Page 620 - Sports
I-League: Mohun Bagan rally to hold Gokulam Kerala to 2-2 draw
Mohun Bagan rallied from a goal down to hold Gokulam Kerala FC 2-2 in an I-League encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Wednesday.
Neymar sidelined for ten weeks with foot injury
Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) announced on Wednesday that Neymar's foot injury will see the Brazilian forward sidelined for the next ten weeks, meaning he will miss both legs of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie against Premier League side Manchester United.
Sarri will not stop Hazard leaving Chelsea
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri believes Eden Hazard could leave the club to fulfil his potential with the Belgian attracting interest from Real Madrid. Hazard's contract with the Premier League club expires in 2020 and he has so far refused to extend that deal despite Chelsea's efforts. The Blues have stood firm in rejecting bids for Callum Hudson-Odoi from German giants Bayern Munich for the 18-year-old. Hudson-Odoi is also out of contract in 2020, but Sarri intimated the club's stance may be different and they may cash in on Hazard in the summer should he express his desire to leave. "The situation of Eden is different. Eden is 28. If he wants to go, I think he has to go," said Sarri ahead of Wednesday's trip to Bournemouth. "Of course, I hope the opposite. I hope he wants to stay here. "He has the potential to be the best player in Europe at the moment. "Sometimes he's happy with something less. It's my job to improve him and put him in a position to do his best." Sarri branded ...
Shoulder pain forces Sharapova out of St Petersburg
Maria Sharapova's ongoing right shoulder problems led her to pull out of the Saint Petersburg tournament, the organisers said on Wednesday. The 31-year-old has been struggling back to elite fitness since watching from the sidelines during a 15-month doping ban ended in 2017. The five-time major winner beat Daria Gavrilova of Australia 6-0, 6-4 in her debut in the tournament, but suffered with her shoulder injury afterwards. "I have worked hard for months to put it (her shoulder) in order, but to no avail," she said after her match with Gavrilova. "I still have plenty of work to do." Sharapova's withdrawal opened the way into the last eight for third-seeded Daria Kasaatkina, who enjoyed an opening round bye. The former world number one Sharapova failed to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals earlier in January, but claimed she still believes she can increase her tally of five Slam titles.
Stay humble, Pogba warns Man Utd after Burnley stumble
Manchester United's late rally from 2-0 down to snatch a point in a 2-2 draw at home to Burnley on Tuesday was too little, too late for midfielder Paul Pogba. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer missed out on a ninth straight win as caretaker manager despite Pogba's penalty and a stoppage time equaliser from Victor Lindelof as United dropped two points in the race for a top-four finish after falling behind to goals from Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood at Old Trafford. "We are disappointed with ourselves," said World Cup winner Pogba. "The way that we played when we conceded the second goal (is how) we should have started," he explained. "You have to learn from your mistakes and next time I think we need to start the game differently. That's it." A two-goal fightback in the final three minutes plus injury time was reminiscent of the United of old for whom Solskjaer played under Alex Ferguson. However, after surging back into contention for Champions League qualification, United could fall five points ...
Asian football body probes shoe-throwing semi-final
Asia's football body promised a "thorough investigation" on Wednesday after the United Arab Emirates' turbulent Asian Cup semi-final loss to arch-rivals Qatar, during which fans hurled shoes and bottles. Plastic water bottles pelted the turf and several shoes were hurled, an Arab insult, as Qatar celebrated the second goal in Tuesday's 4-0 rout of the tournament hosts in Abu Dhabi. Akram Afif twice had to delay taking a corner as objects rained down, and Salem Al-Hajri was struck on the head after Qatar's third goal. One plastic bottle struck the crossbar behind Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al-Sheeb. "The AFC (Asian Football Confederation) is conducting a thorough investigation into events at the (semi-final)," a spokesman told AFP. "Once the investigation has been completed the AFC will decide on the appropriate steps." The defeat was deeply embarrassing for the UAE, who are in the midst of a stand-off with Qatar in which several countries have slashed diplomatic and transport links, ...
