Page 2246 - Sports
French Embassy, FAI conducts fencing camp in Delhi
A five-day fencing camp, conducted by the Embassy of France in association with the Fencing Association of India (FAI), concluded here today. In the event, two French fencing masters-at-arms, Olivier Lambert and Jean-Bernard Duchateau, demonstrated the art of fencing to the general public, which was followed by a competition among 25 amateur Indian fencers. "We are very excited to be in India and teach the art of fencing to some of the budding fencers in the city, Fencing is a sport which needs immense concentration and years of practise. "We would like to thank Bonjour India for crafting this wonderful program that celebrates the sport of fencing and develops multiple links between fencing athletes and practitioners from both countries, said Lambert and Duchateau in a joint release.
'Special' Smith leaves Ashes rivals and teammates in a
Rivals and team-mates alike were left in awe of Steve Smith after the world's top-ranked Test batsman hit new heights in the third Ashes match against England at the WACA Ground on Saturday. The Australian captain reached his highest Test score yet with his second double-century, passed 1,000 Test runs for the year and also notched his fastest Test century in an innings that appeared to shatter England's resolve. At stumps, Smith was on 229 not out, having faced 390 balls, hitting 28 fours and one six as his stellar year continued. It was his second century of the series and he didn't offer a single chance throughout. The closest England came to seeing the back of the star right-hander were two unsuccessful third-umpire reviews after having leg before wicket appeals turned down. English assistant coach Paul Farbrace said their best plans for the unorthodox Smith weren't troubling him. "Every team will talk about where to bowl to him," he said. "But the way he is playing ..
Anjum wins women's 3P title to bag 5th gold medal
Anjum Moudgil continued her impressive run at the 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions, winning the individual and team gold medals in the women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions event here today. On competition day five at the National Games Shooting Range, Anjum, representing Punjab, shot 457.6 in the eight- woman final to beat Jammu & Kashmir's Shreya Saksena who shot 452.9 for the silver medal. Raj Chaudhary of the Army won the bronze with a score of 439.5. Having won the women's Rifle Prone and Mixed team titles earlier in the competition, today's two gold medals made it a total of five yellow metals for Anjum from the 61st NSCC so far. Anjum topped the women's 3P qualifiers with a new national record score of 586. More experienced shooters such as Lajja Gauswami (second with 580) of Gujarat and former world champion Tejaswini Sawant (fifth with 578) of Maharashtra followed Anjum into the finals. Anjum led from the start in the finals as well to deliver a ...
Gold Cup: South Central Railway, BPCL enter semi-finals
Holders South Central Railway (SCR), Secundrabad, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Bengaluru, today entered the semi-finals of the 52nd Bombay Gold Cup All India Hockey Tournament here today. SCR moved a step closer towards the defence of their title with a hard-fought 2-0 win against the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, Delhi. Former champions BPCL rode to an authoritative 5-2 win against another Delhi outfit, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). SCR produced a steady performance and cashed in on the chances that came their way to secure the win over CAG. SCR took the lead from a snap goal by Lovepreet Singh in the ninth minute. Later Ponnacha M G tapped home the rebound after Ganadeep Singh's drag flick from a penalty corner came back off the goalkeeper Mrinal Choubey's pads in the 59th minute. The BPCL side, boasting of a number of Olympians, current and former Indian stars and a couple of upcoming junior India players, outclassed ONGC in .
Vidarbha unsure about Umesh Yadav's participation in semis
There is an air of uncertainty over the participation of India speedster Umesh Yadav in Vidarbha's Ranji Trophy semifinal against Karnataka beginning here tomorrow. Busy doing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, Yadav was conspicuous by his absence during the team's training session this morning. Vidarbha's think-tank is tight-lipped about Yadav's participation. "Please speak to the Board (on Yadav's availability). We are not allowed to speak as there has been a strict guideline from our association," Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit told PTI. With a green top on offer at the Eden Gardens, unavailability of Yadav would be a big setback for Vidarbha who are eyeing their maiden Ranji title. Yadav has been named in Vidarbha's semifinal squad as the Indian board has encouraged SA-bound India players to represent their respective states. Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed Shami are representing Bengal against Delhi in the other semifinal in Pune.
