Page 2088 - Sports
Hero Motocorp extends title sponsorship of Indian Open Golf
Hero MotoCorp Ltd has extended its more than a decade long support for the Indian Open golf tournament by signing a new agreement to remain as the event's Title Sponsor. The New Delhi (India) headquartered Company has been a valued European Tour partner since first becoming involved with India's national open in 2005. The Indian Open will also return to DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon for the second consecutive year on March 8-11 this year. The Hero Indian Open will be promoted for the first time this season by the Indian Golf Union, who will join the European Tour and the Asian Tour to tri-sanction the tournament. Last year, the tournament enjoyed a memorable debut on DLF's Gary Player course as home favourite SSP Chawrasia successfully defended the title to claim his fourth European Tour win. Chawrasia had finished as runner-up at the Hero Indian Open on four occasions - in 1999, 2006, 2013 and 2015 - before piping countryman Anirban Lahiri and Korea's Jeunghun ..
Haryana Hammer down UP Dangal, set up repeat clash in semis
Haryana Hammers' Sun Yanan and Roublejit Rangi won the last two bouts against UP Dangal to win the last league encounter of the Pro Wrestling League, here today. Their victories handed the Hammers' second position in the points table and, ironically, a semifinal clash against the same opponents. Veer Marathas will take on Punjab Royals in the other semifinal. Down 2-3 after five bouts, the Hammers needed to win their last two matches and Sun Yanan and Roublejit Rangi did so in style. Olympic bronze medallist Sun Yanan set the ball rolling by beating Vinesh Phogat 15-7, denying the Indian the pleasure of avenging her Rio Olympic debacle. Vinesh got off to a good start, even leading Sun Yanan 3-0 in the initial minutes of the 50kg clash. However, the Chinese was up to the task and bounced back with a gritty display and took the tie to the decider as she overcame the initial deficit with a sweeping 15-7 win. Dangal's Vicky Chahar too started off confidently and led ...
Chahar's five-for stuns Karnataka; Yuvraj flops as Punjab lose
Rajasthan medium pacer Deepak Chahar produced a career-best five-for in a stunning win over Karnataka on a day of upsets as Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Padesh succumbed to their first defeats in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy, here today. The biggest upset came under lights at Eden Gardens, when Jharkhand snapped Punjab's two-match winning run with a dramatic four-wicket win with four balls to spare. Wicket-keeper batsman Ishan Kishan overcame cramps to set up Jharkhand's chase with a quickfire 29-ball 54 (8x4s, 2x6s). It was a forgettable day for Yuvraj Singh, who played a miserable innings of 17 from 33 balls (1x4) and was slow on the field as Punjab were severely let down by the senior pro to post a mediocre 149 for seven. Jharkhand were off to a flier with Ishan's superb knock before veteran Harbhajan Singh bowled him through the gate with a wrong one en route to a tidy 1/21 that included eight dot balls. Saurabh Tiwary (24 off 22 balls) and Kaushal Singh (29 off ..
Wozniacki stutters into Open semi-finals
Second seed Caroline Wozniacki withstood a fightback from Spain's unseeded Carla Suarez Navarro to stutter into the semi-finals of the Australian Open 6-0, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 early. "I knew it was going to be tough against her because in the first set a lot of games were very close," said the Dane, who is into a second semi-final at Melbourne Park, after losing her first against China's Li Na back in 2011. "Another semi-final here, I'm excited," she added after completing a see-saw win in 2hr 11min. Wozniacki will face another unseeded player, Elise Mertens of Belgium, on Thursday for a place in the final. "She's had a very good start to the year, she's unbeaten I think," she said of Mertens. The former world number has often failed to live up to the hype in the majors, but in the opening set she outplayed Suarez Navarro who was trying to become the first Spaniard to make the last four since Conchita Martinez in 2000. Wozniacki was 100 percent successful with service returns .
Shakib inspires Bangladesh to crushing win over Zimbabwe
Star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan smashed a half-century and claimed three wickets as Bangladesh thrashed Zimbabwe by 91 runs in a tri-nation one-day international tournament today. Chasing 217 for victory, Zimbabwe were bundled out for 125 off 36.3 overs after Shakib took 3-34 with his left-arm spin for the hosts. Shakib and opener Tamim Iqbal, who top-scored with 76, set up the win as they shared 106 runs for the second wicket after Bangladesh elected to bat first. Zimbabwe skipper Graeme Cremer claimed four wickets to restrict Bangladesh to a modest 216-9 despite a strong start provided by Tamim. The left-handed Tamim registered his third half-century in as many matches, becoming the first Bangladeshi to amass 6,000 ODI runs in the process. He was also named man of the match. Bangladesh collapsed from 147-2 to 170-8 with paceman Kyle Jarvis grabbing three wickets for 42 runs. "It was a difficult wicket to bat on. Seamers were also getting support from the wicket. We ...
