Page 2233 - Sports
Gasset becomes Saint-Etienne's third head coach this season
Ligue 1 football club Saint-Etienne have appointed Jean-Louis Gasset as head coach of the team, the third in this season, replacing Julien Sable as the latter failed to meet the requirements for coaching in Ligue 1.
Guerrero cleared to play in World Cup after doping ban halved
Peru captain Paolo Guerrero is free to play in next year's World Cup after his appeal against a one-year doping ban was partially upheld.
Manchester City agree to deal for Paraguay midfielder
English Premier League (EPL) leaders Manchester City have signed 20-year-old Paraguayan midfielder Jesus Medina, according to media reports.
Bayern overcome Dortmund in German Cup
Bayern Munich scored twice in the first half against Borussia Dortmund to book their berth in the last eight of the German Cup.
Gremio extend coach Renato's contract
Copa Libertadores champions Gremio have extended the contract of coach Renato Portaluppi for another season, the Brazilian side announced.
Hockey players working on mental strength with NeuroTracker
Handling pressure in crunch situation is key to success in any sport and to address the issue the Indian team management has introduced 'NeuroTracker' to the women hockey players to enhance their mental strength. Three major sporting events -- the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the Asian Games and the World Cup -- are slotted for 2018, making it a critical year for both men's and women's hockey. And Indian women's hockey team coach Harendra Singh and his support staff is leaving no stone unturned to prepare the girls for next year's big tournaments. NeuroTracker is a non-invasive system that uses 3D multiple object tracking to improve the efficiency of neural networks that govern situational awareness, attention, executive function and cognitive stamina. The program is commonly used by top level football and basketball teams but it has been used for the first time in Indian hockey. NeuroTracker was used on trial basis in October at SAI's Banglore centre where women's hockey ..
Euphoria of hosting successful World Cup, ISL-I-League tussle marked soccer calendar (2017 in Retrospect)
Football in India got an unprecedented leg-up with the successful hosting of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, but on either side of the showpiece, a civil war-like situation prevailed in 2017 as two domestic leagues jostled for supremacy -- ending in both running simultaneously.
Belgium and Egypt's Salah could surprise at World Cup: Neymar
Belgium could spring a surprise at next year's football World Cup while five-time champions Brazil will be among the favourites, according to Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar.
Sri Lanka have to show some fight: Tharanga
Sri Lanka suffered their worst defeat in T20Is after India crushed them by 93 runs in the series opener and senior batsman Upul Tharanga said the team must show some fight in the remaining matches of the tour. Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl on a dew-laden Barabati Stadium, but proved no match to India as they were bundled out for a paltry 87 while chasing 181 yesterday. "It's tough to be on the losing side but we still have to show some fight. We did all right in the one-day series but here we are disappointed," Tharanga said in the post-match news conference yesterday. In their 100th T20I appearance, the Sri Lankan innings folded in 16 overs after man-of-the-match Yuzvendra Chahal triggered their collapse with a 4/23, before Hardik Pandya ripped through the tail claiming 3/29. "I am very disappointed with the way we batted. We should have batted 20 overs. Losing is okay but we have to get close to the target. The main thing is we could not compete." "While ...
Sensational Gurbani takes Vidarbha to maiden Ranji final
Medium pacer Rajneesh Gurbani's sensational bowling guided Vidarbha to their maiden Ranji Trophy final after they stunned defending champions Karnataka by five runs in a thrilling semi-final, here today. Gurbani finished with 12 wickets in the match, his best bowling figures, laying the foundation for Vidarbha's historic win. Vidarbha will now play Delhi for the title of the country's best first-class team. After picking up 5/94 in the first innings, Gurbani followed it up with yet another stellar show and almost single-handedly dismantled Karnataka's chase of 198 runs with match-winning figures of 7/68 in the second essay. Seven down overnight, Gurbani picked up all the three remaining Karnataka wickets to wrap up the issue for Vidarbha. Needing just three wickets to record the win, Vidarbha started the fifth and final day as favourites on paper but Karnataka's tail almost did the job, falling just five runs short. Resuming at the overnight score of 111 for seven, ...
