Page 495 - Sports
East Bengal end with win but again miss title
East Bengal came close yet again before settling for the second place with a 2-1 victory over Gokulam Kerala FC in the I-League here Saturday. The club and its Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia knew it had to win and then leave everything else to fate. Marcus Joseph gave the hosts the lead in the 69th minute but a penalty from Jamie Santos Colado (79') and Laldanmawia Ralte's strike (85') helped East Bengal pick up full points. The game began with the Red & Golds on the attack and pressing hard to take an early lead. Their first attempt to score came as early as in the second minute of the game, but East Bengal were unable to draw first blood. As the half progressed, however, East Bengal looked more under pressure to score and the hosts slowly but surely began to take charge. The visitors also showcased high quality in defence and along with some stellar goalkeeping by Rakhsit Dagar ensured that the hosts did not take a lead. Gokulam came close to scoring on a couple of ...
Mahindra Racing team looks to consolidate lead position in Formula E Championships
The iconic Harbourfront street circuit here has been a happy hunting ground for India's Mahindra Racing team in Formula E Championships with three podium finishes but its drivers and officials are not taking anything for granted in the race on Sunday. Mahindra Racing's Nick Heidfeld finished third in 2016 and 2017 before joining the team as a support staff while Felix Rosenqvist won the race last season. Currently, Mahindra Racing is leading the championships in team standings after four legs while Jerome D'Ambrosio is on top of drivers standings. But the Indian team says it will start from the scratch in the fifth race of the season on Sunday. "Past results will count nothing though we would love to continue our good show in Hong Kong. Anything can happen as we saw in the last leg in Mexico City. So, we will start from the scratch," Jerome said. In Mexico City, which was the fourth leg of the season, none of the Mahindra Racing's two drivers could finish on the podium after three ...
Bhullar slips to Tied 58th at Qatar Masters
India's Gaganjeet Bhullar endured a difficult day, carding a three-over 75 to slip from T-22 to Tied-58th after the third round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters here Saturday. Bhullar, who had three bogeys on the back nine was one-under 215 for 54 holes. Oliver Wilson took a one stroke lead into the final round after carding a three under par round of 69 in testing conditions at Doha Golf Club. The 2008 Ryder Cup player was the last man in at this week's tournament and is making the most of his chance in Qatar - reaching a ten under par total with a birdie on the 18th hole. This is the Englishman's first 54-hole lead on the European Tour since the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he went on to secure his first title. His birdie on the last hole saw him pull away from a five-way tie for second place, which includes Nick Cullen, Nacho Elvira, Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Erik van Rooyen - all four of which are bidding for their maiden victory on the European Tour. Australia's .
86 percent of fans prefer watching Tests compared to limited-overs cricket: MCC
An overwhelming 86 percent of fans prefer watching Tests compared to limited-overs cricket, announced the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Saturday, shattering fears that the longest format of the game is dying. The MCC conducted a survey titled the 'MCC Test Cricket survey', where over 13,000 fans participated across 100 countries. The survey found that an average of 86 percent of the participants said five-day cricket remained their "preferred" format followed by One-day internationals, Twenty20 Internationals and domestic T20s. "Overwhelmingly, Test cricket came out as the format that interests fans the most, regardless of country supported or age," the MCC said in a release. "Responders to the MCC Test cricket survey still consider the Test format to be the pinnacle of cricket and the favourite format of cricket to attend, follow and watch, with respondents describing the game as the "ultimate" form of cricket." Among other key findings, the MCC said over half of the respondents ...
Sailor Upamanyu Dutta clinches bronze in Asian regatta
Young Mumbai sailor Upamanyu Dutta bagged the bronze medal in the Laser Standard race for men in the Laser Asian Sailing Championship which concluded in Singapore on Saturday, according to a media release. Nethra Kumanan of Chennai achieved a creditable 4th position in the Laser Radial event for women. The championship saw tight racing between the top Asian Laser sailors who used the event to warm up before the Olympic sailing qualifier event for the upcoming Laser class scheduled in Japan. Upamanyu, who is currently training in Europe under coach Trevor Millar, entered the event in Singapore as one of the favoured contenders, having won the Euromed Championship in Malta last month. The young sailor sailed superbly to gain India's first ever medal in the competitive single-handed Laser Standard category, the release added.
