Page 691 - Sports

Rice scores first Hammers goal to defeat Arsenal

Declan Rice's first West Ham goal secured a 1-0 win over Arsenal in a capital city derby clash at the London Stadium. The victory in Saturday's early kick-off saw the Hammers move up to eighth in the Premier League table, on 31 points, ahead of the bulk of the weekend's fixtures. Irish teenager Rice gave himself an early present for his 20th birthday on Monday by scoring the only goal of the game three minutes into the second half. The defeat dented Arsenal's bid to break into the top four, with the Gunners still adrift of Chelsea -- who face strugglers Newcastle at Stamford Bridge later Saturday -- in the race for a Champions League place. West Ham named Marko Arnautovic in their starting line-up despite the Austrian forward's brother and agent saying Thursday he wanted to move to the Chinese Super League. Former Arsenal favourite Samir Nasri started against his old club as the midfielder made his Premier League debut for the Hammers. Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi .

Iran tops Vietnam 2-0, secures Asian Cup last-16 seat

Iran defeated Vietnam 2-0 in their second 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group D contest held at the Al Nahyan Stadium in the United Arab Emirates capital here on Saturday.

Would be happy if Dhoni bats at four: Rohit

India vice-captain Rohit Sharma feels that MS Dhoni should bat at No.4, although adding that the iconic former skipper is ready to fit in anywhere for the team's cause.

Shillong Lajong face Indian Arrows in battle for pride

Bottom-placed Shillong Lajong will host Indian Arrows in a 12th round clash of the I-League in a battle to salvage some pride for both sides here on Sunday. Lajong, who chose not to recruit any foreign player this year under Alison Kharsyntiew, are now at the bottom of the 11-team points table after suffering nine losses and conceding a whopping 33 goals -- the highest in the league -- in their 11 games so far. Their only win -- at home against Aizawl in October last year -- was a long time ago. They have also lost to Indian Arrows in the first leg. "We have scored 13 goals and conceded 33. The most important thing for the boys is to attack in the defence. If our defence is good we can defeat any team. The boys are ready for tomorrow's match they will go all out and give their 100 percent," Kharsyntiew said. "The players have worked really hard in the training and our aim is to get the 3 points. Indian Arrows is a good team they have good players like Boris. Their game is very intense

I-League: Lajong host Indian Arrows in battle for pride (Preview)

Laggards Shillong Lajong and Indian Arrows will lock horns with little more than pride to play for in an I-League clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

Mumbai to fight Punjab in PWL opener

Reigning Asian Games champions Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat will be in action on the opening night of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) Season 4 as Mumbai Maharathi take on NCR Punjab Royals at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Monday.

We were lucky to get the dismissal of Dhoni: Richardson

Despite the 34-run victory, Australia pacer Jhye Richardson admitted they were lucky to get former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni out with a dubious call in the first One-day International here on Saturday.

De Minaur claims Sydney title, his 1st career ATP tournament win

Fifth seed Alex De Minaur of Australia won the Sydney International tennis tournament title on Saturday, to claim his first career ATP silverware.

Dhoni becomes 5th Indian cricketer to secure 10,000 ODI runs

Wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni completed the elusive 10,000 ODI run milestone for India, becoming the fifth cricketer to do so.The 37-year-old was already part of the 10,000-club in ODI cricket; however, 174 of those runs had come for Asia XI.Dhoni has now notched up the five figures in ODIs for India as well with his appearance in the opening ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). He started the game on 9,999 runs for India and needed just seven deliveries to get off the mark and register the milestone.The former Indian captain, who was dismissed for 51, is now the fifth on the list of all-time ODI run-scorers for India and 12th on the list of all-time leading run scorers in the format, maintaining an average of around 50.Among the wicket-keepers, Dhoni is the second on the list, only behind Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara.

