Page 383 - Sports
McIlroy chases golf history at 'outlier' Augusta National
Rory McIlroy renews his quest to complete a career Grand Slam when the the 83rd Masters tees off in the stately confines of Augusta National here Thursday. The atmosphere might not rival the serene, almost spiritual ambience that McIlroy experienced during a non-tournament week at the fabled course, but it certainly harks back to a more dignified -- and less digitized -- age in sports and life. "It's pure golf," says four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods -- the player most bedeviled by boisterous fans who at most venues these days are so busy snapping selfies they barely have time to watch him hit a shot. Not only are Augusta's "patrons" encouraged, if not required, to act with decorum outside the ropes, the throng of media that follows him is not allowed inside. "Some of the events, like the Open Championship -- because the golf courses are so old that there's not a lot of room -- there's sometimes 75 to 100 people inside the ropes following us," Woods said. "That gets a little ...
'Never in doubt': British tennis player's remarkable comeback
Britain's Tara Moore pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in tennis history, saving a match point at 0-6, 0-5 down and going on to complete the win before joking it was "never in doubt". Serving to avoid a "double-bagel" humiliation against French third seed Jessika Ponchet , Moore fell 30-40 behind on her own serve in the first round of the ITF World Tennis Tour event in Sunderland on Tuesday. But the luck of the 479th-ranked player began to change when her overhead smash clipped the net and bounced on the line. Moore, 26, pulled herself back into the match, winning the second-set tie-break and went on to complete a 0-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-3 victory over the player ranked nearly 300 places above her. After the result Moore tweeted that the result was "never in doubt" in response to a video clip of her lucky net cord winner. "Thank you everyone for the kind messages the support has been overwhelming," she said in another tweet. "Hope I can just inspire all the young boys and ...
KKR 'have no issues at all' with Ganguly's dual role, says team CEO Mysore
Sourav Ganguly's dual role of Cricket Association of Bengal president and Delhi Capitals advisor may have drawn criticism but Kolkata Knight Riders "have no issues at all", team CEO Venky Mysore has said. Facing conflict of interest charges, the CAB chief will be a 'visitor' and may be seen sitting in the Delhi Capitals dugout when they face home side Kolkata Knight Riders in their return leg IPL clash here Friday. With Delhi Capitals boasting a world-class pace attack spearheaded by 23-year-old South African Kagiso Rabada, a few insiders at CAB have claimed that its president Ganguly may have a 'say' in the pitch, which could assist pacers. But KKR are not wary. "He is a thorough professional. He knows how to do his duties well. He's fully supportive of what we are doing. We have no issues at all," Mysore told PTI. The KKR CEO also spoke highly of their skipper Dinesh Karthik, and said he should make it to the World Cup squad, which will be announced Monday. "I can't imagine a World .
Turning ball is Dre Russ' weakness: Kuldeep
Andre Russell has showed signs of weakness against the turning ball, feels Kuldeep Yadav, insisting he has enough tricks up his sleeves to outwit the big-hitting West Indian in the World Cup. Russell has been a picture of consistency for Kolkata Knight Riders, amassing 257 runs from just 121 balls with a stunning ball striking rate of 212.39 in this IPL. However, his KKR teammate Kuldeep said he has found a chink in Russell's armour which he will look to exploit during the May 30-July 14 showpiece event. "He has some problems facing a turning ball. If the ball is turning, then he has a weakness," the 24-year-old told PTI in an interview. "It's not just this, I've different plans to unleash against him in the World Cup. I know how to stop him and I'm very clear in my mind," he added. He has been sharing the dressing room with Russell but Kuldeep conceded that he has never bowled to him at the nets. "He does not take chance against spinners. He's a terror for pacers. And I've never ...
