Page 557 - Sports
Ambrose impresses in dance video
Former West Indies pacer Curtly Ambrose, one of the top fast bowlers in the world during his prime, is creating waves on the dance floor.
I still feel like I have a lot to learn: Naomi Osaka post Dubai C'ship debacle
World number one Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the Dubai Tennis Championships in the second round on Tuesday night but the top seed believes that she still has got a lot to learn.The 21-year-old said that her early exit from the tournament should not create panic among her fans while adding that she isn't concerned regarding her failure to make it all the way through the Dubai Open."I mean, the Australian Open was not even a month ago. This was just one match. I feel like even if I don't win any matches for the rest of the year, I wouldn't say I'm concerned. I think I'm pretty young. I still feel like I have a lot to learn," WTA quoted Osaka, as saying.Osaka had lost in the second round of the championship 6-3, 6-3 against Kristina Mladenovic of France.The match was a rematch of a first-round encounter of the same tournament played last year. Mladenovic was able to maintain a tight grip on the top-ranked tennis star, not allowing the player to break free and display her trademark ...
Shooting WC: Sanjeev Rajput says Indian shooters have 'home advantage' to seal Olympic quota spot
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sanjeev Rajput believes that with the 2019 Shooting World Cup being held in India, shooters have got a "big home advantage" to grab the 2020 Tokyo Olympics quota spots.There are 16 Olympic quota spots that are up for grabs, the competition for which will start from the Shooting World Cup that commences today."Quota competitions are going to start this year with the World Cup. In such scenario, if the Shooting World Cup is being held in India, then it is a big advantage for us. When we go out for competition, our schedule and timing gets disturbed. But here, we are training in home conditions and home range, which is a big advantage," Sanjeev told ANI.The 2018 Asian Games silver medallist also backed the idea of giving more facilities to the younger generation of shooters so that they can perform well in international competitions.When asked to comment on the deadly terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives, Sanjeev, a ...
Pressure on Kenya to win Africa Nations meet: coach
Pressure is on Kenya to qualify for its first ever Africa Nations Championships, and head coach Sebastien Migne is relishing the prospect of hitting two birds with one stone.
Lyon stymie Barça in 1st leg of Champions League tie
Favourites Barcelona were held 0-0 by Olympique Lyon in the first leg of their Champions League knockout stage tie.
New Zealand back in top three on ODI rankings table
New Zealand have moved back to the third position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) men's ODI team rankings after completing a 3-0 series victory over Bangladesh on Wednesday.Black Caps were in the third position before losing a preceding series to India by a 4-1 margin, slipping down and starting the series against Bangladesh in the fourth position, with 111 points and behind South Africa on decimal points.The 3-0 result sees them overtake South Africa and reach 112 points, 10 points behind India in the list led by England with 126 points.Bangladesh have lost three points and are now on 90 points, but remain in the seventh position on the ODI rankings table.New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by 88 runs in the final ODI to complete a clean sweep. Next, both the teams will take on each other in the three-match Test series which is scheduled to be held from February 28 to March 20.
PSL 2019: Salman Butt replaces Mohammad Hafeez in Lahore Qalandars
Opening batsman Salman Butt will replace Mohammad Hafeez in Lahore Qalandars' squad for the ongoing 2019 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).Hafeez was ruled out of the PSL after he fractured his thumb during a match against Karachi Kings last week.Qalandars coach Aqib Javed said Hafeez's ouster was unfortunate but added that Salman is a good replacement for the team."It was unfortunate to lose Hafeez. We believe that only an experienced Pakistani player like Salman Butt can replace him," Geo TV quoted Javed, as saying.Team manager Sameen Rana also welcomed Salman in the team and called him a "good addition" to the squad."Salman is a good addition to the squad. He was available in past and has been in good form. We believe that he deserves a chance to showcase his form at this level as well," Rana said.Lahore Qalandars' upcoming clash is against Multan Sultans on February 22 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Karolina Pliskova advances into 3rd round of Dubai Tennis Championships
World number 4 Karolina Pliskova defeated Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round match of Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.The Czech tennis star had to overcome her mid-match letdown to claim her first win at the tournament.Coming into the tournament, Pliskova was dealing with a viral illness which had kept her out of the Doha Open as well. Slovakia's Cibulkova had the better of Pliskova coming into the tournament as she held a 3-1 lead over her including three wins in a row between 2014 and 2016.The former World number 1 Pliskova was able to bring her best game under pressure. The tennis star rained down 13 aces and won 83 per cent of points behind her big first serve.The first set completely belonged to Pliskova as she put Cibulkova under tremendous pressure. But the Slovakian star came back all guns blazing to clinch the second set. After the second set, the duo had to wait for 30 minutes as rain played spoilsport. In the third set, Pliskova did not allow any ...
