Page 2093 - Sports
Struggling Djokovic out but Federer into quarters
Wounded 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic was sent tumbling out of the Australian Open by Korean giant-killer Chung Hyeon today, but ice-cool Roger Federer roared into the quarter-finals. The Serb, who was returning from six months out with a right elbow injury, was clearly in pain as his hopes of a seventh Melbourne Park title were extinguished on Rod Laver Arena 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, 7-6 (7/3). He was keen not to take away from the glasses-wearing Chung's huge achievement after the 21-year-old followed up his win over fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the last round. "Congratulations. Amazing," said Djokovic, who also had an apparent hip or groin problem, screeching at times when stretching for the ball. "He was the better player on court today and he deserved to win." Djokovic said the injuries started troubling him at the end of the first set and a decision on where he goes from here would be made after talking with his medical team. Chung's reward is a last-eight ...
I will be back, promises Norde to Bagan supporters
Mohun Bagan's star I-League winning forward Sony Norde today broke into tears as he bid an emotional farewell to the club with a promise that he would be "back". Struggling with a right knee, Norde, who had guided Mohun Bagan to I-League and Federation Cup titles, sought a termination of his contract to head to Argentina where he will undergo surgery for his torn meniscus. Emotional scenes were witnessed in their 2-0 derby win over East Bengal yesterday as about 20,000 supporters adorned Norde's masks and many were also seen sporting the trademark Sony Norde mohawk hairdo. "It was hard for me to take the decision. I couldn't sleep that night when I took the decision because it was very hard for me," an emotional Norde said. "I hope you guys try and keep winning. I will pray for Mohun Bagan to win every match. Thank you very much and I will see you very soon," Norde said as a hundreds of supporters had gathered at the club tent. "Keep fighting, team. Give your 100 per ...
Djokovic to reassess fitness situation after shock exit
Novak Djokovic says he will reassess his fitness situation after a painful defeat to South Korean youngster Chung Hyeon at the Australian Open today. The Serb former world No.1 played in great discomfort with a recurrence of his right elbow injury and a possible hip/groin problem sustained during the three-set loss in the fourth round on Monday. The six-time winner said his physical situation was "not great" and he would discuss matters with his team medical staff in deciding what to do in the early part of the season. "Yeah, unfortunately, it's not great. Kind of end of the first set it (elbow) started hurting more. So, yeah, I had to deal with it till the end of the match," Djokovic told reporters after the match. "Now I don't know. I have to reassess everything with my team, medical team, coaches and everybody, scan it, see what the situation is like," he added. "In the last couple weeks I've played a lot of tennis. Let's see what's happening." Djokovic came to ...
We will bounce back strongly in ODIs against SA: Iyer
Battered and bruised after their Test series defeat, India will bounce back strongly in the ODI series in South Africa, top-order batsman Shreyas Iyer said here today. Indian batsmen surrendered meekly to lose the first two Tests in the ongoing series and will play the third Test from January 24, before locking horns in a three-match ODI series beginning February 1. "We will also look to come back strongly. We have not won the Test series so will look to bounce back strongly," Iyer said here today. The return of former skipper MS Dhoni will also bolster the side. "MS is coming back. He has led the Indian team previously. He's a great finisher, looking forward to the ODI series. We would look to win the ODI series. That would be my target." Having recovered from a hamstring injury, Iyer will join the team for the ODI series as he showed signs of full fitness with a sterling 79 not out to lead Mumbai to 198/4 before going down to Punjab by three wickets in their Syed ...
Golfer Gaurika returns to action in 2nd leg of Hero WPT
Gaurika Bishnoi, the No.1 golfer on the Hero Womens Professional Tour in 2017, will return to action for the first time in 2018 as she tees up for the second leg of the 2018 Hero WPGT on Tuesday.
England's Rutherford to miss Commonwealth Games
Former Olympic champion Greg Rutherford announced on Monday he will not defend his long jump title at this year's Commonwealth Games in Australia because he feels underprepared. Rutherford topped the podium in Glasgow in 2014, bettering the silver he earned in Delhi four years earlier, but an ankle injury forced him to miss the world championships in London last August and he underwent surgery to correct a hernia problem. Having taken some time away from competitive athletics, the 31-year-old, who has won gold medals at Olympic, world and European level, feels he would not be sufficiently ready to compete on Australia's Gold Coast in April. "Withdrawing from Team England is not a decision that's been easy for me to make," he said. "However, in previous years I've attended major championships without a good training block behind me and my performance has suffered as a result. "I am planning on easing myself back into competition, possibly indoors, and then building to the
I am hopeful of a comeback soon: Raina
Out-of-favour India batsman Suresh Raina is hopeful of an India comeback "soon" after recently clearing the 'yo-yo' fitness test which is mandatory to stay in contention for the national side.
