Page 867 - Sports
Croatia's Davis Cup tennis heroes welcomed home
Thousands of Croatians gathered in Zagreb's main square on Monday to embrace their returning Davis Cup team, who routed hosts France in the final to clinch the trophy for the second time. "Croatia, Croatia!" chanted both the crowd and the players, led by world number seven Marin Cilic, who were standing on an improvised stage in Ban Jelacic square. Behind them a giant screen replayed their matches from the Davis Cup final in Lille, France. "We are delighted to become world champions and bring this trophy to Croatia," Cilic told the crowd, many of whom were wrapped in Croatia's red-and-white chequered flags. The victory has been celebrated as a sweet revenge for Croatia's loss to France in the World Cup final in July. It is the second time the Balkan nation of 4.2 million has won the Davis Cup, the first time being in 2005. Cilic, 30, secured the 3-1 victory by beating Lucas Pouille on Sunday and giving his country an unassailable lead. On Monday the Croatian press crowned it a ...
Hockey WC : Bhubaneswar in the grip of excitement
With just a few hours left for the opening cerenony of the Odisha Hockey Mens World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, here, the city is in a frenzy of excitement. Most of the 16 teams have reached Bhubaneswar and will play in four pools between November 28 and December 16, officials said. The Kalinga Stadium, where the colourful inaugural programme is scheduled to be held and the matches played, is ready with flags of the participating countries already hoisted. Director Geveral of Police Rajendra Prasad Sharma on Monday reviewed the security bandobast said security arrangements have been made from the airport to the hotels where the teams will be put up and from there to the stadium. Stars of the tinsel town are expected to be present and perform at the inaugural cermony on Tuesday at the Kalinga Stadium here. Bollywood actress and well known dancer Madhuri Dixit Nene arrived here this evening and will perform at the inaugural ceremony, Odisha sports secretary Vishal Dev told ...
Pune City to face confident NorthEast
Buoyed by their new found attacking prowess, a resurgent FC Pune City would look to notch up another win when they take on NorthEast United FC in an Indian Super League football fixture here Tuesday. Even though it seems quite unlikely, Pune, on five points from eight matches, were hoping to turn their fortunes with a good run of results to propel them further in contention for a play-off spot. The international break seemed to have given Pune some hope as they finally managed to register their first win by beating Jamshedpur FC last week. The Stallions have also been boosted with the signing of star striker Iain Hume, who coming out of a long injury showed flashes of brilliance in his brief time on the field. On the wings, Ashique Kuruniyan has been in sublime form for the home side and has troubled the opposition defenders with his pace and dribbling skills. Interim coach Pradyum Reddy will hope that Marcelinho can get back to his best. Reddy has vowed to take the game to NorthEast .
Bengal doubles shuttler electrocuted
Bengal's number one ranked doubles badminton player Trinankur Nag was electrocuted at his workplace in Sealdah two days back and died on Monday here, officials said.
2nd Unofficial Test: Samarth scores half-century in barren encounter vs NZ A
Young Karnataka batsman Ravikumar Samarth's unbeaten half-century was the only highlight for India A in their rain-affected second 'unofficial Test' against New Zealand A, which ended in a draw. With nearly two days of play abandoned due to rain, 45 overs of play was possible on the final day with India reaching 159 for 2 when captains decided to shake hands. New Zealand A had earlier scored 303 for 7 before declaring their first innings, courtesy a hundred from opener Will Young. Apart from Samarth (50 no, 83 balls), openers Mayank Agarwal (42, 57 balls) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (47, 109 balls) also got starts but failed to make it big. Once Samarth reached his 17th half-century in his 50th first-class appearance, the match was called off. In the morning, Agarwal and Easwaran added 74 runs for the opening stand in 21 overs. Agarwal was the dominant of the duo hitting seven fours before being caught by 'keeper Glenn Phillips off medium pacer Seth Rance's bowling. Easwaran and Samarth ...
Mithali, Harmanpreet meet top BCCI officials over World T20 selection drama
The selection fiasco in the Women's World T20I semi-final has eventually reached the doors of the BCCI administration with Mithali Raj, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur along with team manager Trupti Bhattacharya on Monday calling on board CEO Rahul Johri.
