Page 528 - Sports
East Bengal dash Real Kashmir's title aspirations with 2-1 win
Real Kashmir FC had a small but vociferous crowd behind them but had a man less on the turf as East Bengal notched a 2-1 win to keep their slender title hopes alive in the I-League here Thursday. On the other hand, the result at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium put paid to Real Kashmir's aspirations of winning the league on their maiden season in top-flight. Originally slated to be held in Srinagar, the match was shifted to the national capital two days ago in view of the prevailing "uncertainty" in the Kashmir valley following the Pulwama terror attack. Enrique Esqueda (20') opened the scoring while Jaime Santos found the net in the 43rd minute, the Spanish duo giving the visitors a 2-0 buffer going into the second half. Aaron Katebe (67') pulled one back for the 'home' team when he converted from the spot, but that was not enough to salvage something for the hosts. East Bengal are second in the standings with 36 points while Real Kashmir are out of the race with 33 points. A win against
12 aspiring coaches from Yuwa undergoing training in Spain
A dozen aspiring coaches from Yuwa, a Jharkhand-based NGO working for girl empowerment, are currently undergoing a two-week advance level football training program at Read Sociedad football club in Spain. BookASmile, a charity initiative of BookMyShow has partnered with Laureus Sport for Good award winners to extend support to 12 aspiring football coaches. The coaches are being directly trained by the players of the academy, which is one of the most popular clubs playing at La Liga, the Spanish football league. The training program has been thoughtfully designed to enhance the tactical and management skills of the selected aspiring coaches, who will then use their learning and experiences to train the teams back in India. The 12 selected trainees coach 180 girls along side mentoring and guiding other football coaches for YUWA. "While society teaches girls to fit in, Yuwa coaches teaches girls to stand out. With long-standing support from BookASmile, we're thrilled for our coaches to ..
Bengal keep Super League hopes alive; Karnataka register sixth win in row
Bengal put up an all-round show to prevail over Chhattisgarh by 26 runs and register their second successive win, that kept alive their Super League hopes in Group D of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament here Thursday. Abhimanyu Easwaran top-scored with a 41-ball 59 (3x4s, 2x6s) while skipper Manoj Tiwary struck a quickfire 42 from 27 balls, studded with three sixes to help Bengal post a stiff 188 for four after being put into bat at the DRIEMS Ground in Tangi. Fresh from his century against Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday, Wriddhiman Saha failed to make it big, getting out for 26 but after his departure Tiwary along with his deputy Abhimanyu put on 86 runs in quick time to take Bengal ahead. Later, it was some power hitting by Vivek Singh (30 not out from 18 balls; 3x4, 1x6) and Ritwik Roy Chowdhury (13 not out from nine balls) that propped up Bengal's total with the duo notching up 39 runs in last three overs. In reply, Sayan Ghosh (4/32) bowled brilliantly at the death while .
Rahul jumps to sixth place in ICC T20I rankings
India opener Lokesh Rahul gained four berths to reach sixth position as Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell and Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai also rose in the ICC T20I player rankings, a statement said.
3rd ODI: England register consolation win, avoid whitewash against India
England women on Thursday scripted a sensational recovery from a difficult position to register a consolation two-wicket win in the third and final ODI to prevent hosts India from completing a whitewash in the three-match series. Chasing India's total of 205/8, England were struggling at 49/5 before all-rounder Danni Wyatt (56 off 82 balls) stitched two crucial partnerships with skipper Heather Knight (47 off 63 balls) and Georgia Elwiss (33 not out off 53 balls) to pave the way for their victory. England scored 208-8 in 48.5 overs to grab two crucial points as the three-game series is part of ICC Women's Championship. The World Champions are placed in seventh place and need to be in the top four to qualify directly for the 2021 World Cup. India had already sealed the series after the winning the first two games. Defending the target, veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami (3-41) rattled the England top-order, removing Amy Jones (13), Lauren Winfield (2) and Tamsin Beaumont (21). Soon, it ...