Vidarbha reach maiden final, beat Karnataka by five runs
Vidarbha edged past eight-time champions Karnataka by five runs to reach their maiden Ranji Trophy final in an absorbing last-four clash at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
Overton doubtful about playing Boxing Day Ashes Test
England seamer Craig Overton's cracked rib may force him to sit out of the Boxing Day Ashes Test against Australia.Overton was hit by a Pat Cummins bouncer while batting on debut in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, which he then aggravated in the Perth Test earlier this week.Overton said after the third Test, which England lost by an inning and 41 runs to concede the series: "We're going to assess it over the next couple of days," Sport24 quoted Overton as saying after the third Test."Melbourne might be a push but it's still an option to play at the minute," he said.The 23-year-old made an unbeaten 41 in his debut for England and has claimed six wickets in his two matches to date.Having won the Perth Test by an innings and 41 runs, Australia have already regained the coveted urn, will now play the inconsequential fourth Test against England,England, who are trailing by 0-3 in the Ashes series will now play the inconsequential fourth Test beginning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ...
Formidable India look to wrap up series against Sri Lanka
A dominant Indian team is expected to maintain its stranglehold on a miserable Sri Lanka and wrap up the three-match series when the two mismatched teams face off in the second Twenty20 International here tomorrow. There seems no end to the woes of the visitors, who slumped to a heavy 93-run defeat in the series-opener in Cuttack. While the Indian youngsters have put their hands up to deliver the goods, the Lankans are going through a terrible phase of transition during which they are badly in need of reliable performers. The result has been a lack of contest and one-sided results, prompting many to question the very logic of India playing such a weak side again and again. This series has hardly proved to be a good preparation for the challenging South Africa tour that awaits India next month, considering the home team's domination in the absence of a good opposition in favourable conditions. The Indian batsmen have made merry against a toothless attack. Runs and wickets
ISL 2017: Mumbai City enter top four with win over NorthEast
Mumbai City FC registered a 2-0 win over NorthEast United FC in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match on Wednesday.The win took Mumbai into the top four of league table, and banished the memories of a disappointing 0-1 loss against ATK at home.The first goal was a howler as NorthEast's goalkeeper, Ravi Kumar, ran out of his area to challenge Balwant, with the Indian simply having to arrange it past him into a gaping goal from outside the box.The Indian looked as surprised as all the other fans, but it was his precision that eventually counted.Mumbai City put the result out of doubt with a second goal in the 68th minute. A lapse in concentration from Rowllin Borges allowed Emana into a dangerous area from where he squared the ball for Balwant. With an open goal awaiting him for the second time in the match, he made no mistake whatsoever.The goal came minutes after Balwant had missed a chance from close range. Emana was the man at it again, but his cross was headed over from yards ...
'Inspirational' Dhoni is still a matchwinner for India: Rahul
There is no denying the fact that MS Dhoni is at the fag end of his career but opener K L Rahul said the former skipper is still a match-winner for India and continues to be an an inspiration in the dressing room. Promoted to the no.4 position, Dhoni made an unbeaten 39 off 22 deliveries before affecting four dismissals behind the stumps to help India record a massive 93-run win over Sri Lanka in the first T20 International last night. Dhoni, thus, became the player with most dismissal in the shortest format of the game. With 201 dismissals in 272 matches, the former captain has become the second wicketkeeper after Kamran Akmal (207 in 211 matches) to complete 200 dismissals or more in Twenty20 Internationals. "I see him (Dhoni) as motivated in the dressing room as I always have. He's somebody we look up to, he's a match winner and he will always be one," Rahul said at the post-match news conference last night. "He is in great shape, and he almost killed me as soon as he
Injury rules out Junaid Khan from Pakistan's NZ tour
Pakistan suffered another blow ahead of their tour to New Zealand after left-arm pacer Junaid Khan was ruled out with a stress fracture injury. Junaid, who featured prominently in the Pakistan pace battery in their Champions Trophy triumph this year and in subsequent international matches as well, has been advised at least four weeks rest. "A scan has confirmed that he has an unhealed stress fracture in his foot which requires at least four weeks of healing period," a Pakistan Cricket Board official said. Junaid apparently suffered the injury while playing in the Bangladesh Premier League for Khulna Titans. He complained off pain after returning to Pakistan and scans showed he had a stress fracture. The 27-year-old Junaid, who has appeared in 22 Tests and 66 ODIs, has been injury prone in the past as well and had missed a tour to New Zealand and than the 2015 World Cup after being injured during nets. Pakistan has already lost another left-arm pacer, Usman Shinwari to a ..
