Page 569 - Sports
Girona promise easy pickings for Real Madrid
Real Madrid will look to maintain their winning streak when struggling Girona visit the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday.
Double delight: Vidarbha retain Irani Cup, players donate prize money for martyr's children
A clinical Ranji champions Vidarbha reasserted their supremacy in domestic arena, beating a star-studded Rest of India to retain the Irani Cup, making it back-to-back seasons of double delight. Vidarbha has now become the third team after Mumbai and Karnataka to clinch two Irani Cup titles in a row. And in a touching gesture, Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal announced that the entire prize money will be donated to the families of the CRPF personnel martyred in the dastardly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on Thursday. "We as a team have decided to donate the prize money to the family of the martyrs who lost their lives in Pulwama. This is a small gesture from our team and VCA," Fazal said. Set a tricky target of 280, Vidarbha were well and truly on course at 269 for five, needing only 11 runs for an outright victory. However the two teams decided to shake hands and settle for a draw. The victory was a testimony to Vidarbha's teamwork as they defeated a Rest of India side ...
Saina beats Sindhu to retain Nationals crown, Sourabh claims third title
Saina Nehwal beat P V Sindhu in straight games in the marquee clash of the tournament to retain her women's singles crown at the 83rd Yonex Sunrise Senior Badminton Nationals here Saturday. The three-time former champion Saina used her powerful smashes to telling effect, registering a 21-18 21-15 win against Sindhu, a two-time winner, in the summit clash. In a repeat of last edition's final in Nagpur, 2012 Olympics bronze medaliist Saina once again had the upper hand over Sindhu during the exciting clash which was witnessed by a capacity crowed at the TRP Indoor stadium here. Saina had also defeated 2016 Rio Games silver medallist Sindhu at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games summit clash last year. Earlier, Sourabh Verma completed a hat-trick of titles at the Senior Badminton Nationals, claiming the men's singles crown by defeating young Lakshya Sen in straight games. The 26-year-old from Madhya Pradesh, who had won the title in 2011 and 2017, showed great composure and tactical ...
Uruguay's Indian cricketers searching for a permanent home
Every Sunday, close to a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, a group of Indian ex-pats take over a patch of land in Uruguay's capital Montevideo for a game of cricket. Tucked in between the Rio de la Plata estuary and the long promenade known as the "rambla" that stretches from one side of Montevideo to the other, Avijit Mukherjee prepares to bat, watched eagerly by his Uruguayan girlfriend. "I played in my country but with a lot more infrastructure," said the 28-year-old Mukherjee, whose girlfriend Veronica is the main reason he has stayed in Uruguay. "There are stadiums and many places to play in India, whereas here we only have one." Although cricket was first played in Montevideo by British expat workers even before the foundation of the independent republic in 1828, its practice died out in the 1980s. But following an influx of Indian immigrants to Uruguay at the turn of the century, cricket steadily returned to Montevideo. First there were one-off matches. Then, ..
I-League match to be held in Srinagar as scheduled, says CEO Dhar
The I-League encounter between Real Kashmir and Minerva Punjab will be held in Srinagar as scheduled on February 18, I-League CEO Sunando Dhar confirmed this on Saturday.
Sourabh claims third Senior National title
Sourabh Verma completed a hat-trick of titles at the Senior Badminton Nationals, claiming the men's singles crown after defeating young Lakshya Sen in straight games, in the 83rd edition of the tournament here Sunday. The 26-year-old, who had won the title in 2011 and 2017, showed great composure and tactical brilliance to outdo the 17-year-old Lakshya, an Asian junior champion, 21-18 21-13 in a lop-sided contest. It was their second meeting in the senior national finals, following Sourabh's triumph in February 2017. Earlier, the second seeded makeshift pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Chirag Shetty clinched the men's doubles title after beating top seeds Arjun M R and Shlok Ramchandran 21-13 22-20 in 33 minutes. The men's singles final contest started on an even keel as both the players looked to outdo each other. Soon Lakshya's precise smashes matched Sourabh's drop shots as the duo split the initial 12 points. Lakshya showed great balance of defence and attack and moved into break .
