Page 885 - Sports
Minerva look to rekindle title hopes against Lajong
Reigning champions Minerva Punjab FC are on the road for three weeks and their opponents Shillong Lajong are back home after a similar length of time, making up for an intriguing I-League clash here on Friday. For the champions to have any chance of a renewed bid to defend the title they won last season, they will have to win and they have to find a way to get one of their forwards to score. The only two goals that they have scored in the four games so far have come from central defender Lancine Toure and they haven't scored in three out of those four games. The fact that a win can still resurrect hopes of a title defence could be credited to a gritty back four and the compactness that they are known for in recent years. Shillong might be further away from title aspirations with four losses on the trot in five games, however, they have provided enough evidence that they are a dangerous side and do not buckle down from playing attacking football. They are a young and talented unit and .
Delhi 245/6 against Hyderabad after Dalal, Rana half centuries
Delhi's hopes of taking the first-innings lead looked slim with Hyderabad reducing the visitors to 245 for six in an Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match here Thursday. At stumps on the third and penultimate day, Delhi trailed the hosts by 215 runs with four lower-order batsmen to follow. Hyderabad notched up 460 in their first innings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Hiten Dalal was the day's top-scorer with 93 off 180 balls while Nitish Rana, in his maiden season as Delhi skipper, contributed 82 off 179 deliveries. While Dalal found the fence 14 times and cleared it once, Rana struck nine boundaries and a six. Resuming the day on overnight 21 for no loss, Delhi suffered their first blow when debutant Sarthak Ranjan was bowled by centurion T Ravi Teja with the visitors two short of 50 at the end of the 15th over. Ranjan made 20 off 66 balls. Vice-captain Dhruv Shorey fell cheaply for nine, but after that Delhi looked solid with the duo of Dalal and Rana adding 114 runs for the .
Indian archery ropes in NTPC as title sponsors
The de-recognised Archery Association of India on Thursday got a big boost, inking a three-year sponsorship deal with NTPC Limited, which will have the title rights for all national tournaments. The partnership comes just a month before the elections of the national federation which has been suspended since 2012 for violation of sports code. The NTPC will also have exclusive right to provide kits and apparels to Indian archery team for international participation. "The ties will certainly strengthen archery in the country and will help India become a strong and vibrant archery nation in the world," administrator of the AAI and former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi said in a statement. "This partnership with AAI will go a long way in nurturing the potential of hidden talents in archery," NTPC executive director M S D Bhattamishra said. This partnership is the biggest ever of its kind in Indian archery and from now all the national championships and national ranking ...
Hockey World Cup: French coach hopeful of creating upset wins
The French hockey team, which arrived for the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup on Thursday, are hopeful of creating some upset wins to keep their chances alive in the prestigious event, beginning November 28.Grouped in Pool A with Olympic Champions Argentina, Spain and New Zealand, France will need to win at least one match to move up to the crossovers.An optimistic chief coach Hugo Genestet said, "We are the lowest ranked team in the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 and our target is to get closer to the top 10. We are in a tough group but we have had good preparations and can cause a little bit of an upset in the tournament."The team will begin their campaign against New Zealand on November 29 and are banking on their experienced players to ensure good fight against higher ranked teams."We have a good group of players with some of them who were part of the U-21 World Cup in Delhi where the team finished second. They have grown from there, with good experience and a good ...
This WTA win is huge jump for Indian tennis, feels Karman
Gaining limelight after clinching the women's doubles title of $125,000 WTA Taipei OEC Open, Karman Kaur Thandi feels the recent win will help in the growth of women's tennis in the country.
Mary Kom stays on course for sixth gold, Lovlina settles for bronze
The legendary M C Mary Kom remained on course for an unprecedented sixth gold medal by reaching the 48kg final but Lovlina Borgohain had to settle for a bronze after losing her semifinal bout in 69kg in the Women's World Boxing Championship here Thursday. The 35-year-old Mary Kom, a five-time world champion, beat her North Korean opponent Mi Hyang Kim in a unanimous 5-0 decision in the semifinals. In the summit clash on Saturday, Mary Kom will take on Ukraine's Hanna Okhota whom the Indian had beaten earlier this year in a tournament in Poland. After reaching the semifinals on Tuesday, Mary Kom has already become the most successful woman pugilist in the event's history. Now, she will chase another history on Saturday. If the diminutive Manipuri, known as 'Magnificent Mary', wins a gold on Saturday, she will match Cuban men's legend Felix Savon as the joint most successful pugilist (men and women) in the World Championships' history. Savon, who also won three Olympic gold medals ...
