Page 937 - Sports
Mohammad Kaif named Delhi Daredevils' assistant coach
Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif was Friday named assistant coach of IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils for the upcoming 2019 season. "Delhi Daredevils have roped in former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif as their assistant coach for the upcoming Indian Premier League season," the team announced. Kaif, who was roped in as a talent scout in the DD set-up, was earlier an assistant coach to Brad Hodge at the Gujarat Lions in the 2017 IPL season. Kaif joins Ricky Ponting and James Hopes in the Daredevils' coaching team. He previously led Chhattisgarh in their debut Ranji Trophy season and acted as mentor for the young team. "I'm delighted to be part of the Delhi Daredevils and am looking forward to bringing together an exciting group of boys, who are going to make their franchise and country proud," Kaif said. "With the management team's support, I am sure we'll help nurture many of the younger boys in the squad and make this team a force to be reckoned with in the IPL," he added. Delhi ...
Juve focus on AC Milan after Man United slip
Massimiliano Allegri urged Juventus not to dwell on their slip-up against Manchester United but instead to use the Champions League drama to avoid a repeat against AC Milan in Serie A on Sunday. Juventus lost to two late goals against the Premier League club for their first defeat of the season, but will be determined to extend their unbeaten run in Serie A as they target an eighth consecutive league title. The Italian champions have 31 points from 11 games -- six points ahead of Inter Milan and Napoli -- with AC Milan in fourth position, a further four points adrift along with Lazio. Another banana skin could await at the San Siro against Gennaro Gattuso's Milan who have pulled off some late winners themselves recently, with a 97th-minute goal sealing victory over Udinese last weekend. "No one expects to win all games, but this kind of defeat, especially from a psychological point of view, can upset us," said Allegri. "But it will make us smarter and first up we have the match ...
Warne offers to help beleaguered Cricket Australia
Spin king Shane Warne put his hand up Friday to help Australian cricket out of its current spiral and urged the sport's beleaguered governing body to make better use of other former top players. The national team has been in a form slump since a ball-tampering scandal in March and Cricket Australia has seen a clean-out of top executives after a scathing review blamed its culture as partly contributing to players cheating. Warne said he was "frustrated" at the state of Australian cricket. "In the words of Donald Trump, let's make cricket great again," he said in a column for Melbourne's Herald Sun. "Cricket Australia is in disarray -- fact. CA has lost control and sight of what it was trying to achieve, to make cricket Australia's favourite sport. "That was its slogan and it was right but it has lost its way and thankfully heads are starting to roll." The leg-spin icon said retired cricketers needed to play a bigger part in steering the sport, calling on a host of former teammates to ..
World junior badminton: India bows out in mixed team quarterfinals
India went down fighting 1-3 to South Korea in the mixed team quarterfinals of the world junior badminton championships, despite Lakshya Sen's superb efforts here. Asian Junior champion, Lakshya lived up to expectations but the two losses in the doubles category virtually sealed India's fate and it was all over after the women singles defeat on Thursday. The quarterfinals opened with mixed doubles event and the Indian duo of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila fought hard to grab the opening game but they lost steam midway, losing 22-20, 14-21, 12-21 to the Korean pair of Na Eun Jeong and Chan Wang. World No. 3 Lakshya then neutralized the Korean lead by beating Ji Hoon Choi 16-21, 21-18, 21-12 in the men singles. Lakshya, who was erratic in the first game, settled into a nice rhythm and played strong, executing his shots powerfully to beat the Korean rather easily, especially winning the decider in quick time. The Koreans went ahead once again through their men doubles pair of Tae Yag ...
Arsenal progress despite Sporting stalemate, Chelsea ease through
Arsenal booked a place in the Europa League knockout stage and extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches despite a 0-0 draw with Sporting Lisbon, while Olivier Giroud's first goal of the season sent Chelsea through. But Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck, given a rare start just hours after being named in Gareth Southgate's England squad, had to be stretchered down the tunnel with what looked a nasty ankle injury in the first half on Thursday. Arsenal midfielders Matteo Guendouzi and Aaron Ramsey were both visibly upset after Welbeck, who is out of contract at the end of the campaign, went down after jumping to win a header. "It is mentally challenging (playing after a teammate is injured) but sometimes it comes with the game, and Danny has had a lot of injuries," winger Alex Iwobi told BT Sport. "We wish him the best and will keep on encouraging and motivating him to get back." Unai Emery's Gunners were the better side for long periods at the Emirates against a team who have already had ..