Rio Open: Laslo Djere outclasses former champion Dominic Thiem
Serbian tennis star Laslo Djere defeated world number eight Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-3 at the Rio Open.The right-handed Serbian broke the game of top-seeded Thiem five times and took full benefit from five double faults of the Austrian.The Serbian Tennis star lost his serve in the opening game, but he got settled into the match and broke Thiem's game twice in the opener.Thiem won the ATP 500 title in Rio in 2017 and had never lost any match in the tournament prior to the quarter-finals."It was a great day. The biggest win in my career so I'm really happy right now... I hit the ball really well. He played a bit worse than normal I think, to be honest. But I had a great day. I felt the ball really well, hitting well from the baseline and then attacking well when it was time for that," ATP quoted Djere, as saying.Djere will next face either Brazil's Thiago Seyboth Wild or Japan's Taro Daniel.
Melgar defeat Caracas 2-0 in third round of Copa Libertadores
Peru's Melgar defeated Venezuela's Caracas 2-0 in the Copa Libertadores' first leg of round three match played here.
Was desperate to pay homage to Pulwama martyrs with a medal: Armyman Amit Panghal
"It hurt a little bit more because I belong to the armed forces," said Indian boxer Amit Panghal as he dedicated his gold medal at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament to the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack. The Asian Games gold-medallist claimed a second consecutive top finish at one of Europe's oldest boxing competitions when he out-punched Kazakhstan's Temirtas Zhussupov in the summit clash in Sofia, Bulgaria on Tuesday night. He was India's lone male boxer to grab a medal at the just-concluded edition. Speaking to PTI on Wednesday, the 23-year-old Naib Subedar in the Indian Army said the Pulwama attack, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel, was on his mind through the tournament. The deadly strike took place the day the Indian boxing team left for Sofia last week. "Main khud army se hun, dard isliye thoda zyada tha (It hurt a little bit more because I belong to the armed forces). I was desperate for a medal because I wanted to ...
Southee, Taylor inspire Black Caps whitewash of Bangladesh
Tim Southee snared a six-wicket haul and Ross Taylor tore up the record books as New Zealand dominated Bangladesh to seal a 3-0 series whitewash with an 88-run victory in the final one-day international in Dunedin on Wednesday. Sabbir Rahman's gallant maiden ODI century saved Bangladesh from total humilation after they lost three wickets with just two runs on the board chasing New Zealand's imposing target of 331. The tourists were 242 all out in 47.2 overs after the Black Caps were sent into bat and made 330 for six at University Oval. It was final New Zealand outing before the Cricket World Cup and players were desperate to impress coach Gary Stead even though the fixture was a dead rubber. Paceman Tim Southee, overlooked in New Zealand's past six ODIs, took six for 65 to guarantee himself almost certainly a berth at the tournament. Henry Nicholls looks to have secured an opening batting slot with a sparkling 64, but out-of-form rival Colin Munro was dismissed for eight. "Henry's ...
Champions League: Liverpool hold Bayern in 1st leg
Bayern Munich needed all their Champions League experience to achieve a goal-less draw against Liverpool here as both teams failed to score in the first leg of their last 16 match.
PCB finds new production partner for PSL
PCB were left shocked two days ago when IMG Reliance decided to pull out of their deal to produce coverage of the fourth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).But now, the PCB has found a replacement for the remaining tournament. The board has announced that consortium of Blitz and Trans Group will help produce the PSL."The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced the consortium of Blitz and Trans Group as the new live production partner for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019," the PCB said in a press release. "Blitz is the PCB's broadcast partners in Pakistan, while Trans Group is the event management partners.The Blitz and Trans Group will start the coverage of the PSL from February 20. The board expressed that this group will provide same coverage the followers experienced in the earlier matches of the league.IMG Reliance decided to pull out of the league after the Pulwama terror attack left around 40 CRPF personnel killed last week. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed ...