India need to beat Belgium and top pool to be podium contenders: John
Weighing under a sea of expectations to regain the title after 43 years, India will have to top their pool to have a realistic chance of breaking their World Cup jinx, said High Performance Director David John on Thursday. Ranked fifth, India are placed in Pool C alongside current Olympic silver medallist and world no. 3 Belgium, South Africa and Canada. John said India will need to beat Belgium in the pool stages to avoid cross-over round and directly qualify for the quarterfinals to enhance their chances. "We have a very balanced team and conditions are also in our favour. There is tremendous expectations from us and we know that. But we need to top our pool. We need to beat Belgium and avoid cross-overs," John told PTI. India will open their campaign against South Africa on November 28 before squaring off against Belgium and Canada on October 2 and October 8 respectively. Citing the example of the women's World Cup where India had to play the cross-overs after finishing third in ...
Learn from successful Australian cricketers: Prez Kovind to Oz investors eying India
With India and Australia in the midst of a gripping season of cricket, President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday said Australian businesses looking to invest in the country should take a cue from Aussie cricketers who have made it big in India. Addressing a business summit in Sydney on the eve of the second India-Australia 20-20 match in Melbourne, Kovind said India and Australia shared a passion for cricket along with other things. "For many Indian cricket fans, Australia is their favourite team except when you are playing India but especially when you are competing for the Ashes," he said in the presence of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He noted that both the countries also share the values of democracy, pluralism and human dignity, the English language and the belief that at the simplest, most basic level, business, trade and technology must change lives of those sections of society who need change the most. Kovind also underlined that both India and Australia shared vision
Ranji Trophy: Kerala thrash Bengal by 9 wickets in Round 3
An impressive performance by Kerala saw them defeat Bengal by nine wickets in a group B encounter of Ranji Trophy Round 3 here on Thursday.
Mary Kom enters into AIBA Boxing C'ship final
Ace Indian boxer Mary Kom stormed into the final of the ongoing International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women's World Boxing Championship after defeating Olympic bronze medallist Kim Hyang Mi of North Korea here on Thursday.The 35-year-old thrashed her North Korean opponent 5-0 in women's 48kg category, raising the hopes of registering historic sixth World Championship gold medal to her name.Speaking about the bout after the match, the five-time world champion said that her opponent was bit alert on the day. But after one or two rounds I got to know about her technique and in the end, it was an easy affair for me, she continued."I have defeated this girl (Hyang Mi) in last Asian Championship which was held in Vietnam. This time, she was a little more alert. It happens as every boxer learns something after a fight irrespective of the result. You analyse your previous bouts and strategies accordingly. Even I was ready. After one round or two, I understood her defence and counter and I ..
India aim for revival after opening debacle against Aussies
India will look to strike the right chords and level scores with Australia while taking on the hosts in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.Having suffered a narrow four-run defeat at the hands of Australia in the opening match, the Virat Kohli-led side will definitely be pondering upon the areas that need to be improved.Indian pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah did a pretty fine job with the bowl as they successfully restricted the Australian batsmen to less than 7-an-over. But the game took a sudden turn when newcomer Khaleel Ahmed could not maintain the pressure that was built initially. Krunal Pandya, who was supposed to provide balance to the team by producing an all-around performance, failed terribly on the day conceding 55 runs in his spell of four overs.Making the newcomers adjust to the foreign conditions and handling the pressure at the same time seems like the biggest task at hand for skipper ...
Jaitley releases coffee table book on Indian hockey
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday unveiled a curated coffee table book titled 'The Illustrated History of Indian Hockey: A Saga of Triumph, Pain and Dreams' capturing the glorious journey of one of India's most celebrated sports.
Indonesia to hold Daihatsu master 2019
The committee of the Daihatsu Indonesia masters 2019 has vowed readiness for holding the forthcoming international badminton tournament in the country.
