Page 1928 - Sports
Indoor games brewing up in Kashmir Valley
Indoor gaming and sports complexes have started gaining popularity in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.Game centers, which are privately owned, have all sports, including snooker, table tennis, play station and carrom board among others.Mehran Rishi, the owner of Indulge Sports Centre Srinagar, said that the game centre was built gradually and he is looking forward to making it more popular with the inclusion of more indoor games."States like Punjab have indoor sports complexes. So we also came up with the idea of opening a table tennis academy. Once we did it, the ideas started building up and we also opened a snooker academy. We also brought X Box and play station from Dubai. In next three months, we will also have a gym here and a kid zone for children under the age of 12," Mehran told ANI.The youth of Kashmir appreciated the steps taken by locals, saying that sports activities are helping them to build their concentration and mind power.A local, playing at the game centre, said, ...
Season's unpredictability, competitiveness could woo corporates: I-League CEO
The twists and turns, which characterised the business end of this I-League season, could help Indian football woo corporate giants and strike lucrative sponsorship deals in the coming times, league CEO Sunando Dhar said today. The mix of unpredictability and competitiveness coupled with the sheer dint of players performance have quelled fears about the event drifting into irrelevance and obscurity in the face of competition from the corporate-backed Indian Super League (ISL). The uniqueness of this years I-League is obviously the competitiveness and unpredictability. A team struggling at the bottom beating any big team on any given day is something that is drawing the crowd, got people talking about it, Dhar told PTI. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) employee was referring to giant-killers Gokulam Kerala FC, whose stunning run left contenders Minerva Punjab FC and East Bengal in their wake, and the three-way title race tantalisingly poised. The league, though, went down to ...
Atletico Madrid's Carrasco, Gaitan leave for Chinese club
Atletico Madrid have announced the departures of winger Yannick Carrasco and midfielder Nico Gaitan to Chinese football club Dalian Yifang.
Kohli was little over the top in SA but growing: Steve Waugh
Virat Kohli's aggression was a "little over the top" in the recent tour of South Africa but it is all a part of his development as a charismatic India captain, feels former Australia skipper Steve Waugh. India enjoyed decent success in the 58-day tour, during which the side lost the Test series 1-2 but clinched the ODI and Twenty20 series 5-1 and 2-1 respectively. Kohli's stellar performance with the bat was among the biggest positives to be drawn from the gruelling sojourn. "I have seen him in South Africa and I feel that he was little over the top. But that's a learning thing for a captain," Waugh told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the Laureus World Sports Awards here. Waugh said Kohli needs to strike a balance given that not all players in his team are as expressive as he is. "As a captain, he (Kohli) is still developing and needs some time to pull in his excitement factor and emotions but that's the way he plays," he said. "I think he just needs to get a bit aware that ..
Betis beat struggling Levante 2-0 in La Liga
Visiting Real Betis defeated a floundering Levante side 2-0 here to vault over three other clubs and grab the seventh spot in the La Liga football championship.
Dortmund held by Augsburg in Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund settled for a 1-1 draw here against FC Augsburg, wasting a chance to distance themselves from the four other clubs vying to be best of the rest in the Bundesliga football championship as Bayern Munich run away with the title.
Napoli crush Cagliari 5-0 in Serie A
SSC Napoli inflicted a 5-0 drubbing on Cagliari to increase their lead at the top of Serie A to four points, though second-placed Juventus have a game in hand. For the visitors, it was a club-record 10th straight league victory.
Not looking at IPL as platform for India comeback: Ashwin
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin insists that he is not losing sleep over making a limited-overs comeback for India and his immediate focus is on the "big responsibility" of captaining Kings XI Punjab in the upcoming Indian Premier League. Ashwin, who was appointed KXIP captain yesterday ahead of names like Yuvraj Singh and Aaron Finch in the squad, has lost his place in the Indian limited-overs side alongwith all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. The wily off-spinner last took the field in a coloured India jersey in July, 2017. "I am not looking at this IPL for an India comeback. I go into the IPL with a mindset that I have every year. This season I have a big responsibility (captaining KXIP) and I am ready for the challenge. I am not looking for anything else. It (India comeback) will happen if it has to," Ashwin told PTI. Finger spinners Ashwin and Jadeja selection for next years World Cup seems unlikely at the moment with wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav doing a ..
