Page 907 - Sports
Sarita, Manisha give India flying start in Boxing Worlds
Veteran L Sarita Devi and rookie Manisha Mouna gave India a flying start in the women's World Boxing Championships with dominating victories in their respective bouts here on Friday. While Manisha punched above her weight to outclass veteran American Christina Cruz in an unanimous verdict in 554kg, 2006 edition gold medallist Sarita (60kg) had to work harder to emerge 4-0 winner on points against Diana Sandra Brugger of Switzerland in their opening bouts at the K D Jadhav Stadium here. Both Sarita and Manisha advanced to the prequarterfinals where they will face Kellie Herrington of Ireland and Dina Zholaman of Kazakhstan respectively on Sunday. Harrington had won a silver in 64kg in the 2016 World Championships but she has gone one weight category down in this tournament. She beat Troy Garton of New Zealand on Friday. Zholaman is the defending world champion but Manisha has beaten her in the Silesian Women's Boxing championship in Poland earlier this year. The 20-year-old Manisha ...
Frost, Defourny share honours on Day 1 of MRF Challenge
Danial Frost from Singapore and Belgian Max Defourny scored a race and a podium apiece to open their accounts in the first round of MRF Challenge at the Dubai Autodrome, here on Friday.
Du Plessis says T20 World Cup will be his last
South African captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last. The 34-year-old, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside. "The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday. Du Plessis, who is skipper across all three formats, made his T20 debut in 2012 and has played 41 times, scoring 1,237 runs at an average of 35.34. The 2020 World Cup takes place between October 18 and November 15 across eight Australian cities.
Women's boxing worlds: Debutant Manisha stuns title contender
Manisha Moun punched way above her weight to outshine Christina Cruz of the United States in a unanimous 5:0 decision to move into the 54 kg pre-quarterfinals at the 10th AIBA Womens World Boxing Championships here on Friday.
Myneni to meet Gunneswaran in Bengaluru Open final
Saketh Myneni will square off with compatriot Prajnesh Gunneswaran in an all-India summit clash at the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger tournament on Saturday. In Friday's first semi-final, Myneni beat Kazakhastan's Aleksandr Nedovyesov 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a thrilling three-setter to make it to the title round of USD 150, 000 event. In the second semi-final, Gunneswaran breezed past Canadian Brayden Schnur 6-4, 6-1. World no 213 Myneni made an easy third set difficult after racing to a 5-0 lead in the decider. He committed far too many unforced errors, helping Aleksandr win four games on the trot before closing the match in the 10th game. "I started a bit slow, but accelerated as I had to give something to the spectators who assembled here. From second set onwards, I played an aggressive game, though I committed a few unforced errors," Myneni said after the match. "Yes, in the deciding set, I missed out on some of the easy volleys at the net. Yes, I have to cut down on my errors and I am ...
Table Tennis: Manav assures bronze in Belarus Open
Indian paddler Manav Vikash Thakkar scored an easy 3-0 win over Russia's Lev Katsman to enter the semifinals and assure himself of at least a bronze in under-21 men's singles category at the ITTF Challenge Belgosstrakh Belarus Open here on Friday. Manav notched up a 3-0 (11-5 11-7 15-13) win over Katsman in the U-21 men's singles quarterfinals. He had earlier displayed his prowess, registering a hard-fought 3-2 (9-11, 3-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9) win against World No. 8 Yuki Matsuyama of Japan in the round of 16 of here. Manav started off his campaign with an easy 3-0 (11-6, 11-2, 11-8) win over Russia's Maksim Grebnev. In the next clash, Israel's Aviv Ben-Ari put up a staunch fight but capitulated to the Indian as Manav won the game 3-1 (12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7). In the men's singles event, Manav had breezed past Japan's Kohei Sambe 4-2 on Thursday to progress into the round of 32. Manav didn't have the best of starts as he went down 6-11 in the first game but bounced back to win the next
Vinit, Greeshma in sole lead in school chess tournament
Top-seeded Vinit Dhoot and eighth-seed Greeshma Dhumal, both with four points each from as many rounds are in the sole lead in U-16 boys' and girls' categories respectively in the Mahavir Prasad Morarka Memorial Maharashtra State Schools Chess Championship. Both Vinit and Greeshma continued their winning spree by scoring victories over Ankit Bhattacharya and Rajalakshmi Vishwanathan respectively. In the Boys' U-14 section, Rachit Lund and Rishi Kadam share the lead with four points each, while in the Girls' category Kiyarra Khaturia of Mumbai is in the sole lead. The lead in the Boys and Girls U-12 event is taken by Ritvik Krishnan and Tanvi Borate with a perfect score of 4/4. Tikam Aradhya and Vedant Vekhande are in joint lead in Boys' U-10 category, while Ashika Kale leads in the Girls' U-10 category. The top-two players in each category will be selected to represent Maharashtra in the National Schools Championship 2019 to be held at Kolkata.