Italian city Genoa offers to host Copa Libertadores final
Genoa offered River Plate and Boca Juniors on Monday the opportunity to play the second leg of the postponed Copa Libertadores final in the Italian city after it was postponed for a second time on Sunday. The clash between the Buenos Aires arch-rivals was due to be played on Sunday after initially being postponed on Saturday following an attack on the Boca team bus by River fans bus near the Monumental stadium, which left Boca players with injuries from shards of broken glass and suffering the effects of smoke inhalation. But the match, dubbed the biggest in the history of Argentine football, was postponed for a second time by South American football federation Conmebol, after Boca had called earlier demanded that River face a series of punishments including forfeiting the match. "Our city, which historically, culturally and through sport, is close to Buenos Aires, feels a deep-rooted link to your two prestigious clubs founded by our countrymen who emigrated from Italy to Argentina in
Mbappe hoping everything 'clicks into place' for PSG in Champions League
Paris Saint-Germain's teenage superstar Kylian Mbappe has told AFP that, for all the Qatar-owned club's huge investments in recent years, they will need the breaks to fall their way if they are to finally fulfil their dream of winning the Champions League. The French giants face Liverpool in a crunch group game at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday, when a defeat could end their hopes of even reaching the knockout rounds, unthinkable for a club with their ambitions. They may have won all 14 Ligue 1 games this season under new coach Thomas Tuchel -- meaning a successful defence of the domestic title is inevitable -- but PSG underperformed in a 3-2 defeat in Liverpool. Two draws against Napoli followed, and now another defeat against Jurgen Klopp's side and a win for Napoli against Red Star Belgrade at the same time would send Paris packing. "We have struggled a bit so far, but we are still in the running and we have our fate in our own hands. I think that in order to win a competition ..
Ronaldo, Griezmann, Mbappe nominated for Best Player by Globe Soccer Awards
Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe have been nominated for the Best Player of the Year by the Globe Soccer Awards.
Kuldeep Yadav breaks into top-five among T20I bowlers
Indian spinner Kuldeep Yadav has vaulted into the top-five of the International Cricket Council (ICC) men's player rankings for T20I bowlers for the first time in his career.The 23-year-old made a jump 20 places to claim the third position on the ranking list.Australian spinner Adam Zampa, meanwhile, has also made a significant improvement in his ranking making a jump of 17 places to occupy the fifth spot. The two wrist-spinners have edged out fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah of India and Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman out of the top-20 to increase the number of slow bowlers to 13 in the top-20 list.Bowlers inside the top 20 to lose ground include Imran Tahir in ninth (down by three places), Yuzvendra Chahal in 11th (down by seven places), Billy Stanlake in 14th (down by five places) and Andrew Tye in 18th (down by eight places).Outside the top 20, South Africa's duo of Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo have improved their rankings. Morris is now ranked 27th (up by six places) and ...
Koepka recaptures No. 1 spot in World Golf Ranking, continues battle with Rose
Brooks Koepka of the United States recaptured the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Ranking, released Monday, knocking Justin Rose of England back down to second.
Pakistan sniff win as Yasir spin destroys New Zealand
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah wrecked New Zealand with a career best eight wicket haul as Pakistan sniffed victory on the third day of the second Test in Dubai on Monday. The 32-year-old grabbed 8-41 in 12.3 overs which annihilated New Zealand to 90 all out in just 35.3 overs before taking two more wickets as New Zealand -- following on -- were 131-2 at close in their second innings. Yasir dismissed opener Jeet Raval for two before accounting for New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson caught behind for 30 to complete his third ten-wicket haul in the match. Tom Latham (44) and Ross Taylor (49) were at the crease at close as New Zealand need another 197 runs to avoid an innings defeat while Pakistan can level the series by taking another eight wickets with two days to play. New Zealand won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by four runs last week to gain a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Taylor has hit six boundaries and a six in his return-to-form innings while Latham has hit three boundaries as ...
Kalinga Sena withdraws threat to throw ink at Shah Rukh Khan
The Kalinga Sena on Monday withdrew its threat of throwing ink at Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan during his visit to Odisha for participating in the opening ceremony of the Men's Hockey World Cup on Tuesday.
