Page 756 - Sports
I-League: Fans will be deprived, says Real Kashmir coach on telecast row
Real Kashmir FC coach David Robertson on Thursday rued the lack of coverage after the revised I-League telecast schedule, saying fans in India would be deprived of high intensity football.
Tough pitch to score runs on, says centurion Pujara
India's Cheteshwar Pujata, who scored a brilliant century on the second day of the third Test Against Australia on Thursday said the pitch was difficult to bat on.
Chelsea fighting against 'stupid people' in racism battle: Sarri
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri believes his club's battle to curb racist incidents among their fanbase is a "fight against stupid people" following further allegations of racist chanting by fans during the 2-1 win at Watford on Boxing Day. A minority of the away end were reported to have shouted discriminatory remarks during the clash at Vicarage Road. Chelsea suspended four people from attending matches earlier this month while the club carries out an investigation into allegations Manchester City star Raheem Sterling was racially abused at Stamford Bridge. And just days later UEFA also opened an investigation into alleged anti-Semitic chanting during a Europa League game in Hungary. "First of all I want to speak with my club, second I don't want to generalise because 99 percent (of) our fans are really wonderful," replied Sarri when asked about the issue. "In every community, I think there are some stupids. "And so altogether we have to fight against the stupid people but not ...
Pujara's slow innings may cost India Melbourne Test:Ponting
Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting found India's slow batting baffling in the third Test and feels that Cheteshwar Pujara's 106 off 319 balls may end up being the reason for their defeat. India scored at less than two-and-a-half runs an over for most of the first two days of the Test, registering the slowest first-innings score of more than 300 in Australia for three decades. Pujara consumed 319 deliveries for his 106-run knock as none of India's top five batsmen scored at a strike rate of more than 50. Even captain Virat Kohli, who paces his innings decently, scored his 82 off 204 balls with a strike rate of 40.19 on a slow track. "If India go on and win the game, it'll be a great innings (but) if they haven't got time to bowl Australia out twice, it could be what actually costs them the game," Ponting told cricket.com.au. "I think it's always hard for India to push the run rate along when Pujara's there. He's just made another hundred, his second of the series, so he's playing .
Nadal confident about fitness for Australian Open
Rafael Nadal is "confident" he will be 100 percent fit when the Australian Open starts in less than three weeks' time despite enduring yet another tough battle with injuries over the past few months. The Spanish world number two had to pull the plug early on his 2018 season and has not played since a knee problem forced him to retire during his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro in September. He underwent surgery on his ankle to remove an intra-articular loose body in November and only resumed training two weeks ago. Nadal will dip his toes back into competition at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where he faces either Kevin Anderson or Chung Hyeon in his opener on Friday. "I started two weeks ago and of course doing the things step by step and I think I have time to be ready for Melbourne at my 100 percent," Nadal told reporters in the UAE capital on Thursday. "It's going to be good to have some matches before but I'm confident that I'm ...
Bavuma, De Kock give South Africa first-innings lead
Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock steered South Africa to a first-innings lead on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at SuperSport Park on Thursday. Bavuma made 53 and De Kock hit 45 before South Africa were bowled out for 223, a lead of 42. Lunch was taken when the final wicket fell. Left-arm fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi took four for 62 and four for 64 respectively. Runs were again at a premium on a pitch which has helped the fast bowlers throughout. Nightwatchman Dale Steyn hit 23 off 23 balls and Kagiso Rabada made 19 off 25 balls as the tail provided support to Bavuma and De Kock. Bavuma moved to an assured half-century off 66 balls but was then tied down by some accurate bowling before edging Afridi to wicketkeeper and captain Sarfraz Ahmed for 53 off 87 balls with nine fours. De Kock made his runs off 53 balls with five fours before he was last man out, driving Amir to cover.
India, England among favourites in World Cup, says Richards
West Indies batting great Viv Richards Thursday rated hosts England, India, Pakistan and Australia as favourites for the 2019 ICC World Cup. "England has played well. But always they have fallen short at the last moment. It is a good team always. Pakistan and India are two teams that can defeat anyone. Australia is another great team. So, I think there are 4-5 teams that have the potential to win 2019 World Cup," Richards said. Asked about the West Indies, he said the team has not shown the best form in recent years and hoped it would reach the top again. "In limited over game, it all depends on how you play on that particular day. If it is a bad day, even a bad team can defeat you. I hope to see the team where it belonged," Richards said. He praised former captain Brian Lara and said West Indies was fortunate to have a batsman like him. When asked if there is any possibility for him to enter politics like Imran Khan, Richards said: "It will be tough for me. Because whenever you do ...