I-League: East Bengal aim to level points with Chennai (Preview)
Looking to go level on points with leaders Chennai CIty FC, in-form East Bengal will have their task cut out when they take on fellow title contenders Churchill Brothers in a crucial I-League encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Sunday.
East Bengal, Churchill Brothers lock horns in clash of contenders
In red hot form, East Bengal will aim for a fifth win on the trot and go level with leaders Chennai City FC when the home favourites face another title contenders, Churchill Brothers, in an I-League clash here on Sunday. East Bengal are unbeaten from 10 matches with their last loss coming way back on December 4, a solitary goal reversal at Minerva Punjab. They are coming off a 5-0 demolition of Shillong Lajong FC. But come Sunday, East Bengal will face one of the biggest hurdles in their title quest as the fourth-placed Goans will be desperate to arrest their slide following a 1-1 draw at home against Mohun Bagan in their last fixture. The two-time former champions have 30 points from 17 matches, while East Bengal (31) occupy the third place from 15 matches. East Bengal discard Willis Plaza will look to prove a point against his former side. Having impressed in the Goa Pro League and Super Cup, the Trinidad and Tobago striker has grabbed headlines in the I-League and is a big ...
Irfan, Soumya claim top honours in National Race Walking meet
K T Irfan of Kerala and his state-mate B Soumya emerged winners in the 20 km race walk (Elite) in the 6th Open National Race Walking Championship here Saturday. Irfan won the race in a time of 1:26:18.00, well below the world championship qualification standard of 1:22:30. He was followed by Devendar Singh (Haryana) in second place and Sandeep Kumar (Haryana) in third place. In the women's (Elite) event, Soumya won in a time of 1:40:25.00 while Priyanka (UP) and Ravina of Haryana took second and third place respectively. The winners received a cash prize of Rs 50,000 while the runner-up got Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 for the bronze medallist. There were a total of 86 participants from India, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia in the events. This competition will serve as a trial for selection of race walkers in Asian Race walking Championship to be held at Naomi City (Japan) on 17 March 2019. The 50 km walk race for men and 10 km events for girls and boys would be held on ...
Railways appeal for AAI disqualification alleging
Railways, who finished as runners-up at the Senior National Badminton Championship, wants champions Airport Authority of India (AAI) to be disqualified, alleging that they have fielded "ineligible" players. Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) has shot a letter to Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Ajay Singhania, saying that the governing body had informed some teams ahead the Junior Nationals in December last year, that they cannot field players on scholarship and on contract in the team championship. AAI employs players only on contract and RSPB said this makes the players ineligible and hence should be disqualified. "Our team manager Gajender Singh had raised the issue in the managers' meeting but his objections were overlooked. This has resulted in Indian Railways missing out on the title," RSPB wrote in the letter. Railways had narrowly missed out on the title after losing the summit clash against AAI 2-3 on Monday. During the Inter-State Junior team championship ...
Guptill runs flow sweeps New Zealand past Bangladesh
A rejuvenated Martin Guptill wound back the clock with his second century in as many games as a clinical New Zealand clinched their one-day series against Bangladesh in Christchurch Saturday. The long-serving opener, who had a disappointing recent series against India, rated his 118 as a more satisfying knock than the unbeaten 117 when he returned to form in the first match against Bangladesh. "There was a lot of flow and rhythm in that one," he said after New Zealand comfortably knocked off their 227-run target for the loss of two wickets and with 13.5 overs to spare. "It felt like I got back to where I was a couple of years ago." Guptill cut, drove and pulled the Bangladesh attack apart as New Zealand cruised to victory and went 2-0 up in the three-match series. With the World Cup looming, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was pleased to see his side had taken lessons from the 4-1 drubbing inflicted by India. "It was what we were wanting," he said. "That was a really tough series .
