Page 921 - Sports
PK's Asian Games 'gift' for football coach Rahim to hit big screen
The 'guru-shisya' relationship of Syed Abdul Rahim and P K Banerjee who fullfilled the last wish of his cancer-stricken coach with the Asian Games gold medal in 1962 will be portrayed on big screen. Cancer-stricken Rahim proved a master tactician when he guided India to the gold medal with a 2-1 win over South Korea in Jakarta with Banerjee scoring the opening goal. A father figure to Banerjee, Rahim had asked for a 'tohfa' (gift) and his ward delivered by scoring a crucial goal in front of a hostile crowd. Vomiting blood in the change room, Rahim, who was suffering from oral cancer, went 'missing' after the triumph, and it was Banerjee who found him out as both hugged each other in ecstasy and pain. "Such a biopic is very rare. I'm touched," Banerjee told PTI, as the director of the upcoming movie, Amit Sharma, called on the legendary footballer at his Sector III GD Block residence in Saltlake on Sunday. "He knew he had cancer and would not live long so his last wish from me was the .
Big Bash League: Sydney Thunders re-sign Gurinder Sandhu
Sydney Thunders have re-signed all-rounder Gurinder Sandhu for the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League starting December 19.The development did not come as a surprise for Sandhu is the leading wicket-taker for the club with a figure of 31.The right-arm bowler also admitted that the decision was an "easy" one to make."It was a very easy decision. I've been at Thunder since BBL|02, which is when I first started playing BBL cricket, and I just love the environment," Cricket.com.au quoted Sandhu, as saying."I love that I'll get to come back home to Sydney and visit Western Sydney where I grew up and see my family. I'm really good friends with all of the guys too so I can't wait to hook back up with everyone," he added.Sydney Thunders will kick-start their campaign at the Big Bash League against Melbourne Stars on December 21.
Odisha govt signs MoU with AIFF to host national camps, become home of Indian Arrows
Odisha will host national team camps while also becoming the home of the I-League side Indian Arrows, according a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the All India Football Federation and the state government. The AIFF and the state government signed the MoU on Monday at the Kalinga Stadium complex here in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. "As per the MoU, the Government of Odisha will act as the host of the AIFF national team camps as well as of the home of Indian Arrows. The training and connected infrastructure like gymnasiums, swimming pool, etc, will be housed at the Kalinga Stadium Complex," the AIFF said in a statement. "I need to thank the Odisha Government and Shri Naveen Patnaik-ji for wholeheartedly supporting Indian Football as part of their overall support for development of sports. It is a very encouraging sign that more and more State Governments are coming up to support Indian Football," AIFF President Praful Patel said. The Indian U-15 ...
Ex-Sri Lanka cricketer Lokuhettige charged under ECB anti-corruption code
Former Sri Lanka cricketer Dilhara Lokuhettige was on Tuesday charged with three counts of breaching the Emirates Cricket Board's Anti-Corruption Code, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement.
It won't be easy for Mary Kom, says High Performance Director Nieva
The weight of expectations is enormous on Mary Kom but grabbing a sixth gold medal at the World Championships won't be easy for the celebrated pugilist, says Indian boxing's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva. One of the most decorated boxers from India, Mary Kom is a five-time world champion and London Olympics bronze medallist. The Manipuri will spearhead India's 10-member contingent in the World Championships, beginning Thursday. "Everybody expects Mary Kom to win a gold medal but it won't be easy. She has strong competition, she needs to perform as nobody will give her the gold free," Nieva said ahead of the elite International Boxing Association (AIBA) event which will be held for the first time in India. At the same time, the Swede added that Mary Kom has it in her to deal with pressure. "Everybody knows her. She has some pressure but she has done this before and we are confident she can do it again," he said. Nieva said his expectation includes a gold and anything less ...
