Page 487 - Sports
Klopp wary of Allianz Arena return with Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp brings Liverpool to Germany to resume their battle against Bayern Munich with the hosts billing Wednesday's Champions League last 16 return leg as an all or nothing showdown. After a goalless draw at Anfield in the first leg three weeks ago, everything is to play for at Munich's Allianz Arena. Klopp knows what awaits his Reds in the highly-charged arena where Bayern tend to raise their game and away teams face a barricade of whistles whenever they touch the ball. "The four goals are all well and good," said Klopp after Liverpool's 4-2 win on Sunday at Burnley, with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane both scoring twice. "But what does that have to do with Munich? It will not be so easy to score four goals there as well." The 51-year-old has a modest record of nine wins, five draws and 16 defeats in 30 games against the Bavarians -- as coach of either Liverpool or former clubs Mainz and Dortmund -- dating back to 2004. However, in his seven seasons with Dortmund, between 2008 ..
Sudden HI summons to key players upsets BPCL's chances in SF
Last year's runners-up in the ongoing Bombay Gold Cup tournament, Bharat Petroleum, were hit hard Tuesday in their semi-finals against reigning champions Indian Oil by the forced absence of four regular players. BPCL, champions in 2015, were unable to adequately fill in the holes left by the quartet in the team and lost tamely 2-7 to the oilmen at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium here. The four - Sudeep Chirmako, Rabichandra Moiranthem, Shivam Anand and Dinachandra Moiranthem - had guided BPCL into the semis Sunday before they had to leave for Bengaluru for the 21-day national juniors' fitness and routine camp. They were summoned to the camp, along with Pratap Lakra who was playing for another semi finalist - South Central Railway - through a communication from Hockey India. All of them left immediately for the camp that started on March 11 and is to continue till March 31, according to sources in the Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd, the tournament's organisers. Interestingly, the
Constant scrutiny on Warner and Smith could be unsettling for Australia in World Cup: Ponting
Former captain Ricky Ponting feels constant scrutiny on Steve Smith and David Warner following their comeback could be "unsettling" for the Australian team during the World Cup in the United Kingdom. Ponting, who will be part of Australia's support staff during the mega event, said Smith and Warner will have to be prepared for constant criticism from the UK crowd. Their two-year ban for ball-tampering ends later this month and they will feature in the IPL beginning March 23. "I don't think it is much of a challenge internally around the players. You'd like to think that those guys are having conversations now, so they're not leaving it to the last minute and just be exposed to this thing that could be derailing to a team," Ponting told cricket.com.au. "I'm sure this would have been talked about at a higher level for a long time - how do we integrate them back in? How do they fit in? How is it all going to be seamless? But the hardest part for those guys is going to be the public ...
Playing so many matches have helped us improve as team: Maymol Rocky
Heading into the SAFF Women's Championship after playing 11 international matches this year, the Indian team kicks off its title defence when it takes on Maldives in their opening Group B clash here Wednesday. "The matches have helped us prepare in the best possible fashion. The exposure tours helped us to improve on our strengths, while at the same time giving us much needed competitive match timing to work on our shortcomings," head coach Maymol Rocky stated. Since January 2019, the Indians have played friendly matches in Hong Kong and Indonesia, and the Turkish Women's Cup in Turkey, as well as Gold Cup in Bhubaneswar. The preparatory process had begun in December last year in Cuttack and the team has been together ever since. All the preparation has been planned keeping in mind the AFC Women's Qualifiers Round 2 (in April), as well as the SAFF Championship. "I am thankful to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Government of Odisha and all
Tejaswini wins women's 50m rifle 3 positions ahead of Moudgil
Veteran Tejaswini Sawant of Maharashtra beat Punjab's Anjum Moudgil to win the fourth national selection trial in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions event here Tuesday. Tejaswini scored a total of 458.0 to finish ahead of Anjum Moudgil, who had 457.1. Gujarat's Lajja Gauswami was third with 444.5. Army's Sandeep Singh won the men's 10m air rifle (T4 trial) with a score of 250.0, while Karnataka's Tejas Krishna Prasad (248.4) and Deepak Kumar (227.7) of Indian Air Force were second and third, respectively. In the men's 25m centre fire pistol, Gurpreet Singh, representing Army, won with 583, while Himachal Pradesh's Vijay Kumar (581) and Haryana's Wazeer Singh Rathee (580) were second and third.
