Page 1929 - Sports

Falcons retain Soumyadeep Roy in UTT coaches' draft pick

Defending champions Falcons TTC chose to go with their winning coach for the second edition of theCEAT Ultimate Table Tennis League, opting for Soumyadeep Roy in the draft pick for coaches held here today. The league will take place fromJune 14-July 1. The Falcons, who got the opportunity to choose their coach first after the draw of lots, optedfor the 34-year-old 2006 Commonwealth Games' gold medallist who is now the coach of the Indian team. The Yoddhas, who were next in line, swooped in on HungarysFerenc Karsai, a coach with over 25 years' of experience at the highest level. He wasat the helm for DHFL Maharashtra Unitedlast season, a media release said. The RP-SG Mavericks showed faith in an Indian, opting for Arup Basak as their first choice coach. The Challengers and the Yoddhas managed to get back their previous coaches, A Muralidhara Rao and Sandeep Gupta, to make it a grand day for Indians. The Challengers, Dabangg Smashers and Maha United opted for Peter Engel ...

Holder confident of good show, Rashid happy with favourites tag

The West Indies captain Jason Holder is confident that his team will do well in the upcoming ICC World Cup qualifiers whil Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan is happy to live with tournament favourites billing. Call it irony, but West Indies, the two-time World Champions (1975 and 1979) have hit their lowest ebb as they are playing qualifiers with associate members in order to get a slot in the 2019 World Cup in England. We know what is at stake. It is an opportunity for us to grab some momentum heading into next years World Cup, get some games under our belt, just finalise some combinations, get things straightened, and hopefully turn our cricket in terms of the ODI format," Holder was quoted as saying in a ICC press release. "It is probably our weaker formats. No doubt, we have not been consistent, something that we have addressed, hopefully going forward we should see some good performances. We have got a well-balanced side, quality side with experience. Hopefully, we could gel ...

Lahiri finishes Tied-59th as Justin Thomas wins Honda Classic

Ace golfer Anirban Lahiri finished in Tied-59th place after he dropped a double bogey on either side of the turn for a three-over 74 card at the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens here.

Walsh appointed West Indies interim head coach

West Indian pace legend Courtney Walsh was on Monday appointed Bangladesh's interim head coach for the Nidahas Trophy.

BPCL, DY Patil Sports 'B' enter quarter-finals of T20 tourney

Bharat Petroleum Corporation and DY Patil Sports 'B' entered the quarter-finals of the 14th DY Patil T20 Cup after successful chases in their final league matches today. At the DY Patil Talegaon Ground, Indian Oil suffered a five-wicket defeat against DY Patil Sports 'B' in the first game while BPCL won a high-scoring contest later against DY Patil Sports 'A' by seven wickets. Indian Oil posted a moderate 141-9 in their 20 overs with captain Aditya Tare (29), Wasim Jaffer (24) and Siddhesh Lad (20) being the main contributors. For DY Patil Sports 'B', Vineet Sinha (4-34) and Raunaq Sharma (2-21) were the best bowlers on view. In their response, DY Patil Sports 'B' were struggling when wicket-keeper Hardik Tamore hit a blistering half century (53 not out in 33 balls with three sixes and as many fours) changed the course of the game. He was helped by Aditya Gadwal (30) and Aman Khan (24). For Indian Oil the lone bowler to create any impression was veteran Rajesh Pawar ...

SA tour good, fielding biggest takeaway: Harmanpreet

Indian women's T20 skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who led the squad to historic away series wins against South Africa in both ODIs and T20 Internationals, said the biggest plus was the team's improved fielding while singling out newcomer Jemimah Rodrigues for praise. "The South Africa tour was good against good players who can change the situation (complexion of the game). The good thing is that team did not depend on one or two players and everyone performed," Harmanpreet told reporters today on the sidelines of the Times of India Awards (TOISA) here. "Jemmi (Jemimah Rodrigues) has shown talent at international level. Our fielding, in which over the last two three years we were lacking, has improved and that was the biggest take-away from the tour," she added. She said keeping in perspective the World T20 in West Indies, scheduled later this year, the team is intent on giving chance to youngsters during the upcoming matches against visiting England and Australia teams. "We ..

