Page 552 - Sports
Olympic quotas withdrawn from Delhi shooting WC: International federation chief
All the 16 Olympic quotas allotted to New Delhi World Cup were Thursday withdrawn owing to denial of visas to Pakistani shooters in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack. This was announced by the ISSF president Vladimir Lisin during his address to the season-opening World Cup at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Pakistan shooters' participation in the tournament became the bone of contention since the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama killed more than 40 CRPF personnel last Thursday. It was learnt that the International Olympic Committee is deliberating on the matter and a decision of its Executive Board is likely to be issued at 10 pm local time of Switzerland (02:30 IST Friday), officials said. "The International Olympic Committee informed us this World Cup will not be included in the competitions for Olympic quotas. In this case, the quotas will be distributed in another World Cup. No one can be discriminated and we have to follow the IOC decision as part of the IOC ..
Diego Costa boosts Atletico's return to its essence
Spain forward Diego Costa was the big surprise in the Atletico Madrid starting lineup against Juventus in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 and his contribution was a big morale boost that helped the Spanish team to win 2-0 against the seven-time Serie A defending champion.
India are favourites at World Cup: Ganguly
Former skipper Sourav Ganguly described India as favourites to lift the World Cup, saying the team is in best possible shape to win the quadrennial event which gets underway at England on May 30. "India are favourites, they have played good cricket for the last 6-7 months, they are very prepared for the World Cup," Ganguly said on the sidelines of a program of HCL Foundation, the CSR arm of HCL Technologies. "This is the best possible team, all of them have performed and that's why they are in the squad," he added. India will begin its campaign at the World Cup with a clash against South Africa on June 5 at Southampton. The event was also attended by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. During the event, HCL Grant recognized the rise of community-led ecosystems of NGOs. Three NGOs across the categories of Education, Healthcare and Environment received a grant of ?5 crore each from HCL Grant, which also awarded an additional grant of ?25 lakhs each for the six finalists across the three ...
England recall Malan, Billings for Windies T20Is
England have recalled batsmen Dawid Malan and Sam Billings, while resting Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler for the upcoming three-match T20I series against the West Indies.
ISL: Mumbai hope to turn it around against desperate ATK
ATK and Mumbai City FC have everything to play for as they chase a place among the top four in the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Friday.
Adaptability is key against India, says Khawaja
Australia's top-order batsman Usman Khawaja believes adaptability is going to be the key during their limited-over series against India and said they would look to draw from their past experience of playing in the country. Australia will begin their tour of India with the first T20 International in Visakhapatnam on Sunday and Khawaja believes wickets are going to be good for batting. "I played in that T20 (World Cup) and the wickets were really nice," said Khawaja, who played six Indian Premier League matches for the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in India. "I found there was probably one wicket that spun a fair bit in Dharamsala, the other ones in Mohali (twice) and Bangalore were pretty good batting surfaces," he was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "You just have to adapt to whatever you get here. As the Australian cricket team, a lot of guys have had some really good performances in India in the past, so I think we can draw from that." Khawaja, who is currently in ...
Nike shares slip, faces Twitter storm after sneaker fail
(Reuters) - Shares of Nike Inc fell nearly 2 percent on Thursday, a day after a sneaker worn by emerging basketball star Zion Williamson split in half 33 seconds into a hotly anticipated game between Duke University and North Carolina.
Thrilling three-run win for Jharkhand against Delhi
Jharkhand pulled off a thrilling three-run win over holders Delhi in a Group 'A' match in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Cricket tournament here Thursday. Batting first, Jharkhand rode on Virat Singh's unbeaten 70 to make 158 for 4 in 20 overs against an attack that included Test paceman Ishant Sharma. Delhi fell short by three runs despite a brave knock of 70 by Dhruv Shorey. In other matches, Kerala thrashed Manipur by 83 runs and Jammu and Kashmir beat Nagaland by nine wickets in an one-sided encounter. Brief Scores: Kerala 186/5 (Sachin Baby 75 not out, Mohammed Azharuddenn 47, Homendra 2-25) beat Manipur 103/7 (Yashpal Singh 40 not out, Mayank Raghav 32, Rohan Prem 1-7) by 83 runs. Points: Kerala:4, Manipur:0 Nagaland 136/6 (Pawan K B 53 not out, R Jonathan 31, Parvez Rasool 2-26) lost to Jammu and Kashmir 142/1 (Abdul Samad 76 not out, Jatin Wadhwan 62, Tahmeed 1-27) by nine wickets. Jammu and Kashmir 4 points, Nagaland 0. Jharkhand 158/4 (Virat Singh 70 not out, ...
