Page 1989 - Sports
Olympic hopes over for unified Korean team after 8-0 drubbing
North Korea's band of all-female supporters was unable to inspire the historic joint Korean women's ice hockey team as they were dumped out of the Pyeongchang Olympics with an 8-0 defeat to Sweden today. The unified team for the Winter Games in South Korea was the product of a landmark deal between the South and North Korea -- the neighbours still technically at war -- after a year of high tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests. The home crowd -- seated among them the North Korean cheerleaders -- roared their players as they skated onto the ice in their blue-and-red jerseys, "KOREA" emblazoned over a pale blue silhouette of the peninsula. The joint team is deeply symbolic, but as a hockey side they were at the Games with little hope of making a serious impression in terms of the competition. And so it proved as they were hammered 8-0 for the second time in a row, this time to the Swedes, ranked five in the world. Sweden were 3-0 up in just 10 minutes and the heavy defeat .
Olympic Village welcoming Russians despite abuse claim
Olympic Village residents are behaving well towards athletes from Russia despite a verbal abuse complaint, says a top Russian women ice hockey player. "Everything is good. People are pretty friendly," said Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) standout Valeria Pavlova after the team lost their first match of the 5-0 to Canada. "It seems like everyone is one family in the village. We go around like normal people." Russia were banned from the Pyeongchang Olympics over doping but 168 'clean' athletes were allowed to take part under a neutral flag and using the OAR name. Six Russian women's hockey players were barred because of the sanctions. Earlier this month a Russian hockey coach said he had been verbally abused in the Village over the doping scandal. While it was unclear who made the offending remark, the Canadian Olympic Committee issued an apology. After the OAR squad lost their opener to four-time defending Olympic champion Canada, the Canadian coach Laura Schuler said the verbal ...
Indians add four gold, one silver at Asian Games athletics test event
Indians continued their strong performance in the Asian Games athletics test event here today, adding four gold and a silver to their medal haul on the second day of competition. Saritaben Gayakwad won a gold in women's 400m hurdles with a personal best timing of 59.02 seconds. Asian Champion Ajay Kumar Saroj fetched the second gold by winning the mens 1500m race, clocking 3:43:85 to finish ahead of Mohammad Shaween of Saudi Arabia. P U Chitra made it an Indian sweep in the 1500m by winning the gold in the womens event with a time of 4:18:74 seconds. Chitra finished ahead of her nearest competitor K Rathnayaka of Sri Lanka who clocked 4:19:25 seconds. M P Jabir and Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan made it an Indian 1-2 in the mens 400m hurdles event. Jabir, the bronze medalist at last years Asian Championships, won gold in 50.23 seconds while compatriot Tamilarasan finished with a time of 50.38 seconds. Apart from the medal winners, 19-year-old long jumper Shreeshankar came up with a ...
Barcelona forward Dembele misses training
Barcelona's French forward Ousmane Dembele missed Monday's training session due to gastric problems, the La Liga leader announced on its website.
Federer quietly hoping for dream return to No. 1
Roger Federer said today he could allow himself to dream about recapturing the world number one spot at this week's Rotterdam tournament and becoming the oldest man ever to hold the position. To climb back to the top at the age of 36, the Swiss must at least reach the semi-finals. If seedings hold up, that means he would have to defeat compatriot and friend Stan Wawrinka in what would be a high-profile quarter-final. "I would love to be in that position with anyone, but with Stan it would be like a Grand Slam final, a big-time match," said Federer, fresh from winning a 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. "I'm hoping to get to number one and hoping to do it this week. You always want to do it the tough way, it's not easy to get there. "The achievement would be quite incredible. It's exciting to see Stan in my section and it's great to have him back (after knee surgery in July)." Federer made a relatively late decision to play at the event, which he won in 2005 and 2012. He ...
Indian Suhana claims gold in ITTF Premium Junior Circuit
Indian paddler Suhana Saini claimed the gold medal in the 2018 Oman Junior & Cadet Open -- ITTF Premium Junior Circuit.
Fourcade makes biathlon history at PyeongChang Olympics
Martin Fourcade of France became the first biathlete to successfully defend Winter Olympic title as he won the 12.5 km event at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre here on Monday.
