Page 897 - Sports
Franco-German proposal a 'breakthrough' in euro zone reform plan: Eurogroup head
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Franco-German proposal of a euro zone budget could represent a "breakthrough" for reaching a deal on a euro zone reform package next month, said the chairman of the zone's finance ministers, though Italy quickly distanced itself from the plan.
Patel spins New Zealand to thrilling win in first Test over Pakistan
Debutant spinner Ajaz Patel took five wickets to lead a never-say-die approach from New Zealand bowlers as they pulled off a thrilling four-run win over an indisciplined Pakistan in the first Test in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Defending a modest 176-run target, New Zealand bowlers led by Patel (5-59), fast bowler Neil Wagner (2-27) and Ish Sodhi (2-37) bowled out Pakistan for 171 on a drama-packed fourth day at Sheikh Zayed Stadium. It is the fifth smallest win in terms of runs in Test cricket's history and gives New Zealand a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Azhar Ali fought a lone battle for Pakistan with 65 and was the last man out when he was trapped leg-before wicket by Patel. He reviewed Bruce Oxenford's decision but the television replays upheld the decision. Resuming on 37 without loss, Pakistan began the day as favourites to chase down the 176 they needed for victory although New Zealand will have taken some hope from Pakistan's failure at the same ground last year to chase 136 .
Mohun Bagan take on Real Kashmir in a mid-table clash
I-league debutantes Real Kashmir will face their toughest test so far in the top-flight when they lock horns with Mohun Bagan, a club with some pedigree, in a mid-table clash here Tuesday. Both teams have played three games so far. Mohun Bagan are one of three unbeaten teams in the league and are lying fifth while Real Kashmir are at seventh with four points. Both teams have rapturous support all around and it promises to be a battle of attrition in cold climes. For the visitors, there would not be a better time to test some untested resources, given Kashmir have not looked like routing sides even at home yet. Youngsters like Azharduddin Mallick, William Lalnunfela and Shilton Dsilva, for example, have hardly got game time. Abinash Ruidas has also been drafted in recently and coach Sankarlal Chakraborty will be tempted to use more of his young resources at this stage of the league than be caught unaware at critical junctures later. Either Dalraj Singh or Amey Ranawade can also be ...
Bulgarian coach suspended, boxer accuses judges of corruption on stormy day
Bulgaria's Olympic champion boxing coach Petar Lesov was Monday barred from ringside in the ongoing women's World Championship, while his ward Stanimira Petrova accused judges of "corruption" after a hard-fought pre-quarterfinal loss to India's Sonia Chahal (57kg) here. On a dramatic day, a judging controversy hit the marquee event after former gold-medallist Petrova pointed a finger at the officials and her coach threw a bottle inside the ring after the bout to protest the result. The 27-year-old Bulgarian, who was a bantamweight (54kg) gold-medallist from the 2014 edition of the event, went down in a split 2-3 verdict to the 21-year-old local hope. "It is corruption by the judges. It is not a fair result," she told reporters after the bout. The International Boxing Association (AIBA), after a review of the incident by its technical delegate, barred Lesov from ringside for the remainder of the tournament, which concludes on November 24. "The AIBA has decided to remove the ...
Golfer Shubhankar becomes first Indian to win European Tour Rookie of the Year award
Young golfer Shubhankar Sharma capped a dream season on the European Tour by becoming the first Indian to win the tours Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award.
Prajnesh's journey: From fighting stress fractures to India number one
From overcoming knee stress fractures, which almost pushed him into the dark abyss, to becoming India's top singles player, the journey has been "surreal" for Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who is waiting to see how the future unfolds. For one, who was overawed by TV cameras during the 2007 Nationals finals, the transition was going smooth for Prajnesh, but stress fractures in his knee meant that he had suddenly vanished from the scene. He could play just six tournaments from 2010 to 2012. When he could compete in a few in 2013, he thought the tough period was over, but the recurring injury meant that he was out of action in 2014, too. In 2015, he decided to give it a last shot. His father S G Prabhakaran, who runs a real estate business, cajoled him not to quit. Today, he has overtaken both Yuki Bhambri (128) and Ramkumar Ramanathan (130) to be the country's top singles player at number 110. "It's surreal that I am here all of sudden. Obviously it did not happen overnight, I have put in lot ..
