Page 2205 - Sports
Anand regains World Rapid Chess Championship
Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand has regained the World Rapid Chess Championship after defeating Russia's Vladimir Fedoseev in the tie-break play-off.Anand, a former world champion, outclassed World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the ninth round of tournament and was placed joint second at the start of the final five rounds.He then defeated Fedoseev 2-0 in a two-game tie-break after a three-way tie with the Russian and Ian Nepomniachtchi at 10.5 points each from a possible 15.The Indian has claimed the title by remaining unbeaten in the championship with six wins and nine draws.The win for Anand has come after a tough year. The 48-year-old had earlier failed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament to decide the challenger for the World Championship match against Carlsen and then finished last in the London Chess Classic.After winning the World Rapid Chess Championship, Anand was greeted with a thread of plaudits on Twitter, including wishes from President Ram Nath Kovind among others.
Two decades of Federer, and still going strong
The amazing Roger Federer will embark on his 21st professional season when he leads Switzerland in the mixed teams Hopman Cup starting here tomorrow. The 36-year-old Swiss is coming off an extraordinary year where he took his majors tally to 19, with a fifth Australian Open title and a record eighth Wimbledon. Federer finished the year at number two in the world behind Spanish rival Rafael Nadal, having started at 16, after a season-leading seven titles, including three Masters at Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai. It was a sensational season by any standards, but especially as Federer has been playing professional tennis since 1998 -- a year when Bill Clinton was president of the United States, and James Cameron's "Titanic" won 11 Oscars. Federer will again partner Belinda Bencic at the Hopman Cup, his only event before launching his Australian Open title defence on January 15. "It's totally different this time around," said Federer, whose appearance at the previous ...
Sevilla ready to sign Vincenzo Montella as coach
Sevilla FC announced an agreement in principle for Italy's Vincenzo Montella to succeed the fired Eduardo Berizzo as coach of the La Liga side.
Arsenal outlast Crystal Palace 3-2
Forward Alexis Sanchez had a brace here to power Arsenal to a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace that leaves the Gunners tied on points with Tottenham Hotspur.
Spain's Bautista Agut rolls over Rublev, to face Djokovic in Abu Dhabi
Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Russia's Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-2 at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship here setting up a showdown in the semifinals of the exhibition event with Serbian star Novak Djokovic.
Rain frustrates England in push for Ashes win
Rain hampered England's bid for victory on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test today, with David Warner and Steve Smith also keeping the tourists at bay. The umpires called off play at 5:20 pm (0620 GMT) after persistent rain with Australia 103 for two and trailing the tourists by 61 runs after England's first innings ended on the first ball of the day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. When play was abandoned for the day, Warner was on 40 with skipper Smith not out 25. The tourists, with all the momentum after Alastair Cook's record-breaking innings of 244 not out, snared the wickets of Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja to send early jitters through the home side. Bancroft hit four fours before he chopped Chris Woakes on to his stumps on 27, while Khawaja was caught behind off James Anderson for 11. England, pressing for their first victory in the already-decided Ashes series, were all out on their overnight total of 491 on the first ball of the day. Anderson was ...
World Cup winner Rocha accepts role with Brazil's Sao Paulo
Brazil World Cup winner Ricardo Rocha has been appointed football coordinator of his former club Sao Paulo, the Brazilian outfit announced.
Ten Hag new head coach of Ajax
Ajax and FC Utrecht reached an agreement on the transfer of coach Erik ten Hag to Amsterdam, both clubs announced.
A wonderful surprise and amazing feeling, says Anand
Relieved after claiming his first rapid world title since 2003, Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand said he entered the tournament in a "pessimistic" frame of mind but managed to surprise himself and the world with an unbeaten campaign. The 48-year-old, who had been drawing flak from critics for a string of sub-par performances in the recent past, hit back in style, by winning the World Rapid title in Riyadh yesterday. "The last two rapid events were nothing short of disastrous. I came here in a pessimistic frame of mind. But it has just been the most wonderful surprise. But I played well," Anand told PTI after his triumph. The former world champion remained unbeaten through the tournament and came back strongly to bag the top position on a tie-break after a three-way tie with Russians Vladimir Fedoseev and Ian Nepomniachtchi at 10.5 points from a possible 15. The Chennai ace then defeated Fedoseev 2-0 in a two-game tie-break to win the trophy. Anand said he had had a ...
