Page 435 - Sports
Lahiri eyes revival of fortunes at Indian Open
PGA Tour regular Anirban Lahiri returned home after a year to participate in, what he considers, the 'Fifth Major -- the Indian Open golf tournament -- for all Indian golfers.
Imran Khan worried about Pakistan cricket team's WC preparation
Pakistan Prime Minister and World Cup winning captain Imran Khan on Wednesday expressed concerns over the preparations of the national team for the upcoming ICC World Cup in England. The cricketer-turned politician also expressed reservations over the selection process of the national team during a meeting with the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ehsan Mani and other top officials of the board in Islamabad. The 66-year-old, who had led Pakistan to their only World Cup title in 1992, asked the PCB chief to ensure that the selection process of national players is revamped and the best possible team is sent to the World Cup. The national selectors and team management have come in for criticism for resting six key players from the ongoing series against Australia. Besides giving rest to captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Hassan Ali, Babar Azam, Hassan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi, the selectors and team management also decided to send back allrounder Faheem Ashraf after the
India thrash Canada 7-3, enter Azlan Shah final after Korea's win over Malaysia
Striker Mandeep Singh scored a brilliant hat-trick as India outplayed Canada 7-3 to book a summit clash berth against Korea in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here on Wednesday. Korea beat hosts Malaysia 2-1 in another match of the day to set up a summit clash against India on Saturday. The 24-year-old Mandeep fired in three quick field goals (20th, 27th and 29th minutes), all of them coming in the second quarter, after Varun Kumar had given India the lead in the 12th minute of the high-scoring match. At the half time, India were 4-0 up in the match before Canada reduced the margin through a strike from Mark Pearson in the 35th minute. Amit Rohidas (39th), Vivek Prasad (55th) and Nilakanta Sharma (58th) struck later to take the game beyond the reach of the Canadians who scored two late goals through Fin Boothroyd (50th) and James Wallace (57th). India and Korea, the two unbeaten sides in the tournament, now have 10 points each from four matches, with identical three wins ..
IPL: Punjab opt to bowl against KKR (Toss)
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) captain Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and elected to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Eden Gardens here on Wednesday.
Kings XI win toss, to bowl
Kings XI Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin won the toss and opted to bowl in their IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders here on Wednesday. Kings XI made four changes from the playing eleven of their previous match with David Miller, Hardus Viljoen, Varun Chakravarthy and Andrew Tye coming in for Nicholas Pooran, Sam Curran, Ankit Rajpoot and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. KKR fielded an unchanged side. The Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (capt & wk), Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Prasidh Krishna. Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin (capt), Chris Gayle, Lokesh Rahul (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Andrew Tye, Mohammed Shami, Hardus Viljoen, Varun Chakravarthy.
India Open: Sameer, Prannoy advance to second round
Indian shuttlers Sameer Verma and Prannoy HS got off to a blinding start as they advanced to the second round of the India Open in their respective men's singles event at the KD Jadhav Hall on Wednesday.World number 15 Sameer defeated Denmark's Rasmus Gemke in straight games 21-18, 21-12. Gemke held well against Sameer as he led 14-12 but the Indian forced his opponent into an unforced service return to take the first set 21-18.Sameer looked in an unstoppable form as he took a 7-4 lead in the second set and continued his dominant performance to seal the game 21-12.Prannoy had to come from behind to beat Kantaphon of Thailand 14-21, 21-18, 21-14 in another men's singles event. The Thailand player raced to an 11-4 lead and took the first set 21-14.However, in a must-win second set, Prannoy and Kantaphon kept the set on a high note as the score was tied at 15-15. The Indian edged 18-17 and ultimately forced the game into the decider after ending the set in his favour 21-18.The third set .
India Open: Sindhu, Praneeth, Srikanth in next round
Ace India shuttler P.V. Sindhu started her Indian Open 2019 campaign with a bang as she thrashed compatriot Mugdha Agrey while B. Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth also won their respective first round matches.