Nita Ambani urges Mumbai Indians to deliver their best in upcoming match
Nita Ambani urged her team, Mumbai Indians, to deliver their "best performance" on April 13 as there will be more than 21,000 underprivileged as well as specially challenged children in the stadium to watch the match."The match on the 13th is very dear to me. As you know, Mumbai Indians as a team supports underprivileged children and we have been doing this for the past 10 years now. Last year we put in a category for specially challenged children," Ambani said in a video posted by Mumbai Indians Twitter."It is a very emotional match for me. We have 21,000 children already enrolled. They wait every year for their turn to come and see the match and they never get a turn again. So boys I really need you to give your best performance for these kids. It is a once in a lifetime joy that you're going to give them," she added.Wishing luck to the team, she said: "This match is really, really important to me and to all my children that I support through our ESA."ESA stands for Ambani's ...
Sindhu, Saina through to quarters in Singapore Open
P.V. Sindhu advanced to the quarter-finals of the Singapore Open on Thursday beating Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-13, 21-19 in straight sets. Sindhu beat the world number 22 in just 39 minutes, after Saina Nehwal defeated Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-16, 18-21, 21-19 to reach the quarters.
Over 140 people arrested after clashes between Juventus and Ajax fans
The fans of football clubs Juventus FC and AFC Ajax clashed before Wednesday's (local time) Champions League quarter-final match, resulting in the arrests of over 140 people, according to the Amsterdam police.Supporters of both the football clubs clashed in Amsterdam before the first-leg quarter-final fixture between Ajax and Juventus, goal.com reported.Amsterdam Police shared the images of the seized items which includes fireworks and a knife."The police carried out many arrests on Wednesday, April 10 prior to the Ajax-Juventus match," Amsterdam police said in an official statement."Two large groups, mostly Italian supporters, have been arrested. The first group, 46 suspects, was arrested in the metro and the second group, 61 suspects, was arrested at the stadium. Weapons and fireworks were found in these groups, the statement added.Earlier, Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy Prime Minister claimed 120 of those held are Juventus supporters."Around 120 were detained," people were found ...
Singapore Open: Sindhu, Saina and Sameer seal quarterfinal spots
P V Sindhu had it easy but Saina Nehwal was tested as the two Olympic medallists entered the women's singles quarterfinals of the USD 355,000 Singapore Open here Thursday. The fourth-seeded Sindhu, a Rio Games silver medallist, took 39 minutes to get the better of world number 22 Mia Blichfeldt 21-13 21-19, her second straight win over the Danish shuttler, who had clinched the Spain Masters earlier this year. World number 6 Sindhu will next face China's Cai Yanyan, a 2017 BWF World Junior Championships bronze medallist. Sixth seed Saina, however, had to work hard in her bid to avenge a Malaysia Open first-round loss to Pornpawee Chochuwong before pulling off a thrilling 21-16 18-21 21-19 win over the Thai shuttler in the second round. The London Olympic bronze medallist will next square off against second seeded Japanese Nozomi Okuhara. While Saina was plotting the downfall of Chochuwong, her husband and fellow shuttler Parupalli Kashyap was locked in a fierce battle with reigning ...
IPL late games hectic, must be smart before WC: Kuldeep
Kolkata Knight Riders' spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who will be one of India's major weapons in the 2019 World Cup, has accepted that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is taking a toll on the body, especially the late finishes. The chinaman bowler stressed that it is important to train smartly keeping in mind the quadrennial tournament that starts on May 30.
The most I can do is try to put runs on the board: Kieron Pollard
Kieron Pollard, the West Indies all-rounder, on Wednesday said that the most he can do is to score runs every time he steps on to the cricketing field and the World Cup selection is left to the selectors.His words come right after his dazzling knock of 83 runs off just 31 deliveries which enabled his team Mumbai Indians register a thrilling three-wicket win over Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL)."There has been a lot of turmoil in West Indies cricket team over the last couple of years. We have seen in the last couple of weeks there's a change. I was one of the guys blacklisted. The most I can do every time I step on the cricket field is try to put runs on the board," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Pollard as saying."There are people who have the job to select and whatever and let's see how that goes. As I said, I am 31 years old, Chris Gayle is still playing, he is 39 and he is whacking it all around," he added.Pollard had a dull start to this edition of .
