Page 2163 - Sports
Koffi helps Churchill Brothers secure draw with EB
Ivory Coast striker Mechac Koffi saved Churchill Brothers from defeat as they came from behind to hold East Bengal to a 1-1 draw in the Hero I-League here today. The match was hotly contested with East Bengal taking the lead in the 26th minute through Jobby Justin. But Churchill Brothers rode on Koffi's brilliance to restore parity in the 75th minute. After today's draw, East Bengal remained at the top with 18 points from nine matches. Jovel Martins and Wayne Vaz, who have been loaned from FC Pune City, made therir debut along with Ivory Coast striker Koffi as Churchill brothers tried to change their fortunes in the new year after five losses last year. They showed lot of promise probing into the rival goal often and had scoring chances in early part of the match but Uttam Rai, Peter Omodmamuke along with Nicholas Fernandes failed to score. With Churchill Brothers doing most of the attacking it was East Bengal who took the lead in the 26th minute. Yusa Katsumi from the ..
Chennai's brilliant fightback raises semi-final hopes
Chennai Smashers spearheaded by PV Sindhu were back in the hunt in the Vodafone Premier Badminton League by taking a 2-0 lead against Bengaluru Blasters here today. Playing their final match of the season in-front of their home crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai's grit was evident in the first men's doubles match when Yang Lee and B Sumeeth Reddy made a sensational turnaround to upset Mathias Boe and Kim-Sa Ran 2-1. They lost the first game 8-15 but showed tremendous resilience in the next two tight games by squeezing 15-14 and 15-13 win to surge ahead 1-0. The loss a big blow for Bangalore as they had nominated it as their Trump match, which meant they ended up with a negative point (-1). Sindhu then took charge and upstaged Kristy Gilmour 15-9, 15-14. Although the Scottish girl threatened to take the contest into the third game, Sindhu sealed it in a tie-breaker. Since Chennai had slotted it as a Trump match, they ended up pocketing two points and .
HCA president clarifies move to bar Azhar from SGM
After Mohammad Azharuddin was not allowed to attend the Special General Meeting (SGM) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president, Dr G. Vivekanand, has clarified his decision to bar him.While speaking to ANI, the HCA president informed that Azharuddin was initially not allowed to attend Sunday's SGM because of his alleged association with an unofficial cricket body."Yesterday, when Azharrudin came, he didn't get a valid ID card. The card which he was carrying to enter the stadium was the card which was signed by the suspended secretary of the association. So, one of the reasons was that he was not carrying a valid card. Secondly, the card mentioned National Cricket Club that means he is a proxy in that association. As per the Supreme Court guidelines, there should not be any proxy members attending any Special General Meeting. So we said, sorry we cannot allow you to attend the meeting on the basis of this card", Vivekanand ...
Pappu Yadav's son selected for Delhi T20s
Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) leader Pappu Yadav's son Sarthak Ranjan has made it into the 15-member Delhi T20 squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018.It should be noted that the former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) politician's son didn't play a single match this season.The 21-year-old was also a controversial pick for Delhi during the last season when he was dismissed cheaply for five, three and two runs in three games he played.Talking about the decision to select Ranjan in the squad, Delhi chairman of selectors Atul Wassan ruled out any political influence in the selection."There are other players too who didn't play in the past but performed well when selected. We've picked new talent to give them a chance. This isn't a step taken under any political influence", he told ANI.Meanwhile, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been sacked from the post of captain after having led the side to the finals of the Ranji Trophy only a week before.Pradeep Sangwan, who last appeared in a ..
Losing wickets in a heap cost us the game: Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli today said losing wickets in a heap was the primary reason for their 72-run defeat against South Africa in the first Test here. "Well in hindsight, we lost by 70-odd, if we had taken chances in the first innings, they would have been 220," said Kohli in the post-match presentation. "Losing wickets in bunches is something have to plug in. We were in the game for the three days and it was a wonderful match to be part of. We would have taken that if someone told 208 would be the target," the captain was honest in his admission. Kohli felt India needed a batsman to score a 70 or 80 in the second innings. "It was a great effort but we needed someone to get a 75 or 80. 20s or 30s were not enough. They were a bowler short (Dale Steyn) but they pitched the balls in the right areas and bowled their hearts out. We need to rectify our mistakes also." Not having a single big partnership (save Bhuvneshwar Kumar-Hardik Pandya's 99 for 8th wicket in the first .
Du Plessis stresses on piling pressure on opposition
After handing India a 72-run defeat in the opening Test at Newlands, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis on Monday focussed on the importance of putting pressure on the opposition in a brief three-match rubber.
Aditya Mehta wins Kolkata Open
Asian Games medallist Aditya Mehta bounced back to down English pro Alfie Burden 5-4 in a thrilling final and clinch the Kolkata Open International Invitation Snooker Championship here today. Mehta started well with a break of 93 in opening frame but Burden countered him with break of 75 to come at par. He won another frame to take 2-1 lead over Mehta who levelled the match once again. Alfie then took handsome lead of 4-2. From there on, Mehta made a remarkable comeback and won three frames in a row to settle the issue. Earlier today, Alfie defeated Laxman Rawat 5-2 in the semi-final. Interestingly he tried three times to go for the maximum 147. In the first frame he missed on 65, which Laxman cleared with 70 points break and then on 81 and finally in the sixth frame, which was close, on 97. In other semi-final, Mehta beat Brijesh Damani 5-4.