T10 2018 witness players setting world records
The ongoing second season of T10 league has witnessed several players setting world records.
Kuldeep rockets to career-best No.3 in ICC T20I bowlers' chart
Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav rocketed 20 places to reach a career-best No.3 spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) men's T20I player rankings that was released here on Monday.
Varsha Varman crowned women's trap champion
Varsha Varman, representing Madhya Pradesh, won the women's trap gold at the ongoing 62nd national championship for shotgun events here Monday. Varsha, who narrowly missed qualifying for the Jakarta Asian Games final, shot 38 in the final here to get the better of Junior World Cup finalist Soumya Gupta of Delhi, who ended with 37 hits for the silver medal. Defending champion Shagun Chowdhary of ONGC won bronze with a final round effort of 30. It was Varsha's state-mate Manisha Keer, who had earlier topped qualification with a score of 116, while Varsha followed her in second place with a score of 114. Snehlata Singh Rajawat and Kirti Gupta were the other two remaining finalists. Soumya, however, was not to be denied a national crown on the day, when she annexed the junior women's trap title with 38 hits in the final over state-mate Aadya Tripathi's 37 hits. Keer, who had topped the junior qualification round as well with an identical score of 116, managed to get a bronze with a final .
Armaan Jaffer included in Mumbai Ranji squad against Gujarat
Young batsman Armaan Jaffer, who recently slammed a triple hundred for Mumbai U23 against Saurashtra, was Monday named in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad for their upcoming game against Gujarat. The game will be played at the Wankhede Stadium here from Wednesday (November 28). 20-year-old Armaan, who has earlier played three first-class matches for Mumbai in 2016, is the nephew of former India player and domestic stalwart Wasim Jaffer. On November 16 this year, Armaan slammed an unbeaten triple hundred for Mumbai in their U-23 Col C K Nayudu Trophy match against Saurashtra played here. Armaan had struck 300 off 367-balls, striking 26 boundaries and 10 sixes. The Mumbai team will be led by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni and comprises regulars like Akhil Herwadkar, Siddesh Lad, Jay Bista and experienced wicket-keeper batsman Aditya Tare. Medium-pacers Akash Parkar, Tushar Deshpande, spinner Karsh Kothari and all-rounder Shivam Dube have also been named in the 14-member squad announced ..
Age is secondary, commitment is what matters: Mary Kom
Ace Indian boxer Mary Kom, who recently clinched her sixth World Championship title, believes that if one is committed to achieving his/her goals then age is just a secondary factor.The 35-year-old, while thanking all her supporters for their continuous love and appreciation, said that after winning her fifth world title back in 2010 she always believed that she could clinch another one provided that she fights in her actual category (48kg)."Age is just a secondary factor. I don't know about other women but once I make a commitment I make sure to complete the task at hand. This is something that has produced results for me. After winning the fifth World title, I was thinking that if I kept on competing in my actual category (48kg) then I could win the sixth title, as well. I always felt that I can do it. I always kept this in mind, I always dreamt of this," Mary Kom told ANI."I am happy that all my struggle, dedication and hard work finally paid off. Without the support of BFI (Boxing
India all set to play friendly football match against Oman
Indian national senior football team will be playing an international friendly against Oman on December 27 in Abu Dhabi as part of their preparation for the forthcoming 2019 AFC Asian Cup, UAE.As per the October FIFA Rankings, Oman are currently ranked 84 in comparison to India on 97.Reflecting on the same, All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary Kushal Das said that it is pertinent for the national team to play "stronger opposition" in order to prepare better for the next year Asian Cup."Oman are a very strong team. We were drawn against them in the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers and are aware of their quality and strength. It will be the perfect test for our boys as they gear up for the Asian Cup," Das said."I need to thank the Oman Football Federation for agreeing to play the match in Abu Dhabi," he added.National coach Stephen Constantine highlighted the "need to strike a rhythm.""It's now a question of trying to establish a rhythm and making sure we all know what ..
ISL: Pune City face the NorthEast juggernaut (Preview)
A resurgent FC Pune City, buoyed by their new found attacking prowess, are now looking at changing the game plan in the ongoing edition of Indian Super League (ISL) as they get ready to take on next opponent NorthEast United FC (NEUFC) at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Tuesday.