Vijender eyes third belt on Pro Circuit in April

Unconquered since making his debut on the Pro Circuit, celebrated Indian boxer Vijender Singh is likely to compete for his third title in April and go for his maiden World title by the end of this year. Vijender, who won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, said he is targetting Commonwealth title. "We are planning the next bout for April-May but we have not decided anything right now. I am going for the Commonwealth title this season, so it will take time. Its not easy, that just go there and win it. We are planning for UK.," Vijender said on the sidelines of TOISA awards here. The Indian boxer, the current WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Champion and WBO Oriental Super Middleweight Champion, said he would like to add a World title in his kitty. "I have got two (belts) now, going for a third one. Hopefully, end of this year we will go for world title. My world ranking is six or seven right now, so I can challenge even the No 1. But I need one more fight before the world ..

Coaches named for TT league's 2nd edition

The 12 franchises in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis League (UTT) on Monday picked their coaches for the second edition which runs from June 14 to July 1.

Boxer Bidhuri confident of successful comeback after injury

Bantamweight boxer Gaurav Bidhuri today sounded upbeat about making a successful comeback from a recent back injury to stake his claims for a spot in the Indian squad at the April Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. "In the coming days there will be trials for the Commonwealth Games. I was on rehabilitation (after suffering a back injury) till November and started my practice in January. "It won't be tough for me to make a comeback," said the 24-year-old Delhi fighter who caught the boxing fans' attention by grabbing a bronze medal in the 56-kg class at last years World Championships in Hamburg. The injury came at a wrong time for the pugilist and forced him to skip the Indian Open held in Delhi in January. But he sounded confident of the course ahead following the boost in his confidence after raking in a bronze in Germany. "I got a medal in the World Champions and that was a stepping stone. If I can get a medal at the World Championships, then why not at the ..

Want to see India become sports equipment manufacturing hub: Rathore

Sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore asserted on Monday that he wants to see India become a sports equipment manufacturing hub for the world.

Hockey team sweating it out to tighten defence, says Rupinder

Defender Rupinder Pal Singh on Monday said that the Indian hockey squad is trying its best not to repeat the defensive mistakes it did in the four-nation invitational hockey tournament in New Zealand.

Real Madrid coach says Neymar injury brings no satisfaction

Real Madrid's French chief coach Zinedine Zidane on Monday said it gave him no satisfaction to see an injury take down Paris Saint Germain's Brazilian star forward Neymar ahead of the two football clubs' clash in the second leg of UEFA Champions League round-of-16.

Lahiri finishes T-59th as Justin Thomas wins; Woods is 12th

Anirban Lahiri dropped a double bogey on either side of the turn for a three-over 74 card, finishing in Tied-59th place at the Honda Classic, here. It was his highest score of the week as he finished at nine-over 289, dropping 13 places from his overnight position. As Justin Thomas won a play-off over Luke List, Tiger Woods was 12th showing that he is slowly but steadily getting into shape to contend. Lahiri had three birdies, the first of which came on the third. He dropped a double on fifth followed by a bogey on sixth and another on ninth and turned in three over. On the back nine, he birdied 12th, but once again had a bogey and double bogey on back-to-back holes 14th and 15th and not even a birdie on the tough 17th could better his day. At the top, Thomas beat List on the first extra hole Sunday to win event. Thomas, who rises to No. 3 with this win, nearly holed a wedge that got him into a playoff. In the play off he hit a 3-wood over the water and onto the 18th green for a ...

Winter Olympics: S. Korean medallists eligible for military exemption

Seven South Korean athletes who won medals at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be eligible for military exemption, officials said here on Monday.

