Page 1914 - Sports

Nadal pulls out of Indian Wells and Miami

World No 2 Rafael Nadal has pulled out of this month's ATP Masters events in Miami and Indian Wells owing to hip injury.The Spaniard had earlier also withdrawn from this week's Acapulco Open in Mexico after a recurrence of the injury.The same injury also forced the 31-year-old to pull out of the Australian Open."I'm sorry to write this, but my worst possible scenario has been confirmed. The injury I suffered during training right before Acapulco is in the same basic area as the injury I suffered in Melbourne [during the Australian Open]," Nadal announced on Facebook .He added, "I won't be playing at Indian Wells or in Miami and the goal going forward is to recover in time for the clay-court season.The tennis ace's withdrawal from the event was greeted with dismay by Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas."We are disappointed that Rafa will not be able to compete for the title at this year's BNP Paribas Open. We wish him all the best for a speedy recovery, and hope to see him back

I-League: Churchill Brother to host Mohun Bagan

Churchill Brothers FC Goa and Mohun Bagan, one of the fierce rivals of the I-League will go toe-to-toe again in the final home fixture of the Goan outfit this season here at the Tilak Maidan on Saturday.The last time when these two sides had met, it was a field day for Mohun Bagan as they triumphed 5-0 at the Barasat stadium in Kolkata. Since then, the ride has been a roller coaster ride for the Kolkata outfit as well as their counterpart who are battling out to survive in the premier league of the country."We conceded five against Bagan, but that was the previous Churchill brothers. Revenge is not our mind but it's about all three points", Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes said.Meanwhile, Mohun Bagan coach Sankarlal Chakraborty said that this will be a different game altogether."In our home match we won 5-0, but now the situation is different and it won't be easy," he said.The Goan side will come into the game after rescuing a point against Gokulam FC in their last match. The

Sachin wins but India lose to Russia in WSB clash

World youth champion Sachin Siwach made a winning debut but India ended up on the losing side, going down 1-4 to Russia in their second World Series of Boxing (WSB) clash in Kazan. The loss to Russia's Patriot Boxing Team was the Indian Tigers' second successive in WSB after a 1-4 defeat at the hands of Kazakhstan's Astana Arlans in the team's opening clash. The 19-year-old Sachin, competing in his maiden WSB bout, gave India a fine start last night as he defeated Russian debutant Dorzho Radnaev with a terrific come-from-behind performance in the light flyweight (49kg) category. Sachin rallied after losing the first two rounds to stun the local favourite in a split 2-1 verdict, out-punching him in the last three rounds. However, India could not build on the triumph and the Russians sauntered to a comfortable victory in the end. Another standout performance for India last night was by Sanjeet (91kg), also a WSB debutant. The 21-year-old Army boxer, who claimed a stunning gold medal at .

Jarry enters Brasil Open semis

Chilean Nicolas Jarry came from a set behind to defeat top-seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain and book a place in the Brasil Open semi-finals here.

ISL: Chennai look to test squad against Mumbai

Chennaiyin FC coach John Gregory was full for praise for his players ahead of their concluding Indian Super League (ISL) clash against Mumbai City FC and is looking forward to give some lesser-known players a chance at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Saturday.Chennaiyin FC have qualified for the semi-finals and can finish anywhere between two and four. The team coach said he was not bothered about their semi-final opponents and will start focusing on that crucial game only after the ISL clash against Mumbai."I will make one or two changes. Give minutes to some of the guys who were on the bench or upstairs. They thoroughly deserve the chance. If they perform well enough, and they fit into the system, I always have a (selection) headache (for the next game)," said Gregory.The experienced coach, who has almost 30 years of coaching experience which includes managing some top teams, could not stop praising his team's professionalism."I've got a group of incredible players. I've been ..

Windies will have to be smarter in Zimbabwe, says Coach

The Windies coach Stuart Law has said his side will have to be smarter in approach in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018, which will produce two sides that will complete the 10-team line-up for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 to be played in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14."It is not going to be making 300 plus and then bowling teams out. It is going to be working out how to get to 180 to 220 and then deciding how to get the 10 wickets. To be honest, the wickets (in the warm-up matches) weren't as conducive as we want to play and so just have to come up with different ways to go about it," said Law in Harare."We do target 300-plus as we found in New Zealand, that's probably a benchmark score these days in One-Day Internationals. Here, we have to lower that target just to make sure we are safe to play better cricket or make better decisions out in the middle and get the job done," Law added.The Windies, along with Afghanistan, Ireland and ..