Sanchez gives record-equalling Wenger victory
Alexis Sanchez scored twice in four second half minutes to give Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger victory on the night he equalled Alex Ferguson's Premier League record of matches in charge with a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace. Sanchez's brace yesterday -- the second a beauty from Jack Wilshere's superb pass -- added to Shkodran Mustafi's first ever away goal for the Gunners was just enough to get them past the Eagles in Wenger's 810th Premier League game as a manager. James Tomkins's 89th minute header -- Andros Townsend had drawn them level at 1-1 early in the second-half before Sanchez's scoring burst -- ensured a nervy finish, but the Gunners deserved to run out winners and end Palace's eight- game unbeaten run. Arsenal drew level with fourth-placed north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur but with a worse goal difference whilst Palace remain firmly embroiled in a battle against relegation just a point above the bottom three. Palace were able to apply some pressure during ...
England take early wickets in push for Ashes win
Australia made a nervous start, losing two wickets, as they reduced England's lead to 94 runs on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test, here today. The tourists, with all the momentum after Alastair Cook's record-breaking innings of 244 not out, snared the wickets of Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja to send the jitters through the home side. At lunch, the Australians were 70 for two with David Warner on 28 and Steve Smith not out four. Bancroft hit four fours before he chopped Chris Woakes on to his stumps on 27, while Khawaja was caught behind off James Anderson for 11. England, pressing for their first victory in the already-decided Ashes series, were all out on their overnight total of 491 on the first ball of the day. Anderson was caught by Bancroft at bat-pad off Pat Cummins for a duck to end the innings. Cummins finished with four for 117. It meant that Cook achieved the highest score of anyone carrying his bat -- the rare feat of batting throughout the innings
Proteas thrash Zimbabwe inside 2 days
South Africa crushed Zimbabwe by an innings and 120runs inside two days in their one-off Day-Night Test at St George's Park here late on Wednesday.Forced to follow on, after being bowled out for 68 in their first innings, Zimbabwe were shot out for just 121runs in their second innings. The match ended before the scheduled dinner break on the second day.Fast bowler Morne Morkel was the destroyer in the first innings, taking 5 for 21, but medium-pacer Andile Phehlukwayo and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj engineered the second-innings collapse.Phehlukwayo took 3 for 13 and Maharaj claimed 5 for 59, with stand-in captain AB de Villiers seemingly usinghis front-line fast bowlers sparingly, so that they could take advantage of the helpful conditions underfloodlights.Zimbabwe put up a fight at the start of their second innings, reaching 54 before they lost their first wicket,although opening batsman Hamilton Masakadza was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the right elbowby a ...
Telangana govt presents Rs one crore to Mithali Raj
The Telangana government today presented Rs one crore and a house site of 600 square-feet to Indian women cricket team skipper Mithali Raj. State Sports Minister T Padmarao felicitated her here and handed over the incentives, according to a state government release. The minister also presented Rs 25 lakh to Mithali Raj's coach RSR Murthy, it said. The incentives have been presented as per Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's directives for promoting sports, Padmarao said. Raj had led the Indian team to the Women's World Cup final earlier this year. India lost to England in a nail-biting summit clash by nine runs.
ISL: Chennaiyin beat Jamshedpur to consolidate top spot
Chennaiyin FC consolidated their position at the top of the points table with a 1-0 win over Jamshedpur FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) encounter here on Thursday.
Bengaluru Blasters open PBL-3 campaign on Viktor-ious note
Reigning world champion Viktor Axelsen helped Bengaluru Blasters kickstart their Premier Badminton League (PBL) Season-3 campaign with a 5-2 win over Delhi Dashers at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Thursday.