Mbappe tells AFP: Ronaldo, Messi still best but won't win Ballon d'Or
Teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe told AFP on Thursday that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi remain football's greatest players but that his own World Cup heroics could help crown him the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner. Mbappe, 19, inspired France to World Cup victory in Russia with four goals. One of those came in the 4-2 final victory over Croatia as he became just the second teenager after Pele in 1958 to score in the championship match. He was also voted Young Player of the tournament and has since become Ligue 1's leading scorer with 11 goals as Paris Saint-Germain run away with the French title. Messi and Ronaldo have won the last 10 Ballon d'Or awards and Mbappe believes that they are still the sport's top A-listers. "Nobody is doing better at the moment and we can't say it's the end of their era because it will only end when somebody else does better than them," Mbappe told AFP. However, the young striker added: "I don't think one of them will win the Ballon d'Or this year because ..
Solari to make closing argument for revived Madrid job
Santiago Solari is pitching for more than just three points as Real Madrid continue their revival under the interim coach and head to Celta Vigo aiming for their fourth straight win. Solari's time as the European champions' stop-gap following Julen Lopetegui's sacking will expire over the international break, and club president Florentino Perez needs to decide whether to take the Argentine on permanently. Real have bounced back under Solari, with Wednesday's 5-0 drubbing of Viktoria Plzen a clear sign of life in the struggling giants. A win at bouncing Balaidos could well be enough to convince Perez the job should be Solari's, at least until the end of the season, when a more established alternatives could be available. "We're doing fine with him," striker Karim Benzema said on Wednesday. "I don't see a coach coming for one or two months, for me Solari has to stay until the end of the season. He's a great coach. Now we have more confidence and we are going to fight." Few could ...
City out to settle Manchester derby score as Leicester honour Vichai
Premier League leaders Manchester City can ensure Manchester United's recent revival is short-lived by opening up a 12-point gap on their local rivals on Sunday. Meanwhile, a series of tributes are planned as Leicester return to the King Power Stadium for the first time since club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four other people were tragically killed in a helicopter crash. Here, AFP Sport looks at three things to watch out for in the Premier League this weekend: City with a score to settle =========================== The champions hold just a two-point lead over Chelsea and Liverpool at the top of the table, but have looked relentless in recent weeks and shown no sign of a slip in standards from their record-breaking 100-point Premier League campaign of last season, scoring 12 times in their last two outings alone. One of precious few blemishes from last term, though, was blowing the chance to claim the title by beating United at the Etihad as City threw away a 2-0 half-time lead
Goa floor Delhi, go atop the table
Riding on the back of a Edu bedia strike in penultimate minute of the game, FC Goa pipped Delhi Dynamos by 3-2 at the Fatorda Stadium, Goa on Thursday . With thin win, Goa also grabbed the numero uno spot in the Indian Super League (ISL).Bikramjit Singh (6') fired an early goal but Edu Bedia struck in the 54th minute to bring the scores to parity. Lallianzuala Chhangte again gave Delhi a cushion in the 70th minute but Brandon Fernandes equalised once again (82').In the dying minutes, Bedia rose to the occasion and sealed the fate of the match in Goa's favour by scoring in the 89th minute.The visitors took the lead in the sixth minute. Former Goa midfielder Bikramjit Singh darted towards the edge of the box and found the top left corner of the net with a stunning strike from distance.Delhi created chances but failed to double their lead. The Goan defence looked shoddy and taking an advantage Marcos Tebar made a foray into the box but failed to nudge in a Carmona free-kick from ...
ISL: Brandon, Edu on target as FC Goa edge out Delhi Dynamos 3-2
FC Goa struck twice late in the game to eke out a thrilling 3-2 victory over Delhi Dynamos in an Indian Super League encounter here on Thursday. Bikramjit Singh's long-range strike put the visitors in the lead as early as the sixth minute. It took almost 50 minutes and a change of ends for Goa to find the equalizer through Edu Bedia at 54th minute. However, Delhi breached the host defence to go 2-1 up with a Lallianzuala Chhangte goal in 70th minute. However Brandon Fernandes and Edu found the back of the net in the 82nd and 89th minute respectively to log full points for Gaurs. Dynamos drew first blood when Bikramjit received Adria Carmona's pass on the edge of the box and curled in a magnificent shot into the top left corner, leaving custodian Mohammad Nawaz helpless. Ferran Corominas looked hungry to score on his return from suspension as he forced Francisco Dorronsoro to a good low save to his right at the other end. Jackichand Singh crossed the ball into the box from the left and
Stroll admits former giants Williams in 'survival year'
Former champions Williams have been reduced to struggling for survival this year without any car developments, the team's Canadian driver Lance Stroll said Thursday. Speaking at a news conference ahead of this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, the 20-year-old Canadian declined to confirm if he was set to leave Williams and join Force India, the team purchased by his billionaire father Lawrence Stroll, next season. Stroll is widely expected to replace talented Frenchman Esteban Ocon alongside Mexican Sergio Perez in the Silverstone-based outfit. His father led a consortium that took over the cash-strapped team in August. "It has been very challenging this year," said Stroll. "The car just hasn't been there and we've just been surviving every weekend rather than competing. "We've been getting knocked out in (qualifying) Q1 a lot and we also had races where I've made a good start and been in a points-scoring position, but we've just fallen down the order. "It's kind of always been the ...
