Page 2202 - Sports
ISL 2017: FC Pune City eye home win over NorthEast United
FC Pune City will look to overturn their poor home form and get back to winning ways when they host NorthEast United in the Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium here on Saturday.Pune moved into the top four of the ISL standings with a classy away victory against FC Goa, one of the pacesetters in the fourth season of the league.They have also recorded an away victory against Jamshedpur FC, the most difficult team to break down. Yet, at home, their form has been patchy as they have lost three of their four matches so far.Pune, who will be without suspended coach Ranko Popovic, will now be up against NorthEast United FC, a team that is languishing in the bottom half of the table.The Serbian coach was handed a four-match ban for breaching Article 50 (misconduct against match officials) and Article 58 (offensive behaviour and fair play) after the last win in Goa.The home team will surely miss Popovic's presence on the sidelines. But the ...
Smith immovable as Australia edge closer to Test draw
Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh stonewalled England's attempts at a breakthrough wicket in the becalmed fourth Ashes Test on Saturday's final day. The pair batted through the middle session adding just 47 runs to edge closer to a Test draw but holding only a 61-run lead. At tea, Smith was advancing on his 23rd Test century on 87 in 361 minutes with Marsh not out 10 in Australia's 225 for four. Only a minimum of 37 overs were left to play as the Melbourne Test entered the final session on a moribund batting pitch. Smith has led the Australian salvage operation in his 228-ball vigil after losing batting partners David Warner and Shaun Marsh before lunch. After two painstaking hours of slow scoring, the tourists grabbed the wickets of Warner and Marsh in the final half-hour to raise hopes of their first win in an already-decided series. Warner had looked set for his 22nd Test hundred and second century of the Test match before he attempted to slog the second ball of Joe ...
Neroca FC to host East Bengal in crucial I-League battle
Neroca FC will look to take the home advantage when they square off with table-toppers Kingfisher East Bengal in another pulsating I-League match here at the Khuman Lampak Stadium today.It's going to be Neroca FC's second home match following their win over Chennai City FC earlier this month.Both teams are coming to this tie at the back of crucial wins away from their home and they won't let this opportunity go to finish 2017 on a winning note.Neroca overcame Northeastern rival Shillong Lajong 1-0 while Kingfisher East Bengal made Chennai City FC bite the dust at Coimbatore courtesy two strikes from Katsumi Yusa and Charles D'Souza.Neroca FC head coach Gift Raikhan said that he has already done with the strategy of tomorrow's match and now it's time to implement them on the pitch.He said, "East Bengal is a very good team but Neroca FC is not less, it is completely our credit that we had drawn with Mohun Bagan and it gives us more confident to meet East Bengal tomorrow."He further ...
Murray to launch ATP Tour comeback in Brisbane
Andy Murray will make his long- awaited return to the ATP Tour in the Brisbane International on Sunday, after nearly five months out through injury. Nervous organisers were gladdened by news that the dual Wimbledon champion was on a flight to Brisbane following the blow of losing world No.1 Rafael Nadal for the major Australian Open lead-in tournament. "Andy is on his way, he'll land later today. He's booking practice and really excited about coming back to Brisbane -- his first appearance since 2013,"tournament director Cameron Pearson tweeted on Saturday. Murray, the former world No.1, has been dogged by a hip complaint and played in an exhibition set to test it out in Abu Dhabi on his way to Australia. The 30-year-old Scot was last in action during his loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon and then shut down the season after that to recover from his injury. Murray showed the effects of his time away from the court during his 6-2 loss to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut on ...
England hit back with Warner, Marsh wickets on final day
England hit back with two key wickets as they chased victory in the fourth Ashes Test on the final day in Melbourne on Saturday. After two painstaking hours of slow scoring, the tourists grabbed the wickets of David Warner and Shaun Marsh in the final half-hour to dramatically improve their chances of pulling off their first win in an already-decided series. At lunch, Australia were 178 for four and leading by just 14 runs with skipper Steve Smith unbeaten on 50 after Marsh was out in the final over of the morning session. Warner had looked set for his 22nd Test hundred and second century of the Test match before he attempted to slog the second ball of Joe Root's first over. The ball, pitched into the foot marks, skewed into the air and James Vince took a comfortable catch in the covers to give Root the perfect gift on his 27th birthday. Warner dropped his head realising he had botched a golden chance to claim his Test twin centuries for a fourth time in his career. The ..
