Page 729 - Sports
Nadim signs with PSG women's team until end of season
French Division 1 Feminine side Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday announced the arrival of the Danish forward Nadia Nadim, who joined from Manchester City through to June 30, 2019.
I-League: Neroca to face bottom-placed Shillong Lajong (Preview)
The 12th I-League edition will resume after a short break with Manipuri side Neroca FC, currently second on the points table, taking on bottom-placed Shillong Lajong in a return leg clash at the Khuman Lampak stadium here on Friday.
Cricket ban helped me 'grow', allowed more family time: Warner
Disgraced Australian cricketer David Warner said Thursday that his one-year suspension for ball-tampering allowed him to "grow as a human being" and spend more time with family. "Life has been good for me. I have been spending time with the family. I wouldn't be able to do that if I wasn't sitting in the sidelines," Warner told reporters in Dhaka after he was unveiled as captain of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Sylhet Sixers. "It is about getting the best out of myself and growing as a human being. My most important thing was being a father and husband at home. "Now it is down to playing cricket again and making sure I get Sylhet Sixers on top of the table." The former Test vice-captain of Australia is currently serving a 12-month ban from international and state cricket for his role in a ball-tampering scandal during the third Test in South Africa in March last year. He was blamed as the instigator of an incident in which fielder Cameron Bancroft attempted to alter ...
Federer takes Swiss into Hopman Cup final
Roger Federer ensured Switzerland would have the chance to defend their Hopman Cup title with a straight-sets win over Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas at the mixed teams tournament in Perth Thursday. The 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) win by the 20-time Grand Slam champion in his men's singles match gave the Swiss a 1-0 lead in their Group B encounter, but also meant they were guaranteed a spot in Saturday's final despite eventually losing the tie. In the women's singles, Maria Sakkari levelled the tie with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Belinda Bencic, before the Greeks won the deciding mixed doubles in three sets. Bencic and Federer beat the German pairing of Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev in last year's decider, and there is a strong likelihood it will be the exact same pairing on Saturday, which would be a first for the tournament in what is expected to be its last year. The 37-year-old Federer kept his unbeaten record this week intact against the 15th-ranked Tsitsipas, but there was little between
Ragini Navet clinch US Kids Golf India Tour's Kolkata leg
Delhi's Ragini Navet shot a hole-in-one to edge past Srinjini Mukherjee and clinch the girls 12-14 years section in the Kolkata leg of the US Kids Golf India Tour 2018-19 at Tollygunge Club here on Thursday.
Bopanna, Sharan pull off cliffhanger to move to semis; Paes/Miguel ousted
Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan saved six match points in an edge-of-the-seat thriller against Leander Paes and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela to move to the semifinals of the Tata Open Maharashtra, here Thursday. After splitting the two sets, the Super Tie Breaker turned out to be a cliffhanger in which Paes and his Mexican partner had as many as six chances to close the match but the Asian Games gold medallists held their nerves to remain alive. At 8-8, Paes appeared to have served a double fault but the chair umpire and the linesman did not call and a livid Bopanna began an argument with the match official but to no avail. The match had all the ingredients of a thriller in which the top seeds eventually prevailed 6-7(4) 6-4 17-15 after one hour and 45 minutes. Immediately after saving their sixth match point to make it 15-15, Bopanna smashed a volley winner to earn their second match point and finished it with a lob, which landed near the baseline, sailing over their opponents.
Sreejesh to turn out for TN in Sr national hockey championship
: India's ace goalkeeper P R Sreejesh will turn out for Tamil Nadu in the 9th Hockey India Senior National Hockey Championship for Men 'B' Division here from January 7 to 20 and will be the star attraction. Sreejesh, who is currently employed with the Kerala government, is registered as a player in Tamil Nadu and is available to play for the host. Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUT) general secretary M Renukalakshmi said it was a privilege to have Sreejesh play for the state team and expressed hope that he could motivate the squad and ensure qualification for the 'A' division. Former India captain V Baskaran told reporters here that there was a lot of talent in Tamil Nadu and Sreejesh was the right man to mentor the young players. "Sreejesh is a wonderful player and Tamil Nadu is blessed that he is part of the team. He can help the young team secure a spot in the A Division," he added. Sreejesh on his part said he was happy to be back representing Tamil Nadu again and hoped ..
