Page 919 - Sports

Nakamura sole leader after day 1 of Tata Steel blitz chess meet

World No.3 Hikaru Nakamura of the US stayed unbeaten to remain on sole pole position as five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand alongwith Pentala Harikrishna led the Indian challenge at the end of day one of the Tata Steel Chess India 2018 Blitz tournament here on Tuesday.

PKL 6: Telugu Titans pip Puneri Paltan in inter-zonal battle

Telugu Titans defeated Puneri Paltans 28-25 in an inter-zonal clash of the ongoing sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the NSCI stadium here on Tuesday.

Nakamura sole leader; Praggnanandhaa impresses

World number three Hikaru Nakamura showed his class in the blitz while India's youngest Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa impressed with two wins in the Tata Steel India Chess here Tuesday. Nakamura secured four wins and five draws to stay as the sole leader after nine rounds. On the penultimate day, five-time former world champion Viswanathan Anand led the Indian challenge with India number two Pentala Harikrishna who have five points each from a maximum nine. Having replaced fellow prodigy Nihal Sarin for the blitz tournament, 13-year-old Praggnanandhaa (3.5/9) impressed with a fighting draw against the sole leader Nakamura in the ninth round. "I got the impression that Praggnanandhaa is very much at home in blitz," Anand said showering praise on the fellow 13-year-old from Chennai. Facing Praggnanandhaa for the first time ever, Anand had to overcome an early attack. Praggnanandhaa launched an attack but a different pawn move on the 15th turn g4 was a mistake as Anand took the initiative

Anand sees three seasons for three chess formats in future

Five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand reckons three separate seasons for the three formats of the game in future. "Perhaps one day we will have seasons where there will be a classical season, then the blitz season and the rapid season," Anand said on the sidelines of the Tata Steel Chess India here. Anand, the reigning world rapid chess champion, also said the constant zigzagging of the three formats was unhelpful. Internationally, chess is played in three formats of classical, blitz and rapid, the main difference being time allotted to make a move. Some players are more competent in one format while others are equally proficient in all three. "Right now this constant zigzagging, I find it quite unhelpful," the 48-year-old, who won the World Rapid title in 2003 an 2017, said.

Kenya's Kimetto eyes comeback in Shanghai Marathon

Not even Dennis Kimetto can say if he is ready for a comeback after several false starts since he was injured in 2016.

Anand unhappy with constant zigzagging of chess formats

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand is not happy with the constant zigzagging of formats, saying that he finds it 'unhelpful'.

East Bengal go down at home

East Bengal suffered a heartbreak in their homecoming as Chennai City FC secured a 2-1 victory to consolidate their lead in the I-League here Tuesday. Chennai's Spanish recruit Sandro Rodriquez Felipe (45+2nd) drew first blood before Enrique Esqueda drew level seven minutes after the changeover. Chennai's other Spaniard Nestor Gordillo scored the winner, converting from the spot in the 87th minute to halt East Bengal's two-match winning run. Chennai now have 10 points from four games, four points clear of East Bengal who have a game in hand. The visitors also were boosted by the return of I-League leading-scorer Pedro Manzi, who was down with a lower hamstring injury. Chennai made their intentions clear from the beginning, making the game's first foray in the fourth minute itself when Nestor and Manzi combined to release Pravitto Raju inside the box but Rakshit Dagar in the East Bengal goal was up to the task. Dagar again staved off two possibly dangerous moves by Chennai around the ..

Bijlani, Panchal move into second round

Sanjiv Bijlani and Manav Panchal faced a challenging time to enter the second qualifying round of the senior billiards event in the BSAM Maharashtra State Senior Snooker and Billiards Selection (leg-2) Championship. Bijlani staved off a spirited fight from Kishore Laungani by pulling off a 3-1 victory in the best-of-five frame race-to-100 point first round qualifying match on Tuesday at the Bombay Gymkhana. In another all-Mumbai match, Panchal dashed the aspirations of Zahir Shroff by clinching a hard-fought 3-1 win. Sparsh Pherwani strolled to a facile 3-0 win against Sanjeev Agarwal in another qualifying first round match. Results (Qualifying round-1): Sparsh Pherwani (CCI) beat Sanjeev Agarwal (Matoshree) 3-0; Sanjiv Bijalani (Park Club) beat Kishore Laungani (Khar Gym) 3-1; Manav Panchal (MHC) beat Zahir Shroff (Bombay Gym) 3-1; Mithil Shinde (Thane) beat Mehernosh Billimoria (Bombay Gymkhana) 3-0; Anil Sagar (Matoshree) beat Umesh Marathe (Dadar Club) 3-0.