We are really confident of moving with this squad to World Cup: Carey
Emboldened by Australia's remarkable turnaround in the ODI series against India, vice-captain Alex Carey Tuesday said they are "really confident" of entering the ICC World Cup with a squad good enough to play like defending champions. The five-match series is poised at 2-2, thanks to Australia's back-to-back wins after staring down the barrel at one stage. "As a player in the Australian cricket side we have been working hard in the last 12-18 months. Some success has started to come our way. We are really confident moving with the squad we take to the World Cup," Clarey said on the eve of the series-deciding game here. Carey said it will only add to the strength of the side when Steve Smith and David Warner rejoin the side after serving out their bans. "Those are definitely some big names that might come back into the line. The guys that are in the side are performing well, so it's only healthy for Australian cricket that the guys in the side are playing well and these guys that have .
CCI snooker: Joshi, Sissodia score contrasting victories
BPCL's Devendra Joshi and Madhya Pradesh's Bharat Sissodia Tuesday scored contrasting wins in their respective third round matches of the CCI All India Open Snooker Championship here. The Mumbai-based cueist Joshi, representing Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), rattled up two half century breaks to outshine his city rival Mayank Bhavsar and win in three straight frames. Joshi, after taking the first frame, was in full flow and constructed breaks of 59 in the second and 55 in the third to complete the clean sweep and advance to the round of 64. Earlier, Sissodia showed a remarkable fighting spirit as he recovered to turn the tables on Arun Kumar of Thane and notch win after five well-contested frames. Sissodia lost the first two frames by close margins, but bounced back in style by compiling a run of 64 to pocket the third one which was the turning point. He comfortably won the fourth and fifth frames to snatch a deserving victory and make it to the fourth ...
Gaurika to face competition from Amandeep at Hero WPG Tour
Gaurika Bishnoi will start as one of the strong favourites when the sixth leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour tees off on Wednesday at the Jaypee Greens. The sixth leg will carry a purse of Rs. eight lakh and feature 21 professionals and four amateurs. With the Hero WPG Tour having five different winners in five events held so far, Gaurika, who won her first title of the 2019 season last week, will have to contend with Amandeep Drall. Amandeep returns to the domestic Tour after a superb Top-20 performance at the NSW Open in Australia. Although she is considered one of the strongest and consistent players on the home Tour, Amandeep is yet to win in her four starts this season. Neha Tripathi, current leader on the Hero Order of Merit, and Gursimar Badwal have already registered one win each this year and both will be looking at becoming the first multiple winner of 2019. Ridhima Dilawari will be playing with similar ambitions. As many as four young amateurs will be in the field, along
We wanted to show solidarity with Indian Army: Arun
The Indian cricket team wanted to show "solidarity" with the country's Army in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, bowling coach Bharat Arun said Monday, defending the decision to wear camouflage military caps during the third ODI in Ranchi. All the Indian players came out wearing the caps handed over to them by former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is also an honorary Lieutenant Colonel with the Territorial Army. "We did what we really felt, we needed to do it for the country, in solidarity with what Army has done for the country. In some we wanted to show we appreciate the cause," Arun said on the eve of the fifth and final ODI. The gesture was not well received by the Pakistani politicians, who demanded an ICC action, calling it politicisation of the game. "It's beyond us what PCB is saying, beyond our control. The BCCI has done well to take permission from the ICC," Arun said. A tinge of patriotism has been added to fifth and final ODI as well as the organisers have covered .