Raman questions Indian women cricketers' technical acumen
'The only way is up from hereon,' a dejected WV Raman said Saturday while questioning the technical acumen of some of his players, after the Indian women's team went down to England for its seventh straight T20 loss. India's batswomen failed to score three runs in the final over in an embarrassing capitulation, gifting England a one-run win in the third T20 International and a 0-3 series whitewash here. "Basically, first they need to work a lot on their skills," coach Raman told reporters when asked if a mental conditioning expert is the need of the hour for the women's team. "Once the development in terms of skills happen, then all other things come into play because tactically everybody is aware of what needs to be done, but tactics cannot be executed unless the technical base is good enough," he added after the final T20I. Chasing a mediocre 120-run target, India looked in control as they needed just three runs in the final over but they failed to achieve it after Kate Cross ...
Chennai City crowned I-League champions after another photo finish
Chennai City were Saturday crowned champions of the 12th I-League, which refused to be dwarfed by the uncertainty around its future, twisting this way and that till the last moments. Chennai City came from behind and got the better of Minerva Punjab 3-1 on the final day of the league. Chasing the leaders, travellers East Bengal finished second after beating Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 in Kozhikode. At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, Roland Bilala had handed Minerva Punjab a shock lead in the third minute. But Pedro Manzi, one part of a deadly triumvirate that served Chennai City with distinction through their third season, converted from the spot to draw parity. Assam's 20-year-old Gaurav Bora's brace (69' and 90+3') then sealed the title for the Akbar Nawas-coached side. Chennai City ended on top of the league table with 43 points, one more than East Bengal who finished second in yet another photo finish. East Bengal's bid to end their 15-year-old wait for the top-flight title continued
Gaurav Bora strikes twice as Chenai win maiden I-League
Delhi lad Gaurav Bora did the star turn with two second half goals as Chennai City FC won their maiden I-League title, beating defending champions Minerva Punjab FC 3-1 in their final game of the season, here on Saturday.
Bale, Mariano miss Madrid's practice ahead of Valladolid clash
Wales winger Gareth Bale and striker Mariano Diaz of the Dominican Republic, best known as Mariano, did not take part in Real Madrid's last training session ahead of a Real Valladolid encounter in La Liga.
Arun compiles break of 95 to enter round two
Karnataka's M S Arun hit the high notes as he brought off a break of 95 to breeze past Swapnil Patil of Maharashtra 3-0 in a first round match of the CCI All India Open Snooker Championship here on Saturday. Arun's tournament-high break bettered the 83 done by Abhishek Bajaj and helped him notch up a 67-16, 95-30, 76-23 victory over the Aurangabad-based Patil at the Cricket Club of India. Mumbai's Nitesh Madan also impressed as he rolled in two notable breaks of 49 and 78 to blank city rival Harmehr Mago 3-0 to enter round three. Results (all from Mumbai unless stated otherwise) Round 1: Shiva Sharma (Andhra Pradesh) beat Khushit Shah 3-0; Saad Sayed beat K Venkatesham 3-0; M S Arun (Karnataka) beat Swapnil Patil (Aurangabad) 3-0; Raj Khandwala beat Joseph Menezes 3-1 (59-24, 61-29, 51-62, 70-37); Dhaval Gadhvi beat Nilesh Sagar 3-0; Hanish Sharma (Delhi) beat Rohan Kothare (Aurangabad) 3-2; R Loganathan (Tamil Nadu) beat Ajinkya Yelve 3-1; Luv Kukreja (Delhi) beat ...
