Page 2043 - Sports
Kohli has given Indian team pride, aggression: Mike Brearley
Former England skipper Mike Brearley today heaped praise on Virat Kohli, saying the India captain has given the team a sense of pride and aggression. "I have not been close enough to (Virat) Kohli but I admire him enormously. He has given the team pride and aggression. He is always attentive, keen eyed, he is a wonderful batsman and he is shrewd," Brearley said at an event after his book 'ON FORM' was released here. Kohli has often faced criticism for changing playing elevens in Test matches, but Brearley backed him, saying it was "extraordinary". "I find it extraordinary and probably because it has to do with some unsettling in the team when you have too many changes. Of course, it could be too gratifying to the team or too complacent to the team to have changes. "Just because you won the last Test does not mean you have to play the same team, you should change. May be what has come in with T20 cricket is greater openness to variability. You have to come and bowl one ...
Srikanth bows out; Sindhu, Saina enter quarters of India Open
Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the India Open after suffering a shock straight game loss even as title-contenders Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu progressed to the quarterfinals with facile wins, here today. Playing his first tournament of the new season after recovering from an abdominal muscle strain, world no 3 Srikanth suffered a 19-21 17-21 loss to Malaysian qualifier Iskandar Zulkarnain, who is giving his career a last shot after coming back from a long injury gap due to back problem. "I was at par with him in both the games but in the last few points he played really well. I am feeling good and I want to continue playing. I need more match practice. He is tricky and he gets shuttles back from crazy positions. I am just happy to be back on court," Srikanth said after the men's singles match. Top seed and defending champion Sindhu dumped Bulgaria's Linda Zetchiri 21-10 21-14 in the women's singles to set up a clash with eighth seeded Spaniard Beatriz Corrales, who ...
Srikanth ousted; Ashwini-Satwik, Saina, Sindhu in quarters of India Open
Men's singles top seed Kidambi Srikanth of India tumbled out of the second round, while the Indian mixed doubles pair of young Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa registered a stunning victory to join P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal in the quarter-finals of the India Open BWF World Tour 500 here on Thursday.
Swimmers lift Karnataka to top of medal tally in Khelo India
Karnataka swimmers dominated the day, winning six of the nine gold medals at the SPM Pool in the inaugural Khelo India School Games (KISG) here on Thursday.
Olympic 800m champ Rudisha remains doubtful for CWG
Injured Olympic 800m champion David Rudisha of Kenya is unlikely to compete at the Commonwealth Games, to be held in Gold Coast from April 4 t 15.
Moscow vows to continue defending Russian athletes' rights in courts
Moscow will continue to back the rights of Russian Winter Games athletes in courts and is very happy for those athletes whose appeals against life bans have been upheld, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Golfers Akshay, Sanjay enter Mercedes Trophy national finals
City golfers Akshay Bajoria (handicap Category A -- 0-18) and Sanjay Ajmera (handicap Category B -- 19-24) qualified for the National Finals of Mercedes Trophy on Day 2 of the Kolkata leg qualifier here on Thursday.
India clinch 7 golds in India Open Boxing
Indian boxers regaled their roaring fans with a bountiful of gold medals in the India Open International Boxing Tournament, led by the inimitable Mary Kom, Sanjeet, Manish Kaushik, Pwilao Basumatar, Lovlina Borgohain and Pinki Rani, Manisha here at the Thyagaraj Stadium on Thursday.Uzebekistan and Cuba underlined their class and domination in the middle and heavy categories, helping themselves to four gold.Five-time world champion Mary Kom got the loudest cheers as she overcame pain and a determined opponent 4-1 in Josie Gabuco of the Phillipines in the light-fly final.She began on a cautious note, ensuring that she had enough power and punch left for the final rounds. She showed her swiftness and experience as she beat Josie Gabuco.India had as many as nine boxers in the 10-final afternoon card, with two of them competing for the gold in the bantam-weight category. Assam would be particularly proud of their ladies, with Pwilao and Lovlina emerging as the next generation of golden ...