Prince William slams football clubs over mental health care
Prince William has launched a withering broadside at football clubs, lambasting them for a "dereliction of duty" in their lack of care for players' mental health. Prince William, who along with younger brother Prince Harry have spoken openly about their own mental health issues, said clubs appeared to only see the players as investments not as human beings. Prince William, who is the President of English football's governing body the Football Association (FA), made the remarks during a meeting at Windsor Park, the home of the Irish Football Association in Belfast. "Some clubs don't do anything about mental health. We've got to change the whole way we look after players," the 36-year-old Prince said to members of Ahead of the Game, an organisation that delivers mental health support to grassroots football clubs. "Many players come from difficult backgrounds and may have all sorts of issues going on. "So just to have them as a complete financial asset...it's a dereliction of duty, I ...
One gold, five silver medals for India at Makran Cup boxing in Iran
National champion Deepak Singh (49kg) was the lone Indian boxer to notch up a gold, while five others claimed silver medals in the Makran Cup in Chabahar, Iran. Deepak defeated Jaafar Naseri in the finals held on Monday night. However, none of the other five Indian finalists could win their summit clashes. Finishing second on the podium were P Lalitha Prasad (52kg), Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Manish Kaushik (60kg), Duryodhan Singh Negi (69kg), Sanjeet (91kg) and Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Satish Kumar (+91kg). Manish, also a national champion, lost to Danial Shah Baksh, while Satish was beaten by Mohammad Mlias. Sanjeet, a gold-medallist at the India Open last year, went down to Eldin Ghossoun in his final bout. Prasad couldn't put it past Omid Safa Ahmedi and settled for the second position. Duryodhan lost to Sajjad Zadeh Kezim in the welterweight final. Earlier, Rohit Tokas (64kg) and Manjeet Singh Panghal (75kg) lost in the semifinals to sign off with bronze ...
Sahil, Saikat qualify from Noida Leg Day 2 for Mercedes Trophy National Finals
Golfers Sahil Jain and Saikat Jain qualified for the National Finals of the Mercedes Trophy 2019 on day two of the Noida leg qualifier held at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort here Thursday. Sahil with Handicap Category A (0-17) and Saikat with Handicap Category B (18-24) clinched the final two qualification spots available from the leg by carding a net score of 72.4 and 72.8 respectively. The Mercedes Trophy 2019 has so far seen 34 qualifiers, including Thursday who will be competing in the National Finals to be played at the Oxford Golf Resort in Pune from March 27-29. Prominent winners include Joydeep Nayar who won the Ballantine's Long Drive Challenge with a mammoth drive of 305 yards. A total of around 120 golfers competed on Day 2 of Mercedes Trophy Noida leg. The event will now move to Chandigarh for the next qualification leg where another four qualification spots will be on offer. The Chandigarh leg will tee off on March 6 at Panchkula Golf Course.
Rahul best placed Indian at 6th, Zazai climbs 31 places to 7th spot in T20 rankings
Comeback man K L Rahul was the lone Indian to feature in the top 10 batting list, even as Afghanistan's Hazratullah Zazai jumped 31 spots to be placed at career-best seventh position in the latest ICC T20I Players Rankings issued Thursday. Rahul, who made a successful comeback with scores of 47 and 50 in the just-concluded T20 series against Australia after going through a tough time due to a chat show controversy, jumped four rungs to the sixth position with 726 rating points. Formerly top-ranked Virat Kohli (up two places to 17th) and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (up seven places to 56th) have also gained among Indian batsmen. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah (up 12 places to 15th) and left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya (up 18 places to a career-best 43rd) have also advanced. However, chinaman Kuldeep Yadav has dropped two places to occupy the fourth spot. Among others, Australia batsman Glenn Maxwell rose significantly in the recent ICC T20I Player Rankings after superb show with the .
