Page 2063 - Sports

Federer wins Australian Open for 20th Slam title

Roger Federer powered home to beat Marin Cilic in five sets to win his sixth Australian Open and 20th Grand Slam title in a riveting final today. The Swiss defending champion dropped his only sets of the tournament before completing a 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over the sixth seeded Croatian in 3hr 3min. Federer, playing in his 30th Grand Slam final, joined Novak Djokovic and Australian great Roy Emerson as joint top for the most Australian Open men's titles. He added to his already imposing win-loss record in Melbourne and is now 94-13. His overall his Grand Slam mark stands at 332-52. The roof was closed over Rod Laver Arena as the tournament's heat policy was implemented amid evening temperatures of 38 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit). Cilic's serve came under immediate pressure with a whipping backhand return winner for break point which the Croatian followed with a smash into the net for a break in the opening game. The Croat was finding it difficult to settle and ...

Sri Lanka win U-19 World Cup Plate final

Sri Lanka rode on brilliant batting from openers Hasitha Boyagoda (116) and Dhananjaya Lakshan (98) to clinch the Under-19 Cricket World Cup Plate final against the West Indies by three wickets here on Sunday.

Unadkat, Tye bag million dollars deals on day 2 of IPL auction

Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat was the costliest Indian buy fetching a mind boggling Rs 11.5 crore deal from the usually thrifty Rajasthan Royals while Australia pacer Andrew Tye pocketed a Rs 7.2 crore contract from Kings XI Punjab on the final day of the IPL auction here. While Unadkat and Tye enjoyed big pay day, 17-year-old Sandeep Lamichhane made history by becoming the first cricketer from Nepal to be bought in the auction with Delhi Daredevils picking him up for his base price of Rs 20 lakh. After leggie Rashid Khan took home Rs 9 crore on the opening day, another Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Zadran, all of 16 years, was richer by Rs 4 crore when KXIP made the winning bid for the teen sensation. Nepal's Lamichanne had first hogged the limelight by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker during the 2016 U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh with 14 scalps in six innings at an average of 17 and his effort included a hat-trick. That led to former Australia captain Michael Clarke

Iran to play football friendly against Tunisia

Iran will play a friendly football match against Tunisia here in the North African country on March 23, prior to the 2018 World Cup, according to the Tunisian Football Association on Sunday.

Paes wins 25th Challenger doubles title at Newport Beach

Veteran Indian tennis star Leander Paes won his 25th ATP Challenger level doubles title with partner James Cerretani after beating Denis Kudla and Treat Huey in the final of the Newport Beach event. The second-seeded Indo-American pair defeated the American-Filipino combine 6-4 7-5 in the summit clash of the USD 150,000 hard court tournament. Paes, world No 61, has won crucial 125 points with this win as he is striving to move up the rankings ladder. He had logged 90 points at the Australian Open, where he made the third round with compatriot Purav Raja. When the new rankings will be issued tomorrow, Paes is likely to get back to top-50. Paes, winner of 11 singles titles on the Challenger Tour, had ended the 2017 season with consecutive trophies in Champaign and Knoxville with Raja.

Sandeep Lamichhane, first Nepali to feature in IPL

Sandeep Lamichhane has become the first cricketer from Nepal to get an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract as he was bought for his base price of Rs 20 lakh by Delhi Daredevils on second day of the ongoing IPL player auction here on Sunday.Lamichhane, 17, took a hat-trick against Ireland at the 2016 ICC Under-19 World Cup when Nepal made history after entering the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time.The leg-spinner will play alongside Gautam Gambhir, Australia's Glenn Maxwell, South African Kagiso Rabada in the 11th edition of the league.Up to 578 players, out of the 1,122 players, have been kept for the final two-day auction, which includes 244 capped players (62 from India), 332 uncapped players (34 from overseas), and two players from Associate countries.The IPL will begin from April 7.