Morocco plays up long-shot 2026 World Cup bid
Morocco is "fully mobilised" for its long-shot bid to host the 2026 World Cup, hoping to be a candidate "for the whole of Africa", top sports officials said today. The kingdom "is not a non-starter -- it's a real candidate," Moulay Hafid Elalamy said in his first public appearance as chairman of the country's 2026 bid committee. "We are going to put in all our energy," he told a news conference in Casablanca, brushing off criticisms that the campaign had been delayed. "Our record is and will be irreproachable." Morocco's fifth bid, announced in August, faces fierce competition from a three-nation ticket of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Fouzi Lekjaa, head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), said he hoped the North African country's bid would be "a candidacy for the whole continent". "Between 1930 to 2030 -- 100 years -- the African continent has only organised the World Cup once," Lekjaa said, referring to the 2010 tournament in South Africa, which ..
Kohli needs someone to point out his mistakes: Sehwag
Virender Sehwag has once again trained his guns on Virat Kohli, saying currently there is no one in the team who can stand up to the India skipper and point out his mistakes on the field. Sehwag, who had earlier attacked the India captain for his selection policy. "I think, Virat Kohli needs some players who can point out his mistakes on the field," Sehwag said in a show on 'India TV'. "Every team has four-five players who advise the skipper and help him avoid mistakes on the field. I don't see that in the current Indian squad. "There's no one in the squad who can challenge Kohli's selection decision in the dressing room. No player is up to his standard," he added. Sehwag said Kohli's captaincy is being affected by his own expectations from other players. "Virat Kohli has reached a level where he can play well in adverse situations and he expects the same from the rest of India squad," the former swashbuckling opener said. "However, other players in the squad haven't ...
I-League: Neroca eye top spot against Lajong (Preview)
An in-form Neroca FC will aim to grab the top spot in the I-League when they take on Shillong Lajong at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium here on Wednesday.
Nadal out of Australian Open
World number one Rafael Nadal was forced to retire hurt in his quarterfinal match with Croatia's Marin Cilic at the Australian Open on Tuesday.
Yousuf advises struggling Sarfaraz to consult Dhoni
Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf has advised national team captain and wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed to consult Mahendra Singh Dhoni to get over his fitness and form issues. "I think Sarfaraz needs to work on his fitness and skills a lot more. Unless he is in top form he can't expect the team to respond," Yousuf said. "Dhoni led India admirably in all three formats for a long time and performed not only as captain but also as a batsman and wicketkeeper. Sarfaraz can learn a lot from him," he added. Sarfaraz, who was made captain in all three formats last year after leading Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title in England, has come under pressure and criticism following Pakistan's debacle in the ODI series in New Zealand. Pakistan were whitewashed by New Zealand in the five- match ODI series besides also losing the first of three T20 Internationals. To matters worse for Sarfaraz, he scored just one big score of fifty in the six matches while his keeping has also ...
We would look at the option of an all-pace attack: Kohli
India skipper Virat Kohli today said performance of the pacers have been a big boost for the team and hinted at employing an all-seam attack against South Africa on a typical green Wanderers track in the third cricket Test here. "Chances of anything happening are very bright. As I said, there is a lot of grass on the pitch. We would definitely look at that option. I am sure both the teams would be thinking about those options," Kohli said when asked if India might go with an all-pace attack. "Not many times on overseas tours we have picked 40 wickets in two Test matches. So, I think that's a big boost for us if the bowlers can continue doing their job. As I said, we have taken 40 wickets so far and we need to figure out what's the best way to pick up 20 wickets again in this Test." "We are going to have a discussion on that and the other combinations of the whole team. We will have a clear picture by the end of this afternoon," he added. Indian batsmen have come a ...
Alaindair ridden by Y
Alaindair ridden by Y S Srinath won The Indian Champion Cup (Grade I) (abt 2000m) the feature events of the races held here today afternoon in Kolkata. The winner is owned Mr.Gaurav Sethi & Miss Ameeta Mehra The Winner is Trained by Altamash Ahmed.
