Page 234 - Sports
Injured Kroos, Ter Stegen sit out Germany qualifiers
Injured La Liga pair Toni Kroos and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are the biggest names missing from the 22-man Germany squad named on Wednesday for next month's Euro 2020 qualifiers. Midfielder Kroos, who has just signed a new Real Madrid contract keeping him at the club until 2023, and Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen sit out the qualifiers, away to Belarus on June 8 and then home to Estonia three days later in Mainz, with leg injuries. Germany are unbeaten in Group C and sit second behind leaders Northern Ireland after a 3-2 away win in their opening game against the Netherlands in March. Captain Manuel Neuer has been included "for now", say the German Football Association (DFB), but the Bayern Munich goalkeeper has been carrying a calf injury and missed the last five games of the German league season. The Bavarians are hoping Neuer can play in the German Cup final in Berlin on Saturday against RB Leipzig with the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions hoping to clinch the domestic ...
Joshna keeps hopes alive
A fighting Joshna Chinappa kept her hopes alive as the Indian entered the pre-quarterfinal round of the British Open Squash, a PSA World Tour Platinum event being held here. Saurav Ghosal and Ramit Tandon have bowed out of the tournament, though. Seeded 15 and down below in the draw, Joshna had a bye in the first round but did well in the next late on Tuesday when she downed English challenger girl Millie Tomlinson 12-10, 11-3, 11-9. This is an event where some of the world's best players get to play and to progress is a big achievement. Joshna will face the sixth seeded Sarah-Jane Perry of England late on Thursday. However, Ghosal met with an unexpected reverse after a bye in the first round, losing 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6 to fifth seeded Egyptian Karim Abdel Gawad. Ramit was unlucky to confront the experienced James Willstrop in the very first round and lost 11-8, 11-8, 11-1.
Asian C'ships silver winner javelin thrower Shivpal to compete in prestigious Diamond League
Asian Championships silver medallist javelin thrower Shivpal Singh is set to compete in his maiden Diamond League Series in the Oslo leg on June 13, the Athletics Federation of India said. The 23-year-old Shivpal had won the silver in the Asian Championships held last month in Doha with a personal best throw of 86.23m, which also fetched him a berth in the World Championships scheduled in the same Qatar capital city in September-October. "Javelin Thrower Shivpal Singh will compete at #iaaf @Diamond_League Oslo leg on 13th June 2019," the AFI tweeted. With Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Neeraj Chopra recovering after an elbow surgery, Shivpal is the top javelin thrower in the country currently. This will be Shivpal's first foray in the prestigious Diamond League Series, which is an invitational event competed among top athletes in the world. Last year, Neeraj took part in three legs of Diamond League and then finished fourth in the Finals in Zurich. Shivpal left for .
India have lot of match winners, Dhoni's expertise: Mithali
India women's ODI team captain Mithali Raj on Wednesday said India are favourites to lift the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup as they have so many match winners along with MS Dhoni's wealth of experience.
Stimac wants India to be one of Asia's best: Bheke and Fernandes
Indian footballers Rahul Bheke and Brandon Fernandes says newly-appointed chief coach Igor Stimac wants the team to be one of Asia's best. Stimac's appointment has been greeted with much optimism by the players, with as many as nine debutants having got a call-up to the national team camp. Bheke, who scored the match-winner in the Indian Super Legaue final for his club Bengaluru FC against FC Goa stated that "Stimac wants us to be one of the best teams in Asia". "We have had a couple of session under him (Igor Stimac), and he is really apprehensive of our abilities as a team. He wants us to target doing well in Asian tournaments, and be one of the best teams in Asia," Bheke said. "I will keep doing what the coach asks of me and keep trying to work my socks off in his pattern of style of playing football." FC Goa player Fernandes also highlighted Stimac's desire to be "among the best in Asia". "He comes with a rich experience. With his experience, I feel it was the right choice to ...