New Delhi shooting World Cup to be telecast live in 50 African countries
The upcoming season-opening shooting World Cup, to be held in the national capital and offering 16 Olympic quota places, will be telecast live across 50 countries in Africa. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) recently also struck a landmark broadcasting deal with Sony Pictures Network, starting with the February 21-28 event at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. The event will be telecast live on the Supersport network in the African continent. National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Raninder Singh, who is also the chairman of the organising committee, was pleased with the development. "This is fantastic news. This is a huge boost in our endeavour to grow the sport and increase its reach and it is a matter of great personal pride for me as it is for the entire country, that the biggest live telecast ever of an ISSF event, would begin with New Delhi 2019," Raninder said. Supersport is the leading satellite TV broadcaster in Africa with access to nearly 50 ...
Rosberg most excited about Vettel-Leclerc partnership in 2019, says it will be 'super fun'
Former world champion Nico Rosberg is "done with driving" but ahead of the 2019 Formula 1 season, the racer in him is most excited about Ferrari fielding two "number one drivers" in Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc for the first time in a decade. Twenty-one year old Leclerc is being touted as a future world champion after an impressive debut season with Sauber last year. Ferrari had a clear number one and two in Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen for the past four seasons but all of that is set to change with the arrival of Leclerc. "That's super exciting because he's fast, he's very, very fast (Leclerc). He has everything to be world champion one day, and against Sebastian there, because until now, Sebastian had a clear No. 2 on the team and now that's over," Rosberg told a select group of media ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards here. "Now he really has everything to be No. 1 and that's pretty exciting to watch. Sebastian can't afford to do a season like last year or he'll be ...
Myanmar defeat Nepal to clinch Hero Gold Cup title
Myanmar clinched the Hero Gold Cup crown in style, edging Nepal 3-1 in the final at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.A brace from Yee Yee Oo, along with a brilliant effort from Win Theingi Tun was enough to down a spirited Nepal side, who scored in the 45th minute through Manjali Kumari on Friday.The first half was a feisty affair, with both sides bagging one goal apiece and chances coming at a premium. The first came in the opening minute itself, after Nepal's star striker Sabitra Bhandari broke free in the first minute and earned a corner. The resulting header was comfortably saved by the keeper.Myanmar, who had defeated Nepal in the opening match of the tournament by a 3-0 score-line, started to assert their dominance soon, creating two quick chances in the 10th and 17th minutes. The first saw Win Theingi miss a header from close range while the second saw her create a crossing opportunity down the left, with the final ball chalked off for offside.At the half-hour mark, Nepal ...
Barcelona coach underlines team's need to get back to winning ways
FC Barcelona's coach Ernesto Valverde has stressed that his team needs to claim victories again in La Liga after two draws in the most recent matches, underscoring at the same time that winning trophies was the way to keep his job.
Barcelona coach renews contract, says he feels comfortable at club
Barcelona's coach Ernesto Valverde has discussed his good relationship with the Catalan club's management after he renewed his contract with the team for another season and added the possibility of an extension for another season until 2021.
North, South Korea propose unified teams for Tokyo 2020 qualifications
North and South Korea have requested to have unified Korean teams in basketball, hockey, judo and rowing to compete in the qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said.
Renewed contract with Atletico for my players: Simeone
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has said that the real motive behind his contract renewal with the Spanish club was his players.
Juventus cruise in comfortable win over Frosinone
Juventus added to their already formidable lead atop Serie A with a 3-0 victory against 19th-place Frosinone.
Gaurav, Nikhat advance in Strandja Memorial Boxing
Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Gaurav Solanki (52kg) advanced to the men's pre-quarters, while former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) made the women's quarterfinals of the 70th Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. Zareen defeated Italy's Giovanna Marchese in her opening clash, while Solanki got the better of American Abraham Perez. Solanki, also a gold-winner at India Open and the Chemistry Cup last year, will be up against Kazakhstan's Anvar Muzaparov in the last-16 stage. Zareen, a multiple-time national medallist, will square off against Belarus' Yana Burym in the next round. Also advancing to the pre-quarters in the men's competition was last year's Ulaan Baatar Cup gold-medallist Ankush Dahiya (60kg). Dahiya claimed a split verdict over Azerbaijan's Sarkhan Aliyev and Macedonian Jasin Ljama awaits him in the round of 16. In the women's 60kg category, Neeraj defeated Bulgarian Aslahan Mehmedova. However, the day was not without its share of ...