Page 931 - Sports

Marcelo, Varane return to Real Madrid's final practice ahead of Celta clash

Brazilian left-back Marcelo and French centre-back Raphaël Varane returned Saturday to Real Madrid's team training session, the Spanish squad's last one before its away duel in the northwestern city of Vigo.

Harika plays out second draw with Kosteniuk, heads to tie-breaker

Grandmaster D Harika settled for a second straight draw with former champion Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia to set up a tie-breaker against the same opponent in the third round of the World Women's Chess Championship here on Saturday. After the first game against the same opponent ended in a draw, Harika was with black pieces in the second and she employed a French defence and Kosteniuk did not have many answers. The opening turned out to be pleasing for black and Harika was quick to neutralise with a finely crafted pawn advance that saw exchange of a few pieces leading to a balanced endgame. While in the first game, Harika had fought for a long time to find an advantage, as black she was happy to call it a draw in just 29 moves. Harika will now take her chances in the rapid chess games of 25 minutes given to each player and if the scores are tied, they play a couple of games with ten minutes each. If still tied, it will be two games of five minutes on the clock and if the deadlock ...

We cannot get too carried away: Real Kashmir coach

Ahead of their second home game against Neroca FC, Real Kashmir FC Saturday said they expect a tough match and would not like to get carried away by the incredible local support and positive results in previous games. "The support from Kashmiris in the last game was great and hopefully we can get the same again tomorrow. The players had a lot of excitement in the first home game and we got good results in the last two games and I think we will like to keep it going. But, we have to keep in mind that we cannot get too carried away," RKFC coach David Robertson told reporters at a pre-match press conference. Robertson said RKFC, who are competing in the I-League for the first time, would put up a good show by working hard and try to achieve a positive result in Sunday's game. "We are new to the league and every game we play, even at home, we are the underdogs. We have got five more home games and we will take each game as it comes. I think if we do well, work hard, have the same ...

Manipur's Neroca search for victory over Real Kashmir

Manipur's Neroca FC will search for first ever victory over debutant Real Kashmir FC in what will be their fourth game of the ongoing 12th edition of the I-league on November 11.Neroca have drawn two and lost one match till now, while the home side have won their opening encounter against Minerva Punjab FC before drawing their second game against Churchill Brothers.Real Kashmir's coach David Robertson will rue the fact that his team could not pull off a win at home in their previous game, despite their opponents playing with 10-men for the entire second half. An over-dependence on striker Gnohere Krizo, who netted the winner against Minerva, to score was observed and coach Robertson might look to correct that.Kashmir's four-man back line led by skipper Loveday Okechukwu looked dependable but more impetus needs to come from the midfield where the likes of Aaron Katebe and Bazie Armand will have to return better shifts. Goalkeeper Bilal has kept a clean sheet till now and has brought ...

Tamil Nadu's Fahad Mohammed wins tennis title

Fifth seed Fahad Mohammed of Tamil Nadu outclassed Pune teenager Atharva Sharma 6-4, 6-2 in the singles final of the J S Pereira Memorial AITA Ranking mens tennis tournament here Saturday. The 22-year-old Mohammed, who trains at the Just Tennis Academy in Chennai, was quite consistent with his serves and with clever change of tactics unsettled his 18-year -old opponent who did well to keep pace till 4-all in the first set. Mohammed, after holding serve in the ninth game, forced Sharma into committing a couple of unforced errors to win the 10th game and to take the first set in a little less than 45 minutes. The Chennai-based Mohammed was dominant in the second set and snatched a break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. He broke Sharma's serve for the second time in the eighth game to win the set in 32 minutes and complete a satisfying victory. Mohammed received the trophy and a cash award of Rs 26,000, while Sharma was presented with the runners-up trophy and a ...

I-League: Toure's double guides Minerva to season's 1st win

Defending champions Minerva Punjab FC registered their first win of the 12th I-League campaign, overcoming Aizawl FC 2-1 at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Saturday.

