Page 695 - Sports
KWK controversy: Pandya, Rahul suspended until final adjudication
Indian cricketers KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya were on Friday suspended for an indefinite period of time following their controversial remarks against women, implying that the duo will no be a part of the Indian team in their upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia beginning tomorrow.In a mail written to Pandya and Rahul, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) confirmed that both cricketers will be out of action until final adjudication in the matter."In terms of Rule 41(6) of the BCCI Constitution, you are hereby suspended with immediate effect from participating in any manner whatsoever in any match or function or event or activity that is authorized, organized, sanctioned, recognized or supported in any way by the BCCI, the ICC or any State Association, until final adjudication of the matter," the email sent to both the players read.Indian captain Virat Kohli has sidelined the team from the controversy saying "We as the Indian cricket team and ...
Pakistan bowlers fight back to defy South Africa
Pakistan's bowlers changed the course of the third and final Test against South Africa when they engineered a dramatic collapse on the first day of the third and final Test on Friday. From being in control on 226 for three at tea, South Africa were bowled out for 262 at the Wanderers Stadium. Vernon Philander struck back for South Africa, taking two wickets off successive balls as Pakistan reached 17 for two at the close. A polished innings of 90 by Aiden Markram, coupled with some wayward bowling by Pakistan, laid the foundation for some attacking batting by South Africa, who collectively hit 37 fours and a six before tea on what looked the best batting pitch of a series already won by the hosts. But the runs dried up after the interval as South Africa were able to add only 36 for the loss of seven wickets in 19.4 overs, hitting only four more boundaries. Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Abbas set the tone after tea, taking two and one wickets respectively. Both bowlers gained reverse ...
Bengaluru Raptors beat Awadhe Warriors to enter PBL final
The unbeaten Kidambi Srikanth combined with Sai Praneeth to guide Bengaluru Raptors to a win over Awadhe Warriors in the first semi-final of the Vodafone Premier Badminton League here Friday. With the two teams tied at 2-2 on completion of the two men's singles and mixed doubles rubbers, it was left to the Raptors' Trump pair of Hendra Setiawan and Mohammad Ahsan to deliver the win for their team, and they duly obliged. The Bengaluru team will hope to erase their setback from the previous season in which they lost the final narrowly to the Hyderabad Hunters. Srikanth had accounted for the former World No. 1 Son Wan Ho twice on his way to winning four Superseries titles in an incredible 2017 season. Showing every bit of that hunger and determination, the Bengaluru skipper blew away the Awadhe icon player 15-7, 15-10. The win enabled him to remain unbeaten in seven matches this season. Srikanth's smashes absolutely ruled the court and he even displayed his finesse in a superb 22-shot ...
Real Madrid start preparations for Betis clash without Vinicius
Real Madrid on Friday started preparations and a team training session for the away La Liga match against Real Betis without Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior, whose absence was due to flu, according to the club.
Australia top Palestine 3-0 at 2019 Asian Cup
Australia bounced back to earn a 3-0 win over Palestine in the 2019 Asian Cup on Friday to keep their title defence campaign alive, after losing their opener to Jordan.
Trophy hunter Guardiola happy to miss out on winter getaway
Pep Guardiola insisted on Friday he will be happy if Manchester City have no time for a mid-season break, because it will mean they are still competing for every trophy. City's rivals Manchester United took the opportunity this week for a warm-weather training trip to Dubai, allowing boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer time to work on his squad's fitness. Guardiola did take his players to Abu Dhabi last March, after their surprise FA Cup fifth round defeat at Wigan left them with a free week. The City boss will consider a similar trip this time round if an early FA Cup exit leaves a gap in their match schedule. But he acknowledges that it may be difficult to fit in such a break if City remain in the hunt for all four major prizes. "Hopefully not, because that means we continue in the FA Cup and especially in the Champions League. We will see. If not, then we will have this time in summer time," Guardiola told a press conference. "Last season, it was quite similar. But then after Wigan beat us ..
