Page 925 - Sports
Djokovic continues to lead ATP rankings
Serbian star Novak Djokovic has maintained the No.1 spot in the men's Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world singles rankings released on Monday with 8,045 points.
Russian star boxer Beliakova eyes gold at Women's World Championships
Having finished second best in the last edition, Rio Olympics bronze medallist boxer Anastasiia Beliakova of Russia wants to go one step further and claim a gold in the AIBA Women's World Championships to be held here from November 15 to 25. Beliakova, who won a bronze in the lightweight 57kg category in Rio Olympics, had to settle for silver in the last World Championships two years back in Astana, Kazakhstan. But the Russian boxer said this year she is in no mood to settle for anything less than the yellow metal. "I want to take gold back home this time. There won't be any compromise on the colour of the medal after coming so close in my World Championships debut in Kazakhstan," Beliakova said. "I am fully prepared for the goal I have set for myself." The Russian boxing contingent arrived here last night for the event but Beliakova said it won't be a problem to acclimatise with the conditions here. "I don't think we will have any problem (getting used to the adverse weather ...
World championship must for Test cricket's survival: Hesson
Former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson on Monday emphasised that the World Test Championship is "critical" for survival of the longest format of the game. As per the International Cricket Council (ICC), the nine top-ranked sides will compete in the championship with each side playing six series on a home-and-away basis against mutually selected opponents in a two-year cycle. The cycle will begin soon after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, with the Ashes in England set to kick-start the event. The top-two sides will then contest in the ICC World Test Championship final in June 2021. "Test cricket will survive as long as there is context. The World Test Championship is critical to its survival. If there is no context to matches and they just operate bilateral tours in isolation, then the relevancy will disappear over time," Hesson told a select group of reporters here at an interaction arranged by Star Sports group of channels. Hesson, who coached New Zealand for six years ...
Leipzig rout Leverkusen in Bundesliga
Leipzig thrashed visiting Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Bundesliga action, with a brace from Denmark forward Yussuf Poulsen.
New Zealand players available for full IPL season
In a significant development, New Zealand Cricket has allowed their players to take part in the entire duration of the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). An announcement to this effect was made Monday by James Wear, GM Commercial, New Zealand Cricket, at a special interaction arranged by official broadcasters of IPL, Star Sports. "One of the things New Zealand Cricket has decided is to allow its players to play in the Indian Premier League right till the end of the IPL," Wear told a select group of reporters here. "So we are keen to give our guys as much experience playing all around the world as possible so that they get a great experience by playing in the IPL," explained Wear on the reason behind the Kiwi cricket board's decision even with the ICC World Cup following shortly after the conclusion of the T20 league. His announcement comes in the wake of reports that the cricket boards of Australia and England are not to allow their players to figure in ..
India-born Israel cricket boss seeks BCCI support
Newly elected Israel cricket president Joseph Tal, who was born in Mumbai, has sought the support of his native country to nurture the existing talent in the Middle Eastern nation. Tal's family immigrated to Israel in the 1960s when he was 16. "There are lot of Indian origin youngsters playing for the Israeli national cricket team and also in the Israeli league. Most of them have grown up following Indian cricketing legends and closely watch India play," Tal told PTI. "In the past there has been some effort to work out some sort of a training programme for our cricketers with the help of BCCI. We would like to renew those efforts and see if we can get some sort of a support from BCCI to help nurture our young talent," he said. The Israeli league has 18 teams participating at two levels. Tal wants to change that and plans to start a programme which would bring cricket into schools and draw youngsters of diverse origin to the game. "There have been experiments in the past when ICA tried
Boca, River play draw in 1st of 2 Copa Libertadores final matches
Boca Juniors and River Plate battled to a 2-2 draw in the first match of their two-game Copa Libertadores final series.
Sarri makes history as Chelsea-Everton in goalless draw
Chelsea's Italian coach Maurizio Sarri set a new English Premier League record as the Blues were held to a 0-0 draw against Everton in an English league Matchday 12.
Winless Chievo claims 2-2 tie with Bologna
Winless Chievo Verona earned its third Serie A tie this season, as it played visiting Bologna to a 2-2 tie and broke its seven-game losing streak.