Manipur face Tamil Nadu in final of Sr Women's National Football C'ship
Manipur beat a spirited Railways 2-1 today to book a summit clash showdown against Tamil Nadu in the 23rd Senior Womens National Football Championship here. Star striker Bala Devi struck twice (13th and 85th minutes) for Manipur while Kamala Devi (14th) scored the lone goal for Railways in the second semifinal match the Barabati Stadium here. Earlier in the first semifinals, Tamil Nadu outplayed West Bengal 4-1. The final match will be played on Wednesday. Both the teams played an open game from the beginning, exchanging quick passes and timely interceptions in an exciting display of football. Manipur struck first blood when Railways keeper Samal failed to latch onto Balas powerful shot in the 13th minute. But even before the celebrations could die down on the Manipur bench, Railways struck back with Kamala Devi making an exceptional run into the box to score the equaliser in the 14th minute. The second half saw both teams looking for the match-winner but a disciplined display at the
Mahi Way: Dhoni's style of keeping works for him
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's style of wicketkeeping has never been purely classical but it has worked wonderfully well for him, feels India's fielding coach R Sridhar. Dhoni is not big on keeping drills during training sessions but amazes all and sundry with some swift stumpings and flash run-outs. Dhoni has got his own style, which is so successful for him. I think we can do a research into his style of wicketkeeping and I would like to call it The Mahi Way. There are so many things to learn from that and so many things that other young keepers may not even be able to contemplate. He is unique in his own way and that is exactly how cricketers should be unique in their own way, the fielding coach lavished praise on the former India captain. For the record, Dhoni has 295 catches and 106 stumpings in 316 ODIs. He has got great hands. He has definitely the best glovesman as far as keeping for spinners goes. His hands work at the speed of lightning, for stumpings we all know that. That is ...
Kejriwal meets U-19 World Cup hero Manjot Kalra
ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup final hero Manjot Kalra today met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who congratulated him for his performance. India, earlier this month, lifted a record fourth U-19 World Cup trophy after an eight-wicket rout of Australia in the final of the tournament held in New Zealand. Delhi-boy Kalra emerged as the man for the big occasion, scoring a sublime 101 not out off 102 balls in the final. The Delhi government will also felicitate the young cricketer who made the entire country proud, an official said. "We all are very proud of you (Kalra), not only Delhi but the entire nation is looking forward to your career ahead," a statement quoted the chief minister as telling Kalra during the meeting. In the statement, Kejriwal said the Delhi government was always there for any kind of assistance. Kalra was declared the man of the match in the finals. He has also selected in the ICC team of U-19 Cricket World Cup. Meanwhile, the government said that Hotmail ..
Halep reaches sponsorship deal with Nike
World No. 2 tennis player Simona Halep of Romania on Monday confirmed she has signed a sponsorship agreement with US athletic apparel giant Nike.
Kejriwal congratulates Manjot Kalra for U-19 World Cup win
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday met Under-19 cricketer Manjot Kalra and congratulated him for the victory at the ICC World Cup finals against Australia, an official statement said.
German Kerber to play at Mallorca Open
German tennis star Angelique Kerber confirmed on Monday that she will be playing in the upcoming Mallorca Open tennis tournament.
Escoffier sends 5th-seed Nagal packing in Chennai Open
Antoine Escoffier of France caused the first upset of the Chennai Open ATP Challenger here, sending fifth-seeded Sumit Nagal of India packing with a straight forward 6-3, 6-3 win. The two other seeded players in action on the opening day of the USD 50,000 event, Duckhee Lee (No.3) and Egypt's Mohammed Safwat (No.4), advanced with straight forward wins. While Lee beat N Vijay Sundar Prashanth 6-3, 6-4, Safwat got past Alessandro Bega of Italy 6-4, 6-3. Escoffier shut out Nagal rather easily. He broke the Indian in the first and ninth games to win the first set 6-3. The Frenchman served and stroked with ease as Nagal struggled to hold serve.Though Indian's first serve percentage was higher than the Frenchman, his delivery lacked penetration thus he was always on the backfoot throughout. In the second set, it was even-stevens till three games all. Escoffier held serve and broke the Indian in the next game to lead 5-3 and take the upper hand. He then served out in the next ...
