Page 654 - Sports
Shouldn't get too caught up with Kohli, says Ross Taylor
New Zealand's senior-most batsman Ross Taylor Monday urged his team to focus on the Indian top-order rather than "get caught up" with run-machine Virat Kohli during the upcoming limited overs series. The tour starts Wednesday with the first ODI here. India will be playing five One-dayers and three T20 Internationals against the 'Black Caps'. Entering the Test series worried about how to decode Kohli, the Australians recently learnt it the hard way as Cheteshwar Pujara stole the thunder Down Under, helping his team to an epic triumph. Taylor doesn't want his team to follow a similar approach. "He's (Kohli) a sensational player, the best one-day player going around, easily. It's easy to get caught up in him. You've got two pretty good openers at the top, Sharma and Dhawan, before he gets in," Taylor was quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz. Taylor had his first net session at the McLean Park after his finger injury during the home series against Sri Lanka. While Kohli averages a staggering ..
Sakshi aims to silence critics (IANS Interview)
After her first win over Navjot Kaur in the Pro Wrestling League Season 4 on Friday, Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik is looking to silence her critics through her performances in every competition she takes features in from here onwards.
Shyaam Nikhil, Lugovskoy share lead at Chennai Open chess
: Chennai's P Shyaam Nikhil and GM Maxim Lugovskoy of Russia were in joint lead with five points from five rounds in the 11th Chennai Open International Grand Master chess tournament here Monday. Sharing the third spot half a point behind the leaders with 4.5 points were GMs Luka Paichadze, Aleksej Aleksandrov (both Belarus), Erigaisi Arjun, Karthik Venkataraman (both India), among others. Games on the first and third boards ended in draws with Nguyen Van Huy and Paichadze Luka and Karthik Venkataraman and A Ra Harikrishnan sharing honours. This left overnight joint leaders Shyaamn Nikhil and Lugovskoy to snatch the lead winning their respective games. Nikhil scored a win against GM Tran Tuan Minh of Vietnam in 36 moves. The Bluemenfeld Counter Gambit game saw Chennai based double GM norm-holder leaping forward to a big pawn push in the centre. In the ensuing skirmish of exchanges, the Indian placed both his rooks behind passed pawns, converting his win without ado. In ..
Williams outlasts Halep in epic battle in Australian Open
Serena Williams of the US advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Monday after a hard-fought 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Romanian world No 1 Simona Halep.
Serena muscles past top seed Halep into Open quarters
Serena Williams subdued a stubborn fightback from world number one Simona Halep to take her quest for a record-equalling 24th major into the Australian Open quarter-finals Monday. The 37-year-old American beat the Romanian top seed 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in an epic three-setter to line up a last eight clash with Czech eighth seed Karolina Pliskova. It was Williams' first match against a world number one since returning after having a baby in September 2017 and the American showed why many already regard her as the greatest of all time. She unleashed an early onslaught and Halep was in danger crumbling before the French Open champion regrouped for a stirring comeback. "It was an intense match and there were some incredible points," Williams said. "She's the number one player in the world and there's a reason why... (but) I'm such a fighter, I just never give up." Williams won her 23rd Grand Slam Down Under two years ago while two months pregnant and is the bookies' favourite to claim an eighth .
Gopichand hopes India will get badminton gold at Tokyo Games
Saying that "every year has been better than the previous one",chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand is hopeful that India would clinch its first ever gold medal in the discipline at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "Well, I think every year, in the last few years, has been better than the previous one. "In 2008 (Beijing Olympics) -- the quarterfinal results was the biggest result, in 2012 (London Olympics) we had the first-ever bronze (Saina Nehwal), in 2016 (Rio Olympics) we had the first-ever silver (P V Sindhu) and, hopefully, 2020 (Tokyo Olympics) we will have the first-ever gold," Gopichand said here Monday. The former All England champion was speaking after felicitating the seven winners of the IDBI Federal Quest for Excellence #Young Champ programme who will undergo training at the his academy in Hyderabad. Gopichand said earlier badminton was remembered for men's singles players like Nandu Natekar, Suresh Goel and Prakash Padukone, among others, but Saina ...
