Page 2140 - Sports

Dheeraj has to be careful about move to Scotland: Goalkeeper Sandhu

Having spent the bulk of his career in Europe, Indian football's No.1 goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu feels his potential successor Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem -- set for trials at Scottish Premiership side Motherwell FC -- should be "careful" of what he is signing up for.

Anand edges past Matlakov in Tata Steel opener

Viswanathan Anand survived a few anxious moments, including a checkmate attempt by his rival, before prevailing over Maxim Matlakov in the first round of Tata Steel Masters Chess tournament here. Coming into the event after his title-win at the World Rapid Championship, Anand came up with some fine manoeuvres before dodging the checkmate attempt by the Russian. The Indian ace is playing in this 80th edition after a gap of four years but proved once again that it remains his favourite hunting ground. A winner here five times, a record that he shares with World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Anand went for complications right from the beginning when he allowed Matlakov to break through on the queen side in a closed Ruy Lopez. The Russian managed to weaken whites king side and threatened a beautiful checkmate vide queen sacrifice at one point. Anand came out of that but not without an error that could have left him a pawn less. However, Matlakov missed his chance and ...

U19 World Cup: India post 328 against Australia

The Men in Blue are off to a great start in their ICC Under-19 World Cup 2018 campaign, as the Indian team posted a huge total of 328 runs against Australia at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand.Pritvi Shaw winning the toss did not hesitate to bat first on a seeming flat track.The openers, Shaw and Manjot Kalra led India's surge from the front. Both the batsmen started cautiously playing out first six overs for just 27 runs. It was a six from Shaw who opened the floodgates for India.After that, both the players changed their gear and took on the Aussie bowling attack as India crossed the 50-run mark in the 10th over.Both Kalra and Shaw missed out on individual centuries. Shaw was dismissed on 94 when he edged the ball to the keeper, while Kalra was caught at mid-wicket and was dismissed at 86.They had an opening stand of 180 and with that, they soon overtook Robin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan's opening wicket record of 174 runs in U-19 World Cup for India.In the end, Shubman Gill ...

Bhambri downs Polansky to qualify for Australian Open

Continuing his good form from the last season, Yuki Bhambri today qualified for the Australian Open with a come-from-behind win but Ramkumar Ramanathan missed out on his maiden Grand Slam appearance. The 25-year old Bhambri overcame a first set lapse to tame Canadian Peter Polansky 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the third and final qualifying round in one hour and 55 minutes. It will be third Australian Open men's singles main draw for Bhambri who had lost in the first round in 2015 and 2016 to Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych respectively. Meanwhile, Ramkumar had a break chance in the fifth game of the decider but could not convert and eventually lost his third round match 4-6 6-4 4-6 to Canadian Vasek Pospisil. At Grand Slams, it is Ramkumar's best show, reaching the final qualifying round. Bhambri, who was junior world number one, had won Australian Open boys singles tile here in 2009 and has played only at this Grand Slam in the main draw since turning Pro. Asked what makes him perform ..

Shaw hits 94 as top-order fires India to 328/7 against Aussies

Skipper Prithvi Shaw led from the front with a 94-run knock and shared a 180-run stand with fellow opener Manjot Kalra (86) to power India to a challenging 328 for seven against Australia in their ICC Under-19 World Cup match, here today. The splendid top-order batting vindicated Shaw's decision to bat in their tournament-opener. There was no respite for the Australian bowlers even after departure of Shaw and Kalra with Shubhman Gill tormenting the bowlers with his 63-run knock. It was not that Shaw and Klara plundered boundaries, instead they raised their knocks with some stupendous risk- free batting. Shaw, though, missed out on a century by six runs as he was caught behind off Will Sutherland, son of former Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland. The Indian captain faced 100 balls and scored eight boundaries, including two sixes in his knock. His opening partner also missed out on a ton, falling for 86 which came off 99 balls with 12 shots to the fence and on over the

