Page 638 - Sports
Bakshi, Shirke qualify for national finals
City golfer Nakul Bakshi and Vikas Shirke clinched the final qualification spots of the Mumbai Leg of the Mercedes Golf Trophy 2019. Bakshi carded a nett score of 71 while Shirke carded 72.4 on day 3 of the Mumbai qualifications, a media release said on Friday. The duo will now be competing at the national finals of the tournament to be played at the Oxford Golf Resort in Pune from March 27- 29, along with four other qualifiers from Mumbai. Commenting after the win, Bakshi said, "I appreciate the effort. I am very glad that my hard work has paid off and has resulted in this achievement." Over 300 golfers participated on the three days of the Mumbai qualifications. A total of 14 qualifiers have been identified so far from the three legs of the tournament including Pune, Bangalore and Mumbai. Mercedes Trophy will now proceed to its next qualification destination of Ahmedabad scheduled to tee off on February 1 at the Kalhar Blues & Greens. Prominent winners included ...
Gursimar cruises to 5-shot win
Gursimar Badwal gave her rivals no chance on the final day to clinch her first title of the year in the second leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour here on Friday. Gursimar shot four-under 68 for the second time in three days to total five-under 211 and win by five shots over Amandeep Drall (72), who ended at even par 216, at the Oxford Golf Resort. Tvesa Malik (72) was third at three-over 219, while Neha Tripathi (72), winner of the first leg, was fourth at five-over 221. Sifat Alag (77) was fifth. Gursimar, who led by five shots after the first day, had allowed that lead to shrink to just one after the second day. However, on the final day on Friday, she made birdies on the first and the third, even as her playing partner and nearest rival, Amandeep Drall bogeyed the first hole. Gursimar stayed focused and shot two-under 34 for the front nine, as Amandeep carded 37 to allow the gap to swell from one shot to four. Tvesa Malik, who was four behind after 36 holes, fell another two ...
Djokovic to meet Nadal in Australian Open final
Serbias number one seed Novak Djokovic defeated Frances Lucas Pouille 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 on Friday to advance to the final of the Australian Open, where he will face second seed Rafael Nadal of Spain.
Competition in team is keeping everyone on their toes: Dhawan
Opener Shikhar Dhawan on Friday hailed the competition in the Indian team with upcoming openers Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill rising up the ranks pretty fast.
Mohun Bagan to bank on Norde in I-League derby against East Bengal
Coach Khalid Jamil Friday said Sony Norde would be his 'key man' as Mohun Bagan look to avenge their first-leg defeat against East Bengal in the I-League derby on Sunday. The Mariners suffered a 2-3 defeat to their arch-rivals last month, a result that started their downward spiral leading to the departure of coach Shankarlal Chakraborty. "Sony is my key player. But all the players are important. I stressed on recovery since I took charge. I did not make any major changes. Everyone must give their best. It is important to think positive and get a positive result," the 41-year-old told reporters. After taking charge, Jamil, who won the I-League title with Aizawl FC, has guided his side to back-to-back wins over defending champions Minerva Punjab and NEROCA FC. Jamil said his side would look to get an early goal against East Bengal but the aim would be to keep the intensity high for the full 90 minutes. "With regards to our approach, it depends on the match. If we get an early goal, ...
Esqueda fit, as East Bengal raring to go vs Mohun Bagan
Bolstered by the return of Mexican striker Enrique Esqueda, East Bengal are ready to make a double on Mohun Bagan in the I-League derby, coach Alejandro Menendez said Friday. Even though there are no favourites in this particular match, East Bengal are in a slightly better position having beaten them 3-2 in the first leg last month. The red-and-gold team for the first time in this I-League will take the field with all six foreigners in their squad. The presence of all the overseas players is definitely an advantage Alejandro Menendez's side has over Khalid Jamil's. "I think we have played many matches and we are ready for the game. Enrique is fit for the game. The players try to do their best in every match. It is not something different," the Spaniard said in a non-chalant way. The former Racing Santander coach also gave a lukewarm response when asked about Mohun Bagan star Haitian winger Sony Norde. "We have nothing special planned for Sony Norde. We will see that on Sunday." He ...
