Page 415 - Sports
India's first professional Kho-Kho league launched
The Kho-Kho Federation of India (KKFI) on Tuesday launched an ambitious franchise-based league for the sport named Ultimate Kho-Kho. The KKFI, in collaboration with Dabur India Ltd, will conduct the 21-day IPL-style league, which will see eight franchise teams playing a total of 60 matches in a double round-robin format. There will be an initial draft of players where athletes from across the world, including England, South Korea, Iran, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, will be part of the eight franchise. The teams will also have the opportunity to include U-18 players in their squads with the aim of developing a pool of young players. "Indigenous sports are the manifestation of the local genius and ethos. Surely, this league will go a long way in enhancing the popularity of this very Indian sport and open new vista for the players and the fans," said sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, who joined the event via video chat. KKFI and Dabur have together appointed Tenzing Niyogi ...
Ban players who fudge age: Gopichand
India's chief national coach Pullela Gopichand believes the Badminton Association of India (BAI) should ban players who indulge in age-fudging as "examples" need to be made of wrongdoers for any tangible change. "I think you need to have firm decisions and strong examples to ensure that age fudging which is a big menace should stop, so there should be a ban on the players," Gopichand told PTI. Age-fudging has been a big problem in Indian sports with some associations such as the Indian cricket board (BCCI) and Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) handing out bans on players found guilty. Former India coach Vimal Kumar, who guided Saina Nehwal to the world No.1 position and the All England Championship final in 2015, however, feels banning the players will be unfair. "Banning a player for 2-3 years is not right because suspending them will kill a talent," he said. "If a player is found over-aged in U-15, U-17 or U-19 and you find ample evidence that they have done the manipulation, .
WTA rankings: Simona Halep closes on world no.1 Naomi Osaka
Romanian tennis player Simona Halep has moved up to close on world number one Naomi Osaka of Japan in the latest updated Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.Halep who appeared in the Miami Open semi-final last week displaced Czech's Petra Kvitova after the latter lost to Ashleigh Barty of Australia in the final.The Romanian with 5782 points has reduced the lead with number one Osaka, who has retained 6021 points, to attain number two spot.Petra Kvitova (5645), Karolina Pliskova (5580) of Czech Republic and Germany's Angelique Kerber (5165), Dutch's Kiki Bertens (5050), Ukraine's Elina Svitolina (5020), Sloane Stephens of America (4287), Australia's Ashleigh Barty (4275) and Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka (3595) completed the top 10.Bertens at number six obtained a new career-high ranking. She is now just one spot away to earn the highest ever ranking achieved by a Dutchwoman -- Betty Stove's world number five peak in 1977. Barty at number nine has become the 10th player from her ...
Liam Plunk0ett wants to emulate Ronaldo, LeBron
England fast bowler Liam Plunkett is looking up to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James for inspiration as he targets to play in the World Cup.The 33-year-old is working on regaining his speed and variations while staying fit."Reading articles about the best sportsmen, (such as) Ronaldo and LeBron James, they get lighter and they get more powerful. That's something I'm working on because I still want to run up and bowl 90mph," ESPNcricinfo quoted Plunkett, as saying."I'm pretty much teetotal for the summer, because this is probably my last chance to play in the World Cup, and I'm looking at my rest and recovery, because sometimes you over-train and when it comes to the game, you don't always bowl as quick as you want, because you've burnt yourself out a little bit," he said.Plunkett, who is struggling to maintain his pace, is giving his best to get a chance to be in the England squad for the World Cup, beginning May 30.The fast bowler has 116 wickets from 78 ODIs under his .
Liam Plunkett wants to emulate Ronaldo, LeBron
England fast bowler Liam Plunkett is looking up to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James for inspiration as he targets to play in the World Cup.The 33-year-old is working on regaining his speed and variations while staying fit."Reading articles about the best sportsmen, (such as) Ronaldo and LeBron James, they get lighter and they get more powerful. That's something I'm working on because I still want to run up and bowl 90mph," ESPNcricinfo quoted Plunkett, as saying."I'm pretty much teetotal for the summer, because this is probably my last chance to play in the World Cup, and I'm looking at my rest and recovery, because sometimes you over-train and when it comes to the game, you don't always bowl as quick as you want, because you've burnt yourself out a little bit," he said.Plunkett, who is struggling to maintain his pace, is giving his best to get a chance to be in the England squad for the World Cup, beginning May 30.The fast bowler has 116 wickets from 78 ODIs under his .
Everton probe Pickford bar brawl allegations
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is under investigation by his club Everton about his alleged involvement in a brawl in Sunderland. The 25-year-old -- who shone at last year's World Cup -- is believed to have reacted when revellers in a bar directed derogatory remarks at his fiancee Megan, who recently had their first child Arlo. A video has spread on social media in which onlookers can be heard shouting "Jordan" as a fight breaks out before the man, believed to be Pickford, is dragged away. Pickford had played in Everton's 2-0 away win over West Ham on Saturday before spending a day off in his home city. "The club has been made aware of an alleged incident involving one of our players and we are looking into the matter," the Premier League club said. Pickford came through the system at Sunderland but joined Everton for an initial USD 32.6 million when they were relegated from the Premier League in June 2017. He made his England debut five months later and was Gareth Southgate's ...