India, Kohli maintain top positions in ICC Test Rankings
A maiden Test series triumph in Australia saw both the Indian team and its skipper Virat Kohli consolidate their respective pole positions in the latest ICC Test rankings. India, with 116 points, stayed as the No 1 ranked Test team while skipper Kohli (922 points) was 25 points clear of second ranked New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson (897). Cheteshwar Pujara after his dream series Down Under is ranked third among the batsmen while young turk Rishabh Pant has entered the top 20 with a career-best 17th rank. In the bowler's list Kagiso Rabada still topped the chart while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are the best-ranked Indians at fifth and ninth place respectively. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has climbed to 15th spot with 711 points. England will have to win their upcoming three-match series against the West Indies starting on Wednesday in order to retain third position in the rankings while Australia and Sri Lanka will vie for important points in their two-match series ...
Tata Steel Chess: Anand beats Mamedyarov; shares lead with Carlsen
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand scored a crushing victory over Shakhriayar Mamedyartov of Azerbaijan in the eighth round to share the lead with Norway's Magnus Carlsen in the Tata Steel chess tournament here. Having outclassed Vladimir Kramnik of Russia as black in the previous round, Anand, a five times winner here, continued his demolition act and grounded Mamaedyarov who currently holds the third position in the world rankings. The Indian ace took his tally to 5.5 points out of a possible eight and is matched only by reigning world champion Carlsen who himself played a fine game to beat Richard Rapport of Hungary. With two leaders in front, Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, Ding Liren of China and local star Anish Giri are right on their heels, tailing by half a point. Temour Radjabov of Azerbaijan is in sole sixth spot on 4.5 points while other Indian Vidit Gujrathi shares the seventh spot having four points in all. Five rounds still remain in the first super tournament of .
Barty fired up for Kvitova re-match
Hometown hope Ashleigh Barty faces a tough battle against Czech veteran Petra Kvitova for a spot in the Australian Open semi-finals Tuesday but will have the entire host nation cheering her on. The other contest for a final four berth pits the unseeded pairing of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Danielle Collins against one another, with both players seeking Grand Slam breakthroughs. Barty, 22, entered this year's tournament as 15th seed but carries massive pressure from an Australian public desperate for Grand Slam success after becoming the first local to make the last eight in a decade. She has already downed five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova and is on a red-hot run of form, winning seven of her eight matches this year. But against the eighth-seeded Kvitova, Barty is up against one of the few players on tour who can boast a richer vein of 2019 form. Kvitova has won all nine of her matches this year, including a three-set win over Barty in the final of the Sydney ...
Awesome Nadal faces Tiafoe test as Tsitsipas eyes semi-final
Relentless Rafael Nadal will aim to snuff out the challenge of young giant-killer Frances Tiafoe Tuesday, while young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas has eyes on a maiden Australian open semi-final after knocking out Roger Federer. The Australian Open hits the quarter-final stage in Melbourne with 17-time Grand Slam winner Nadal emerging as a strong title favourite. The Spaniard has not dropped a set and demolished former world number four Tomas Berdych 6-0, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) in the fourth round in an awesome display. Lying in his path is American Tiafoe who has already accounted for the fifth seed Kevin Anderson and become a fans' favourite with his exuberant LeBron James style celebrations and inspiring life story. The son of immigrants from Sierra Leone, Tiafoe turned 21 on Sunday and celebrated his birthday by beating 20th seed Grigor Dimitrov to reach a Slam quarter-final for the first time. "I wasn't a normal tennis story," he told reporters, revealing he had already managed to buy his ...
From Russia with love: Ronaldo penalty fear keeps Iran alive
Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand had flashbacks of facing a chest-puffing Cristiano Ronaldo before saving a first-minute penalty that kept his team's Asian Cup challenge alive. The talismanic 26-year-old denied Oman captain Ahmed Al-Mahaijri to spark a 2-0 victory in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, sending title-chasing Iran into the quarter-finals. But Beiranvand revealed that memories of keeping out Ronaldo's spot kick in a 1-1 draw with Portugal at last year's World Cup had helped him prevent a disastrous start against Oman. "Ever since saving that kick from Cristiano, Iran fans expect me to save penalties," Beiranvand told AFP after the game. "I actually did think about that moment for a fraction of a second -- I told myself I can't let everybody think what happened in Russia was a fluke," he added. "I just tried to concentrate and tried to repeat it again at a different tournament. First and foremost, it's my duty to save penalties and help the team. "But the way I look at my career .
