Page 1992 - Sports
Czech Berdych retires from Davis Cup tennis
Czech tennis player Tomas Berdych has announced that he will not compete in the Davis Cup any more in his bid to prolong his professional career.
Simon Willis resigns as Lanka's high-performance manager
Simon Willis has stepped down from the post of Sri Lanka Cricket's high-performance manager, less than two years into a three-year contract.It is learnt that Willis has decided to hand his resignation due to personal reasons and, now he would serve a six-month notice period."Simon has given us six months notice and as such will remain with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) until June 30. We will, therefore, be advertising for the position," ESPNcricinfo quoted SLC, as saying.The SLC is planning to bring Willis' replacement at least two months before the end of his notice period in order to allow a smooth transition.Willis was recruited especially for the newly-created role of high-performance manager in June 2015. His role includes overseeing Sri Lanka's cricket academy besides also playing an important role in identifying and developing young talent.
Anderson survives wind, crashes to defend slopestyle title
Jamie Anderson survived high winds which disrupted the crash-filled women's slopestyle snowboarding competition to successfully defend her Olympic title today. The 27-year-old took gold despite briefly going over in her final run, with Laurie Blouin of Canada earning silver and Finland's Enni Rukajarvi taking bronze. Britain's Katie Ormerod and Australian Tess Coady both suffered competition-ending injuries on the slopestyle course, which features high rails and huge jumps to negotiate in the swirling winds. Sunday's qualifiers were scrapped because of the strong wind, and the final was also delayed for more than an hour on Monday as organisers waited for the gusts to subside. When the competition finally got underway, a number of athletes hit the deck before Anderson, Blouin -- who sported a black eye -- and Rukajarvi filled the podium. It came a day after 17-year-old Coady, the youngest member of the Australian team in South Korea, pulled out after wrecking her left ...
T20I tri-series: Warner given time-off before Kiwis clash
Australian star opener David Warner has been given some time-off before his side resume T20I tri-series campaign against New Zealand on February 16 at the iconic Eden Park, Auckland.Confirming the news, Australia head coach Darren Lehman had said that T20I stand-in captain Warner would head home to Sydney after attending the Allan Border Medal count in Melbourne to freshen up mentally, ahead of the upcoming match.The 31-year-old opener, who is leading the T20 side in the absence of rested regular captain Steve Smith, is the only member of the victorious Ashes side to feature in all three formats of the game this Australian summer."It will just give him a couple of days at home really. It's always a challenge with the schedule as it is, but David is really keen to play as captain. So we'll give him a couple of days off and get him to New Zealand the day before the game," cricket.com.au quoted Lehmann, as saying.While Warner will join the squad just a day prior to the game, the ...
Triumphant in ODIs, India women eye dominance in T20s
The ODI series triumph was offset slightly by a loss in the closing match but that would hardly dent the Indian women's cricket team's confidence as it heads into a five-game Twenty20 rubber against South Africa, starting here tomorrow. After commanding victories in the first two ODIs, Indian women lost by seven wickets in the third ODI here last Friday. The loss, however, hardly made any difference as the Indians had pocketed the three-ODI series by then. The defeat definitely came as a jolt but Indian women would look to shrug off the disappointment and make a winning start to their T20 campaign here. The visitors were at their dominating best in the first two ODIs, recording huge 88 and 178-run wins before slumping to the loss. While the Mithali Raj led side in the ODI series, the T20s will witness a new captain in the explosive Harmanpreet Kaur. Harmanpreet will be assisted by in-form batswoman Smriti Mandhana. India would also be bolstered by the inclusion of T20 ...
India renew pursuit of history, SAfrica hope rally continues
Knocked back in the previous match, India will look to crush a South African revival before it becomes a threat to their pursuit of a maiden ODI series triumph here when the two sides clash in the fifth one-dayer, tomorrow. The Men in Blue still have a two-match cushion in the six-ODI series. They lead 3-1 after winning the first in Durban by six wickets, the second in Centurion by nine wickets and the third in Cape Town by 124 runs. The Proteas bounced back by winning the rain-affected and lightning-struck Pink ODI in Johannesburg by five wickets. India's wrist-spinners versus South Africa's batting line-up is still the key contest going ahead in this series. At Johannesburg, the dual rain intervention affected India's momentum with both the bat and ball. More importantly, it reduced the target sufficiently that, despite AB de Villiers' relative early dismissal, the home batsmen didn't have much trouble getting past. The T20-mode of that second innings, coupled with the
Senior Women's NFC: TN, Bengal, Railways and Manipur to clash in semis
The 23rd Senior Women's National Football Championship 2017-18 is all set to call the curtain off, with the four deserving teams of Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Railways and Manipur battling it out in the semi-finals on Monday.The first semi-final will see Tamil Nadu square off against two-time winners West Bengal. While Tamil Nadu will be looking to make their maiden final, Bengal will aim to reach their 16th final.Tamil Nadu topped their group, before edging out title contenders and hosts Odisha in the quarter-final.The team has exceeded expectations and is raring to go further. "We are keen to make our maiden final. The girls are excited to prove themselves tomorrow," revealed Tamil Nadu head coach M Muruhuvedan.Meanwhile, West Bengal have been impenetrable in the tournament with teams like Punjab, Mizoram and Himachal Pradesh falling by the wayside. Their defence hasn't conceded a single goal and will prove to be a tough nut to crack for the inspirational Tamil Nadu side."The girls ...