Sameer suffers heart-breaking loss to Shi Yuqi in Malaysia Open
India's Sameer Verma put up a daunting effort before going down in three games in a pulsating opening round clash against World no 2 Chinese Shi Yuqi in the USD 750,000 Malaysia Open here Tuesday. The 24-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, who had lost to Shi Yuqi in the semifinals of the World Tour Finals in December last year, suffered a heart-breaking 20-22 23-21 12-21 loss in a 65-minute men's singles here. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy, however, made a good start to their campaign, eking out a 22-20 24-22 win over Ireland's Sam Magee and Chloe Magee in mixed doubles. The men's singles match was a close battle till 8-8, Sameer fall back to 11-16 but he fought back to make it 20-20 before being edged out by Shi Yuqi in the opening game. The second game was no different as the Indian was lagging 11-16 again but this time he not only clawed back at 20-20. And even though the Chinese had grabbed one match point, Sameer reeled off three points to take the match to the decider. In ...
CSK favourites against MI in clash of titans (Preview)
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will start as favourites riding on skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's rich form when they take on slow-starters Mumbai Indians in a high-voltage Indian Premier League (IPL) clash here on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka Cricket to revive Lankan Premier League
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is set to revive the Lankan Premier League (LPL), a T20 tournament, later this year.The tournament was cancelled last year due to a prolonged period of administrative instability at SLC over the latter part of 2018. The LPL which will see five to six teams taking part will take place from September 8 to 28 tentatively, ESPNcricinfo reported.The board is expected to bring its former cricketer Russel Arnold back as tournament director."We have set the ball rolling and hopefully in August-September this year we will see the tournament taking place," SLC secretary Mohan De Silva said.Moreover, De Silva said the abandonment of the event has hindered Sri Lanka's World Cup chances."It is very unfortunate that Sri Lanka Cricket was not able to implement the envisaged programs that we had planned in preparation for the World Cup due to the disruption in administration. If the LPL tournament had gone ahead last September, we had arranged a much more competitive ...
World Cup squad selection will be tough: Aussie coach Langer
Head coach Justin Langer on Tuesday said the in-form Australia in the one-day international (ODI) format have forced the selectors to make tough calls while choosing their 15-man squad for the World Cup."It's (the 15 for the World Cup) actually becoming more obvious by the day to me. The same with the other selectors. It becomes clearer as you watch games," ICC quoted Langer, as saying."That's why games are so important. There's obviously going to be a couple of really disappointed players. But that's the tough business we're in," he said.Australia had not won an ODI series for over a year but its dramatic improvement saw its eight consecutive wins across India and UAE, making them one of the World Cup favourites.After losing first two ODIs 0-2 against India, Australia bounced back to clinch the series with three wins. The team then went onto sweep the five-match series against Pakistan in UAE.The tours saw captain Aaron Finch regaining his form, while Usman Khawaja remained ...
Hero Super Cup: ATK beat Real Kashmir to book quarter-final spot
With two late goals, ATK beat a resilient Real Kashmir FC side 3-1 in the Hero Super Cup pre-quarterfinals played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.The victory has set up ATK for a quarter-final clash against Delhi Dynamos FC on April 5.ATK started the match on Monday with a lot of purposes and almost unlocked the Real Kashmir defence with barely two minutes on the clock. Manuel Lanzarote played in Edu Garcia with a lovely waited through ball, but the Spaniard's final effort sailed over the bar.The ATK midfield seemed to be dominating the proceedings early on, but Real Kashmir made sure they gave the Kolkata-based side a stern reminder of the danger they pose on the eighth minute. Completely against the flow of the match, Mason Robertson showed his own passing prowess, setting up Koffi Tetteh with room to run in behind the advanced ATK defence. With just Debjit Majumdar in the ATK goal to beat, the striker scuffed his shot wide.The chance, however, acted as a confidence booster of
MI, CSK to face off in riveting contest
With skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in red-hot form, Chennai Super Kings will start favourites against the slightly off-colour Mumbai Indians when the IPL's two most successful teams have their first showdown of the season here Wednesday. The Super Kings, three-time winners of the T20 League like the hosts, have been on a roll with three wins on the trot that have boosted them to the top of the table. Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, had a familiar stuttering start with a victory sandwiched between two defeats. Recent history in head-to-head clashes is in MI's favour, as the Rohit Sharma-led home team has beaten their rivals in four out of the last five contests. Overall too Mumbai holds a 14-12 advantage over CSK, including once in the defunct Champions T20 League. However, CSK seem to hold the edge this time around, especially with Dhoni rolling back the years with a typically robust 75 off 46 balls that lifted his team from 27 for three to 175 for five against Rajasthan Royals at ..