Klopp denies Liverpool's lighter schedule is title advantage
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp denied on Friday that his Premier League leaders will have the upper hand over Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the title race despite a lighter schedule after crashing out of both domestic cup competitions. City trail Klopp's men by four points, with Tottenham two points further back, but both of Liverpool's rivals are still involved in four competitions. Klopp meanwhile made nine changes for Monday's 2-1 defeat at Wolves in the FA Cup, with his focus on ending the Reds' 29-year wait to win the title, and his team were knocked out of the League Cup by Chelsea back in September. "There's no advantage. If you have all your players available, it's brilliant that you can always play them, it's really good," said Klopp ahead of Saturday's trip to Brighton. "We have to use the time. You can do a lot of wrong things when you have a week to train, that's possible. "We have to use the time and really be, week in and week out, in the best shape we can ...
Sindhu perfectly placed before All England, World Championships: Gopichand
His eyes set on ending the 18-year-old wait for an Indian to become an All England champion, national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Friday hinted that P.V. Sindhu is perfectly placed to achieve the rare feat after a stellar 2018 in which the star shuttler clinched the season-ending World Tour Finals title to end on a high.
Musale wins second spot from Pune for national finals of 19th Mercedes Trophy
Bhushan Musale, with a gross score of 75, walked away with the winners trophy and the second spot from the Pune qualifiers in the national finals of the 19th Mercedes Trophy Friday. Balrajsingh Parmar also shot a hole-in-one on the 17th hole winning the 'Mercedes-Benz Hole-In-One' contest. The two-day event which is being hosted at the picteresque Oxford Golf Resort has concluded. The first spot for the national finals was won by Indraneel Mujgule on Thursday. The tournament this year marks the auto majors' 25th year of operation in India and the national opener to the annual flgaship golf property of Mercedes-Benz. Prasanna Sangam, with a distance of 10 feet and 8 inches, won the 'Standard Chartered Closest to Pin' contest on the third hole while Shailendra Vyas, with a distance of 4 feet 4 inches, won the 'Mercedes-Benz Closest to Pin in 2 shots' contest on the 10th hole. With a drive of 242 yards, Yash Shah won the 'Ballantines Long Drive' contest on the 16th hole while Prakash ...
Target is to go to Tokyo 2020 with biggest team: Gopichand
Buoyed by P V Sindhu's recent triumph, Indian chief national coach Pullela Gopichand Friday said the world number two Olympic silver medallist is primed to win the prestigious All England Open. Gopichand was the last Indian to win the All England Championship, in 2001, achieving the coveted feat after 21 years of Prakash Padukone's 1980 title. Sindhu ended 2018 on a high winning the BWF World Tour Finals in Guangzhou, after losing seven straight summit clashes. "I think this year Sindhu has done well in all big tournaments. The World Tour Finals win has been even better. It's a great start to come in to this year," Gopichand told reporters here, citing the upcoming All England Open in March. With this being the penultimate year before the Olympics, Gopichand's main aim is to keep the Indian shuttlers' ranking high to ensure a bigger contingent for Tokyo 2020. "We have two major tournaments this year, the All England Open Championship and World Championships, also we have the Olympics .
Even Pakistan had chance to win Test series in Australia: Yousuf
Former Pakistan captain and batting great Muhammad Yousuf reckons that even the current Pakistan team could have beaten Australia in a Test series. India recorded a historic 2-1 series win Down Under, becoming the first sub-continent team to taste such success. Yousuf said the current Australian team is one of the weakest he has seen but insisted he was not trying to devalue the feat of the Indian team. "What the Indians have achieved is big and they played well to win the series but it is also a fact that when Pakistan beat Australia one nil in UAE last Sept-Oct, I was not surprised at all. Such is the strength of this Australian side," Yousuf told PTI. Yousuf said he had no doubt that if Pakistan went to Australia now they would also have good chances of winning a test series for the first time. "I think India and Pakistan compared to Australia are very good sides. India in particular has quality batsmen and their bowlers have also learnt the art of bowling in test cricket," he ...