Solid Neroca face bottom-placed Shillong Lajong
Manipuri side Neroca FC, currently second on the points table, will be up against bottom-placed Shillong Lajong in a return leg I-League clash at the Khuman Lampak stadium on Friday. The Neroca-Shillong game also marks the beginning of the second and most important half of the top flight football league, with both teams playing their 11th game, having completed the first round of 10 games in the 11-team league. The winner of the I-League will emerge after the completion of the second round of 10 games for each team. Neroca are looking a formidable unit now under the stewardship of Spanish coach Manuel Fraile and in particular after the return of key players like Katsumi Yusa, Singham Subhash Singh and Lalit Thapa as regulars in their starting eleven. Australian medio Aryn Glen Williams has also stepped up his distribution and assist game and with strikers like Felix Chidi and defenders Eduardo, Varney Kallon and Ashok Singh in their ranks and in good form, it will be hard for the ...
Vinesh, Bajrang headline Pro Wrestling League players draft
Asian Games gold medallists Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia will headline the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) 2019 players draft to be held here on Friday. Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik and 2010 Summer Youth Olympics silver medalist Pooja Dhanda are two other top wrestlers who will be part of the draft. The fourth edition of the wrestling league is scheduled to start from January 14. The league offers a prize purse of Rs 1.9 crore for the winners and Rs 1.1 crore for the runners-up. A new team -- MP Yodha -- will be seen in action this season alongside Delhi Sultans, UP Dangal, Haryana Hammers, Mumbai Maharathi and the NCR Punjab Royals. The teams met on Thursday to pick their choice of wrestlers from the draft and will have a strong pool of 225 players to choose from including Olympic medallists, continental champions and world champions.
Chennai look to maintain lead at home against Gokulam Kerala
Leaders Chennai City FC will look to extend the gap at the top of the 12th Hero I-League points table when they take on Gokulam Kerala FC at home Friday. The visitors have lost three of their last four games, including a shock defeat to Indian Arrows away, and what will worry coach Bino George more will be the fact that they last won in the third week of November. Chennai, on the other hand, have looked the most accomplished of sides in this year's league and deservedly hold the top spot. Brakes were seemingly put on their rampant run when they lost four points in two games but they quickly got back to the rhythm with a dominating 6-1 victory against Shillong in their last game, which should boost confidence ahead of the crucial Gokulam clash. Gokulam's good run in between, in fact, began with their first leg 2-3 loss to Chennai, where they put up a spirited display and were unlucky to end up on the losing side of that thrilling game. Bino George will do well to remind his boys of ...
Pakistan crumble against South African pace quartet
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed hit a spirited half-century but could not prevent South Africa's fast bowlers taking control on the first day of the second Test at Newlands on Thursday. South Africa's decision to pick an all-pace attack paid dividends with all the bowlers picking up wickets as Pakistan were dismissed out for 177 after being sent in on a hard, green-tinged pitch. Duanne Olivier followed up a match-winning performance in the first Test in Centurion by taking four for 48, while Dale Steyn took three for 48. Sarfraz made 56 after coming in with his team in danger of a total collapse at 54 for five. Looking to counter-attack at every opportunity, Sarfraz put on 60 for the sixth wicket with Shan Masood (44) and 42 for the seventh wicket with Mohammad Amir (22 not out). Sarfraz hit nine fours in an 81-ball innings. Pakistan were nine wickets down at the scheduled tea break, which was delayed by 14 minutes until the last wicket fell. Pakistan lost their first three wickets ...
Ragini hits hole-in-one in Kolkata leg of US Kids Golf India Tour
Delhi golfer Ragini Navet shot a hole-in-one to prevail over Srinjini Mukherjee and win the girls 12-14 years section in the Kolkata leg of the US Kids Golf India Tour 2018-19 here Thursday. Joysurjo Dey (boys 15-18 years) and Ramayush Ray (boys 13-14 years) also impressed with even par scores to top the table in their respective categories at Tollygunge Club. Chaitanya Pandey (boys 7 years) and Arshvant Srivastava (boys 9) emerged winners. The tour takes pride in making kids play age-specific yardages, and that was emphasized by Arshvant winner in boys nine years. With the focus on promoting junior golf, US Kids Golf India Tour, after rousing success in its opening event of the 2018-19 season in Delhi-NCR, held its second leg in Kolkata on a cold winter morning. "It was amazing to see the talent on display today and we couldn't have been happier with the way that the US Golf Kids India Tour has kicked off," president of the US Kids Golf India said. The US Kids Golf India Tour 2018-19
Federer leads Switzerland to Hopman Cup final
Roger Federer on Thursday sent Switzerland into the Hopman Cup final for the second consecutive year after prevailing over Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 7-6(4).