Bee colonies removed a day after India A-England Lions one-dayer
They came in a swarm and stung they did, as players sweated it out at the fourth one-dayer between India A and England Lions, flooring all of them at the Green Field International Stadium near here, for good 15 minutes, on Tuesday.
Michelle Catherina emerges joint leader
Chennai-based Woman International Master Michelle Catherina moved into joint lead with three points after the fourth round of the Velammal AICF Women Grandmaster Round Robin Chess tournament 2019 here Wednesday. Michelle Catherina scored over fellow Indian V Varshini in a Ruy Lopez game that lasted 40 moves. The two passed pawns on the queen side turned the game in favour of Michelle in a queen and rook ending game. Sharing the lead with Michelle were top seed International Master Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia and Woman Grandmaster Babiy Olga of Ukraine. Half a point behind at 2.5 points were Divya Deshmukh, Aakanksha Hagawane (both India) and Osmak Iulija (Ukraine). Overnight leader Babiy Olga went down to Mongolian Woman Grandmaster Uuriintuya Uurtsaikh in 34 moves. Nagpur girl Divya Deshmukh went down to top seed IM Munguntuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia, but still managed to remain half a point behind the leaders. Results: Round 4 (Indians unless specified) : Osmak Iulija
Sloppy Mohun Bagan hold Gokulam Kerala in I-League
Former champions Mohun Bagan survived a scare before holding relegation-wary Gokulam Kerala FC 2-2 in their return leg I-League fixture at the Saltlake Stadium here Wednesday. Shilton D'Silva made an impact in his comeback match, giving the Mariners an 18th minute lead from a Sony Norde's curling corner. But what followed was a brain fade in the home team's camp with Lalchhawnkima finding his own net with a misplaced clearance from Bijesh Balan's cross in the 21st minute. Within a space of three minutes, Marcus Joseph capitalised on a pass from Suhair VP before shooting the ball over Shilton Paul to give the Kerala outfit a superb 2-1 lead inside the half-an-hour mark. Aser Dipanda scored at the hour-mark after being set up by Henry Kisseka from the edge of the box as Mohun Bagan managed to secure a point after their 0-2 humiliation in the Kolkata derby against East Bengal. Mohun Bagan now have 22 points from 15 matches and their title hopes are as good as over, while Gokulam Kerala ..
India name 20-member junior girls hockey team for series against France
India on Wednesday named a 20-member junior girls hockey team for the four-match home series against France to be held from February 8 to 13 in Lucknow and Gorakhpur. The first two matches of the series will take place on February 8 and 9 at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium in Lucknow. The third match is scheduled to be held on February 11 at the Veer Bahadur Singh Sports College in Gorakhpur, while the teams will return to Lucknow for the fourth and last match. Indian will be captained by Salima Tete while young forward Lalremsiami, who is part of the senior team presently touring Spain, will shoulder the duties of vice-captain. "The upcoming matches against France will be helpful for our team in gaining match-fitness and experience different match situations. We will be up against a group of players who have played together for a considerably long time," said India's coach Baljeet Singh. "Our players will get much-needed exposure and this challenge will help ..
IOC President Bach gives full marks to Beijing's 2022 preparations
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Wednesday said that he would give China's preparations for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games a perfect ten.
South Korean footballer Ki Sung-yueng announces retirement
Midfielder Ki Sung-yueng on Wednesday announced his retirement from the South Korean national team.
Plans have been solid against India, execution is off: Kiwi all-rounder Mitchell Santner
In India's delight of an unassailable 3-0 lead, New Zealand all-rounder Mitchell Santner did not hide his frustration with the poor execution of plans in the ongoing five-match ODI series.To get their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 preparations back on track, the Kiwi player believes his team needs to simply look to implement their plans better rather than focusing on major tactical overhauls in the remainder of series against India."I think the plans have been pretty solid maybe the execution has been off at times. If we can get two wickets in the top 10 overs or even the first five, if we can get into their middle order a bit early... every game they have got off to good starts, we have not seen much of their back end. I guess the key for us is to keep taking wickets through the middle, keep being aggressive," ICC quoted Santner, as saying on Wednesday.India dominated New Zealand in every department as they produced a master-class of adapting to unusual conditions. However, ...