Don't understand the logic: coaches on proposed new badminton rules
The Badminton World Federation's proposal to reduce on-court coaching and tweak the scoring system has left international coaches a confused lot with the likes of Pullela Gopichand and Kenneth Jonassen questioning the very logic of such a move. The BWF council has proposed that on-court coaching, which is allowed at the 11-point lemon break and at the end of every game in a match, be reduced but hasn't explicitly specified to what extent. The world body's panel has also called for a best-of-five format instead of the current three-game structure. It has also been suggested that games be of 11 points each instead of the current 21-point format. The plan will require endorsement at the BWF's Annual General Meeting in Bangkok in May to be implemented in international badminton. Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand said he doesn't have any idea how the on-court reduction of coaching would be implemented and neither does understand the logic behind it. "I don't know what are the supposed
Japan showcases history of its century-old gaming industry
A century has passed since domestic animation was unveiled in Japan.That is why many people just could not resist attending the commemorative exhibition at the Game Show.On a 12-metre, large panel display, the history of the main animation work - Game x Anime - created with the original game software was displayed for everyone to view.In addition to the chronology of the main animation works, numerous articles published in magazines were introduced that looked back at the history of two of the greatest cool Japanese games and anime content ever created.While at the same time, the game show provided a family game park for junior high students and younger children to relax and enjoy playing games with their parents. In addition to the game experience zone for playing the latest games, families could even walk down memory lane playing past grand prize masterpieces at the Retro Game Corner.One visitor said, "It was fantastic to be able to play the games I always wanted to play with my ...
Shuttler Prannoy hungry for competitive action before CWG (IANS Interview)
Even though he may not be fully fit by the time the All England Badminton Championships start on March 14, Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy feels that he needs to play the tournament in order to get into the groove ahead of this April's Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
Bangladesh appoint Courtney Walsh as interim coach
Bangladesh named former West Indies cricketer Courtney Walsh as the interim coach for next month's tri-nation Twenty20 series in Sri Lanka.Walsh, who has been Bangladesh's bowling coach since 2016, takes over as interim coach from former Zimbabwean cricketer Richard Halsall.The position of Bangladesh' head coach had been vacant since October, when Chandika Hathurusingha quit after three years at the helm.Meanwhile, Khaled Mahmud will no longer be a part of the support staff."Since I will be going to Sri Lanka, a lot of the directors also will come with me. I personally feel that [Khaled Mahmud] Sujon should go as team manager," ESPNcricinfo quoted Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan as saying."We still haven't talked to him about it. We have finalised on the other roles like we have also decided to give the batting duties to someone which we will announce on Tuesday," he added.Bangladesh named a 16-man squad for next month's tri-nation T20I series involving Sri ...
Simona Halep reclaims world No 1 ranking
Romanian tennis ace Simona Halep has returned to world number one in women rankings.She replaced Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, who held the top spot for four consecutive weeks.Wozniacki, 27, did not compete in the Dubai Tennis Championships last week, leaving the way open for the Romanian to return to World No.1.Halep was also absent in the Dubai Duty Free Open due to an ankle injury.She is now over 400 points clear of the second-placed Dane.Garbine Muguruza is at the third spot after reaching the semi-finals in Dubai, while winner Elina Svitolina, from Ukraine, remains fourth.
'Time for the Windies to win another World Cup'
The West Indies skipper Jason Holder believes that is time for his side to follow in the footsteps of the Under-19 and women's teams and add a third World Cup to the collection."We've done well in T20 cricket, we've done well in women's cricket and in Under-19 cricket. I think it is about time we win another World Cup," said Holder, referring to the Windies' victories in the ICC World Twenty20 2016 and the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2016.The Windies won the World Cup in 1975 and 1979 in England and Wales, but are featuring in the World Cup Qualifiers after finishing outside the top eight on the ICC ODI Team Rankings at the 30 September 2017 cut-off date.Holder admitted his side needed to lift their 50-over cricket and hoped the World Cup Qualifiers would help them to not only find a winning combination but also the momentum going into next year's World Cup in England and Wales.The all-rounder said, "We know what is at stake. It is an opportunity for us to grab some momentum heading ...