Paddler Manav assures U-21 singles bronze in Belarus Open
Indias prodigious young paddler Manav Vikash Thakkar scored an easy 3-0 victory over Russias Lev Katsman in the quarter-finals to assure himself a place in the last four and at least a bronze medal in the U-21 men's singles category of the ITTF Challenge Belgosstrakh Belarus Open here on Friday.
Armaan Jaffer slams triple hundred in Col C K Nayudu Trophy
Young batsman Armaan Jaffer on Friday slammed an unbeaten triple hundred for Mumbai in their U-23 Col C K Nayudu Trophy match against Saurashtra here. 20-year-old Armaan, who has played three first-class matches, slammed unbeaten 300 off 367-balls, striking 26 boundaries and 10 sixes. Courtesy Armaan's knock, Mumbai declared their first innings at a mammoth 610/5 after bundling out Saurashtra for 175 in their first innings. In the second outing Saurashtra are 157/4 at stumps on the penultimate day of the four-day match. Saurashtra trail by 278 runs. The knock came at the right-time for Armaan as he had recently made a comeback after suffering from a knee injury which had kept him out for an year. "This was a special knock because I want to make a come-back in the Ranji Trophy (team) and needed a big one. In the last match, I was going good but fell for 80. This match was on the home ground, so it was important that I score big to make a comeback," he told ...
BIC all set to host JKNRC finale this weekend (Preview)
All roads for racing aficionados in Delhi-NCR will lead to the Buddh International Circuit over the weekend as the curtain goes up on the grand finale of the 21st JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship.
Kotwani makes it three wins on the trot
Hitesh Kotwani won three matches on the trot to top his group and qualify for the quarter finals of the senior billiards event in the BSAM Maharashtra State Selection (leg-2) championship here. Having defeated 13-year-old Shahyan Razmi, the youngest participant, in his opening match, Kotwani maintained the winning momentum and prevailed over Amit Sapru and Rishabh Kumar by identical 3-1 frame scores in the best-of-5-frame race-to-100 points format. Kotwani along with Kumar who finished in second place with two wins, advanced to the quarter-finals from Group D. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Rayaan Razmi was in terrific form and hit up three substantial breaks of 76 and two unfinished efforts of 56 and 86 to defeat his senior and experienced rival Arun Agrawal 3-0 (100-22, 100-79, 100-21) in Group-B. The win placed Rayaan in the top spot while Agrawal was second and they both progressed to the quarter-finals. Winner of the first leg, Rishabh Thakkar and Rajeev Sharma, from Group .
