Page 221 - Sports

Will quit golf, approach court: Rashid after refused entry at DGC

Indian golfer Rashid Khan Sunday said he is ready to give up his Olympics dream and quit the sport if he is not allowed to practice at the Delhi Golf Club. The two-time Asian champion, who is currently ranked No. 1 on the PGTI Players' Championship, along with seven professional and two amateur golfers were taken to the Tughlaq Road police station after they complained of the DGC staff not allowing them to enter the premises for practice despite paying the stipulated fee. The tussle between Rashid and the DGC goes back a long time over the latter's refusal to allow him to practice at the iconic 18-hole course. He said the DGC has gone against a Supreme Court ruling that allows them to use the course for practice. "I will quit if this issue is not sorted out. They are ready to use it for entertainment purpose but not for sports. From IAS officers to other bureaucrats, they allow everyone to use the course but golfers like us," Rashid told PTI. "I was also carrying a Supreme Court ...

Momota stunned as China win Sudirman Cup with Japan whitewash

Shi Yuqi stunned world champion Kento Momota as hosts China whitewashed Japan for an 11th Sudirman Cup title on Sunday. Japan have never won the badminton world mixed-team championship and their search goes on after they were well beaten 3-0 in the Chinese city of Nanning. China's dominant victory over the top seeds is an ominous indication of the depth they possess in their ranks with next summer's Tokyo Olympics on the horizon. Roared on by the home crowd, China went 1-0 up through their men's doubles and then took a 2-0 lead after a captivating women's singles match between Chen Yufei and Akane Yamaguchi. Japan needed their talisman Momota to beat Shi in the men's singles to keep the tie alive. The world number one had defeated second-ranked Shi four times in five previous meetings, including last year's world championship final. It looked like more of the same when the 24-year-old Momota won the first game 21-15, but Shi suddenly found rhythm and his subdued Japanese rival faded ..

Team needs to develop habit of giving it all to improve: PSG coach Tuchel

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Thomas Tuchel, who signed a new deal which extends his stay with the club till 2021, has stated that the whole team will have to move in one direction to improve heading into his second season at the club."We have to improve, that's clear. We have to put even more intensity into our games. To be competitive at the highest level, that's indispensable. Giving your all has to become a habit. But I can't change that on my own. You have to be very strict in terms of our principles of how to play. That is important. We all have to go in the same direction," club's official website quoted Tuchel as saying.Despite the club displaying a substandard performance as they were crashed out of Champions League and Coupe de la Ligue early, Tuchel was handed an extension by the club. However, PSG managed to secure the Ligue 1 title with 91 points, 16 points ahead of second-positioned LOSC.Tuchel's side started off very well in the Ligue 1 as PSG won their first 14 ...

Jayawardene declines role in Sri Lanka WC team

Former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene has declined to play a role in Sri Lanka's World Cup campaign, saying he is disillusioned with the general state of the sport in the island nation.

Stuck like glue, dark horse New Zealand aiming to shed tag

With a squad capable of punching above its weight, perennial dark horse New Zealand are out to shed the tag it has failed to part ways with, despite trying almost every trick in the book. Having humbled favourites India by six wickets in a warm-up game, New Zealand will enter the World Cup feeling optimistic of finally winning it after four and half decades of trying. With plenty of nous in bowling and a reasonably strong batting line-up, they can again afford to hope heading into the sport's showpiece, which has been a witness to innumerable days of vivid entertainment from the Black Caps. Having made the semi-finals six times and the final in their best showing four years ago, New Zealand now want to know how it feels to be a winner. After all their past failings in the last-four stage, they are aware they can ill afford to relax even for a moment. Needless to say, the road to the final destination will be fraught with obstacles. However, in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in .

Akhil Rabindra and his team scores GT4 class podium in 12H BRNO 2019

India's Akhil Rabindra, the only Asian to seal an Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy spot, achieved his third podium finish in 12H BRNO European Championship. PROsport Performance, reigning series title holder, gained their third podium finish in the 24H Series Saturday. Nico Verdonck, Rodrigue Gillion and Akhil Rabindra brought the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 home on third at the 12H Brno to extend the lead in the team's and driver's ranking. PROsport and Akhil continue their impressive run in the GT4 championship whereas Akhil leads in the junior cup across all categories. After qualifying 3rd in the qualifying round, PROsport Performance continued to stay 3rd in the GT4 segment at the end of the Race part 2 on Saturday (May 25, 2019). From the qualifiers, they dropped one position at the end of the Race 1 which they completed in 3:03:10.109 hrs. The team completed 73 laps in the Race 1 to grab the 4thspot before coming back strongly in the second race of the day. The team completed ...

