Page 2248 - Sports

East Bengal cautious against Churhill

On a high, East Bengal will aim to continue their winning momentum when they take on bottom rung Churchill Brothers at the Barasat Stadium in the outskirts of the city here tomorrow. Having suffered a derby defeat, the Khalid Jamil coached side returned to winning ways in style thrashing Shillong Lajong 5-1 at the same venue as they would look for another win which would take them to top three. Their rivals Mohun Bagan dropped points against the same opponents yesterday as East Bengal would be cautious. East Bengal's Willis Plaza has been at his profligate best but the Trinidad forward said he needs an element of "luck". "Everyone needs the luck to win. If we get three points, I will be happy. I got confidence after last game as we won. It does not matter if I score or a defender. As long as we win I am happy. I will be sad if the team loses and I don't score," Plaza said. Coach Jamil also backed him: "I tell him to try hard. Goals will come. He is trying. But most ...

Sindhu trounces Yamaguchi at Dubai Super Series Final

Already assured of a semifinal spot, Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu continued her rampaging run with a straight-game demolition of World No. 2 Japanese Akane Yamaguchi at the USD one million Dubai Super Series Final here today. World No. 3 Sindhu thrashed Yamaguchi 21-9 21-13 in just 36 minutes to top group A in women's singles at the Sheikh Hamdan Indoor Stadium here. This was her last group stage match. Sindhu, who clinched two Super Series titles this season before winning a silver at the World Championship, will tomorrow face China's Chen Yufei, who saw off Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 21-18 13-21 21-18 in another Group B match. The 22-year-old Indian showed great anticipation and athleticism to completely dominate the proceedings even as Yamaguchi got buried under a heap of unforced errors in the last Group A women's singles match. Before the match, Sindhu had a 4-2 head-to-head record against Yamaguchi, which included a win at the Hong Kong Super Series last .

Abhijit Singh Chadha is halfway leader at TATA Open golf

Chandigarh's Abhijit Singh turned in a flawless seven-under 64 to emerge as the leader after the second round of the 16th TATA Open golf tournament here today. Abhijit now totals 13-under-129 at the Rs. 1 crore event. Sri Lankan Anura Rohana produced the best round of the tournament so far, a staggering 10-under-61, to move into tied second at 12-under-130 along with three-time former champion Mukesh Kumar (65) of Mhow. Chadha (65-64), lying overnight tied fourth at the scenic Golmuri Golf Course, earned his place on top of the leaderboard after a sizzling round that featured three birdies on the back-nine and four more on the front-nine. The 26-year-old Chadha, a two-time winner on the PGTI, made some quality chip-putts on the back-nine and followed that up with a couple of long conversions on the front-nine. Abhijit, a member of the Indian team that won a silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, said, "My hitting was okay but I putted really well. I holed a ...

Chikka fighting to save his card, lies sixth in Jakarta

India's S Chikkarangappa finally found some rhythm in his game as he added a 5-under 67 to his first round 4-under 68 to sit nicely at tied-6th place in the Indonesian Masters on Friday. Chikka still looking for his maiden Asian Tour win, is now six shots behind England's Justin Rose who continued to stay ahead of the chasing pack. Chikka, lying 67th on the Money list needs to get into top-61 to save his card. Rose had not completed his second round, which was interrupted twice by inclement weather. Rose was five-under through 16 holes and at 15-under he was holding a two-shot lead over Thailands Kiradech Aphibarnrat (68-64). Shubhankar riding a wave which led him to a fine win last week in South Africa made up for his first 71 with a 67 that took him to 6-under 138 alongside Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-71). Also at 6-under was Shiv Kapur, who was 4-under through his 16 holes. Among other Indians Ajeetesh Sandhu (72-68) was T-30th, Honey Baisoya (72-69) was tied 34th, while ...

Hector wins Bhagavan Das Memorial cup-Div 1

: Hector, trained by Craig Marshall and ridden by jockey Irvan Singh, won the K Bhagavan Das Memorial Cup-Div 1, the main event of the races here today. Trainers B Suresh and K S Mandanna saddled two winners while jockey C Umesh rode two winners. Six favourites obliged punters in a card of nine events.

PNB, Indian Oil record wins, enter quarters

Union Bank of India, Mumbai, went down fighting 2-3 to Punjab National Bank, Delhi, in the final Pool-D league match of the Union Bank of India-52nd Bombay Gold Cup Hockey Tournament here today. Both the bank teams, however, advanced to the quarter-finals from this pool. PNB topped the pool and will meet Western Railway, Mumbai, while Union Bank will take on Indian Oil in the last eight. Earlier, the oilmen, former title winners, eased to a fluent 6-3 win against Indian Navy in an all-Mumbai Pool-C clash at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium. Quarter-final line-up is: CAG, Delhi v South Central Railway, Secunderabad; BPCL, Bengaluru v ONGC, Delhi; Indian Oil, Mumbai v Union Bank of India, Mumbai; Western Railway, Mumbai v Punjab National Bank, Delhi. PNB, winners of the Shastri Hockey and Nehru Hockey tournaments last month, took the lead against Union Bank through a snap field-goal through Shamsher Singh in the 11th minute before Sanjay scored the second in the 29th minute to ..