Rohit Sharma misses equalling Suresh Raina's massive IPL record
Mumbai Indians Rohit Sharma missed out from equalling Suresh Raina record of most consecutive appearance for a team in Indian Premier League (IPL), after being ruled out due to an injury ahead of their match against Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday.Sharma has given 133 successive appearances in the IPL for Mumbai Indians from 2011 to 2019 while Raina is just one match ahead of him with 134 consecutive appearances for Chennai Super Kings and currently, holds this unique record.Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli is placed on the third position with 129 consecutive appearances for his team followed by CSK skipper MS Dhoni who is still running his streak with 119 consecutive appearances for his team.Another record that was broken during the match was most sixes in an innings in this season of the league, Kieron Pollard now holds this record, surpassing Andre Russell's record of seven sixes, as he smashed 10 sixes during his 83 runs inning which succoured his team to register a ...
Pollard's innings leaves cricketing fraternity in awe
Kieron Pollard, the Mumbai Indians all-rounder, played a dazzling knock of 83 runs off just 31 balls on Wednesday to take his team over the line in a thrilling match against Kings XI Punjab, in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).Chasing a target of 198, Mumbai Indians were able to win on the very last ball of the match, recording a victory by seven wickets. The team was down and out in the middle, but Pollard's innings staged a tremendous comeback for Mumbai.After the innings of Pollard, many cricketers took to Twitter to express their excitement over the innings played by the West Indian."You legend @KieronPollard55! so proud, you are a champion and always will be a champion," Hardik Pandya, his team-mate in Mumbai Indians posted on his Twitter account."Kieron Pollard is back to his best," Ian Bishop, former West Indies player and current commentator tweeted."Surely not!!?!? Love the IPL!!! unreal from Polly," Danielle Wyatt, England Women's cricketer tweeted."One
Sindhu seals quarterfinal spot at Singapore Open
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu advanced to the women's singles quarterfinals of the USD 355,000 Singapore Open with a straight-game win over Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt here Thursday. Fourth seeded Sindhu took 39 minutes to get the better of world number 22 Mia 21-13 21-19, her second straight win over the Danish girl, who had clinched the Spain Masters this year. World number 6 Sindhu will next face China's Cai Yanyan, a BWF World Junior Championships bronze medallist. While Sindhu led throughout the first game after opening up a 3-0 advantage, the Indian was locked in a tight battle with Mia in the second till 8-8 and was trailing 11-15 at one stage. However, Sindhu managed to claw back 17-17 and then nosed ahead to seal the issue in her favour. Sindhu had reached the semifinals at the India Open last month.
Bancroft wants to play for Australia again
Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was involved in the Australian ball-tampering scandal along with Steve Smith and David Warner, said he wants to move forward and play for his country again."Tampering with a cricket ball is wrong. Not in the spirit of the game. It was really shocking and disappointing. But it's in the past now and I want to move forward. I want to play for Australia again, 100 per cent," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Bancroft as saying."As much as I missed cricket, the opportunity it gave me to look at myself was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I had to go home. Sit with myself, grieve, forgive myself, and then ultimately move forward," he added.In March last year, Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the match-ball during the third test against South Africa and was handed over a nine-month ban for his action while Smith and Warner served a year-long ban.The 26-year old served the ban till last December and
Barcelona register wins over Manchester United while Ajax draws with Juventus
Barcelona defeated Manchester United in the first leg of the quarterfinal in the Champions League on Wednesday after Luke Shaw scored an own goal at Old Trafford.Shaw turned Luis Suarez's header into his own net just after 12 minutes of the game, giving Barca an early lead which they kept throughout and handed over United a 1-0 defeat.Whereas, Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo head his team to a first-half lead which did not last long as the score was levelled at the beginning of the second half and the match concluded on the same, resulting in a tie between Juventus and Ajax in the quarterfinal of Champions League.Ronaldo, after many speculations of whether he will be participating in the quarterfinal or not, returned from an injury which he took while playing for Portugal last month. The 34-year old scored the opening goal of the match. However, David Neres scored the equalizer immediately after half time to give Ajax a draw.