Indian women cricketers need to work on their skills: Raman
India women's cricket team head coach W V Raman believes the country's young cricketers need to work on their technical skills in order to execute their strategies during match situations. India's batswomen failed to score three runs in the final over in an embarrassing capitulation, gifting England a one-run win in the third T20 International and a 0-3 series whitewash here Saturday. "Basically, first they need to work a lot on their skills," Raman told reporters when asked if a mental conditioning coach is the need of the hour for the women's team. "Once the development in terms of skills happen, then all other things come into play because tactically everybody is aware of what needs to be done, but tactics cannot be executed unless the technical base is good enough," he added after the final T20I. Chasing a mediocre 120-run target, India looked in control as they needed just three runs in the final over but they failed to achieve it after Kate Cross dismissed Bharati Fulmali and ...
Chennai City triumph in I-League in another last-day title race
Refusing to be dwarfed by uncertainty around its future, the 2018-19 I-League twisted this way and that before Chennai City triumphed here Saturday in the manner befitting their dominant campaign, fulcrum of which was a sustained possession-based football. Chennai City came from behind and got the better of Minerva Punjab 3-1 on the final day of the league. Chasing the leaders, travellers East Bengal finished second after beating Gokulam Kerala FC 2-1 in Kozhikode. At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, Roland Bilala had handed Minerva Punjab a shock lead in the third minute. But Pedro Manzi, one part of a deadly triumvirate that served Chennai City with distinction through their third season, converted from the spot to draw parity. Gaurav Bora's brace (69' and 90+3') then sealed the title for the Akbar Nawas-coached side. Chennai City ended on top of the league table with 43 points, one more than East Bengal who finished second in yet another photo finish. East Bengal's bid to end ...
IAAF weighs Russian reinstatement again, still seeks compensation
The International Athletics Federation (IAAF) will look for the 10th time at the reinstatement of Russia, at meetings in Doha on Monday and Tuesday. Russia has been suspended since November 2015 after the eruption of a vast state-sponsored doping scandal. The IAAF, which convenes three times a year, has discussed the issue at every meeting since then. While the situation has changed in recent months, the IAAF's requirements for the return of Russian colours to the track do not seem to have been satisfied. At their meeting in Monaco in December, the IAAF set two conditions. The first, the recovery of data from the Moscow anti-doping lab seems, to have been met and the World Anti-Doping Agency is working its way through the files they have recovered. The second is that Russia pays what the IAAF says are substantial costs created by the scandal. "For the moment all the conditions have not been met," Bernard Amsalem, French athletics federation president and one of the 27 members of the ..
Mushtaq: Mumbai maul Delhi by 8 wickets; Maha, K'taka register
Domestic giants Mumbai thrashed Delhi by 8 wickets in their Super League Group B match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Saturday. This is Mumbai's first win in the Super League stage, after they suffered a defeat in their lung-opener against Karnataka. Put into bat at the Emerald Heights International School Ground, Mumbai bowlers led by medium-pacer Tushar Deshpande (4-19) put out a splendid performance to restrict Delhi to 144/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Delhi lost opener Hiten Dalal (4) early after he was stumped by wicket-keeper Eknath Kerkar off spinner Shams Mulani. Experienced Unmukt Chand (22) and Dhruv Shorey (33) conjured a 58-run stand for the second wicket to rally Delhis innings. But then pacer Tushar Deshpande broke the stand removing Chand and also sent skipper Nitesh Rana (0) back to the pavilion. Akash Parkar stuck immediately after removing Shorey with Delhi in a spot of bother at 66-4. Then, Himmant Singh (24) and Lalit Yadav (33), with their .