Karnataka firm favourites against darkhorses Vidarbha
On a roll, Karnataka will start favourites against this season's surprise package Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy semifinal beginning here tomorrow. The Vinay Kumar-led side, which thrashed Mumbai by an innings and 20 runs enroute to the semis, seems to be peaking at the right time in their quest for a ninth Ranji title and twice in five seasons. The most significant part of their victory was not letting Mumbai off the hook for once as captain Vinay Kumar became the fourth bowler to claim a hat-trick twice in the tournament's history. "Definitely beating Mumbai will help us, it will give us the extra cushion. But it's past I can't think much about it. We will take one game at a time. We would like to think this game (semis) rather than thinking about the last game," Kumar said on eve of the semifinal. After their historic double-treble over two successive seasons, Karnataka could not qualify for the semifinals in the previous two seasons. "Last season, we reached ...
Shubhankar back to birdie gathering, moves to Tied-6th
Shubhankar Sharma was back to his birdie-gathering ways with five birdies in six holes before lightning forced a suspension of play yet again during the third round of the Indonesian Masters today. Sharma, who won the Joburg Open last week, was five-under through 11 holes in the third round to move to 11-under for the tournament and was Tied-6th. Shubhankar is now five shots behind England's Justin Rose who stayed in the pole position at the weather-hit, season- ending Asian Tour flagship event. Lightning and thunderstorms have hit the event since the second day. Play will resume at 6.15am tomorrow morning with the fourth round scheduled to commence at 7.30am with players teeing off in the same groups. S Chikkarangappa was one-under through eight holes and 10-under for 44 holes. Ajeetesh Sandhu (three-under through 14) and Shiv Kapur (par through 11) were both 7-under and Tied-23rd. Gaganjeet Bhullar (1-over through 11) was 5-under and is Tied-33rd, while Honey Baisoya ..
Lakshmanan, Suriya top Indian contenders at 25K
Defending champion and course record holder G Lakshmanan and L Suriya, who just scorched the Delhi Half Marathon, could be the top Indian contenders in the TSK 25K 2017 tomorrow. The Indian elite contingent consists of 12 men and 11 women with Lakshmanan, Kalidas Hirave and Avinash Sable leading the men's event. Lakshmanan hopes that the presence of Ethiopian world record holder in 5000 and 10000m Kenenisa Bekele will spur him to better the course record of 1:17:16 set last year. "Running with Bekele is a big thing for me. You improve when you go up against a good field and so, I am hopeful of improving my timing tomorrow, said the 27-year-old, a double Asian champion having won the 5000 and 10000m gold medals at the Asian Athletic Championship in Bhubaneswar last July. Meanwhile, defending champion Monika Athare, Swatee Gadhave, Jyoti Gawte and Monika Raut make up for a very strong women's contingent. "It is a tough competition this year. But I will try to repeat my ...
Maharashtra duo win doubles title in Egypt tennis tournament
Aryan Goveas of Mumbai and Arjun Kadhe of Pune bagged their second successive ITF doubles title in the Egypt Futures tennis tournament in Cairo today. The Maharashtra duo scored a 6-7 (1), 6-1, 10-7 win over Oleksandr Bielinskyi of Ukraine and Russia's Ronald Slobodchikov in the men's doubles final, according to information reaching here. Aryan and Arjun had won their maiden titles last week at the same venue and carried on the momentum, winning the initial three rounds in straight sets. In the final, against opponents who had upset the top seeds in the semis, the games went with serve before the Ukraine-Russian combine ran away with the tie-break in the first set. However, the second set was dominated by the Indian duo, who broke their opponents twice to win 6-1. The super tie-break saw Aryan and Arjun jump to a 4-2 lead,which they extended to 7-2, before the opponents staged a fight to pull back to 4-7 and then 7-8. However, Aryan then served out the match to wrap up
SAI-Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance Centre inaugurated
The Abhinav Bindra Foundation Trust announced the opening of the SAI-Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance Centre at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence here today. The centre has been designed by former rifle shooter and world and Olympic champion Bindra. The purchase of the equipment deployed in the centre has been funded by the Sports Authority of India through the National Sports Development Fund. The centre was inaugurated by Prakash Padukone and Rahul Dravid, with Paralympic gold medallists Murlikant Petkar and Devendra Jhajharia present as Guests of Honour. The centre will feature advanced equipment from tecnobody, including the first ever deployment of the digital wall in the world. It also houses a pilates studio, EMS training and a cryo-chamber, which enables whole-body cryotherapy, to aid recovery. The facilities will be made available free of cost to designated elite Indian athletes through a partnership with the Sports Authority of India, and ...