Sudirman Cup: China overwhelms India 5-0
Host China swept India 5-0 for its second straight victory, making it to the last eight in the Sudirman Cup 2019 as group 1D leader, here on Wednesday.
Vijay Amritraj urges Indian players to make it count
It is safe to say that India has never produced a tennis player quite like Vijay Amritraj. Over two decades have passed since he hung up his boots, but Amritraj's highest singles ranking of 18 remains the best among Indian players in the Open era.
Shakib replaces Rashid as No. 1 all-rounder in ODIs
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has ascended to the top of the ICC ODI Rankings for all-rounders, ahead of the World Cup which begins on May 30 in England and Wales.
Aastha Gill's new song captures World Cup fever
Singer Aastha Gill has come up with a TikTok World Cup anthem, "Jeetega saara India", a fun and energetic song that resonates with Indias spirit for the worlds biggest cricket tournament, which will begin on May 30.
Host of match-winners and Dhoni's expertise make India favourites: Mithali
A host of match-winners coupled with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's expertise make India favourites to lift the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, believes Mithali Raj, captain of national women's ODI team. "The Indian team has a lot of match-winners now," Mithali said in a video posted on Twitter. "Of course, the captain (Virat Kohli) leads from the front with the openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, but we also have fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and the spinners," she said. "But overall I think, the team which posts a big total and the bowlers who are able to do the job to contain those runs, is the team which is going to win. But then we do have a lot of depth. We have the expertise of Dhoni in the side. So, I can't pick one player, but India definitely has a lot of match-winners." In the video, Mithali can be seen sharing her views on the World Cup with Andrew Fleming, British Deputy High Commissioner posted in Hyderabad. "All the teams, all the main players are in good form ...
Virat alone can't win World Cup, others will need to step up: Tendulkar
Stacking up staggering numbers with monotonic regularity may have become a day job for Virat Kohli, but he alone can in "no way" win a World Cup without support from his teammates, feels Sachin Tendulkar. In an exclusive interview with the PTI, Tendulkar spoke about a range of topics including Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal's role, the contentious No. 4 slot and how flat pitches in England is taking bowlers out of the equation. "I think you will always have a couple of individuals stepping up every game but without team support, you can't do much. Just because of one individual, you can't win a tournament. No way. Unless, others chip in at every crucial stage. If that doesn't happen, there will be disappointment," Tendulkar said when asked if Kohli will carry the same burden like he did, specifically during the 1996, 1999 and 2003 editions. Tendulkar is hardly worried that India doesn't have a settled No. 4, saying the slot can be kept flexible as per requirement and match ...
Indian beat Korea 2-1 in 2nd match, clinch women's hockey series
The Indian women's hockey team came from a goal down to eke out a close 2-1 win over South Korea in the second game and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-march series, here Wednesday. The Indians had earlier defeated Korea by identical margin in the opening game of the series. India will take on Korea in the inconsequential last match of the series on Friday. On Wednesday, skipper Rani Rampal (37th minute) and Navjot Kaur (50th) scored for India after Lee Seungju gave South Korea the lead in the 19th minute through a field strike. The match started on a fast-paced note with both India and Korea trading penalty corners in the first quarter but goalkeepers of both the teams made some fine saves to keep a clean slate. Four minutes into the second quarter, Korea took the lead through Seungju's field goal. Stunned by the Koreans, the Indians made a strong comeback after the change of ends and pulled a goal back seven minutes into the third quarter through captain Rani's brilliant .
JK Tyre National Karting C'ship to expand this year
The JK Tyre National Karting Championship in its rejigged avatar promises to take the country by storm in the new season, as the authorized promoter & organizer Meco Motorsports have repackaged and upgraded the entire championship.