Bangladesh name Walsh interim coach for Sri Lanka tournament

Bangladesh today named West Indies fast bowling great Courtney Walsh as interim coach for next month's tri-nation Twenty20 series in Sri Lanka. Walsh has been Bangladesh's fast bowling coach since early 2016 but had never been called on to take charge of the entire squad. Bangladesh have been without a head coach since October when Chandika Hathurusingha, a former Sri Lankan batsman, quit after three years at the helm to join his struggling home team. Former skipper Khaled Mahmud filled the void as team director recently, when Bangladesh lost a Test and Twenty20 home series against Sri Lanka. "Walsh has vast experience and everyone respects him as well," Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan told reporters. Bangladesh named a 16-man squad for the tri-nation Twenty20 against Sri Lanka starting March 6. India is the other team in the tournament. All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been included despite a niggling finger injury that forced him out of the recent Sri Lanka series. ..

ISL: Pune qualify for semis despite 0-4 loss to Goa

Despite suffering a humiliating 4-0 rout at the hands of FC Goa in their match yesterday, FC Pune City have booked their place in the semi-finals of the Indian Super League (ISL) football for the first time ever, according to the league organisers. Pune City suffered their worst defeat of the season against Goa in their penultimate round robin clash at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. But their impressive performances earlier in the season means they don't have to wait for the final league clash against Delhi Dynamos on March 2 to secure a point for a place in the play-offs, an ISL release said today. They will finish in the top four, regardless of other results, and the achievement of breaking into the top four for the first time since the ISL was launched in 2014 was hailed by the clubs chief coach Ranko Popovic. "As a club, this was our first hurdle to clear, to reach the playoffs. The entire team has worked consistently towards the same goal and this spot

Arrows look to ending campaign on a high against Mohun Bagan (Preview)

Indian Arrows, the developmental side of All India Football Federation, will look to finishing their I-League campaign on a high when they take on Mohun Bagan at the Tilak Maidan Stadium here on Tuesday.

Pro Kabaddi League organisers start talent hunt

Ahead of Season 6 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), the popular leagues organisers and the All India Kabaddi Federation have decided to conduct a pan-India talent hunt covering 18 cities to unearth new players ahead of the auctions. The joint initiative of PKL organisers, Mashal Sports, and AKF commenced here today. This would be followed by the scouting for talent in the cities of Chennai, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Thrissur, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Lucknow, Vishakhapatnam, Patna, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Indore, Imphal, Jaipur, Bhubaneshwar and Ahmedabad, said a media release here. The cities have been chosen based on expert assessment of kabaddi talent spotted in local tournaments held there in the past, the release said. The phase one of the "Future Kabaddi Heroes" programme would be conducted over 2-3 days per city. Last year a similar programme received a response from over 4,600 participants and post a three-stage selection process, 133 players finally made it to the

India's CWG-bound athletes to get Rs 50 lakh insurance cover

All the 227 Indian athletes who will take part in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, will get a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover from Edelweiss Tokyo Life Insurance, it was announced today. The Indian Olympic Association today announced Edelweiss Financial Services Limited as the sponsor of the Indian contingent for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Edelweiss Tokyo Life insurance is the life insurance arm of the Edelweiss Group. Earlier, Edelweiss had in 2016 announced a Rs 1 crore insurance protection for the Indian athletes at the Rio Olympic Games. Edelweiss will also be the official sponsor of the 2018 and 2019 National Games. The IOA also announced Raymond as the official styling partner of the Indian contingent to the CWG, Asian and Olympic Games as well as sportswear brand Shiv Naresh as sports apparel partner. "More private sector players need to come forward to support eminent ...

Proteas willing to change pace policy against Aussies: Gibson

South Africa head coach Ottis Gibson has said that his side is eager to change their pace policy of playing four pacemen in the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia, beginning Thursday at Kingsmead in Durban.Earlier, Gibson, during the successful Test series against India, emphasised the idea of playing four pacers more often in the longest format of the game.Though South Africa had managed to beat India 2-1 in the three-match Test series, there were some issues regarding the batting order as their wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock failed to perform well lower down the batting line-up.And the South African team's head coach admitted that his team would require a distinct strategy heading into the upcoming Test series against Australia."It is different opposition, therefore, the make-up of the team is slightly different. We have to get to Durban and see what we get (in terms of the pitch)," Sport24 quoted Gibson as saying.Skipper Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Hashim ..