-opener in Australian Women's Open. She is placed Tied-17th and is three shots behind co-leaders, Frenchwoman Karine Icher and Chella Choi, who carded 67 each. Korea's Inbee Park and Thai Ariya Jutanugarn shot 68 each to be Tied-3rd with four others. Though the Wildfire course has yielded some low winning scores over the years, the wind really made scoring difficult. The wind and cooler conditions meant scores were higher than last year. Aditi, 19, attracted a lot of attention in her LPGA rookie season in 2017 as she finished 82nd in the Race to CME Globe standings of the LPGA Tour. She had to sit out limited field LPGA events in Thailand and Singapore before getting into the Bank of Hope Founders Cup. The hugely talented Indian golfer had .
From attending Ernie's clinic in 2008, Shubhankar dreams of making his team
India's newest golf star Shubhankar Sharma plans to fight his way into the 2019 Presidents Cup, as one of his early inspirations, Ernie Els was named captain of the International team. "It would be fantastic if I can make it to the Presidents Cup. It'll be a dream come true," said Sharma. "But in saying that, it's in 2019, we still have a year and a half to go. I don't want to get ahead of myself just yet. Anything is possible if I continue to play really well and break into the top-50 in the world." It would also complete a full circle for the dream that began in 2008, when he attended one of Els' clinics, when the 19-time PGA Tour winner came to India for the Indian Masters. "I was a kid and went for a golf clinic after one of his rounds. Ernie called out a few kids to hit a few shots and I was one of them. We were using his nine iron and as kids, it was really heavy for us and nobody could really hit it good. "I was the last kid and he came over and told me I've got to hit the ball
All England Open: Sindhu, Parnnoy to battle it out for semis place
Olympian P V Sindhu and ace shuttler H S Prannoy will aim to seal their places in the semi-finals of the All England Championship when they take on their respective opponents here on Friday.Sindhu will clash with Nozomi Okuhura of Japan in the women's singles quarterfinals.The Indian entered the last eight after outplaying Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol 21-13, 13-21, 21-18 in over 66 minutes.In the men's singles, India's H S Prannoy will lock horns with China's Yuxiang Huang after thrashing Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in straight games 21-10, 21-19 in the pre-quarters.In another men's singles pre-quarters on Thursday, world No 2 Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after suffering a shock defeat from China's Huang Yuxiang.India's men's doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also failed to qualify for the quarters.
Lanka, B'desh to clash in Nidahas Trophy semis
Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will lock horns in a virtual semi-final encounter in the Nidahas Twenty20 tri-series at Colombo on Friday.Ahead of the do or die clash, Bangladesh's batting line-up has been bolstered by the return of their regular skipper Shakib Al Hasan after an injury lay-off.Shakib had missed the previous matches of the series due to a finger injury and Mahmudullah lead the Bangladesh side in his absence.Sri Lanka will continue to play without Dinesh Chandimal, their regular skipper, who is serving a two-match suspension.Bowling all-rounder Thisara Perera will continue to lead the charge of the side in in Chandimal's absence.The hosts' batting line-up will be served Kusal Mendis' fine form, with the likes of Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perera and Dasun Shanaka.The two teams have two points apiece with a victory each in the tri-series.Sri Lanka had defeated India in the series opener while Bangladesh successfully chased down a a 215-run target given by the ...
Broken legs, sledges, wheelchairs at Paralympics repair shop
Turkish skier Mehmet Cekic thought his Winter Paralympic dreams had come to an early end when the foot of his prosthetic leg cracked during a practice run in Pyeongchang. But a team of technicians quickly patched up the device, allowing him to compete, one of many athletes given vital help at a hi-tech Winter Paralympics workshop. With 567 Paralympians in Pyeongchang competing in high-octane sports from sledge ice hockey to downhill skiing, damage to prosthetic limbs and specialist sports equipment is common. The centre run by German prosthetics giant Ottobock, which is filled with a huge array of equipment and manned by 23 technicians, seeks to ensure that mishaps don't prevent athletes from competing. As well as fixing prosthetic limbs, the technicians based in a warehouse in the athletes' village also patch up wheelchairs and repair gear such as para-ice hockey sledges and sit-skis, used by skiers with leg impairments. "Every repair is different," Peter Franzel, a director at ...
