Page 2232 - Sports
Indian football team ends year at 105th in FIFA rankings
The Indian men's football ended the year at 105th spot in the FIFA rankings, unchanged from last month, released today. The team, which did not play any international match in this ranking period, has 320 points to its kitty. India began the year at 129th spot and broke into top 100 by occupying 96th -- the second best ever after the 94th of February 1996 -- in July. Among Asian countries, the Indian team is in the 15th spot, just below Qatar, but ahead of the likes of Jordan, Bahrain and North Korea. Iran (overall 32nd) leads the rankings among Asian countries, followed by Australia (38th) and Japan (57th). World champions Germany ended on top to be FIFA's 'Team of the Year', followed by Brazil, Portugal, Argentina, Belgium, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, France and Chile.
Chris Gayle a doubtful starter for Christchurch ODI: Law
Head coach Stuart Law on Thursday said swashbacking West Indian opener Chris Gayle could be a doubtful starter for West Indies' second ODI against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.The left-handed batsman scored just 22 runs yesterday in the first ODI match at Whangarei and did not field during New Zealand's innings.When asked why Gayle did not field in the second innings, Law said: "He's ill. He's going to seek further medical advice, once we arrive in Christchurch tomorrow. At this point in time, I can't give you any further details of what's going on."Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first yesterday.The West Indies struggled from the start of their innings.Opener Evan Lewis top scored with a classy 76. Shimron Hetymer (29) and Rovman Powell (59) also contributed to the team's total, as other batsmen fell like nine pins. The tourists ultimately managed 248-9 in their 50 overs. New Zealand, ultimately, won the match by five wickets with four overs to ...
IPL auctions forces BCCI to reschedule Mushtaq Ai T20 dates
The BCCI has revised the dates of T20 Zonal League and Syed Mushtaq Ali Knock-Out with an aim to give domestic players a chance to showcase their mettle before the IPL Players' Auction scheduled to be held in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28. "In view of the IPL Player Auction which is scheduled from the 27-28th January 2018, there has been a change of schedule for the domestic tournaments," BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary said in a statement. "The said changes are being done so that the T20 Zonal League and Syed Mushtaq Ali Knock out (except the final match) is held before the IPL player Auction which will enable the domestic players to showcase their talent and will also be beneficial for the franchises during the player auction to build their teams," he added. The T20 Zonal League has avanced to January 8 to 16 from earlier January 21 to 29, Syed Mushtaq Ali Knock-Out will now be held from January 21 to 27 instead of February 4 to 10. Due to the tweaking of the .
Nagaland holds first state Olympics in Dimapur
Nagaland organised its first edition of the state Olympics 2017 in Dimapur city, attracting young athletes from across the state.Organised by the Nagaland Olympics Association in collaboration with the 12 participant associations, the sporting event in various disciplines were held across 10 different locations in Dimapur which included the Police Complex Chumukedima, Tetso College, Niathu Resort and Lawn Tennis Centre, Kuda Village.Nagaland Governor P B Acharya inaugurated the event at the DDSC stadium in Dimapur.Speaking on the occasion, Convener of the Organising Committee, Abu Metha told the gathering, "It is compulsory under the Olympics charter to have this event at least every two years."However, he said that it was the state's aim to organise the sports every year instead for the benefit of the sports fraternity."And if we get the support like how we are getting the support of the state government, definitely we should conduct the game every year to promote sports. It is the ..
India retain 105th spot, Germany tops FIFA list
India football team remained stagnant on the 105th position while Germany finished first to be named the 'Team of the Year' in the FIFA rankings released here on Thursday.
I-League: Indian Arrows look to bounce back against Gokulam Kerala (Preview)
Eighth-placed Indian Arrows look to get back to winning ways and finish the festive season on a high when they face ninth-placed Gokulam Kerala FC here on Friday.
BCCI prepones domestic T20 tourneys ahead of IPL auction
The BCCI has decided to bring forward two domestic tournaments, the Zonal T20 league and the Syed Mushtaq Ali knockout tournament, to ensure the players have a chance to audition ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 auction on January 27-28.
Arrows look to get back to winning ways against Gokulam
The young Indian Arrows will look to get back to winning ways and finish the festive season on a high when they face ninth place Gokulam Kerala FC at the Ambedkar Stadium, here tomorrow. Losing two back-to-back matches against table toppers Minerva Punjab FC put a stop to the high flying start of the young colts, but coach Luis Norton de Matos feels that his team will go all out for a win. Speaking to the media at the pre-match conference, Matos said, "We are certainly looking for a win against Gokulam Kerala FC. The most important thing for us is to show our boys can play with senior players. With no foreigners and mostly 16-17-year-olds, even if we finish 5th or 6th it is a huge positive." Arrows skipper Amarjit Singh said, "We are combining well, we have players from both the U-17 and U-19 teams and our styles and strategy were different. In the first three matches, we were trying to adapt to each other. Hopefully, we will play better as we go along." Asked about the
ISL 2017: Coach de Deus rues NorthEast United's profligacy
NorthEast United coach Joao De Deus was left frustrated on Wednesday night after his side slumped to their fourth defeat in six games in this ongoing edition of the Indian Super League (ISL).Languishing in ninth place after a 0-2 loss to Mumbai City FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium yesterday, NorthEast United have just one victory, one draw and a goal difference of (-)5 to show for their efforts.Their shambolic displays mean they have just four points, one more than bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos. For the record, they've scored two and conceded seven goals.Following their defeat against Mumbai City, the Portuguese coach rued his team's wastefulness in front of goal.When asked that NorthEast players were creating several chances, but they are failing to convert those into goals, de Deus said, "I am frustrated and what you said is correct. We created so many chances. We should win games because we have more chances than the opponents. My boys came here to get a different result. ..