Pak clinch series against Kiwis, claim No. 1 T20 spot

Pakistan cricket team on Sunday defeated New Zealand by 18 runs in the third and final T20 international, here at the Bay Oval, to clinch the series 2-1.Pakistan (124 points) had entered the series trailing number-one ranked New Zealand (126 points) by two points. The series win saw Pakistan usurp New Zealand in ICC's T20 team rankings and soar to the number one spot.After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Pakistan set a daunting target of 182.Opener Fakhar Zaman was Pakistan's top-scorer with 46 runs off 36 balls, laced with five boundaries and a six.Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed made 29, while Umar Amin chipped in with a quick 21 off just 7 balls.Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner picked up two wickets each for New Zealand.Meanwhile, Trent Boult and Colin de Grandhomme scalped one.New Zealand were cautious in their chase, scoring just 32 runs in the first five overs.Pakistan couldn't claim the second wicket until the 13th over but Martin Guptill and Anaru Kitchen's cautious approach ..

It's a dream come true to play with Kohli and AB: Washington

Washington Sundar is living a dream at the moment. Having impressed Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Steve Smith while playing for Rising Pune Supergiant during last edition, the spin bowling all-rounder is gearing up to dressing room with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers after being picked by RCB for Rs 3.3 crore at the IPL auctions. "I am delighted to have been picked up by RCB. I am a big fan of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. It will be a priceless experience to play with them after having played alongside MS Dhoni for (Rising) Pune Supergiant last year," Washington told PTI during an interaction. He also said playing being part of the Bengaluru franchise would be a blessing as he could learn new things by watching the stalwarts at close quarters. "Having played with MSD in last year's IPL and imbibed a lot of good things and now I feel it will be a blessing to be in Kohli's team. I can learn a lot by watching them from close quarters," Washington, whose base price was Rs 1.5 .

Pakistan on top of the world with New Zealand T20 series win

Pakistan laid claim to being the best Twenty20 side in the world today after beating New Zealand in the series-deciding third Twenty20 match here. The 18-run victory gave Pakistan a come-from-behind 2-1 series win that will see them overtake New Zealand at the top of the world rankings. Captain Sarfraz Ahmed leapt with delight after the final ball as Pakistan pulled off back-to-back wins over the hosts. Batting first on a friendly wicket, Pakistan reached 181 for six with Fakhar Zaman making 46 off 36 at the top of the innings. Umar Amin led a late charge that saw 58 runs scored in the final four overs. New Zealand, in reply, were never up with the run chase, and managed 163 for six in their 20 overs. The defeat followed a 48-run loss in the second game, after New Zealand swept the one-day series and won the first T20. The consecutive defeats, following an unbeaten 13-match winning streak across all formats against the West Indies and Pakistan, put a dampener on New ...

Villarreal thrash Real Sociedad in La Liga

Villarreal maintained the pressure on Real Madrid in the battle for fourth place in the La Liga as they eased past Real Sociedad to beat the Basque football club 4-2 in Vila-real.

Asia Team C'ship: BAI reluctant to let go of Saina Nehwal

Secretary General of Badminton Association of India (BAI) Anoop Narang has insisted London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal to play the Asia Team Championship, saying that the Uber Cup qualifier is a matter of national pride and the association wants to file their best shuttlers for it.Nehwal had earlier written a letter to the BAI to allow her to skip next month's Asia Championship to prepare for the All England Championship.The Asia Team Championship serves as a qualification for the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cups Finals to be held at Bangkok from May 20.Narang told ANI, "BAI is a body which is keen to ensure Indian national teams do well in official team championships as well. Uber Cup qualifier is a critically important tournament as well and I hope that Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Ashwini Ponnappa and all these girls go and play there because of this a matter of national pride."He informed that the association has asked Nehwal to redesign her training program for the All ...

Raina makes comeback to T20I squad for S. Africa series

Batsman Suresh Raina made his comeback to the Indian Twenty20 cricket squad after being named on Sunday for the away series against South Africa.

Bopanna-Babos pair ends runner-up at Australian Open mixed-doubles final

Timea Babos and Rohan Bopanna lost 6-2, 4-6, 9-11 to Mate Pavic and Gabriela Dabrowski in the mixed doubles final at the Australian Open

Four Nations hockey final: Belgium beat India in penalty shootout

India suffered a heartbreak 0-3 loss to Belgium in the penalty shootout after holding the world No. 3 to 4-4 draw in the final of the Four Nations Invitational Tournament at the Gallagher Hockey Stadium on Sunday.It was Felix Denayer, Sebastien Dockier and Arthur van Doren who scored for Belgium in the shootout.For India, Ramandeep Singh (29', 53'), Nilakanta Sharma (42') and Mandeep Singh (49') were the goal scorers in regulation time.India won two back-to-back penalty corners (PC) at the start of the second quarter but couldn't make much of it.However, the Men in Blue grabbed the 1-0 lead, through Mandeep Singh.The action intensified in the third quarter with Belgium upping their attack, winning an equaliser in the 41st minute through Tanguy Cosyns's well-executed PC.Moments later, India's Nilakanta Sharma netted a goal to make the score 2-1 the 42nd minute, which was equalised in the following minute with the help of Cedric Charlier.India won back their lead twice in the fourth ...