FC Pune eye win against Jamshedpur to climb to top of ISL
FC Pune City would look to climb to the top of the table with a win when they take on Jamshedpur FC in a Hero Indian Super League match, here tomorrow. The Stallions come into this game on the back of a 3-0 win over defending champions ATK and have a chance to leapfrog to the top should they win at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. FC Pune have 19 points from 11 games and are currently placed third behind Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC. The tie will also the return of head coach Ranko Popovic to the touchline after serving a four-match ban. "It was so much worse," said Popovic expressing his disappointment on missing the games. "The coach has to be close to the field. But these kinds of things happen, and some things happen to bring something better." Addressing the media on the eve of the tie, Popovic would have hoped for a fit set-up in his return match but that is not the case as a handful of Pune players are carrying a few niggles. But the Serbian assured ...
IPL is a big part of our lives, normal to get distracted: Faf
South Africa captain Faf Du Plessis today admitted that it is normal to get distracted by the weekend's IPL auctions as the cash-rich T20 event "plays a big part in their lives". The mega auctions of the IPL will be held on February 27 and 28, the last two days of the third and final Test between India and South Africa. Dun Plessis, however, said as long as they will be on the ground their focus would only be on the match. "Well we don't have our phones, so it's difficult to check (the auction). There will be distractions, and that is normal, it's human. The IPL plays a big part in all of our lives," Du Plessis said on the eve of the third Test starting here tomorrow. "For the management and myself, it's important to make sure we keep the focus and the energy driving towards the Test match. "And at the end of the day's play, if we want to talk about the auction a little bit, we can do that but to make sure that the next day, when it's Test match time again, we are ...
Gursimar, Neha share lead after 1st round in 2nd leg of Hero
Gursimar Badwal and Neha Tripathi shared the lead at the end of the opening round in the second leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour 2018. The duo shot 2-over 72 each at the Par-70 BPGC Course in Mumbai, a media release issued here said today. Smriti Mehra (73), Sharmila Nicollet (74), Gaurika Bishnoi and Tvesa Malik (75) were right behind them the joint leaders after the first day. Badwal had a fine start with two birdies on first and fifth, but a run of three bogeys from ninth to 11th, saw her slip down. She did make up with a birdie on 14th, but a late bogey again on 16th saw her finish at 72, it said. Later in the day, Neha Tripathi caught up with a birdie on the 18th, the closing hole. Mehra may well have been in the lead with three birdies in last five holes, but a triple bogey on par-4 15th spoiled her card as she ended at 73, one behind the two leaders. The days remarkable comeback came from Sharmila, who had three double bogeys in first five holes of which two ..
Hero continues as Indian Open golf meet's title sponsor
Hero MotoCorp Ltd. on Tuesday announced that it has extended its more than a decade long support for the Indian Open by signing a new agreement to remain as the golf tournaments title sponsor.
Post series loss, determined Kohli moves forward
Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said that ups and downs are a part of a sportsman's career and one needs to learn from them and move forward.He was making a reference to the 2-0 Test series loss to South Africa."Every day is learning. If I did not learn from the early days of my career, I would not be here. So, it is always an ongoing process of learning everyday from your mistakes, correcting those mistakes and moving forward. You need to be able to still work on your positives to be a consistent international player over a period of time. I have never stopped learning. I will never stop learning," Kohli told media ahead of the Johannesburg Test.He added, "It is all about hanging in there and accepting all the faces that are coming. Sometimes team is playing so beautiful that you do not need to do anything. You just relax. This is a part of it. I have gone through bad times personally in my career. Ups and down are a part of a sportsman's career and I understand that. You learn
Golfers Gursimar, Neha share lead after round 1 of second leg
Gursimar Badwal and Neha Tripathi shot 2-over 72 to share the lead at the end of the opening round in the second leg of the Hero womens Pro Golf Tour 2018 at the Par-70 BPGC course here on Tuesday.
We managed to outbat India in 1st two Tests, says Du Plessis
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis today said his team has managed to outperform the famed Indian batting line-up in the ongoing Test series, which has proved to be the difference between the two sides in the opening two matches. While two of the three highest individual scores in the series have been scored by Indian batsmen, the Proteas have nevertheless still outbatted the tourists. Virat Kohli's 153 in Centurion and Hardik Pandya's 93 at Cape Town both have come in virtual isolation as they got very little support from other batsmen. In contrast, South Africa have managed to build important partnerships -- Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers putting on 114 runs for the fourth wicket in the first innings in Cape Town, and then De Villiers and Dean Elgar stitching 141 for the third wicket in the second innings at Centurion -- which eventually made the difference. "The difference between India and us is that there are more batsmen contributing to partnerships," Du ...
Mithali insists on playing warm-up games during S.Africa tour
Contrary to the men's cricket team that decided against playing any warm-up fixtures in the run-up to the ongoing Test rubber against South Africa, the Indian women team skipper Mithali Raj on Tuesday insisted on playing a few practice games ahead of the limited overs series against the South African women.