Chelsea stumble as Pardew gets first Baggies win

Chelsea did little to take the spotlight away from under-fire manager Antonio Conte in a goalless draw with Leicester City while Harry Kane broke another record after a brace in Tottenham's 4-0 hammering of Everton. Chelsea were unable to pierce Leicester's defence and were second-best for long periods at Stamford Bridge, even after visiting left-back Ben Chilwell was sent off for a second bookable offence midway through the second half. The stalemate left the third-placed Blues 15 points adrift of runaway leaders Manchester City, who play Liverpool on Sunday. "I think we played with a lot of top players against Arsenal (in the goalless League Cup semi-final first leg), and then again today against a very good team," Conte, who has been rumoured for a move to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, told the BBC. - Kane record - =============== Saturday's late kick-off saw Tottenham forward Kane score his 98th Premier League goal and surpass Teddy Sheringham's previous club ..

Konta sees positives in 'open' women's Grand Slam

Johanna Konta believes that the lack of a clear favourite for the Australian Open reflects the growing strength in depth of women's tennis. Asked by reporters if the year's first Grand Slam -- which begins Monday without defending champion and new mum Serena Williams -- was now wide open, Konta had a curt response. "What does that mean? Whenever I get asked that question, it always comes across in really kind of an almost negative way instead of acknowledging how many great players we have," the world number nine said. "The championship is open in the sense there's so many great players," added the Australian-born Briton. "You just see it in every round, in tournaments, in slams. There's so many massive first rounds, tough second rounds. That's not specific to a Grand Slam. That's the same in Brisbane. I played (US Open finalist) Madison Keys first round. "Even Sydney I played (former world number two) Agnieszka (Radwanska). It's exciting for the fans that bought ...

Zverev determined to end Grand Slam jinx

Giant German Alexander Zverev has been widely tipped for greatness but has so far failed to go beyond a Grand Slam fourth round -- something he plans to fix at the Australian Open. The 20-year-old heads into the year's first Grand Slam ranked fourth in the world, courtesy of five titles last year. His progress has marked him out as the most likely of the current crop of youngsters to translate his talent into major titles. While he made the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, he is yet to push on further. "I think improving the Grand Slam performances," he said at Melbourne Park when asked what his key goal was for the year. "I mean, the furthest I've got was to the fourth round of Wimbledon. A lot of times not because I played bad, but because I played very good opponents. "I lost to (Rafael) Nadal here. I lost to (Milos) Raonic in Wimbledon. Every time in five sets. That's nothing to worry about too much. But obviously that's one goal for me this year." Zverev was one

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe seek to rebuild in tri-nation

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe all have a point to prove when they battle each other in a tri-nation one-day tournament in Dhaka from tomorrow. The home nation, without a coach, are licking their wounds from a disastrous tour of South Africa. Sri Lanka have just had their worst year in international cricket. And Zimbabwe are on edge after a thrashing by the Proteas that blunted their run-up to a crucial World Cup qualifying tournament in March. The event, staged at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, is Bangladesh's first home engagement in more than a year, and follows three heavy ODI defeats in South Africa in October. Bangladesh have become a strong one-day team in recent times, notably reaching the Champions Trophy semi-finals last year. But they were brutally exposed by the Proteas, as defeats by 10 wickets, 104 runs and 200 runs highlighted how much further they have to go. "This tri-nation tournament is really important for us. Everyone is upset after the

Ashwin says past performances hurt his professional pride

Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin on Saturday said that his past performances on the ground have hurt his professional pride and he has worked a lot on his game for improvement."It was a reality check in terms of not being able to win a Test match for the country on day five when all things were actually set up for a spinner. It was kind of hit on my professional pride and from there on I knew I had to work on certain things", Ashwin said while addressing the media post the match here."Obviously when you don't take wickets you don't get bull-headed and believe things will get better from next time. I am not made that way at least", he said.Ashwin said that he believes that India kept up to the game on Day 1 of the second Test in Centurion."It could have so easily been a game where they could have run away with it after the second session. I like to believe I was just dogged enough", he said after the day's play.Discussing his preparation for the tour, the Indian spinner said that ...

