Page 790 - Sports

BAI announces 10 lakh cash reward for Sindhu; Sameer to get 3 lakh

Badminton Association Of India (BAI) announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for P V Sindhu, who became the first Indian to win the season-ending World Tour Finals in Guangzhou, China on Sunday. Olympic silver medallist Sindhu ended the year on a high, beating Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-19 21-17 in the summit clash to claim the World Tour finals crown, thus also breaking the jinx of a series of silver medal finishes in major tournaments. BAI also announced a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh for Sameer Verma who reached the semifinal in his maiden appearance at the World Tour Finals. "It's a great year-ending for Indian badminton. Sindhu winning the Tours Final and defeating the best players to achieve the historic feat indicates the leap Indian badminton has taken. I congratulate both Sindhu and Sameer on behalf of entire Badminton Association of India," BAI President, Himanta Biswa Sarma said. This was Sindhu's first title win in last eight final appearances since winning her last crown at the .

We were determined to win match against England: Australia

Australia coach Colin Batch, whose side clinched the bronze medal at the Hockey Men's World Cup after registering a massive 8-1 win against England here on Sunday, said they were determined to win the match.

Sevilla earns 2-0 win over Girona in La Liga action

Sevilla on Sunday earned a 2-0 home win over Girona on the strength of two second half goals to regain the second spot in the La Liga table.

East Bengal edge past Mohun Bagan 3-2

East Bengal returned to winning ways by edging past bitter foes Mohun Bagan 3-2 in a thrilling I-League derby here on Sunday. Mohun Bagan came into the tie unbeaten in the last seven derby matches and took the lead through Azharuddin Mallick in the 13th minute but things turned sour after the break when they were reduced to 10 players after Kingsley Eze was red-carded (59th). East Bengal snatched the lead with Landanmawia Ralte (17th, 61st) and Jobby Justin (44th) helping the 'home team' put it across their traditional rivals and make it two wins out of two. Mohun Bagan pulled one back through Dipanda Dicka (75th) but it proved to be a consolation strike in the end. East Bengal, who had beaten Gokulam Kerala FC 3-1 in their previous tie here after a string of three defeats, moved to fifth spot in the points table with 12 points from seven games. Mohun Bagan, meanwhile, remained eighth having nine points from seven outings and have now failed to win in their last three matches. East ...

I-League: East Bengal edge past Mohun Bagan, continue winning run

East Bengal edged past 10-man Mohun Bagan 3-2 to make it two wins on the bounce in the season's first I-League derby at the packed Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Sunday.

Gill glides to sixth INRC title

Mahindra Adventure's Gaurav Gill was at his fast and furious best to annex his sixth Indian National Rally Championship here on Sunday. The three-time APRC champion dominated the rally along with his able co-driver Musa Sherif, winning seven stages and finishing second in two in the Popular Rally, to win the title. Going into this iconic rally in the picturesque backdrop of Kerala with just a solitary point lead (62 to his teammate Amittrajit Ghosh's 61), Gill had to be cautious as he mounted his attack. He began slowly, finishing second in the first two stages, before he came into his own. Guided by local boy Musa, he quickly got a feel of the terrain and made the necessary adjustments to win the next five stages. "It was a difficult year for us, especially towards the end due to mechanical issues which were beyond our control," Gill conceded after his victory. "Kochi was the most difficult, with narrow roads which were fast and had broken tarmac too. We had to push extra hard to ...

Joshna bags record-equalling 16th national title, Mahesh wins maiden crown

Squash star Joshna Chinappa equalled Bhuvneshwari Kumari's record of 16 national titles while Mahesh Mangaonkar won his maiden crown on the concluding day of the premier domestic event at the HCL campus here on Sunday. In the two contrasting finals, Mahesh pipped Vikram Malhotra 11-4, 13-15, 11-2, 5-11, 15-13 while Joshna edged out Urwashi Joshi 9-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-5. In comparison to the gruelling battle in the men's final, Joshna had it easier though Urwashi Joshi of Maharashtra did surprise her by taking the first game. As it turned out, the dent Joshna suffered was more of an aberration. The reigning champion ensured the ride was smooth from there on en route a record equalling crown. The 32-year-old said it was always special to come back to the Nationals, where she won her maiden title as a 14-year-old. Overall, Joshna has played in a staggering 18 finals, losing just two of them. "There is a funny story behind this. When I was 12, my father told me that 'you have to win your ..

