Page 796 - Sports
Junior World Cup to be held every 2 years, says FIH
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Saturday announced that henceforth the Junior World Cup will be held every two years but the world body seemed clueless about the host nation and exact timing of the next edition. The Junior World Cup was last held in 2016 at Lucknow, where India went on to lift the title and as per the new decision the event should have been hosted this year itself. But the FIH said as the decision was taken in its Executive Board meeting only on Friday, they are yet to figure out the host nation and exact timing of the next edition. "The Junior World Cup will be held every second year from now on. We need to support youth in sport and give every generation a chance to participate in Junior World Cup. If we don't, we lose a generation of players," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said at a press conference here on Saturday. The FIH CEO, however, was clueless when asked about when and where the next edition of the Junior World Cup and Senior World Cup will be held. "I .
2nd Test: India 172/3 at stumps, trail by 154 runs vs Australia
India were 172/3 at stumps on the second day of the second Test against Australia at the Perth stadium here on Saturday.
Hopeful of Barcelona playing in India before Messi retires: club's director general
Jordi Camps, FC Barcelona's Asia Pacific director general, expressed optimism that India will be part of the Catalan club's preseason plans before its talisman Lionel Messi brings the curtains down on his glorious career. He also said it's a matter of time before an Indian plays in Spanish top-flight. La Liga club Girona FC was in India this summer to play in an exhibition tournament in Kochi. Asked about Barcelona's prospects of playing in India, which is one of its strategic markets, the club official sounded positive. "Of course as I said India is one of the top players in the markets and for sure our team in Barcelona and Hong Kong is working to have the opportunity or bring the opportunity to the India fans, to watch our players live and we are working on it," Camps said. He added, "I don't know if it will happen the next year or the following year or the year after that but we will have them here for sure. We had the legends in India two months ago and we have the schools so ...
Kohli, Rahane propel India to 172/3 after poor start
Skipper Virat Kohli played a pivotal role with a workmanlike 82, lifting India from a double blow at the beginning of innings to 172 for three in the second Test against Australia here Saturday. Kohli's unbeaten knock, coupled with Ajinkya Rahane's counterattacking 51, helped India to not only overcome the cheap dismissals of Murali Vijay (2) and K L Rahul (2), but also put the visitors in a position from where they can look to dominate the rest of the game. The India captain stitched a 90-run unbroken partnership with Rahane by stumps on the second day, the stand coming after he added 74 with Adelaide hero Cheteshwar Pujara (24) for the third wicket. This was after Australia's tail wagged to add 49 runs to their overnight total to finish at 326. India trailed by 154 more runs. Post tea, Kohli and Pujara (24) batted in much the same manner as they did in the previous session. Their pace of scoring was slow, but they batted with assurance until Mitchell Starc (2-42) provided the ...
India coach Harendra irks FIH for raising questions on umpiring
Harendra Singh's outburst against umpiring after India's quarterfinal loss to Netherlands in the ongoing World Cup didn't go down well with the world body (FIH) and its President Narinder Batra Saturday hinted at a strict action against the coach for his indecent behaviour. 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 Thursday. Soon after the defeat, Harendra blamed poor umpiring for his side's unexpected early ouster, saying FIH seriously need to address the issue as his side has been on the receiving end of poor on-field decisions twice this year. But the India coach's vitriolic outburst came back to haunt him as the FIH chief said a team should be graceful in defeat and questioning umpires is against the spirit of the game. "Being the FIH President I have to follow certain protocols and I have my strong reservations against this kind
I-League: East Bengal, Mohun Bagan look to steady ship in derby (Preview)
Traditional heavyweights East Bengal and Mohun Bagan aim to revive their sagging campaigns and close the gap at the top of the table when they lock horns in the much awaited I-League derby at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Sunday.
Atletico president wants club in Wanda Metropolitano Champions League final
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has vowed to fight to qualify for the UEFA Champions League final, scheduled to be played at the Wanda Metropolitano, the home pitch of Los Rojiblancos.
Del Potro back training after knee injury
Argentine tennis player Juan Martin del Potro has returned to training, just two months after suffering a fractured right knee cap at the Shanghai Masters.