Ashwin basks after helping India contain S. Africa on Day 1

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was delighted after his three wickets helped India reduce South Africa to 269/6 in their first innings on the first day of the second Test match here on Saturday.

World No. 1 Tai Tzu puts Ahmedabad ahead in badminton league

Taiwan's Tai Tzu Ying came back from an error-prone defeat in the first game, to win her crucial Trump match and give the Ahmedabad Smash Masters a slight edge in the second semifinal of the third Vodafone Premier Badminton League at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.The World No. 1 beat a fighting Kristy Gilmour (Scotland) 2-1 in the Women's Singles, the third match of the contest, to give her side a 3-2 advantage on points.Tai Tzu took the early lead 4-2 but soon started making too many mistakes, allowing Gilmour to catch up 6-6. She looked helpless as Gilmour kept picking up easy points to win the opening game at 9.She fell behind in the second game too 7-9 and 10-12, giving Gilmour a whiff of victory.But then she was suddenly on song, smashing with accuracy to level the scores at 12-12 and win it at 13.Tai Tzu dominated the third game, racing away to a 8-5 lead. She wrapped up the remaining points too quickly to win at 8.India's Sourabh Verma set the ball rolling for .

U-19 World Cup: Pak, NZ win warm-up matches

Pakistan, looking for a third title to come at par with India and Australia, warmed up with a huge victory over Namibia and had some good performances to take pride in, at the U-19 World Cup.Mohsin Khan struck a 114-ball 102 in what was the only century on a day the ball dominated proceedings in swing-friendly conditions.Mohammad Taha was another good performer for Pakistan, following up his quick 56 in which he hit four sixes, with a haul of three for 12 with his seam bowling.Namibia, who are automatic qualifiers for the tournament proper by virtue of finishing as the highest Associate nation last time, were never in the game. They were all out in just over 30 overs with left-arm seam bowler Shaheen Afridi showing fine rhythm by taking three for 18."The pitch was very good for batting, Mohsin Khan and Mohammad Talha both batted very well. Great conditions here today for our warmup match," said Pakistan Captain Hassan Khan.New Zealand, on the other hand, suffered a couple of early ...

Aizawl FC ease past Chennai City at home

After suffering their second defeat of the season at the hands of Mohun Bagan, Aizawl FC got back to winning ways as they overcame Chennai City FC 2-0 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on January 13.Japanese striker Yugo Kobayashi (26') and Hero of the Match David Lalrinmuana (32') scored a goal each in the first 45 minutes to garner their fourth win of the ongoing Hero I-League season.The champions made four changes from the side that lost to Mohun Bagan as K. Lalthathanga, Leonce Dodoz, Lalramhmunmawia and William Lalnunfela were replaced by Lalrosanga, Yugo Kobayashi, David Lalrinmuana and Albert Zohmingmawia.Chennai City's head coach V. Soundarajan made only a single change as the French striker Jean Michael Joachim was slotted in the playing XI in place of Murilo Almeida.Menezes' boys proved him right as they started the game on a positive note to press hard on their opponents.Aizawl midfield pass-master David Rinmuana who was introduced in the playing XI after suffering a minor injury

Didn't expect so much assistance to Ashwin from pitch: Markram

South African opener Aiden Markram said they were surprised by the nature of the pitch here after R Ashwin took 3-90 to restrict them to 269 for 6 at stumps on day one of the second Test. "We didn't expect there to be so much assistance for him. Ashwin was difficult to face. He is difficult to face on a flat wicket as well, so it did work out well for him I suppose," Markram said. "He still had to bowl well so you need to give him some credit. It will be interesting to see if the pitch will get harder and if it will continue to spin like it did, or if it spun like that because of the grass covering. We'll see in the next couple of days," he said after the day's play. Markram, who missed out of a century after being dismissed by Ashwin, heaped praise on the bowler. "Ashwin is a world class bowler. He always asking the right questions and he sets smart fields. It is not easy out there. I don't think he would have expected to bowl as much today judging on how last week ...

