Page 543 - Sports
Record-breaking Saurabh wins gold, quota; Manu disappoints
Sixteen-year-old boy Saurabh Chaudhary beat the men standing in his way to claim gold with a new record in the ISSF World Cup here Sunday, securing India's third Olympic quota, but there was disappointment in store for Manu Bhaker. Unfazed by a field comprising seasoned campaigners, Chaudhary smashed the men's 10m air pistol world record in his maiden senior World Cup appearance, at the season-opening International Shooting Sport Federation event. Qualification topper Manu, however, finished fifth in the women's 25m pistol event after starting strongly. Asian Games and Youth Olympics gold medallist Chaudhary ended the event with a total score of 245. Dami Mikec of Serbia was second in the podium with a score of 239.3, while the bronze medal was bagged by 2008 Olympic champion Wei Pang of China, who managed 215.2. Such was his dominance in the eight-men final that he finished the event 5.7 points ahead of the silver medallist, the gold assured even before his final shot. Chaudhary ...
I-League: Real Kashmir's unbeaten away run continues
Real Kashmir FC were able to maintain their unbeaten record on the road as they stole a crucial point against Indian Arrows following the 2-2 draw at the Kalinga Stadium, here on Sunday.
Real Kashmir draw 2-2 with Indian Arrows in I-League
Debutante Real Kashmir on Sunday continued their unbeaten run with a 2-2 draw against Indian Arrows to leave the I-League title race tantalising poised here. After 75 minutes of goalless football, suddenly the match sprung into life as four goals were scored in the final 15 minutes of regulation time at the Kalinga Stadium. Indian Arrow's Amarjit Singh (78th minute) found the target from the penalty spot before Kofi Tetteh (82nd) restored the parity for Real Kashmir from a well-taken corner by Vicky Meitei. Mason Robertson (90th), who was lurking in for long, then earned the lead for the visitors only to lose it within 60 seconds when Rahul KP headed an Anwar Ali corner home. Following the result, Real Kashmir FC took the second spot on the table with 33 points from 17 matches, while Indian Arrows reclaim the seventh spot with 18 points from 19 matches. The Srinagar-based team is still four points away from table-toppers Chennai City (37) with just one match to go. Real Kashmir FC now
Perry, Jonassen help Aussies retain Rose Bowl
Ellyse Perry's maiden century and a five-wicket haul to Jess Jonassen ensured Australia retain their 20-year one-day international dominance in the Rose Bowl encounter with New Zealand, sealing a 95-run victory at Karen Rolton Oval with a game to spare.Perry anchored the innings for Australia after they were sent in by New Zealand, guiding her side to 247 for seven. Defending what seemed a below-par total, left-arm spinner Jonassen, who had taken four wickets in the first game, took a career-best 5/27 from her eight overs as she rattled the middle and lower order to bowl New Zealand out for 152 under 38 overs.With New Zealand opener Sophie Devine and captain Amy Satterthwaite in the middle, it seemed their partnership would steer the visitors to level the series 1-1. However, Jonassen provided the much-needed breakthrough as she trapped Devine for 47. Later, brilliant fielding from Elyse Villani led to run out Satterthwaite for 37 before the visitors slid to 119 for six.Jonassen then .
I-League: East Bengal aim to cut gap with win over Aizawl (Preview)
Chasing the elusive league title, East Bengal will look to end their home campaign on a high and cut the gap on leaders Chennai City FC when they take on relegation-threatened Aizawl FC in an I-League clash here on Monday.
Saurabh Chaudhary wins gold with world record, secures Olympic quota
Unfazed by a field comprising seasoned campaigners, teenager Saurabh Chaudhary smashed the world record to win gold in the ISSF World Cup here Sunday, securing India's third Olympic quota. Appearing in his maiden senior World Cup, the 16-year-old claimed the top honours without much fuss in the men's 10m air pistol event at the season-opening International Shooting Sport Federation event. The Asian Games and Youth Olympics gold medallist ended the event with a total score of 245. Dami Mikec of Serbia was second in the podium with a score of 239.3, while the bronze medal was bagged by 2008 Olympic champion Wei Pang of China, who managed 215.2. Such was his dominance in the eight-men final that he finished the event 5.7 points ahead of the silver medallist, the gold assured even before his final shot. Chaudhary, who started strongly finished tied on top with Serbian Mikec at the end of the first series. In the second series, the champion shooter continued his good form and finished at ..