Kerala Blasters look to capitalise on FC Goa's defensive woes

A desperate Kerala Blasters FC will look to snap their winless streak when they take on FC Goa in an Indian Super League football match here on Sunday. The Men in Yellow have only one win to show from six matches, and that was in the opening game of the season against ATK. They have four draws and a loss -- against Bengaluru FC in the previous fixture -- from their last five matches. David James' side have not been scoring goals and they will need their forwards to fire against a free-scoring FC Goa side and make the most of whatever chances they create. "With due respect to FC Goa, we know they are an attacking team but if you see their record, they really do concede goals also. We as a team should definitely start to win," said Kerala Blasters assistant coach Thangboi Singto. Sergio Lobera's mantra of outscoring opponents is working fine for FC Goa as they find themselves at the top of the ISL table. They have scored 18 goals from six games with an average of three per match. ...

Shubhankar to play alongside Fleetwood, Reed in Hero Challenge in Dubai

Shubhankar Sharma will become the first Indian to feature in a Hero Challenge for the second time when he tees off at the final leg of the tournament at Atlantis, The Palm, here on Tuesday. Sharma, Europe's victorious Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn and reigning Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood complete a world-class field for the final Hero Challenge of the 2018 European Tour season. Sharma also played at the Hero Challenge in Edinburgh before the Scottish Open. The trio join Masters Tournament champion Patrick Reed, two-time Race to Dubai winner and 2016 Open Champion Henrik Stenson, and former World Number One Lee Westwood, who won the inaugural Race to Dubai in 2009, for the latest edition of the innovative shoot-out contest. Taking place ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the Hero Challenge will be held at the Championship's 10th Anniversary Beach Party at Atlantis, The Palm, as the world-famous resort joins the list of iconic global locations to ..

Lahiri cards 66 to get to 11-under and Tied 3rd in Mexico

India's Anirban Lahiri compiled a five-under 66 that put him in the mix at the halfway stage of the Mayakoba Golf Classic here. The 30-year-old, in his fourth season on the PGA Tour but still looking for his first win, had seven birdies, one more than his first round of 65, but he also gave away two bogeys. Lahiri is now 11-under and tied third as Matt Kuchar extended his one-shot lead to two after 36 holes. Kuchar had a second successive 64 and is now 14-under, while Cameron Champ, who won recently and is going for his second win three weeks added a brilliant nine-under 62 to his first round of 68 and is now 12-under 130. Lahiri, with six others -- Danny Lee, Kim Whee, Dominic Bozzelli, Patton Kizzire and Brian Gay -- are tied at 11-under in third place. Lahiri had birdies on second and fifth before he dropped a shot on Par-5 seventh but a birdie on eighth meant he turned in two-under. A bogey on 10th saw him fall to one-under, before he birdied 11th, 13th, 15th and 17th holes ...

Lancine Toure's double helps Minerva register first win of season

Defending champions Minerva Punjab FC registered their first win of the 12th Hero I-League campaign, overcoming Aizawl FC 2-1 on the artificial turf of the Rajiv Gandhi stadium here on Saturday. Two headers off two corners by centre-back Lancine Toure ensured that despite a late penalty conversion by Leonce Dodoz for the home side, the 'Warriors' from Punjab logged a full three points from the encounter. The champions were clearly bolstered by the induction of two Nigerians, Donatus Edafe and Bala Alihassan Dahir, the former in particular having a huge impact on Minerva's performance compared to their last two games. Home team coach Gift Raikhan started Ivorian Dodoz and David Lalrinmuana on the day in place of Albert and Lalrinfela while Minerva brought in Bala Dahir and Edafe, replacing them with Akash Sangwan and Makan Chothe as well as Moinuddin in place of Ivorian Alexandre who played the last game. Dodoz cut in beautifully inside the box from the left and his effort brought ...

Harika draws with Kosteniuk

Indian Grandmaster D Harika played out a hard-fought draw against former champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in the first game of the third round in the Women's World Chess Championships here on Saturday. The lone surviving Indian in the tournament, Harika was on a mission right from the start and looked poised to crash through. However, Kosteniuk, a veteran of many hard battles, remained in the game with some tenacious defence and saved the day in the endgame. Harika will have black in the return game and if history is anything to go by, the Indian may have an edge in the encounter against the Russian. It was an easy start in the Catalan opening as white and Kosteniuk equalized in the early middle game. The pressure was built by Harika when she broke through in the centre and launched an offence with her well placed pieces. Harika was rewarded with a passed pawn in the process and the squeeze continued despite the trade of queens. Kosteniuk realised that passive defence was the best ...