None better than Pujara to guide players: Unadkat
Saurashtra will take on current champions Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy final from February 3 at Nagpur and their skipper Jaydev Unadkat believes there's none better than Cheteshwar Pujara to guide the players. Pujara, who had an outstanding Test series with the bat in Australia, carried his form into the Ranji Trophy knockout for Saurashtra on his return. He played two match-winning, unbeaten knocks in the quarter-final and semi-final against Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka respectively, to guide Saurashtra into the summit clash. "I have been saying this since the Lucknow game (quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh), we cannot have (someone) with a better influence than him (Pujara) in the team. He has been the pillar for India now, like he has been for Saurashtra for a long period of time," Unadkat told PTI on Wednesday when asked what Pujara brings to the team. The 27-year-old Porbandar-born Unadkat feels that Saurashtra are fortunate to have the services of Pujara for the .
We don't have a problem playing on grass: Barazzutti
Terming Italy favourites on paper, non-playing captain Corrado Barazzutti on Wednesday said contrary to India's perception grass will not be a problem when the two sides lock horns in a Davis Cup World Group tie here.
Defender Salima to lead Indian junior women against France
Hockey India (HI) on Wednesday named the Indian junior womens team, led by defender Salima Tete, for the upcoming matches against France to be held from February 8 to 13 in Lucknow and Gorakhpur.
I-League: Title contenders Churchill and Real Kashmir face off in crunch tie (Preview)
Churchill Brothers FC Goa resume their I-League title chase against Real Kashmir FC who are also persistent in the title hunt in a return-leg I-League fixture at the Tilak Maidan here on Thursday.
Para-sports gets major boost in revised TOPS list
In a major boost for para-sports, 12 high-performing para-athletes, including Asiad gold-winner Sharad Kumar, were Wednesday included in the revised Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) list. In all, four disciplines under para-sports were reviewed -- para-athletics, para-shooting, para-swimming and para-powerlifting. According to a Sports Authority of India (SAI) release, the athletes were chosen for the TOPS keeping in view the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. In para-athletics, double Para Asiad gold medallist Sharad Kumar (Men's High Jump T63 42,63), Varun Bhati (Men's High Jump T63 42,63), Sandeep Chaudhary (Men's Javelin Throw F64 42-44, 61-64), Sumit (Men's Javelin Throw F64 42-44, 61-64), Sundar Singh Gurjar (Men's Javelin F46 45-46), Rinku (Men's Javelin F46 45-46), Amit Saroha (Men's Club Throw F51), Virender (Men's Shotput F57 56-57) and Jayanti Behera (Women's 400m T47 45-47) found a place in the latest list. The selection criteria for para-athletics was the current world rankings ..
I confessed to IPL spot-fixing to escape police torture, Sreesanth to SC
Former cricketer S. Sreesanth on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that he initially confessed to the Special Cell of Delhi Police about his alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal to escape continuous police torture.
Indian women's football team complete a double over Indonesia
Indian women's football team notched up a second successive victory over Indonesia, beating the hosts 2-0 in the second friendly match here Wednesday. While Sanju scored in the first half, Dangmei Grace netted the second goal just minutes ahead of the full-time whistle. India had defeated Indonesia 3-0 in the previous match on Sunday. India made a good start right with right-back Dalima Chhibber being the main initiator from the flank. A couple of early free-kicks from long range saw winger Sanju, and striker Anju Tamang missing narrowly. As Head coach Maymol Rocky egged her team on, Sanju put the visitors into the lead with a perfectly-placed shot into the top right corner after Ratanbala played her through into the Indonesian penalty area. This goal gave more gusto to the Indian side, as they attacked with more purpose. The home side nearly pulled level a few minutes later, as a cross from the right was met with a header. But it hit the cross-bar and looped out of play. India ...