Jadeja hits ton as Saurashtra take lead against Railways

After shinning with the ball, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's unbeaten 178 helped Saurashtra to take first innings lead versus Railways on the second day of their Ranji Elite Group A match here Tuesday. Courtesy Jadeja's knock, Saurashtra lead Railways by 144 runs after they ended the Day 2 at 344/8. After electing to bat, Railways were bundled out for a meagre 200 with skipper Mahesh Rawat top-scoring with 46. For the hosts, Jadeja, a left-arm spinner (4-58), did most of the damage. And Jadeja did not disappoint with the bat too. After Saurashtra's top-order failed, left-handed Jadeja took the centre-stage at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, hitting 16 fours and four sixes in his 326-ball stay at the crease so far. He hammered a listless Railways attack and completed his 100 off 216 balls and 150 in 285 balls, respectively. Jadeja found an unusual partner in number 9 Kamlesh Makwana who made 62. The duo frustrated the Railway bowlers, but Makwana's stay at the .

Ranji Roundup: Tiwari, Reddy double tons light up Day 2

Double centuries by Hyderabad and Bengal skippers -- Akshath Reddy and Manoj Tiwary -- against Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, respectively lit up the second day of the ongoing Ranji Trophy competition on Tuesday.

Alba says personal issues never existed with Luis Enrique

Barcelona defender Jordi Alba on Tuesday said he had never had personal problems with Luis Enrique, stressing he had nothing but respect for the Spanish national football team coach.

Milind hits double century to put Sikkim in command against Nagaland

Continuing his impressive form, former Delhi batsman Milind Kumar struck his second consecutive double century to put Sikkim on top against Nagaland in a Ranji Trophy Plate group fixture here Tuesday. Resuming on his overnight score of 78 in team total of 120/5, Milind hit a stroke-filled 224 from 215 balls (31x4, 3x6) to steer Sikkim to 374 in 82.5 overs. Sikkim then reduced Nagaland to 97/5 in their second innings with Bipul Sharma and Pawan Suyal claiming two wickets apiece to take their side closer to a second successive bonus point victory. The home side still need 95 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Earlier, Milind, who hit a career-best 261 in Sikkim's innings and 27-run win over Manipur in Kolkata in their last round match, shared 174 runs with Bipul Sharma (90) to take a big first innings lead. Milind batted with the lower order batsmen, adding further 78 runs before being dismissed by Tahmeed Rahman. For Nagaland, left-arm medium pacer Pawan Suyal claimed 7/108. In Dehradun,

Hossam stuns top seed Albot in Bengaluru Open

Egyptian Youssef Hossam created the biggest upset of the tournament when he stunned top seed Radu Albot of Moldova in the first round of the USD 150,000 Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger here Tuesday. Hossam, who is ranked 383 ranks below Albot and made the main draw after winning three tough qualifying rounds, defeated the Moldovian 2-6, 6-2, 6-2. "I was both nervous and confident. Nervous because I was playing the top seed and was cursing the draw and confident because I did not have anything to lose," said Hossam. Coming into the tournament with a dismal performance on Challenger Tour, Hossam was in a different zone on Tuesday. He lost the first set, but bounced back in the match by winning all his serves, which boosted his confidence in clinching next two sets. Hossam had struggled to get past the second round of the Challenger Tour after he had won a ITF Futures title in Portugal in August. "I stopped committing errors which kind of unsettled my opponent," said the winner who didn't .

Liverpool's Sturridge rejects gambling allegations

Liverpool FC striker Daniel Sturridge denied allegations by England's Football Association that he violated regulations on gambling.