Mumbai, Karnataka eye maiden win
Both Mumbai and Karnataka will be eyeing their first victory of this Ranji Trophy season when the two sides clash here from Tuesday in their Elite Group A match. Mumbai drew the first game of this season against Railways in New Delhi, but more importantly they earned three crucial points as they took the first innings lead. Same was the case with Karnataka, who grabbed three points after settling for a draw with Vidarbha at Nagpur after taking the first innings lead. Mumbai, led by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni, have a strong batting line-up, despite the absence of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane or Prithvi Shaw, who are all on the national duty. For Mumbai, a lot will depend on how their crisis man Siddesh Lad performs. Lad has been eyeing a national berth for a long while now and another good outing will only build his case. Other regulars - Akhil Herwadkar, Surya Kumar Yadav, Jay Bitsa and experienced wicket-keeper and former skipper Aditya Tare - will have to play their roles ..
PSL 2019: Misbah-ul-Haq likely to part ways with Islamabad United
Pakistan cricketer Misbah-ul-Haq is likely to dissociate himself from the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Islamabad United for the upcoming fourth edition of the tournament.Making the announcement, the franchise said that the development came after the right-hand batsman retracted from the agreement to be a mentor with the franchise, owing to his wish to play in the 2019 season of the tournament."Islamabad United, the winners of the inaugural PSL and the defending PSL champions, would like to update our fans that Misbah-ul-Haq might not be a part of the franchise in the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League, due to a late change of decision. In the weeks leading up to the draft, Islamabad United had reached an agreement with Misbah-ul-Haq regarding his appointment as the mentor of the franchise for PSL 4 and the editions going forward. This is in line with ISLU's ethos of developing and nurturing not only emerging players but also senior players as they move to the next ...
Huge crowd expected for India-Australia T20 series
A large number of fans is expected to turn up for the upcoming three-match T20I series between India and Australia with more than 1,00,000 tickets already been sold.For the first T20, which will be held in Brisbane on November 21, around 30,000 people are expected to be present; while for the second match at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the figure is likely to be around 70,000, Cricket.com.au reported.For the third and final T20I, over 35,000 cricket enthusiasts are likely to be present for the game.At MCG, the highest-ever crowd figures stood at 84,041. This happened ten years ago during a match between India and Australia. It was the only time when more than 65,000 fans had attended a T20I in Australia.The record crowd figure for a single T20 international series stands at 138, 059. The number was achieved when India toured Australia three seasons ago. Keeping in sight the projected crowd number, the upcoming T20 series is likely to surpass the record figure.India and Australia ..
Rose leads World Golf Ranking, Koepka drops to 2nd
England's Justin Rose and the United States Brooks Koepka have exchanged their positions again, as Rose returned to the No. 1 spot of the World Golf Ranking released on Monday, knocking Koepka down to second.
Syed Modi Event: Saina, Srikanth start favourites after Sindhu's pullout
Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will start favourites when they spearhead the Indian challenge at the Syed Modi International tournament, which has lost a bit of sheen with the pullout of Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu. The tournament begins here Tuesday. With Sindhu missing, India will have two defending champions in the tournament with Sameer Verma looking to retain the title to enhance his chances of qualifying for the year-ending World Tour Final. The mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy, too, will eye a repeat. Sindhu decided to skip the event to focus on next month's World Tour Finals in China but there won't be any shortage of star power when the World Tour Super 300 event gets underway with the qualifiers. In Sindhu's absence, Saina will be the cynosure of all eyes and the celebrated Indian has been in decent form this year having won a gold at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the Asian Games. She reached the finals at the Indonesia Masters
I-League: Mohun Bagan take on Real Kashmir in a mid-table clash (Preview)
Former champions Mohun Bagan travel here to take on Real Kashmir at the TRC Ground on Tuesday in a mid-table clash of the I-League season.
