Page 1961 - Sports
Northeast coach Grant urges AIFF to improve refereeing standards
Unhappy with the standard of refereeing during their Indian Super League (ISL) matches, Northeast United head coach Avram Grant on Monday urged the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to conduct a thorough feedback procedure and analyse the performance of the referees for the betterment of the tournament.
Federer claims top spot, becomes oldest ever ATP World No. 1
Switzerland's Roger Federer became the oldest ever World No. 1 in the men's Association of Tennis Professionals world singles rankings released on Monday after his victory at the Rotterdam Open.
Wozniacki stays on top of WTA rankings
Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark maintained the top spot for the fourth consecutive week in the Women's Tennis Association rankings released on Monday, 45 points ahead of Romania's former World No. 1 Simona Halep.
Reported doping case may affect Russian athletes' flag future
A reported doping case involving a Russian athlete could affect whether or not his team will march behind the Russian flag at the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Real Madrid stages strong second-half comeback over Betis
Real Madrid mounted a second-half comeback to defeat Real Betis 5-3 as they remained fourth in the La Liga football championship on Sunday.
Ice hockey body to consider keeping joint Korean team for next Olympics
Ice hockey's global governing body said on Monday that it will consider keeping the joint Korean women's team for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Ajax trail PSV by 5 points in Dutch league
AFC Ajax narrowed the gap to Dutch football league leaders PSV Eindhoven to five points after a 1-0 win over PEC Zwolle.
Ronaldinho reveals post-retirement plans
Ronaldinho has outlined plans to focus on music, his football academy and a new mystery project as he prepares for life after football.
Thiem wins 2nd Argentina Open; Molteni-Zeballos prevail in doubles
Austria's Dominic Thiem claimed his second Argentina Open title, defeating Slovenia's Aljad Bedene 6-2 and 6-4, while Argentina's Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos topped Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in doubles.
FIFA chief warns corrupt football officials
The President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has warned football association leaders not to use money meant for the sport for their own gain.
Atletico stays in touch with Barca, Madrid wins 5-3 at Betis
Atletico Madrid stayed within sight of Barcelona while Real Madrid's attack bailed out its porous defense in the Spanish league yesterday. Diego Costa and Kevin Gameiro scored second-half goals to give Atletico a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao and keep it seven points behind Barcelona at the top of the table. Atletico will visit Barcelona on March 4 in what could be its last chance to inject some drama into the title race. "We will have many important matches after (the game at Barcelona) but this is our path forward, being prepared. We have a competitive team," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. Madrid remained in a distant fourth place after outgunning Real Betis 5-3 in Seville, four days after it won the first leg of its Champions League last-16 match with Paris Saint-Germain. ___ SIMEONE STYLE Atletico's win over Bilbao was textbook Simeone: an ironclad defense and just enough from its attack to take the three points. Simeone's side suffocated Bilbao, which never threatened ...
Australia women's Alex Blackwell bids adieu to int'l cricket
Australia women's cricket team vice-captain Alex Blackwell has announced her retirement from international and state cricket with immediate effect, thus calling curtains to her illustrious 15-year career at the age of 34.The 34-year-old's decision came just a day after she smashed a quick-fire 76 runs for her state team New South Wales in the Women's National Cricket League (WNCL), the domestic 50-overs tournament.Blackwell, however, will continue to lead the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) franchise, Sydney Thunder.While announcing her retirement, Blackwell said that she feels extremely good to end her career on high, adding that she is now looking forward to other opportunities that lie ahead."I think it's really nice to be able to finish at a time when I feel my game has never felt stronger. I also become increasingly interested and excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, that may require my playing days to wrap up," ESPNcricinfo quoted Blackwell, as saying."[Retirement] ...
Ooh la-la! Wardrobe boob as French ice skater loses top
French figure skater Gabriella Papadakis suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction today, revealing a little more than just her Olympic gold medal ambitions in the ice dance competition. A heavy title favourite along with partner Guillaume Cizeron, Papadakis's skimpy dress slipped during a raunchy short routine in Pyeongchang to leave little to the imagination of millions of television viewers around the world. Despite the sartorial setback the French pair were in second place behind Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who smashed the short dance world record. The mishap happened when Papadakis leaned backwards early on and Cizeron inadvertantly managed to unclip the back of her racy green costume. Her halter-top, complete with tassles and spangles, edged sideways to offer an unchoreographed flash of her left boob. The pair were still able to finish as Papadakis tried in vain to keep her chest covered. And to add insult to injury, the incident was replayed in slow motion on ...