Indian Oil, South Central Railway storm into semis
Star-studded Indian Oil, the defending champions, and South Central Railway from Seceunderabad notched up resounding quarter final victories to advance into the semi finals of the 53rd All India Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament here on Saturday. The oilmen trounced local challengers Central Railway 7-2 in a lopsided match at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium. Later, Pratap Lakra scored a hat-trick of penalty corner goals to power South Central Railway to a 6-3 win against Army XI in the second quarter-final. Boasting of several former internationals in their line-up, Indian Oil dominated the match against a defensive Central Railway. Indian Oil took the lead in the sixth minute when a combined move between Roshan Minz, Vickram Singh and TalwinderSingh resulted in the last-named beating Central goalkeeper Mujahid Khan with a firm reverse hit. Three minutes later drag-flicker Neelam Sanjay Xess scored from the first penalty corner to double the lead for the title holders in the ..
India aim to bounce back vs Australia in Mohali (Preview)
After a loss in the third One-Day International (ODI), India will aim to bounce back against Australia in the fourth contest of the rubber at the PCA stadium, here on Sunday.
Meiraba, Gayatri, Vaishnavi enter pre-quarterfinals at German Junior
Manipur shuttler Meiraba Luwang entered the pre-quarterfinals of the men's under-19 competition at the German Junior in Berlin, Germany on Saturday. Meiraba overcame Indonesia's Yonathan Ramlie, seeded sixth, 13-21 21-16 21-18 to set up a meeting with another Indonesian 10th seed Bobby Setiabudi. He had earlier beaten compatriot Ishaan Bhatnagar 21-6, 21-19. Vaishnavi Jakka Reddy and Gayatri Gopichand also progressed to the pre-quarterfinals of the women's under-19 competition with straight game wins. Second seed Vaishnavi beat Denmark's Simona Pilgaard 21-16 21-18 and will face 10th seeded Chinese Han Qianxi next, while Gayatri defeated Korea's So Yul Lee 21-14 21-13 to set up a clash with Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani, seeded third. Gayatri had won an all-Indian clash with Treesa Jolly 21-15, 21-15 on Friday. In other women's U-19 matches, Samiya Imad Farooqui lost 14-21 17-21 to Pornpicha Choeikeewong of Thailand, while Anastasiia Shapovalova of Russia ended Amolika Singh ...
FICA ready to support Pakistan in setting up its own players' body: Irish
The Federation of International Players Associations (FICA) CEO Tony Irish Saturday said that the global players' representative body is ready to support Pakistani cricketers whenever they decide to form their own unit. "It is really up to the Pakistani players when they want to do that but we will be there to support them whenever they decide," Irish, who is on a three-day visit to witness the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches here, said. Irish, who as FICA CEO was in the lead in advising foreign players against touring Pakistan in recent years because of the security issues, also said that their security consultant is very satisfied with the plans in place for the PSL matches. "I am not a security expert but what I see for this event is pretty good. I am impressed. We would like to see more cricket being played in Pakistan but it is really dependent on the security situation," he said. "We think security situation needs to be assessed for every tour." FICA has grown in importance .
Rajiv, Senthil hand fine start to India's Honda racing team
After solid practice, Rajiv Sethu and Senthil Kumar, riders of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team, scored seven vital points at Asias road race championship (ARCC) here on Saturday.
Batsmen falter as Bengal lose to Maharashtra in Mushtaq Ali Trophy
After a convincing start against Railways in the opener, a lacklustre Bengal suffered a seven-wicket defeat against Maharashtra in the second Super League Group A game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here Friday. The duel here saw Maharashtra opting to bowl first after winning the toss and restrict Bengal to 138 for seven from their 20 overs. Bengal were 25 for five at one stage but Shahbaz Ahmed with 60 off 44 balls and skipper Manoj Tiwary's 41 (44 balls) ensured a 130 plus total. In reply, Maharashtra scored the runs in only 17.3 overs. Rahul Tripathi scored 60 off 46 balls with nine boundaries. At the start of the Bengal innings, Maharashtra bowlers removed the opponent's top-order within powerplay overs. Left-arm pacer Samad Fallah started off the proceedings dismissing veteran Wridhdhiman Saha (0) in the very first over when he was beaten by movement. Shreevats Goswami, who played a fantastic knock against Railways, looked a mere shadow of himself scoring just 1 and was bowled by