Russell-Rabada battle on cards as 'visitor' Ganguly set to share spotlight at Eden
Swashbuckling Andre Russell's big-hitting prowess will be pitted against Kagiso Rabada's inch-perfect yorkers for the second time when Kolkata Kight Riders face Delhi Capitals in a return-leg fixture of the IPL here Friday. Away from the match, the spotlight will also fall on where former KKR and India captain Sourav Ganguly sits during the match. Ganguly will be a 'visitor' at his 'home' ground of Eden Gardens as he is currently donning the advisor's hat in the Delhi franchise, which has drawn 'conflict-of-interest' charges against him. Second in the IPL table with eight points from six matches, KKR's season so far has been a Russell show with the Jamaican amassing 257 runs from five innings, out of which 150 have come in sixes alone. His average has been 128.50 while the strike rate is a mind-boggling 212.39, something that has left the opposition clueless on how to stop him. Mahendra Singh Dhoni did it with perfect execution by stranding Dre-Russ (as Russell is known to KKR fans) ..
Ronaldo on another level, says Juve's Allegri
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri hailed star striker Cristiano Ronaldo as being in a class of his own after he bagged a precious away goal in their 1-1 Champions League quarter-final draw at Ajax. Ronaldo put Juventus in front on the stroke of half-time with a diving header to take his record goal tally in the competition to 125, only for Brazilian winger David Neres to level almost immediately after half-time to put the tie on a knife edge ahead of next week's return leg in Turin. "Ronaldo showed that he is on a different level. His timing and movement is different to everyone else's, there's nothing you can do about it," Allegri told Sky Sport Italia on Wednesday. "He is a player who just has a different technique than the others." Ajax piled on the pressure at the Johan Cruyff Arena, going close on a number of occasions before Douglas Costa nearly delivered a late sucker punch for Juve when he struck the woodwork. Their spectacular comeback from a 2-1 first-leg home defeat to ...
Shaw own goal hands Barca control of Man Utd tie
Manchester United have another monumental task on their hands in the Champions League after Luke Shaw's own goal gave Barcelona a 1-0 quarter-final, first leg lead at Old Trafford. Shaw turned Luis Suarez's header into his own net after just 12 minutes and despite being far from their best, Barca comfortably held out to edge towards a first Champions League semi-final in four years. United produced one of the European Cup's finest ever comebacks from a 2-0 first-leg defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16. However, on the ground where manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer completed another famous fightback to win the competition as a player in 1999, United must repeat the trick at the Camp Nou in six days' time. Much has been made of Suarez's Champions League goal drought on the road and while the Uruguayan has still not officially netted an away goal in the competition since September 2015, he had a huge hand in Barca's winner. Lionel Messi drifted in behind the United defence ...
Australian Matt Kelly replaces injured Abrich Nortje in KKR
Kolkata Knight Riders Thursday signed uncapped Australian pacer Matt Kelly to replace their injured South African import Anrich Nortje in the ongoing IPL. The 24-year-old Kelly, a right-arm pace bowler, has played 16 First-Class matches, five List A games and 12 T20s so far and has not featured in the past editions of the IPL, the franchise said in a statement. The 25-year-old Nortje was ruled out of the tournament right at the start when he sustained a shoulder injury. Nortje was bought by the KKR at his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
Ronaldo strikes to give Juventus edge against impressive Ajax
Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return from injury with a precious away goal as Juventus drew 1-1 with an excellent Ajax in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in Amsterdam. Ronaldo subdued the 50,000 home fans in the Johan Cruyff Arena when he headed Juventus in front on the stroke of half-time to take his record goal tally in the competition to 125 on Wednesday. However, Brazilian winger David Neres conjured a stunning equaliser almost immediately after half-time to give Ajax a draw that was the very least they deserved. Despite that, it is Juventus -- for whom substitute Douglas Costa struck a post late on -- who hold the upper hand heading into next Tuesday's return in Turin, with the winners of this tie facing Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur in the last four. "Ronaldo showed that he is on a different level. His timing and movement is different to everyone else's, there's nothing you can do about it," said coach Massimiliano Allegri. "Ajax have great quality. ..