Mahesh wins Sekisui Open squash

India's Mahesh Mangaonkar triumphed for the second time in the Sekisui Open, a PSA Chllenger tour event, here. In a final that highlighted the Indian's gritty display Saturday night, the top-seeded Mahesh beat third seed Bernat Jaume of Spain in four games 11-9, 3-11, 11-5, 11-5 to win his 8th PSA title. Switzerland is proving to be Mahesh's happy hunting ground. Three years back he had won it the first time. The Spaniard gave little away in the final and after a close first game, which he lost, Bernat grabbed the second. But thereafter, Mahesh steadied himself to work his way to glory. It took him to 48 minutes to finish the job.

Zverev edges past Jarry to win Geneva Open

Germany's Alexander Zverev captured his first title of the season with a see-saw 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10-8) victory in Geneva Open final over Chile's Nicolas Jarry, who had two match points but came up just short.

World Cup: Kohli pleased with lower-order fightback

After the Indian top order failed to live up to the expectations in the warm-up game against New Zealand, skipper Virat Kohli expects his lower-order batsmen to rise to the occasion if a situation arises in the upcoming World Cup.

Trent Boult gains confidence over India victory

New Zealand will be emboldened by their six-wicket victory over India as they chased down the low total with minimal fuss in their first ICC Men's Cricket World Cup warm-up match at Kennington Oval on Saturday. Although both bowling and batting department delivered, it was the former which helped them register a thumping victory after they restricted India to just 179 runs.New Zealand pacer Trent Boult showed a scintillating performance as he took four wickets in the match and gave away just 33 runs. Boult has given the credit to the swinging of balls for his performance and raised his concern about times when things won't go as it did in the warm-up match."Nice to see it swinging around a little bit. I'd love to expect that everywhere, some good wickets around the country. It's going to be a good challenge, but us as a bowling unit, we're definitely looking forward to it, but we'll take some confidence out of today (Saturday). But yeah, the biggest challenge will be when it's not ...

Coach Ernesto has contract for next season: Barcelona president Bartomeu

After Barcelona bigwig, Lionel Messi, club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu too backed Blaugrana coach Ernesto Valverde, post the Copa del Rey final defeat to Valencia.Valverde has been a topic of discussion since Barcelona got eliminated from the Champions League and there were many speculations regarding Valverde's departure. Moreover, their defeat to Valencia on Saturday further exposed the coach to criticism.However, Bartomeu cleared the air concerning Valverde's stay in the club and backed him by saying that he is not the culprit."We have always said that Ernesto has a contract for next season. I do not think he's the culprit. We had many opportunities, but they did not find the net. But count the goals and Valencia scored one more than us," Goal.com quoted Bartomeu, as saying.Before the Copa del Rey final, Messi had come in support for his coach saying that Valverde did an impressive job and added that the players are the ones to be blamed for the Champions League defeat.In this

Celtic offer Neil Lennon manager job after Scottish Cup victory

Celtic, on Saturday, registered a 2-1 victory against Hearts in the final of Scottish Cup and following that the club confirmed that manager Neil Lennon has been offered a job as permanent manager.Celtic FC took Twitter to confirm the offer and wrote: "We are delighted to announce that Neil Lennon has been offered the job as permanent #CelticFC manager and the details will be confirmed in the coming days #TrebleTreble."Celtic's Chief Executive Peter Lawwell praised Lennon and called him a winner."This is a fantastic day, a fantastic achievement, and it will probably never to be repeated. Neil, in our moment of need, stood up to the plate. He's done a fantastic job in difficult circumstances, and when you look at his credentials - he's a Celtic man, he's made for Celtic, he knows what's required and he's a winner," club's official website quoted.Lennon had replaced Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager and guided the club to a third consecutive domestic treble after they won the Scottish ..

Korea series win is vital to Indian team's preparations for FIH Women's Series Finals: Marijne

Indian women's hockey team coach Sjoerd Marijne Sunday said victory in the just-concluded series in South Korea is vital to its preparations for the forthcoming FIH Women's Series Finals. The tournament is scheduled to be held in Hiroshima, Japan from June 15. Against Korea, India won two back-to-back matches and lost the third match. "It was not exactly the way we wanted to finish the series but I think the experience was important at this juncture," Marijne said. Reflecting on the tour, he said, "Two of the three matches we did very good and executed our plans well. While those two wins were confidence boosting, we must forget those victories and only think about the last match which did not go according to plan and focus on how we can improve ahead of the crucial Olympic Qualifying event." The core group will include 26 players for the upcoming national coaching vamp which commences on May 27 at Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru. "Important thing is to get good recovery now as ..