Will boycott India-Pak Word Cup clash if govt. feels same, says top BCCI official
A top official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday stated that the World Cup match between India and Pakistan will not take place if the Indian government is against it.The official, however, cautioned that if India did not play against the country in the tournament then Pakistan will get the points without even participating in the match. It was further clarified by the official that the Indian board has not approached the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the matter."The situation with regard to World Cup can only become clear after some time that is a little closer to the World Cup. ICC has nothing to do with it. If the government, at that point of time, feels that we should not play then we should not play. It is obvious that we won't play but result for that would be that Pakistan will get the points for match and if it is the final match then without playing, Pakistan will win the cup," the BCCI official told ANI."As of now we have not ...
I-League 2018-19: East Bengal likely to ask AIFF for rescheduling of Real Kashmir match
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) informed East Bengal that the I-League match between Real Kashmir FC and East Bengal would go on as planned on February 28th in Srinagar.The terror attack in Kashmir's Pulwana region led to East Bengal raising security concerns in the area of Srinagar.East Bengal CEO Sanjit Sen had earlier sent an e-mail to AIFF asking about the security in Srinagar and asking the federation to provide additional security to the side."We have received a mail from AIFF where they have stated that the match will be played on February 28 in Srinagar. The East Bengal management and Quess Corp management will discuss this matter in the next few days. As of now, all arrangements have been made to travel to Kashmir. At present we are focusing only on our next match which is on February 25 against Aizawl FC", Sanjit Sen(Club CEO of East Bengal) told Goal.comEast Bengal's board member and senior official Debabrata Sarkar suggested that they would request the AIFF to ...
Favourites eliminated in first round of Rio Open
Canadian tennis player Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the second round of the Rio de Janeiro Open after winning 6-2, 6-3 against second seed Fabio Fognini of Italy.
Injured Philander ruled out of second Test against Sri Lanka
South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the second and final Test against Bangladesh due to a grade one hamstring strain.Giving out more details, South Africa coach Ottis Gibson said that Philander is expected to be out of action for 10 to 12 days. The coach further stated that uncapped all-rounder Wiaan Mulder is likely to be named as Philander's replacement in the team for the final Test."Vernon's got a grade 1 hamstring strain. This is the last Test match of the summer and he's pretty much out for 10 to 12 days‚ which rules him out of this Test match," ICC quoted Gibson, as saying."We will look at the conditions and then we will try make the best decision for the team. Obviously‚ Mulder would be a like-for-like replacement for Vernon‚ so that is something that we will consider as well," he added.Gibson praised Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera for playing a heroic knock in the first Test and gave full credit to him for guiding his side home. He also hoped that South .
2020 ICC Women's T20 WC tickets to go on sale from Thursday
Tickets for next year's ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia will go on sale to the public from Thursday, coinciding with one-year countdown of the tournament. Fans can get their tickets to all 23 women's matches, including the final, at the official tournament website, t20worldcup.com, the ICC said in a statement. The seventh edition of the global showpiece event for women's T20 cricket will take place across Australia from February 21 to March 8, starting with a spectacular opening match between defending champions Australia and India under lights at Sydney Showground Stadium. The women's tournament will also feature blockbuster double-header semi-finals at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on March 5, 2020. The final will be played at the MCG on March 8, 2020 on International Women's Day, presenting a ground-breaking opportunity to set a new world record for attendance at a women's sporting fixture. The matches will be played at eight venues in six host cities across ...
Unlike men's World Cup, no open vote on women's event host
FIFA will still decide the host of the Women's World Cup in secret, unlike the new open vote held last year for host of the 2026 men's tournament. The 2023 Women's World Cup bidding process was launched Tuesday, and FIFA adopted many of the rigorous checks and scrutiny prospective men's hosts now have to go through. But the final decision is a very different process. Following corruption investigations into the vote for men's hosts in 2018 and 2022, FIFA removed the decision from its ruling committee and gave it to all member associations. When it came to deciding the 2026 men's hosts last year, the votes were made public after the FIFA Congress chose the joint bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada over Morocco's entry. But in March 2020 it will be the FIFA Council, a group of 37 people which meets in private, deciding where the women's top players will compete in 2023. "FIFA's statutes explicitly stipulate that the selection of venues for the final competitions of all ...