Cavani becomes PSG's top scorer

Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani broke Paris Saint-Germain's all-time scoring record with his 157th goal in all competitions as the Ligue 1 leaders crushed Montpellier 4-0 at home.

Chile midfielder joins Colo Colo

Chile international midfielder Carlos Carmona has joined Santiago giants Colo Colo after agreeing to a three-year contract with the reigning Chilean champions.

Sandeep becomes first Nepal player to get IPL contract

Sandeep Lamichhane today became the first cricketer from Nepal to land an IPL contract when he was picked by Delhi Daredevils in the ongoing players auction here. The 17-year-old, the only Nepal player in the IPL auction, was sold at his base price of Rs 20 lakh. The leg-spinner rose to prominence with a successful outing at the 2016 U-19 World Cup where he guided Nepal to a creditable eighth place. He hogged the limelight by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps in six innings at an average of 17 and an economy of 4.67. Sandeep had scalped five wickets in two warm-up games and was also part of Nepal's first match against New Zealand, which they won by 32 runs. However, his moment of glory awaited him in the next match against Ireland when Sandeep took a hat-trick, becoming only the fifth bowler in history to achieve the feat in the under-19 World Cup. His five-wicket haul helped Nepal notch up an eight- wicket win over Ireland and ...

Indian football on right track: Gouramangi

Former national team defender and current Neroca FC player Moirangthem Gouramangi Singh feels that Indian football has made strides in the recent past with improvements in several fronts visible now. "The playing field is very good now, not only in ISL clubs but also in I-League sides. For example, Neroca is making an effort by keeping a full time staff to look after the pitch. It is a big step and that is not there 10 years back," Gouramangi told PTI in an interview. "We now have grassroot development programmes in every club and different age group teams -- U-13, U-15, U-18 -- are there in these clubs, including Neroca. In Neroca, there are these kids below 10 years who are part of football clinics three days a week, though they are not in any academy. I think an academy is coming up. "There are academies coming up in the country and kids are getting trained by qualified coaches. Something is happening. These are baby steps but it should take Indian football forward. .

Third Test should have been called off, says Elgar

He took a lot of blows en route his brave 86 on a treacherous Wanderers pitch but South Africa opener Dean Elgar says it was not worth the risk and the third and final Test against India should have been called off on the third day itself. Elgar took a nasty blow on his helmet in the ninth over of South Africa's second innings which forced early stumps on day three but the match resumed next day after deliberations between the captains and match officials. "I do think (it should have been called off earlier). On day three, the wicket didn't play great. Batters got hit a hell of a lot of times. If there was a period to call it off, it was sooner," Elgar said. Referring to Philip Hughes' death in November 2014 due to a head blow, Elgar said: "We had an incident of being hit in the head, where we could have had an incident of what happened in Australia. People want to watch Test cricket but we are also human beings. "We are not just going to take blows and accept putting ..

Saudi football teams denied neutral venues for Qatar clashes

Saudi Arabian football teams will be required to play away matches in Qatar during the Asian Champions League despite the kingdom's travel ban on its Gulf neighbour, Asia's football governing body said today. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) ruled all matches would be played on a home-and-away basis as planned, after Saudi Arabia had called for fixtures against Qatari teams to be shifted to a neutral country. The ruling also means Saudi clubs must host Qatari teams for the return, home fixtures. Since June last year Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, has adopted a diplomatic boycott of Qatar, accusing it of backing terrorism -- a charge denied by Doha. The Saudi-led coalition also imposed a ban on travel in and out of Qatar. AFC said the decision to maintain the home-and-away format was made after an independent safety and security assessment was completed. Saudi authorities previously insisted that their clubs would only play against ...