Role of professional coaches in cricket overblown, says Shoaib Mohammad
Former Pakistan opener Shoaib Mohammad has questioned the need of professional coaches in modern cricket saying their role is overrated and a majority of them are failures as players. Lashing out at Pakistan head coach, Mickey Arthur, after the team suffered a 0-5 drubbing at the hands of Australia in a five-match ODI series, Shoaib said just a coaching degree doesn't guarantee success. "If you look at the number of international coaches nowadays and those in the past, you will notice majority of them were failures or average in their playing days. There are exceptions but majority are failures as players," Shoaib, who is the son of the legendary Hanif Mohammad and played 45 Tests for Pakistan, told 'GTV news'. "I think it is wrong to assume that if you have a coaching degree at any level you can be a good and successful coach. If a person has played top level cricket successfully he has a far better chance at succeeding at management and coaching," he added. Pakistan lost a full ...
SRK ban to spot-fixing: IPL controversies (Part 2)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is the perfect mix of cricket and entertainment. While fans get to witness their favourite stars in action, the league also provides the ultimate platform for youngsters to impress the national selectors. These apart, there has been one more constant with the cash-rich league -- its controversies.
Had no idea I had taken hat-trick: Sam Curran
Fast bowler Sam Curran's four-for, including a hat-trick, secured Kings XI Punjab a 14-run victory over Delhi Capitals but he had "no idea" about his feat.Delhi were cruising towards the victory, requiring just 23 runs from 21 balls with seven wickets in hand but Curran bundled out Delhi for 152 with a hat-trick.The hat-trick came in two overs- Harshal Patel was dismissed at the end of the 18th over and then the English fast bowler sent Kagiso Rabada and Sandeep Lamichhane off successive balls at the start of the 20th over.Prior to his hat-trick, the first in the 12th IPL, Curran dismissed Colin Ingram for 38 that tilted the game in favour of Punjab."No, not at all. My main focus was obviously that last ball when Rabada came and I knew his strengths and where I could bowl, so I was always aiming for his stumps and his toes," said Curran when asked whether he was aware of his feat."When we won the game, one of the players came up to me and said 'you've got a hat-trick'. I had ...
RCB fans unhappy with Kohli, team after poor start
They have flattered to deceive time and again, but Royal Challengers Bangalore has been one of the most followed teams in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL). With Virat Kohli as captain and players like AB de Villiers in its ranks, RCB has managed to be a crowd favourite despite performances not really going their way.
Little people, big ambitions: China trials football kindergartens
President Xi Jinping has vowed to make China a footballing force and is prepared to go to great lengths to do it, sending thousands of toddlers to "football-focused" kindergartens. China, which has a population of 1.4 billion but has continually underachieved in football, will start trialling the kindergartens this year, state media said. Citing the ministry of education, Xinhua news agency said that "each provincial-level region" will have 50 to 200 football-centric kindergartens. "The pilot programme aims to cultivate interest in football in children through popular football games and create an atmosphere favourable for football culture to grow," Xinhua said, citing a ministry directive. "Various physical activities tailored for kids will be held, during which children are encouraged to run, jump, climb, throw and shoot balls." Li Jianli, director of a kindergarten in the Chinese capital, told the Global Times: "We have soccer coaches for kids who are over five and many other ...
Tottenham bank on new stadium to deliver bright future
Tottenham throw open the doors of their new 62,000-capacity stadium on Wednesday, hoping it will give them the financial firepower to compete with the Premier League and European elite. Mauricio Pochettino's men will also banking on a short-term boost, with a dire run of results threatening to leave Spurs without Champions League football next season. Tottenham played their final game at their old White Hart Lane stadium in May 2017 but the address is the only thing that has remained the same, with a gleaming new ground rising out of the rubble of their creaking old home in north London. The new stadium, with a capacity of 62,062, is the biggest club ground in London and second only to Manchester United's Old Trafford in the Premier League. Tellingly the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, built at a reported cost of ?1 billion ($1.3 billion), is marginally bigger than the home of Tottenham's great north London rivals Arsenal. Crystal Palace are the first Premier League team to visit on ...
Sarri fights to win over mutinous Chelsea fans
Maurizio Sarri faces another angry vote of no confidence from frustrated Chelsea fans if the under-fire Italian fails to spark his spluttering side in Wednesday's clash against Brighton. Sarri was subjected to vitriolic abuse from Chelsea supporters at Cardiff on Sunday in response to a painful performance that was just six minutes away from serving as the nadir of a miserable first season for the Blues boss. Trailing 1-0 in the second half after being out-fought by the Premier League relegation candidates, Chelsea were on the rack and chants of "you don't know what you're doing" and "we want Sarri out" echoed out from the away end. Chelsea's under-performing stars eventually raised themselves for just long enough to give Sarri a modicum of breathing space with two late goals to steal a sorely-needed 2-1 win. That may have kept alive their hopes of a top four finish, but it did little to quell the feeling that Sarri is on borrowed time at Stamford Bridge. Since an impressive 2-0 win ..
Hat-trick boy Curran calls win over DC 'team effort'
The match between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Capitals in Mohali saw seven wickets fall for just eight runs in 17 balls and four of then were picked by English all-rounder Sam Curran. Only the third KXIP bowler to pick a hat-trick in the history of the league, Curran revealed that he took a cue from teammates when it came to bowling to the domestic players.