Cash-strapped Pakistan hockey finally finds sponsor, WC doubts over
Doubts over Pakistan's participation in the Hockey World Cup has finally been cleared after the owner of a cricket franchise came on board as a sponsor to bail out the cash-strapped national federation (PHF). Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Shahbaz Ahmed informed that Pakistan Super League franchise, Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi has signed a major sponsorship deal with the PHF which will run till 2020. The sponsorship deal will cover all international tours of senior and junior national teams as well as domestic hockey. "It is a big relief for us. Javed Afridi, who owns the Peshawar Zalmi franchise has signed the sponsorship deal to uplift Pakistan hockey on behalf of his company, Haier Pakistan," Shahbaz said. "Pakistan team is going to India for the World Cup," he added. Shahbaz, however, refused to disclose the sponsorship amount. The Hockey World Cup will be played in Bhubaneswar from November 28 to December 16. The PHF had earlier warned that if the government didn't ...
Roma thrash Sampdoria 4-1 in Serie A
Roma routed visiting Sampdoria 4-1 in Serie A, with Italian winger Stephan El Shaarawy scoring a brace here at the Stadio Olimpico.
Empoli top Udinese in new coach's debut
Empoli prevailed 2-1 over visiting Udinese, earning its second Serie A victory this season in its first match under new coach Giuseppe Iachini.
Betis stun Barcelona 4-3 in La Liga
Real Betis routed Barcelona 4-3, handing the Catalan squad their first La Liga home defeat in 26 months.
Man City down Man United 3-1 in EPL
A consistently superior and calm Manchester City defeated crosstown rivals Manchester United 3-1 in their first derby this season at the former's home Etihad stadium.
Hamilton wins Brazil Grand Prix
Britain's five-time world Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton has won the Brazilian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the 2018 F1 season.
Nishikori defeats Federer at ATP Finals in London
The victory of Japan's Kei Nishikori over Roger Federer 7-6 (4) and 6-3 on the first day of the Nitto ATP Finals shook the walls of London's O2 Arena here.
Kuchar wins Mayakoba Golf Classic
American Matt Kuchar handed in a 69-stroke, two-under-par card at the El Camaleon Golf Club and, taking advantage of his good scores in the first three days, won the Mayakoba Golf Classic and his first PGA tour win in over four years.
Real Madrid beat Celta 4-2
Real Madrid cruised to a 4-2 road victory against a Celta Vigo that couldn't keep from committing defensive errors, the capital squad's fourth win so far in the still-dawning "Santiago Solari era".
Dhawan's return to form was important ahead of Australia tour, says Rohit
India's stand-in captain Rohit Sharma said it was important for Shikhar Dhawan to return to form ahead of the crucial tour of Australia, which will be a completely "different ball game". Dhawan, who struggled throughout the preceding ODI series against West Indies, returned to form with a smashing 92 off 62 balls to help India beat the visitors by six wickets in the final T20 and complete a 3-0 series sweep. Dhawan and young Rishabh Pant (53 off 25) stitched 130 runs off 80 balls for the third wicket on Sunday to lay the foundation for the win after India were in a spot of bother at 45 for 2 while chasing 182. "It was important from the team's perspective and for the players to get some runs ahead of the important Australia tour. Shikhar especially was batting well in the ODI series but he was not able to get big scores. I am glad that he could play a match-winning knock and get some form under his belt before the crucial tour," Rohit said. "Rishabh was also hungry to go out and get ..
0-3 whitewash looks embarrassing but we fought hard, says Brathwaite
West Indies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite has admitted that the 0-3 whitewash was indeed "embarrassing", but said the fight they had shown with limited resources was the "hallmark" for the visitors in the just-concluded series. India defeated reigning world champions West Indies by six wickets in the final T20 here on Sunday night to clean sweep the three-match series. "I mean, three-nought looks bad, and it looks embarrassing for me as captain as well. But the performances and fight we gave and the fact that we came together to use our resources to the best of our abilities was the hallmark for this short series for me," Brathwaite said at the post-match press conference. "The team morale is up. What we are doing as a group is trying to find the best to use the resources we have. In the first game, we showed our fight, we showed our belief with the ball," he said. "In the second game, we were blown away, and in the third game we batted excellently, but the game was taken away from us