Page 2128 - Sports
Focus on Utkhand, Ker, TN as national basketball begins
Uttarakhand men will face stiff challenge from host Tamil Nadu, Railways, Services and Punjab in their title defence in the 68th Senior National Basketball Championship beginning here tomorrow. In the women's section, Kerala, the reigning champion, will be wary of the challenge from last year's runner-up Telangana, Railways, Chattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. The hosts, who missed out on winning the title in the previous edition at Puducherry, comes into the tournament on the back of an intense training camp in the city. The team led by Akilan and comprising players like Prasanna Venkatesh and Muin Bek, will be eyeing to get the title in the championship which is returning to the city after a gap of seven years. Serbian Milan Opacic, who is coaching the Tamil Nadu's men and women teams, said the players have prepared well for the event and expected them to perform strongly. International players are set to turn out for various teams with the presence of Satnam Singh, who ...
2nd Test: Du Plesis, Philander help Proteas bolster lead (Tea Report)
South Africa rode on steady batting by Faf du Plesis and Vernon Philander to post 230/7 in their second innings at tea on the fourth day of their second cricket Test against India at the SuperSport Park Stadium here on Tuesday.
King's Cup quarters: A Barcelona derby and hope or despair for Zidane
The first leg ties of the Spanish King's Cup knockout football tournament will be played over the coming two days with some fascinating ties on offer. Perhaps the most interesting is the Barcelona derby between Espanyol and FC Barcelona on Wednesday night.
Pant continues top form, hits 64 to help Delhi beat Services
Rishab Pant showed his prodigious talent yet again as he struck an aggressive 64, two days after smashing the second fastest hundred, to help Delhi beat Services by 22 runs in their Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy match here today. Pant, who had scored a 32-ball hundred against Himachal Pradesh -- the fastest T20 ton by an Indian and second overall -- at the same Feroze Shah Kotla Stadium two days ago, hit 64 off 32 deliveries to held Delhi notched up 225 for 8 after being put into bat. The 20-year-old wicketkeeper batsman had 11 fours and one six in his aggressive knock at the top of the Delhi innings. The home side had some hiccups after the fall of Pant in the eighth over. From 90 for 1, they were reduced to 98 for 3. But Delhi recovered with some useful contributions from Nitish Rana (30), Dhruv Shorey (25) and captain Pradeep Sangwan (29) to post a big total on the board. For Services, Nitin Yadav was the most successful bowler with three wickets for 53 runs while Nitin .
Delhi squad: Selectors drop Ranjan, bring back Unmukt
The senior selection committee of DDCA today dropped Bihar politician Pappu Yadav's son Sarthak Ranjan and brought back seasoned Unmukt Chand for the knock- out phase of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, starting January 21 in Kolkata. Ranjan's selection for the zonal leg of Mushtaq Ali Trophy created huge controversy as the Atul Wassan-led committee ducked for cover having selected him without seeing him in a single competitive match during the season. Ranjan, in fact, got scores of 31 off 20 balls and 25 off 17 against two of the weakest sides Jammu and Kashmir and Services respectively. Interestingly in one match, Gambhir didn't come out to open while in the other he didn't play in the eleven. However having copped flak, the selection committee had an alibi of dropping Ranjan as Delhi senior team's matches clashed with Delhi U-23 squad's one day league matches in Himachal Pradesh. "Sarthak, Himmat Singh and Tejas Baroka were put in the U-23 squad knowing that they are not ...
Historic Indo-Afghan Test from June 14 in Bengaluru
India will host Afghanistan's maiden Test match from June 14 to 18 in Bengaluru, a massive fillip to the war-ravaged country's cricketing profile. The decision was taken after officials from the BCCI and the Afghanistan Cricket Board met here today. "Considering that June is a rainy month, we thought it was best to host the historic Test in Bengaluru," BCCI Acting Secretary Amitabh Choudhary told reporters here. Bengaluru was in the running as the leading venue for the match after the BCCI, last month, announced that it would host the neighbouring country's entry into the five-day format. Afghanistan earned their Test status alongside Ireland in June last year. Their respective boards were made full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June, becoming the sport's 11th and 12h Test-playing nations. Besides welcoming them into five-day cricket, the BCCI has extended a helping hand to Afghanistan on a number of occasions. The team from the war-ravaged nation ..