Romario runs for head of Brazilian federation
Brazilian former international star turned senator Romario said he wants to run for the presidency of the country's corruption-tainted football governing body. Romario, a striker in the 1994 World Cup winning side, yesterday said he wants to clean up the Confederation of Brazilian Football (CBF) after FIFA's suspension of the current head Marco Polo Del Nero, who is accused of graft. "Many people have asked me to be a candidate. No one has fought more vigorously than me against this band. So the answer is yes, I can be a candidate," he said on Facebook. "I meet all the criteria thanks to my contribution to football on and off the field," said Romario, 51, who has been a senator since 2015. FIFA imposed a 90-day provisional ban from all football activities on Del Nero last Friday. The 76-year-old, a former member of the FIFA Council, is the latest prominent South American official to be banned by the sport's governing body as part of its investigation into a vast ...
Steyn plays down hopes of wickets record
Dale Steyn doesn't want to talk about the possibility of becoming South Africa's all-time leading wicket-taker, he said during a steady comeback to long-form cricket. Steyn was not among the wickets for a South African Invitation team on the first day of a three-day day-night match against the touring Zimbabweans at Boland Park, but was happy with his rhythm ahead of an expected Test comeback against Zimbabwe in a day-night clash in Port Elizabeth, starting on Tuesday. Steyn, 34, needs just five wickets to overtake Shaun Pollock's record of 421 Test wickets -- but it has been more than a year since he took his 417th wicket, shortly before breaking down with a freak shoulder fracture against Australia in November 2016. It was his third major injury in just over a year. He has only played in four of South Africa's last 25 Tests. The Zimbabweans struggled to 196 all out, with only the experienced Hamilton Masakadza playing a substantial innings. Masakadza survived an early .
India defeat Sri Lanka by 93 runs in 1st T20
India defeated Sri Lanka by 93 runs in Cuttack on Wednesday to take 1-0 lead in the three-match T20 International series.Chasing 181, visiting Sri Lanka were bowled out for 87 runs with Yuzvendra Chahal picking up four wickets.Earlier, Sri Lanka had won the toss and asked India to bat first.While batting, the duo of MS Dhoni and Manish Pandey, after initial hiccups, took India to a satisfactory total of 180 at loss of three wickets at the Barabati Stadium.Stand-in-skipper and opener Rohit Sharma could not accumulate runs for the side and departed for just 17. It was KL Rahul, who then gave India a good start and contributed significant 61, the highest score from the Indian side.After departure of Rahul, it appeared that India would not be able to cross the 150-mark, but Dhoni and Pandey's fireworks brought 61 runs in the last four overs to give the hosts a good total.Dhoni scored unbeaten 39, while Pandey contributed 32 at the crucial time.Chahal was declared the Man of the Match.
ISL 2017: Bengaluru FC hope to bounce back in home fixture
Bengaluru FC are keen to return to winning ways and prove that their loss against Chennaiyin FC in the previous game was just an aberration when they host Jamshedpur FC in a Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Thursday.Bengaluru FC lost their position at the top of the table for the first time after they were stunned by Chennaiyin FC (1-2) and FC Goa, who had defeated them earlier in the tournament, moved up with a win of their own.Despite the setback, Bengaluru FC coach Albert Roca said he has lost no faith in either his team or his players, although there are indications that he will revert to his strongest possible combination after making six changes against Chennaiyin FC."It's important to react and at home we cannot concede more points. The players know how important a victory is after the last result. We hope things will be better than the last time," Roca said during the pre-match media interaction on Wednesday."We trust our brand of ...