Samiya, Gayatri make winning start at Dutch Junior International
Six Indian shuttlers, including Samiya Imad Farooqui and Gayatri Gopichand, cruised into the second round of the singles event at the Dutch Junior International in Haarlem, Netherlands. Former under-15 Asian Junior Championships gold medallist Farooqui, who logged in the maximum points among girls in the domestic tournaments last month, recorded an effortless 21-12, 21-11 win over England's Lisa Curtin on Wednesday. The in-form Gayatri, winner of two All India Junior Ranking titles, staved off some stiff resistance from Korea's Da Jeong Chung to win 21-18, 22-20. Treesa Jolly also kick started her campaign with a 21-15, 21-17 victory over Leona Michalski. In boy's singles, there was no stopping Maisnam Meiraba Luwang who had won a couple of All India Junior Ranking Tournaments to secure his berth in the team. In a 30-minute clash with Sweden's Ludvig Petre Olsson, the Manipur shuttler scripted a 21-10, 21-11 victory. Priyanshu Rajawat showed nerves of steel to eke out a gritty 19-21, .
USA name squad for their first ever T20I
USA Cricket on Thursday announced a 14-member squad for their first ever historic T20 international series against UAE, beginning March 15.The tour of Dubai comprises two T20Is and a number of 50-over matches. USA will hope to use this tour as vital preparation for the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 tournament in Namibia in April this year.The USA's team would be led by Saurabh Netravalkar, while Xavier Marshall, the experienced campaigner who previously has played 37 internationals for West Indies and Jasdeep Singh, the medium-pacer, have returned to the squad after being left out in the Division 3 games in Oman.Alex Amsterdam and Nisrag Patel, however, have been dropped from the squad."We see the UAE tour as being the perfect preparation for ICC World Cricket League 2 and the make-up of this squad has been picked squarely with the focus on the ultimate goal of [ODI] status and progression from World Cricket League Division 2 in Namibia, Xavier and Jessy have done very well of ..
Tactical rethink puts New Zealand on top against Bangladesh
A hasty rewrite of the battle plan saw Neil Wagner bag a five-wicket haul as New Zealand ripped through the Bangladesh tail to counter Tamim Iqbal's virtuoso century on day one of the first Test in Hamilton on Thursday. Despite Tamim's heroic 126, New Zealand claimed the first-day honours when they reached stumps at 86 without loss in reply to Bangladesh's 234. But for half the day everything had flowed Bangladesh's way as Tamim led an assault on the New Zealand attack after being sent in to bat. The green wicket did not assist swing bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult and it took a switch to short-ball specialist Wagner to get results. "As a unit we started assessing how we had to bowl and how we had to try and bring ourselves back into it. I thought we did that really well and obviously got the rewards for it," said Wagner who finished with five for 47 from his barrage of bouncers. "Tamim obviously batted extremely well and... made it quite hard for us and we had to fight hard to ...
Kyrgios topples Nadal to reach Acapulco quarter-finals
Australia's Nick Kyrgios survived three match points to beat top-seeded Rafael Nadal 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (8/6) on Wednesday and reach the quarter-finals of the Mexico Open. It was a bravura finish to a drama-filled match in which Nadal, playing his first tournament since falling to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final, had three chances to close it out after taking a 6-3 lead in the third-set tiebreaker. Kyrgios saved the first with a leaping drop shot, and the second with a net-skimming volley. Nadal was just wide with a passing shot to make it 6-6, double-faulted to give Kyrgios a chance and sailed a backhand long to end the match after three hours and three minutes. Kyrgios screamed and dropped to the court in celebration -- a conclusion that seemed unlikely when he complained to a trainer after the opening set that he was feeling ill but feared the fallout should he retire. Kyrgios steeled himself to continue, and distractions seemed forgotten as he became absorbed in the ..
Hafele brought FC Bayern legend Bixente Lizarazu to Indian football fans
German hardware and Fittings Company Hafele announced its new collaboration as "The Official Regional Partner" with FC Bayern, the world-famous football club and are proud to welcome FC Bayern's international football legend Bixente Lizarazu to guide and share his experience with the future budding woman football stars from Manipur. The football legend Lizarazu shared his experience in an interactive session with the team followed by a masterclass which covered a display of on-ground demonstration, recently at the Adidas Football base - Plaza, Chattarpur - Delhi. The initiative was taken by Hafele to provide international exposure to the enthusiastic players from the remote areas to promote India's talent at the international level."India has been an addition to world's football picture with its commitment, enthusiasm and pure dedication towards the game. Football is certainly on the rise especially among kids and teenagers, which is crucial for further development. It has been an ...