I-League: Keeper Santana helps Chennai maintain unbeaten run

Chennai City FC remained unbeaten in the Hero I-League, thanks to a penalty save by Spanish keeper Santana in the injury time, after playing out a goalless draw at Panchkulas Tau Devi Lal stadium against hosts Minerva Punjab FC in Sundays first game.

'Special' Nathan Lyon earns praise from Tendulkar

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar on Sunday praised "special" Nathan Lyon after the spinner took a record equalling five-wicket haul in the second Test against India here. Lyon now shares the record of taking five wickets or more in an innings against India with Sri Lanka great Muttiah Muralitharan but the Australian achieved the feat in 30 innings compared to 32 by the latter. "Australia have got a very special spinner in @NathLyon421. He has got terrific variations and uses the pace and bounce from the pitch to extract maximum value," Sachin tweeted. The 31-year-old off spinner dismissed Ajinkya Rahane on 51 before clearing up India's tail on day three, ensuring his side held on to a narrow first innings lead. Lyon, who ended with 5/67 in the first innings, was pleased by the Master Blaster Tendulkar's praise. "That's amazing to get something like that from Sachin Tendulkar," Lyon said after the end of day's play. "He's obviously one of the greatest of all time to ever play the game. .

Australia thrash England 8-1 to bag Hockey WC bronze

Australia registered a thumping 8-1 win over England to bag a bronze medal in the ongoing men's Hockey World Cup here at the Kalinga Stadium on Sunday.England played some real attacking hockey in the opening minutes of the match, but they seemed clueless once world number one Australia upped the ante. The first blow to England came in the eighth minute of the match when Blake Govers scored an absolute stunner off a penalty corner.In the very next minute, Australia's Tome Craig came with an unbelievably attacking intent to built an amazing scoring opportunity to give his side a 2-0 lead. Having started the game on a defensive host, Australia were in full control of the match after scoring two consecutive goals.Confident Australia struck again and this time, it was a team effort. Tome Craig gets the ball, passes to Jake Harvie who in turn gave the ball to Govers. The ball was passed back to Craig before Gibson could dive and intercept. With an open goal in front, Craig made no mistake ..

Bangladesh coach cautious ahead of West Indies T20 showdown

Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes Sunday said he was reluctant to consider his men favourites for the Twenty20 series against West Indies, despite a streak of hot form against the Caribbean visitors. The three-match T20 contest gets underway Monday with Bangladesh riding high after beating the West Indies in the preceding Test and one-day international series on home soil. The last time the two sides faced off in a T20 series was in the USA in July, when Bangladesh won 2-1. But Rhodes urged his men against hubris, warning they would be coming up against a better-ranked side in the opener in Sylhet. "We played well in the one-dayers and we should take a lot of confidence from that. We played well in the Test series, and that was fantastic," Rhodes told reporters. "But we are asking for more. We want the players to beat the West Indies in Twenty20. They're ranked above us. They are world champions. "We surprised them in Florida and surprised ourselves as well. But the plan is to go out ...

Kohli is an inspiring leader, says Pacer Bumrah

India's pacer Jasprit Bumrah praised his skipper Virat Kohli, who notched his 25th Test ton on the third day of the second Test match against Australia here on Sunday.

Film fraternity hails P.V. Sindhu for historic win

Film fraternity members led by megastar Amitabh Bachchan extended hearty congratulations to P.V. Sindhu on her historic win at the season finale at the BWF World Tour Finals 2018 badminton tournament in Guangzhou, China, on Sunday.

Jagan Kumar clinches seventh national racing title

Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing braved wrist pain to finish sixth in the concluding race and clinch the title for the seventh time in Super Sport 165 cc class in the MRF MMSC FMSCI National Motorcycle Racing Championship at Sriperumbudur near here on Sunday. Rajiv Sethu led a podium sweep for Honda Ten10 Racing in the final round. Jagan, who crashed heavily in the first race yesterday after making contact with team-mate Ahamed Arif, was unable to generate his usual pace and was content to pick up the eight points he required to seal the championship with 158 points. Sethu won comfortably ahead of team-mates Sarath Kumar and Mathana Kumar to finish second in the championship behind Jagan with 145 points. In one of the closest finishes of the season, Bengaluru-based Anish Damodara Shetty (Honda Ten10 Racing) pipped TVS Racing's Kannan Subramaniam by three-thousandth of a second in the Pro-Stock 165cc race as the duo crossed the line locked together. Shetty had already sealed the championship .