Steve Waugh's son included Australia U-19 squad for World Cup

Former World Cup-winning captain Steve Waugh's son Austin has been included in Australia's 15- man squad for the U-19 World Cup, to be held in New Zealand next month. The side led by Jason Sangha also includes Will Sutherland, son of Cricket Australia's (CA) chief executive James Sutherland. Sutherland Jr is the vice-captain of the side. In 2016, Waugh had hit an unbeaten hundred in the final of the Under-17 National Championships, and earlier this year represented Australia U-19s in a one-day series against Sri Lanka's youth side. Former Australia pacer Ryan Harris will coach the U-19 side, while former opener Chris Rogers will assist him. The U-19 World Cup will be played between January 13 and February 3 in New Zealand. Australia are slotted into Group B, and will open their campaign against India on January 14 in Mount Maunganui. The other teams in Group B are Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea. Australia are aiming to win their first title since the Mitchell Marsh-led ...

Neroca start home campaign with thrilling win

Neroca FC kickstarted their home campaign with a 2-1 victory over Chennai City FC in the I- League here today. Lalit Thapa's heroics under the woodwork, Varney Kallon's opener in the 26th minute and Ngangom Ronald Singh's 90th- minute opener summed up the Manipuri outfit's performance at the Khuman Lampak Stadium. Although the visitors pulled one back in the second half (64th minute) through Jean Micheal Joachim, they could not stop the hosts from bagging all three points towards the end when Ronald Singh tapped it home to send the 27 thousand strong crowd into a delirium. In the first Hero I- League home match of the Gift Raikhan-coached team, both the team started with high pace. Chennai City FC gave their best amidst the huge crowds cheering for the home team. However, Neroca FC's players played skillfully against their opponent. The visitors got a realistic chance to go one step up in the 17th minute when they were awarded a penalty. But, Neroca FC's goalkeeper ...

Malinga not picked in Sri Lanka T2O squad, Lakmal rested

Veteran speedster Lasith Malinga has not been picked in the Sri Lanka T20 squad for the three- match series against India, starting December 20. The list has been ratified by sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera. The list however says Malinga has been rested without stating any reason for that. Malinga has taken part in the Bangladesh Premier League. Senior players Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Thirimanne have been rested. Vishwa Fernando and Dasun Shanaka have replaced them in the squad. The first match will be played at Cuttack on December 20 followed by matches in Indore and Mumbai on December 22 and 24 respectively. Squad: Thisara Perera(c), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Janith Perera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Dasun Shanaka, Chaturanga de Silva, Sachith Pathirana, Dananjaya De Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Dusmantha Chameera.

Stuttering Delhi Dynamos face in-from FC Goa in ISL

A struggling Delhi Dynamos face an uphill task to halt their run of losses as they take on a rampaging FC Goa in the Indian Super League (ISL) here tomorrow. Placed second in the pecking order, FC Goa are coming into the game on the back of a 5-1 drubbing of Kerala Blasters FC, and would be eager to displace leaders Bengaluru FC from the top. A win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, by three or more goals, would help FC Goa claim the top spot. Goa's three victories in four matches are in stark contrast to Delhi's three defeats in four outings this season. Such has been FC Goa's form that every victory has seen them score at least three goals. They've lost just one match and will fancy their chances against a side that is coming on the back of three losses in a row. FC Goa have often played with the kind of style and verve which has often been unmatched by other teams. They are reaping the benefits of having two in-form forwards in Ferran Corominas and Manuel Lanzarote. The

PTI Exclusive: New FTP has given meaningful context to T20s:

The BCCI CEO Rahul Johri is confident that the proposed Futures Tours and Programme (FTP) will give "meaningful context" to bilateral T20 Internationals -- a marked departure from the usual one-off matches. Johri presented a proposed FTP that has 81 international matches at home in the next five-year cycle, including 27 T20s. India will play 53 T20 Internationals in this phase which includes 26 away matches as well. "We discussed with everybody and the feedback that we got was that one-off T20 means nothing. If there is a contest, there has to be context. And that is why, having meaningful T20 International contests is an approach that we have taken," Johri told PTI during an exclusive interview. His team has worked for months on the freshly-chalked FTP, which requires an ICC approval. With India's lucrative home TV broadcast rights deal set to come up in March 2018, the CEO is confident of a windfall like the IPL where Star India bought the rights for 16,347 crore. "We .

Indian wrestlers reach South Africa for Commonwealth C'ship

A 60-member Indian wrestling team, including two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, today reached Johannesburg, South Africa to participate in the 2017 Commonwealth Wrestling Championship. Besides Sushil, the Indian contingent also includes Asian champion Bajrang Punia, 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geeta Phogat, Rio Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik and 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat. India have fielded two wrestlers in each weight category, said Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in a release. The competition will be held as per the following schedule: Dec 15: Greco Roman Style: All 10 weight categories Dec 16: Female Wrestling: All 10 weight categories Dec 17: Free Style: All 10 weight categories.