Sameer Verma knocked out of Hong Kong Open
Indian shuttler Sameer Verma ended his campaign at the ongoing Hong Kong Open after losing to Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong in the quarter-final of the men's singles event here on Friday.The 24-year-old slumped to a 15-21, 21-19, 11-21 defeat to Cheuk Yiu ending India's medal hopes in the tournament.Winning a total of 61 rallies in the match, the Hong Kong shuttler grabbed seven consecutive points in the match, as compared to Verma's five, to enter the semi-final round.Verma did not get the best of the starts in the match as he opened the first game with a trail of three points. The defensive approach of the Indian shuttler did not help him in any way as Cheuk Yiu kept on extending his lead.After some long rallies in the second half of the first game, Verma tried to make a late comeback but Cheuk Yiu was good enough to quickly wrap up the game.A service error in the starting of the second game clearly indicated towards the missing range of Indian shuttler. With scorecard reading 10-11 in
World T20: Courageous India aim to dominate Australia
After a controlled performance to clinch the last four berth on a slow track, the Indian women's team will be considering their final group showdown against Australia on Saturday as a practice to take over tough challenges in the semi-finals.With momentum firmly on both sides, India and Australia would also like to test their middle-order to provide their players with clear roles. Despite the stunts, the aim to dominate the opposition is the common drive as the 'Women in Blue' are learning the commanding game, while the three-time champions in the shortest format are the experts.India's whirlwind skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, who blasted a century in the opener, powered her side to an imposing 194 runs which surpassed the previous highest world record of 191 runs stationed by Australia against Ireland in 2014. However, the 'Women in Blue' would be aiming to set the record straight after losing to their rivals twice in the India Tri-Nation Women's T20 Series held earlier this year.Apart ...
Pakistan hold edge after New Zealand dismissed for 153
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah led a double-barrelled attack of spin and pace to leave Pakistan sitting comfortably on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand on Friday. Yasir led the varied attack with 3/54 as New Zealand, who won the toss and batted on a grass-less Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch, were bowled out for a below-par 153 in 66.3 overs at the stroke of tea. The day saw 12 wickets fall as Pakistan closed at 59/2, having lost both their openers Imam-ul-Haq (six) and Mohammad Hafeez (20) before Haris Sohail (22 not out) and Azhar Ali (10 not out) stopped the rot. Pakistan need 94 more to take a lead and enforce a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Imam was first to go as he edged Colin de Grandhomme's delivery to the slip while Hafeez miscued a pull straight to short mid-wicket -- both caught by Kane Williamson. New Zealand skipper Williamson, declared fit after missing last Sunday's third one-day international due to a groin injury, top-scored with 63 before falling ...
Kandy, Nov 16 (AFP) Scorecard at sumps on day three of the second Test between Sri Lanka and England in Kandy on Friday:
Scorecard at sumps on day three of the second Test between Sri Lanka and England in Kandy on Friday: England 1st innings: 290 Sri Lanka 1st innings: 336 England 2nd innings: J Leach lbw b Perera 1 R Burns lbw b Pushpakumara 59 K Jennings c de Silva b Dananjaya 26 J Root lbw b Dananjaya 124 B Stokes lbw b Perera 0 J Buttler b Dananjaya 34 M Ali lbw b Dananjaya 10 B Foakes not out 51 S Curran b Dananjaya 0 A Rashid lbw b Dananjaya 2 J Anderson not out 4 Extras (B-4, LB-9) 13 Total (For 9 wickets, 76 overs) 324 Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-77, 3-108, 4-109, 5-183, 6-219, 7-301, 8-301, 9-305. Bowling: Perera 19-2-87-2, Pushpakumara 26-1-97-1, Dananjaya 23-0-106-6, De Silva 4-0-7-0, Lakmal 4-0-14-0.
National Racing Championship: Delhi's Rohit eyes maiden title in LGB 4
Delhi's Rohit Khanna of Dark Don Racing will be eyeing his maiden LGB 4 title at the Grand Finale of the 21st JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship starting here on Saturday. Rohit is currently lying third on the championship table along with Chittesh Mandody of Avalanche Racing, both on 47 points, and will hope to take advantage of his knowledge about the track. Rohit could have shot ahead of Vishnu Prasad of MSport (61 points) but unfavourable results in the last two races of the round left him with a tough but not impossible task over the next two days at the Buddh International Circuit here. The JK Euro 2018 is also expected to be a fight to the finish too, with Ashwin Datta impressing with his precision driving all through the season. He is on top of the table with 74 points but Chennai's KarthikTharani (68 points) and Mumbai's Nayan Chatterjee (66 points) are likely to be on his throat right from the first race. "We have had an exciting season and it has been really ...