Rashford can emulate Rooney, Ronaldo feels Solskjaer
Manchester United interim coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said Marcus Rashford can emulate the efforts of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo at the club.
Manchester City tops Huddersfield 3-0
Premier League defending champion Manchester City rolled to a 3-0 win over last-place Huddersfield, continuing to chase leader Liverpool.
Raonic defeats Zverev in Australian Open
Canada's Milos Raonic, seeded 16th, defeated fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-1, 6-1, 7-6(5) in two hours at the Australian Open here on Monday.
Sindhu, Saina, Srikanth to compete at Indonesia Masters
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu will resume her quest for glory in the new season, while Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth aim to continue their impressive run when they start their campaign at the Indonesia Masters, starting with qualifiers here Tuesday. Seeded second Sindhu has been a cut above other Indians as she claimed silver medals at all the major events -- Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championship, before ending the year with the prestigious World Tour Final title, the first Indian to achieve the feat. After the engagements of Premier Badminton League (PBL), Sindhu decided to skip last week's Malaysia Masters and she will begin her campaign against former Olympic gold medallist China's Li Xuerui on Wednesday. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad is expected to clash with reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin at the quarterfinals. Saina, on the other hand, had an impressive start to the season, losing semifinal spot at Malaysia Masters, which was the first World .
Argentine defender Maidana joins Deportivo Toluca
Former Argentine international centre-back Jonatan Maidana has joined Mexico's Deportivo Toluca after parting ways with Copa Libertadores champions River Plate.
Pliskova beats Muguruza, enters Australian Open quarters
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic played her best tennis to beat Spain's Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 6-1 in an hour and move into the last eight of the Australian Open here on Monday.
Naomi Osaka advances to her first Australian Open quarterfinal
Japanese tennis rising star Naomi Osaka advanced her first Australian Open quarterfinal after defeating Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in women's singles event at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday.US Open champion kept her winning streak alive, rallying from a set down to outlast number 13 seed by 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the match that lasted one hour and 47 minutes."I think I believe in myself more this year than I have last year. Like in Brisbane International, I played the same sort of match, like, I lost the first set and managed to win again. And it was against the same player. So I think am just having that experience. I feel like during the first set, I might have tried to over-hit or she (Sevastova) was returning a lot of balls. So I thought I had to go for more than I did. In the second and third set, I calmed down and I tried to think that I should play within my boundaries," Australian Open quoted Osaka, as saying.The world number four made a comeback from a set down.In the opening ...
Kurtis Patterson added to Aussie Test squad for SL series
Kurtis Patterson has been added to the Australian squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka.The 25-year-old got a late maiden call-up following his back-to-back unbeaten centuries (157* and 102*) in the three-day warm-up fixture at Bellerive Oval in Hobart. "The National Selection Panel has added Kurtis Patterson to the squad for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. Kurtis has been pushing his case for selection for some time, he has been a consistent top order player for New South Wales (NSW), was a member of the Australian A tour of India prior to the commencement of our summer, and was most recently selected to compete in the day/night tour match against Sri Lanka in Hobart," ICC quoted National Selector Trevor Hohns, as saying on Monday."We have been asking batters around the country to score hundreds if they want to be considered for selection, and given Kurtis' consistent performances for NSW and his two unbeaten centuries in last week's tour match against our ...
James Anderson praises Stuart Broad for his new bowling action
England pacer James Anderson showered rich praises on fellow countryman Stuart Broad for his new bowling action ahead of Test series against West Indies, beginning on January 23."Since Australia, I have not seen anyone work as hard as he (Stuart) Broad has on their game. It is a credit to Broad, he has put so many hard yards in, not just on his run-up but on his action, trying to swing the ball away again," ICC quoted Anderson, as saying on Sunday."For me, it is all about the last six yards, building that momentum up to the crease. He still has the same snap and can definitely have the same oomph. I do think the run-up has looked really good here. It might just get another couple of years out of him. Part of him thinks, 'Why have I not done this sooner?'" he added.The English paceman believes his side has to be on his toes to challenge West Indies, adapt to their conditions and outplay them."We have got to be on top form to be able to try and challenge them (West Indies). We showed in