Ranji Trophy: Karnataka take first innings lead over Mumbai
Hosts Karnataka gained an upper hand by taking the crucial first innings lead over Mumbai in their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy game Thursday. Karnataka bundled out Mumbai for a meagre 205 in reply to their own 400 to take a huge 195-run first innings lead at the KSCA Stadium here. At stumps on the penultimate day of the four-day game, Karnataka were 81 for 3 with first innings hero Krishnamurthy Siddharth (30 not out) and experienced Stuart Binny (2 not out) holding the fort. Karnataka bowlers, led by medium pacer Ronit More, rose to the occasion against the depleted Mumbai line-up without mainstays Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer, who are on national duty. More grabbed5 for 52 to make regular inroads into Mumbai. Apart from opener Jay Bista (70), other batsmen faltered as Mumbai conceded the lead. Meanwhile, at Raipur, Railways managed to eke out a 30 -run first innings lead against hosts Chhattisgarh. At Nagpur, Baroda trailed hosts and ...
Minerva aiming to rekindle title hopes vs Lajong FC
Champions Minerva Punjab FC are on the road for three weeks and their opponents Shillong Lajong are back home after a similar length of time, making up for an intriguing 12th I-League clash at the JLN Nehru Stadium on Friday.
Robert Kubica returns to F1 after astonishing 8-year recovery from injury
Polish racing driver Robert Kubica is making a comeback to Formula One (F1), the sport he loved and left after a 2011 accident, the Williams Martini racing team said on Thursday.
Golfer Tvesa takes 5-shot lead in Lucknow leg of Hero WPT
A brilliant four-under 30 front nine saw Tvesa Malik open up a massive five-shot lead at the end of the second round of the 16th leg of the Hero Womens Pro Golf Tour at The Palms Golf Club and Resort here on Thursday.
Kynan Chenai is new national trap shooting champion
Kynan Chenai claimed the men's trap gold medal after getting the better of Asian Games silver winner Lakshay Sheoran at the 62nd National Shooting Championships here on Thursday. Kynan, representing Telangana, shot 43 out of 50 to pip Haryana's Lakshay, who managed 42. Tamil Nadu's Prithviraj Tondaiman, who had topped the qualification round with a 124 out of 125, won bronze with a final round score of 33 hits. In a strong men's trap field, which had the likes of former world champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu among others, Kynan began the day in seventh position, just outside the top six who make it through and needing a solid round. He obliged with a 24 out of 25 for a tally of 118, which placed him fourth in the standings. In the junior men's trap however, Lakshay won gold with a finals score of 47, while Manavaditya Singh Rathore won silver for Rajasthan with a score of 39.
Rain washes out 3rd day's play in TN-Andhra Ranji match
Rain played spoilsport washing out proceedings on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match between Tamil Nadu and Andhra here Thursday. Play was called off at 3 p.m owing to a steady drizzle. Tamil Nadu had reached 122 for 3 in 50 overs at stumps on day two in reply to Andhra's first innings score of 216. Only 140 runs were scored from around 60 overs of play yesterday before bad light intervened. With an entire day's play being lost, chances of Tamil Nadu forcing an outright win look bleak. The visiting team will be aiming to obtain the first innings lead and three points. Tamil Nadu has two points from two games as the first innings was not completed in both. Brief scores (End of Day 3): Andhra 216 all out in 89.5 overs (Girinath Reddy 86 not out, Jyothisaikrishna 58, M Mohammed 4 for 70, T Natarajan 3 for 36, Sai Kishore 3 for 29) vs Tamil Nadu 122 for 3 in 50 overs (M Kaushik Gandhi 38). At Indore: Punjab 293 all out in 84.4 overs (Jiwanjot Singh 124, .
Ranji: Rajasthan's fightback continues against Jharkhand
Rajasthan, who conceded the first -innings lead to hosts Jharkhand, made a splendid comeback in their second essay in their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy match Thursday. Rajasthan, who were bundled out for 100 in the first innings and conceded the lead, made up for the mistakes in the second outing, as they put on 379 on the board to leave Jharkhand with a challenging victory chase. Jharkhand, bowled out for 152 in their first innings, were 24 for no loss at stumps on day three and required 304 more for an outright win on the final day. Ashok Menaria, who hit a stroke-filled 125 off 325 balls, led Rajasthan's fight back in the second innings, while Rajesh Bishnoi Jr chipped in with a gritty 82 off 145-balls. Menaria hit 19 boundaries, while Bishnoi Jr smashed 13 fours as the duo frustrated the Jharkhand bowlers at the JSCA Stadium here. Rajasthan had resumed the day at 127 for 4 before Jharkhand were set a daunting 328-run target. At Guwahati, Odisha ticked all the boxes to .