Page 2200 - Sports
Sakshi in Commonwealth Games squad, Geeta misses out
Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik on Saturday secured a spot in the Indian women's wrestling squad for next year's Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships here while 'Dangal' star Geeta Phogat missed out.
AC Milan, Fiorentina play 1-1 draw in Serie A
AC Milan gained a point after a 1-1 away draw against Fiorentina in the Serie A 19th round here on Saturday.
Djokovic withdraws from Qatar Open
Novak Djokovic, 12-time Grand Slam champion, on Saturday withdrew from next week's Qatar Open due to a niggling elbow injury.
Ranji final: Vidarbha 206/4 after bowling out Delhi for 295
Vidarbha reached 206 for four in their first innings after bowling out Delhi for 295 on the second day of their Ranji Trophy cricket final at the Holkar Stadium here on Saturday.
Rathore visits Karni Singh Shooting Range
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore today visited the Dr Karni Singh Range here and interacted with the shooters undergoing training to take feedbacks from them. Rathore, himself an Olympic silver medallist marksman, posted pictures of the visit and in one of them, he was seen sitting on a mat on the floor while talking to a shooter. "Taking feedback from shooters themselves about the facility. As its regular users, they know best the improvements needed in equipment and infra," Rathore wrote on his official Twitter handle. Yesterday, he interacted with young archers practicing at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. "Enquired after their training. A motivated, energetic bunch of youngsters. India has lots of hope from them, and many more like them," Rathore, who won a silver in the double trap event, had tweeted.
I-League: Spirited Neroca hold East Bengal
Nedo Turkovic struck a late equaliser as Neroca FC held formidable East Bengal to a 1-1 draw in a hard fought I-League clash at the Khuman Lampak Stadium here on Saturday.
Sakshi Malik qualifies for 2018 Commonwealth Games
Olympian Sakshi Malik on Saturday qualified for the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in the 62kg weight category.The CWG are scheduled to be held in Gold Coast, Australia between April 4 and 15, 2018.The selection trial for the Indian women wrestling team for participation in the 2018 Senior Asian Wrestling Championship, Kyrgyzstan and 2018 Commonwealth Games was held in STC, Lucknow.The others who qualified for the two tournaments are Vinesh Phogat (50 kg), Pooja Dhanda (57Kg), Babita Kumari (54 kg), Divya Karan (68Kg) and Kiran (76Kg).Yesterday, double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar also qualified for the Commonwealth after defeating Jitender Kumar in the 74kg weight category.
Lean and Mean Gurbani working on "increasing pace"
His body is not designed in a way that would enable him to bowl at express pace but Rajneesh Gurbani is not exactly a trundler-in-chief either. The thinly-built 24-year-old from Vidarbha can swing it both ways, lands the red cherry on the seam, gets the ball to jag back prodigiously and, above all, has a big heart. A qualified civil enegineer, Gurbani doesn't mind the strenuous exercise regime -- both physical and mental. After his match-winning 12-wicket haul against Karnataka, Gurbani rocked Delhi with a hat-trick on the second morning of the Ranji Trophy final, helping his team make its way into the match here. Gurbani finished with 6 for 59 as Delhi managed only 295 in their first innings. "I would like to increase the pace and will work as per the instructions of the trainer. Normally, we start training three months before the season, but this time we have started a month before. The program is like one day gym and one day endurance. I know I have to improve a lot in
Badminton stars give cricketers a run for their money (Column: Just Sport)
Year-end media reviews are invariably about cricket, more cricket and lots of cricket. In the last few years Indias champion badminton stars have done excellently to stay in public eye. They have even put the cricketers in the shade.
Last-gasp goal helps Neroca hold East Bengal 1-1
Neroca FC scored a last-gasp goal through Nedo Turkovic of Bosnia-Herzegovina to hold heavyweights East Bengal 1-1 and jump to the third spot in the I-League table here today. Katsumi Yusa gave the visitors the lead in the 12th minute and the Kolkata side were on the verge of sealing a victory before Turkovic struck the equaliser in the 89th minute to the wild cheers of the home supporters at the Khuman Lampak Stadium here. Despite the draw, East Bengal are on top of the league table with 14 points from seven matches while I-League newbies Neroca are on third with 11 points from six games. Both teams started on a cautious note and put in more effort to hold their own half. East Bengal took the lead from the spadework of Willis Plaza who went through the right side of the box and sent a defence-splitting pass to Japanese midfielder Katsumi who volleyed it home to silence the 28,000 strong home crowd. The first half belonged to East Bengal, who outplayed the home side by ..
Off-colour Kerala Blasters take on Bengaluru FC
Kerala Blasters will hope to get their act together against Bengaluru FC in the upcoming Indian Super League encounter, here tomorrow. As it stands, every game has become crucial so both teams would be hoping to get a right result but there is a little bit of pride at stake here. Acknowledging the importance of the game, Kerala Blasters coach Ren Meulensteen said::"Well, we have to treat this match as one with a little bit of a special edge. It has a derby feel to it. That's good. I have heard the fans talk about it so we are looking forward to the game." For Bengaluru, a win will take them to the second spot in the league standings with 15 points. On the other hand, Meulensteen's side will be searching for only their second win of the season. Last season's runners-up, Kerala Blasters have found it hard to get going this time around. With just one win and four draws from their six games, they have only picked up seven points and are placed eighth. Injuries to key players
Kapur two behind leader, stays in hunt for third title of 2017
Shiv Kapur turned in a three-under 68 to hung in right behind the leader Prom Meesawat and stay in the hunt for his third title of the season at the USD 500,000 Royal Cup here today. At the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Kapur aggregated 10-under 203 to stay two shots adrift of Prom (66), who moved all alone into the lead at 12-under 201. In the distant third place was Gaganjeet Bhullar (69) alongside Poom Saksansin (68) at six-under 207. Khalin Joshi (71) was Tied-ninth at 4-under, while Jyoti Randhawa (72) was T-38. Kapur carded a birdie at the 18th to keep things interesting going into Sunday. The Delhi golfer, who was playing with Prom in the same group, kept within sight of the leader with pivotal birdies at the 12th in addition to the one at the last hole. Kapur finished the third round with a total of 10-under- par 203, just two shots behind Prom. Kapur said, "I played great today. He (Prom) didn't make many mistakes. He left the door opened once or twice, ...
