Page 1987 - Sports
Football Delhi launches development programme for schools
Football Delhi on Tuesday launched a development programme for the sport in each school across the region.
Be my Olympic Valentine - Pyeongchang becomes dating hotspot
The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics are freezing cold but they might just be the hottest dating spot on the planet right now -- no wonder organisers dished out a record 110,000 condoms. Competitors and support staff have put their profiles on dating/hook-up app Tinder, along with visiting journalists and many others in South Korea for the Olympics. After the closing ceremony on the last night of the Olympics is notoriously the time when the nearly 3,000 competitors -- most of them young and in prime physical condition -- are particularly eager to celebrate. Organisers did not want to be caught with their trousers down and handed out the equivalent of 38 condoms per competitor, the largest number of free condoms given out at a Winter Games. Rubber manufacturer Convenience Co donated most of the condoms, and a spokesman said coyly in the lead-up to the Olympics: "We don't expect the athletes to use them all." Sceptics may say they should be concentrating more on winning medals, but with ...
Gold for Kim, Hirscher as doping case rocks Games
American teenager Chloe Kim and Austrian ski ace Marcel Hirscher triumphantly lit up the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics today as the Games were hit by their first doping scandal. Seventeen-year-old Kim snatched a stunning gold medal in the women's halfpipe snowboarding, while Hirscher's long hunt for an Olympic title finally ended. In the first doping case of the 2018 Games, 21-year-old short-track speed skater Kei Saito became the only Japanese ever to test positive at a Winter Olympics. Austrian star Hirscher bagged an emotional Olympic gold at the age of 28 when he produced a brilliant slalom run to storm to a victory in the men's alpine combined. Hirscher has been the outstanding skier in his speciality for years with 55 career World Cup wins. But one prize had always eluded him -- an Olympic gold medal. His previous best was a slalom silver from Sochi four years ago. After playing down his chances ahead of the race at blustery freezing Pyeongchang, this time he nailed it. Making the
Leading Pak in all formats not a burden: Sarfraz
Dismissing the impression that leading the national team in across three formats of the game is burdening him, Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed said that he has always tried to bring the best out of the team in every format of the game.Insisting that it is a great honour for him to be appointed as the captain in all three formats of the game, Sarfraz said that he had always tried to give his 100 percent while enjoying the game."It is great honour for me that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed me captain in all three formats; and this [responsibility] in no way is burdening me," the Dawn quoted Sarfraz, as saying."I have always enjoyed playing cricket in every format and tried to produce my best and bring the best out of the national team [as captain]," the 30-year-old added.Under Sarfraz, Pakistan had recently lost the ODI series against New Zealand by 0-5 but had won the T20I series against the same.The Pakistan skipper, who rose to fame after guiding the national side to ..
Senior Women's NFC: Manipur to face TN in finals
Tamil Nadu will look to clinch their first title at the Senior Women's National Football Championship when they take on Manipur in the finals of the tournament here at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on Wednesday.While Manipur edged past Railways 2-1 in the second semi-final of the tournament to book his place in the summit showdown, Tamil Nadu had earlier outplayed West Bengal 4-1.No team has been as dominant as Manipur in the history of Women's Football in India. Teams around have improved over the years but they are still playing catch up.Head Coach Surmala Chanu acknowledged the quality of the opponents saying, "It has not been easy. Railways gave us a very tough fight and I've seen Tamil Nadu play. They are an organised team"."The final won't be easy but having said that, we play to win. The girls know what to do on the field and I'm confident that we will emerge as champions", she added.Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has been a revelation in this edition of the tournament.With a ...
Tahir posts heart-warming tweet after 'racist' incident
South African spinner Imran Tahir has thanked his fans for the support he received after claiming that he was verbally and racially abused by cricket spectators at the Wanderers Stadium this weekend.The alleged incident took place during the pink fourth ODI between India and South Africa which the home side went on to win by five wickets by Duckworth-Lewis method.Tahir had reported the matter to the stadium security, who subsequently escorted the spinner to identify the man and eject him from the Wanderers.A video was also emerged on social media featuring Tahir talking to fans. The only words which could be heard from Tahir was him insisting "I have family too".Following the incident, Cricket South Africa (CSA) had acknowledged the matter and said that the board and the security team are investigating the incident of racial abuse directed towards Tahir.Tahir, who is currently ranked number one in ODI cricket, took to his official Twitter account to acknowledge the public for the ...