Djokovic to face Bautista Agut in Abu Dhabi comeback
Former world number one and 12- time major winner Novak Djokovic will face Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in his first match in almost six months at the Mubadala world championships tomorrow. Bautista Agut, the world number 20 from Spain, set up the showdown against Djokovic by seeing off flamboyant young Russian Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday. Djokovic hasn't played since retiring from his quarter- final at Wimbledon against Tomas Berdych in July with an elbow injury. The 30-year-old will make his comeback on Friday before launching his competitive campaign as top seed at the Qatar Open next week. Bautista Agut, 29, took advantage of the hard-hitting Rublev's numerous unforced errors to win in 88 minutes. Rublev was broken twice in each set and even though he saved four match points in the eighth game of the second, his aggression once again cost him as he netted a powerful forehand to end the match. Bautista Agut has won just one of seven matches against Djokovic, ..
FIFA chief Infantino gives VAR thumbs up
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has given his whole hearted backing to the controversial video assistant referee technology. VAR, as it is known, has been trialled since the start of this season in Serie A and the Bundesliga, and will be introduced to Spanish La Liga next season. The system, criticised by some fans for slowing a game down, can only be used for key incidents in matches regarding goals, penalty decisions, straight red card decisions and cases of mistaken identity. The technology's use in those leagues is part of the tests being carried out by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). "The results so far have been very encouraging, very positive," Infantino told a sports conference in Dubai. "Decisions which were taken wrongly have been altered to take the right decisions. Sometimes it takes a few seconds too long....but we are very positive and I am very positive that VAR will be a great investment into modern football "(It) can be used all over .
Bengaluru Blasters thrash Delhi Dashers 5-2 in PBL
Superlative performances by world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Malaysia's Chen Wei Feng helped Bengaluru Blasters trounce Delhi Dashers 5-2 in their opening match of the third Premier Badminton League (PBL) here today. World No. 1 Axelsen, who recently defended his title at the Dubai Super Series Final, outclassed China's World No. 22 Tian Houwei 15-11 15-11 in Bengaluru's Trump match to seal the tie at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here. Earlier, playing their first match of the season, Bengaluru Blasters drew first blood with Korean Kim Sa Rang and India's N Sikki Reddy combining well to secure a 15-10 12 -15 15-11 win over Delhi pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Ivanov Vladimir in the mixed doubles opening match. World No 45. Malaysian Chong Wei Feng then dished out a gritty game as he came back from a game down to stun 15th ranked Wing Ki Wong Vincent of Hong Kong 10-15 15-13 15-8 in the first men's singles to put the Blasters 2-0 ahead. Delhi, who had lost their
Jeje strike from spot helps Chennaiyin consolidate top spot
A first half of two penalties -- one converted and one missed -- decided the outcome of the Indian Super League match between Jamshedpur FC and Chennaiyin FC, with the visiting side emerging 1-0 winners in a closely- fought contest here today. Just when it seemed the first half would be remembered for a flurry of half chances, the referee pointed to the spot when Jamshedpur's Mehtab Hossain took a tumble in his own box and handled the ball in the process. Jeje Lalpekhlua sent Subrata Pal the other way with a smart penalty for his fourth goal of the season, and it turned out to be the difference between the two teams. But the drama was hardly over in the first session when the referee pointed to the dreaded spot once again, this time at the other end. Chennaiyin manager John Gregory was fuming at the touchline over the decision of the referee against his side and was sent into the stands for his reaction, but Kervens Belfort's effort was saved brilliantly by Karanjit ...
Bengaluru Blasters thrash Delhi Dashers 4-2 in PBL
Superlative performances by world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Malaysia's Chen Wei Feng helped Bengaluru Blasters trounce Delhi Dashers in their opening match of the third Premier Badminton League (PBL) here today. World No. 1 Axelsen, who recently defended his title at the Dubai Super Series Final, outclassed China's World No. 22 Tian Houwei 15-11 15-11 in Bengaluru's Trump match to seal the tie with one match to go at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here. After the fourth match, Benguluru had taken a 4-2 unassailable lead over Delhi Dashers, who recently got a new owner in Dalmiya Cement. Earlier, playing their first match of the season, Bengaluru Blasters drew first blood with Korean Kim Sa Rang and India's N Sikki Reddy combining well to secure a 15-10 12 -15 15-11 win over the Delhi pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Ivanov Vladimir in the mixed doubles opening match. World No. 45 Malaysian Chong Wei Feng then dished out a gritty game as he came back from a game ...