AFC Olympic qualifiers: Indian eves clear first round despite losing to Myanmar

The Indian women's football team cleared the first round of the Olympic Qualifiers for the first time in the competition's history, despite going down to hosts Myanmar 2-1 in a hard-fought clash here at the Thuwunna Stadium on Tuesday.India have progressed to the second round of the ongoing tournament finishing second in Group C with four points in three matches, behind table toppers and hosts Myanmar.The first half was an exciting affair, with both sides finding the back of the net once. India, who went into the match with the same starting lineup from their 7-1 win against Bangladesh, started off in an unwanted fashion as the hosts scored in just the third minute.A cross from the right flank caused havoc in the Indian penalty area and the ball fell to Myanmar's Win Theingi Tun, whose shot on goal deflected off an Indian defender and trickled into the net past custodian Aditi Chauhan. However, much to their credit, the Indian eves responded immediately and pushed forward for the ...

Rohit Sharma rested from India A match against Kiwis

Indian opener Rohit Sharma has been rested by the medical team of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from the Indian A's first four-day match against New Zealand A.According to an official statement by the BCCI, the decision was taken keeping in mind his "recent workload.""Mr. Rohit Sharma, who was originally named in India A's squad for the first four-day match against New Zealand A, has been advised rest by the BCCI Medical Team in consultation with the team management and the All-India Senior Selection Committee. The decision was taken keeping in mind his recent workload," the official statement read.Sharma will now travel with India's T20 squad that will leave for Australia on November 16 from Mumbai.Following is the India A squad for the first four-day game against New Zealand A:Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Rajneesh ..

Indian women's football team enters Olympic Qualifiers 2nd round for first time

The Indian women's football team on Tuesday qualified for the Olympic Qualifiers second round for the first time, despite going down to hosts Myanmar 1-2 in a hard-fought clash here. The Indian women's team advanced to the second round after finishing second in Group C with four points from three matches, behind table toppers Myanmar. The second round of the Olympic Qualifiers will be played in April next year. The first half of the match at the Thuwunna Stadium was an exciting affair, with both sides finding the back of the net once. The Indian team, who went into the match with the same starting lineup from their 7-1 win against Bangladesh, was jolted after conceding a goal in just the third minute. A cross from the right flank caused havoc in the Indian penalty area and the ball fell to Myanmar's Win Theingi Tun, whose shot deflected off an Indian defender and rolled into the net past custodian Aditi Chauhan. However, much to their credit, the Indian women responded immediately and

FIFA U-17 World Cupper Thatal called up for senior national camp

FIFA U-17 World Cupper Komal Thatal was on Tuesday called for the senior national camp by head coach Stephen Constantine to prepare for the international friendly against Jordan on November 17. The 18-year-old youngster from Sikkim, who currently plays for Kolakta-based ATK in the Indian Super League, was one of the players being monitored for the last two years, Constantine said. "We have been monitoring him and a few of the other younger players over the last 2 years. Now he has been getting regular game time at his club ATK," Constantine said. "He will get the experience of being with the Senior National Team at this camp and a taste of things at this level." Thatal earned plaudits for his exploits during the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship in India, and most importantly for his stunning strike against Brazil in the BRICS Football Championship which was held in Goa in the same year. "It has been great to be here. It was my first training session today and was a good learning experience .

I-League: In-form Chennai edge past East Bengal 2-1

East Bengal lost their first game of the season as Chennai City FC continued their dream run with a 2-1 win over their more fancied rivals in an I-League clash at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Tuesday.

India to host Italy on grass in Kolkata

India will host Italy on grass in the Qualifiers for the Davis Cup Finals at South Club in Kolkata on February 1-2, the national tennis federation said Tuesday. Kolkata was chosen as the venue only after the All India Tennis Association (AITA) secured two key exemptions from the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The rules require that World Group and Play-off ties be played at a venue where the space behind the baseline is 27 feet and there is a seating capacity of 4000. Only DLTA and the centre court at MSLTA fulfil the two requirements but they do not have grass courts. Non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi was keen to play on grass, considering that Italians are solid hard court players. "We had written to ITF, asking for these exemptions because we wanted to play on grass. South Club courts have space of 21 feet behind the baseline and we can create stands to accommodate up to 3000 fans. ITF agreed on this," AITA Secretary Hironmoy Chatterjee told PTI. "We had also asked for ...