Water Polo Tournament organised in Manipur

A four-day long Water Polo tournament was organised by an organisation in Manipur.The event was organised by 'The Welfare of the Youths Liberal and Conduct Organization' (WYLCO) with an aim to ensure development and longevity of water polo game in the region.Konsam Dinesh Mangang, the General Secretary of the organisation said, "We do not have many sports swimmers and have very few people to promote. As the game is dying, to revive it, we have formed this tournament to support the players. We do not have any support from the government."WYLCO is a local club from Kongba that works to promote and develop the water polo game which has been almost losing its foothold in the state.The club has produced 10 International Water Polo Sports players and more than 40 players have already got a placement at different organisations, including Military and Para Military forces, railways, navy, air force and other services.One of the participants of the tournament said, "As for now we have four to .

Real Kashmir seek first home win against Neroca FC

A resounding start boosting their confidence in the maiden season, Real Kashmir FC will seek their first win at home when they take on Manipur's Neroca FC in an I-League match here on Sunday. Real Kashmir began their debut season in a stunning fashion by beating defending champions Minerva Punjab 1-0 in Panchkula but the Srinagar-based side were denied a dream start at home with Churchill Brothers holding them to a goal-less draw. Scottish coach David Robertson will rue the fact that his team could not pull off a win at home despite their opponents playing with 10 men for the entire second half. Over-dependence on Ivorian striker Gnohere Krizo, who netted the winner against Minerva, was observed and coach Robertson might look to correct that at the TRC ground on Sunday. Real Kashmir's four-man back line led by the coach's son Mason Robertson and captain Loveday Okechukwu looked dependable, but more impetus needs to come from the midfield, where the likes of Zambian Aaron Katebe and ...

I-League: Winless Neroca take on buoyant Real Kashmir (Preview)

In quest of their first victory of the ongoing I-League season, Manipurs Neroca FC will take on debutants Real Kashmir FC at the TRC ground here on Sunday.

I-League: Gokulam look for first win at home against Lajong (Preview)

Gokulam Kerala FC will be searching for the first win of their current I-League campaign when they take on Shillong Lajong at the EMS Corporation Stadium here on Sunday.

Frosinone get late goal to draw 1-1 with Fiorentina

Fiorentina conceded in the 89th minute and were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Frosinone in Serie A Italian football action here.

Sociedad extend away unbeaten streak with 3-1 win over Levante

Real Sociedad exploded for three goals in the final 20 minutes to defeat Levante 3-1 in the opening contest of La Liga match-day 12 here.

Kohli, Shastri should hold their horses (Column: Just Sport)

Few India captains have been as articulate as Virat Kohli and fewer still as provocative. He will defend his team at the worst of times and he can also be outlandish like when he told off a fan to leave India and watch England or Australian batsmen if he liked them so much.

Dominant India face Pakistan in ICC Women's World T20 (Preview)

On a high after a resounding 34-run winning start over New Zealand in their ICC Women's World T20 campaign, a confident India will aim to continue their domination over arch-rivals Pakistan when they face off at the Providence Stadium here on Sunday.

Steve Smith ready to play PSL matches in UAE

Disgraced Australian captain Steve Smith has given his conditional availability for the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League insisting he would only matches in the United Arab Emirates and not travel to Pakistan for the play-offs and final. Smith, who is serving a 12-month ban for his role in the ball tampering during a Test match against South Africa earlier this year, is allowed to appear in T20 leagues worldwide. His ban ends before the World Cup in England next year and it is the first time the Australian batsman has given his availability for the PSL. According to a reliable source in the Pakistan Super League secretariat, besides some other top foreign players have also made it clear they wouldn't travel to Pakistan for the last leg of the PSL featuring eight matches including the final in Karachi. "Smith and these players have said they will only be available to play in UAE," the source said. South Africa's AB de Villiers has also limited his first ever appearance in the