Kagiso Rabada becomes world's highest ranked Test bowler

South African fast bowler Kagiso Rabada on Saturday became the number-one ranked bowler in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings, after he helped his team to a 72 run victory over India in the first Test at Newlands.Rabada, who was one of the stars in South Africa's successful campaign in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in the UAE in 2014, had figures of three for 34 and two for 41 against a star-studded India batting line-up.For this effort, the 22-year-old has collected five points, while James Anderson, who had entered the Sydney Test as the number-one ranked bowler, dropped by the same number of points following the last Ashes Test.This 10-point swing means the South African has moved ahead of the Englishman by one point after nine points had separated the two fast bowlers leading into the two Tests."It's special to be ranked as the No.1 Test bowler in the world. It is a surreal feeling. It's what you dream of achieving when you start playing the game," a delighted Rabada ...

I like to think I have kept us in the game: R Ashwin

R Ashwin said failure to deliver for his team in the past hit his pride and hoped his three- wicket haul on day one was enough to keep India afloat in the second Test against South Africa here. On a day when the seamers failed to make much of a dent on a easy-paced wicket, Ashwin took 3-90 as the hosts finished day one at 269 for 6 at stumps. "I like to think I have kept us in the game. It could have so easily been a game where they could have run away with it after the second session. I like to believe I was just dogged enough," Ashwin said after the day's play. "I play (only) Test cricket now and I get a lot of break in between. So might as well be ready when I get an opportunity. So, there is no reason to unfasten the seat belt, you are always on," he said, about his preparation for the tour, after not featuring for India in limited-overs' cricket since July. Ashwin had been subject to a lot of criticism in the past on account of his overseas record. He had gone ...

U-19 World Cup: Aus, Ind win warm-up matches

India and Australia started their preparations for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2018 with comfortable victories in the warm-up matches being played in Christchurch, before the 16-team tournament gets underway on January 13.India and Australia, who have lifted the trophy three times each and are scheduled to go head to head in Tauranga on Sunday, January 14, put up strong displays on the second day of the warm-up matches.India completed a convincing 189 runs victory over South Africa, while Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 53 runs.England too had the pleasure of seeing their two batsmen hit centuries as the 1998 champions defeat Ireland by 125 runs.Australia had a good outing against Sri Lanka as most of their players came good with either the bat or ball.They got runs through opener Jack Edwards (50) and Jonathan Merlo, who smashed four fours and four sixes during his knock of 78.The total of 251 for seven in 50 overs was easily defended as all-rounders Will Sutherland and Jason ...

PWL: Bengaluru to meet Hyderabad in final

Bengaluru Blasters set up a potentially explosive title clash with Hyderabad Hunters, gritting their way to a hard-fought victory in the semi-finals of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.

Bengaluru Blasters set up final date with Hyderabad Hunters

Bengaluru Blasters set up a potentially explosive championship match with Hyderabad Hunters after notching up a hard-fought victory over Ahmedabad Smash Masters in the second semifinal of the third Premier Badminton League here today. The Blasters' star player Viktor Axelsen and their Mixed Doubles' pair of Kim Sa Rang and Sikki Reddy won the last two matches of the contest to beat a valiant Ahmedabad Smash Masters 3-2 (4-3 on points). The final will take place at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium tomorrow. Earlier, Taiwan's Tai Tzu Ying came back from an error- prone defeat in the first game, to win her crucial Trump match and keep the Smash Masters alive in the tie. The World No. 1 beat a fighting Kristy Gilmour (Scotland) 2-1 in the Women's Singles, the third match of the contest, to give her side a 3-2 advantage on points. Tai Tzu took the early lead 4-2 but soon started making too many mistakes, allowing Gilmour to catch up 6-6. She almost looked helpless as Gilmour ...