Page 2194 - Sports
Trained under coach Papas before coming to Bagan, says Watson
Mohun Bagan's new recruit Cameron Watson on Monday revealed that coach Arthur Papas, who was in charge of Pailan Arrows and Dempo here, helped him stay in shape before joining the Kolkata giants in the middle of the I-League football season.
For me Ranji triumph as big as representing India: Fazal
Captain Faiz Fazal today termed Vidharbhas triumphal march to their maiden Ranji Trophy his careers "biggest achievement", bigger than representing India in a lone ODI against Zimbabwe. Vidharbha today won Indias premier domestic tournament with a convincing nine-wicket victory over Delhi, scripting a new chapter in the regions cricketing history. Fazal was a part of the second-string Indian team that toured Zimbabwe in 2016 and opening the innings in his careers only international game, the 32-year-old left-handed batsman scored a half-century. "Winning the Ranji Trophy would be the biggest achievement of my career. I know playing for India was a big high for me because as an individual, you get to achieve that. I have always been a team-man. Winning the trophy for the team has been a big thing. "I have been leading Vidarbha since my age-group cricket days. And to lead a Ranji team is not an easy thing, an elated Fazal said. Vidharbha achieved victory with the full ...
Bangladesh revoke Sabbir's contract over assault
Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman has had his central contract revoked for assaulting a young cricket fan who taunted him during a match last month. The 26-year-old was also slapped with a six-month ban from the domestic game and a fine of two million taka ($24,000) over the incident, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan said. The national contract for Bangladeshi players was due to go into effect on January 1, 2018. The decision came after Rahman was found to have assaulted a young fan, believed to be aged 12, who had taunted him during a first-class National Cricket League match in Rahman's home town of Rajshahi on December 21. During an innings break, the middle-order batsman went behind the sightscreen and beat the boy. He was also under fire for arguing with the match referee when he was called for a hearing. "We would like to send a strong message to all players on the first day of New Year. No matter how big a player one might be, he must maintain .
Ability to adapt makes Federer and Nadal special, says Cilic
The ability to adapt when the time demands is what makes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal very special, reckons world number six Maric Cilic, who was only one of three players to counter the two legends in Grand Slam finals last year. The injuries threatened to end the careers of two greats towards the end of 2016, a year in which neither the Swiss great nor the Spanish giant won a Grand Slam but they came out stronger in 2017, splitting all four Majors between them. Cilic lost the Wimbledon final to Federer while Stan Wawrinka and Kevin Anderson lost to Nadal in the finals of the French Open and US Open respectively. Federer had annexed the Australian Open by prevailing over Nadal in a gripping final. "What you can learn from them is passion for the game and the passion to compete. Every single time they step on the court, they are extremely ready, they are not taking losses very easily," Cilic said on the sidelines of Tata Open Maharashtra. "Other things apart from their
MI set to retain Rohit, Pandya bros; Pant, Iyer likely for DD
Defending champions Mumbai Indians in all likelihood will be retaining skipper Rohit Sharma along with Pandya brothers, Hardik and Krunal, while under- performing Delhi Daredevils may keep Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer in their stable ahead of the IPL auction on January 27. While the last date of submission for the player retention is January 4, the franchises are more or less certain about the kind of players they would like to retain and the ones they would buy back with Right To Match (RTM) cards. "Skipper Rohit Sharma is an automatic retention having led the team to three IPL titles. Hardik Pandya is one of the big match-winners and the interesting third retention would be Krunal Pandya," a senior BCCI official in the know of things told PTI today. "Krunal being an uncapped Indian can be retained for only Rs 3 crore instead of Rs 7 crore for third capped player. Also Krunal was an exceptional performer last year," he added. It is learnt that it is a strategic ...