Boos 'water off a duck's back' for Smith

Steve Smith has shrugged off the booing by the Hampshire crowd as "white noise" and "water off a duck's back" after his century guided Australia to a 12-run win over England in a warm-up match. Smith made 116 in his first appearance against England since a year-long ban for ball-tampering as Australia beat the World Cup hosts and favourites here Saturday. Both Smith and David Warner, also coming off a one-year suspension for ball-tampering, were booed loudly by large sections of the crowd when they came out to bat and when they were dismissed, but Smith was also jeered when he reached fifty and then when he completed a sprightly hundred. "Everyone's entitled to their opinion and how they want to treat people," Smith told reporters after a 102-ball innings featuring eight fours and three sixes. "It's water off a duck's back and it doesn't bother me. I try to black it out. "They call it 'white noise'. When I'm out in the middle I don't pay attention to the crowd or what they're saying,"

Hope to get better wickets in tournament proper, says Jadeja

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is hoping to get better pitches in the World Cup than the one at Kennigton Oval where India's batsmen were blown away by New Zealand in their first warm-up game. With a brisk half-century, Jadeja was the only batsman to stand out in a dismal performance. But the senior player assured there was nothing to worry about. "It was typical English conditions, wicket was soft initially but it got better as the game progressed. We are hoping that we don't get this much amount of grass and get a better wicket to bat in the World Cup," Jadeja said at the post-match press conference. Opting to bat, India were all out for 179 in conditions slightly favourable to bowlers, and New Zealand chased down the target with plenty to spare. "This is our first game, it is just one game and we can't judge players on one bad innings, one bad match. So nothing to worry as a batting unit," Jadeja said. "It is always difficult in England, you are coming from India, where you play on ...

Don't get bothered by crowd's reaction: Steve Smith

Australian batsman Steve Smith said he was not bothered by the smattering of jeers he was greeted with during the warm-up game against England, adding he tries not to pay attention to the crowd and focus on his game.

Valencia wins Copa del Rey title after beating Barcelona

Valencia clinched the Copa del Rey title after securing a 2-1 victory over Barcelona at Benito Villamarin Stadium here on Sunday.This is Valencia's first Copa del Rey title since 2007-08 and eighth overall.From the very start of the game, the winning side played an attacking game against Barcelona as they registered both their goals in the first half. Kevin Gameiro scored the first in just the 21st minute.Just after 12 minutes, Valencia's Rodrigo added hit another goal getting his side into on a dominating position. Valencia not just scored two goals in the first half, but also managed to restrict their opponents to zero.However, Barcelona managed to score their first and the only goal of the match in the second half of the game. Messi was the scorer from Barcelona as he scored in the 71st minute, but his goal was certainly not enough to cancel out the strikes from Gameiro and Rodrigo.Barcelona had already witnessed a Champions League exit at the hands of Liverpool in the semi-finals.

England sweat on Wood's World Cup fitness

England fast bowler Mark Wood was left with a nervous wait after his World Cup chances were thrown into doubt by a foot injury that saw him leave the field during a warm-up defeat by Australia in Southampton on Saturday. The Durham quick had managed just 3.1 overs in his opening spell when he abandoned his run-up after feeling pain in his left foot. Wood's injury-plagued career has been blighted by a history of repeated ankle problems but he did give England some cause for optimism by running off to the pavilion, although the fact he then went to hospital for a scan and took no further part in an eventual 12-run defeat was concerning. "We'll see how it turns out in the morning. It can be a worry for him," said England stand-in captain Jos Buttler. "He's worked really hard and it's something he's battled a bit which is a frustration for him. He puts in all the work, the medical staff are great with him, and I'm sure he's in the best hands. "We hope for the best for him." This was just .

Valencia stun deflated Barcelona to win Copa del Rey

Barcelona wanted a trophy to ease their Champions League heartache but instead fell to another shock defeat as Valencia pulled off a thrilling 2-1 victory on Saturday to win the Copa del Rey. Chasing a record fifth consecutive triumph, Barca were undone by a relentless and gutsy Valencia side, who hung on after Lionel Messi pulled a goal back to set up a dramatic finish in Seville. By then, Valencia were already two up, Kevin Gameiro and Rodrigo scoring twice in 13 frantic first-half minutes, after the latter spurned a golden early chance that could have spared them a nerve-shredding last 17 minutes. Messi drove the comeback effort and Goncalo Guedes twice should have wrapped it up for Valencia, missing a one-on-one and then an open goal before the final whistle sparked pandemonium. Valencia's coach Marcelino, who might have been sacked when his team were four points off relegation in January, raced around the pitch in a frenzy. Barcelona's players sank to their knees. "We always had .

Old warhorse Malinga keeps Sri Lanka dreaming

Lasith Malinga will be one of the World Cup's oldest players but the Sri Lanka paceman shows no signs of slowing down as he bids to prove his critics wrong. Malinga was stripped of the Sri Lanka one-day international captaincy in April after losing all eight matches in a troubled reign that lasted just four months. Sri Lanka's selectors, led by former fast bowler Ashantha de Mel, said Malinga was unable to unite the team, while he was also accused of falling out with other senior players. That hammer blow reportedly prompted Malinga to consider retirement, but he opted to stay on after being named in the World Cup squad. The 35-year-old recently reminded the world of his enduring qualities when he claimed 16 wickets for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. He produced a sensational final over in the Twenty20 final against Chennai Super Kings to hand Mumbai a record fourth IPL title. Malinga frequently hits speeds of over 86 miles-per-hour (138 kph), while his devastating ..