Kapur battles to 71, Lahiri is 11th in Jakarta
Shiv Kapur carded a battling 71 on a rather tough and windy Saturday to lie tied 7th, while fellow Indian Anirban Lahiri was tied 11th after the third round of the BNI Indonesian Masters here Friday. On the traditional moving day, the players were made to work hard as the wind persisted from early in the morning at the Royal Jakarta Golf Club here. Kapur, two-under at one stage, went as high as Tied-third before bogeys on 11th, 13th and 16th seemed to push him out of Top-10. However, Kapur, Tied-third here in 2012, clawed his way back with a birdie-birdie finish to rise from one-over to one-under. At eight-under 208, he is one better than overnight. He is eight shots behind leader Poom Saksansin (70). Poom, who got a shirt autographed by Henrik Stenson earlier in the year at EurAsia Cup, will play with the Swede in the final group on Sunday. Putting well again and hitting with amazing precision, Poom is 16-under and three ahead of Stenson (68), whose great charge took him to 13-under.
India 172/3 at close on Day 2
India were 172 for 3 at close of play in their first innings on day two of the second Test against Australia here on Saturday. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were batting on 82 and 51 respectively on the draw of stumps. India still trail by 154 runs with seven first innings wickets in hand. Brief Scores: Australia 1st Innings: 326 all out in 108.3 overs (Marcus Harris 70, Travis Head 58; Ishant Sharma 4/41, Jasprit Bumrah 2/53) India 1st innings 172 for 3 in 69 overs (Virat Kohli batting 82, Cheteshwar Pujara batting 51; Mitchell Starc 2/42 .
Boca Juniors part ways with coach
Boca Juniors president Daniel Angelici said that the club will not renew the contract of coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto, putting an end to his three-year tenure with the Buenos Aires side.
World Tour Finals: Sensational Sindhu seizes final spot, Sameer loses
Continuing her sizzling form, Indian badminton star P V Sindhu progressed to the summit clash of the World Tour Finals for the second successive time but it was curtains for debutante Sameer Verma in men's singles here Saturday. The 23-year-old Indian, who finished runner-up at the last edition, staved off a strong challenge from the fighting Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, a 2013 world champion, to emerge a 21-16 25-23 winner in a tense semifinal that clocked 54 minutes. Sameer, however, had to swallow a bitter pill after squandering a match point advantage in the second game to go down 21-12 20-22 17-21 to All England Champion and World Championship silver medallist Shi Yuqi of China in the men's singles semifinals. Sindhu came into the match with a 3-4 record against the Thai player but she was buoyed by her recent results as she has not lost to Intanon in the last two years. The Olympic silver medallist will now fight for the title with Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, to whom she had lost .
Hardik Pandya claims five-wicket-haul on return from injury
A notable absentee from the India tour of Australia, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has claimed a five-wicket-haul on his return to the field for Baroda during the ongoing Ranji Trophy match against Mumbai.The 25-year-old, who sustained an acute lower back injury during the Asia Cup fixture against Pakistan in September, ended the first day of the first-class match with 3/74 and followed it up with two more wickets on day two today.Pandya with the help of new ball dismissed the Mumbai openers Aditya Tare (15) and Vilas Auti (12) in quick succession, while dismissed Shivam Dube for 37 runs in the 85th over on the first day. As Mumbai resumed their batting today morning, the pacer sent back Akash Parkar (22) and Royston Dias for a duck, to end with figures of 5/81 in first-class cricket.
Do we have a substitute to match Sreejesh? asks ex-India captain Somaya (IANS Interview)
India's premature exit from the ongoing men's hockey World Cup has raised a few questions, especially on the most experienced player in the current outfit, goalkeeper P.R.Sreejesh, who was held responsible for leaking the deciding goal in the 1-2 loss to the Netherlands in the pulsating quarter-final, a couple of days ago.
Viaan Industries signs strategic offline distribution deal with Game of Dot
Viaan Industries Ltd, a popular licensing, entertainment and gaming company promoted by Raj Kundra and celebrity Shilpa Shetty Kundra signed a strategic distribution deal with B Square Global Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. represented by Girish Bhayana and Kunal Bhandari from Chandigarh.Viaan Industries launched Game of Dot, a 'spot the ball' game of skill six months ago and it has organically grown month on month to become one of the top grossing real money games for the company. Game of Dot (G.O.D) is an easy to play, spot the ball game where all you have to do is register online, buy your dots package and mark the spot using your skills where you believe the ball is in the picture. Professionals judge the time-based competition and the closest dot to the judges chosen position wins.Managing Director, Raj Kundra said, "I grew up playing spot the ball in England and in those days, it was a manual paper game. We have just digitized an old school favorite game added the game of skill element ...