ISL: NorthEast United coach de Deus rues near misses
NorthEast United coach João De Deus was left frustrated after his side slumped to its fourth defeat in six games in the ongoing season of the Indian Super League (ISL).
Birmingham to host 2022 Commonwealth Games
Birmingham is set to be confirmed as the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.The Games were originally awarded to Durban in 2015 but the South African city was stripped of the event in March for financial reasons.Commonwealth will, therefore, be held in England for the first time after 2002 when Manchester hosted the event, reports the Guardian.Birmingham has had to wait nearly three months to have its name confirmed, despite being the only city to submit a bid by the Commonwealth Games Federation's (CGF) deadline of September end.It was delayed firstly due to an extension of the deadline for bids until the end of November as the CGF termed the city's proposal not to be "fully compliant" and then more delay was caused as the CGF sought further guarantees over funding from the city and the British government.Countries that were mainly once part of the British Empire are open to participating in the Commonwealth Games.The forthcoming 2018 Games will be staged on Australia's Gold Coast.
Indian bowling attack one of the best to tour SA: MSK Prasad
The Indian pace battery chosen for the much-talked about South Africa tour starting next month is one of the best to have toured the country, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said here on Thursday.
Ekta Bisht features in ICC Women's ODI, T20I teams of the Year
Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was the only Indian woman cricketer to find a place in both the International Cricket Council's One Day and Twenty20 teams of the year announced on Thursday.The 31-year-old cricketer from Uttarakhand has ranked 14th in ODIs and 12th in T20Is and took 34 wickets in 19 matches and 11 wickets in seven T20Is in the period under consideration.Among the three Indians, the other two featured in the team were veteran batter Mithali Raj, who joined Bisht in the T20 team, and World Cup star Harmanpreet Kaur in the ODI side.Meanwhile, England's Heather Knight was named as captain of the ODI for inspiring her side to a stunning ICC Women's World Cup victory while Stafanie Taylor of the Windies was appointed the captain of the 20-over side.The ICC panel took into consideration player performances from 21 September 2016 to date for naming the teams.The ODI side comprises players from five countries, including two Australians (Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry), four England ..
Ruthenbeck named Cologne head coach until end of season
Stefan Ruthenbeck has been promoted as Cologne's head coach until the end of the season, the Bundesliga side confirmed in a statement.
Ujah returns to Bundesliga side Mainz
Striker Anthony Ujah returned to his former club Mainz, the Bundesliga side announced in an official statement.
Dominant India aim to clinch T20I series against Sri Lanka (Preview)
Fresh from a thumping victory in the first match, India will look to continue their all-round performance to clinch the series against Sri Lanka in the second Twenty20 International (T20I) at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here on Friday.
Stuttgart's Terrode rejoins Cologne
Stuttgart's Simon Terrode joins his former club Cologne with immediate effect, both sides confirmed in official statements.
Raj, Bisht, Harmanpreet selected in ICC teams of the year
India captain Mithali Raj was today named in the ICC Women's ODI Team of the Year while left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht was the lone cricketer to find a place in the both the ODI and T20 Teams of the year announced by the world body. Besides the duo, Harmanpreet Kaur has found out a place in the ICC Women's T20I Team of the Year. The ICC today announced the women's ODI and T20I teams of the year with England's Heather Knight named as captain of the 50-over side and Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies appointed skipper of the 20-over side. The teams were selected taking into consideration player performances from September 21, 2016 to date. Bisht is the only cricketer to feature in both the ODI and T20I teams of the year. The 31-year-old from Uttarakhand is ranked 14th in ODIs and 12th in T20Is, and took 34 wickets in 19 matches and 11 wickets in seven T20Is in the period under consideration. Knight was named captain after she inspired her side to a stunning ICC Women's World .
Powerful SA pace attack will put India under pressure: Smith
Former captain Graeme Smith feels South Africa's "powerful" bowling attack will put the Indian batting line-up under serious pressure in the upcoming Test series, starting January 5 in Cape Town. The world no.1 Indian team up against second-placed South Africa in their own den certainly makes for an exciting contest. And Smith feels South Africa will be extra motivated after their painful 0-3 loss in India couple of seasons ago. "I think South Africa will be very strong. With AB de Villiers coming back, their batting looks a lot stronger. The bowling too is really powerful. They have got four really outstanding experienced pacers to choose from and couple of young pacers as well," Smith told PTI. "Eventually, I think they will only go with three seamers and a spinner (in Keshav Maharaj) and six batters with Quinton de Kock at seven. That will be their batting line-up and I think that is a powerful one," he said. Smith, however, said the scheduling of the first Test in ...
Swansea City sack manager Clement
Swansea City announced that manager Paul Clement has been sacked as the English Premier League side have won only three league matches and are at the bottom of the standings.