Windy Olympics: Gusts hit schedule, snowboarders
High winds caused havoc at the Pyeongchang Winter Games today as Olympics chief Thomas Bach dismissed concerns North Korea had tried to "hijack" the competition for political gain. Angry snowboarders lashed out at organisers after the women's slopestyle final was held in heavy gusts, causing nearly every competitor to take a tumble. It came after the women's giant slalom, featuring America's Mikaela Shiffrin, was postponed until Thursday because of the wind -- a day after the men's downhill suffered the same fate. While the skiing was postponed, the slopestyle went ahead with near-farcical results, as athlete after athlete hit the deck including gold medal-winner Jamie Anderson. "The weather was bad and too dangerous," said bronze medallist Enni Rukajarvi, while Austria's Anna Gasser added: "So many people got hurt because of the wind." The International Ski Federation (FIS) admitted that conditions were "challenging" but defended the decision to go ahead with the event. "FIS always ..
Bengaluru face TC Sports Club for spot in AFC Cup group stages (Preview)
Albert Roca said he expects nothing short of a stern test when Bengaluru FC take on Maldivian side TC Sports Club in the first leg of the AFC Cup Preliminary Stage game to be played at the National Stadium here on Tuesday.
Girish notches century break at snooker championship
R Girish of the Indian Railways matched teammate E Pandurangaiah as he ran up a break of 109 when cruising to a 3-0 win over Pune's Sahil Gadiya in the CCI All India Open Snooker Championship today. Girish made his intentions clear from the start, rolling in a break of 40 in the first frame and then made a run of 46 in the second before wrapping up the contest with an emphatic unfinished effort of 109 to complete a comprehensive victory in the third round match. It was a perfect day for the Railways cueists as Nitesh Madan, Venkatesh and seasoned pro Rafat Habib, all recorded easy wins to also progress to the next round. Madan, with a bit of good fortune, managed to overcome his Railways colleague MD Hussain 3-2. Habib blanked Vignesh Thangamani 3-0 and Venkatesh also enjoyed a dominant win against Rishabh Amin of host club CCI, coasting to a 3-0 win. Taaha Khan of Pune, Rajat Khaneja of Chandigarh and Niraj Vasava of Surat also won their respective third round ...
Indian paddler Suhana claims gold in ITTF Oman Open
India's Suhana Saini claimed the gold medal in the Oman Junior and Cadet Open, an ITTF Premium Circuit event. The 12-year-old from Haryana beat Egypts Hana Goda in the Hopes Girls singles final 3-1 to annex the coveted title. Suhana began on a strong note but couldnt take charge of the table, losing the first game 10-12. She was much more composed in the rest of the match, though, countering Hanas attacking play with a solid defense and a barrage of her own shots. She won the remaining three games 11-7, 11-6, 11-8 comfortably to show her maturity beyond her years. Suhana was in her elements all through the tournament, beating Jordans Rinad El-Hasani and Syrias Hend Zaza in straight games in the league phase. She took on another of Indias rising players, Ananya Chande, in the semifinals and waded into the final with a clinical 3-1 victory.
Hockey skipper Manpreet says India can win medals in upcoming big events
With big-ticket events such as the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Commonwealth Games lined up in what is going to be a busy year, India hockey skipper Manpreet Singh says they have it them to win medals. A 33-member probables reported at the national camp here today and the energy among the players was evident. After having ended 2017 by winning the bronze medal in the World League Final in Bhubaneswar, the team began preparations for the upcoming assignments by finishing second in the Four Nations Invitational Tournament in New Zealand, where they faced World No. 3 Belgium, ninth-ranked New Zealand and number 16 Japan. We have had sufficient rest, both physically and mentally, and are ready to take on the challenges that lie in front of us this season, starting with the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018," Manpreet said. The skipper spoke about the importance of preparing right. He said, "We had a good run last year but this year we look to retain our crown at the Asian Games, thereby directly ...
Indias best to take part in National Race Walking C'ship on Feb 17-18
The country's best athletes in both men's and women's categories will be seen in action in the 5th National Race Walking Championship, to be held here on February 17 and 18. The men's 50km and boys and girls 10km races will be held on February 17 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium while the men's and women's 20km competition will be held the next day at Vinay Marg. Star gymnast Dipa Karmarkar will be one of the guests who will flag off the championship, which will see around 80 of India's best race walkers in action. The 20km race walk will be the qualifying event for both the Commonwealth Games (April 4-15) and Asian Games (August 18-September 2), to be held in Gold Coast and Jakarta, respectively. The men's 50km race walk will serve as the qualifying event for the Asian Games. There is no men's 50km race walk event in the Commonwealth Games. The qualification benchmark for the Commonwealth Games (for 20km race walk event) has been pegged at 1:22:00 for men and 1:35:00 for women. The ...