Swimmers led Karnataka to top of medals tally
Led by its swimmers, Karnataka surged to the top of the medals tally of the first inaugural Khelo India School Games, here today. Karnataka swimmers won six of the nine gold medals on offer and both the boys and girls contributed three each. Earlier in the day, sprinter VA Shashikanth from Government Sports High School and Youth Centre in Vidyanagar gave them their first gold when he won the 200 race. Karnataka are leading the medals tally with seven gold and three bronze for a total of 10 medals. The day saw a total of 17 gold medals on offer with nine in the pool, seven on the track and one in wrestling. While Karnataka ruled the pool, honours were more evenly distributed in athletics, where Haryana won two gold and five states Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu won one each. Sharing the second place on the medals tally behind Karnataka are Tamil Nadu and Haryana with three golds each. Both states have earned their gold medals from athletics. Down the .
Bernard Tomic calls Tennis Australia 'corrupt'
In a scathing attack, controversial Australian tennis star Bernard Tomic has accused Tennis Australia of being "corrupt" after he was rebuffed from their Davis Cup team.Recently, former world number one Lleyton Hewitt had stated that it is "highly doubtful" that Tomic would ever play in the Davis Cup again as he has had a history of misbehaving off-court."I don't care what Lleyton said. I never lost to him", Sport24 quoted Tomic as saying.The 25-year-old tennis star slammed Tennis Australia and said that something isn't going right in the institution.He said, "It's up to only them to fix...we have a few wrong people in that organisation and I hope that can change and I hope the best players can be playing Davis Cup again".Tomic claimed that the Australian team could not win the Davis Cup without him."The important thing is that there's a reason why I played Davis Cup and there's a reason why my record stands that good. I stand by my call. They know they can't win without me and I know
Locusts pose no threat to World Cup grounds
Locust swarms do not pose any threat to Russian football stadiums that will be hosting matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Alexei Sorokin, head of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC), said on Thursday.
Manipur girls thrash Delhi 9-0, Delhi boys upset Manipur 2-1
Manipur thrashed Delhi 9-0 in a Group 2 tie here of the girls football compeition at the Khelo India School Games, here today. In the other match, West Bengal got the better of Tripura by a comfortable 3-0 margin after a goalless first half. In another girls tie, Gujarat beat Mizoram by a handsome 7-1 margin. Earlier in the day, Punjab got the better of Assam 2-0 on in the boys football competition of the KISG, while Manipur suffered a shock 1-2 defeat at the hands of hosts Delhi.
Durban ODI: Du Plessis helps Proteas set 270-run target for India
Skipper Faf du Plessis hammered a blistering century to help South Africa set a respectable target of 270 runs for India in the opening ODI of the six-match series at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground here on Wednesday.South Africa got off to a good start after winning the toss and opting to bat first, but the Indian bowlers picked up a couple of quick wickets to dent visitors' progress before du Plessis shone with the bat to bring his side back on track.After losing opener Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock joined forces with first drop Faf du Plessis and the pair increased the run rate with a 53-run partnership in just 7.3 overs before Indian spinner Yuzvendra Chahal stuck to dismiss the opener for 34 off 49 balls.However, the home side lost Aiden Markram (9), JP Duminy (9) and David Miller (6) cheaply.With the score on 134-5, Du Plessis rebuilt the partnership with all-rounder Chris Morris and the duo put on 74 in just over 12 overs before the latter was dismissed for 37.Subsequently, Andile .
Odisha, Chandigarh record big wins in Khelo India boys hockey
It rained goals in the boys hockey competition of the Khelo India School Games as 37 goals were scored in four matches with Odisha recoding a massive 14-3 win over Rajasthan at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, here today. In another match, Chandigarh drubbed Delhi 8-0 to complete the day's proceedings. In the first Pool A match, Punjab drowned Haryana 4-2 while in Pool B Uttar Pradesh beat Karnataka 5-1. Meanwhile in girls hockey competition, Mumtaz Khan scored a hattrick to help Uttar Pradesh register a facile 7-0 win over Chhattisgarh. In the first match of the day in Pool A, the Haryana girls over powered Jharkhand 4-2 while in the afternoon Punjab scored a fighting 3-1 win over Chandigarh in Pool B.
Du Plessis ton lifts S.Africa to 269/8 in first ODI
Skipper Faf du Plessis' ninth ODI century helped South Africa recover from a minor collapse to post a competitive 269/8 against India in the opener of the six-match One-day International series at Kingsmead here on Thursday.