Canada's Virtue and Moir set new ice dance world record
Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir smashed the short dance world record to take the lead in ice dance figure skating at the Olympics here today. The Vancouver 2010 champions kept their French title rivals Gabriella Papadams and Guillaume Ciceronize at bay with a score of 83.67. That bettered their own previous record of 82.68, and put them 1.64 points clear of their younger training partners Papadams and Ciceronize going into Tuesday's free dance final. Despite their show-stopping samba rhumba cha performance a third Olympic title is by no means in the bag for Scott and Moir as Papadams and Ciceronize could overtake them if they produce their best free dance. The French duo, the first ice dancers to break the 200 points barrier last year, produced a best ever combined score at the European Championships in Moscow last month, suggesting an epic free dance battle is in store at the Ungangrened Ice Arena on Tuesday. After claiming gold on home ice in 2010 Virtue and Moir missed out on
ESPNCricinfo awards for Harmanpreet, Kuldeep and Yuzvendra
Harmanpreet Kaur's swashbuckling show at the World Cup fetched her the women's batting performance of the year honour, while wrist spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were recognised for their stupendous run among the men in the the ESPNCricinfo annual Awards. Indian players were picked for three out of the 12 awards on offer, the most by any nation. Harmanpreet's undefeated and career-best 171 against Australia during the World Cup, where India ended as runners-up, was chosen as the women's batting performance of the year. Chahal, the right-arm leg-break bowler, was awarded the T20 bowling performance of the year award for his magical six for 25 in the third T20 against England in Bengaluru. Yadav, who came into the limelight for his performance in the Dharamsala Test against Australia, and is now an integral part of the national team,was declared debutant of the year for his 43 wickets across three formats in 2017. This is the second consecutive year that ESPNcricinfo has ...
UP Strikers lift Indian Wheelchair Cricket League trophy
UP Strikers trounced Delhi Sultans by four runs to win Indian Wheelchair Cricket League 2018.The league concluded at Lancers International School in Gurugram on Sunday.After winning the toss, Delhi Sultans elected to bowl first.UP Strikers put up a formidable score of 96 runs at a loss of five wickets. Batsman Anmol Vashisht put up a scintillating performance as he smashed 56 runs off just 59 balls.In response, Delhi Sultans were restricted to 92 runs in 16.3 overs.Anmol Vashisht was adjudged 'Man of the Match' as well as 'Man of the Series' for his brilliant performance with the bat.Reflecting on the win, Vashisht said, "It was a closely contested match in which we put up a good show and emerged as winners. I would like to thank Para Sports Foundation who conceptualized this novel concept. I hope the organization continues to strengthen its roots."Conceptualized on the lines of Indian Premier League (IPL), the tournament witnessed the clash of four teams namely Delhi Sultans, UP ...
Australia's Agar expects another run-fest in T20 final
Australian spinner Ashton Agar said Monday that Eden Parks notoriously short boundaries mean another run-fest is likely in this weeks Twenty20 tri-series final against New Zealand. Australia completed a world-record run chase to overhaul New Zealand's 243 at the Auckland ground last Friday in a match that featured 32 sixes. They go into Wednesday's decider as favourites after winning all four of their round robin matches, and Agar said the "amazing" result had further boosted their belief. "It was great for us to take confidence out of chasing a record total, knowing we can do that," he said. "We've had the right guys firing at the right times now and I think were ready to put together a really good performance again." Eden Park more closely resembles a rectangular pitch than traditional cricket oval, and the Australian spinner described the layout as "unique". Agar said bowling there was the hardest challenge he had faced in T20 cricket but he had accepted batsmen were going to go ...
Sarfraz backs Inzamam's idea to play more one-day, Test matches
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed has backed national chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq's idea that all the players should participate more in one-day and red ball cricket matches, even if it is in the domestic arena.After Pakistan slumped to a 0-5 defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the recently-held ODI series, Inzamam had said that while the changes in the team are necessary, there is also a need to play more of one-day cricket at both domestic and international level.Inzamam, who is a veteran of 120 Tests and 378 ODIs, had further emphasized that besides raising the number of domestic matches, the top national cricketers should also engage in more of first-class matches if they want to see any improvement at domestic level.Backing the suggestion of the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) chief selector, Sarfraz admitted that playing in the shortest format of the game, T20s, doesn't help in developing fitness to play in a 50-over or Test match."When you play the shortest formats for a long ..
Messi aims to score against Chelsea at 9th attempt
As unlikely as it sounds, Lionel Messi is still waiting to score his first goal against Chelsea after drawing a blank in eight previous Champions League matches. The five-time World Player of the Year is likely to get another chance to break his duck this week and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes the past will count for little when Barcelona visits Stamford Bridge tomorrow. "I hope we maintain this tradition but we are speaking about a fantastic player," Conte said ahead of the last-16, first-leg Champions League game. "The most important thing is the present." "We must have great respect but at the same time we must be excited to play this type of game and take on this type of challenge. It wont be easy because we know very well this player, we are talking about one of the best in the world." The teams have produced some epic games in the past although they have not met in the Champions League since Chelsea pulled off a remarkable backs-to-the-wall semifinal victory over ...
Black Caps coach rejects call to scrap T20 internationals
New Zealand coach Mike Hesson today defended international Twenty20 cricket today after his English counterpart called for it to be cut from the sports crowded calendar. Hesson acknowledged England coach Trevor Bayliss concerns about burnout among players and staff but said T20 had an important role to play internationally. "There's always a workload issue, I think that's fair, but there's also a revenue generation issue," he told reporters. "In some countries that's not as big a deal but for New Zealand Cricket, to get 35,000 people to Eden Park is huge for us, huge for the game and huge for the promotion of the game." Hesson also rejected the notion that T20 internationals were not meaningful fixtures. "Too right they are," he said. "Youve got guys that only play T20 and that's their chance to play international cricket, so I think absolutely its meaningful." Bayliss sparked the debate after his side failed to qualify for the trans-Tasman T20 series final, despite beating New