Page 1997 - Sports

Man United, Celtic mourn former player Liam Miller

Manchester United and Celtic on Saturday offered condolences after their former midfielder Liam Miller passed away at age 36, following a battle with cancer.

Akhil wins 2nd pro fight, remains unbeaten in circuit

Seasoned Indian boxer Akhil Kumar kept his unbeaten professional record intact, scoring a Technical Knockout over Tanzanian Sadiki Momba in his second bout, here today. Competing under the aegis of a new promoter in Hope and Glory Boxing, in association with the World Boxing Council (WBC), the 35-year-old Akhil got the better of Momba in the very first round of what was to be a six-round super lightweight (63.5kg) contest. The former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist left his rival with a bloodied face, forcing an early end to the proceedings. "He was bending too much and perhaps that is why he got hit so badly by the uppercut. It got over too early but a win is a win, I will take it," Akhil told PTI after his bout. Also winning on the six-bout fight-card tonight was Beijing Olympics quarterfinalist Jitender Kumar (lightweight, 61.2kg). He got the better of Georgian Dato Nanava. Jitender was also competing in just his second professional bout and maintained his unbeaten

Rain stops play for second time in 4th ODI

Lightning and rain interrupted play for the second time in the fourth ODI between India and South Africa here today. Opting to bat, India notched up 289 for seven in the allotted 50 overs and in reply, South Africa were 43 for one in 7.2 overs when play was stopped at the Wanderers. Hashim Amla was batting on 19 while his opening partner and skipper Aiden Markram was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah for 22. South Africa required another 247 runs with nine wickets and 42.4 overs remaining. Earlier, India were 200 for two in 34.2 overs when the umpires called for the covers. Shikhar Dhawan was batting on 107 off 102 balls then.

I-League: East Bengal want foreign referee for Minerva match

East Bengal on Saturday wrote to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) seeking foreign referees and a panel of match observers for their potential title-deciding clash against Minerva Punjab on February 13.

Priori stunner gives Jamshedpur top-four cushion

Wellington Priori's stunning goal from an overhead kick was enough to give Jamshedpur FC a vital 1-0 victory over NorthEast United FC to keep them in the top four of the Hero Indian Super League. Steve Coppell's side have now won three matches in a row at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, and occupy the third spot with 25 points, the same as second-placed FC Pune City who have a better goal-difference and have a match in hand. Priori's incredible goal came in the 50th minute. It was a long throw in from Izu Azuka which found Wellington in the box. He controlled it with his thigh and then executed the perfect overhead kick to give Jamshedpur the lead. The strike is certainly one of the best of the season and overshadowed goalkeeper Subrata Paul's achievement of becoming the first man to keep 20 clean sheets in the ISL. After a goalless first session, the deadlock was broken minutes after Coppell had introduced Mehtab Hossain for Ashim Biswas. It looked defensive on paper but ...

J'burg ODI: India set 290-run target for Proteas

India set a 290-run target for South Africa with the help of Shikhar Dhawan's 13th hundred in the fourth One Day International (ODI) of the six-match series at the Wanderers here on Saturday.Opting to bat first, India lost opener Rohit Sharma on just 5, once again becoming the victim of Kagiso Rabada.Skipper Kohli, who has been phenomenal in the series, then added valuable 158 runs for the second wicket with Dhawan. He and smashed a six and seven fours in his 75 run score of 83 balls.As India piled up runs at the scoreboard, Dhawan hit his 13th hundred in his 100th ODI appearance to become the first Indian to do so.Dhawan struck the ton off 99 balls, which included two sixes and ten fours.He built innings with Rahane as bad weather halted the play for a brief period of time.Dhawan departed as the game resumed. After playing a beautiful inning of 109 he was caught out by AB de Villiers of Morne Morkel's spell.No sooner had Dhawan walked back that Ajinkya Rahane pulled a short ball ...

SA women beat India by 7 wickets in third inconsequential ODI

South African women's team registered a consolation seven-wicket win over India with just four balls to spare in the third of the three-match One Day International (ODI) at Senwes Park here on Saturday.Opting to bat first, India set a 241 run target in 50 overs, which the hosts touched with the help of Mignon du Preez's unbeaten 90-run innings.South Africa's top-order contributed equally to help the hosts avoid a 3-0 whitewash from India.Lizelle Lee departed early on 10, while Laura Wolvaardt scored 59 and Andrie Steyn hit 30.Dane van Niekerk remained unbeaten on 41 as South Africa reached their target.For India, opener Smriti Mandhana, who earlier guided India to their second ODI win by her magnificent hundred, departed on duck.It was Deepti Sharma who then took the charge with her 79-run innings before being caught out by Shabnim Ismail on Chloe Tryon's spell.Skipper Mithali Raj departed on four, while all rounder Harmanpreet Kaur and middle-order batsman scored 25 and 56 ...

Australia thrash England in T20 clash

Australia rode on a strong all-round performance to outclass England by seven wickets in their Twenty20 International (T20I) here on Saturday.

Alaves hand Villarreal second straight loss in La Liga

Deportivo Alaves stunned Villarreal 2-1 on Saturday, infilcting second successive loss on the latter in the La Liga football championship.

China face Indonesia in Asia Team championship final

Badminton powerhouse China stormed into the Asia Team Championship final where they will face Indonesia after they defeated Malaysia 3-1 in the semifinals, here today. Since China and Malaysia qualified for the Thomas Cup Finals after their respective victories in the quarter finals Friday, they rested their senior players and allowed their young shuttlers to gain some international exposure. The Thomas Cup Finals is one the world's most prestigious badminton events in terms of player and fan interest. The semi-finalists in this tournament automatically qualify for this year's Thomas Cup, to be held in Thailand's capital Bangkok in May. World number two Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia did not play in the semi-finals as the team's goal in the tournament was to book a ticket for the Thomas Cup. The veteran Lee was replaced by Lee Zii Jia. But he found China's Shi Yuqi too strong, resulting in the world number seven winning 21-18, 21-9. Malaysia drew level after 2016 Olympic silver

Ton-up Dhawan drives India to 289/7 in 4th ODI

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan marked his 100th One-Day International (ODI) with a brilliant 109 to take India to 289/7 in 50 overs in the fourth match against South Africa at the New Wanderers Stadium here on Saturday.