We are looking forward to making it 3-0: Philander
South African pacer Vernon Philander has shot off a warning to India, saying the hosts would not lower their guard in the third Test starting here on Wednesday as they eye a series whitewash. South Africa have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead against India in the three-Test series and Philander said they would settle for nothing less than a 3-0 result. "It is just another game of cricket for us, but we do want to win each and every single game we play. So, it doesn't matter that the Test series has already been won, we want to win all three matches," said Philander. "The emphasis is on preparation, and doing it well today and tomorrow. We want to win this Test as well. "There are no dead rubber games for us. We want to prepare as well as we can and be ready for Wednesday. We want to regain the no.1 Test ranking and so we want to win each and every single Test. There are no dead rubbers when we play," he added. A green-top is expected at the Wanderers, in keeping with the ..
ASC beats DBYC, qualifies for last eight
ASC, Bengaluru, blanked DBYC (Basin Bridge) 3-0 today to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Don Bosco-Fr McFerran Trophy All India football tournament here. After a goalless first half, Jerin opened the scoring with a strike in the 49th minute to put ASC ahead. Nine minutes later, Dawa beat the DBYC goalkeeper to put the team 2-0 in front. Jerin scored again in the 85th minute to end the host team's stay in the competition. ASC will take on Hyderabad TFA in the last eight. Bengaluru DFA meets Chennaiyin FC 'B' in tomorrow's quarterfinal.
Looking forward to make most of opportunity in SA: Iyer
South Africa-bound top-order batsman Shreyas Iyer on Monday said he is hopeful of making the best of the opportunity to play top quality bowling attack, and if given a chance would concentrate more on playing on the backfoot due to the extra bounce on the wickets there.
Siddharth Singh win Swedish Open Junior title
Young Indian shuttler Siddharth Pratap Singh secured his maiden international title, bagging the Swedish Open Junior International Series with a straight-game victory over Denmark's Mads Christophersen in the finals here. Playing his first career final, Siddharth defeated Christophersen 21-15 21-11 in a 33-minute match to claim the men's singles title yesterday. The 19-year-old from Raipur survived a scare in the opening match against Denmark's Patrick Bjerregaard, beating the Danish player 21-23, 23-21, 21-15. He then defeated world No 104 Sergey Sirant 21-15, 21-9 in the second round, before disposing Sweden's Felix Burestedt and Indonesia's Hermansah in straight games. Siddharth, who has never played outside Asia, will next play in the Iceland International at Reykjavik to be held from January 25 to 28.
Shastri confident of India's good show in Johannesburg Test
Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri on Monday rued his team's missed opportunities in the Test series against South Africa, but expressed confidence about them putting up a good show in the third and final match, beginning here on Wednesday.Earlier, the Virat Kohli-led side slumped to a humiliating 135-run defeat at the hands of South Africa in the second Test at the Centurion to lose the three-match series 0-2 with a game to spare."They (India) have had chances in both test matches, but they didn't make the most of it. So, when you believe you have a chance to win, then you look forward to a test match. When you don't believe you can win, you don't look forward to a test match, as simple as that," Shastri said.Shastri, however, believes his bowlers' performance was the 'biggest positive' of the South Africa tour so far."Our bowlers did a great job. I mean no one expected our bowlers to fire the way they did and take 20 wickets. So, I would rather harp on that, because for me .
Blues take on Transport United in AFC Cup
Bengaluru FC will hope their young guns come to the fore when they take on Bhutanese side Transport United in an AFC Cup preliminary round fixture at the Changlimithang Stadium here tomorrow. The Blues have made the trip with a relatively young squad that includes four players from the Bengaluru FC 'B' team along with a few experienced hands in Lenny Rodrigues, Lalthuammawia Ralte, Toni Dovale and Alwyn George. Albert Roca is confident that the squad will make the chance count. "As a coach you want to utilise your complete squad as much as possible and this game is a chance for those players who have been training hard and waiting to deliver," Roca told reporters here. "I must also look after the players who are playing week in, week out in the Indian Super League. This team has players who played an AFC Cup final and tomorrow I expect them to lead by example," he added. In Transport United, Bengaluru will be up against the Bhutan National League champions who went ...
