Page 572 - Sports
Home of Malaysian cricket, scene of Tendulkar ton, saved from closure
Malaysia's top cricket stadium, which has hosted some of the game's greats including Sachin Tendulkar, was saved from closure Friday after the government blocked an attempt to turf out the sport's local governing body. The Kinrara Oval, which was built in 2003 and has hosted one-day internationals featuring India, Australia and the West Indies, as well as Under-19 World Cup games, sits on a plot of prime land west of the capital Kuala Lumpur. But the Malaysian Cricket Association's lease expired in October and the property company that owns the land ordered them out of the ground to make way for a new development. After several months in limbo, the ground's future is now assured after the cabinet agreed it should continue operating as a cricket stadium following talks with parties involved in the dispute, said Sports Minister Syed Saddiq. "The Malaysian government is committed to saving this... cricket ground," he said on Twitter. "Cabinet decided that saving the cricket ground is ...
Coach Raman keen on improving Mandhana's 'patience'
India women's team opener Smriti Mandhana, who is in blazing form, said here on Friday that the team's coach W V Raman has set her targets to bat for a specific number of overs to develop her patience at the crease. "He (Raman) has been telling me to play 30 overs in ODIs as he knows that if I bat till 30 overs, I will continue to bat. And in 20 over games he has been telling me to bat for 13 overs," the 22-year-old Mandhana, a Red Bull athlete, told PTI. "He's giving me targets to bat a certain number of balls, because strike rate and those kinds of things never concern me, the only problem is the patience aspect. He is helping with that and giving me targets to bat through these many balls and that many overs and that is being great," said the left-handed batswoman. Mandhana, asked specifically whether the team was too dependent on her, replied that the perception was not correct. "No, I don't think so. We have got a lot of match-winners in our team. It is just that ..
Coach Valverde extends stay at Barcelona
Spanish champions Barcelona announced Friday they have extended the contract of coach Ernesto Valverde for another season with the option of one more. Valverde, who took over at the Camp Nou in 2017 after joining from Athletic Bilbao, won the league and cup double last season. "FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde, the first team coach, have reached an agreement to extend the contract between the two parties for another season (2019/20) with the option for one more (2020/21)," the club said in a statement. Valverde's previous contract would have expired at the end of this season.
Tendulkar to flag off marathon in Delhi
Over 18,000 runners are set to participate in the fourth edition of IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon, to be held on February 24, and flagged off by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. In order to motivate and encourage the runners, the company's brand ambassador Tendulkar will flag off all the races from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Organised by NEB Sports, the AIMS-certified marathon has witnessed a 20 percent hike in registration numbers as compared to the previous edition. This year, 2,000 runners will be competing in the full marathon, while 6,000 runners will be a part of the half marathon. The Timed 10K and 5K Swacch Bharat Run will have 5,500 and 4,500 participants respectively. Over 600 personnel from the defence services and the police force will be participating across the various race categories. Among the many runners participating this year are Suneetha Prasanna, a 73-year-old who is planning to run the half marathon and Himanshu Kumar, a para-athlete who will
Quintero's wonder goal helps River Plate earn point
Colombian international midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero scored for the third game in a row as River Plate earned a 1-1 draw at Rosario Central in the Superliga Argentina.
India to play in Turkish Women's Cup football
The Indian senior women's football team will be embarking on an exposure tour to Turkey where it will be playing in the Turkish Women's Cup from February 27. India have been clubbed with Romania, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in Group A, while France (B), Jordan, Northern Ireland, and hosts Turkey make up Group B. Every team will play each other in the group once with the group-toppers making it to the final. There will also be matches for the 3rd and the 4th slot, the 5th and the 6th slot, and the 7th and the 8th places. The tournament is part of the Indian team's preparation for the AFC Olympic Qualifiers Round 2 (in April) and also the SAFF Women's Championship scheduled in March. Since January, the girls have played seven International matches which includes their exposure tours to Hong Kong and Indonesia, and the Hero Gold Cup in Bhubaneswar. All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das said that the aim is to "provide a fool proof preparation" for the women's senior .
Defending champ Thiem in Argentina Open quarters
Defending champion Dominic Thiem of Austria advanced to the Argentina Open quarterfinals after the top seed defeated Germany's Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-4.
Arsenal stunned by BATE Borisov in Europa League; Sevilla, Inter win
Barysaw (Belarus), Feb 15 (IANS ) Belarusian club BATE Borisov stunned English Premier League side Arsenal 1-0 in the first-leg, round-of-32 action in the Europa League, while Sevilla and Inter Milan both scored away victories by that same score.