Ramkumar sets up title clash with Balaji

Top seeded Ramkumar Ramanathan will face his Davis Cup teammate Sriram Balaji in the final of the Premjit Lall Invitational 2017 here tomorrow. In the semifinal today, the ATP ranked 136 beat Prasanth Vijay Sundar of Tamil Nadu in straight sets 6-3 6-3. In the second semifinal, Sriram Balaji beat Saketh Meynani 6-4 7-5. Vishnu Vardhan and Balaji will take on Jeevan N and N Vijay Sundar Prasanth for the doubles title.

Pankaj Advani starts favourite in 6-Red National Snooker

Leading cueists from across the country,including defending champions Pankaj Advani of PSPB andAmee Khamani of Madhya Pradesh, will be seen in action in the seventh National 6 Red SnookerChampionship for men and women beginning here tomorrow. Advani, who recently won the IBSF World Snooker title in Doha, would be the man to beat in the tournament, which kicks off with the qualifying rounds. The challenge for Advani is expected to come from current World No 2 Kamal Chawla, Ishpreet Singh, Faizal Khan, Alok Kumar, Manan Chandran and Chennai cueist Rafath Habib. In the women's section, Amee Kamani, Vidya Pillai, Chitra Magimairaj and Arantxa Sanchis are the prominent players. Tamil Nadus teenage prodigy S Shrikrishna, who won all the six titles in the TNBSA state ranking tournaments recently for the third successive year and four titles in last week's nationals at Bengaluru, would play in the qualifying rounds to make it to the main draw. A total of 195 players have ...

Perth, Dec 15 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on day two in

Scoreboard at stumps on day two in the third Ashes Test here today: Australia first innings Bancroft lbw b Overton 25 Warner c Bairstow b Overton 22 Khawaja lbw b Woakes 50 Smith not out 92 S. Marsh not out 7 Extras (b2, lb4, w1) 7 Total (for 3wkts; 62 overs) 203 Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-55, 3-179. Bowling: Anderson 14-6-31-0, Broad 12-2-50-0, Woakes 15- 3-42-1 (1w), Overton 10-1-46-2, Ali 11-3-28-0 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.

Smith foils England again

Australian captain Steve Smith again proved to be a major obstacle as England was not able to capitalise on their overnight momentum on the second day of the third Ashes Test in Perth today. England first innings centurion Dawid Malan urged his team to ramp up the pressure on the home side at the end of the first day's play, but a late order collapse by the visitors and the broad bat of Smith ensured the match was evenly poised at the end of the second day. At stumps Australia were 203 for three, with Smith on 92 and Shaun Marsh on seven, a deficit of 200 runs with seven wickets in hand after dismissing England for 403. The tourists appeared to miss a golden chance to remove Marsh just before stumps, when the left-hander hit the ball onto Mark Stoneman's foot at short leg and the fielder was unable to cling onto the rebound as he and wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow both lunged at the catch. England had looked set to post a massive score when they were 368 for four with Malan

I will leave Vijender beaten and broken: Ernest Amuzu

African Champion Ernest Amuzu has threatened to leave Indian star boxer Vijender Singh "beaten and broken" when they clash at Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur on December 23. Vijender has fought nine bouts so far, winning all of them, and has collected the WBO Asia Pacific and Oriental Super Middleweight titles. Amuzu, who holds a good record of 25 fights with 23 wins (21 Knockouts) and two loss having played 122 rounds of professional boxing, is training very hard to defeat Vijender at his home ground. "I am training very hard daily for 8-10 hours for this fight. I've had good notice of the fight so I'll be prepared for Vijender and whatever he brings into the ring for the fight," he added. "I have just heard his name and have never seen him fight. I will take great delight in handing Vijender Singh his first loss and left him beaten and broken in front of his home crowd. "In fact I will tell you what I will do to him, I will smash him to the body to loosen him .

Asif accuses PCB of double standards

Pakistan's brilliant but tainted Test pace bowler, Mohammad Asif, has accused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of double standards while dealing with players involved in corruption. "What I did seven years back was wrong and I regret it. I have served my full punishment and done all that was required of me under the ICC anti-corruption code. "However, not once has anyone in the board or National Cricket Academy bothered to even call me and check about my fitness or form," Asif said in an interview today. He has from time to time produced impressive spells post his five-year ban. Last year, in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy day and night final his spell with the new ball set up Wapda on the road to victory. This season he has come up with some smart spells including six wickets in one session during a Quaid Trophy game against a strong KRL side. "I have performed in two seasons and I am fit. I am ready to take any fitness test or undergo intensive training. But the board appears

Under Messi's gaze

New Adidas office in Gurugram is cultivating a refreshing sports culture even among its employees

Playing without rules: An infographic on sports bodies in India

Here are some interesting numbers about the various sports organisations and associations in India