Rohana takes charge in round three of TATA Open
Sri Lankan Anura Rohana followed up his stunning second round 61 with a top-class five-under-66 in round three of the 16th TATA Open 2017 to storm into a three-shot lead at 17-under-196 on an extremely windy day at the Golmuri Golf Course. Kolkata's Raju Ali Mollah was on track to revive his 2017 season as his third round three-under-68 took him to second place at 14-under-199 at the Rs. 1 crore event. Anura Rohana's (69-61-66), occupying tied second and one off the lead at the start of the day, scored early birdies on the second and fourth to contend for the lead. But a couple of missed opportunities from close range cost him bogeys on the fifth and sixth. The 44-year-old Anura, a four-time winner on the PGTI, then began his recovery with a birdie on the ninth. He followed that up with four more on the back-nine to achieve his target for the day, a five-under. Rohana, who won on the PGTI earlier this year, said, "I came back well after the two bogeys on the front-nine ..
Mumbai City FC look for their third win at home against ATK
Mumbai City FC would look to record their third straight win at home when they on ATK in an Indian Super League fixture here tomorrow. Mumbai had outclassed FC Goa 2-1 in their first home game and then beat Chennaiyin FC 1-0 last Sunday. With seven points, Mumbai are on the fifth spot with two wins in five games, while ATK are languishing at the bottom of the league table and are still searching for their first win. The home side have an experienced goal-keeper in Amrinder Singh, whose performance will be crucial if they have to stop the ATK strikers. Mumbai have a good mix of mid-fielders and defenders like Abhinas Ruidas, Thaigo Santos, Achillee Emana and they will have to play their part tomorrow. They also have strikers like Balwant Singh, Rafa Jorda, Brazilian Everton Santos who play attacking football and will be dangerous for the opposition to stop. Another advantage for Mumbai is that their players are playing after a week. Mumbai need to begin well right from the
Surgery on cards, Sania to miss Australian Open
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza is set to miss next month's Australian Open owing to a knee injury, and could go for a surgery to treat the condition. Sania is suffering from a condition called jumper's knee in her right leg. It is defined as a painful condition of the knee caused by inflammation or small tears in the tendon of the patella. Sania won the 2016 Australian Open women's doubles title with Martina Hingis before announcing their split in August. The 31-year-old, who was here for the final of the Premjit Lall Invitational tournament, said she might have to go for a surgery and is looking for a Roger Federer-like comeback. "It's kind of serious. Surgery is probably on the cards. I will be out for a few months for sure," Sania said at the Jaidip Mukerjea Tennis Academy. Sania said she is okay while walking with the injured knee but playing is painful. "I'm okay to walk but it's painful when I've to change directions, when you actually go on to play, that's the ...
Ramkumar wins title
Ramkumar Ramanathan lived up to his top billing to win the Premjit Lall Invitational tennis tournament here today. Ramkumar beat second seeded Sriram Balaji of Tamil Nadu 6-3 6-4. The doubles battle went down the wire wiht N Jeevan and Vijay Sundar Prasanth defeating Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Balaji 7-6 (8), 6-3.
PM hails sportspersons of Mizoram
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed optimism that Mizoram would continue to produce sportspersons who would excel on the world stage. Addressing a public meeting at the Assam Rifles ground here, Modi great sportspersons of the state including Olympian archer C Lalremsanga, boxer Jenny Lalremliani, weight lifter S Lalchhahimi and hockey player Lalruatfeli. "There are many other prominent sports persons from Mizoram who have brought glory to the state and the country," he said. The soft power of football can become Mizoram's global identity, the prime minister said. He made special mention to Mizoram clinching the Santosh Trophy in 2014 and the Aizawl Football Club becoming champions in the I-League last year.
England Ashes hopes fade as Smith, Marsh put attack to sword
Australian batsmen Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh put England's attack to the sword on the third day of the third Test in Perth, here today, leaving the tourists praying for rain to salvage their hopes of retaining the Ashes. The home side took total control of the match and were 549 for four in their first innings by stumps, with Smith on 229 and Marsh on 181, leading the hapless tourists by 146 runs with six wickets still in hand. Australia lead the series 2-0 and can regain the Ashes with victory at the WACA Ground, with England's hopes of staying alive in the five-match series seemingly resting with the local weather. Heavy rain is forecast for the fourth day, but is not predicted to arrive until late in the afternoon, reducing the chances of a draw. It was a horrendous day for England, who claimed just one wicket for the day at a cost of 346 runs. Smith notched his second Test double-century in his highest Test score, and passed 1,000 runs in the calendar year, ...