Morris included in squad for India Test
South African all-rounder, Chris Morris, has been added to the South African team squad for the first Test match against India.According to Sport24, Morris recovered from a groin injury and has replaced fast bowler, Duanne Olivier, in the 15-man squad. Morris did not play in the inaugural four-day Test match against Zimbabwe on December 26.The squad has been named only for the first Test as of now. The Proteas will begin their preparations on January 2, ahead of the first Test of the three-match series against the No.1 Test team.However, there is still no specialist wicket-keeper cover for Quinton de Kock, who picked up a hamstring strain in the Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe. He is expected to recover in time for the first Test, but if he does not then the selectors will again turn back to AB de Villiers, who also kept wickets in the just-concluded Boxing Day Test.South Africa will square-off with India in the first Test match at the Newlands in Cape Town on January 5.
Ahmedabad down Hyderabad in PBL
Debutants Ahmedabad Smash Masters got the better of Hyderabad Hunters 4-3 in a Premier Badminton League (PBL) contest at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Friday.
I-League: Indian Arrows hold Mohun Bagan 1-1
Bravehearts Indian Arrows held an incoherent Mohun Bagan to a 1-1 draw in an I-League encounter here on Friday.
Mumbai rout Delhi in ill-tempered game to jump to second spot
Mumbai City FC packed a strong punch to outclass Delhi Dynamos FC 4-0 and leap to the second spot on the table after an ill-tempered Indian Super League game here today. Such was the intensity of the game that one player from each side was red-carded in the first half. The goal-getters for the home team, which scored its second successive win, were their Romanian captain Lucian Goian (12th minute), the Brazilian mid-field duo Everton Santos (43rd) and Thiago Santos (49th) and Indian international Balwant Singh (79th minute), his fifth of the season and third in the last two matches. The three points gained from the match helped Mumbai take their tally to 13 points from eight games and jump three spots from fifth spot and lie in second place, three points behind league leaders Chennaiyin FC. Delhi, who had suffered a 1-5 defeat to FC Goa earlier, remained at the bottom of the league by suffering their sixth successive loss in seven ties. The closing stages of the first ...
Prannoy extends unbeaten run as Masters maul Hunters in PBL
World No.10 HS Prannoy extended his unbeaten run as Ahmedabad Smash Masters outplayed Hyderabad Hunters 4-3 in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) here today. Prannoy beat fellow Indian Sai Praneeth 15-10 15-8 in the second men's singles to give his team an unassailable 4-1 lead in the tie. Ahmedabads trump player Prannoy started in his usual flamboyant manner and took a lead of 6-2. But World No.16 Praneeth did not let him off the hook so easily and overturned the deficit to take six straight points to lead at the interval. After the break, Prannoy got his act together and after initial exchange of points, won four straight points to race to a 14-10 lead. Praneeth delayed the inevitable by saving a game point but Prannoy took the next one to win the opening game 15-11. The current National champion was unstoppable in the second game as well and his combination of power smashes, deceptive drops and net play was too much for Praneeth to handle and he went down 8-15 to ...
Delhi Cabinet's nod to proposal for supporting sportspersons
The Delhi Cabinet today approved the education department's 'mission of excellence in sports' proposal under which it will provide financial assistance of up to Rs 16 lakh to talented sportspersons. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said a sportsperson will be supported for his or her needs like food, sports equipment, sports kits, training and travel, boarding and lodging within the country and abroad and medical needs. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The scheme also aims to provide state-funded support to compete for selection in forthcoming major international events like - the 2020 Olympics, the 2022 Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games 2022 and the 2024 Olympics etc. "The government will provide financial assistance of up to Rs 16 lakh to selected sportspersons. It aims to provide support to budding sportspersons and for those who have brought laurels to Delhi at national and international level. "It will ...
Russia to participate in Winter Olympic opening ceremony
Russian athletes will participate in the parade of national teams at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Koreas PyeongChang, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Alexander Zhukov said on Friday.
Bosnia midfielder Lulic quits international football
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) midfielder Senad Lulic on Friday decided to retire from international football.
Tapping talent in districts and rural areas was key: VCA VP
Vidarbha's remarkable progress to a maiden Ranji Trophy final has left the domestic cricket circuit pleasantly surprised and VCA vice-president Prashant Vaidya today said tapping talent in districts and rural areas went a long way in building a strong state team. First-timers Vidarbha are currently playing seven-time winners Delhi in the final of Indias premier domestic competition. "You need to have a good structure; that is most important. I always believed talent is going to be there more in rural areas, that is where we need to get the junior lot the U-15, U-16 sides, said Vaidya, who has played four One- day Internationals during a nearly decade-long first-class career. The former pacer represented Bengal the most in first- class cricket and was at one point considered the fastest in India. "Once that happens, then you have a continuous flow of U-16, U-19 graduating into the higher side. Thats where you get teams to perform consistently, Vaidya said, adding: The ..