Mumbai Indians begin pre-season training camp for IPL
Three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Mumbai Indians Tuesday kicked off their pre-season training camp here for the upcoming 12th season of the coveted T20 tournament. Among others, all-rounder Hardik Pandya and his elder brother Krunal have joined the camp, which is currently being held at the Reliance Corporate Park cricket ground in Ghansoli, a senior official attached to Mumbai Indians, said. According to the official, the other players who have joined the camp are off-spinner Jayant Yadav, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, pacer Barinder Sran, Rasikh Salam, Mitchell McClenaghan and wicket-keeper Ishan Kishan. It was learnt that the squad will continue its training program at the New Mumbai facility over the weekend, and are tentatively scheduled to move to Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from March 17. Led by Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians will open their campaign against Delhi Capitals on March 24 at the Wankhede stadium.
Mushtaq: Karnataka, Maha set up title clash; Mumbai bow out
Maharashtra and Karnataka set up the title clash in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after posting win in their last respective Super League matches Tuesday, while Mumbai bowed out of the premier domestic T20 tournament despite trouncing Uttar Pradesh. Mumbai defeated Uttar Pradesh by 46 runs in their last Super League Group B game, but that was not enough for them to find a place in the finals. From Group B, it was Karnataka, who made it to the summit clash after defeating Vidarbha by six wickets. With this win, Karnataka remained unbeaten in the Super League stage and topped the table with 16 points. From the Super League Group A, Maharashtra stormed into the finals after winning all their four games. They topped the table with 16 points. The final of the domestic T20 championship will be played at the Holkar Stadium here on March 14. With the two finalists decided now, the Gujarat versus Bengal final Group A Super League match has been reduced to a 'dead rubber'. As per the
GoDaddy partners with ICC as official sponsor for Cricket World Cup 2019
Website hosting company GoDaddy Tuesday announced its partnership with International Cricket Council (ICC) as official sponsor for the upcoming men's cricket World Cup. "We have been engaged in branding exercise with sports events. This time we are engaging with ICC for men's World Cup 2019 which is expected to reach out to around 700 million people in India and 1.5 billion people globally," GoDaddy India MD and Vice President Nikhil Arora said while announcing the deal. The 2019 World Cup will be held in the UK from May 30 to July 14. Under the partnership, GoDaddy will get visibility on ground, perimeter of the boundary, side screen, placards during the matches, it said. "We will run various campaigns starting April, like people going online with GoDaddy may get opportunity to watch World Cup match. We have cricketer MS Dhoni as our brand ambassador. We will be coming up with new campaigns featuring him during the tournament," Arora said. He, however, declined to reveal financial ...
Joshna Chinappa beats squash legend Nicol David for third time
India's leading squash player Joshna Chinappa pulled off a sensational win over eight-time world champion Nicol David in a first round match of the USD 107,000 Women's Black Ball Squash Open here. The Indian, playing with a lot of fire and purpose, got the better of the Malaysian legend 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 in a match played on Monday night. It was Joshna's third win over 21st-ranked Nicol, who will retire at the end of the season. The 16th-ranked Indian had also beaten Nicol during the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Joshna was in great touch in the first two games before Nicol bounced back to put up a fight in third. Points had gone neck and neck before the Indian outdid her opponent to earn a passage into the last 16. Joshna now plays sixth seed Sarah-Jane Perry of England.
Exciting to be part of series decider, says Alex Carrey
Australia levelled the five-match ODI series against India 2-2 as they won the fourth match by four wickets. The wicket-keeper batsman of Australia Alex Carrey has said that it will be exciting to play the final ODI with the series on the line."We were put under pressure early in the series and the matches were really close. But now with the series levelled at 2-2, it is really exciting to go into tomorrow with the series on the line. We know India will bounce back hard, but we are really excited," Alex Carrey told reporters.Australia bounced back in the series with good performances by Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner and Glenn Maxwell. David Warner and Steve Smith are expected to get back into the team for the World Cup as their bans are expiring on March 28 and this can probably make the Aussie side a force to be reckoned with in the World Cup."Warner and Smith might come back into the team, the current bunch are performing well so it is only healthy for the Australian
Combinations used in Australia series may not be used during World Cup: Arun
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun Tuesday said the team combinations being used in the ongoing ODI series against Australia may not necessarily be repeated during the World Cup in England starting May 30. India go into the final ODI against Australia here on Wednesday aiming to complete their World Cup auditions for a couple of slots that were up for grabs. "These are not necessarily the combinations which will be used during the World Cup but we would like to know how people perform in different situations for us to pick up a balanced team," Arun said on the eve of the final encounter. The coach did not elaborate much but stated emphatically that the Indian team is quite sure about its combinations for the World Cup in England. "More or less, the team is quite sure of what combination is but we would like to try out all our options before the World Cup. We want to be extremely sure (of) what we want before go into a major tournament like World Cup," the coach said. The bowlers ...
