Page 2106 - Sports
Africans set to dominate, Indians aim for course record
It's difficult to look beyond the specialists from African countries, Kenya and Ethiopia, while predicting the overall men's and women's champions in tomorrow's USD 405,000 Tata Mumbai Marathon. However, the home country's runners have also set their own agenda while trying to beat the rest of their compatriots. Men's course record holder, Nitendra Singh Rawat said today he was aiming to better his own mark of 2016 when going one-on-one against Gopi Thonakal, who became the first ever male from the country to win the Asian championship title last November in China. "I want to create my own new course record. I have been training in Ooty, at a height of 2300 metres, for the last one month and am targeting the 2 hours, 13 minutes mark," said Rawat who clocked an impressive 2:15:18 when winning the marathon at the last SAF Games. Gopi, for his part, said he was also aiming for the 2:13 mark and according to the duo the Athletics Federation of India has issued guidelines ...
Berdych reaches Australian Open last-16
Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic on Saturday defeated Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to earn a place in the fourth round of the Australian Open for the 10th time.
World Champion Helen Maroulis pulls out of PWL match
Current World and 2016 Olympic Champion Helen Maroulis has pulled out of the Haryana Hammers Vs Mumbai Maharathi match in the Pro Wrestling League (PWL).Helen said she was feeling a slight pain in her leg after her defeat to Pooja Dandha in her last encounter. After consulting her team and personal doctors, Helen opted out of the high octane clash.Lalita Sherawat, a 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medalist and 2015 Asian Championship bronze medalist, will replace Helen for the match.Last year's finalist Haryana Hammers have played three ties till and have managed to four points, losing one match and winning the other two.After winning their first two clashes against Veer Marathas and Delhi Sultans, they went down to the valiant NCR Punjab Royals.
India can bounce back in 3rd Test, feels Harbhajan
Off-spin great Harbhajan Singh on Saturday backed the under-fire India team to come back in the third cricket Test in South Africa after facing reversals in the first two games.
Spotlight on old warhorses in Mushtaq Ali ahead of IPL auction
India's old warhorses like Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh will be seen in action as 10 teams in two groups clash each other in the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament beginning here tomorrow. The premier names to be seen in action for their respective sides include the World Cup winning quartet of Gambhir, Yuvraj, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan who have been out of reckoning for the national team for some time. Gambhir was conspicuous by his absence during Delhi's training session today at the Eden Gardens and the manager informed the media that the left-handed opener will join the team tonight. While Raina will be returning to Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL season, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Harbhajan, who will go under the hammer in the IPL auction on January 27-28, will look to make it count in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Off-spinner Harbhajan, who has been released by Mumbai Indians after playing for the side since IPL's ...
I-League: E. Bengal favourites against Norde-less Mohun Bagan (Preview)
East Bengal will be favourites when they take on under-fire Mohun Bagan in the return I-League Kolkata derby at the Vivekananda Yuvabharati Krirangan here on Sunday.
ICC U-19 WC: Ireland, England, Windies, New Zealand record wins
Afghanistan fell short by four runs to Ireland in their final league game of the ICC Under-19 World Cup encounter even as England, the West Indies and New Zealand registered wins against their respective opponents on Saturday.
Kerber edges out Sharapova, advances to Australian Open 4th round
Angelique Kerber of Germany on Saturday prevailed over Maria Sharapova of Russia 6-1, 6-3 in a clash between two former World No.1s and previous Australian Open champions.
Shami is India's best Test bowler: Fanie de Villiers
Former South African fast bowler Fanie De Villiers has praised Mohammed Shami as India's best Test bowler and added that the Proteas could easily fit him in their highly-competitive pace attack. He also talked about how the Indian batsmen have not conserved their wickets in accordance with conditions here, conceding an unassailable 2-0 series' lead. "Shami is a good bowler. He could play for South Africa and fit into their pace attack very well," de Villiers told PTI after Shami took 4-49 in the second innings at Centurion. "He has a beautiful out-swinger, runs in hard, bowls at 140s, and most importantly, he consistently bowls that line to first slip. He bowls the line Glenn McGrath did, Shaun Pollick did, Ian Botham did, Dale Steyn does, and so, he is Indias best Test bowler." Overall, Shami is the second-highest wicket-taker in the Test series so far after Vernon Philander, with 9 wickets in two Tests. "When you are bowling in South Africa, it is important to have ...