Steady du Plessis takes South Africa lead past 250
South Africa continued to frustrate the Indian bowlers with skipper Faf du Plessis playing a steady knock to take the hosts' lead past the 250- run mark at tea on the fourth day of the second cricket Test, here today. Du Plessis was batting patiently on 37 off 122 balls as South Africa reached 230 for seven in 82 overs in their second innings in the post lunch session. At the break, Kagiso Rabada (0 not out) was giving du Plessis company after Vernon Philander's (26 off 85 balls) dismissal as South Africa extended their overall lead to 258 runs. In the post lunch session, the proceedings slowed down as India were happy to not conceded too many runs. Du Plessis and Philander too happy to play the waiting game as they did not go many scoring shots. The duo added only 31 runs in 15 overs in just over an hour's play since lunch. Overall, their partnership for the sixth wicket yielded 46 runs off 156 balls. In the second hour of the extended session, Ishant Sharma (2/40) got .
Ghosal to be top-seeded player at Vedanta Indian Squash Open
India's Saurav Ghosal will be the top-seeded player at the first season of Vedanta Indian Squash Open 2018 which starts here from February 6. The tournament will see over 30 players from 10 countries participating in the six-day event. Besides India, the professional event has attracted participants from countries like Egypt, Switzerland, France, Australia, England, Scotland, Malaysia and Kuwait, a media release issued here said today. While Ghosal, currently world No. 16, will be the top- seed, the second seeded player is Nicolas Mller (Switzerland) followed by Scotland's Greg Lobban, it added.
J-K: ITBP successfully organises ice hockey tournament
With an aim to encourage the youths to indulge in sporting activity in the region, a six-day Ice Hockey tournament for Under-20 boys was organized by the 37 Battalion of Indo-Tibetan Border Police from January 11 to January 16 at the 24 Battalion, ITBP, Ice Hockey Rink here at Choglamsar in Leh.A total of eight teams had participated in the tournament namely Domkhar, Chuchot, KTN Nimoo, Skara, Lalok Sporting Club, Choglamdar Ice Hockey Club, Shakar Chiktan and SECMOL.In the final match of the tournament, Skara edged past Nymoo by 2-1 to lift the trophy. Manoj Kumar Singh, DIG Srinagar ITBP was the chief guest of the closing ceremony of the tournament.The aim of this tournament was to encourage youth to indulge in sporting activity and to inculcate team spirit, discipline and overall personality development and also to popularize Ice Hockey which has a limited popularity in India till now.This was the first-ever U20 talent hunt Ice Hockey Tournament in recent times organised by the ...
South Africa were 230/7 at tea on day 4
South Africa were 230 for 7 in their second innings at tea on the fourth day of the second cricket Test against South Africa here today. Brief scores: South Africa 1st innings: 335 India 1st innings: 307 South Africa 2nd innings: 230/7 in 82 overs (AB de Villiers 80; M Shami 3/42).
All-rounder Tiwary guides Bengal to T20 Super League
Skipper Manoj Tiwary produced an all-round performance as Bengal defeated Assam by six wickets to continue their unbeaten run in the East Zone league and seal their place in the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 cricket tournament, here today. Bengal has been impressive in the tournament so far as they registered their fourth consecutive victory in the East Zone league today. Tiwary first scalped four for 23 with his part-time leg- breaks and then went on to score an unbeaten 63 off 53 balls to ensure the comfortable win for his side. Opting to field, Bengal first restricted Assam to modest 143 for nine and then chased down the target with 17 balls spare. Sent into bat, Rishav Das managed 53 off 51 balls for Assam but Tiwary turned out to be a surprise element as he picked up four wickets with his leg-breaks. Later Tiwary also starred with the ball and spearheaded Bengal's chase with his unbeaten knock that was studded with eight boundaries and one hit over .