Renedy confident of India reaching knockout stage of Asian Cup

Former India midfielder Renedy Singh is confident of the Indian football team securing a point in its next game and entering the knockout stage of the AFC Asian Cup. After starting their campaign in a stunning fashion by defeating Thailand 4-1, India went down to hosts United Arab Emirates 0-2 in their second group stage on Thursday. "I would love to see India going through and a point in the next match will do," said Singh, who is an expert with broadcaster Star Sports for the continental showpiece. India have three points from two games and lie second in the points table behind UAE. Thailand also have three points from two games but stand third on the basis of goal difference. Reflecting on the last game against UAE, Singh praised skipper Sunil Chhetri. "If you see what happened, I said in the beginning UAE likes to build up start from the middle, Ashiq is trying his best but what a pass from Sunil, if it could have just gone on either side. Credit goes to the goalkeeper, but he ...

Lucas Hernandez gets medical clearance as Atletico readies for Levante clash

Atletico Madrid's France defender Lucas Hernandez was on Saturday given medical clearance to play as the team concluded its preparations for its upcoming La Liga game against Levante.

Son may need a rest, warns South Korea coach

South Korea's coach warned that Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min may have to be eased in gently when he arrives at the Asian Cup after a frantic few months for club and country. Son has played nearly 1,000 minutes in 16 games for Spurs already this season, on top of his appearances at last year's World Cup and Korea's title run at the Asian Games. He will arrive in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, a day after Spurs' Premier League clash with Manchester United, and Portuguese coach Paulo Bento said he was mindful of the player's workload. "After he arrives we will see what we are going to do in the game against China. We will talk and then we are going to take the best decisions for the team," said Bento. "So we need to wait for the game that probably he's going to play on Sunday and then check everything he's done in the last months, because he played a lot of games." South Korea, the 2015 runners-up, have laboured to 1-0 wins over debutants the Philippines and Kyrgyzstan ...

Rohit says 'ideal' number four is Dhoni, differs with Kohli

Differing with his skipper Virat Kohli's views, India's ODI vice-captain Rohit Sharma Saturday said Mahendra Singh Dhoni is "ideal" for the number four slot, as the team works on getting the batting order right for the World Cup. Rohit added it was his personal view and that the captain and the coach will have the final say on the batting slots. Dhoni Saturday made a slow 51 from 96 balls in India's 34-run defeat to Australia in the first ODI, sparking another debate about his current form in a World Cup year. "Personally, I always feel that Dhoni batting at number four will be ideal for the team but we have got Ambati Rayudu who has done really well now at number four. It totally depends on what the captain and coach think about it. Personally asking, I would be happy if Dhoni bats at four," Rohit, who scored 133 off 129 deliveries, said at the post-match conference. Kohli had earlier expressed his preference for Rayudu to other players for the contentious position. Chasing 289 for a

India need to focus on defence against Bahrain, says Schattorie (IANS Interview)

Lauding India's spirited performances at the Asian Cup football tournament, Northeast United FC coach Eelco Schattorie asserted that the boys in blue will have to focus on their defence in their third and final group match against Bahrain.

Kvitova digs deep to outlast Barty in Sydney final

Petra Kvitova outlasted Ashleigh Barty in a final-set tiebreak to win the Sydney International for the second time on Saturday. The Czech 2015 champion and fifth seed fought back from dropping the opening set and an early break in the final set to beat the top-ranked Aussie, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) in two hours 19 minutes. It was a gutsy performance from the two-time Wimbledon champion who only finished her semi-final against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the early hours of Saturday. Kvitova had beaten Barty both the previous times they played, including in the Birmingham final in 2017, but she had to dig deep to win her eighth straight final, coming back from an 0-3 deficit in the final set. "I left everything out there. I was cramping in the end. It wasn't the best," Kvitova said. "She's Aussie, so she used to these conditions. I played three times in the night, so for me it was totally different conditions, which from the beginning I feel very, very slow. "So it just took me a while to get .