Subhankar to lead strong Indian field in Indian Open golf
New golfing sensation Subhankar Sharma, along with two-time defending champion SSP Chawrasia and former winner Anirban Lahiri, will lead a strong Indian challenge at the 54th edition of the Hero Indian Open to be held at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon from March 8 to 11. The European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event will also feature other star Indians such as legendary Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal, Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur, who had a phenomenal 2017 with three Asian Tour titles. The tournament, to be played at the Gary Player layout of the challenging DLF Golf and Country Club, will also feature top names like Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who is a PGA Tour winner and member of the 2017 Presidents Cup team. Other marquee names also include Andrew Johnston and Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, who has 21 worldwide wins, including 15 on European Tour. Just last month, Bjorn led a strong European team to a fine win over Asia in the EurAsia Cup in Malaysia. Past champion
Federation Cup Kabaddi: Services, Railways emerge champions
Services and Indian Railways registered hard-fought victories to bag the mens and womens titles respectively in the third Federation Cup Kabaddi tournament here. In the finals played under floodlights last night, Services men quelled the late challenge from Karnakata to win 28-25 while the Railways women rode on Pinki Roys superb catch of the Himachal Pradesh raider in the final minute to win 26-25. The champions went home richer by Rs 2,00,000 while the runners-up teams earned a prize purse of Rs 1,00,000. National champions Himachal Pradesh showed why they were such a difficult side to beat as they staged a late comeback in the final after trailing 16-9 at half time. Raider Nidhi Sharma (6 points) and defender Sarika (3) led Himachals fightback in the second half as they packed off the entire Railways team with five minutes to spare to reduce the deficit. With pressure mounting, Railways players made many errors and both the teams were locked on 25-25 with a minute to
Fed Cup performance very encouraging , says Sania Mirza
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza feels Ankita Raina's performance in the recent Fed Cup was encouraging but the team must progress to the next level. India retained their place in the Asia/Oceania Group 1 with a 2-0 win over Chinese Taipei in the Fed Cup relegation play-off last week. India had lost to China and Kazakhstan in the competition. "We have always come back empty handed. We see great progress in young talent but never make the next jump. That is something we are totaly missing," said Sania here today. "It is very encouraging to see Ankita have those couple of wins against the top 100 players. Even though they came out on the losing end of the tie you still have to take the small positive out," she added. Asked about who has the potential to be the next Sania, the 31-year-old said the she should not be the benchmark for the upcoming talent. "I have been asked about who is the next Sania for many many years and I have always said why next Sania? We should try to aim better than
US snowboard sensation Chloe Kim wins women's halfpipe gold
United States' snowboard sensation Chloe Kim stormed to victory in the women's halfpipe at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games here on Tuesday.
Japanese Saito tests positive in first doping case in Winter Olympics
Japanese short track speedskater Kei Saito has tested positive in the first doping case of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics Games, it was announced on Tuesday.
Wanda Metropolitano to host Spanish Cup final
Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano stadium will host the Spanish Cup final match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla, both football clubs have agreed.
Williamson, Guptill fire New Zealand in England T20
Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill both hit half-centuries as New Zealand set England a challenging target of 197 in the fourth match of the Twenty20 tri-series in Wellington today. Williamson silenced his critics after a recent lean spell in the shortest form of the game, scoring 72 from 46 balls as New Zealand finished on 196 for five from their 20 overs. Opener Guptill contributed 65 from 40 deliveries and there was a useful cameo from debutant Mark Chapman, with the former Hong Kong international scoring 20 off 13. England's stand-in captain Jos Buttler put the hosts in to bat after winning the toss, hoping an mottled-looking drop-in pitch with huge bald patches would prove unplayable. But the gamble backfired as the wicket held up and New Zealand's batsmen finally hit their stride after three straight T20 losses. England will need to rediscover their own batting form to prevail against the Black Caps after losing to Australia twice in their opening matches of the series. Adil ...