Manu, Mehuli emerge best shooters in National Shooting C'ship
Manu Bhaker and Mehuli Ghosh emerged as the best shooters as Haryana dominated the 61st National Shooting Championship with 168 medals at the National Games Shooting Range here. Manu, a young woman pistol shooter from Haryana, was the best shooter in pistol events with a total of 15 medals including 11 gold, three silvers and one bronze medal. Mehuli Ghosh of West Bengal, on the other hand, emerged as the best rifle shooter with eight gold and three bronze for a total of 11 medals. Haryana, meanwhile, topped the medal's tally in both the individual and team open categories. In the open category, Haryana won 10 gold, three silvers and four bronze medals to finish far ahead of second placed Punjab who won four gold, three silvers and four bronze medals for a tally of 10 medals overall. In the Team events, Haryana was equally dominant with 24 gold, 21 silvers and six bronze medals. Punjab had to be content with second place again with 18 gold, 12 silvers and 15 bronze ...
Svitolina, Konta advance to Brisbane 2nd round
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and Johanna Konta of the United Kingdom on Monday advanced to the second round at the Brisbane International tennis tournament.
ECB approves Ben Stokes' IPL participation
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has allowed all-rounder Ben Stokes to take part in the Indian Premier League even though uncertainty remains over his international comeback in the wake of his involvement in a pub brawl. The BBC reported that Stokes has got the permission to play in the cash-rich league. The 26-year-old should be a sought after buy in the auction later this month, considering was bought for a whopping USD 2.16 million before the 2016 edition. Stokes was not picked for the Ashes due to an incident outside a Bristol nightclub in September. He was later picked for the five-match ODI series against Australia before being replaced by Dawid Malan. It is unlikely that he will be picked for national duty till the outcome of the police investigation. Stokes was also granted permission to play limited overs cricket for Canterbury in New Zealand, leading ECB chief executive Tom Harrison to say that it would be difficult to prevent him from playing the ...
Vidarbha trounce Delhi to lift maiden Ranji Trophy
Vidarbha scripted history on Monday by lifting the Ranji Trophy title for the first time following their thumping nine-wicket win over Delhi here at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.Chasing a lowly target of 29 runs to win on the fourth day of the final match, opener Faiz Fazal was dismissed cheaply for two runs off Kulwant Khejroliya's delivery.However, Sanjay Ramaswamy (unbeaten at nine) and Wasim Jaffer (unbeaten at 17) combined to help Vidarbha cross the mark with ease and lift their maiden trophy.Earlier, Akshay Wakhare bagged four wickets while Aditya Sarwate and Rajneesh Gurbani took three and two wickets, respectively to help Vidarbha bundle out Delhi for 280 runs in their second innings.Resuming at yesterday's score of 528-7, Vidarbha posted a huge first-innings score of 547 in reply to Delhi's 295, thanks to Akshay Wadkar (133) for his maiden century in first-class cricket.Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer (78), Aditya Sarwate (79), Siddhesh Neral (74) and Faiz Fazal (67) were ...
Dilemma: It's either Asian Games or US Open, says Bopanna
Ace doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna says "it is a catch-22 situation" for him to decide whether to play US Open or the Asian Games in Jakarta later this year since the two events are clashing with each other. However the reigning French Open mixed doubles champion indicated that sacrificing a Grand Slam can be an option for him if he was assured of making the season-end finale. This year, Asian Games are scheduled to be held in Indonesia from August 18 to September 2 while the US Open is slated for August 27 to September 9. Bopanna had opted out of the last two editions of the Asian Games - Gunagzhou and Incheon as well as he chose to defend crucial ranking points in 2014 and was in London for the season-finale in 2010 as an alternative. With both Bopanna and Leander Paes both missing the Asian Games in the last two editions, it did not make much of the difference to India's medals tally as the country won a men's doubles gold in 2010 (Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh) .
Masquerade wins the South India Oaks (Grade I)
Masquerade, ridden by Y S Srinath and trained by P Shroff, won the South India Oaks (Grade I), the races held here today. The winner is the property of Mehernosh and trained by P Shroff. Five favourites obliged in a card of eight events.