Chung stuns Zverev, reaches Australian Open last-16
Hyeon Chung of South Korea on Saturday upset fourth seed Alexander Zverev of Germany 5-7, 7-6(7-3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, earning a place in Australian Open fourth round.
Laxman beats GM Vitaly, shares lead in Chennai Open
Chennai-based Grandmaster R R Laxman of ICF defeated GM Sivuk Vitaly of Ukraine in the fourth round of the 10th Chennai Open International Grandmaster Chess tournament 2018 here today. Joining Laxman (4 points) on top of the table were GMs Gareyev Timur (USA), Tukhaev Adam (Ukr) and FIDE Master Karthik Venkataraman (India), also with four wins from four rounds. In a well contested Pirc game, Laxman showed aggression, when the situated so demanded, coming up trumps in 58 moves. Speaking about the match, Laxman said, "My position was getting passive and I counter-attacked to stay on course. My aggression on kingside, caught him off-guard and I managed to come up better in complications". Six more rounds remain in this 267-player Swiss tournament that concludes on January 25. Important results (Round 4) (Indians unless specified) : Timur Gareyev (USA) 4 bt Rahul Sangma (3), Segei Tiviakov (Ned) 3.5 drew with Saravana Krishnan P (3.5), Adam Tukhaev (Ukr) 4 bt AL Muthiah ...
Kyrgios pulls out from Australian Open doubles
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the Australian Open men's doubles.Kyrgios, partnered with Australia's Matt Reid in the doubles, was scheduled to play Frenchmen Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin in the second round on Saturday.The Australian reportedly pulled out of the event believing he has a serious chance of winning the Grand Slam title in the singles."Why the f*** am I playing doubles?" the Daily Express quoted Kyrgios as saying during his singles match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday night."Hours in 50 degree heat ... really good management," he spouted.Kyrgios will play Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the men's singles round of 16 on Sunday.
Nathan Lyon to captain PM's XI against England
Australian off-spin bowler Nathan Lyon will lead the Prime Minister's XI for a T20 match against England at Canberra's Manuka Oval on February 2, Cricket Australia confirmed in an official statement.The Prime Minister's XI (PM XI) is an invitational cricket team picked by the Prime Minister of Australia for an annual match held at the Manuka Oval in Canberra against an overseas touring team."It's a tremendous honour to be selected to captain the Prime Minister's XI and captain alongside the likes of past greats including Brett Lee, Michael Hussey and Ricky Ponting", Lyon said.Right-arm off-spin bowler Lyon helped Australia win the Magellan Ashes Series 4-0, by taking 21 wickets in the five Tests.He also holds the record for the most Test wickets taken by an Australian off-spin bowler. He is also widely regarded as one of the "Greatest Off-Spinner of All Time".
World XI hockey team wins first tour match
International hockey returned to Pakistan for the first time in a decade when a World Eleven side defeated the national junior team 5-1 in an exhibition match here. The visiting team was made up of recently retired players from Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Australia and Argentina. "The main thing is that we have finally managed to make this World Eleven tour a reality and now we can approach sponsors and corporates to support the game," Pakistan Hockey Federation President Khalid Khokar said. No international hockey match has been held in Pakistan since 2008 with teams refusing to tour the country due to security concerns. Pakistan has also fallen behind in world rankings in recent times, dealing a big blow to the popularity of the sport, although it is the national sport. Holland's legendary penalty corner strikers, Paul Litjens and Jan Floris Bovelander were clearly the most popular players in the visiting side as people cheered them and thronged them for autographs ...
