Page 791 - Sports

Injured Vernon Philander to miss first Test against Pak

South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander is likely to miss the first Test of their upcoming three-match series against Pakistan after sustaining a hairline fracture on his right thumb.The blow of South African squad comes after the 33-year-old had recently returned to action after rehabilitation from a recurring ankle injury.With Philander ruled out of the first Test and another pacer Lungi Ngidi out of action until February due to a knee injury, South Africa is left with just three pace options in the form of Duanne Olivier, Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn.South Africa coach Ottis Gibson has expressed disappointment over the development saying that he doesn't know what would happen if another injury concern erupted in the team."I really don't even want to think about what would happen should there be another injury," ESPNcricinfo quoted Gibson, as saying.South Africa is slated to play a three-match Test series against Pakistan from December 26 to January 15.

Rajasthan best Odisha by 35 runs

Rajasthan pacers yet again produced a stellar performance as the visitors defeated Odisha by 35 runs in their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy game here on Sunday. Rajasthan bundled out Odisha for 137 in their second essay with pacer Aniket Choudhary (5-25) taking his second five wicket haul of the match to help the visitors script a memorable winin a low-scoring clash. The momentum swung back and forth throughout the game but Rajasthan held their nerves in the end to emerge triumphant. Choudhary, who had figures of 5-49 in the first innings, was ably supported by pacers T H Haq (3-39) and Nathu Singh (2-43) in the second innings. For Odisha, number 8 Suryakant Pradhan raised the hopes of a win with his quick-fire 56 off 33 balls but after his dismissal it was all over bar the shouting for the hosts. For the hosts, Subranshu Senapati (36) and Debasish Samantray (21) played handy knocks but failed to take the side home. Rajasthan pacer Haq also had a game to remember as he ...

Mumbai take lead despite valiant Pandya half ton

A hard-hitting half century from fit-again Hardik Pandya went in vain as Mumbai grabbed a narrow 29-run first innings lead after tea on day three of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A game on Sunday. Pandya, who had taken five wickets in the Mumbai innings, ran out of partners before being last out for an attacking 73 in 137 balls with 9 fours and one six after he bravely tried to guide the visitors past the hosts' first innings tally of 465. Pandya, who came to the crease when Baroda were 307 for three, departed caught behind to end the visitors' innings at 436. He had escaped earlier when he was bowled off a no-ball. In the remaining time Mumbai were rocked by Pandya's two-wicket burst and were tottering at 20 for 2 at close, an overall lead of 49. The day started with Baroda on a solid 244 for 1 with Waghmode on 87 and Solanki on 128. Solanki fell to the first ball of the 11thover of the morning for 133 to left arm medium pacer Roystan Dias after Waghmode, who was ...

Porto continues to lead after defeating Santa Clara

Porto continues to lead the Portuguese championship thanks to their 2-1 win over Santa Clara.

Alvarez defeats Fielding, wins third world boxing title

Mexican boxer Saul Alvarez was crowned the new World Boxing Association super middleweight world champion after he defeated Englishman Rocky Fielding in a knockout in the third round at Madison Square Garden here.

Alcohol will only be available at special places during 2022 World Cup

Fans attending the 2022 football World Cup here will not be able to drink alcohol in public, but in special places, the secretary general of Qatar 2022 Hassan Al Thawadi announced on Saturday.

Tel CM hails PV Sindhu for her maiden BWF World Tour Final win

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao Sunday congratulated ace shuttler PV Sindhu for winning the BWF world tour title. Hailing Sindhu as the "pride" of the country, Rao wished that she would bring many more laurels to the country and the state in future, an official release said. Sindhu became the first Indian to win BWF World Tour Finals at Guangzhou when she defeated Japan'sNozomi Okuhara 21-19 21-17. Expressing his happiness over her feat, Sindhu's father PV Ramana described her victory as amazing. He said in the year-end she has proved that she is not "silver Sindhu", but she is a "golden girl" of badminton. "She had gone there with confidence of winning the title. She beat the top players, who were ranked higher than her. This is an amazing victory and I am very happy about it", he said. Ramana further said that Sindhu played the matches in a cool manner and with patience. "She played a matured and well-planned game", he added. "Yes she created history by ...

