Page 903 - Sports
AIBA Boxing C'ship: Sonia enters pre-quarterfinals
Indian boxer Sonia on Saturday made her way into the pre-quarterfinals of the ongoing 10th International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women's World Boxing Championships after getting a unanimous decision over her Moroccan rival Doaa Toujani here at the KD Jhadav Hall.The 21-year-old featherweight (57 kg) boxer from Bhiwani had an unorthodox approach but impressive enough for the five judges to give the decision (5:0) in her favour.Talking about her maiden appearance in the prestigious championship, Sonia said, "I knew I had to maintain my distance and go close only to find openings. I was successful on a few occasions each in the first two rounds.""In the third, I went all out and used my combination punches. My coaches said I was doing well and gave me the confidence to attack," she addedThe rookie who is making her debut began with an open guard inviting the Morocco pugilist to take the initiative. Sonia, with a nice evasive action, managed to land a couple of left jabs and one ...
Boult leads New Zealand fightback against Pakistan
Left-arm pacer Trent Boult helped New Zealand foil Pakistan's advantage with four wickets as the first Test was evenly poised after day two here on Saturday. Boult's 4-54 derailed the Pakistani batsmen who were bowled out for 227 in response New Zealand's first innings total of 153. He was well supported by debutant spinner Ajaz Patel (2-64) and Colin de Grandhomme (2-30) as Pakistan managed a first innings lead of just 74. New Zealand then battled to 56-1 when bad light forced umpires to end the day with 4.2 overs still remaining. The Black Caps still trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining. Skipper Kane Williamson will hold the key for his team as he walked off with 27 not out and with him opener Jeet Raval on 26 not out. The pair has added 56 for the second wicket after Tom Latham was bowled by Hasan Ali for nought in the second over, negotiating the spin bowling well under cloudy conditions. New Zealand can take heart from the fact that Pakistan lost a Test at this venue ...
Bengal Warriors beat Puneri Paltan 26-22 in PKL
Bengal Warriors defeated Puneri Paltan 26-22 in the Inter Zone Challenge Week match of the Pro Kabaddi Season 6 here on Saturday. Bengal players held their nerves at crucial moments to outclass the opposition. Maninder Singh scored six raid points for Bengal and was ably supported by Ravindra Kumawat, who pitched in with five crucial points. For Puneri Paltan, GB More scored nine points but didn't get enough support from his fellow raiders. More got Puneri Paltan up and running with two raids in two minutes but Bengal Warriors levelled the game with a tackle and raid point. Akshay Jadhav got into the act for Puneri Paltan and scored two raid points to give his team 4-2 lead. More made a two-point raid as Puneri Paltan led 6-3 after five minutes. Bengal Warriors never let the lead increase to more than three points as their defence helped the team together and levelled the scores at 7-7 after 10 minutes. Both the teams approached the match with caution as they traded raid and tackle ...
Prajnesh beats Myneni to lift Bengaluru Open title
Prajnesh Gunneswaran outclassed compatriot Saketh Myneni in straight sets to win the USD 150000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger title here on Saturday. In the all-Indian summit clash, Gunneswaran thrashed Myneni 6-2 6,2 under an hour to improve his ATP rankings from 144 to 110. The Chennai lad did not allow Myneni to make a comeback in the entire match as he smashed heavy serves and forehands to neutralise his opponent. Gunneswaran played with lot of confidence, unlike the last time he met Myneni in an ATP Challenger event. "I knew it would be tough playing Prajnesh (Gunneswaran). Yes, I made far too many errors. Credit should go to Prajnesh, whom I found a tad confident in this match, compared to the last time I played where he was tentative," Myneni said in the post-match press conference. More than anything else, Gunneswaran started off very strongly in both the sets which derailed the confidence of a tired looking Myneni. "Saketh (Myneni) looked tired. Hence I said to myself that I .
Ex-archers excited about proposal for inclusion in AAI
Former India archers and coaches on Saturday hailed the formation of 22-member Archers Commission of India (ACI) that will give them a representation and voting rights in the national federation. Derecognised since 2012, the Archery Association of India (AAI) will have its elections at the Sports Authority of India national headquarters at the Jawaharlal Stadium on December 22. As per amended constitution made by court-appointed administrator-cum-returning officer, S Y Quraishi, the AAI office bearers will have three representations from ACI. One of them will be a woman archer for the post of vice-president, while there will one post for joint-secretary and the other in the executive committee. A newly-constituted body as per the recommendation of Quraishi, the ACI has 22 members, including former Olympians, Asian medalists, Commonwealth medalists, and national players. "ACI is a very good initiative and all the sportspersons should encourage this. This will go a long way in bringing .