Kohli, Paine exchange verbal blows as Perth Test heads for nail-biting finish

Tensions flared-up towards the end of day three with none other than the two captains, Virat Kohli and Tim Paine, exchanging verbal volleys as the second Test between India and Australia headed for a nail-biting finish. The hosts finished 175 runs ahead on day three, after Kohli's 25th Test hundred got India to 283 runs. The Indian skipper was out caught at second slip, and while the catch was referred to the third umpire, it wasn't overturned on account of soft signal. It led to quite a talkative Kohli on the field during Australia's second innings, which carried on until stumps, with both captains exchanging words. "If he messes it up, it's 2-0,"Kohli said, which was picked up by the microphone after he and his teammates made a loud caught-behind appeal for Paine in the final over of the day. The Australian captain did not hold himself back and replied "You've got to bat first, big head". The hosts star-spinner Nathan Lyon, however, played down the incident. "I think Tim just asked .

Hockey WC: Australia thrash England to settle for bronze

Tom Craig scored thrice while Jeremy Hayward's brace helped Australia thrash England 8-1 in the bronze medal match of the Hockey World Cup here on Sunday.

2nd Test: Australia nose ahead on 3rd day (Roundup)

Australia clinched a slight advantage after posting 132/4 in their second innings at stumps on the third day of the second cricket Test against India here on Sunday.

Australia thrash England 8-1 to clinch bronze medal in hockey WC

Last edition champions Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after mauling England 8-1 at the men's hockey World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here on Sunday. Tom Craig (9th, 19th, 34th minute) scored a hat-trick while Jeremy Hayward (57th, 60th) struck twice for Australia in the bronze medal play-off. Blake Govers (8th), Trent Mitton (32nd) and Tim Brand (34th) were the other goal getters for Australia. World number 7 England's lone goal in the lop-sided match came from the stick of Barry Middleton in the 45th minute. This was Australia's fifth bronze medal in the history of the tournament. The last time the Kookaburras had to be satisfied with a third-place finish was way back in 1994 in front of their home crowd in Sydney. The two teams met in the pool stage earlier in the tournament with Australia winning 3-0. The victory also enabled Australia to further increase their head-to-head record against England. The two sides have faced each other 28 times earlier with Australia ...

We're a little surprised by on-field call: Bumrah on Kohli's dismissal

India were "surprised" at the on-field umpire's call that led to skipper Virat Kohli's controversial dismissal but the team has moved on and is focussed on restricting Australia to a low score in the second Test, pacer Jasprit Bumrah said Sunday. Kohli's dismissal triggered a controversy after Peter Handscomb took the catch at second slip off Pat Cummins' bowling and on-field umpires deferred to the third umpire with a soft signal of out, meaning only conclusive evidence could overturn the decision. However, TV replays were not sufficient enough to overturn the decision, which left the Indian fans and Kohli disappointed as the skipper walked off the ground without acknowledging the ovation for his superb innings of 123. "We were a little surprised by the on-field call but now that it's been done means it's been done. We will move forward with the game. That's about it," said Bumrah when asked about the controversial decision. Virat Kohli scored his 25th Test hundred to help India ...

Ranji Group B: Punjab in strong position against TN

A late strike by Sandeep Sharma gave Punjab the advantage Sunday against Tamil Nadu at the end of day three of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match here. Faced with a massive deficit of 264 runs, Abhinav Mukund was dismissed by Sandeep Sharma for 74 (141 balls, 9 fours) towards close of play to leave Tamil Nadu at 166 for 3. Earlier, Punjab were bowled out for 479 in response to Tamil Nadu's first innings total of 215, built around young Shubman Gill's brilliant knock of 268 (328 balls, 29X4, 4X6). The home side appeared on track for a huge total as Gill, resuming on his overnight score of 199, continued to bat with ease. Though he lost skipper Mandeep Singh (50) early in the day, he found an able ally in the experienced Yuvraj Singh (41, 34 balls, 8X4) and added 61 runs at a fast clip. Yuvraj, however, was unlucky as he was run out backing up too far when Gill's straight drive was deflected off K Vignesh's hand on to the stumps to leave him stranded. Later, Gill was involved in ..