Athletes criticise poor management at Kolkata 25K run

The poor management at the Kolkata 25 km run Sunday came under severe criticism after open category participants blocked the path of elite athletes near the finishing line. The Tata Steel Kolkata 25K run witnessed around 15000 participants in different categories but the elite athletes struggled to finish as runners of open category came in their way from the last 5km mark onwards, leading to their poor timings. Asian Games gold medallist distance runner Sudha Singh asked the organisers to change the elite section flag-off timing so that it's not clashed with the open section. Sudha further lamented that there were no marshal for the second pack as they also lost their way. Competing in her first event after winning a silver in the 3000m steeplechase in the Jakarta Asian Games, Sudha finished eighth overall and second among Indians, with a timing of 1:29:11. "I am not complaining but it's a request to get it corrected. You all know how the Delhi Half Marathon or Mumbai Full Marathon ..

Harendra receives official reprimand from FIH for his outburst against umpires

India's chief coach Harendra Singh has been officially reprimanded by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for his outburst against on-field umpires after the home team's quarterfinal loss to Netherlands in the men's hockey World Cup here. The reprimand was handed down to Harendra after he and India's analytical coach Chris Ciriello were called for an official hearing by the FIH on Saturday. Eyeing to rewrite history after a hiatus of 43 years, India lost 1-2 to Netherlands in the fourth and last quarterfinal to crash out of the tournament in front of a packed Kalinga Stadium here on last Thursday. Soon after the defeat, Harendra blamed poor umpiring for his side's unexpected early ouster, saying the FIH seriously need to address the issue as his side has been on the receiving end of poor on-field decisions twice this year. The India coach's vitriolic outburst didn't go down well with the FIH with its technical delegate Christian Deckenbrock terming Harendra's outburst as ...

CM Naidu, Jagan congratulate 'Telugu pride' P V Sindhu

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Leader of Opposition Y S Jaganmohan Reddy congratulated ace shuttler P V Sindhu on winning the BWF Tour title Sunday. In a statement, Naidu expressed happiness over Sindhu's historic victory and wished her many such successes in future. Reddy, in a separate message, conveyed congratulations to Sindhu on winning her maiden BWF title by defeating Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight sets in the finals. The Leader of Opposition said the brilliance of P V Sindhu made the year 2018 memorable. He wished the "Telugu pride" would continue her winning streak in the coming years as well.

Keeper Santana helps Chennai maintain unbeaten run

Spanish goalkeeper Santana produced a superb penalty save in the injury time as Chennai City FC played out a goalless draw against hosts Minerva Punjab FC on Sunday to remain unbeaten in the Hero I-League here. The result takes Chennai to 18 points from eight games, thus restoring a four-point gap at the top of the league table, while Minerva stay at fifth with 12 points from the same number of completed games. The match did not rise to any great heights though Chennai were the more dominant side particularly in the second half. Minerva, despite bolstering their attack with the return of the Japanese striker Yu Kuboki, who incidentally missed the penalty, also played out their second goalless draw of the season. Besides Yu Kuboki, Bhaskar Roy also regained his position under the Minerva bar with Arshdeep who started in the last game getting back on the bench. For Chennai, Mashoor Shareif started in midfield in place of Pravitto Raju, who had started the last game. Minerva had the ...

Film fraternity hails P.V. Sindhu for historical win

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

Hockey WC: Harendra Singh gets official reprimand for criticising umpire's decisions

Indian men's hockey team coach Harendra Singh on Sunday received an official reprimand from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for publicly criticising decisions made the umpire during their quarterfinal match against the Netherlands in the ongoing Hockey World Cup.The FIH Technical Delegate decided that the coach committed a breach of the Code of Conduct (Level 1, 2.2 k: Public criticism of, or inappropriate public comment in relation to an incident occurring in an International Match or any Participant or team participating in any International Match or FIH, generally, irrespective of when such criticism or inappropriate comment is made) at the press conference following the match between India and Netherlands on December 13.In its decision, the FIH Technical Delegate indicated that the statements from India's coach at the press conference regarding the umpires were unacceptable. The same was admitted by Singh himself during the hearing.This official reprimand will be ...

'King' Kohli becomes second fastest to 25th Test ton

Virat Kohli Sunday became the second fastest to 25 Test centuries with his sixth ton in Australia, joining boyhood hero Sachin Tendulkar, and celebrated by suggesting he lets his bat do the talking. The 30-year-old Kohli achieved the feat in 127 innings. However, he fell to a controversial catch after leading India's fightback in the second Test here. In reply to Australia's first-innings total of 326 all out, India were 252 for seven at lunch on the third day, with Kohli doing the bulk of scoring. Kohli reached his seventh century against Australia in style, playing a classic drive off Mitchell Starc. On reaching the three-figure mark, Kohli removed his helmet and placed it on the green turf at the Optus Stadium. The Indian fans roared from the stands as their hero pointed at his bat and gestured with his fingers in a manner that suggested: 'I let the bat do the talking' rather than the mouth. The innovative celebration caught the attention of the cricket world. If anyone has seen a .