Blasters challenge awaits in-form MCFC
High-flying Mumbai City FC would look to go into the Indian Super League break with a win when they take on Kerala Blasters here on Sunday. After their 0-5 thrashing by FC Goa in an away game, Mumbai, who are yet to win the coveted ISL title, have made a fabulous turn-around by remaining unbeaten in the next seven games. The hosts are currently in the second spot in the standings with 21 points, having won six of their 11 games, drawing three and losing just two. Going into the game, they would derive confidence after they held formidable Bengaluru FC to a 1-1 draw. Moreover, the week-long break would have rejuvenated the players. Mumbai, this season, have been a force to reckon with. Senegal's Modou Sougou has been the star performer for the side having pumped in five goals. Mumbai also possess fine strikers like Brazilian Rafael Bastos and an array of mid-fielders including Sougou, Raynier Fernandes, Portugal's Paulo Machado and Matias Mirabaje. If all of them fire play
2nd Test: India post 70/2 at tea on 2nd day
India were in a spot of bother at 70/2 at tea in their first innings on the second day of the second cricket Test against Australia here on Saturday.
World Tour Finals: PV Sindhu beats Ratchanok Intanon to reach final
Indian shuttler PV Sindhu entered the final of the ongoing World Tour Finals after defeating Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the women's singles event here on Saturday.Sindhu, ranked world number six, defeated Thai world number eight by 21-16, 25-23 in the semi-final, which lasted 54 minutes.The game started off with Intanon taking the first point. But once Sindhu got hold of her game, she exuded sheer class making it 2-2 with a cross-court shot. The Indian shuttler failed to reach a beautiful drop shot from Intanon, which resulted in Thai making it 4-4 in the first game.The tight contest again saw an unforced error from the world number six and scoreline resulted in 7-7. However, pure aggression and three consecutive points, helped Sindhu to take a 10-7 lead against her Thai counterpart. But a cross-court smashed by Intanon and a wrong-footed Sindhu, helped the world number eight in making a solid comeback 14-15 against the Indian. Soon after, Sindhu with four successive points and .
West Indies' Lewis returns for Bangladesh T20s
Batsman Evin Lewis returned as the West Indies on Saturday named a 15-man squad for their three-match Twenty20 series against Bangladesh, beginning next week. Lewis had turned down a white-ball contract in October before withdrawing from the limited-over legs of the side's recent India tour, citing personal reasons. He also did not play for the West Indies in the just-concluded one-day international series against Bangladesh. The West Indies also welcomed backed fast bowlers Kesrick Williams and Sheldon Cottrell while all-rounder Kieron Pollard and left-arm pacer Obed McCoy were left out because of injuries. Nicholas Pooran, Khary Pierre, Fabian Allen and Oshane Thomas retained their places in the T20 squad from the last series in India. "After Bangladesh won the T20 series in the West Indies, we will be expecting a highly competitive return series," Cricket West Indies chairman of selectors Courtney Browne said in a statement. He added that selectors were hoping to see "bigger ...
Southee stars as Sri Lanka struggle in New Zealand
Paceman Tim Southee skittled Sri Lanka's top order with a five-wicket haul to put New Zealand in a commanding position on the opening day of the first Test in Wellington on Saturday. Southee took three scalps in a devastating opening spell to reduce the tourists to nine for three, then followed with a double strike to snuff out a promising fightback in the final session. Sri Lanka were 275 for nine at stumps, with their hopes resting on a rearguard action from Niroshan Dickwella, who was not out on 73. Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne were the only other batsman to offer any meaningful resistance, notching 83 and 79 respectively and forging a 133-run partnership. Southee ended the day with five wickets for 67 in 25 overs, his eighth five-wicket haul in Test cricket and his best figures at the Basin Reserve. His early burst ensured New Zealand's decision to bowl on a green wicket after winning the toss reaped immediate rewards. Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal said before the ..