Shubhankar cards 67 to remain tied 20th
A limping Shubhankar Sharma shrugged off a heel injury to card an impressive five-under 67 to remain tied 20th at the end of the second day in the DP World Tour Championships here Friday. Sharma, who rose to as as high as tied-fifth at one stage, dropped a double bogey on Par-5 14th, but recovered with birdies on 15th and 18th as he was seven shots behind England's Matt Wallace (65). Meanwhile, Wallace, with whom Shubhankar, played in the lead group of the Hero Indian Open, which the Englishman won, was in the pole position at 11-under after a sizzling seven-under. "Hopefully, I am done with three-putts for the week," said Sharma, who also admitted that his injured heel did not bother him while hitting shots. He said,"I had it well-cushioned and it did not bother me while hitting shots. There was some discomfort while walking in the morning when it was raw. It should get better over the next two days and I am looking forward to that." Sharma added:"Today I hit very well and created ...
Root ton puts England on top against Sri Lanka
Captain Joe Root smashed 124 and newcomer Ben Foakes again hit valuable tail end runs to put England in command of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Friday. England reached 324 for nine -- a second innings lead of 278 -- when bad light stopped play for the day at Kandy. Foakes was batting on 51 alongside James Anderson on four. Spinner Akila Danajanya, whose action is under investigation by the International Cricket Council, claimed six wickets on the turning pitch. He trapped Root lbw and then bowled Sam Curran for nought with his next ball. Adil Rashid thwarted the hat-trick but soon fell to Dananjaya's guile for two. It was his third five wicket haul in just his fifth Test for Dananjaya, who must rush off to Australia after the game for an ICC examination of his bowling. He, however, could not stop Root and Foakes swinging the game. Root reached his 15th Test ton soon after tea, making the sweep and reverse sweep valuable weapons, as he hit 10 fours and two sixes in his 146-ball
Kosovo visa issue: AIBA threatens to withdraw 2021 men's world championship from India
The world boxing body on Friday threatened to withdraw the 2021 men's World Championships from India after the government refused to grant visa to Kosovo boxer Donjeta Sadiku to participate in the ongoing women's World Championships here. The Indian government does not recognise Kosovo - a disputed territory in South Eastern Europe -- and so Sadiku, who was to take part in 60kg, was denied visa. This was second such incident for Sadiku, who was also denied visa during women's World Youth Championships in Guwahati last year. "We are deeply concerned by this situation. Any boxer shouldn't be affected by any political decision while trying to achieve the dream of competing at the international level. Politics and sports should in no way be mixed," International Boxing Federation (AIBA) president Gafur Rahimov said in a statement. "We appreciate the efforts made by the Boxing Federation of India, but AIBA will need to reconsider the 2021 Men's World Championships bid. This being said, we .
Hong Kong Open: Srikanth, Sameer lose in quarterfinals
Indian challenge ended at the Hong Kong Open World Tour Super 500 tournament after Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma lost their respective men's singles quarterfinal matches here on Friday. Fourth seed Srikanth suffered a 17-21 13-21 loss to eighth seed Kenta Nishimoto for his first loss to the Japanese in four meetings. The Indian had beaten Nishimoto thrice before this match. Later, world no 18 Sameer also failed to tame local hope Lee Cheuk Yiu, who came through the qualifiers to seal his maiden semi-final spot with a 21-15 19-21 21-11 win in a match that last an hour and 13 minutes here. Srikanth couldn't threaten Nishimoto, who lead 12-7 at one stage in the opening game. The Indian did claw back and even had a slender 14-13 lead but the Japanese soon left him behind with four straight points before pocketing the opening game. The Indian looked clueless in the second game as he struggled right from the start even as Nishimoto surged to 6-2 and then reeled off seven straight ...