Page 1968 - Sports
Rodchenkov to AP: Russian footballers immune from drug bans
Russian soccer players were protected from being caught doping under direct government orders that laboratory director Grigory Rodchenkov said he followed to ensure cheating was covered up. Outlining his involvement in soccer for the first time to The Associated Press, Rodchenkov claimed an instruction to "avoid any scandal" came from Vitaly Mutko, the former Russian sports minister who now serves as a deputy prime minister despite being implicated in a far-reaching doping controversy. "Russian footballers were immune from doping-control actions or sanctions," Rodchenkov said in response to questions through his lawyer from his hiding place in the United States. Rodchenkov fled Russia two years ago to confess to his role in a widespread doping cover-up in his homeland, notably at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and by track and field athletes. The focus is sharpening on doping practices in Russian soccer with the World Cup kicking off in Moscow in four months. Amid mounting evidence
Tiwary wins it for Bengal, helps Delhi enter Hazare quarters
Delhi today got a fresh lease of life as they qualified for the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-finals after Manoj Tiwary's unbeaten 104 helped Bengal beat Himachal Pradesh by six wickets in a Group B encounter here today. Maharashtra are the second team from the group to have qualified for the knockout stages. Delhi had finished their group league engagements with 16 points from six matches with successive defeats in their final two encounters. There were three teams -- HP, Maharashtra and Keraka -- locked on 14 points from five games. The Maharashtra versus Kerala match was a virtual pre-quarter-final while Himachal needed a win against Bengal to qualify. Delhi would be grateful to Tiwary and Abhimanyu Easwaran (90) for chasing down a target of 267 with minimum fuss in 48 overs. Easwaran (10 fours, 109 balls) and Tiwary (10 fours, 2 sixes, 107 balls) added 131 runs for the third wicket to ensure a smooth passage for Ishant Sharma's team. In another clash at Bilaspur, Maharashtra ...
Chawrasia slips on third day in Oman; three-way lead at top
A treacherous back nine saw Indian golfer SSP Chawrasia card a disappointing four-over 76 to lie tied 62nd after the third round of the inaugural NBO Oman Open here today. Chawrasia, starting the day in T-33 after two rounds, had two birdies against one bogey over the first nine holes. Coming back, he bogeyed 10th and 11th before making up a shot on 12th with a birdie. He then slipped sharply with double bogeys on par-15 and Par-4 18th to finish the back nine in five-over 41. He is now two-over 218 for the tournament. Shubhankar Sharma had earlier missed the cut. Things were tight at the top, as Joost Luiten, Julien Guerrier and Matthew Southgate share a one-shot lead heading into the final round at Al Mouj Golf. As many as 13 players are within five shots of the lead. France's Guerrier, Dutchman Luiten and England's Southgate led the way at 12 under, with another Englishman in Chris Wood a shot off the lead and Spaniard Adrian Otaegui at 10-under. It was a strong leaderboard for ...
Lahiri close to make cut, as Woods misses it at Genesis Open
Anirban Lahiri looked set to make the midway cut after being even-par with three holes to go at the weather-hit second round of the Genesis Open golf tournament here today. Lahiri, who shot one-over in the opening round, was even par through 15 holes, when darkness stopped play at the Riviera. The cut is projected at two-over. However, the man in focus this week, Tiger Woods will miss the cut after he shot 5-over 76 in the second round today. Playing at the Riviera for the first time in 12 years, totalled six-over 148 and exited. Patrick Cantlay (69) and Graeme McDowell (66) shared the lead as play was called off due to darkness. They were seven-under for 36 holes. Also at seven-under was Arnold Palmers grandson, Sam Saunders, who was three-under through 15 despite a double bogey on 12th followed by a bogey on 13th in his first nine. Cantlay had five birdies against three bogeys in his 69, while Graeme McDowell, who has missed the cut three times in his five previous appearances at ..
