Page 2090 - Sports
We want to win I-League and create history: Neroca coach
Brimming with confidence after his side's nine-match unbeaten run in their debut season, Neroca FC head coach Gift Raikhan today made it clear that the Manipur club can lift the I-League title and create Indian football history. Neroca, the first Manipur side to have qualified for the I-League, are now at second spot with 21 points from 10 matches and a win tomorrow at home against Shillong Lajong will take them to the top position ahead of Minerva Punjab (22 points from nine matches). Out of the eight matches left in the league, the Imphal based side will play six at home and that has given them a lot of hope to have a go at the title. They have not lost at their home venue Khuman Lampak Stadium till now, winning twice and drawing once so far. "I hope the wish of the people of Manipur (of Neroca winning the I-League) is fulfilled. It will be a great achievement if Neroca does not lose a single home match and that will be crucial (for a title win). "We will try our best,
Surprise package Neroca FC seek to extend unbeaten run
On a roll after a nine-match unbeaten streak in their debut season, Neroca FC will seek to continue their dream run and eye the top spot on the points table when they host struggling Shillong Lajong in an I-League eleven round match here tomorrow. Neroca have been a surprise package so far this season having lost just once in the 10 matches they have played and they are now in second spot with 21 points. Their only loss so far has come in their campaign opener against Minerva Punjab FC, the current leaders (with 22 points from nine matches), in Ludhinana on December 1. Since then the Imphal-based side have won six matches and drawn three to make a big impact in this I-League. A win tomorrow at the Khuman Lampak Stadium where a capacity 30,000 crowd is expected to turn up will take them to the top spot for the first time. They have also been an impressive side on the road having won four matches away from home, including their last game against defending champions Aizawl
Chahar five-star show stuns Karnataka
Rajasthan pacer Deepak Chahar produced a career-best 5/15, guiding his team to an upset 22- run win over Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy here today. Defending 161 against a star-studded batting line-up, Chahar ran through the top-order in an astonishing first spell of 3-0-9-4 as Karnataka folded for 138 in 20 overs, their second successive defeat that virtually ended hopes of making the final. In the second match of the day at the Jadavpur University second campus ground, Dhruv Shorey (84 from 46 balls; 7x4, 4x6) hit a second successive fifty but it went in vain as Delhi went down to Bengal by three runs in a thrilling finish. Opting to field, Bengal amassed 170/6 with Sudeep Chatterjee scoring a 34-ball 51 (7x4) and in reply Delhi were 68/4 before Shorey and Lalit Yadav (45 from 29 balls; 5x4, 2x6) eked out an 88-run partnership for the fifth wicket to revive their chase. But Sayan Ghosh (3/24) dismissed both of them in space of five balls to derail Delhi.
Going early on tour helps, says Mithali Raj
The Indian Women's team is going to South Africa early, and skipper Mithali Raj today said it would help the side to get used to the conditions there. The women's squad will tour South Africa for a three-match ODI series, which starts at Kimberly on February 5, followed by a five-match T20 series beginning on February 13 at Potchefstroom. The team will fly tomorrow. Asked whether going early to South Africa will help, Mithali said here, "We had (also) gone early for the World Cup in England (last year) to get acclimatised. "It helps (because) we try and organise practise games...get used to the bounce, because normally you don't get to see that bounce in subcontinental wickets and the lateral movement which we are probably expecting, because this time we are playing with two new balls," she told reporters. "This is our first international tournament where we will be playing with two new balls. So it is important, we are going early so that we get used to these ...
Joe Root to miss T20 tri-series
England Test skipper Joe Root has pulled out of the Twenty20 tri-series against Australia and New Zealand as he wants to rest before the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL).Root, 27, has played the five-match Ashes Test series, which England lost 4-0 to Australia, and has also featured in the first three matches of the one-day series against Australia.He admitted that the decision to opt out of the tournament was difficult for him which he made in consultation with head coach, Trevor Bayliss."I hate missing games of cricket for England. It is something that doesn't really sit well with me either. It was a long, hard decision that me and Trevor had to come to," ESPNcricinfo quoted Root as saying.He added, "You look at the amount of cricket that we have got coming up and the opportunity that the IPL brings and you almost have to look at it as more of an investment for my game and for all the England team moving forward.Root said that missing a few games might be worthwhile after ...