Playing full Mushtaq Ali will help me in South Africa: Kuldeep
Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav today said playing the full Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy will hold him in good stead in the limited overs series in South Africa. Kuldeep, who will leave for South Africa on January 24 for the ODI series, said he expects to reap the harvest of a good domestic season in South Africa. "So far it has been good. I have played the full T20 season (Syed Mushtaq Ali). My rhythm is good so hopefully I will be able to continue bowling well there (in South Africa) as well," a confident Kuldeep said. Asked how important is Mushtaq Ali Trophy for him, the 23-year-old unorthodox bowler said: "Every game here is important as an individual and as a team. The team needs you and it is a matter of pride to play for the state always. The state has given you everything so I came to play. "It also gives you good match practice as you get to play against big players," he added. Kuldeep said he always looks to take wickets and is not afraid of leaking runs. "You will leak .
Tendulkar gives pep talk to women's team ahead of SA series
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar today gave a pep talk to members of the Indian women's cricket team, who will travel to South Africa for a gruelling ODI and T20 series. It is learnt that Tendulkar spoke to the members of the team captained by Mithali Raj, for over an hour, at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla complex here. The Indian's women team will tour South Africa for a three-match ODI series, which starts at Kimberly on February 5, followed by a five-match T20 series, which begins on February 13 at Potchefstroom. The players were quite inquisitive and asked Tendulkar on how he prepared before a Test match. It was also understood that that the legendary batsman told the players to go with a positive frame of mind and advised them not to worry about the conditions there. Tendulkar has also told the members not to burden themselves and advised them to avoid making minor mistakes.
IPL 2018 to begin from April 6
Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla on Monday said that the 2018 edition of the Twenty20 tournament would be held from April 6 to May 27.Addressing media here, Shukla said the eleventh edition of the IPL would start and end in Mumbai.He also announced that all matches will start from 5.30 p.m. or 7 p.m.Responding to a question on whether Jaipur would be home ground of the Rajasthan Royals, Shukla said that it is a decision that the court has to take. If the court rules against Jaipur, then Pune would be the home ground of the Shilpa Shetty-Raj Kundra-led franchise, he added.He also said that Kings XI Punjab would have Mohali and Indore as their home grounds, playing four matches in the former and three in the latter.
Punjab men send defending champion Uttarakhand packing
: Punjab beat Uttarakhand 70-68 in the men's quarterfinals today to knock the defending champion out of the 68th Senior National Basketball Championship here. It was a close contest between the two sides in which fortunes fluctuated in each quarter. Punjab squeezed ahead in the first part of the match, but their rivals roared back as they led by one point at the half-way stage. Though Uttarakhand took the honours in the third quarter, Punjab got home thanks to a strong showing in the final quarter. The top scorer for Punjab was Jagdeep Singh with 16 points while Yadwinder Singh logged 22 points for Uttarakhand. Kerala, the defending champion in the women's section, continued to march ahead. Taking on Delhi in the quarterfinal, they came up another superb performance to romp home 63-42. P S Jeena led the way for Kerala with 21 points. They scored well in the first two quarters to take control of the match and got through comfortably in the end. Despite captain Raspreet ...
Gaurika returns to action in second leg at Hero WPGT
Gaurika Bishnoi, the No. 1 golfer on the Hero Womens Professional Tour in 2017, will return to action for the first time in 2018 as she tees up for the second leg of the 2018 Hero WPGT tomorrow. Gaurika, who had an extremely successful 2017 season with one win, five seconds and another three third places in 15 starts, missed the first leg. Interestingly, the winner of the opening leg, Vani Kapoor will be missing from the line-up for the second leg at the BPGC in Mumbai. Also back in the line-up for the event is Sharmila Nicollet, who is hoping to make a mark this year after having setbacks on account of injuries over the past couple of seasons. The other names to watch out for at the BPGC will be Amandeep Drall, who was second in the Order of Merit in 2017, Smriti Mehra, Gursimar Badwal, Neha Tripathi, Saaniya Sharma, Afshan Fatima and Tvesa Malik among others. The 2017 season saw no less than seven winners from the 16 legs. The most successful was Vani Kapoor with four .
Shastri rues lack of practice in South Africa
India coach Ravi Shastri on Monday said a few more days of practice in South African conditions would have made the difference in the ongoing three-match Test series.
Spain keeper Kepa pens new deal with Athletic Club
Athletic Club Bilbao on Monday confirmed that Spain international goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga had signed a new contract which would keep him at the club until the end of June 2025.