Indian Women's Hockey Team leaves for Korea

After the historic Women's Asia Cup victory in November last year, the Indian Women's Hockey Team has set out for their first tour of the year.The 20-member squad led by Rani along with Vice Captain Sunita Lakra left for Jinchun, Korea on Friday where they will play a five-match series with the hosts starting March 5.Under the watchful eyes of Chief Coach Harendra Singh, the India Team was based out of the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru where 34 players were part of the National Camp that focused on fitness, speed and skill development.While the 20-members will compete in Korea between March 5 to 11, the remaining members of the camp will continue to train in SAI, Bengaluru ahead of their preparations for Gold Coast Commonwealth Games."This is our first event after winning the Asia Cup last year so naturally the team is riding on confidence. The team is upbeat and eager to play our first international tour of the season and Korea can be a tough team to play in their home ...

Asian Wrestling Ch'ship: Big-B lauds Navjot Kaur on clinching gold for India

Bollywood's Shahenshah Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday lauded and congratulated Navjot Kaur for becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships.The 75-year-old actor took to Twitter and said "Navjot Kaur first woman from India to win Gold in Asian Wrestling Championships .. Amazing ! many congratulations .. India Booming all over .. JAI HIND !!!" (sic)Yesterday, Navjot clinched her first gold medal for India in the Asian Wrestling championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She defeated Imai Miyu of Japan 9-1 in the final of women's 65 kg freestyle.With one gold, two silvers and one bronze medal, India was at the second spot in the medals tally.Meanwhile, Vinesh Phogat and Pinki of Indian Railways claimed silver medals, while Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the 62 kilogram category.China were leading the table with four gold and one bronze medal, while Japan were at the third place with one gold, one silver and two ...

27th Sultan Azlan Shah: India to play against Argentina today

Sardar Singh-led Indian Men's Hockey Team to begin their campaign at the 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018 against World No.2 Argentina here on Saturday at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.Vying for a good start, the Indian team put up a fight against title-contenders and World No.1 Australia in the warm-up match they played on Thursday.Though the team lost 1-2, with Ramandeep Singh, Vice-Captain for the tournament, scoring India's lone goal, Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne said, "We played three quarters against Australia to adjust to the humidity. We lost 1-2 but I was happy with a lot of things. For the first match together with this new combination, we put a good performance and we will use this match to prepare for the opening game against Argentina."India last played against Argentina in the Odisha Men's Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017 where the hosts lost a place in the title-round after losing 0-1."Like I've said in the past, I don't consider that ...

ISSF World Cup: Six Indians in fray on competition day one

Two finals are lined up on competition day one, as the year's first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun stage gets underway on Saturday, in Mexico's Guadalajara, heralding the beginning of the 2018 international Shooting sport season.The Men's 10M Air Pistol will see Jitu Rai, Om Prakash Mitherwal and Shazar Rizvi carry Indian medal hopes in the qualification stages while Apurvi Chandela, Mehuli Ghosh and Anjum Moudgil will fight it out in the Women's 10M Air Rifle, in the second medal event of the day.A total of 404 athletes from 50 National Olympic Committees will pile up 594 starts in the 12-day competition, which will have 15 medal events including three mixed team events. India has fielded a 33-member squad including three shooters in the MQS (minimum qualification score) section.2018 has a packed shooting sport calendar with four ISSF World Cup stages in each of the three disciplines apart from the World Championships, the Commonwealth ..

Delhi hold Pune in ISL clash

Delhi Dynamos FC played out a 2-2 draw against FC Pune City in their last Indian Super League (ISL) clash of the season here on Friday.

Prasad resigns from junior national selection committee

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad resigned on Friday from the post of chairman of the junior national selection committee.

FC Pune, Delhi Dynamos split points

Delhi Dynamos FC played out a 2-2 draw against FC Pune City in their last Indian Super League clash of the season at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here today. Even though the game meant little for FC Pune City, who had already qualified for the play-offs, both sides put on a display of some scintillating attacking football. The visitors rallied twice in the game to take away a well-deserved point. In-form Kalu Uche scored twice for Delhi in the first half, while both goals for Pune came from Emiliano Alfaro, once in each session. Just 10 minutes into the game, Ashique Kuruniyans innocuous foul on Delhi's nippy winger Lallianzuala Chhangte inside the box was picked up by the referee, who awarded a penalty. Kalu Uche stepped up and calmly slotted the ball home to hand Delhi the lead and take his personal goal tally in the ISL to 12. Barely two minutes later, the referee again pointed to the spot, this time at the other end. Delhi midfielder Simranjeet Singh paid the price for holding on