World T20: England, Windies join India, Australia in last four
England and West Indies have qualified from their Group-A league to join India and Australia in the semifinals of the ongoing International Cricket Council (ICC) Women World T20.A double hat-trick from pacers Anya Shrubsole and Natalie Sciver helped England to all-out South Africa in their third fixture at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia.Shrubsole picked up 3-wickets and gave away only 11 runs in 3.3 overs, while Sciver, who was adjourned player of the match, returned a fine 3-wickets off 4 overs and gave away only four runs.Crediting Sciver for restricting South Africa, Shrubsole said, "She (Sciver) has been outstanding the last couple of games. It is something she has done in the past when I guess either myself or Katherine have been injured, and she always does a brilliant job," according to ICC."She has worked really hard in the period leading up to this. I think she made a little bit of a technical change, and the ball is coming out beautifully," Shrubsole ...
World T20: England, Windies join India, Australia in last four
Pacers Anya Shrubsole and Natalie Sciver helped England to all-out South Africa in their third fixture at Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia
Sonia, Pinki enter pre-quarters of Boxing Worlds
Indian boxers Sonia and Pinki Ranimade made their way into the pre-quarterfinals of the 10th AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships here on Saturday.
Painless Sharma reaps big gains on the course, moves to T-9 in Dubai
With his troublesome heel showing signs of improvement, Shubhankar Sharma turned in a bright six-under 66 to get into the Top-10 at Tied-ninth after the third round of the DP World Tour Championships here Saturday. Sharma had seven birdies against an early bogey to take his total to 10-under 206. The 22-year-old India, who was Tied-20th after the second round, began with a bogey on second, as opposed to two birdies on first two holes on first two days. But over the next 17 holes, he was bogey free and had six birdies, twice back-to-back to move to Tied-ninth. Sharma, playing with Lee Westwood, almost matched the former World No. 1, step for step. Westwood, who won last week at the Nedbank Challenge, shot a bogey-free 65. Danny Willett (68) and Patrick Reed (67), who between them have two of the last three Green Jackets from the Masters, but nothing else in more than two years, go into the final with a share of the lead. The 2018 Masters Champion Reed had four birdies in six holes ...
India women win toss, opt to bat against Australia in WT20
Indian women team's captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and elected to bat against Australia in a group B match of the ICC Women's World T20 here on Saturday. India made two changes, bringing in Anuja Patil in place of Mithali Raj, who is unwell and replacing Mansi Joshi with Arundhati Reddy. Australia, on the other hand, brought Tayla Vlaeminck in place of Georgia in their only change to the playing XI. Both the teams have already made it to the semifinals after winning all the three matches so far. Teams: India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Veda Krishnamurthy, Dayalan Hemalatha, Deepti Sharma, Radha Yadav, Taniya Bhatia(w), Anuja Patil, Poonam Yadav, Arundhati Reddy. Australia Women (Playing XI): Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy(w), Meg Lanning(c), Ashleigh Gardner, Elyse Villani, Rachael Haynes, Ellyse Perry, Sophie Molineux, Delissa Kimmince, Tayla Vlaeminck, Megan Schutt.
Pacer Shami to bowl only 15-17 overs in Ranji match
India pacer Mohammed Shami will play for Bengal in their next fixture against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy but the BCCI has allowed him to bowl only 15-17 overs per innings.
School chess: Ishaan, Vihaan in joint lead
EshaanGupta and Vihaan Shetty with a tally of 5 points each are in joint pole position in the boys' under-16 category ofthe Mahavir Prasad Morarka Memorial Maharashtra State Schools Chess Championship. In sixth round matches,AFM Eshaan outwitted Vinit Dhoot to earn the full point on the top board and on the second board Vihaan easily overcame Aryan Deogade. In the Boys' U-14 competition, lead remained unchanged as Rachit Lund and Rishi Kadam defeated their respective opponents to stay in front. Rishi playing with the white pieces on the top board defeated Hriday Sangoi, while Rachit played well with the black pieces and defeated Husain Nakara. In the Girl's U-14 event, Kiyarra Khaturia holds the top position after securing a decisive win against Parnavi Rane, who has slipped to second position. The top-two players in each category will be selected to represent Maharashtra in the National Schools 2019 to be held at Kolkata.
Ahead of Australia series, BCCI limits Shami's workload in Ranji game
The BCCI has allowed senior India pacer Mohammed Shami to turn up for Bengal in the upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Kerala on the condition that he will bowl only 15-17 overs per innings. The decision to limit his workload in the Ranji game has been taken keeping the Test series in Australia in mind. India physio Patirck Farhat will also be updated every day on Shami's fitness as he was rested after the first two ODIs in the series against West Indies. The series opener begins at Adelaide on December 6 and will be preceded by three T20s against Australia starting November 21. The Bengal pacer is the leading wicket taker for India in Tests with 33 wickets this year. Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary played down the advisory from the BCCI. "Shami is a quality bowler, we have faith in his abilities and I don't think we will need more than 15 overs per innings from him," Tiwary said. Bengal are yet to win a match this season and have six points from their matches against Himachal Pradesh ...