Saina, Kashyap, Sourabh enter semifinals of Senior Nationals
Former champions Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and Sourabh Verma advanced to the semifinals of the 83rd Yonex-Sunrise Senior Badminton Nationals here Friday. Defending champion Saina hardly broke a sweat to get the better of former India number one Neha Pandit of Mumbai 21-10 21-10 in a lop-sided quarterfinal contest. The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will face 22-year-old Nagpur qualifier Vaishnavi Bhale, who was part of India's Uber Cup squad last year, later in the evening. Kashyap, a 2012 winner, prevailed 21-18 21-16 over Bodhit Joshi, who had reahed the finals of Iceland International last year. The former world no 6 from Hyderabad will face Lakshya Sen in the semifinals later in the day. Both Saina and Kashyap had played their pre-quarterfinal match on Thursday night at the newly-laid wooden court at the TRP indoor stadium after refusing to play at the Assam Badminton Academy courts due to "uneven" surface. Earlier, former World No 30 Sourabh, who had clinched Super ...
Sonia, Lovlina advance to quarters of Strandja Memorial
Former world silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) was among the three Indian women boxers who advanced to the quarterfinals but the men were off to a disappointing start at the 70th Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. World championships bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pwilao Basumatari (64kg) also made the quarters of the prestigious European event on Thursday night. Lather, who is also a two-time Asian silver-medallist, defeated Serbia's Jelena Zekic 5-0. She will square off against American Yarisel Ramirez in the quarters. Borgohain, a gold-medallist from the Indian Open last year, got the better of Australian Jessica Messina. Basumatari endured a stiffer challenge in Bulgarian Melis Yonuzova before prevailing 3-2. She has Croatia's Marija Malencia coming up in the quarterfinals. However, there was disappointment for the country's men with former Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and rookie Harsh Lakra (81kg) bowing out following ..
Valencia, Chelsea, Napoli post away wins in Europa League
Favourites Valencia, Chelsea, Napoli and Villarreal all triumphed away from home in the first legs of their respective Europa League round-of-32 ties.
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay to present joint 2030 World Cup bid
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay are to submit a joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup, Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has announced. Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay had already submitted a joint bid to host the centenary edition of football's most prestigious tournament, but Pinera said on Twitter on Thursday that those countries' presidents had agreed to Chile's participation in the "joint candidacy". Argentina and Uruguay originally announced their intention to submit a joint bid in 2017 before Paraguay joined the coalition later that year. In December last year, Bolivia's football-mad president Evo Morales offered those three countries help in their bid, proposing "two or three departments as sub-seats" for the competition. Had his offer been accepted, it would have meant the Hernando Siles Reyes stadium in La Paz potentially included as a host venue. Pinera said he had been touting his idea to the presidents of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay for several months. Uruguay .
Semenya says she is 'unquestionably a woman'
South African 800m Olympic champion Caster Semenya has said she was "unquestionably a woman", after the IAAF denied reports that it would argue that she should be classified as a biological male. Semenya, 28, issued the statement on Thursday ahead of a landmark hearing at the Court of Arbitration (CAS) next week that will challenge a proposed rule by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF) aiming to restrict testosterone levels in female runners. "Ms Semenya is unquestionably a woman. She is a heroine and an inspiration to many around the world," her lawyers said in a statement. "She asks that she be respected and treated as any other athlete." The rules would force so-called "hyperandrogenic" athletes or those with "differences of sexual development" (DSD) to keep testosterone levels below a prescribed amount. The rules were to have been instituted in November 2018 but have been put on ice pending next week's hearings. Supported by the South African Athletics Federation, the ...
Chelsea edge out Malmo as Arsenal suffer Europa League setback
Chelsea claimed a 2-1 victory at Malmo in the Europa League last-32 first leg to ease some of the pressure on beleaguered coach Maurizio Sarri, while Arsenal suffered a shock loss to BATE Borisov. Visitors Chelsea desperately needed a response after back-to-back humiliating away losses, with last Sunday's 6-0 thrashing by Manchester City following a 4-0 reverse at Bournemouth. Ross Barkley took advantage of a defensive lapse by the home team on Thursday to put Chelsea ahead on the half-hour mark, with Olivier Giroud adding a 58th-minute second before Malmo's late goal gave them a glimmer of hope ahead of next week's return match at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea face Manchester United in the FA Cup on Monday, before facing City again in the League Cup final on February 24. "I am happy because we played with confidence and it wasn't really very easy after the last match (the defeat by City)," Sarri told BT Sport. "I think I am always confident but sometimes we had the wrong approach with ...