Mohun Bagan will be difficult to beat: East Bengal coach Menendez
Expecting leaders Chennai City FC to drop points going ahead, East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez on Friday said their next opponents Mohun Bagan will be a difficult team to beat.
Pantsulaia emerges Chennai Open champion
: Georgia Grand Master Levan Pantsulaia logged 8.5 points to emerge the champion after the tenth and final round of the 11th Chennai Open International chess tournament here Friday. In the final round, Pantsulaia drew with top seed GM Alexandr Predke of Russia to take his tally to 8.5 points. The draw propelled the Georgian to clear first. This follows Pantsulaia's title triumph at the Delhi Open last fortnight, giving him back-to-back titles. The Georgian would take home a prize money of Rs three lakh along with the Sakthi Group Dr N Mahalingam Trophy. Sharing the second spot with eight points were five GMs- Ivan Popov (Russia), Aleksej Aleksandrov (Belarus), Luka Paichadze (Georgia), Megaranto Susanto (Indonesia) and Ivan Rozum (Russia). The top-seeds had their say in the final round, as all the decisive games in the top 10 boards went in favour of the higher rated player. The country's first International Master Manuel Aaron gave away the prizes. FIDE vice-president D
Selector Inzamam could double up as Pakistan's batting coach
Pakistan's chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq could end up doubling up as the national team's batting consultant in the upcoming World Cup in England. Inzamam, who is presently in South Africa with the team for the ODI series, has shown interest in working full-time with the national team players. "He has already got involved with the team in South Africa and is attending their nets," a reliable source in the Pakistan Cricket Board said. "Inzamam could be the next batting coach/consultant of the team before the World Cup as the board is not satisfied with the performance of batting coach, Grant Flower who has been with the team since the last World Cup," he said. The source said that the selection committee and senior officials in the board were concerned about the decline in the batsmen's consistency. Inzamam, a veteran of 120 Tests and over 300 One-day Internationals, has specially flown to South Africa after Pakistan were whitewashed in the three-match Test series with some dreadful ...
Australia in command of day-night Test against Sri Lanka
Half-centuries from Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne put Australia firmly in command of the day-night Test against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in Brisbane on Friday. Head hit a Test best 84 and Labuschagne posted 81 as Australia amassed 323 to hold an imposing 179-run innings lead over the Sri Lanka after the second day. Sri Lanka suffered further indignity losing the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne on the last ball of the day by Pat Cummins for three as the tourists had to negotiate a tricky six overs facing the pink ball under lights. Karunaratne was snapped up behind by Tim Paine as Sri Lanka reached stumps at 17 for one with Lahiru Thirimanne on six to trail by 162 runs overall and battling to avoid defeat with three days left. Head was trapped leg before wicket by Suranga Lakmal, meaning no Australian batsman has scored a Test century in nine innings against India and Sri Lanka this summer. Head sought a review but it sided with the umpire's call and he was on his way, shaking his ...
WBBL final: Brisbane Heat bank on Grace Harris to counter Sydney Sixers
Brisbane Heat are banking upon their "once-in-a-generation" all-rounder Grace Harris to counter Ellyse Perry-led Sydney Sixers in the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) final at the Drummoyne Oval in Sydney. "Grace is a once-in-a-generation player for a lot of reasons. She is her own person, she can do things with bat and ball that essentially no woman can do in the world of cricket and part of that is her mindset. She plays with such freedom and that carefree attitude. Let the shackles off, set her free and what happens, happens," Cricket Australia quoted Heat captain Kirby Short, as saying.The 25-year-old holds the highest strike rate in the fourth edition of the tournament, with her 373 runs coming at a rate of 150.40 run per 100 balls faced. Grace averages 26.64 and has one century and one fifty to her name in this season.Grace, who struck the fastest WBBL century off 42 deliveries, forms an impressive top-three alongside top-order batswomen Beth Mooney and Sammy-Jo Johnson."You know
In-form India look to inflict more misery on New Zealand (Preview)
In-form India will look to inflict more misery on New Zealand when the two sides meet for the second One Day International match here on Saturday.