ISL: Chennaiyin FC hold Delhi Dynamos to 1-1 stalemate
A late goal by Mailson Alves saw Chennaiyin FC settle with a 1-1 draw against Delhi Dynamos in their Indian Super League (ISL) game here at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium last evening.Even though Chennaiyin continues on the top four with 24 points, but the draw only means their life in rest of the season would be even more difficult to secure semi-final spot.Coach John Gregory was not satisfied but still happy to get a point. "One point is never enough, but I am glad we could manage the point. We are very much in the contention for the semis race."Kalu Uche gave Delhi the lead from the spot but Alves levelled for the away side with a header.The home side dominated the early exchanges and created a few scares in the Chennaiyin FC defense. 20-year-old Lallianzuala Chhangte was finding it easy to penetrate through the wings.The Delhi Dynamos winger put in a couple of good balls into the opposition box for his teammates to attack.Fifteen minutes into the game, Delhi Dynamos had a wonderful ...
Canada win Olympic figure skating team gold, Russians silver
Ice dance stars Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir inspired Canada to the figure skating team title to secure the Winter Games heavyweights' first gold at Pyeongchang 2018 today. The Russians, with their teenage ice starlets Evgenia Medvedeva and Alina Zagitova, took their first silver of the Games. The USA team was third. The Canadian team, also featuring dual 2014 silver medallist Patrick Chan, fulfilled their promise as favourites to beat Olympic Athletes from Russia, after comming second to Russia four years ago in Sochi. They took command on Friday, despite Chan tumbling in his men's short programme. Competing in their third Olympics, Virtue and Moir earned a maximum 10 points for their short programme, and matched that in the concluding free with an exhilarating four-and-a- half minute performance to the music of Moulin Rouge. Canada finished on 73 points, with OAR on 66 and the USA a further four points behind. Italy came in fourth with Japan last of the five that went ..
Mohun Bagan look to return to winning ways against Gokulam
Mohun Bagan will look to get back to winning ways to renew their title challenge, when they take on last-placed side Gokulam Kerala FC in their I-League clash here at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Stadium on Monday.The Kolkata giants have had a mixed bag of results after a convincing 2-0 win over East Bengal, as they have won one and drawn two in the last three encounters.They are currently standing fourth on the league table, with 21 points from 13 matches.Sankarlal Chakraborty, head coach of Mohun Bagan, refused to accept that his side is taking any of the lower ranked sides lightly and hence losing points."No not at all. We take each and every team very seriously. The important thing is that we are playing exactly the way we want to play. If we continue playing this way, I am sure that we will win matches in the future," said Chakraborty.Dipanda Dicka with eight goals continues to lead the goal scoring charts and his partnership with Moghrabi in the attacking third has been a treat
Shiffrin on hold as wind delays giant slalom
America's Mikaela Shiffrin will have to wait until Thursday to kick off her bid for multiple Olympic medals after the opening women's giant slalom was postponed today because of strong winds. It was rescheduled for Thursday, with the two legs to be raced either side of the men's downhill, FIS confirmed. "Due to strong winds and the weather forecast, today's giant slalom is postponed," FIS announced. The blue riband downhill was also postponed Sunday because of high winds and an unfavourable weather forecast which saw the cancellation of today's downhill training for the men's combined event. The forecast for the Yongpyong course, where the women's giant slalom would have been held, was for another bitterly cold day on Monday, with temperatures of -16 degrees Celsius (3.2 Fahrenheit). That will be accompanied by winds gusting at up to 18m peer second, lending a truly glacial chill. Bad weather also delayed the women's slopestyle final today. "The weather forecast is not ...
Family affair as Serena makes long-awaited return
Serena Williams made her long-awaited comeback to tennis alongside elder sister Venus after the United States sealed a decisive victory over the Netherlands in their defence of the Fed Cup. It is Serena's first competitive match since winning her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, and the first time the sisters have played doubles together in this tournament since 2003. The 36-year-old American took time away from the sport to give birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia and get married, to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Both have been in attendance over the weekend, seated just behind the players' box. Serena told reporters on Friday that her path back had been full of "ups and downs" but credited her sister with helping her find her rhythm. There had been speculation she may drop out of yesterday's doubles match, against Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs, after Serena was the only US player to not attend practice in the morning. But team captain Kathy ...