After Cape Town loss, Kohli urges teammates to focus on partnerships
After the visitors lost the opening Test by 72 runs to South Africa at Newlands here, India skipper Virat Kohli on Monday underlined the importance of having big partnerships.
Shillong beat Arrows in I-League tie
Shillong Lajong rode on a lone strike by Abdoulaye Koffi to defeat the spirited Indian Arrows 1-0 in an I-League encounter here on Monday.
Shillong Lajong beat Indian Arrows 1-0
Shillong Lajong FC registered their first win of the year as they beat Indian Arrows 1-0 and moved up a place in the I-League here today. Lajong's foreign recruit Koffi (80') scored the only goal of the match at the JLN Stadium. Both teams started in the 4-2-3-1 formation with each team trying to get the upper hand over the other. Arrows coach handed Roshan Singh his first start in Hero I-League 2017-18 and Deepak Tangri combined with Asish Rai in the defence while Anwar Ali, Sanjeev Stalin, Boris Singh were rested along with Jeakson Singh at the midfield. Shillong Lajong were taking a more direct and aggressive approach as they had the Arrows on the backfoot. The first half of the match was dominated by Lajong as they kept attacking the Arrows defence. It looked like the Matos led side were not the same team they had been when they played Lajong in their previous encounter. Meanwhile, the moment of glory came for the young goalie Prabhsukhan Gill when he jumped to his ...
South Africa beat India by 72 runs in first Test (Roundup)
South Africa bowled out India for 135 in their second innings, registering a 72-run victory on the fourth and penultimate day of the opening cricket Test here on Monday.
Sushil in action as Pro Wrestling League begins tomorrow
Double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar will be in action when the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) season 3 begins with a clash between Delhi Sultans and Mumbai Maharathi at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here tomorrow. The 34-year-old Indian, who clinched the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics and a bronze at the Beijing Games, will look to make a positive start to their campaign after ending the last season at the fifth spot. Sushil made a successful return to international wrestling after a hiatus, winning the gold medal in 74kg at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship last month and he would look to continue his good run. Sushil will have good support in 26-year-old Alvaro Aslan, who won four medals, including a three golds, in the six international events that he participated last year. Rio Olympic bronze medallist Haji Aliyev of Azerbaijan will be another important cog in Delhi's wheel after his gold medal winning feat at the Paris World championship last year in ...
'Old Story' in Newlands: India surrender to SA by 72 runs
India's much-vaunted batting line-up fell apart in the face of a Vernon Philander-led pace attack's relentless aggression as South Africa emerged victorious by 72 runs in the first cricket Test here today. While South Africa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, the visitors squandered a golden opportunity to script a memorable win outside the sub-continent. Needing 208 on day four for their third ever Test win on South African soil, the Indian batsmen let their team down for the second time in the match, getting skittled out for 135 in 42.4 overs. The game finished well inside three days despite a full day's play being washed out. There was no Dale Steyn in the second innings, yet the South Africa pace department had enough firepower to expose the visitors' batting line-up on a bouncy and seaming surface. Philander was simply outstanding with his pace and precision, ending with a career-best six for 42 and match haul of nine wickets. Mornel Morkel and Kagiso ...
Caroline Wozniacki surges to 2nd spot in WTA rankings
Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki on Monday climbed to number two in the latest WTA ranking, following a run to the final of ASB Tennis Classic in Auckland earlier last week.According to Sport24, this is Wozniacki's highest ranking in almost six years, after she lost the number one spot following a poor start in 2012.Ukraine's Elina Svitolina moved up to the fourth spot owing to a victory in Brisbane while Julia Georges, who won the ASB Tennis Classic beating Wozniacki, climbed two places to 12th.However, Romania's Simona Halep remains on top of the rankings ahead of the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne next week.Latest WTA Tour rankings:1. Simona Halep2. Caroline Wozniacki3. Garbine Muguruza4. Elina Svitolina5. Venus Williams6. Karolina Pliskova7. Jelena Ostapenko8. Caroline Garcia9. Johanna Konta10.
Hannover sign defender Josip Elez on loan
Hannover have signed Croatian defender Josip Elez on loan until the end of the season, the newly promoted Bundesliga side confirmed on Monday.
Murray undergoes hip surgery, hopes to return by summer
British tennis player Andy Murray on Monday announced he had undergone hip surgery in Melbourne, Australia, and hoped to recover in time for a return to competition by summer.
Zareen, Chopra advance at women's boxing nationals
Former world junior champion Nikhat Zareen of Telangana breezed past Kerala's Anju Sabu while recently crowned World Youth Championship gold medallist Shashi Chopra of Haryana defeated Shamim Banu of Manipur to advance to the next round of the 2nd Elite Womens National Boxing Championship here on Monday.
Saudi sports stadiums to open doors to women
Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to enter sports stadiums to watch football matches for the first time on Friday, the government announced on Monday.
South Africa beat India by 72 runs in first Test
South Africa bowled out India for 135 in their second innings, registering a 72-run victory on the fourth and penultimate day of the opening cricket Test here on Monday.
SA beat India by 72 runs, take 1-0 lead
India lost the first cricket Test against South Africa by 72 runs to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Chasing 208 for victory, India were all out for 135 in 42.4 overs. Brief scores: India 209 and (target 208) 135 in 42.4 overs (R Ashwin 37; Vernon Philander 6/42) South Africa: 286 and 130 in 41.2 overs (AB de Villiers 35; Mohammed Shami 3/28, Jasprit Bumrah 3/39).