Sindhu, Srikanth advance to India Open second round
Former champions P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the second round, while HS Prannoy also made a strong start to his campaign with a hard-fought win at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open here Wednesday. Sindhu, who reached the finals in the last two editions and won the title in 2017, brushed aside fellow Indian Mugdha Agrey 21-8 21-13 in women's singles, while a 2015 winner Srikanth recorded his fourth successive win over Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent with a 21-16 18-21 21-19 triumph in men's singles. Prannoy also showed good signs of recovering from a gastro-esophageal reflux disease that troubled him last year, notching up a come-from-behind 14-21 21-18 21-14 win over Thailand's eighth seeded Kantaphon Wangcharoen. Fifth seed Sameer Verma beat Denmark's Rasmus Gemke 21-18 21-12, while Riya Mookerjee shocked Thailand's Phittayaporn Chaiwan 21-17 21-15 to set up a meeting with Denmark's eighth seed Mia Blichfeldt, who knocked out Rita Thaker. Sindhu said it was an easy ...
Pujara should have been part of IPL, says Kumble
Spin great Anil Kumble feels Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma deserved to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as both have the quality to perform in the shortest format of the game.
Cricket scores 4.8 mn tweets as IPL season begins
With the beginning of lucrative India Premier League (IPL) 2019, the engagement is not only between the teams but also between fans on Twitter.
Azlan Shah hockey: India hammer Canada 7-3
Continuing its winning run, the Indian men's hockey team hammered Canada 7-3 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup here on Wednesday to move one step closer for a place in the final.
Indians start as favourites at Hero Indian Open
Former champions Anirban Lahiri and SSP Chawrasia along with the 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Shubhankar Sharma go into the 55th Hero Indian Open, starting here on Thursday, as the leading home contenders. When it comes to international golf events, Indians are always considered the toughest to beat on home soil. Although none of the four players who are in world's Top-100 list are Indians, it is the country's golfers who would start as favourites at the USD 1.75 million event. Indian golfers have always been the ones to watch out for at the tournament. Whether it is experienced stars like Lahiri or Chawrasia or even Mukesh Kumar, who plays mostly in India, or youngsters like Khalin Joshi and Viraj Madappa. The field of 156 this time has four players inside Top-100 -- Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand (No. 71), Adrian Otaegui (No. 73), Shaun Norris (No. 90) and Jorge Campillo (No. 93). The field also boosts of some very prominent winners this season like Jazz (Singapore Open),
India thrash Canada 7-3, put on foot in final of Azlan Shah hockey tournament
Striker Mandeep Singh scored a brilliant hat-trick as India outplayed Canada 7-3 in a goal fest to set one foot on the summit clash of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Mandeep fired in three quick field goals (20th, 27th and 29th minutes), all of them coming in the second quarter, after Varun Kumar had given India the lead in the 12th minute of the high-scoring match. At the half time, India were 4-0 up in the match before Canada reduced the margin through a strike from Mark Pearson in the 35th minute. Amit Rohidas (39th), Vivek Prasad (55th) and Nilakanta Sharma (58th) struck later to take the game beyond the reach of the Canadians who scored two late goals through Fin Boothroyd (50th) and James Wallace (57th). With the win, India continued their unbeaten run in the tournament, with three wins and a draw to top the round-robin league table with 10 points. They play their final league match against Poland on Friday. India showed progress ..
India thrash Canada 7-3, enter final of Azlan Shah hockey tournament
Striker Mandeep Singh scored a hat-trick as India outplayed Canada 7-3 to book a summit clash berth in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here on Wednesday. The 24-year-old Mandeep fired in three quick goals (20th, 27th and 29th minutes), all of them coming in the second quarter, after Varun Kumar had given India the lead in the 12th minute of the high-scoring match. At the half time, India were 4-0 up in the match before Canada reduced the margin through a strike from Mark Pearson in the 35th minute. Amit Rohidas (39th), Vivek Prasad (55th) and Nilakanta Sharma (58th) struck later to take the game beyond the reach of the Canadians who scored two late goals through Fin Boothroyd (50th) and James Wallace (57th). With the win, India continued their unbeaten run in the tournament, with three wins and a draw to top the round-robin league table with 10 points. They are now assured of a place in the final to be played on March 30, with a game in hand. India play their final league .