Performance against Kolkata giants will determine where we stand: Robertson
The upset win over leaders Chennai city has further embellished their dream run on I league debut but Real Kashmir coach David Robertson says the two clashes against Kolkata giants will determine where they stand. Real Kashmir are gearing up for their biggest challenge so far with tomorrow's clash against iconic East Bengal. They take on Mohun Bagan on January 6. Robertson said if they could win against them it will be a "shock". "The pressure is on them to get results. If we don't get result, who cares. But if we managed to get something, then it's a big shock," said Robertson. "We did well against Chennai. It might be a one-off game but who knows. East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are the biggest clubs in India." Robertson said he himself was surprised to see "where we are". "It may be a false position but the games against East Bengal, Mohun Bagan will dictate where we end up in the season. After our game against Mohun Bagan, we will know exactly where we're heading in the season," he ...
Ranji: Thakur, Deshpande back in Mumbai squad for Vidarbha tie
Key pacers Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande, who were out due to injuries, have made a comeback to the Mumbai squad for their Ranji Trophy tie against regaining champions Vidarbha. The four-day game will be played from December 30 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium at Jamtha, Nagpur. In October this year, Thakur had sustained a groin injury on his Test debut against West Indies at Hyderabad after bowling just 10 balls. Since then, the right-arm pacer is out of action. Deshpande has also been out of action for a month. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel has named the two pacers in the 15-member squad announced by the Mumbai Cricket Association on its website on Thursday. Siddhesh Lad continues to remain the skipper. Mumbai are currently in the 14th spot in the combined Groups A and B standings with 11 points in their kitty. Vidarbha are comfortably positioned in the third spot with 21 points. Mumbai need an outright win to stay in contention for the ...
India need to win overseas but have lot of ground to cover: Richards
West Indies legend Viv Richards on Thursday said India have a "lot of ground to cover" in terms of winning series overseas but hoped they will have the last laugh in the ongoing duel in Australia. Heaping praise on Indian skipper Virat Kohli's aggressive captaincy, Richards said that sledging sometimes helps the team and players bring the best out of them. "Earlier, India used to play with four spinners. They now have four fast bowlers. It is good that things have changed. India realised it needs that attitude. But India still get to do well in overseas," Richards told reporters here. He said such a good team deserves overseas victories. "Indian infrastructure have improved. IPL has helped in a big way. It has brought money and the Indian team has got substance. But I think India needs to win overseas and still there is a lot of ground to cover," Richards said. Addressing a press conference organised by Manipal Group's American University of Antigua College of Medicine, the former ...
I-League: In-form East Bengal face spirited Real Kashmir
On a high after winning three matches on the trot, East Bengal will be up against a spirited Real Kashmir in a battle for the I-League top spot at the Salt Lake Stadium here Friday. East Bengal put their title hopes back on track with a 2-1 victory over hosts Churchill Brothers in their last match. The win made it three in a row for the red and gold brigade after three back-to-back losses. They jumped to third spot, three points behind league leaders Chennai City with a match in hand. The second-placed Real Kashmir, who stunned Chennai City in the last round, have two points more than East Bengal having played one additional match as both the teams will be desperate to bag three points to jump to the lead. The I-League debutants are on a five-match unbeaten streak which includes a 6-1 win over Shillong Lajong and another morale-boosting triumph over Chennai in the last match. East Bengal coach Alejandro Menendez refused underestimate the league debutants. "It will be a tough match and
I-League: East Bengal take on Real Kashmir in battle for top spot (Preview)
In-form teams East Bengal and Real Kashmir FC will look to top the points table when they lock horns in a crunch I-League encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Friday.
Women's National Boxing Championship to start December 31
The national women's boxing championships will be held here from December 31 to January 6 and will double up as a selection trial for the camp that will follow. The tournament will be held at the JSW Sports' Inspire Institute of Sports, which was recently inaugurated by Olympic gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra. This will be the first time that a national federation will be hosting a national championship at the privately-run institute, that was formally launched on August 15 this year. The Boxing Federation of India also hosted a pre-Asian Games conditioning camp for its men's and women's teams here. The championship will feature more the 300 of the nation's best female boxers, aged between 19 and 40, across 10 weight categories. Highlighting the importance of the nationals, Boxing Federation of India President Ajay Singh said, "As a Federation when we took charge in 2016, our vision was to first restore the lost glory of Indian boxing and work towards making India, a boxing ...