Kashyap, Satwik-Ashwini win at Hong Kong Open
Former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap made a solid start to his campaign, defeating Chinese Taipei's Hsu Jen Hao in the qualifying round of the Hong Kong World Tour Super 500 tournament here on Tuesday. Kashyap, who has been battling a series of injuries in the last few years, defeated Hao 21-7 12-21 21-18 in a match that lasted an hour and three minutes. The Indian will next face formidable Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, seeded 7th, in the main draw. Mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa also recovered from a mid-game slump to outwit Chinese Taipei's Wang Chi-Lin and Lee Chia Hsin 21-16 19-21 21-14 in the opening round of the main draw. The duo will next meet another Taiwanese combination of Lee Yang and Hsu Ya Ching. Kashyap, a former world no 6, has been struggling to be in his best shape ever since his knee injury spoilt his Rio Olympic dream. The Indian had made a good start to the season, wining the Austrian challenge but ...
India eyeing at least 3 medals from women's WC boxing, says High Performance Director Nieva
Indian boxing's High Performance Director Santiago Nieva expects at least three medals from the upcoming Women's World Championships here and anything more than that according to him will be a "bonus". Argentina-born Swede Nieva said his expectation also includes a gold and anything less than that will be a below-par result for the hosts. "I expect at least three medals, including a gold. We will not be satisfied if we can't achieve that. Everything more than 3 medals will be a bonus and great result for us," Nieva said ahead of the elite International Boxing Association (AIBA) event which will be held here for the first time from November 15 to 24. Five-time world champion and London Olympics bronze medallist MC Mary Kom will spearhead India's 10-member contingent in the World Championships and there is immense pressure on the celebrated Manipuri boxer to add to her tally here. But Nieva said it won't be easy for Mary Kom to pocket her sixth World Championships gold here, al though ..
Scottish winger Boyle ready to play for Australia
Scottish winger Martin Boyle will likely debut for Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, despite only having set foot in the country earlier in the week.
Miguel Cardoso to be new coach of Celta Vigo
Celta Vigo on Monday announced that Miguel Cardoso has replaced Antonio Mohamed as coach of the La Liga side.
Uruguay name defender Velazquez for friendlies with Brazil, France
Rayo Vallecano centre-back Emiliano Velazquez has been called up to Uruguay's national squad for friendlies against France and Brazil this month.
Hong Kong Open: Shuttler Kashyap struggles into second round
Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Parupalli Kashyap on Tuesday crushed Hsu Jen-hao of Taiwan in men's singles event on the opening day of the Hong Kong Open here at Hong Kong Coliseum.The 32-year-old disposed of the Taiwanese counterpart 21-7, 12-21, 21-18 in a thrilling opening game that lasted an hour.Kashyap, with 11 consecutive points, raced ahead of Jen-hao, who could only bag six consecutive points overall in the game. The Indian shuttler also clinched 54 rallies, while Jen-hao could only gain 46 of them.At a point, as the game progressed into the second game, the Taiwanese player broke the momentum of Kashyap with a scintillating comeback and took the game into the decider.From a game down, Kashyap revived his drive to again make the game one-sided. With a total of 54 points, Kashyap showed doors to his opponent, who could only secure 46 points in the round-of-32.On the other hand, in the mixed doubles event, the Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, who .
Women's World T20I: England inaugurate St. Lucia action with win
After its first match got abandoned due to rain, the England women's cricket team got its International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's World T20 campaign up with a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh in their group stage at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, St. Lucia.On the back of a three-wicket haul by debutant Kirstie Gordon, who was later declared player of the match, England kept Bangladesh to 76 runs for nine, a target that was revised to 64 in 16 overs as another flurry of St Lucian rain interrupted England's chase.Reflecting on making her debut and picking valuable wickets, Gordon said, "I didn't know if I was going to make my debut tonight. Nobody knew if we were going to get a game in. It's really special to make my debut and to pick up some wickets as well."After being bowled out for 46 in their opening game against the West Indies, Bangladesh did only a little better, managing 76 for nine in their twenty overs against England. There were four ducks in their ...
Kohli, Bumrah retain top spots in ODI rankings
India skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Jasprit Bumrah retained their respective top spots in the latest One-Day International (ODI) rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC) here on Tuesday.