Mendis, Fernando make big gains in Test rankings
Sri Lanka batsmen Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando have made major gains in the ICC Test player rankings after anchoring their side to a memorable eight-wicket win over South Africa, helping complete a historic 2-0 series triumph.The unbroken 163-run stand from the pair enabled Sri Lanka to become the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa and they had individual gains too. An unbeaten 84 from Mendis lifted him to 18th among batsmen while Fernando's 75 not out helped him jump 35 places and reach 65th position in the list after just two Tests.Niroshan Dickwella is another Sri Lanka batsman to make a notable improvement in the latest rankings update, moving up eight slots to reach 37th place with his first innings knock of 42 while left-handed opener Lahiru Tharimanne finds himself in the top 100.Among their bowlers, Suranga Lakmal (up three places to 30th) and Vishwa Fernando (up six places to a career-best 43rd) have advanced after taking four wickets each in the second
We have quality to turn things around: Shrubsole
England may be trailing 0-1, but they have the quality to turn things around in the three-match ODI series against India, pace spearhead Anya Shrubsole said Sunday. "We have the quality in the team to turn things around. We have shown resilience in the last 18 months - winning from losing positions and coming back in the series. (I) really believe we can go out there and put things right where we need to," Shrubsole said on the eve of the second ODI. India outclassed world champions England by 66 runs in the series opener on Friday. "We bowled and fielded really well. We got to do a lot of the same things, for longer. We know the wickets, that it will be hard to score in the second innings. It's just about making a few minor adjustments," said the Somerset-born player who has taken 69 wickets in 56 ODIs. England won the toss, put the hosts in to bat and restricted them to 202 but then folded up for 136 while chasing the modest total in the series opener. Shrubsole said she was not ...
16-year-old Saurabh wins gold, secures Olympic quota
Teenager Saurabh Chaudhary smashed the world record on his way to a gold medal in the ISSF World Cup here Sunday, securing the country's third Tokyo Olympics quota. The 16-year-old claimed the top honours in the men's 10m air pistol event at the season-opening International Shooting Sport Federation event. The Asian Games gold medallist ended the event with a total score of 245. Dami Mikec of Serbia was second in the podium with a score of 239.3, while the bronze medal was bagged by Wei Pang of China, who managed 215.2. Such was Saurabh's dominance in the eight-men final that he finished the event 5.7 points ahead of the silver medallist, the gold assured even before his final shot. Saurabh, who started strongly finished tied on top with Serbian Mikec at the end of the first series. In the second series, the champion shooter continued his good form and finished at the top. Other Indians competing in the event, Abhishek Verma and Ravinder Singh, failed to qualify for the final. Both ...