Jamshedpur look to snap Blasters' unbeaten run
Kerala Blasters would look to continue their resurgence after a slow start when they take on Jamshedpur FC in their Indian Super League match here tomorrow. The Blasters, fresh from their 1-0 away win over Mumbai, are riding high on the good form of striker Iain Hume who is back among the goals after struggling under former head coach Rene Muelensteen. The return of David James at the helm of affairs has also seen the Blasters revert to a more direct system and it will be interesting to see how Jamshedpur's miserly defence handles the pressure at home tomorrow. It will be a fiery game with Jamshedpur's grit formulated on the same base that their head coach Steve Coppell once gave Kerala Blasters in the past. That said, Coppell was clear to speak his mind that it would take a higher level of refereeing decisions to see that the game did not end controversially. "I think the referees have not been up to the mark on the evidence of their displays so far. They have been ...
Vani takes 2-shot lead in women's golf meet
Fancied Vani Kapoor had a highly eventful back nine on the opening day of the inaugural leg of the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens here on Tuesday.
Aizawl hold East Bengal to goal-less draw
Defending champions Aizawl FC and East Bengal played out a goal-less draw in an entertaining I- League match here today, with both sides failing to convert the chances that came their ways. The game started with a high tempo as the home side pressed for an early goal. Liberian midfielder Jaryan's shot flew just wide of the post and William Lalnunfela was awarded a golden opportunity by Albert only to waste it from six yards. East Bengal grew in confidence and Katsumi was looking dangerous, especially from the dead ball situations but Avilash Paul stood like a rock at the Aizawl goal. At the half-hour mark, Katsumi was unlucky as his thunderous shot struck the crossbar. He poked at the rebound again but Aizawl goalkeeper Avilash pushed it over. East Bengal introduced local boy Brandon in the first half but the diminutive Mizo winger could not make much of influence. With the quarter of the game gone, Jaryan again tested East Bengal goalkeeper Barreto with his powerful ...
ISL: Kerala challenge for Jamshedpur FC (Preview)
Kerala Blasters FC will look to continue their good run against Jamshedpur FC when the two sides meet in an Indian Super League (ISL) tie here on Wednesday.
I-League: Aizawl hold East Bengal in I-League clash
Defending champions Aizawl FC held Kolkata football giants East Bengal to a goalless draw in an I-League encounter here on Tuesday.
Harika settles for draw at Tata Steel Chess tournament
Indian Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli had to settle for her third consecutive draw against higher-ranked Dutch Grandmaster Erwin L'Ami after a long encounter, here at the prestigious 80th edition of the Tata Steel Chess tournament.After signing truce in the first two games, World No. 13 Harika Dronavalli, playing with white pieces, started off the game on an attacking note and looked to take the game to her opponent. However, she missed out on moving onto a more advantageous position as the pressure from the clock got the better of her."I started off really well but couldn't capitalize on my start in the time control and missed out on my opportunity," Harika said.Eventually, Harika tried all tricks up her sleeve to steer herself to a win but Erwin's staunch defense did not let her penetrate through and both players decided to settle for a draw."I had to repeat my moves to get through the time trouble and when I couldn't find a breakthrough, I offered for a draw," she added.After three .
Azerbaijan's Naiditsch clinches Delhi Open chess title
Top seed Arkadij Naiditsch of Azerbaijan drew in the tenth and final round against Italian David Alberto to seal the Delhi International Grandmaster Open chess title here on Tuesday.
Top seed Naiditsch wins Delhi GM Open chess title
Top seed M Arkadij Naiditsch had to settle for a draw against Italian GM David Alberto in the 10th and final round but it was enough for the Grandmaster from Azerbaijan to win the Delhi GM Open 2018 chess title, here today. Naiditsch offered a draw after 18 moves with white pieces in a Caro-Kann exchange variation. With 8.5 points out of 10, Naiditsch finished on top by half a point over the rest of the field. Bangladeshi GM Ziaur Rahman managed to draw with Indian GM Karthikeyan Murali with the black pieces. The game began on a Sicilian Defence where both the players were on their toes, move for move. In the end, the players settled for a draw in a rook endgame. Ziaur finished on 8 points and was tied for the second place. IM Md Nubairshah Shaikh played with black against IM Vignesh NR and the game was a Caro Kann Defence. Vignesh played by risking his position and had to pay the price as Nubair found all the right moves to scoop up two pawns for free. Nubair also ...
Halep, Sharapova, Kerber, Muguruza advance at Australian Open
World No.1 Simona Halep of Romania and former top-ranked women tennis players, Maria Sharapova of Russia, Angelique Kerber of Germany, Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic progressed to the second round of the Australian Open here on Tuesday.