Edmund stuns Dimitrov to enter Australian Open semis
British tennis player Kyle Edmund on Tuesday knocked out Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
COA to review India's Test debacle in South Africa
The Committee of Administrators (COA) running the BCCI will review India's dismal performance in South Africa following the conclusion of the tour. India suffered big defeats in Cape Town and Centurion to lose the series. The inconsequential third and final Test starts in Johannesburg tomorrow. "We will review the performance after getting the full report from the team manager. Nothing can be done now as the players and officials are in South Africa," said a BCCI official who was present in the COA meeting that took place here today. COA chief Vinod Rai, member Diana Edulji and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri were part of the meeting. None of the BCCI office-bearers including acting president CK Khanna and acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary were called for the meeting. Virat Kohli-led India has received severe flak from all quarters following the series loss. Some former India players felt the team was under- prepared, going into the first Test without a warm-up match, while ...
Dismal start for India at Indonesia Masters
India witnessed a dismal start at the Indonesia Masters as none of the shuttlers could cross the qualifying stage at the USD 350,00 World Tour Super 500 tournament, here tomorrow. While Abhishek Yelegar lost 20-22 14-21 to Vega Vio Nirwanda of Indonesia, Subhankar Dey suffered a 9-21 21-23 loss against another local player Panji Ahmad Maulana in the men's singles qualifiers. In women's singles qualifiers, Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli went down 7-21 9-21 to Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia. Men's doubles pair of Kapil Chaudhary and Brijesh Yadav too lost 12-21 8-21 to Indonesian combo of Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Frengky Wijaya Putra. With Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy pulling out at the last moment, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap has been promoted to the main draw. He will face Malaysia's Wei Feng Chong tomorrow. Srikanth suffered a minor injury and will be back at the India Open starting January 30. "I will not be taking part in the Indonesia Masters this week
Australia pulls of dramatic win over England in Under-19 World Cup
Leg-spinner Lloyd Pope produced a dream spell of 9.4-2-35-8 to help Australia beat England by 31 runs in dramatic fashion at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown to march into the Super League semi-finals of the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup on Tuesday.Lloyd's bewildering spell turned the game on its head as England were spun out for 96 in 23.4 overs after being 47 for no loss in the eighth over while chasing 128 for victory in front of the broadcast cameras.The astonishing effort ensured Australia captain Jason Sangha's fighting 58 did not go waste for the three-time champions, who now await the winner of Thursday's quarter-final between New Zealand and Afghanistan to know who they play in the first semi-final on Monday, 29 January, in Christchurch.Pope's spell was the best-ever in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup to date, bettering his team-mate Jason Ralston's seven for 15 against Papua New Guinea earlier in a league match. This performance was also second to former India fast bowler Irfan
Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana & St Lucia to host Women's World T20
Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and St Lucia were on Tuesday announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the venues for the ICC Womens World Twenty20, which will be staged from November 9 to 24.
Graeme Smith questions Kohli's leadership credentials
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has raised fingers at India skipper Virat Kohlis leadership credentials, asking if he really is the right choice for captaincy in the longer run.
Four-nation hockey: India face New Zealand in 2nd leg opener (Preview)
India will aim to put behind the disappointment of a first-leg final loss when they open their campaign against hosts New Zealand in the second leg of the Four Nations Invitational Hockey Tournament here on Wednesday.
Four nations hockey: India to take on hosts New Zealand
India will begin their campaign in the second-leg of the Four Nations Invitational Tournament in Hamilton against the hosts New Zealand at the Gallagher Hockey Stadium on January 24.In the first-leg of the tournament, India got off to a good start with 6-0 win against Japan but lost 0-2 to Belgium in the following match.Winning 3-1 against hosts New Zealand, who had beaten Belgium 5-4 in their first match, put the Manpreet Singh-led Indian team in the Final.India topped the pool table with a total of nine goals, having conceded only three in the pool stage while Belgium scored ten goals but conceded six."As a team, we have made progress match after match. We had four young players make their debut and even scored in matches, which is good. We came close to beating Olympic Silver Medallist Belgium which gives us a lot of confidence going into an important calendar year for hockey," expressed Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne about the team's performance in the first leg.Though his team lost a
Bopanna-Babos enter Australian Open mixed doubles quarters
India's Rohan Bopanna and his Hungarian partner Timea Babos entered the Australian Open mixed doubles quarter-finals after registering a 6-4, 6-4 win against US's Vania King and Croatia's Franko Skugor here on Tuesday.