Perth, Dec 16 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on day three in
Scoreboard at stumps on day three in the third Ashes Test in Perth here today: Australia first innings Bancroft lbw b Overton 25 Warner c Bairstow b Overton 22 Khawaja lbw b Woakes 50 Smith not out 229 S Marsh c Root b Ali 28 M Marsh not out 181 Extras (b2, lb10, nb1, w1) 14 Total (for four wickets; 152 overs) 549 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-55, 3-179, 4-248. Bowling: Anderson 29-8-85-0 (1nb), Broad 28-3-112-0, Woakes 32-4-108-1 (1w), Overton 23-1-102-2, Ali 31-4-104-1, Root 3-0-13-0, Malan 6-1-13-0 England first innings Cook lbw b Starc 7 Stoneman c Paine b Starc 56 Vince c Paine b Hazlewood 25 Root c Paine b Cummins 20 Malan c sub (Handscomb) b Lyon 140 Bairstow b Starc 119 Ali c Smith b Cummins 0 Woakes c Cummins b Hazlewood 8 Overton c Bancroft b Hazlewood 2 Broad c Bancroft b Starc 12 Anderson not out 0 Extras (b10, lb2, nb1, w1) 14 Total (all out; 115.1 overs) 403 Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-89, 3-115, 4-131, 5-368, 6-372, 7-389, 8-389, 9-393, 10-403. Bowling: Starc 25.
Rathore announces partnership with Japanese university
Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today announced a sports tie-up between Lakshmi Bai University of Physical Education and a Japanese university. "Talks with Japan about the growth of sports in India is on. Lakshmi Bai University of Physical Education is now partnering with a university in Japan to promote sports," Rathore said at the commemorative ceremony of the Japan-India sports exchange programme. Referring to the judo demonstration showcased by Japanese Olympic medallists Masashi Nishiyama and Misato Nakamuro, Rathore expressed his appreciation for the sport and encouraged the young school children, specially girls present at the event, to take it up. "We saw that Misato Nakamura, who was smaller in size than Masashi Nishiyama, was easily able to fling him. That is the speciality of judo. "In judo even those smaller in size or slightly weaker can defeat opponents weighing more than them. Because in this game a player can use the power of his/ her opponent
Hoping to do something special in familiar conditions: Thisara
Smarting from Rohit Sharma's onslaught, Sri Lanka skipper Thisara Perera today said they were well prepared for the ODI series decider against India and would look to do "something special" in conditions similar to those back home. The islanders' three-match ODI series against hosts India is tied 1-1. "Definitely, Vizag is similar to Sri Lanka when it comes to weather and stuff. Mohali and Dharamsala were completely different. It was a total different story. We are well prepared. Here I hope we will be able to do something special as this is something similar to what we find at home," he told reporters on the eve of the match. Perera said the team had a couple of training sessions and prepared well and they were taking it like just another game. "We had a good couple of training sessions. We are well prepared for the game ahead," he added. About India being under pressure ahead of the final game, he said it is the best team in the world and could be under some sort of ..
Ahead of SA tour, Dhawan says batsmen learning from mistakes
Indian batsmen have been found wanting against the moving ball of late but opener Shikhar Dhawan today insisted that they have learnt from the mistakes made in Dharamsala and Kolkata. The ordinary performance in pace-friendly conditions has raised question marks ahead of the South Africa tour beginning early month when India go into the three-match Test series without playing a single warm-up game. "We have learnt a lot of things. Especially when we played in Kolkata (during first Test against SL) and in Dharamsala (first ODI)," said Dhawan ahead of the ODI series decider against Sri Lanka here tomorrow. "It was seaming and it was a damp wicket but we still went in with a positive intent and gave our best and of course, it didn't go our way but we all learnt from it. It's good sometimes when you fall, you learn a lots of things out of it," he added. India bounced back to level the series in Mohali courtesy a third double hundred from captain Rohit Sharma. India made a ..