ISL: Off-colour Kerala Blasters take on Bengaluru (Preview)
Amidst big fan support for both the sides, off-colour Kerala Blasters FC will here on Sunday take on Bengaluru FC in a contest that has been billed as the third Southern Derby of the Indian Super League (ISL) season four.
Women's National Boxing C'ships to be CWG selection trials too
Next month's women's National Boxing Championships will double up as selection trials for camp probables for the Commonwealth and Asian Games, a move that is likely to ensure top pugilists' participation in the marquee domestic event. The tournament will be held from January 6 to 12 in Rohtak after being postponed by over a month owing to the World Youth Women's Championships in November. "This will be a Selection Trial tournament to pick up the Camp probables for the Commonwealth Games as well as Asian Games," the Boxing Federation of India said in a statement. The tournament will be attended by Indian boxing's High- Performance Director Santiago Nieva, the foreign expert for women boxers Raffaele Bergamasco and women's head coach Shiv Singh. The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in April in Gold Coast, followed by the Asian Games in Indonesia in August. So far, 300 boxers have registered themselves for the meet from 35 member units across India. The ...
Golfer Shiv two strokes behind leader Meesawat in Royal Cup
Indian golfer Shiv Kapur fell two shots behind Prom Meesawat of Thailand, while Gaganjeet Bhullar got a share of the third spot after the third and penultimate round of the $500,000 Royal Cup here on Saturday.
Australia doubts as Djokovic pulls out of Qatar Open
Former world number one Novak Djokovic today withdrew from next week's Qatar Open, casting doubt on his participation at the Australian Open later in January. Qatar is the second tournament Djokovic has pulled out in as many days due to a niggling elbow injury. The 12-time Grand Slam champion was top seed in Doha, but in a statement he said he would not be able to defend the title he won by beating Andy Murray last year. His withdrawal comes just 24 hours after the injury forced him to drop out of an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. "Unfortunately, the situation with the elbow has not changed for the better since yesterday," said Djokovic. "I still feel the pain. Therefore, I will have to withdraw from (the) ATP tournament in Doha." The Serb added: "Only when I'm 100 per cent ready to play, I will be able to come back. "I hope it will be soon. I want to thank everyone for patience and understanding." The latest announcement raises fresh doubts over the long-term future .
Seasoned Jaffer steadies Vidarbha after Gurbani hat-trick
Wasim Jaffer brought into play his years of experience as he guided Vidarbha to 206 for four with an unbeaten half-century after seamer Rajneesh Gurbani scythed through Delhi's lower-order for a rare hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy final here today. At stumps on the second day, Jaffer was batting on 61 off 120 balls and Akshay Wakhare was yet to open his account, as Vidabha trailed by 89 runs. The match hanging in a balance, how Delhi bowlers perform during the first hour of the third day, could well prove to be decisive in the final context of the match. Resuming on 271 for six, in-form seamer Gurbani rocked seven-time winners Delhi by removing three batsmen in as many balls in the second morning. The victims at the Holkar Stadium also included centurion Dhruv Shorey, making Gurbani only the second man to claim a hat-trick in the final of India's premier domestic competition. Tamil Nadus B Kalyanasundaram was the first, achieving the feat against Mumbai in 1972/73. On 123 ..
AIFF mourns death of Manipur association ex-General Secretary
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Saturday mourned the death of former All Manipur Football Association General Secretary Ranjit Roy who passed away earlier in the day.
Burden top draw at Kolkata Open
English professional Alfie Burden will be the star attraction in the 'Kolkata Open 2018' Snooker Championship beginning here from January 3-8. The 41-year-old, who turned professional in 1994 was a quarter finalist of in two major events European Masters and Gibraltar Open in 2016-17. In India, he won the IBSF World Championship in Hyderabad in 2009. The Indian players participating in the competitions include former Asian champion and the current pro-player Aditya Mehta; two time Asian Champion Yasin Merchant, 2016 World Masters champion Dharminder Lilly; multiple Asian champion and current World Masters bronze medallist Alok Kumar. Asian Team Snooker Gold medallist Laxman Rawat and Kolkatas very own former Asian Billiards Champion Sourav Kothari and the former World Bronze medallist Brijesh Damani are also in the fray. The Kolkata Open International Snooker Championship 2018 will see two championships Invitational Individual Snooker and Pro-Am Doubles Championship.
Murray gets first round bye in Brisbane International
Tennis star Andy Murray, who is recovering from a hip injury, has been handed a bye in the first round of the Brisbane International.Prior, the Briton lost one-set exhibition match to Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in Abu Dhabi, after stepping in as a late replacement for injured Novak Djokovic.Murray, who is seeded second at the Brisbane International, has been given a first-round bye prior to facing American Ryan Harrison or Argentine Leonardo Mayer in the second round, reports the Daily Express.The Scot has not appeared in a competitive match since being knocked out of the Wimbledon owing to the injury.