Tartan 'Arnie' as Scots connection powers Aussies at Asian Cup

If Australia are to go deep at the Asian Cup they will owe much to the Scotland-based players who have been among their top performers so far in the United Arab Emirates. Captain Mark Milligan and striker Jamie Maclaren both play for Hibernian in Edinburgh, while forward Tom Rogic is a fan favourite at Celtic. All three shone as the Socceroos turned on the style in a 3-0 win over Palestine that reignited their title defence with one group game to play against Syria. Coach Graham "Arnie" Arnold would have had more Scottish firepower if not for an untimely knee injury to Martin Boyle, also at Hibs, after his call-up into the squad. Scotland-born Boyle, the son of an Aussie truck driver, had scored two goals in three friendly appearances after receiving his Australian passport in November. Even without Boyle, Arnold has as many Scotland-based players in his squad as those living in England, or even Australia. Maclaren proved his worth as he shrugged off nine barren appearances to score ..

Cricket: Olivier wrecks Pakistan again

Duanne Olivier took his third five-wicket haul of the series as South Africa gained a 77-run first innings lead on the second day of the third and final Test against Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium on Saturday. The fast bowler took five for 51 as Pakistan were bowled out for 185. The tourists lost their last five wickets for 16 runs. South Africa were 25 for one in their second innings at tea, losing stand-in captain Dean Elgar, who was caught behind off Mohammad Amir for five. Olivier was twice involved in crucial breakthroughs in Pakistan's innings. He ended an hour of frustration for South Africa when he took two wickets in four balls immediately after the morning drinks break, ending the stubborn resistance of nightwatchman Mohammad Abbas, who batted for 88 minutes and faced 51 balls in scoring 11. Three balls later Asad Shafiq ducked a bouncer but was caught behind off his glove. Abbas and opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq, who went on to make 43, were both dropped twice during the ..

Ranveer Singh shares new look for Kapil Dev biopic '83'

Ranveer Singh today took to Instagram to post a picture of him getting into character for the Kapil Dev biopic '83'.The actor who was recently seen rapping while promoting his next film Gully Boy posted the picture where he is seen training to play Kapil Dev in the biopic on the cricket legend.The film is being directed by Kabir Khan.In the picture, Ranveer Singh can be seen training with his cricket coach Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who was part of the 1983 Indian cricket team alongside Kapil Dev.Singh captioned the photo "#kapildev @83thefilm #balwindersinghsandhu @kabirkhankk."Notably, the ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Kapil Dev captained the Indian cricket team to victiry in the 1983 World Cup. He was also coached the Indian cricket team between October 1999 and August 2000.

Fine start for Aditi as she closes with 66, finishes eighth in Abu Dhabi

Aditi Ashok opened the New Year with a fine tied-eighth place at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open, the opening event of the 2019 Ladies European Tour, here Saturday. Aditi, who has three LET wins had also won the Abu Dhabi meet in 2017, closed the week with a superb six-under that had four birdies and a bogey on either side of the turn. It was a particularly satisfying finish after a start that saw her card 76 on the first day. She made the cut safely with a 72 on second day and zoomed up the leaderboard with a 66 on the final day. Charlie Hull (69) held her nerve and kept Marianne Skarpnord (68) and won by a shot to take the first title of the season. Hull finished the week at eight-under, while Skarpnord was seven-under. Aditi birdied third, fifth, sixth and ninth on the front nine and 10th, 11th, 16th and 17th. She, however, dropped a shot on 18th, but for which she would have been tied-third. Five players including Caroline Hedwall (67), Anne Van Damm (68), Nicole Broch-Larsen .

Khelo: Mehuli brooks no competition in high-voltage final

Youth Olympic Games silver medallist Mehuli Ghosh won the women's junior (under-21) 10m air rifle gold in the Khelo India Youth Games here on Saturday. Ghosh came back from shooting in the Bundesliga in Germany only a couple of days ago and napped for half an hour in the gallery before the competition today. The 18-year-old from West Bengal asserted her class, shooting scores of 629.4 in the qualification and following it up with 252.1 that left her biggest challenger Elavenil Valarivan (Gujarat) in her wake, a media release issued here said. Mehuli was consistent throughout, the 103.0 in the fourth series of 10 shots being her lowest, in qualification. And in the final, each of her 24 shots fetched her at least 10.2 points. "I didn't want to miss the Khelo India experience," Mehuli was quoted as saying in the release. "It is a good platform since only the top 16 shooters are selected. If the quality of competition is so high in the junior and youth levels, shooters will