TN thrashes Assam 13-1 in hockey nationals
Tamil Nadu hammered Assam 13-1 in a Pool 'G' match of the 9th Hockey India Senior National men's Hockey Championship 'B' Division here Friday. Also recording wins were Hockey Maharashtra, Manipur Hockey, Central Industrial Security Force, Chhattisgarh Hockey, Hockey Coorg, Food Corporation of India, Delhi Hockey and Sports Authority of India. In the Tamil Nadu-Assam match, the home team went ahead in the 9th minute through a field goal by V Vinod Rayer. The second quarter saw the hosts pump in five goals. Rayer added another to his tally while K Selvaraj, P Dhamu, J Joshua Benedict Wesley and S Manikandan joined the scorers list. Shubam Singh pulled one back for Assam. In the second half, Tamil Nadu scored seven goals to record a second successive win in the league. Rayer, Selvaraj Dhamu, Wesley and Manikandan added one more goal to their tally while N Navinkumar and K Ajay slotted one goal each. In another Pool 'G' match, Central Industrial Security Force beat Hockey HIM
Sarri blasts 'unprofessional' Bayern over Hudson-Odoi interest
Maurizio Sarri has lashed out at Bayern Munich for their "unprofessional" behaviour after the Bundesliga club publicly expressed their interest in Chelsea starlet Callum Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea boss Sarri is furious that Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said this week that they "definitely" want to sign Hudson-Odoi during the January transfer window as he "has the qualities which would fit very well" with the German champions. Chelsea have reportedly turned down a 35 million ($45 million) bid from Bayern for the 18-year-old, who has less than 18 months to run on his current contract and has so far refused to sign a new five-year deal, and Sarri is unhappy with Bayern's public approach. "I think that it's not professional, because they are talking about a player under contract with Chelsea. So they didn't respect our club, I think," Sarri told reporters on Friday. Sarri has handed Hudson-Odoi a place in his starting line-up for Chelsea's past two matches -- Tuesday's League Cup
Ronaldo joins Juventus' Cup quest as Italian football returns after chaos
Cristiano Ronaldo prepares to make his Coppa Italia debut as Juventus open their quest for a fifth consecutive trophy on Saturday with a last 16 clash against Bologna as Italian football returns to the pitch after a chaotic start to the year. Ronaldo will be looking to pick up where he left off after scoring twice against Sampdoria before the winter break, to lead the Serie A scoring chart with 14 goals. He has also scored once for the Turin giants in the Champions League. The 33-year-old will now chase his first Italian Cup goal just days after Las Vegas police asked the star to submit a DNA sample as part of their investigation into rape allegations made against him by an American woman which he vehemently denies. Ronaldo's strike partner Mario Mandzukic -- who has scored nine goals this season -- has been sidelined with a thigh problem that could also rule the Croatian World Cup runner-up out of next week's Italian Super Cup. The Italian league is still on its winter break but ...
All gold as glittering Aussies rescue Asian Cup campaign
Defending champions Australia dominated Palestine 3-0 on Friday as they recovered from their shock opening defeat at the Asian Cup and moved within sight of the last 16. Goals from Hibernian striker Jamie Maclaren, Awer Mabil and substitute Apostolos Giannou put the much-improved Socceroos second in Group B with one game to go. The Aussies will now go into next Tuesday's final group game against Syria with renewed confidence after banishing memories of their 1-0 upset at the hands of Jordan. Coach Graham Arnold dropped the under-performing Massimo Luongo and Robbie Kruse in favour of Jackson Irvine and Chris Ikonomidis, who impressed as substitutes against Jordan. And it was a far more dynamic team that opened their account on 18 minutes, when Celtic's Tom Rogic picked out Maclaren who scored his first international goal with a glancing header. Two minutes later and gold-clad Australia were 2-0 up as Ikonomidis lofted a ball to the far post where Mabil sneaked in unmarked for a ...