Starc five-for puts Australia in total control

The spin of Nathan Lyon and the reverse swing of Mitchell Starc sent South Africa crashing on the second day of the first Test against Australia at Kingsmead today. South Africa were bowled out for 162 shortly before the close, giving Australia a lead of 189 runs on the first innings. Lyon started the slide for the hosts and finished with three for 50 before the tall left-armer Starc gave a magnificent display of fast, reverse swing bowling to take five for 34. AB de Villiers played almost a lone hand for South Africa, making 71 not out. Mitchell Marsh struck 96 for Australia. Largely through his efforts, as well as an aggressive innings of 35 by Starc, Australia's last three wickets added 100 runs to take them to a total of 351. On a pitch which has proved even slower than predicted by both captains, left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj took five for 123 for South Africa. Spin continued to be effective when South Africa batted. Off-spinner Lyon was brought on in the eighth over and took ..

Russia-Turkey friendly to be inaugural match for Dinamo Stadium

The Russian Football Union (RFU) has confirmed that the Dinamo Stadium in capital would be the venue for the national teams friendly match against Turkey in early June, an official said on Friday.

Navjot scripts history at Asian Wrestling Championships

Navjot Kaur scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win gold at the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships here on Friday.

Navjot scripts history, becomes first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in Sr Asian C'hips

Navjot Kaur today scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold in the Senior Asian Championships as she clinched the yellow metal in the 65kg freestyle category here. Navjot outclassed Japan's Miya Imai 9-1 in a one-sided final bout of the women's 65kg freestyle category to bag the gold. This was also India's first gold in the ongoing championships. Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the 62kg freestyle category after getting the better of Kazakhstan's Ayaulym Kassymova 10-7 in a tough fight. The two medals took India's medal tally to six -- a gold, a silver and four bronze medals. Navjot produced a thoroughly dominating performance. She was impressive throughout her final bout as she recorded a convincing win. The 28-year-old Navjot has been around the wrestling circuit for a while as she had previously won a silver at the Asian Championships in 2013 and a bronze in 2014 Commonwealth Games in 67kg. Sakshi, meanwhile, emerged from a

I-League: Chennai beat Minerva to throw title race open

Chennai City FC registered a stunning 2-1 win over table-toppers Minerva Punjab FC to blow the I-League title race wide open here on Friday.

Navjot clinches India's first gold in Asian Wrestling Championships

Navjot Kaur clinched India's first gold medal of the Senior Asian Wrestling Championships as she outclassed Japan's Miya Imai in the final bout of the women's 65kg freestyle category here today. Navjot beat Imai 9-1 in a one-sided contest on a fruitful day for India. Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik won a bronze in the 62kg freestyle category after getting the better of Kazakhstan's Ayaulym Kassymova 10-7 in a tough fight. The two medals took India's medal tally to six -- a gold, a silver and four bronze medals. Navjot produced a thoroughly dominating performance. She was impressive throughout her final bout as she recorded a convincing win. The 28-year-old Navjot has been around the wrestling circuit for a while as she had previously won a silver at the Asian Championships in 2013 and a bronze in 2014 Commonwealth Games in 67kg. Sakshi, meanwhile, emerged from a hard-fought bronze medal playoff against Kazhakstans Ayaulym Kassymova with a 10-7 scoreline. Meanwhile, Vinesh ..

Chennai City dent Minerva's title charge

Chennai City FC registered a stunning 2-1 win over table-toppers Minerva Punjab to throw the I-League title race wide open here today. Chennai skipper Soosairaj opened the scoring in the fifth minute before Minerva striker Chencho Gyeltshen restored parity in the 26th minute. Chennai City FC's new recruit Aleksander Rakic beat the offside trap on the hour-mark to get the lead once again which eventually turned to be the match-winner at the JLN Stadium here. Minerva Punjab FC are still leading the race with 32 points from 17 matches but East Bengal (29 from 16 matches) and NEROCA FC (31 from 17 matches) are still very much in the title hunt. Mohun Bagan (27 from 16 matches) also are in the mix for the title race though their chances are remote. If East Bengal win both their final two matches, the I-League title could be theirs for the first time. In any case, in this I-League season also, the winner is likely to be decided on the final day on March 8 when all the title contenders play .