F1 pays tribute to stricken Schumacher on his 50th birthday
Ferrari issued an emotional message on Thursday to mark the 50th birthday of Michael Schumacher, who has not been seen in public since he suffered head injuries in a skiing accident five years ago. The German, who won a record seven Formula One drivers' championships and 91 Grands Prix, collected five consecutive titles with the Italian team from 2000 to 2004. Ferrari also won six constructors' titles while Schumacher was with them. "Our champ turns 50 today. We're all with you Michael #KeepFighting," Scuderia Ferrari tweeted. The official Formula 1 account tweeted: "We join the whole of the #F1 family in sending Michael @Schumacher our very best wishes on his 50th birthday #KeepFightingMichael #Michael50." The Ferrari Museum at Maranello in northern Italy is dedicating a special exhibition to Schumacher as a celebration of the team's most successful driver. F1 team Mercedes have hailed Schumacher as one of the "founding fathers" for their recent success. Schumacher came out of ...
Finch is victim of his success as opener in Dubai: Maxwell
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell believes that right-hand batsman Aaron Finch's success as an opening batsman in their recently-concluded Test series against Pakistan has cost him a place in the national side for the final Test against India in their ongoing home series.Maxwell said that Finch is more accustomed to play in the middle-order position and his good show as an opener against Pakistan made selectors think that he could open for Australia against India, as well, which ultimately did not happen."He was probably a victim of his own success in the UAE. Having batted so well as an opener there it probably drove the Australia selectors and coaches to put him up there (against India) and I suppose that was fair enough," Cricket.com.au quoted Maxwell, as saying.The swashbuckling batsman hoped that Finch would not lose his confidence as a Test cricketer and gets a chance to play in the middle order."I hope that (being dropped) doesn't finish Finch off as a Test cricketer and ...
Serena Williams registers third singles win in Hopman Cup
American tennis ace Serena Williams on Thursday defeated Katie Boulter of Britain to register her third consecutive singles victory in the ongoing Hopman Cup.The 37-year-old swept aside her British opponent 6-1, 7-6 (2) in a clash that lasted 72 minutes. The victory holds a special significance for the former world number one as she is preparing to make a bid for a record Grand Slam title in the upcoming Australian Open.The 23 times Grand Slam champion started the match on a tentative note and had to toil hard to strengthen her grip on the match. She, however, gained momentum in the later stage to record a convincing win.Later, the USA mixed doubles team comprising Williams and Frances Tiafoe faced a 4 (2)-3, 3 (4)-4, 1-4 defeat at the hands of British pair Boulter and Cameron Norrie resulting in Britain winning the tie.Williams' hopes of lifting the Hopman Cup for the record third time ended when the team United States were eliminated after losing their opening two ties against ...
US Open glory gave me confidence, says Osaka
Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka believes that her victory over tennis player Serena Williams in the final of the 2018 US Open championship has given her the confidence to win matches in difficult situations.The comment came in the backdrop of Osaka's 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory over Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia to advance into her first ever semi-final of the Brisbane International."I feel like right now I'm really confident in myself, and I feel like the offseason training that I've been doing is really paying off. And I'm not sure if I would have had the same feeling six months ago. Six months ago I hadn't won the US Open. I was having a really bad clay season," WTA quoted Osaka, as saying.The world number five witnesses a dramatic upward shift in her stature after she defeated 23 times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the controversial final clash of the 2018 US Open to clinch her maiden major title.Talking about her quarter-final match against Sevastova in the Brisbane ...
Britain beat US 2-1 at Hopman Cup
Britain's Cameron Norrie and Katie Boulter pulled off a 2-1 victory over Serena Williams and Frances Tiafoe of the United States at their mixed doubles match at the Hopman Cup on Thursday.
Nishikori tops Dimitrov to face Chardy in Brisbane International semis
Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori on Thursday kept his Brisbane International campaign rolling as he overpowered Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
Balasubramaniam upsets Vietnamese Nguyen at chess tournament
Indian boy Balasubramaniam H (ELO rating 2270) shocked Vietnamese IM Nguyen Van Huy (ELO 2438) in a fourth round match of the EKA IIFWL Investment Managers 4th Mumbai International GM Chess Tournament on Thursday. The 15-year-old Balasubramaniam, ranked 52nd, showed great character and temperament as he produced another outstanding performance to put it across the 33-year-old Nguyen, ranked 23rd, on the eighth board and to record his third win and remain unbeaten at the end of four rounds. The Tamil Nadu boy's other two wins came against Bangladesh's Koshor Shazzad and Russian GM Lugovskoy Maxim, while he played out a draw with Bangladesh GM Rahman Ziaurin the second round. The youngster's efforts so far have earned him a performance rating of 2606 which is an increase of 72 rating points. Overnight leaders, IM Visakh N R (2491) and GM Sandipan Chanda (2555), both from India, split the point as their match finished in a draw on the top board. Vietnamese GM Tran Tuan ...