Ethiopians rule in Kolkata 25K; Sable, Suriya impress among Indians

Birhanu Legese and Dibaba Kuma made an Ethiopian double in the men's and women's elite sections while Avinash Sable and Suriya Loganathan reigned supreme among the Indians at the Tata Steel Kolkata 25 kilometre run Sunday. All the 25K elite runners, however, recorded poor timings as they struggled at the last 5km with the open category participants blocking their way. The weather conditions were ideal for the elite runners to break the course records held by Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele (1:13:48) and compatriot Degitu Azmeraw (1:26:01) in the men's and women's sections. Suriya led Dibaba by one second till the 20km mark before the Ethiopian broke away to clinch the women's crown with a timing of one hour 27 minutes and 34 seconds. "They raced ahead like a bullet near the finishing line. It was a sudden burst and I could not cope up," the 28-year-old Suriya from Pudukottai, who finished overall seventh, said. "The foreigners were running slow and they were not able to decide who ...

Perth Test: Indian bowlers keep it tight, Aussies take 175 runs lead

Indian bowlers did not let the momentum shift in favour of Australia as they scalped wickets at regular intervals in the final session of Day Three of their ongoing second Test here at the Perth Stadium on Sunday.Australia ended the day with a total of 132 runs on board at the loss of four wickets to take a 175-run lead in the match.After bowling out Indian batsmen for 283 runs, Australia started their second innings on a steady note with a crucial 43-run lead. Their openers, Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris, stitched a 33-run partnership before Finch retired hurt. The right-hand batsman was struck with a painful blow off a Mohammed Shami delivery in the 13th over of their innings. Afterward, he was taken off the field for an x-ray on a possible right index finger fracture.The departure of Finch was a big blow for the hosts, but nevertheless, Usman Khawaja resumed the innings along with Harris. Both the batsman added 26 runs to their team's total before the fall of Harris. Indian pacer ..

Sudha, other athletes rue poor course management in TSK 25K

Asian Games gold medallist Sudha Singh was among the elite athletes who rued the poor finishes in the Kolkata 25 kilometres road race, saying the organisers should change the elite section flag-off timing so that it does not clash with the open section.

All England Championships will be our target next year: Gopichand

Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has set his eyes on ending the 18-year-old wait for an Indian to become an All England champion next year after P V Sindhu clinched the season-ending World Tour Finals title here Sunday. 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. Asked about the targets, Gopichand said: "For us the 2020 would be a big one, and then 2022, so basically the commonwealth, Asian Games and the Olympics are the big event but having said that the All England will be the target next year. "It has been quite a while since we have won the All England Championship. It will be almost 20 years since Prakash sir won and then I won the Championship so I hope this time it doesn't take so long." Sindhu on Sunday became the first Indian to clinch the World Tour Finals, capping a successful season where she won silver medals at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, ..

Sindhu breaks jinx to win World Tour Finals title

India's P.V. Sindhu became the first Indian to win the season finale at the BWF World Tour Finals 2018 badminton tournament here on Sunday.

Kapur, Madappa sign off with top 10 finishes in Jakarta

Indian golfers Shiv Kapur and Viraj Madappa carded 69 and 66 respectively in the final round to sign off with a creditable Top-10 at the season-ending BNI Indonesian Masters on Sunday. Kapur's fine start with three birdies in first five holes did not last. Yet, he finished with a birdie on 18th, which lifted him to 11-under and sole sixth position. The 21-year-old Viraj had a great day in office as he produced a sizzling six-under 66 to finish tied ninth. Small-built Poom Saksansin (68 and 20-under) won the event for the second time in three years, while leading a 1-2-3 for the Thais. Among other Indians, Anirban Lahiri (72) and SSP Chawrasia (68) were Tied-20th. Rahil Gangjee, six-under through 14, dropped four shots in last three holes for a 70 and from being Top-10 he ended T-24th. Khalin Joshi (68) was T-35th, S Chikkarangappa (69) was T-45th and M Dharma (71) was T-51st. Poom, who also plays in Japan, started the day three shots clear of the 2016 Open winner, Henrik Stenson. The .