1st Unofficial Test: Test specialists get batting time in drawn affair
Australia-bound Test specialists -- veteran Murali Vijay and youngsters Prithvi Shaw and Hanuma Vihari -- helped themselves to half-centuries on the final day of India A's first unofficial 'Test' against New Zealand A, which ended in a tame draw. India A scored 247 for 3 in 65 overs in their second innings when the match was called off. However, openers Shaw (50, 53 balls) and Vijay (60, 113 balls) got good enough match time as they added 74 runs for the first wicket, largely due to the contribution of the young Mumbaikar, who hit eight fours and a six. Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (41 no, 94 balls) and Vihari (51 no, 63 balls) added 86 runs for an unbroken fourth-wicket stand. On the final day with little chance of a result, the two seniors Vijay and Rahane put their heads down and showed a lot of application. Young Shaw didn't last long as he was out soon after completing his second century of the match. Shaw was caught by Will Young off Doug Bracewell's delivery. In-form Mayank
RS Berkane claims Morocco Football Cup for first time
RS Berkane claimed their first ever Morocco Football Cup after defeating Wydad Fez on penalties.
Italy's Dovizioso wins Valencia MotoGP
Andrea Dovizioso of Italy (Ducati) won the season-ending Valencia MotoGP, which was split over two sessions due to rainy weather that caused several falls.
Algeria qualify for 2019 African Cup of Nations
Algeria crushed Togo 4-1 to qualify for the African Cup of Nations (CAN) to be held in Cameroon in 2019.
Former world champ calls judges corrupt after close loss to Indian youngster
A judging controversy hit the ongoing world boxing championships for women here when former gold-medallist Stanimira Petrova (57kg) accused the judges of "corruption" after losing her pre-quarterfinal to India's Sonia Chahal. The 27-year-old Bulgarian, who was a bantamweight (54kg) gold-medallist from the 2014 edition of the event, went down in a split 2-3 verdict to the 21-year-old local hope. "It is corruption by the judges. It is not a fair result," she told reporters after her bout. Taking note of the incident, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said it will review the incident. "Regarding the incident at the conclusion of the bout number 177 between Stanimira Petrova (BUL) and Sonia (IND), the AIBA Technical Delegate of the event will review the situation," the AIBA said in a statement. Judging at boxing events has been a major concern for AIBA, which has even been warned by the International Olympic Committee on the issue. In fact, IOC has made improving the quality of .
Lobera, FC Goa agree to one-year contract extension
FC Goa Monday announced that head coach Sergio Lobera has extended his stay at the Indian Super League club. The Spaniard put pen to paper on a one-year contract extension that will see him stay with the club till the end of the 2019/20 season. Under Lobera, FC Goa reached the semi-finals in 2017/18 and now in his second season, the Gaurs find themselves at the top of the leader board heading into the second international break. Ever since the Spaniard took over the reins last season; Goa has been able to carve out an identity of being the most entertaining side in the ISL. With the Head Coach preaching a philosophy of attack, FC Goa scored 43 goals last season the highest any team has ever scored in a single season of the ISL. The Gaurs look set to challenge the mark in Lobera's second season in command, having already bagged 21 goals in their first 7 games. Speaking on the occasion, Lobera stated, "Firstly I would like to thank the President and the Board of Directors for having ...
Man United move would be 'unique opportunity': Everton
Gremio and Brazil international forward Everton said that he would be open to a move to Manchester United amid reports linking him with the English Premier League club.
Iran goalie Beiranvand nominated for AFC player of year
Alireza Beiranvand, the goalkeeper of the Iran national football team and Persepolis club, has been nominated for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Player of the Year.