Gutsy Vidarbha claim maiden Ranji title
Armed with a newfound self-belief and zest to go the extra mile, Vidarbha scripted a new chapter in the region's cricket history by winning their maiden Ranji Trophy, comfortably defeating Delhi by nine wickets in the final here today. Set a measly 29 for victory, Vidarbha completed the formality in just five overs at the Holkar Stadium that had welcomed with open arms the family members of the cricketers, including skipper Faiz Fazal's. After Wasim Jaffer, one of the three professionals in the side, pulled Kulwant Khejroliya towards the fine leg boundary, the team broke into a joyous huddle, gave each other a bear hug and soon clicked with the trophy. The victory chant followed as an elated Fazal hugged his mother took and held his daughter. The wife and sisters basked in Fazal's glory. In between, there was a high five with his "mom", before the triumphant captain looked for his father, who too stood there happily. Mumbai veteran Jaffer pulled Khejroliya four times as .
Sharapova, Halep open 2018 season with victory
Maria Sharapova and top-ranked Simona Halep opened the 2018 season on a victorious note scoring straight-set wins at the Shenzhen Open on Monday.
Vidarbha clinch maiden Ranji Trophy title
Vidarbha clinched their maiden Ranji Trophy cricket title crushing Delhi by nine wickets on the fourth and penultimate day of their final at the Holkar Stadium here on Monday.
Bangladesh batsman Sabbir suspended
As punishment for assaulting a fan during a first-class match, Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman has been stripped of his BCB central contract.
Svitolina eyes Grand Slam success
Ukraine's Elina Svitolina believes she can become world number one in 2018 despite a host of challengers for the coveted top ranking. Svitolina, currently ranked sixth in the world, was speaking after an impressive 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the first round of the Brisbane International on Monday. The 22-year-old cruised through the first set but was forced to fight harder in the second as Suarez Navarro began to find her range with powerful groundstrokes. But the Spaniard faltered while serving at 4-5 and Svitolina was able to close out the match in just under 90 minutes. Svitolina won five titles in 2017 on her way to a career-high world ranking of number three. She said she had worked hard during the off-season and there was no reason why she could not win a Grand Slam or take the top ranking. Five women held the top spot at various times in 2017 -- Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Muguruza and current number one ...
Russia enters final stretch to hosting historic 2018 FIFA World Cup
Russia has quite often hosted various top-level international sports events, but this year it will be the first time ever that the legendary FIFA World Cup comes to the worlds largest country between June 14 and July 15 to decide on the best national football team.
Olympian Ashwini Ponnappa is 'Coorg Person of the year 2017'
Star Indian badminton player and Olympian Ashwini Ponnappa has been named 'Coorg Person of the year, 2017' in a poll conducted by a news portal dedicated to Kodagu. Ashwini, who won a gold medal in the women's double event of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, was selected for the honour by www.coorgtourisminfo.com, Kodagu's first news portal, promoted by senior journalist P T Bopanna. "What clinched the title of Coorg Person, besides her sporting achievements,was Ashwini's decision to marry a fellow Kodava, model Ponnachettira Karan Medappa, instead of outside her community," Bopanna said in a release here. The close-knit Kodavas (Coorgis) who number less than two lakh, have been worried by the recent trend of community members marrying non-Kodavas, the release said. Ashwini Ponnappa is perhaps the youngest sportsperson from Kodagu to win the prestigious Arjuna award. In 2011, the Indian duo of Ashwini and Jwala Gutta came up with one of their finest performances when ...
I read books to get rid of match pressure: Mithali Raj
India Women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj says she reads books to get rid of match pressure.
Man Utd winger Young banned for three matches
Manchester United winger Ashley Young has been handed a three-match ban by the English Football Association after accepting a violent conduct charge during the match against Southampton.