Yuki Bhambri goes down fighting to Jordan Thompson
Yuki Bhambri went down fighting to top seed Australia's Jordan Thompson 5-7, 6-3, 5-7 in the singles final of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger here today. Both players traded breaks in the first set. Thompson held serve to lead 6-5 and then broke the Indian to secure it 7-5. In the second, Bhambri seized control early and stamped his authority by winning it at 6-3. In the decider, the Australian, world no.103, showcased his skills, hitting with power and precision to jump to a 3-0 lead. Bhambri rallied to win the next three games to restore parity. The Aussie secured a break in the 7th game only to be broken right back. Bhambri held serve to go up and had match point in the 10th game. He, however, could not shut the door on his rival asThompson served ferociously to wriggle out of trouble. Bhambri dropped serve in the 11th game and the top-seed held his nerve to close out the over two-and-half hour match.
Mithali Raj displaced as ODI No.1 batswoman
Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj has been displaced by Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry as top batswoman in the ICC ODI rankings.Perry, who is the number one all-rounder, topped the batting rankings for the first time in her career.Australia skipper Meg Lanning holds the second spot in the ICC batswomen ranking while Raj was displaced to the third position after a below-par performance in the ODI series against South Africa.Raj, who claimed the top spot in October last year, scored 70, 20 and 4 runs in the series against Proteas which India won 2-1.Meanwhile, India's Harmanpreet Kaur dropped two places to seventh after scores, while opener Smriti Mandhana jumped 14 players to 21 after her player-of-the-series performance, which includes scores of 84, 135 and 0.In the rankings for bowlers, South African pacer Marizanne Kapp remains No.1, ahead of India fast bowler Jhulan Goswami, who recently became the first woman to claim 200 wickets.
National Race Walking C'ships: Priyanka sets women's 10 km record
Priyanka Patel shattered a 14-year-old record in the girls 10km walk at the 5th National Race Walking Championships in New Delhi on Saturday when she crossed the finish line in 49Patel, a second year college student who currently trains at SAI Bhopal, beat the old mark of 49:16:51 seconds set by Priyanka Goswami in 2004.Patel finished over two minutes ahead of Bandana Patel who clocked 51: 23:52 seconds to take second place in the first racewalking event of the year. Ramandeep Kaur of Punjab took bronze in 52:12:18 seconds.For Patel, the gold medal in the U-20 event was particularly significant. "This is the last time I will be taking part in the 10km event. From now on I will be taking part in senior competition so I will be only competing in the 20km event in the future. So to win a gold medal in my final competition in this event is special," says Patel who says she will next compete in the Federation Cup in March this year.While Patel swept past an old record, Olympian Sandeep ...
With an eye on next year's ICC World Cup, the Indian cricket team will be playing around ...
With an eye on next year's ICC World Cup, the Indian cricket team will be playing around 30 ODIs in an estimated 63 international games across formats, scheduled for the 2018-19 season. India will also play 12 Test matches during the upcoming season along with 21 T20 Internationals. India's ongoing season (2017-18) will come to an end with the Nidahas Tri-Nation T20 tournament in Sri Lanka (Bangladesh, being the third team). While the Indian cricket calender starts in April with the cash-rich Indian Premier League, the national team will start its campaign in June with a short two-match T20 series against Ireland. In the same month, they will host Afghanistan in Bengaluru for the historic one-off Test. The marquee two and half month tour of England will start in July and end early September where India play five Tests, three ODIs and T20 each. There is a window for the Asia Cup (this edition will be 50 overs) keeping in mind the World Cup but the date and the venue is yet to be ...
Hanyu breaks 66-year old record to defend men's figure skating title
Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu became the first figure skater in 66 years to win back-to-back Winter Olympic gold medals in the men's singles event as he won Japan's first gold medal at PyeongChang Games on Saturday.
Gangneung, Feb 17 (AFP) They have hunkered down through a hurricane, fought their own governing body for better support and endured a heartbreaking loss to Canada in the 2014 Olympic final.