Palestino, Atletico Mineiro qualify for Libertadores group stage
Chile's Palestino and Brazil's Atletico Mineiro advanced to the Copa Libertadores group stage by winning their respective qualifying playoffs.
Defending champ Del Potro withdraws from Indian Wells
Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina said that he has withdrawn from next month's Indian Wells Open because of his knee injury.
Claudio Ranieri unsure of future at Fulham
Fulham FC manager Claudio Ranieri is unsure about his future at the club, which has slid down the Premier League standings after suffering a defeat at the hands of Southampton.The club has dropped to the 19th position in league standings with 17 points from 28 games."My job? I do not know, ask the owner," Goal quoted Ranieri, as saying.Fulham's defence has been a talking point for a very long period now as they conceded goals at a fast pace in the last few matches of the Premier League."It is very disappointing because every time the opponents shoot at goal, they score. It is unbelievable. This season many times it has happened"."Tonight, they first shoot at goal and score and I think when this happens the confidence goes down. We try to do our best but that is it, the maximum my players can do." The club ended up losing against Southampton as they conceded first-half goals. The scoring was done by Southampton's Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse.
Consistency is key to success , says Glenn Maxwell
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell attributed his success to the consistent role he has been entrusted with the team management in the shortest format.Maxwell, who had been playing as a finisher, said batting at a new position of number four for the past one year has helped him develop his game."Coming at two-down for the past 12 months has had a consistent role for me. Once I get that consistency of role, you can start to see consistency in performance, and that's probably what's led to this," ICC quoted Maxwell, as saying.The 30-year-old batsman indicated towards a mental reset in which he is more conscious in picking the right balls to go after."I feel I have just been picking off balls that I feel I can hit for boundaries, he said. I did not feel like I took too many risks. I was able to hit the balls where the fielders were not. There are not many times I hit it over a fielder's head, it is more in the gap.""I think that has been key for me when I have had success. When I am ...
Indian Arrows look to wrap-up season on a high
Indian Arrows are set to grab another win when the All India Football Federation (AIFF) developmental side will face Mohun Bagan today here at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.Mohun Bagan currently sit in the sixth spot with 26 points from 18 matches, while the Indian Arrows are a spot behind on seventh with 18 points from 19 matches."Definitely the campaign has been more successful than last season, we are not concerned about the relegation though we are fighting for it. The boys are only getting better with time," Indian Arrows coach Floyd Pinto said in the pre-match press conference."Mohun Bagan will be playing at their home ground which will be an advantage for them, but we are hoping to get the three points. The attitude of the boys is much more positive. We are looking forward to the Hero Super Cup and I am confident with our abilities for the match," Pinto said.Mohun Bagan will start favourites, however, their record of one defeat, draw and win respectively in .
Rex, Anshul wreck SA U-19 to hand India U-19 series sweep
Left-arm seamer Rex Singh (4 for 18) and right-arm speedster Anshul Kamboj (3 for 20) guided India to an innings and 158 run victory in the second U-19 Test, helping the hosts wrap the series 2-0. South Africa made 152 in the first innings while the hosts piled up 395 in response, riding on tons by Yashasvi Jaiswal (173) and Vaibhav Kandpal (120). However, the Proteas colts fared worse in the second innings as they slumped to 85 all out after starting the day at 50 for 2. They lost eight wickets for 35 runs inside 25 overs. Andile Mokgakane (15) was the first to go, nicking one from Kamboj to the captain Suraj Ahuja. Skipper Matthew Montgomery, who had batted in a positive manner on Wednesday, could add only two runs to his overnight score of 34, before edging one from Kamboj to his counterpart Ahuja behind the wickets. After the spinners Manishi and Hrithik Shokeen, who did the damage in the first innings, picked up a wicket each including that of the dangerous Bryce Parsons (6), it .