Yadav-Chahal restrict SA to 269/8, du Plessis hits 120
Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with an impressive 120 as he single-handedly took South Africa to 269 for 8 in the first cricket one-dayer against India here today. India's leg-spin twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal shared five wickets among them in an impressive bowling show but du Plessis ensured that the Proteas have a competitive total on board after opting to bat. Du Plessis scored his eighth ODI hundred after a half- empty Kingsmead Stadium bore witness to South Africa's top- order collapse. The hosts lost four wickets for 51 runs before du Plessis and Chris Morris (37) rescued them with a 74-run partnership for the sixth wicket. The Protea skipper faced 112 balls from which he hit 11 fours and 2 sixes. For India, Yadav took 3/34 and Chahal returned 2/45 as the duo excelled in their first proper overseas outing, underlining the team management's faith in leg-spin since July last year. Earlier, South Africa won the toss and opted to bat. As ...
FC Pune City eyes win against Kerala Blasters
Hosts FC Pune City will go all guns blazing when they take on Kerala Blasters in an Indian Super League encounter here tomorrow. It will surely be a daunting task for the Kerala side to beat high-flying Pune team, especially in latter's backyard. Presently Pune are at the third spot with 22 points from 12 games and a win will surely help the Ranko Popovic- managed side. Pune are dreaming of making the ISL playoffs for the first time, and have the momentum with them, with two wins out of two and a healthy return of just one defeat in their last six games. The hosts have conceded only 12 goals so far. On the other hand, Kerala Blasters are on the seventh spot having 17 points after playing 13 games. The team would be eager to win against Pune and grab three crucial points. In their last home game Kerala Blasters defeated Delhi Dynamoes 2-1, while on January 21 they had gone down 2-1 to FC Goa. Kerala Blasters head coach David James said, "The defeat to FC Goa was tough and
Star-studded RSPB maul TN 18-0 in women's National hockey
Star-studded Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) hammered Tamil Nadu 18-0 in the opening match of the eighth Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2018 (A Division), here today. Priyanka Wankhede (12th, 17th, 25th, 26th, 40th and 52nd) starred for RSPB with six sensational goals including a penalty corner conversion, while Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam (2nd, 50th) Anupa Barla (6th, 42nd), Vandana Katariya (9th), Navneet Kaur (20th, 23rd, 45th), Neha Goyal (14th), Deepika (28th, 51st) and Sanarik Chanu Ningombam were the other goal scorers for the winners. In another match, Hockey Punjab got the better of Chhattisgarh Hockey 6-1 win, while in the third match of the day, Hockey Haryana beat Hockey Karnataka by a narrow 2-1 margin. In the fourth match of the day, Hockey Odisha clinched a superb 8-1 win over Hockey Bhopal to begin their campaign in style.
Churchill face Minerva test in I-League
Churchill Brothers will face a daunting task when they take on league leaders Minerva Punjab FC in their next I-League encounter at the Tilak Maidan, Vasco on Friday.Table toppers Minerva come into the game following a bitter-sweet 2-2 draw against direct title-rivals Kingfisher East Bengal.The Ludhiana-based side were in a winning position against East Bengal leading 2-1 until they conceded a late goal in the 89th minute.Meanwhile, Churchill Brothers are still recovering from their 0-1 defeat against Neroca FC in a game where they went all out against Gift Raikhan's men.The two teams would now desperately fight for vital points when they head into the match.Raikhan said after the game that his team were lucky to walk away with all three points which helped them close the gap on Minerva."It was very hard to digest especially after the efforts put by my players. But as professionals, we have to recover from such setbacks," Churchill Brothers coach Alfred Fernandes said today.On paper, .
ISL 2018: Kerala look to exploit Pune's imbalance
David James' return to Kerala Blasters FC saw a three-match unbeaten run at the start, but that was punctured by back-to-back defeats before his side recovered to get all three points against Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League.It has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride for the Englishman and his team's fans as they look to overhaul a two-point gap to the top four.The only issue is that the Kerala Blasters have played more games than any of the teams in contention for a place in the semifinal and will now face the daunting task of beating high-flying FC Pune City at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium, Pune, on Friday.Pune are themselves dreaming of the possibility to make the ISL playoffs for the first time ever, and have the momentum with two wins out of two and a healthy return of just one defeat in their last six games.Ranko Popovic's side are dangerous on the counter, lethal on the finish and have the second-best defence in the league with just 12 goals ...