They have hunkered down through a hurricane, fought their own governing body for better support and endured a heartbreaking loss to Canada in the 2014 Olympic final. Now the world-champion US womens ice hockey players are unified and confident of ending Canadas 16-year hold on the Olympic title at the Pyeongchang Winter Games. "The scariest thing is were even better than we were before," US forward Hilary Knight said. "What weve been through off the ice, I would hate to have to be the team to suit up against us." The agony at the core of their effort is a 3-2 over-time loss to Canada in the Sochi 2014 final after a rink-length attempt at an empty-net goal clanked off a post. Canada equalised in the final minute and won in extra time. "Just to bring it up puts a little fire in all of us," said US defender Monique Lamoureux-Morando. "I dont think we would be where we are without that heart-wrenching loss." Another USA-Canada final is expected on Wednesday, as they have met in all but ...
Tehran, Feb 17 (AFP) Iran's wrestling federation has said it will protest a decision to ban one of its athletes and the national coach for deliberately throwing a match to avoid fighting an Israeli op
Iran's wrestling federation has said it will protest a decision to ban one of its athletes and the national coach for deliberately throwing a match to avoid fighting an Israeli opponent. Alireza Karimi Mashiani threw a match against his Russian opponent in the under-23 world championships in Poland in November to avoid fighting Israels Uri Kalashnikov in the next round. The Islamic republic does not recognise the Jewish state and forbids its sportsmen from competing against Israelis. On Friday, the United World Wrestling Disciplinary Chamber banned Karimi Mashiani from competition for six months, and his coach Hamidreza Jamshidi for two years. "The federation will protest the verdict," Iran Wrestling Federation president Rasoul Khadem said on state television later the same day. Khadem blamed the ban on pressure from the International Olympic Committee, which he said was itself "under the influence of big political and economic powers of the world". "During his six-month ban, Karimi ..
Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) is to be relaunched in August, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) ...
Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) is to be relaunched in August, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced today. The SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said the SLPL will be played between August 18 to September10 when SriLankas international calendar is free. There will be six teams with local and foreign players. Each team will play each other twice in the first round of 10 games, de Silva said. The previous SLPL kicked off in 2012 and ran into immediate problems with cancellations in the next two years due to organisational issues and lack of sponsorship.
National record holder Sandeep Kumar hardly broke a sweat as he easily clinched gold in ...
National record holder Sandeep Kumar hardly broke a sweat as he easily clinched gold in men's 50km event while Priyanka Patel shattered the national record in women's Under-20 10 km category in the National Race Walking Championship here today. The 31-year-old Sandeep, representing Haryana, clocked 3 hours 56 minute and 39.71 seconds to win the 50km race walk event. His timing was around 40 seconds slower than his own national record of 3:56:00 set in the National Championships here last year. Jitendra Singh Rathore (3:58:55.82) of Services bagged the silver while S Damen Singh, also of Haryana, took the bronze in 4:00:34.48. Patel, representing Uttar Pradesh, won the women's U-20 10km event in national record timing of 49:01.81. Another Uttar Pradesh athlete Bandana Patel took the silver in 51:23.52 while Ramandeep Kaur of Punjab won the bronze in 52:12.18. A B.A. second year student from Varanasi, Patel has been training at Bhopal SAI Center since 2014. The earlier national record ..
I-League: Neroca look to wrap final home fixture on high
Table toppers Neroca FC will look to wrap their final home fixture of the I-League on a high note when they host Mohun Bagan at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium on Sunday.The Imphal-based unit, who were only promoted to the top tier this season, lead the race atop the standings with thirty-one points in their kitty.However, with sixteen games already played, second-placed Minerva Punjab, two points behind have as many games in hand as Neroca will look to do one better than their goalless draw with the Kolkata team earlier this season.Having recovered well with a four-match unbeaten run after two defeats at home, the onus will be on the hosts to gain maximum points to keep the pressure on the teams below them on the table."Pressure is already there for me as we have only two games remaining. It is not about Mohun Bagan or even Gokulam or Indian Arrows, the pressure is always there. But, Mohun Bagan is a good team and if you can win, it is good," Neroca FC coach Gift Raikhan said on the ..