Only second time in 82 years players sent back for disciplinary reasons
Indian cricket is replete with sagas of player- related controversies but the ignominy faced by Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul -- being sent back from an overseas tour -- is only the second such instance in 82 years. Way back in 1936, the legendary Lala Amarnath was sent back from India's tour of England by the erstwhile captain Maharaja of Vijianagaram or 'Vizzy' for alleged insubordination during a first-class game. While there had been disciplinary issues on a lot of tours but in the history of Indian cricket, this is the first time that the Board has taken action and called back errant players. Lalaji's (as the fraternity called him affectionately) tiff with Vizzy was more to do with team politics, and the general belief was that the ruler of a princely state under British India got captaincy because of entitlement and not ability. According to an article 'Right Royal Indian Mess' written by Martin Williamson in ESPN Cricinfo on July 28, 2007, Amarnath was a victim of petty ...
Ramit Tandon goes down tamely to top seed Momen
India's challenge in the CCI International JSW Indian Squash Circuit ended at the semi final stage when last man standing, former junior national champion Ramit Tandon, lost tamely to top seed Tarek Momen of Egypt here on Friday. The 26-year-old Tandon, who was fortunate to get a walkover from injured compatriot and defending champion Saurav Ghosal on Thursday in the quarter finals, was outplayed by the world number 4 Egyptian 11-7, 11-7, 11-7 in 38 minutes at the Cricket Club of India. Only in the third game did Tandon, ranked 68 in the world, lead his rival by more than one point when he went ahead 7-5 before squandering the chance with some loose play. At this stage, he conceded a 'stroke' to the Cairo-born Momen, hit the ball beyond the confines of the court and found the tin to trail 7-8. Momen, who looked totally in control in the latter parts of the first two games before clinching them, then produced a forehand winner to lead 9-7. Another superbly essayed ...
Injured Smith to miss two BPL games
Former Australian captain Steve Smith will miss the next two matches of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) due to an elbow injury.Smith, who has played just two matches in the tournament so far, will return to Australia for further medical treatment and is likely to rejoin his squad Comilla Victorians if there isn't any significant damage."He is quite positive about returning, possibly during the Sylhet phase of the competition. He will undergo an MRI in Australia, which isn't available in Bangladesh, and will inform us about it," ESPNcricinfo quoted Victorians media manager Sohanuzzaman Khan, as saying.In the two games so far, Smith has scored just 16 runs, including a duck in the last match. Victorians are currently ranked number five in the points table of the T20 tournament and are slated to take on Rajshahi Kings on January 11 in their next clash.Smith, who is serving a 12-month suspension for his role in the massive ball-tampering scandal during a Test series against ...
Gopi T, Nitendra ready for Tata Mumbai Marathon
Defending and Asian Marathon Champion Gopi Thonakal, course record holder Nitendra Singh Rawat and 2014 and 2015 winner Karan Singh will take the field for the 16th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon.
Harbhajan slams Pandya, Rahul for jeopardising reputation of cricketers
Ace spinner Harbhajan Singh on Friday slammed Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul for their sexist comments on women on a TV show, saying they have put the reputations of cricketers at stake. The duo appeared on a talk show where their comments - Pandya's in particular - came in for widespread criticism and raised concerns over the team culture. As punishment, Pandya and Rahul were suspended by India's cricket administrators, hours after captain Virat Kohli expressed his strong disapproval. "We don't talk about all this even with our friends and they were talking on public television. Now people might think was Harbhajan Singh like this, was Anil Kumble like this and was Sachin Tendulkar..." Harbhajan told 'India Today'. On the show, Pandya had boasted about hooking up with multiple women and being open about it with his parents. Rahul was, however, a little more restrained in his responses on relationships and women. When asked by the host Karan Johar if they had "done it in teammates' ...