Sharma lies Tied 54th; Johnson extends lead to four at WGC-Mexico C'ship
India's Shubhankar Sharma produced only his second under par card of the week, a one-under 70 in the third round to lie tied 54th at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship here Sunday. The Indian hit nine of 14 fairways and found 13 of 18 greens in regulation to take his total to four-over 217 after day 3. Shubhankar, who was tied-ninth a year ago on his debut here, had four birdies against three bogeys. Dustin Johnson shot five-under 66 despite a double bogey and extended his lead from three to four shots over Rory McIlroy (68). Johnson is now 16-under and McIlroy is 12-under. Sergio Garcia (69), Patrick Cantlay (65), Patrick Reed (64), and Cameron Smith (68) are tied for 3rd at nine-under. Two of Shubhankar's birdies came on the Par-5s. The first was on the 622-yard par-5 11th hole, where he reached the green in three and holed a huge 28-foot putt for birdie. The other Par-5 birdie was on the 575-yard par-5 15th hole, where he hit an approach shot from 236 yards to 10 feet
Kishan cracks second straight ton as Jharkhan scores 3rd win
Skipper Ishan Kishan smashed his second straight century, a breezy unbeaten 113 to power Jharkhand to a 121-run win against Manipur in a Group 'A' match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament here Sunday. Kishan (113-62 balls, 12X4, 5X6) and Virat Singh (73 not out, 46b, 7X4, 3X6) were in a devastating form as the duo piled up 165 runs for the unfinished second wicket partnership that set the stage for Jharkhand's third consecutive win in the tournament. Chasing the formidable target of 220, Manipur folded up for 98 for 9 in 20 overs with Yashpal Singh (40) alone offering some resistence as the Jharkhand bowlers emerged on top, capitalising on the good show by their batsmen. Earlier, Manipur captain Kabrambam Homendro Meitei was left ruing his decision of electing to field as the Jharkhand batsmen went on a leather hunt from the word go. Kishan and fellow opener Anand Singh (26, 12b, 4X4 1X6) gave their team a racy start punishing the bowlers ...
Mithali backs women's IPL after World Cup performance
Mithali Raj Sunday came out in support of starting a women's version of the cash-rich Indian Premier League after having spoken against it earlier. "I felt that (way) before the ODI World Cup. At that point of time the players' identity as individual players was not as big as the ODI World Cup where people started to understand what is Indian women's cricket and who all play for the team," said Mithali. She was speaking on the eve of the second One-day International against world champions England. "Now since a year or two people have gone beyond 2-3 players. They recognise other players in the squad and now is the right time to get in IPL because T20 is also a format that ICC is looking to promote in women's cricket," added Mithali. In the women's 50-over World Cup, the Indian team made the final where they lost to England, generating a huge amount of interest in the country. Mithali felt that there will be cascading effect on their game's structure with the introduction of women's ..
Rashpal, Jyoti win New Delhi Marathon 2019
Armyman Rashpal Singh and Maharashtra's Jyoti Gawte Sunday bagged top honours at the fourth edition of the IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon in the men's and women's categories here. While Rashpal won the full marathon with a timing of 02:21:55s, Jyoti clinched the women's title by clocking 02:47:54s. The event witnessed participation from over 18,000 runners in four different race categories. The races were flagged off from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium by cricket legend and IDBI Federal Life Insurance brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar. All the top three finishers in the men's full marathon are from Army Sports Institute, Pune. Sher Singh finished second with a timing of 02:23:16s, while Manavendra Singh was third, clocking 02:28:27s. "The weather was cool and I am happy with my performance. My target was to complete the race in 2:19s but I am happy with this performance also," said winner Rashpal. "We all three were running together till 25k and after that I took the ...
We need to have more partnerships: Mithali
Indian captain Mithali Raj Sunday urged his team-mates to "work on partnerships" as they looked to claim an unassailable lead in the three-match ODI series against England. "We have to work on partnerships. We had just 2, between the openers and mine with Taniya (Bhatia). We need to work on playing the middle overs," said Mithali on the eve of the second one-dayer here. Openers Jemimah Rodrigues, who top scored with 48, and Smriti Mandhana added 69 runs for the first wicket and after a mini collapse, the innings was resurrected by a 54-run stand between Mithali (44) and wicket keeper Tania (25) for the sixth wicket. India, who made 202, defended the modest score with some crafty spin bowling by left-arm Ekta Bisht (4 for 25) to emerge victorious by 66 runs and take a 1-0 lead. "When we can go and score 200 with just 2 partnerships, if another couple of batters can score runs, that would be a good score on this wicket," Mithali pointed out. Praising Jemimah, Mithali felt that the ...