Olympic quotas taken away from Delhi World Cup assigned to Beijing, Munich WCs
The two Olympic quotas in 25m air pistol that were taken away from the Delhi World Cup after India denied visas to Pakistani shooters were Wednesday assigned to the upcoming World Cups in Beijing and Munich. The Beijing World Cup is scheduled from April 21 to 28, while the Munich showpiece is set for May 24 to 31, the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) said in a statement. "The decision has been taken on reallocation of two Olympic Quota Places in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event that were revoked during the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in February, 2019," the ISSF said. "They are reassigned among the ISSF World Cup in Beijing, April 21-28, 2019 and the ISSF World Cup in Munich, May 24-31, 2019. It means, there will be three Olympic Quota Places in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event allocated to each of the World Cups in Beijing and Munich," it added. Pakistani shooters were denied visas in the Delhi event in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack in which more than 40 CRPF ...
ISL: Memo signs deal, extends stay at Jamshedpur FC
Jamshedpur FC's Brazilian Emerson Gomes de Moura (Memo) on Wednesday signed a contract, extending his stay at the club for another season.
Hero Super Cup: Chennaiyin, Mumbai City to meet in final round
Chennaiyin FC and Mumbai City FC are set to meet in the final round of the football Hero Super Cup on March 29.The match will kick-off at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar at 8:30 pm (IST).The Hero Super Cup is an annual tournament which is played among the top 10 teams of the I-League and the Indian Super League (ISL).All the matches of the final round will be played on a knock-out format. The penalty shoot-out will be enforced to decide the winner in case of both teams staying tied, despite 30 minutes of extra time.The first edition of the Hero Super Cup was won by JSW Bengaluru FC which was played at the same venue. Iconic striker Sunil Chhetri had bagged the top scorer's award with six goals, while fellow striker Miku was adjudged as the best player of the tournament.
Israel's Misha Zilberman carrying on despite visa issues
Israel is not normally associated with badminton but Misha Zilberman has kept the flag fluttering for his country by competing in the last two successive Olympic Games. The 30-year-old is a regular in the international circuit but visa restriction in Arab nations has affected his career over the years. In 2015, Misha was initially not granted visa by Indonesia -- the world's most populous Muslim country -- and he was on the verge of missing the World Championship. Not playing in Indonesia and Malaysia, which hosts as many as four BWF World Tour events, has robbed him a chance to gather ranking points, hampering his progress. "I can't play in some countries like Malaysia and Indonesia. They block me. In 2015, Indonesia didn't give me visa and it is the same now. I think sports should be higher than politics. There will always be such problems but I keep going where I can," Misha, who competed at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, said. "Next week there is Malaysia Open but I can't .
Phelps enjoys brush with cricket but says it can't be his sport
Learning to hold the bat was fun and so was watching balls flying for sixes but American swimming great Michael Phelps says despite the enjoyable brush with cricket on his maiden India trip, he doesn't quite foresee himself taking to the sport. One of the greatest Olympians of all time, Phelps had a fun cricket session with IPL team Delhi Capitals here on Wednesday. "It was nice to see how excited the crowd was, and to see how the players shift when there is a change of ends, or a dismissal. I loved watching the sixes yesterday," the 33-year-old was quoted as saying in a media release. Speaking on meeting the cricketers and watching Delhi Capitals match against Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday night, the American legend said, "I don't think cricket is my next sport but I loved seeing the match with the Delhi Capitals yesterday." Phelps, who ended his career with a record-breaking 28 Olympic medals -- 23 of them gold, interacted with Delhi Capitals' captain Shreyas Iyer, ...
DC players exchange notes with Olympic legend Phelps
The Delhi Capitals had a great time on Wednesday when they meet the most successful Olympian Michael Phelps. The franchise, co-owned by JSW and GMR, had a fun interactive session with the legendary swimmer and the players enjoyed their time with him, discussing cricket and also taking tips from the top sportsman on life on the fast track.