'Underhand dealings': Chinese FIFA referee in spotlight
A referee who has taken charge of World Cup qualifiers is the latest high-profile figure to be accused of plagiarism in China, joining a slew of top Communist Party officials. A former vice president and a supreme court judge were among a half-dozen officials who borrowed from other people's work without citing them for their university theses, a recent AFP review found. Top Chinese football referee Fu Ming has now been dragged into the scandal, triggered by his controversial performance during a top-flight match which saw state media accuse him of "bias". The 36-year-old's decisions on Saturday in the Chinese Super League game between Shandong Luneng and Henan Jianye were criticised by fans of both sides and threw him into the spotlight. In the aftermath Fu, one of five professional referees in Chinese football, was accused on social media of plagiarising parts of an academic paper he wrote about the sport. Nanhang Jincheng College said in a statement on Weibo, China's version of ...
Brian Lara opens up about his humble beginning
Brian Charles Lara, one of the greatest entertainers of the Cricket world, revealed he started playing cricket with a bat made out of a coconut branch. In an interaction with the International Cricket Council (ICC), Lara shared how his family supported and inspirited him to grow as a cricketer. The ICC quoted Brian Lara as saying that his brother "shaved a cricket bat out of a coconut branch" for him when he was just four-years-old. "We played cricket with anything we put our hands on - a hard orange, a lime, a marble - anything we could use in the backyard or the streets," he added. Starting with rather modest means, former West Indies player managed to score 501 in first-class cricket and 400 in test cricket, which stands undimmed, conferring him with the title of the highest individual scorer of all time. Not to mention, in both the innings, he was not-out and had set these benchmark scores in 1994 and 2004 respectively.Cricket was not the only game Lara used to play, other sports .
Australian hardwork of 18 months showing results: Carey
Australia had come into the series against India looking to make the most of a five-match series before the World Cup, and now they stand on the cusp of winning the series when they come out to play the fifth game at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Wednesday.
ACT Fibernet extends partnership with Chennai Super Kings
: Fiber broadband internet service provider ACT Fibernet Tuesday has extended its partnership with IPL team Chennai Super Kings as its official internet partner. Under the tie-up, ACT Fibernet would provide wi-fi connectivity during the matches of Chennai Super Kings scheduled to be held here, a press release said. Indian Premier League in its 10th edition is scheduled to begin later this month and is expected to go on till May-end. "CSK is one of the most celebrated teams and the reigning champion of IPL(Indian Premier League). We are immensely excited to be their chosen connectivity partner," ACT Fibernet's COO Sandeep Gupta said. "Through this partnership, our aim is to elevate the in-stadium experience for fans and players," he said. Commenting on the tie-up with ACT Fibernet, Chennai Super Kings' CEO K S Viswanathan said, "We are delighted to have them onboard for the second time in a row." "ACT Fibernet has played a critical role in providing world-class internet ...
Flurry of matches coming up for us, says Warren Deutrom, Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland
New Delhi [India], Mar 12 (ANI): With International Cricket Council (ICC) deciding to include just top ten countries in this year's Cricket World Cup, Ireland will miss out on the opportunity to play the prestigious tournament. But the Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland is hopeful that the ICC would take more countries on board for the 2023 World Cup.Ireland have been displaying constant improvement in the International cricketing fraternity as they have been locking horns with some top teams.In an exclusive interview with ANI, Warren Deutrom, Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland , opened up about the road ahead for Ireland and how they plan to play more competitive matches in the international game.Ireland was dropped from this year's World Cup line-up, as the ICC decided to have only top ten cricketing nations in the World Cup."The missed opportunity for qualification for the 2019 Cricket World Cup was a major disappointment at the time. However, it was 12 months ago and Ireland has ..