Barcelona frustrated in goalless draw with Getafe
A disallowed Luis Suarez goal summed up a frustrating afternoon for Barcelona as the leaders of La Liga dropped points for the second week running after a 0-0 stalemate with Getafe. After needing a late equaliser to grab a point in the Catalan derby at Espanyol last weekend, Barca yesterday could not break down a well-organised Getafe side, who showed why they have the third-best defensive record in the league. In irresistible form in front of goal in 2018, Suarez had the ball in the net just before half-time with a great finish from a Lionel Messi free-kick, but the home celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. The Uruguayan striker then saw his header kept out by a brilliant Vicente Guaita save as the match moved into stoppage time, with Barca failing to score at home in La Liga for the first time since November 2016. Ernesto Valverde's side remain unbeaten in La Liga after 23 games, extending their longest run without losing from the start of a ...
Devinder, Sonia win gold in Asian Games invitational tournament
India won two gold medals, three silver and as many bronzes on the opening day of athletics at the Asian Games invitational tournament in Jakarta on Sunday.While the purpose of the competition is to serve as a test event for the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium, Indian competitors put up a strong show ahead of what will be a busy season. Competing in his first competition of the season, javelin thrower Devinder Singh Kang, the bronze medalist at last year's Asian Championships stamped Indian dominance in the event.Kang, a finalist at the 2017 World Championships, recorded a best effort of 75.87m to finish ahead of Ranasinghe Denagamage of Sri Lanka who had a best effort of 75.39m.18-year-old Sachin Silwal added bronze for India with a best effort of 68.12m. Kang who recently began training under former world record holder Uwe Hohn, appeared out of touch initially and was trailing Denagamage until his final effort before producing a mark that put the gold medal out of reach of the Sri ...
Doping row because US 'can't beat us fairly' - Russia FM
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that accusations of a state-sponsored doping conspiracy which led to his country's Olympic banishment were orchestrated by the United States because they "can't beat us fairly". "I think it's a form of competition without scruples because the US team, obviously, are not capable of beating us fairly at sport," Lavrov said in an interview broadcast by Rossiya-1 TV and published on the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russia has been banned from taking part in the ongoing Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed a large group of Russians deemed clean to take part as "Olympic Athletes from Russia". Lavrov, meanwhile, accused the United States of engineering the ban as a means for them "to find and keep their place as indisputable world leader in sport". "All rivals must be pushed to one side," he added. "All means are good (in a) campaign which is .
Winter Olympics: Shiva finishes 30th in men's luge
Shiva Keshavan of India finished at the 30th spot in the Singles Run 3 of the Men's Luge event at the Winter Olympics here on Sunday.
ISL: Struggling Chennaiyin settle for a point
A late goal by Mailson Alves earned Chennaiyin FC a 1-1 draw against Delhi Dynamos FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) match here on Sunday.
Sassuolo remain winless in 2018
Sassuolo's goalless draw against Cagliari on Sunday was one more missed opportunity to win a Serie A football match in 2018.
Delhi Dynamos, Chennaiyin play out 1-1 draw
Bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos let slip a one-goal advantage to share the spoils with visiting Chennaiyin FC in their Indian Super League (ISL) match here tonight. Kalu Uche put the home team ahead with a 59th minute strike from the spot. Looking to consolidate their position in the top four, Chennaiying FC equalised through Mailson Alves's header following a set-piece in the 81st minute. A charging Xavier, who had a good game till then, tried to punch it away but left the net empty. While the result doesn't hold much significance for the embattled hosts, Chennaiyin would have like to go home with full three points. The Super Machans, though, still managed to keep their playoffs hopes alive despite conceding first at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. And the visitors need to thank their central defender for finding the equaliser and at least securing a point in the dying moments of the game. Delhi coach Miguel Angel Portugal made three changes to the starting XI with the ...
Ghosal rallies to down Swiss Mueller for title
National champion and top seed Saurav Ghosal made a brilliant rally in the deciding final game to put it across number 2 seed Nicolas Mueller and clinch the title in the USD 35,000 Vedanta Indian Open Squash tournament here today. Ghosal, ranked 14th, won 3-2 after a no-holds-barred, 67-minute final against the much taller Swiss ranked 33rd in the world for his second crown at home in four months on the Professional Squash Association tour. The 31-year-old Ghosal won 11-9 5-11 6-11 11-7 12-10, after bouncing back from 3-7 and 5-8 by reeling off five straight points to hold championship points at 10-8. The Swiss, who had lost to Ghosal in three straight games in the final of the CCI International event in November last, saved both to draw level at 10-all but could not save the third after the 12-time Indian champion applied relentless pressure and lost. Mueller had beaten Ghosal in three straight games in January, 2017 in the Tournament of Champions in USA earlier but ...