Depth in India women tennis is getting better: Vishal Uppal
The fourth-place finish in the Fed Cup, country's best in recent years, is not desirable but captain Vishal Uppal reckons there is enough evidence to believe that depth in women's tennis in India is getting better. India beat Thailand but lost to hosts Kazakhstan and Korea to stay in Asia/Oceania Group I in the Fed Cup in Astana earlier this month. Analysing India's performance, Uppal said the "present is solid and the future is bright" for women's tennis in the country. "This is the highest we have finished in the past few years, which shows the girls are improving and are believing in themselves a lot more. The depth is getting better and new talent is emerging. There is a lot of healthy competition and we have a lot of girls challenging each other to get better and stay ahead of the pack," Uppal told PTI. The captain said while Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi have started doing well as a doubles combination on the circuit, Rutuja Bhosale and Pranjala Yadlapalli will add value ..
Istvan Peni wins men's 50m rifle 3 positions event
Indian shooters failed to qualify for the final as Hungary's Istvan Peni claimed the gold medal in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions event at the ISSF World Cup here Sunday. The 22-year-old shot 459.1 to win the top prize at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Sergey Kamenskiy of Russia clinched the the silver medal with a total score of 459. The bronze went to Marco De Nicolo of Italy who managed a score of 444.5. All three medallists also sealed the Olympic quota for their respective countries. In a bad outing for the host country both Indian shooters in the fray, Parul Kumar and Sanjeev Rajput, failed to qualify for the final. Kumar was ranked 22nd in the qualification round with a total score of 1170 while Rajput finished 25th with 1169 points.
Diksha finishes 44th, Tvesa 61st in Australia
India's Diksha Dagar overcame a difficult start to recover to a respectable even par 72 and finish tied 44th ahead of compatriot Tvesa Malik (T-61) at the Pacific Bay Resort Australian Ladies Classic Bonville golf tournament here. Diksha, playing in her first season as a pro, had four birdies and four bogeys as she finished the week with rounds of 71, 77, 76 and 72 for a total of eight-over 296. Tvesa, who finished as the top domestic pro on Women's Pro Golf Tour in India, is playing her first season outside India. She shot 78 in the final round, which included seven bogeys and just one birdie to end at tied 61st spot. Norway's Marianne Skarpnord ended a six year drought to claim her fourth title on the Ladies European Tour after a closely fought battle. She fired a final round of 69 to earn a two-stroke victory on eight-under-par ahead of Australian Hannah Green and Nuria Iturrios of Spain at Bonville Golf Resort.
South Africa slip to third in Test rankings
South Africa have slipped to third place in the ICC Test team rankings after losing their series to Sri Lanka 0-2.South Africa started the series with 110 points but have slipped to 105 after losing both Tests to their lower-ranked opposition. They are now two points behind New Zealand, who are in second place with 107 points.Sri Lanka on Saturday created history as they became the first Asian team and the third visiting side after England and Australia to win a Test series on South African soil. However, they remain in sixth place but have gained four points to move up to 93 in the list led by India with 116 points.New Zealand will start a three-Test home series against Bangladesh on February 28 in Hamilton, which they will have to win in order to retain second place.
Del Potro withdraws from Mexican Open
Defending champion Juan Martin del Potro has withdrawn from the Mexican Open because of discomfort in his troubled right knee, just days after being granted a wild card for the ATP 500 event.
India leg of Asian Snooker Tour postponed indefinitely over Pakistan players' visa issues
The India leg of the Asian Snooker Tour has been postponed indefinitely over Pakistan players' visa issues in the aftermath of the ghastly Pulwama terror attack. The 10 Reds Asian Tour Snooker tournament was scheduled to be held in Bengaluru in the last week of March but has been postponed after the organisers failed to guarantee visas for Pakistani cueists. The Asian Confederation of Billiards Sport (ACBS) decided to postpone the event after India failed to provide guarantee for issuing visas to the Pakistani players. "Looking at what was happening with other sporting events in India, we informed the ACBS that visa will be an issue for Pakistani players. So, the ACBS decided to postpone the last leg of the Asian Snooker Tour indefinitely," Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI) secretary S Subramaniam told PTI. "Six out of 24 players are from Pakistan or are Pakistani-origin. The haven't applied for visa but we made ACBS aware of the current situation." The first two legs ..