Opponents know what I'm capable of: Chris Gayle
West Indies destructive batsman Chris Gayle is all pumped for the forthcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup saying that the bowlers know about his capabilities and they know he is the 'most dangerous batsman'."Youngsters coming at my head - it's not as easy as it was like one time before. I was quicker then. But they'll be weary. They know what the Universe Boss is capable of. I'm sure they will have it in the back of their mind, 'Hey, this is the most dangerous batsman they've ever seen in cricket'," Cricket.com.au quoted Gayle, as saying.Gayle is also very confident in saying that opponents are scared of him, however, they just opt not to admit this on camera."Can't you tell? You go ask them. Go ask them on camera. They're going to say, no, they're not scared. But you ask them off the camera, they going to say, 'Yeah, he's the man. He's the man.' They're going to say, 'he's the man'," he said."But they won't say it (on camera), they won't be frank and upfront and say, 'Listen to me ...
Attempted break-in into IAF Rafale project team facility in France: Sources
An attempt was made to break-in into a facility of the Indian Air Force Rafale Project Management Team in a suburb of Paris in France on Sunday night, sources said.The Defence Ministry has already been briefed about the incident by the Air Force, according to sources.The Indian team, headed by a Group Captain rank officer, is overseeing the production of 36 Rafale aircraft and training of Indian personnel in France.
Seeking revival, West Indies ready to unleash power game at World Cup
The advent of some fearsome power-hitters, led by a burly Andre Russell, has suddenly made the once intimidating but now struggling West Indies emerge as a serious threat to the World Cup's top contenders. 'Universal boss' Chris Gayle was not at his brutal best at the recent IPL but Russell's butchering of the bowlers has forced the teams to take note of what could await them at the biggest ICC tournament. Proven performers such as Carlos Brathwaite and Darren Bravo are already there and add to that the rise of young Shimron Hetmeyer, who boasts 100-plus strike-rate in both ODIs and T20s, and opener Shai Hope, the Caribbean side definitely looks potent enough to spring a surprise. Since every team has to play all competitors, there is no escape. The bickering between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the players has had a devastating impact on West Indies' progress as an international team in both Tests and ODIs in the last few years. The result was that players such as Gayle, .
India bow out of Sudirman Cup after 0-5 loss to China
India crashed out of the Sudirman Cup mixed team badminton championships after losing 0-5 to 10-time champions China in the second and final group match, here Wednesday. After going down 2-3 to Malaysia in their opening Group 1D match, India needed an extraordinary effort to get across the mighty Chinese but the shuttlers yet again produced a below-par performance to go down in a lop-sided contest. The gap between India's mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy and Chinese combination of Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping was evident once again as they went down 5-21 11-21 against the world no 2 pair to trail 0-1. Sameer Verma, whose straight-game loss to Lee Zii Jia proved to be vital against Malaysia on Tuesday, once again took the court after Kidambi Srikanth suffered an injury during practice sessions here. "Won't be playing today due to an injury caused during practice. Will be backing the team for today's all-important match," Srikanth had tweeted ahead of the ...
Yorkers and its variety that bowlers will unleash this WC
The yorker is a key death delivery in short-form cricket and at the World Cup, on flat pitches in England and Wales and shorter boundaries, bowlers with the skill-set are expected to use it frequently.
Bangladesh skipper urges caution on World Cup hopes
Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has poured cold water on fan hopes for this month's World Cup, warning that the seventh-ranked team was facing an uphill battle in the group stage. Supporters were jubilant after a tri-nation series win against Ireland and West Indies on the weekend handed Bangladesh its first ever multi-team tournament trophy. But Mashrafe's side start the Cup race with a bracing fixture against South Africa, New Zealand and top-ranked hosts England in their first three matches. "It will be difficult for us because our opponents in the opening three games are extremely strong," Mashrafe told reporters late Tuesday before heading to England. "To get a positive result against them won't be easy." Bangladesh twice beat eighth-ranked West Indies in the tri-nation warmup tournament, including in Friday's final. Mashrafe said the win had heightened expectations of Bangladesh fans, along with other recent triumphs including the side's semi-finals appearance at the 2017 ...
Man United join battle for Brazilian striker Pedro
Manchester United have joined the race to sign highly rated Fluminense striker Pedro, according to media reports in Brazil.