Anand starts slowly in World blitz C'ship
Newly-crowned World Rapid Champion Viswanathan Anand won two and drew four in the first six rounds to make a slow start to his campaign at the world blitz chess championship here today. With absolutely no time to relax after a brilliant show that saw him clinch the World Rapid Championship yesterday, Anand was a bit tentative at the start of the world blitz that is played with just three minutes to each player with a two second increment after every move is made. As a result, it was a draw with Jhao Jun of China in the opening round and then Vladislav Kovalev of Belarus proved no match for the Indian in the second round. Two more draws with Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine and Nigel Short of England ensued before Anand won fluently against Ivan Salgedo Lopez of Spain. The game against Lopez was just an indication of Anand's superior form as he held a winning position in just 11 moves with black pieces. The Spaniard had no clue what hit him and it was all over in quick ...
National Shooting C'ship: Jitu Rai shoots 50m pistol gold
Pistol ace Jitu Rai on Friday won the men's 50m pistol national title with a national record score of 233 at the ongoing 61st National Shooting Championship, here at the National Games Shooting Range.Rai of army marksmanship got the better of Navy man Omkar Singh who shot 222.4 in the finals.Rai also won the team gold in the event with Jai and Omprakash Mitherwal for a total of 1658, besting team Air Force who managed a total of 1626.Punjab with the score of 1624 won Bronze.Arjun Singh Cheema of Punjab won the Junior Men's 50M Pistol event shooting 226.5 in the final.Surinder Singh, his state-mate shot 221.9 for Silver while Anmol Jain of Haryana won Bronze with 205.1.Arjun and Surinder along with Mankaran Preet Singh also won the junior men's team gold in the event, where Haryana won Silver and Delhi the Bronze.A total of 4800 men and women shooters from across the country are participating in the 61st NSCC including 200 wild card entries.The 61st NSCC will conclude on December 31.
Michael Hussey expects Aussies to bring in another spinner for Sydney Test
Former Australian batsman Michael Hussey expects Australia to bring a second spinner into their squad for the final Ashes Test in Sydney."I'd expect a spinner to come into the squad (but I'm not sure) who it might be," the veteran player told cricket.com.au.Hussey also believes that previously injured Mitchell Starc has a huge chance of returning to the playing XI."I heard (Starc) was quite close to playing here in Melbourne, so you'd expect him to be fit for Sydney and that would be a huge in for Australia," the 42-year-old added.The selectors will announce a squad for the final Ashes Test at the end of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.The prospect of a dual spin attack looms large at Sydney as the venue has favoured slow bowling in the recent years.The Australian selectors are most likely to go with either Ashton Agar or Stephen O'Keefe, and it will be a difficult choice to make between the two."I think in the short form of the game they like Ashton Agar because he fields well and ..
Pune eye home win against NorthEast in ISL
FC Pune City, sans suspended coach Ranko Popovic, will look to replicate their away form at home when they host NorthEast United in the Indian Super League (ISL) season four here tomorrow. Pune entered top four of the ISL standings with away wins against FC Goa, Jamshedpur FC and defending champions ATK in the fourth season of the league. The only time they won at home was against Mumbai City in Balewadi. Otherwise, their form has been patchy as they have lost three of their four matches so far. Come tomorrow, FC Pune City under assistant coach Vladica Grujic will look to change that statistic at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium here. NorthEast United FC, on the other hand, have been languishing at the ninth position in the table with four losses and a draw. The only victory they achieved this season was against Delhi Dynamos FC. Grujic said: "We have lost two games at home (consecutively) but everyone knows that, with a little bit of luck, we could win .
Living legend Anand silences critics winning World Rapid Championship
Silencing those who cite his age, India's Viswanathan Anand, a five-time World Chess Champion, on Thursday presented himself a world title as a belated birthday gift.
Sushil Kumar qualifies for 2018 Commonwealth
Double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar qualified for the 2018 Commonwealth Games after defeating Jitender Kumar in the 74kg weight category on Friday.The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held in Gold Coast, Australia between April 4 and 15, 2018.The country's most decorated wrestler, Sushil, had recently won the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, after making his international comeback.He took a three-year break following an injury.The selection trial were held in the national capital's IG Stadium for the Indian Free Style Wrestling Teams for participation in the 2018 Senior Asian Wrestling Championship, Kyrgyzstan and 2018 Commonwealth Games, and Greco Roman Style Wrestling Team only for 2018 Senior Asian Wrestling Championship.The others players who qualified are:Free Style:Rahul Aware (57 kg), (65 kg) Bajrang, (74 kg) Sushil Kumar, (86 kg) Somveer, (97 kg) Mausam Khatri, (125 kg) SumitGreco Roman Style:.