Constantine announces 23-member India squad for Asian Cup
Stressing on continuity, chief coach Stephen Constantine has announced a 23-member Indian football team, to be spearheaded by the seasoned Sunil Chhetri, for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup. The Asian Cup is scheduled to be held in the UAE from January 5 to February 1. India play their first match against Thailand on January 6, with matches against hosts UAE and Bahrain slotted for January 10 and January 14, respectively. "It was very important to keep on the continuity. It'll be silly of me to completely change the way we do things. Most of these boys are with us for some time now," Constantine said. "The other five boys (from the list of 28) will also stay with us until January 2. In case of an injury or anything else happens, these five boys will need to step up," he added. "We are looking forward to the massive tournament. We hope these 23 boys will do a good job for us." The Blue Tigers were the first among 23 visiting teams to arrive in Abu Dhabi on December 20. A 28-member squad had
Constantine announces squad for Asian Cup
Indian football team coach Stephen Constantine on Thursday announced his squad of 23 members for Indias campaign in the forthcoming Asian Cup football tournament.
Don't need to silence anyone when I play international cricket: Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara has been in prime form in the current Test series against Australia but there has been no conscious effort to silence critics who have panned him for his underwhelming performance Down Under in 2014. "When I play international cricket, I don't need to silence anyone. I just need to keep scoring runs and that is what I love to do. I don't want to get into all such things. My job is to score runs and I will keep scoring runs, whether it is home or away," Pujara said after scoring his 17th Test hundred. However he accepted that once a player starts winning games for his country, even the critics can be kept at bay. "Sometimes you do get criticised and you just have to accept it. But if you keep scoring runs and if India keeps winning, ultimately everybody is happy," Pujara said. Pujara said that he had learnt from his mistakes from 2014 where he got only one half-century in Brisbane. "When you play international cricket, experience makes a lot of difference. 2014 was my
Modric, Perkovic win Croatian sports awards
The best football player in the world Luka Modric got his first Croatian Sportsman of the Year award while discus thrower Sandra Perkovic won her seventh Croatian Sportswoman of the Year title.
On different track, I could have scored 140-150: Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara is not known to score at a fast clip but but the slowness of the MCG track was something that bogged down even India's dogged No 3 during the first innings of the third Test against Australia. "We have to bat like the way the wicket is behaving and what the situation is. On this pitch, every batsman has to play a lot of balls to score runs. If it were a different wicket maybe I would have scored 140-150 after playing so many deliveries. But in Test cricket it is important to read both situation and pitch when batting," Pujara, who scored 106 off 319 balls in India's first innings total of 443/7 declared. Pujara admitted that the pitch is extremely difficult to bat on and the runs put on board is good enough to challenge Australia. "It is a tough pitch to score on. If we look at first two days number of runs scored are very less and in a way I would say that 200 in a day is a tough task, so I think we have enough runs on the board," said Pujara. The variable bounce ..
Local player Arjun Kadhe gets wild card for Tata Open Maharashtra
National Championship runner-up and local player Arjun Kadhe was on Thursday awarded a wild card entry into the singles main draw of the Tata Open Maharashtra, the only ATP World Tour event India hosts. The 24-year old joins the country's top singles players Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the main draw. Kadhe had knocked out Ramkumar in the first round of the KPIT-MSLTA Challenger for his best win of his career, in terms of beating a higher-ranked player. "Kadhe has shown a lot of promise and Pune being his home should certainly be an additional motivation to do well here. We wish all our wild-card entrants the best of luck," said Prashant Sutar, Tournament Director. The ATP 250 event begins from December 31 at the Balewadi Sports Complex. World No. 6 Kevin Anderson, world number seven Marin Cilic and defending champion Gilles Simon (30) headline the singles field. World No. 25 Hyeon Chung from Korea and World No. 45 Malek Jaziri from Tunisia will also play the ...
Manu Bhaker shines in finals, wins women and junior 10m air pistol
The young Manu Bhaker was in top form in the 10-metre air pistol event, winning both the women's and the junior finals at the national selection trials here. Winner of gold medals at the Youth Olympics, ISSF World Cup and Commonwealth Games, Haryana's Bhaker shot a total of 242.1 in the women's 10-metre air pistol final to finish ahead of 13-year-old teen sensation Esha Singh, who shot 240.4, and Anuradha (219.3). Bhaker was second in the qualification with a score of 579 . Former world number one Heena Sidhu, who equalled the women's 10m air pistol qualification world record on Wednesday, finished fourth in the finals with 197.3. In the junior finals, the 16-year-old Bhaker shot 244.5. Esha finished second with 24-4, while Yashsavi Joshi was third, having managed 215.3 at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range. The youth 10-metre air pistol finals was won by Saumya Dhyani, who shot 241.4, while Vibhuti Bhatia (237.6) and Yashsavi Joshi (215.3 ) finished second and third respectively. A ..