I-League: Lajong, Gokulam gear up to salvage pride (Preview)
In what could be a battle to grace the relegation and finish as high as possible in the I-League table, Shillong Lajong FC will take on Gokulam Kerala at the JLN Nehru Stadium, here on Friday.
Rajitha puts South Africa on the ropes in second Test
Sri Lankan fast bowler Kasun Rajitha took three wickets in successive overs to increase South Africa's woes on the first day of the second Test on Thursday. South Africa were 185 for seven at tea, with Quinton de Kock, their last recognised batsman, on 68 not out at St George's Park. It could have been worse for South Africa, who need a win to salvage a share of the series after a surprise defeat in the first Test in Durban. Both not-out batsmen, De Kock and Kagiso Rabada, survived catching chances shortly before tea. South Africa made a poor start after winning the toss. They lost three wickets with the total on 15, two of them to successive balls from Vishwa Fernando, and were 73 for four when captain Faf du Plessis was bowled by his opposite number, part-time bowler Dimuth Karunaratne, with the last ball before the interval. The hosts seemed to be recovering when Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock put on 57 at almost a run a ball for the fifth wicket before Markram was leg before ...
Breakdancing set for Olympics debut in Paris 2024: organisers
Breakdancing is set to make its debut as an Olympic sport at Paris 2024, the head of the local organising committee said Thursday. Skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing, which have already been added to the programme for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, have been invited to return in Paris four years later. Tony Estanguet, the head of the Paris 2024 organising committee and a former Olympic gold medallist in canoeing, said the inclusion of the four sports responded to a need to make the Olympics "more urban" and "more artistic". "This is a major step forward in our ambition to organise a unique Olympic Games," Estanguet said. "Right from the beginning, our aim was to offer Games that would have an impact and the element of surprise. "This is why we have chosen to present the IOC with four sports that are as creative as spectacular, geared towards youth and completely in line with our vision. "They reflect perfectly Paris 2024's identity." The choice of the four sports still needs to be ...
Sri Lanka take four South African wickets before lunch
Sri Lanka made an inspired start as they claimed three wickets in the space of seven balls on the first morning of the second Test against South Africa on Thursday. They completed an excellent morning at St George's Park when captain Dimuth Karunaratne bowled opposite number Faf du Plessis to reduce South Africa to 73 for four at lunch. The hosts lost their first three wickets with the total on 15 after Du Plessis won the toss and decided to bat. Vishwa Fernando, who took eight wickets in Sri Lanka's surprise one-wicket win in the first Test in Durban, started South Africa's slide when he took two wickets in two balls in his third over. The left-armer bowled Dean Elgar for six. After setting up Elgar with a series of balls which swung away from the left-hander, Fernando bowled a delivery which straightened and knocked back the off stump. Fernando then bowled Hashim Amla first ball with a full delivery which swung into the right-hander. Temba Bavuma survived the hat-trick, but was out
Mumbai hope to turn it around against desperate ATK
ATK and Mumbai City FC have everything to play for as they chase a place among the top four in the Indian Super League at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Friday. Mumbai City are better placed with 27 points from 16 matches and will qualify with a win. ATK have 21 points and can touch fourth-placed Mumbai's tally with a win but need too many things to go in their favour. "It's very difficult to qualify but it is possible. We obviously cling on to that hope. If we were to win it, we would be within reach of Mumbai. We'd also have a better head to head against Mumbai if we win. You never know what would happen in football," said ATK coach Steve Coppell. The Kolkata side's playoff dreams have taken a big beating after a 2-2 draw against FC Pune City was followed up with a comprehensive 0-3 loss against FC Goa. So precarious is the spot Coppell's men now find themselves is that even two wins out of two might not be enough to guarantee a play-offs spot and they will still ...
CoA meet to discuss playing Pakistan in World Cup
The subject of playing Pakistan in the ICC World Cup is likely to top the agenda when the two-member Supreme Court appointed BCCI Committee of Administrators (CoA) meets here on Friday as calls for boycotting the neighbour in the marquee tournament in the United Kingdom have come from all quarters.