Gymnast Ashish Kumar to compete at Doha World Cup
Asian Games bronze medallist gymnast Ashish Kumar will be competing at the Doha World Cup but is set to miss the Baku World Cup after failing to send his entry on time. Ashish, the first Indian gymnast to win medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, had sent his request to participate at the Baku World Cup to Gymnastic Federation of India (GFI) after the deadline set by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). "GFI received an email on 20th January 2019 from Ashish Kumar showing his willingness to participate in the World Cup at Baku. However the definitive registration deadline (8th Jan 2019) was already past by that time. As per rules, late registration is possible but now with a fine of CHF 1,250 payable to the International Federation," GFI vice president Riyaz Bhati told PTI. "Since the request was after the deadline, the applicable fine has to be borne by the person making the belated request. We have accordingly advised Ashish to arrange for payment of fine .
Saina, Kashyap enter quarter, Sindhu progress to semis at Senior Nationals
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu expectedly sailed into the semifinals with two straight-game wins, while defending champion Saina Nehwal entered the quarters after winning a late pre-quarterfinal match on a day of intense drama at the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championship here Thursday. Sindhu went about her business as usual, beating Riya Mookerjee 21-16 21-7 in 28 minutes to progress to the semifinals on a day when three prequarterfinals were postponed due to uneven court surface at the Assam Badminton Academy. The top seed from Hyderabad, a former champion, had opened her campaign with a 21-11 21-13 win over Nagpur's Malvika Bansod in the morning. Saina, who had refused to play her prequarterfinals against Pune's Shruti Mundada at the same court due to "uneven" surface earlier in the morning, finally walked out to play her match late evening after the organisers managed to prepare a fresh court over a wooden plank at the TRP Indoor stadium here. The Olympic bronze ...
ISL: Goa leave ATK staring at exit with 3-0 win
FC Goa returned to their free-flowing ways as they hammered ATK 3-0 in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.
Sindhu sails through; Vaishnavi, Ashmita enter maiden Senior National semis
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu sailed into the last four stage, while Nagpur's Vaishnavi Bhale and Ashmita Chaliha of Assam showed superb resilience to book their maiden semifinal spots on a dramatic day at the 83rd Senior National Badminton Championship here Thursday. On a day when three pre-quarterfinals were postponed due to uneven court surface at the Assam Badminton Academy, Sindhu went about her business as usual, beating Riya Mookerjee 21-16 21-7 in 28 minutes to progress to the semifinals. The top seed from Hyderabad, a former champion, had opened her campaign with a 21-11 21-13 win over Nagpur's Malvika Bansod in the morning. Vaishnavi, who had won the All India ranking tournament 2015 and finished runners-up at 2016, dug deep to eke out a hard-fought 19-21 22-20 21-11 win over third seed Shriyanshi Pardeshi. The maximum cheer was reserved for local sensation Ashmita, who kept her cool in two successive thrillers to set up a semifinal clash against Sindhu. The ...
Steyn grabs advantage for South Africa
Dale Steyn and his fellow fast bowlers enabled South Africa to gain an advantage over Sri Lanka on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday. Steyn took four for 48 as South Africa took a first innings lead of 44. They stretched their lead to 170 by reaching 126 for four at the close. South Africa's decision to pick five specialist bowlers meant that their advantage was some way short of being decisive, with Faf du Plessis (25 not out) and Quinton de Kock (15 not out) their last two recognised batsmen going into day three. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 191 and were unable to build on a good first day when their inexperienced bowlers surprised the South African batsmen, who could manage only 235 in their first innings. Steyn and Vernon Philander soon put their stamp on the game when Sri Lanka resumed at 49 for one on Thursday, taking three wickets in the first ten overs of the morning. Kusal Perera played some bold and occasionally lucky ...
Goa leave ATK staring at exit
FC Goa returned to their free-flowing ways as they hammered ATK 3-0 in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Thursday. Sergio Lobera's team were on top throughout the game and denied the visitors space and time on the ball. Jackichand Singh scored in the first minute of play and Ferran Corominas leapfrogged Bartholomew Ogbeche to the top of the Golden Boot standings by scoring twice in the second half. The win takes the Gaurs to the second spot on the table and in prime position to clinch a play-off spot. ATK, however, have been left six points adrift of the fourth spot with two games to play which makes their chances of going through extremely difficult. The hosts got off to a lightning start, scoring a goal in the very first minute. 53 seconds into the first-half, Seriton Fernandes moved forward down the right flank and fed Corominas into the box. The striker found Jackichand who, from the centre of the box, thumped a first-time strike into the .