Motivated after being called to national camp: Nishu Kumar
Young left-back Nishu Kumar feels "motivated and confident" on being called up for the national team camp here before India's first ever international football fixture against Jordan.
ATK's Komal Thatal called up for national team camp
Young ATK winger Komal Thatal has been called to the senior national team camp by coach Stephen Constantine ahead of India's international friendly against Jordan on November 17 in Amman.
Djokovic beats Isner at ATP Finals
Serbian star Novak Djokovic played like the world No.1 he currently is, beating American John Isner 6-4, 6-3 to lead the Guga Kuerten Group of the Nitto ATP Finals at the O2 Arena here where he aims to win the tournament for the sixth time.
ICC Rankings: Kohli, Bumrah remain on top of ODI table
India captain Virat Kohli and premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah maintained their top positions respectively in the latest ICC ODI rankings published on Tuesday. Kohli remained in pole position with 899 poins while limited overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma remained second in the list. Rohit's opening partner Shikhar Dhawan is the third Indian in the top-10 list at eighth position improving from his ninth place in the previous list. Former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is ranked 20th in the latest. Similarly in the bowlers' list, there are three Indians with Bumrah on top with 841 points while Kuldeep Yadav maintained his third place in the list. Kuldeep's wrist spin twin Yuzvendra Chahal leaped three places to be fifth on the list. Rashid Khan of Afghanistan with 353 points is the top-ranked ODI all-rounder in world cricket currently. In the overall team rankings, India with 121 points, remained second behind England (126 points).
Ronaldo becomes ball kid at ATP Finals
Considered as one of the best football players in the world, striker Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday night found a new job of a ball kid at the ongoing ATP Finals.Ronaldo got involved in ball kid duties while watching world number one Novak Djokovic's opening match against John Isner of America as the tennis ball bounced into the stands near the first row where he was sitting.Pleased to see Ronaldo watching tennis, Djokovic, who was wearing black and white, jokingly said, "I had colours of his club on my attire tonight. I'm sure he was happy to see that."It is not the first time that Juventus forward has watched any professional tennis. Last year, the football star was in attendance to watch Spaniard Rafael Nadal beat Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open."It is great to have big football star like him, courtside watching tennis. He used to come and watch Rafa (Rafael Nadal), Roger (Federer) and myself in Madrid. He's a fan of tennis," Djokovic said."He's one of the biggest
Former Olympics football gold medalists Cameroon among minnows
Former Olympic Games football gold medalists Cameroon find themselves among minnows this week when African qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo tournament kicks off. The central African country host Chad in Yaounde Friday with the second leg of the first round tie set for N'Djamena next Tuesday. Cameroon and Chad are far apart when it comes to football achievements with the former qualifying seven times for the World Cup, a record for an African country. Chad are among the weakest football nations in the continent, never making an international impact at national team or club levels. A Cameroon team including Samuel Eto'o won the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games gold medal match against Spain on penalties after a 2-2 draw. However, poor results in the past two African qualifying competitions have prevented the central Africans being among 13 countries given byes to the second round. In a 2012 London Olympics qualifier, Cameroon lost on penalties to Tanzania, and were ousted by Sierra Leone on away .
Brazil's Tite calls up Rafinha, Augusto and Sandro for friendlies
Brazil coach Tite was forced into some late changes to the squad that will face Uruguay and Cameroon in friendlies in England after Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho and Real Madrid pair Marcelo and Casemiro pulled out through injury. Tite called up Barcelona midfielder Rafinha Alcantara on Monday to replace Casemiro, who is suffering from a sprained ankle that could sideline him for several weeks. He also added Beijing Guoan midfielder Renato Augusto and Juventus full-back Alex Sandro. Coutinho's absence was expected after Barca announced Thursday he had a hamstring problem that would keep him out for two weeks. Tite had been hoping to call upon Marcelo but the Real left-back hasn't recovered yet from a thigh problem suffered two weeks ago in the clasico, which the Madrid side lost 5-1 against their bitter rivals from Barcelona. Brazil's football federation released a statement saying Tite had been "waiting to see if he would recover" but after Marcelo missed Real's 4-2 win over Celta ...