Will Indians correct all that went wrong in England? (Column: Just Sport)
Whether the countrys cricket authorities have anything to do with the public dealings of skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri or it's the effect of the team's performance in the South Africa and England, the two are a lot mellowed now.
Kotwani, Madan to clash for billiards title
Mumbai's Hitesh Kotwani and Vishal Madan entered the billiards final of the BSAM Maharashtra State Senior Selection (leg-2) Championship here Saturday. In a penultimate round clash, Kotwani of the Hindu Gymkhana produced another disciplined performance to scrape past a fighting Arun Agrawal of Matunga Gymkhana in a tense and engrossing contest. Kotwani managed to pull through by a 4-2 score line in the best-of-7-frame race-to-150 point match. He compiled breaks of 58, 77, 44, 52 and 64, while Agrawal had breaks of 37, 47, 38 and 52. Madan of Chembur Gymkhana rallied to tame Malabar Hill Clubs Rajeev Sharma 4-1 in the second semi-final. Madan made a strong reply after losing the first frame as he won the subsequent four frames in succession to dash Sharma's hopes by coasting to a 39-150, 150-24, 150-133, 150-15, 150-148 victory. Results: (semi-finals): Hitesh Kotwani (Hindu Gym) beat Arun Agrawal (Matunga Gym) 4-2 (150(58)-146, 55-150, 150(77)-90(37), 72(44)-150(47,38), ..
Shakib Al Hasan returns for Windies Tests
Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will be returning as the skipper for the home series against West Indies.The 31-year-old had been on sidelines in the wake of a finger injury he sustained during the Asia Cup.Following Hasan's comeback, all-rounder Soumya Sarkar and uncapped spinner Naeem Hasan have been recalled and drafted respectively to the team.Taijul Islam, who was adjourned as the player of the series against Zimbabwe, and Mushfiqur Rahim, who notched up his second Test double-century in Mirpur, will feature in the squad.Meanwhile, Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Shaiful Islam, who were all part of the squad for the two-Test series against Zimbabwe, have been dropped for the first Test.Bangladesh will take on West Indies in a two-match Test series starting from November 22.
Croatia lose Rakitic for England clash
Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitic has returned to Barcelona with a hamstring strain and will miss the Nations League match against England on Sunday, the club said. Rakitic suffered the injury in the World Cup finalists' 3-2 win against Spain on Thursday. Barcelona said he had suffered "a strained hamstring in his right leg". The club gave no timescale for his recovery but Spanish press reports said he could be out for up to three weeks which could mean he misses the Liga clash with Atletico Madrid on November 24 and a Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven four days later. A win for Croatia over the side they beat to reach the World Cup final would take Zlatko Dalic's men to the semi-finals of the Nations League and send England down to League B. If England win, they will win the group and progress to the finals of the new competition -- which offers the chance of qualification for Euro 2020 -- and relegate Croatia. A draw would hand Spain first place in the group. If its ...
Friendly with Bosnia-Herzegovina a chance for Spain to get things right (Preview)
Spain coach Luis Enrique will make changes to his side when they play Bosnia-Herzegovina in Las Palmas on Sunday as he looks to find a way back to winning ways.
ITF meet: Kostic crowned champion
Natalija Kostic of Serbia was crowned champion of the Bhawna Swaroop Memorial ITF Women Tennis Tournament after Serbia's Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia retired hurt here Saturday. The third seed Serbian was leading 6-2 3-1 when Mihalikova withdrew from the USD 25,000 tournament. In the women's doubles final, the unseeded pairing of Alidila Sutjiadi of Indonesia and Dan Ni Wang of China struggled past the Japnese duo of Kyoka Okamura and Michika Ozeki. Sutjiadi and Wang beat the fourth seed Japnese 7-6(6) 7-5.
Dybala shines as Argentina ease past Mexico
Juventus forward Paulo Dybala shone as Argentina comfortably beat Mexico in a friendly on Friday despite the absence of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero. In cruising to a 2-0 victory in Cordoba, Argentina showed more signs of a newfound unity under interim coach Lionel Scaloni as they rebuild following a fraught World Cup in Russia. "We're on the right path," Scaloni said after his side secured their third victory in five games under his command as they eye next year's Copa America in Brazil. Mexico could have opened the scoring when Raul Gimenez's header hit the crossbar early in the game, but Argentina went ahead when Dybala's free kick was headed in by Mexican defender Ramiro Funes Mori moments before half-time. Loudly applauded by the home fans, Dybala supplied the creative spark throughout and could have doubled the score but his second-half lob narrowly missed the target. Argentina's second goal came when Mexican defender Isaac Brizuela put into his own net under pressure from ...