Neymar suffers fractured metatarsal, serious doubt to face Real
Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar suffered a sprained ankle and a fractured metatarsal when he was stretchered off in Sunday's win over Marseille, the Ligue 1 leaders has announced. The Brazilian, who signed for PSG in a world-record move from Barcelona last year, is now a serious injury doubt for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Real Madrid at the Parc des Princes on March 6. PSG trail in the tie after a 3-1 first-leg defeat in Spain, with their hopes of a maiden Champions League title taking a further body blow with the confirmation of Neymar's injury, although they didn't specify how long the 26-year-old would be out of action. "Additional examinations performed today (ultrasound and CT) confirmed an external sprain of the right ankle, but also an associated fissure of the fifth metatarsal," PSG said in a short statement. The chances of Neymar returning to fitness in time to face the reigning European champions now appear extremely slim. He is all but certain to miss ..
Undefeated Thai 'dwarf giant' one win from Mayweather record
Unsung outside the boxing world, a Thai fighter nicknamed the "dwarf giant" is quietly closing in on Floyd Mayweather's undefeated 50 fight record and with it an unlikely place among the sport's greats. At 5ft 2in (1.57m) and weighing just 105lb (47.6kg), minimum-weight Wanheng Menayothin is shorter, leaner and significantly less wealthy than "Money" Mayweather, the brash American who was teased from retirement last year by a $100 million purse to fight MMA star Conor McGregor. But this spring Wanheng could tie Mayweather's 50-0 record and enter boxing lore. His 50th bout in April or May is set to be against Panama's Leroy Estrada in Thailand, a low-key affair that will be followed by fans and boxing enthusiasts, but not the global audience drawn to the cross-discipline spectacle between Mayweather and McGregor. The milestone is generating boxing buzz in a country that is better known for Muay Thai, the kingdom's boxing-style martial art that also allows kicking, kneeing and elbows to
Neymar fractures metatarsal, set to miss Real return game
Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) Neymar Jr is set to miss the Champions League Round of 16 second leg match against Real Madrid with a right ankle sprain and a fractured metatarsal, the club has said.
Indian shooters, officials depart for global competition
A team of 10 shooters and four officials departed for Guadalajara, Mexico, to take part in the year's first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun, ahead of a long and important season for the National Shooting squad.The competition is scheduled between March 1-12, with a total of 15 medal events and three mixed team events.Among the shooters to leave were Trap shooting exponents Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu, Shreyasi Singh, Shagun Chowdhary and Seema Tomar as well as Rifle and Pistol shooters Annu Raj Singh, Tejaswini Sawant, Anjum Moudgil and N. Gaayathri.The second batch of the 33-strong squad is scheduled to leave on Tuesday, while the final batch is scheduled to depart on March 3."It's a big season for the National squad and I wish all team members the very best, especially to the youngsters in the squad, many of whom will be donning the senior India colors for the very first time. We have a strong and ...
Deserve more respect, will get it when I start winning: Lukaku
Fresh from his heroics against Chelsea, Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku said he deserves "more respect" for his goalscoring record, adding he will not get it until he starts winning trophies.
Tennis chiefs aim to transform Davis Cup with World Cup plan
The Davis Cup is set for a dramatic transformation that would see a new season-ending World Cup of Tennis Finals featuring 18 nations, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced today. The ITF unveiled plans for a 25-year, $3 billion (2.4 billion euros) partnership with investment group Kosmos, founded by Barcelona football star Gerard Pique, to shake up the current format, which sits uneasily in the packed calendar. Currently, the Davis Cup is structured around a 16-nation World Group, contested over four weekends during the year. The remaining countries are then divided into three regional zones. ITF president David Haggerty described the proposed new format, which could be launched as early as next year pending a vote at the ITF general meeting in August, as "a complete game-changer for the ITF and for tennis". "Our vision is to create a major season-ending finale that will be a festival of tennis and entertainment, featuring the world's greatest players representing their