Stand-in T20 skipper J P Duminy said the 1-5 ODI series loss was a reality check for ...
Stand-in T20 skipper J P Duminy said the 1-5 ODI series loss was a reality check for South Africa and the hosts would rely on fresh faces and an "aggressive mindset" in the new format to counter rampaging India in the three-match T20I series. After being outclassed in one-dayers, South Africa have completely revamped the T20I squad including as many as six new players in the 14-man side which will face India in the T20I series starting with the first game in Johannesburg tomorrow. "I think the new faces will help. It is something that we spoke about this morning that we will feed off the freshness of new faces around. The format is different. It is a quicker and more aggressive format. And it will naturally bring out the best in us," said Duminy. "I am excited to be able to lead. I think leadership naturally brings out the best in me and I enjoy the experience of leading people. I am quite excited by it, he added. Talking about the ODI series loss, Duminy said: "Yes, it has been a ...
India to send 225 athletes in Gold Coast CWG 2018
An increased number of 225 Indian athletes will visit Gold Coast, Australia, to participate in this year's Commonwealth Games, which is slated to be held from April 4 to April 15.While the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has decided to raise the number of quota places for Indian sportspersons in two disciplines - boxing and athletics, it has reduced the number of quota places for the country's athletes in other disciplines, notably gymnastics, shooting and cycling.India's official contingent size of 225 athletes will participate in a total number of 15 sports disciplines in the tournament, as compared to the total number of 215 participants at the Glasgow CWG in 2014.Earlier, the CGF had urged the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as well as the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) to raise the number of quota places for the Indian pugilists.After accepting the request, the CGF has increased the quota number to 12 in boxing - an increase of one quota place in women's category, which ...
A confident Indian Arrows side will be raring to go against Aizawl FC who will take to ...
A confident Indian Arrows side will be raring to go against Aizawl FC who will take to the field under newly appointed coach Santosh Kashyap in their Hero I-League match here tomorrow. Arrows come into the game after a thrilling 2-1 win against Churchill Brothers FC Goa. It was one of the games of the season where the young side, trailing by a goal, scored twice in injury time to seal victory. "In football, you cannot plan the result. But Im very happy with the attitude and the victory because it is the first time in this competition that Indian Arrows have won a game which they were losing. Mentally this shows part of the progress and gives confidence to the players," Indian Arrows coach Luis Norton de Matos said. Aizawl FC are winless in their last six games in the Hero I-League and have picked up only four points from a possible 18. The poor run of form led to the sacking of Paulo Meneses with Kashyap brought in to revive their campaign. "If you see my record, I like to take ...
ISL: Chennaiyin, Jamshedpur battle for play-off spots (Preview)
Chennaiyin FC know they cannot leave anything to chance and will battle for full points in their last three league matches, starting with the crucial clash with Jamshedpur FC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.
S. Korea hockey coach takes blame after Winter Olympics loss
South Korean men's Olympic hockey head coach Jim Paek put the blame squarely on his own shoulders after his squad was routed by Switzerland 0-8 on Saturday at the 2018 Winter Games.
Out of reckoning for a play-offs berth, defending champions ATK will hope to salvage ...
Out of reckoning for a play-offs berth, defending champions ATK will hope to salvage pride when they lock horns with Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) here tomorrow. It has been an up and down season for Mumbai City FC as Alexandre Guimaraes' side has enjoyed good patches of form but haven't been consistent. However, they still have a chance to make it to the top four, although for that to happen, they need to win all their remaining four games. First up for them are ATK at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan. Currently seventh on the points table with 17 points, Mumbai City FC still have a mathematical chance of making it to the final four but they have to rely on the teams above them in the league standings to drop points. On the other hand, ATK having dropped out of the race for playoff spots and will only play for a better position in the league table. "Our chances are still there. Mathematically, we are still in it and we will try to go all the way. And tomorrow's game is ...