Battling Swansea shock Liverpool
Liverpool's progress towards securing a Champions League spot was halted by the Premier League's bottom club and a single goal by Alfie Mawson yesterday as Liverpool's defensive frailties returned. Jurgen Klopp's side, with 75 million centre-back Virgil van Dijk making his away debut, were seeking to extend their unbeaten run to 19 matches and draw level on points with third-placed Chelsea. But fresh from dramatically ending Manchester City's unbeaten run, the Reds ran into a determined Swansea side desperate to close the gap on the strugglers above them. Despite laying siege to the Swansea goal, Klopp's side were unable to find the net and Roberto Firmino struck the post with a header in the dying seconds. The defeat snapped Liverpool's unbeaten 14-match run in the Premier League dating back to October and old, familiar defensive failings were laid bare despite Van Dijk's arrival. - Wasteful Liverpool - ====================== Swansea took the lead against the run of play .
Klopp says Liverpool dragged into a fight
Jurgen Klopp blamed his players for becoming embroiled in a fight at Swansea City as they lost their unbeaten 18-match run to the Premier League's bottom club. Liverpool failed to grab a late draw to extend their lead over fifth-placed Tottenham as they lost to a single goal from Alfie Mawson -- and Klopp himself clashed verbally with a home supporter. It was Liverpool's first defeat since October, but the points were priceless for Swansea, who cut the gap between themselves and those above the relegation places to just three points. He said: "I am more frustrated about the performance than the result. "We were just not good enough, especially in the first half. We didn't play how we wanted to play. "We didn't keep the right positions we needed to, to cause them problems and didn't stretch them. "We gave them the opportunity to score and then we did exactly what Swansea wanted. "They didn't need to play, they needed to fight and we did exactly what they wanted and their .
Hurting Dimitrov looks to recapture lost rhythm
Grigor Dimitrov says he needs to rediscover his playing rhythm after the disappointment of crashing out of the Australian Open to British hope Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals today. The Bulgarian world No.3 was ambushed 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 by the 49th-ranked Edmund and again misses out in his 30th Grand Slam tournament. The 26-year-old lost to Rafael Nadal over five sets in last year's semi-final and has yet to go beyond the last four at a Grand Slam. "It's hard to hide the disappointment. It's how I feel. It hurts and so it should," Dimitrov told his post-match media conference. "I need to give myself a couple of days just to relax a little bit and reassess the whole Australian trip. "I need to be smart the way I'm practising now, not to overdo it again, but in the same time make sure I find my rhythm again, my game itself, the elements when I play. "That requires quite a bit of work, but I'm certain I'm going to be able to do it and hopefully produce better tennis as .
Australian Open: Bopanna-Babos enter mixed quarters
India's Rohan Bopanna has entered the mixed doubles quarterfinals of the Australian Open with his Hungarian partner Timea Babos on Tuesday.The Indo-Hungarian pair registered a straight sets victory 6-4, 6-4 over USA's Vania King and Croatia's Franko Skugor.The fifth-seeded pair of Bopanna and Babos will lock horns with the defending champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Abigail Spears on Wednesday in the last eight.Colombia's Cabal and USA's Spears defeated India's Sania Mirza and her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig last year in the finals.
Edmund upsets Dimitrov to reach Open semis
Kyle Edmund became only the sixth British man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final with an upset win over world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov at the Australian Open today. The unseeded Edmund, ranked 49, won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 2hr 49min on Rod Laver Arena and will face either 16-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal or Marin Cilic for a place in the final. With another British Grand Slam semi-finalist Tim Henman watching on in the stands, 23-year-old Edmund troubled Dimitrov with his powerful forehand and serve. "It's an amazing feeling, very happy with these sort of things, you are so emotionally engaged that you don't really take it in, you don't really enjoy yourself," Edmund said. "It was my first match on Rod Laver Arena and it is very special." Edmund is the only British man in this year's field after five-time finalist Andy Murray's injury withdrawal before the tournament. "I know what it feels like to be Andy Murray for the last eight years or however long," Edmund said of .
Liverpool shocked by bottom-placed Swansea
Swansea City shocked Liverpool 1-0 at home to earn valuable three points in their battle for English Premier League (EPL) survival.