Nike shares slip after college basketball star's sneaker rips
(Reuters) - Shares of Nike Inc fell nearly 2 percent on Thursday, a day after a sneaker worn by emerging basketball star Zion Williamson split in half 33 seconds into a hotly anticipated game between Duke University and North Carolina.
World Cup trophy begins UK tour
The iconic Nelson's Column at Trafalgar Square here was transformed into the middle stump of a giant set of wickets for the launch of a UK-wide Trophy Tour of the Cricket World Cup which gets underway on May 30. Prominent cricketers such as Nasser Hussain, Isa Guha, Clive Lloyd, Alastair Cook and Graeme Swann joined fans of the game at the event on Wednesday to mark the 100-day count down of the quadrennial event. The International Cricket Council (ICC) said the Trophy Tour will comprise of over 100 events across 115 locations to ensure all fans get the opportunity to "get up close and personal" with the trophy. "Transforming one of London's most famous landmarks into giant wickets is a wonderful way to kick start the celebrations for what I know will be the greatest ever celebration of cricket for hundreds of millions of fans around the world," said ICC Chief Executive David Richardson. Steve Elworthy, Managing Director of the World Cup, said: "The tournament is within touching ...
Iyer hits record-breaking ton as Mumbai rout Sikkim
Young Shreyas Iyer hit a blazing 147 off 55 balls to help Mumbai defeat Sikkim by 154 runs in their Group C opening match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy here Thursday. Iyer's 147 is the highest T20 score by an Indian. He surpassed the record of Rishabh Pant, who had scored unbeaten 128 for Delhi Daredevils. His 147 is also the 12th highest score by a batsman in the T20 cricket history. Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara hit an unbeaten 100 in 61 balls, but the effort went in vain as Railways chased down Saurashtra's 189-run target with five wickets in hand at the Holkar Stadium. At the Emeralds Heights International School ground, it was all Iyer show, who took the Sikkim bowlers to cleansers hammering 15 sixes and seven boundaries as Mumbai posted a mammoth 258/4 in 20 overs. The domestic veterans then restricted Sikkim to 104/7 to start their campaign on a winning note. Mumbai lost openers skipper Ajinkya Rahane (11) and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw (10) cheaply and were .
HC dismisses plea challenging BCCI's decision to restrain wards of railway employees from playing
The Delhi High Court Thursday dismissed a plea by several wards of railway employees challenging the BCCI's decision restraining them from playing for the railways in the 'under-19' and 'under-23' categories. The petition said that Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had decided that only the permanent employees of the railways would be allowed to play for the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) teams. Justice Vibhu Bakhru said no interference with the decision of the BCCI and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) was warranted. The court passed the order on a plea by 10 wards of railway employees who had said the junior teams were allowed to participate in the tournaments organised by the BCCI from 1980 and since then, the railway employees' children had been representing the department and winning accolades. The court, while dismissing the plea, said "Undoubtedly, the petitioners (players) have presented a compelling case for being permitted to ...
Abhimanyu, Prayas star in Bengal's record win
Youngster Abhimanyu Easwaran cracked his maiden Twenty20 century to continue his sublime form as former champions Bengal secured a record 159-run win over Mizoram in their opening Group D fixture of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here Thursday. The 23-year-old smashed five sixes and eight fours en route to his 56-ball 107 as Bengal piled 221/4 after being put in by Mizoram at the Barabati Stadium. Abhimanyu's effort was brilliantly complemented by Royal Challengers Bangalore-recruit Prayas Ray Barman as the debutant leg-spinner claimed 4/14 in his Twenty20 debut while Pradipta Pramanik bagged 3/13 as Mizoram folded for 62 in 13 overs to hand Bengal the biggest margin win of the tournament. Karnataka held the earlier record -- a 123-run victory over Jharkhand in Kolkata in 2018. Abhimanyu, who had amassed 861 runs from six first class matches at an average of 95.66, took charge of the proceedings after Vivek Singh (28) departed in the third over. Abhimanyu found an able ally in Shreevats .
Syed Mushtaq Ali: Jharkhand, Kerala start on winning note
On the first day of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, an all-round effort helped Jharkhand edge past Delhi by three runs in a group A match here on Thursday.