Dominant Djokovic demolishes Pouille to set up Nadal final
Novak Djokovic on Friday continued his quest for a record seventh Australian Open crown by swatting aside French 28th seed Lucas Pouille 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a final against Rafael Nadal. It was a flawless display on Rod Laver Arena by the world number one who moves into a first Melbourne decider since 2016. "It is definitely one of the best matches I've ever had on this court, definitely," said Djokovic, who hit 24 winners and had just five unforced errors. "You know, everything worked the way I imagined it before the match and even more so. "Tough one for Lucas, but he had a great tournament, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the season," he added. Djokovic lost in the fourth round last year, followed by elbow surgery and poor form until he won Wimbledon and turned his season around. "It was highly unlikely 12 months ago that I would be where I am today, a year later," said the Serbian top seed. "But I've said it before, and I always have plenty of belief in myself, and
Peru goalkeeper Gallese joins Alianza Lima on loan
Peru international goalkeeper Pedro Gallese has joined Alianza Lima on a year-long loan from Mexican club Veracruz.
CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers to begin in March 2020
The South American zone qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will begin in March next year, the region's football governing body CONMEBOL said.
Steyn, Rabada, Ngidi will play at World Cup: Faf du Plessis
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis on Friday confirmed that pacemen Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi will feature in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, beginning May 30."Those three will go and play" as they are all "bowlers who can take wickets," ICC quoted du Plessis, as saying ahead of the tournament scheduled in England and Wales.However, du Plessis is looking for the fourth fast-bowler who can support South Africa's pace attack in case someone gets injured."We need one more fast bowler. We are trying to think ahead in case someone gets injured. We feel with the balance of the side and going with our strongest XI, having that X-factor bowler (as a reserve) in our bowling attack is key," the Proteas captain said.When asked about the fourth fast bowler, du Plessis said the one-day international series against Pakistan, which stands at 1-1, is a chance for the player to claim for a spot in the final 15-member squad for the World Cup.In the first two ODIs where the ...
Copa America: Uruguay, Chile, Japan, Ecuador in Group C
Uruguay, Chile, Japan and Ecuador were paired in Group C of the three groups in which the competitors of the Copa America Brazil 2019 were divided, according to the draw held here.
Saina sails into semis, Srikanth loses in quarters at Indonesia Masters
Saina Nehwal hardly broke a sweat on way to her second consecutive semifinal of the season but Kidambi Srikanth made an exit after losing his quarterfinal match at Indonesia Masters badminton tournament here Friday. Eight seed Saina, who had reached the semifinals last week at Malaysia Masters, beat Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-7 21-18 to make it to the last four of women's singles here. The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next face the winner of the quarterfinal match between two Chinese shuttlers -- He Bingjiao and Chen Xiaoxin. Srikanth, however, had to settle for a second quarterfinal finish after losing 18-21 19-21 to local hero and Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie. Saina enjoyed a good start and soon galloped to a 11-4 lead at the interval. The indian continued to dominate proceeding after the interval, moving in quick bursts of points to close out the opening game comfortably. In the second game, Chochuwong ran to 8-4 lead but Saina caught up with her at ...
Ranji Trophy: Kerala cave in meekly in maiden semifinal
Last week the Kerala cricket team created history when it entered the Ranji Trophy semifinals for the first time. That dream run ended on Friday as the team caved in meekly to Vidarbha by an innings and 11 runs early on the second day of the five-day match.
Head, Labuschagne bat Australia into strong position against Sri Lanka
Travis Head led the way as Australia built an imposing 105-run lead over Sri Lanka on the second day of the day-night Test at the Gabba on Friday. Head was unbeaten on 71 with Test debutant Kurtis Patterson yet to score and Australia going to dinner at 249 for five. Head, named one of Australia's new vice-captains earlier this week, was attempting to score his maiden Test century after passing his previous highest Test score of 72 twice against Pakistan and India last year. Head had some luck along the way and was dropped on 29 on the third ball after tea when wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella dived late and put down the one-gloved chance off Suranga Lakmal. Marnus Labuschagne was out shortly before dinner with a maiden Test century beckoning on 81. His patient 150-ball knock ended when he skipped down the wicket to lift a drive only to find the bottom of his bat and was taken at short mid-on by Lahiru Thirimanne off Dhananjaya de Silva. Yet again an Australian batsman failed to reach ..