Tottenham stuns Arsenal 1-0, jumps to 3rd in EPL

Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday pulled off a difficult 1-0 win over Arsenal in the 27th round of the English Premier League, provisionally jumping to third spot in the league table.

RSPB to face Madhya Pradesh in final of Women National Hockey

Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) will take on Hockey Madhya Pradesh in the summit clash of the 8th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2018 (A Division), here tomorrow. At today's first semi-final at the Astro Turf Hockey Stadium here, RSPB defeated Hockey Jharkhand 6-3. Later in the day, Hockey Madhya Pradesh beat Hockey Haryana 2-0 in the second semi-final.

EB want foreign referees, observers' panel for Minerva game

Eyeing their maiden I-League crown, a wary East Bengal today shot off a letter to the AIFF, seeking a panel of observers and foreign referees for their potential title-deciding clash at Minerva Punjab on February 13. The Punjab outfit is six points clear of third placed East Bengal to lead the standings with five matches to go. "The match will possibly decide the eventual winners of the I-League 2017-18. However, there are certain serious concerns for all East Bengal supporters, members, officials," East Bengal secretary Kalyan Majumdar wrote in his letter addressed to AIFF secretary Kushal Das. "A panel of two or more additional AIFF match observers and referee assessors should be appointed for this crucial game to ensure that the game is conducted in a fair manner. "Such panel can comprise of ex-Indian players who are experienced and have played similar crunch matches in the past." Majumdar further said they have been at the "receiving end of several questionable ...

Dhawan slams ton in 100th ODI as India manage 289/7

Opener Shikhar Dhawan made his 100th One-Day International appearance a memorable one, slamming a breezy century to guide India to 289 for seven in the fourth match against South Africa here today. Eyeing their first-ever series win in South Africa, India could have got more but a rain interruption punctured their momentum after Dhawan's hundred. Dhawan, who put on 158 runs with skipper Virat Kohli (75), thus became the first Indian batsman to score a ton in his 100th ODI. Overall, he became the ninth player to reach this milestone. This was after India won the toss and opted to bat on a true batting surface. The visitors made one change, bringing in Shreyas Iyer for Kedar Jadhav, who had suffered a hamstring injury during the third ODI at Cape Town. South Africa made two changes, bringing in Morne Morkel for Imran Tahir. AB de Villiers, who averages 112.50 in five Pink ODIs, replaced Khaya Zondo in the Proteas' XI. The Wanderers was expectedly bathed in pink for a good .

ISL: Delhi play for pride as Chennai look to consolidate (Preview)

Bottom placed Delhi Dynamos FC will have nothing but professional pride to play for when they take on Chennaiyin FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) encounter here on Sunday.

I-League: Arrows ride Sarkar's heroics against Churchill

Indian Arrows launched an extraordinary fight-back to win 2-1 against Churchill Brothers FC in their Hero I-League encounter at the Tilak Maidan Stadium here on Saturday.

Federation Cup Kabaddi: Maharashtra teams make winning start

Hosts Maharashtra hit the ground running in the Federation Cup Kabaddi tournament winning the opening round matches in both the men's and women's sections here. The mens team, which was crowned national champions after a gap of 11 years, staved off a late challenge from Uttar Pradesh to win 34-33 in the Group A encounter while the women eased past Kerala 47-21. In other matches, national runners-up Karnataka thrashed Uttarakhand 45-12 in a Group B clash. Karnataka registered two all-outs each either side of half time and had taken a 27-09 lead at the break. Payal Chaudhary scored 16 points in 17 raids to help Indian Railways beat Haryana 45-34 in the womens Group A match. The national champions registered three all-outs and ensured that the valiant effort of Haryanas Sakshi Kumari, of earning 15 points from 12 raids, went in vain. Kumari bagged three points two times in one raid but her efforts were negated by the collective might of the Railways team. In the mens ...

Furious IOA blames PCI for Khatun's exclusion from CWG team

The IOA today blamed the Paralympic Committee of India for para-powerlifter Sakina Khatun's exclusion from the country's team for Gold Coast CWG even as the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has said that it will explore the possibility of her late inclusion. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) had put the blame squarely on the PCI for Khatun's exclusion, which has created a huge furore in the country. Even though the IOA acknowledged that Khatun has qualified well in time for this year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (CWG), the country's Olympic body said the PCI did not send the powerlifter's name on time. "As governing body of Paralympic movement in India, PCI ought to have been aware that the deadline of qualification for Para Powerlifting in 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games was 31 October, 2017," IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta wrote in a letter to PCI CEO Group Captain Shahrukh Shamshad (Retd.) "The IOA has sent mails to all participating member National ..

India score 289/7 against SA in 4th ODI

Opting to bat, India posted a competitive 289 for seven against South Africa in the fourth ODI, here today. Shikhar Dhawan scored a quick 109 in his 100th ODI, while skipper Virat Kohli made 75. Lungi Ngidi (2/52) and Kagiso Rabada (2/58) picked up two wickets apiece for South Africa. Brief Scores: India: 289 for seven in 50 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 109, Virat Kohli 75; Mahendra Singh Dhoni 42 not out; Lungi Ngidi 2/52, Kagiso Rabada 2/58).