Srikanth calls umpiring 'ridiculous' after too many service faults
Star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was disappointed after being called for a series of what he termed "ridiculous" service faults during his pre-quarterfinal match against China's Huang Yuxiang at the All England Championship. World no 3 Srikanth lost 11-21 21-15 20-22 to the unseeded Chinese at the Arena Birmingham here in a 52-minute battle last night to crash out of the tournament. "There were too many service faults in the opening game. I didn't expect that to happen. Yesterday I didn't get even one, today it was totally changed. That should not happen in a tournament. There should be a specific rule. The umpire couldn't find faults yesterday but today the umpire sitting there found too many faults. It is ridiculous," an upset Srikanth said. India's rising doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too were on the cusp of pulling off an upset win over second seeded Danish combo of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen but a few service faults in crucial moment saw them ..
Williams routs Suarez Navarro to reach semis
Seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams reached the WTA Indian Wells semi-finals for the first time since 2001 by routing Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-3, 6-2. Despite the windy conditions, Williams improved to 5-2 on the season, including a third round win over sister Serena, who was making her return to the WTA after having a baby. Venus, who at 37 is the oldest player in the women's draw, has played sparingly this year but is just beginning to step up her game. "We've had a lot of great matches," Williams said of playing Suarez Navarro. "I was glad that I was able to close it out." She dominated Suarez Navarro, who became increasingly frustrated and had to call her coach a couple of times to come down to the court in between sets for advice. Wiliams is back in the semis in the California desert for the first time since pulling out before a semi-final match against Serena in 2001, with an injury. Although she skipped the event for many years, Williams said she recalled her ...
Federer chases Chung to reach semi-finals
Defending champ Roger Federer equalled his best start to a season with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Chung Hyeong to book his spot in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters. Federer, who is seeking a record sixth Indian Wells title, extended his win streak to 16 straight matches, matching the start he had to the 2006 ATP calendar season. In the semi-finals, Federer will face Croatian Borna Coric who outlasted seventh seeded Kevin Anderson 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3). Federer won 70 percent of his first serve points, had just one double fault and broke Chung's serve four times in the one hour, 23 minute main stadium match. He clinched the victory on the second match point when he blasted his 12th and final ace of the contest. Earlier this year he defended his title at the Australian Open, picking up his 20th Grand Slam win. Last month he claimed his 97th singles title with a victory in Rotterdam which helped him regain the world number one ranking and become the oldest No. 1 player in ATP ...
Narine reported again as IPL looms
West Indian spinner Sunil Narine has once again been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action in the ongoing Pakistan Super League, a development that could jeopardise his IPL participation. Narine, who is appearing for the Lahore Qalanders franchise in the T20 league, has been reported by the match officials after Wednesday night's game against Quetta Gladiators. The Pakistan Cricket Board said Narine had been placed on the warning list and can continue to play in the tournament and bowl. This could put his participation in the Indian Premier League, which is starting in a few weeks' time, in doubt. Narine turns out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. But as per ICC bowling action regulations, if he is reported again by match officials, he shall remain suspended from bowling in the tournament. Pakistan's former captain and presently coach of the Quetta Gladiators team, Moin Khan, raised concerns over Narine's bowling action after the match and said he was surprised that no ..
Prannoy enters quarters, Srikanth crashes out
Indian shuttler H S Prannoy progressed to the quarterfinals but title contender Kidambi Srikanth crashed out after suffering a narrow defeat to China's Huang Yuxiang in the USD 1000,000 All England Championship here. The unseeded Prannoy, who came into the tournament after recovering from foot warts, outwitted former world no 3 and 2014 world championship bronze medallist Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia 21-10 21-19 in a pre-quarterfinal match. The world no 3 had defeated Yuxiang, ranked 42, to claim the 2016 Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title but Srikanth failed to see off the unseeded Chinese at the Arena Birmingham, losing 11-21 21-15 20-22 in a 52 minute battle. "I didn't start well but then I came back really well in both the games. I missed out on easy points in the third," Srikanth said. "Well, there were too many service faults in opening game. I didn't expect that to happen. Yesterday I didn't get any, today it was totally changed. That should not happen in a tournament. ...
Super Cup: Gokulam breeze past NorthEast United 2-0 to book final round berth
I-League outfit Gokulam Kerala FC rode on Ugandan striker Henry Kisekka's brace either side of halftime to beat Indian Super League's wooden spooners NorthEast United FC in a Super Cup qualifier at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.