Anand draws with Giri; slips to joint 2nd in Tata Steel Chess
Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw as black against local star Anish Giri but slipped to joint second spot after the sixth round of Tata Steel Chess tournament here. Having won two of the first three games, this was Anand's third straight draw in the event and the Indian ace will look to heat things up in the next round when he plays with the slightly favourable colour in the game. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan emerged as the sole leader when lady luck smiled on him from a nearly lost position against Grandmaster B Adhiban. Adhiban had thus far been out-of-sort and nowhere near the performance he showed in the previous edition when he finished third. However, the Indian missed a golden opportunity when he failed to convert what should have been his first victory. With Mamedyarov in front on 4.5 points, Giri, Anand and Wesley So of United States now share the second spot on four points apiece. Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and top ranked
Ticket sales for PyeongChang Paralympics surpass 70 per cent
Ticket sales for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Paralympics have surpassed 70 per cent, the event's organisers said.
American Coleman breaks 60m indoor world record
World 100 meter silver medalist Christian Coleman opened his 2018 campaign by breaking the 60 meter indoor world record with a time of 6.37sec. The 21-year-old American set the new mark at the low- level Clemson Invitational track meet to surpass the previous record of 6.39sec held by fellow American Maurice Greene. Greene ran the time twice, in 1998 in Madrid, Spain, and 2001 in Atlanta, Georgia. Coleman's previous best was 6.45sec at last year's US collegiate indoor championships. "Great start to my career," tweeted Coleman, who is in his first year as a professional athlete. The time still needs to be ratified by athletics' world governing body, the IAAF. The meet at Clemson University in South Carolina was the first event of the season for Coleman. Earlier in the day he ran a time of 6.47sec. Tevin Hester, of the US, was second in 6.57 while Warren Fraser of the Bahamas finished third with a time of 6.69. Coleman set prodigious times as a college athlete and has been ..
Hero Motosports team poised for strong finish at Dakar Rally
Hero MotoSports team's rookie rider Oriol Mena is on course for a memorable finish in the gruelling Dakar Rally as he finished at eighth spot overall at the end of the 13th and penultimate stage here. Mena handled the pressure well and inched closer to his debut Dakar finish with an eighth place finish in Stage 13. In overall rankings also, he stands at eighth position among the bikers. Mena's team-mate and ace Indian rider C S Santosh also held his nerves to finish the penultimate stage at 33rd position. In overall rankings, Santosh stands at 34th position. Now, only the last hurdle remains between him and his third Dakar finish. The penultimate stage of the Dakar Rally brought the competitors from San Juan to Cordoba, covering a total distance of 907 km, including a special stage of 424 km. Both the riders of Hero MotoSports Team Rally were cautious during the stage, aiming to bring the bikes back home without any untoward incidents, just one day before the final ...
'Almost dead' Halep joins Thiem in last 16
World number one Simona Halep saved three match points to survive a titanic struggle and make the last 16 at the Australian Open today where she joined Karolina Pliskova and Dominic Thiem. With the temperatures a manageable 26 Celsius (79 Farenheit) at Melbourne Park after two days of oven-like conditions, the Romanian looked out for the count against American Lauren Davis. But she finally got over the line 4-6, 6-4, 15-13 in a gruelling 3hr 44min on Rod Laver Arena to make the fourth round in a contest that took its toll. "I'm almost dead," the tenacious Romanian said after the incredible battle, in which Davis lost a toenail and Halep served for the match four times. "The feeling in my muscles is gone and I don't feel my ankle anymore," she added. Davis is ranked just 76 in the world and was knocked out in the first round of all four Grand Slams last year, but you would never have known it. Halep, a former quarter-finalist at Melbourne Park who slumped out in the first
Phelps opens up about battling anxiety, depression
Swimming great Michael Phelps revealed that he has battled severe anxiety and depression for much of his life which drove him to consider suicide after his success at the 2012 Olympics. Speaking at a mental health conference in Chicago, the 23-time Olympic gold medal winner talked openly about his long battle with crippling depression and is encouraging others to get help like he did. "After every Olympics I think I fell into a major state of depression," the 32-year-old Phelps said. Phelps said he reached rock bottom following the 2012 Olympics in London where he won four gold medals and two silver. For four days he remained in his room without food or sleep. "I didn't want to be in the sport anymore," he said. "I didn't want to be alive." When he hit a low point in his depression, Phelps said, "You do contemplate suicide." Over the past two years Phelps has opened up about his struggles. Once again, Phelps said his depression and anxiety problems have been a staple of .