Bach for Nobel peace prize? No 'formal discussion' says IOC
Olympic officials played down a suggestion that the unified Korean ice hockey team could be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize today and said there had been "no formal discussion" about proposing IOC chief Thomas Bach for the honour. Mark Adams, spokesman for the International Olympic Committee, said there had been "no consideration whatsoever" within the body of nominating the joint Korean team, following a suggestion by American IOC member Angela Ruggiero. "From an IOC administrative level there's been no consideration whatsoever of this. Obviously members are able to have their own personal views... but there's been no discussion," he said. When asked if Bach should be proposed for the prize, after helping broker North Korea's attendance, Adams said: "There's no formal discussion yet at all." Bach is scheduled to visit North Korea after the Games, where their athletes marched together with South Korea at the opening ceremony. The two Koreas also formed their first unified Olympic .
Veteran Jhulan to miss T20I series vs S. Africa
India's veteran medium pacer Jhulan Goswami has been ruled out of the women's Twenty20 International (T20I) series against South Africa due to a heel injury, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Tuesday.
Japanese vows to clear name in first Olympics drug case
Japanese short-track speed skater Kei Saito vowed to clear his name today after testing positive for a banned substance in the first doping case to hit the Pyeongchang Olympics. The 21-year-old is the first Japanese to test positive at a Winter Olympics and he was immediately thrown out of the Games on Monday. The case will no doubt embarrass Japan, organisers of the Summer Games in 2020, and again forces the drug issue to the fore after Russia were formally banned for state-sponsored doping. Saito returned positive tests for acetazolamide, an unauthorised diuretic which can be used to mask powerful performance-enhancing drugs. "I want to fight to prove my innocence because I don't remember (taking the drug) and it's incomprehensible," Saito said in a statement. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which handles doping cases during the Games, said Saito had left the athletes' Olympic Village voluntarily and would be provisionally suspended from all competition pending a full ...
Sayers replaces injured Bird in Aussies squad
Australian paceman Chadd Sayers has been called into the 15-man Test squad as a replacement for injured quick Jackson Bird for the four-match series against South Africa, beginning March 1 at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban.Bird was forced to leave the ground after pulling up sore following the first ball of his 16th over while playing for Tasmania on day two of their Sheffield Shield encounter against Queensland at the Gabba this weekend.He is now expected to remain sidelined for at least three weeks, thus opening the door for the uncapped Sayers who is yet to win a Test cap.Reflecting on Sayers' inclusion, Australian skipper Steve Smith said that though it was disappointing to lose Bird, they are excited to have the former who has been rewarded for his stellar performance in domestic cricket.''It's disappointing for Jackson. But it's exciting for Chadd at the same time.They both stand the seam up nicely and Chadd's been rewarded for what he has done in Shield cricket for the .
Trump has a tweet for everything, but none yet for Olympics
President Donald Trump has a tweet for just about everything, but he's got nothing so far for Team USA a few days into the 2018 Olympic Games. Since the competition began on Friday, Trump has tweeted about the massive budget deal he signed into law, his desire to have more Republican legislators in Congress and offered condolences for two Ohio police officers who were killed in the line of duty. He tweeted about jobless claims dropping, his decision to block release of a Democratic memo on the Russia investigation and the downfall of a top aide accused of domestic abuse. Missing from the series? Any mention of Team USA or words of encouragement for the athletes competing in the games that opened Friday in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Trump did send a pair of tweets last week complimenting the host country for the games. "Best wishes to the Republic of Korea on hosting the @Olympics! What a wonderful opportunity to show everyone that you are a truly GREAT NATION!" he tweeted last ...
Betis spoil Seedorf's debut as Deportivo coach
Clarence Seedorf's tenure as the coach of Deportivo La Coruña got off to an inauspicious start as visiting Real Betis prevailed 1-0 to leave the hosts mired in the relegation zone of the La Liga football championship.
Hazard leads Chelsea to 3-0 win over West Brom in EPL
Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard scored a brace here to take defending champions Chelsea to a 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion as the defending champions jumped to the fourth spot in the English Premier League.