Sensational Saurabh claims gold, Manu finishes 4th at Asian Airgun Championships
India's teenage shooting sensation Saurabh Chaudhary continued his incredible run by claiming his fourth individual gold medal in as many months with a top finish in the 10m air pistol junior men's event of the Asian Airgun Championship here on Thursday. The 16-year-old, son of a farmer based in Meerut, first combined with compatriots Arjun Singh Cheema and Anmol Jain to log a total of 1731 to win the team gold and fetched the individual gold with 239.8 in the eight-man individual final to finish with two gold medals. Saurabh won the gold medal at the Asian Games in August, besides bagging golds at the World Shooting Championships in September and the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina last month. Arjun (237.7) secured the silver medal after finishing second, while Chinese Taipei's Huang Wei-Te clinched the bronze with a score of 218.0 to deny India a clean sweep. Anmol finished fourth with a score of 195.1. The Indian trio missed the World and Asian Junior record by a mere point. Youth
Fernandes, Bedia help bring Goa to winning ways in ISL
FC Goas constant persistence to press harder up front paid dividends as the Gaurs came from behind with two late goals in a gap of eight minutes to edge past Delhi Dynamos 3-2 in an entertaining game of the Indian Super League here on Thursday.
PKL: Dabang Delhi beat Haryana Steelers 39-33
Dabang Delhi snapped their three-match losing streak in Pro Kabaddi League with a close 39-33 win over Haryana Steelers, here on Thursday. It was Vikas Kandola's first match as captain for since Monu Goyat was on the bench. Goyat came off the bench to try and inspire Haryana and got 11 raid points in 18 raids but it went in vain as his side ended on a losing note. Ravinder Pahal got 6 tackle points, which included a strong 'Super Tackle' in the end to seal the match. Meraj Sheyk's 'Super Raid' helped him get a few points off Haryana's grabs. Naveen Kumar got 9 raid points for Delhi in 15 raids.
Umpires call out Shiva's unconventional 360 degree delivery
Uttar Pradesh's young left arm spinner Shiva Singh's unconventional delivery stride with a 360-degree rotation during a CK Nayudu Trophy match against Bengal was called a dead ball by the umpires but his bizarre move did generate a lot of discussion. During Bengal's second innings, Shiva, who was a member of the Prithvi Shaw-led India U-19 World Cup champion team, suddenly twirled before loading up and then sent down the delivery. The 50-second video went viral after India's greatest left-arm spinner Bishan Bedi tweeted it and termed it "weird". However, even before Shiva had completed his delivery, umpire Vinod Seshan signalled dead ball, much to the frustration of the bowler. The match is being played at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground at Kalyani. The match was halted briefly as the umpire explained to Shiva why the delivery, as per the MCC's Laws, is illegal. According to MCC's clause 20.4.2.7, "either umpire shall call and signal dead ball when there is an instance or deliberate
Dabang Delhi beat Haryana Steelers in PKL tie
Dabang Delhi finally reversed the three match losing streak in the Pro Kabaddi League with a 39-33 win over Haryana Steelers here on Thursday.
Ronaldo deserves to win Ballon d'Or, says Portugal coach
Portugal's national football team head coach Fernando Santos reiterated on Thursday that his forward and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is worthy of being awarded the 2018 Ballon d'Or trophy.
France coach Deschamps calls up Varane for upcoming matches
France's national team coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday revealed the team's roster for the upcoming matches which included Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, who has just recovered from an injury.
Ribadas stuns eighth seed Ramit in Kolkata squash meet
Spain's Carlos Ribadas stunned eighth seed and local boy Ramit Tandon 7-11, 4-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in a thrilling five-set squash contest of the $30,000 PSA tournament, the Kolkata International, here on Thursday.
TN Ranji squad sans Ashwin, Vijay and Shankar
Tamil Nadu will be without the services of ace spinner R Ashwin, Test opener Murali Vijay and all-rounder Vijay Shankar for the upcoming Ranji Trophy game against Hyderabad at Tirunelveli from November 12 to 15. Ashwin will not be playing the match owing to his preparations for the coming Test series against Australia while Vijay is travelling with the India A team to New Zealand prior to the tour Down Under. Vijay Shankar is also part of the India A squad bound for New Zealand. K Vignesh, C V Varun and Shahrukh Khan have been picked in their places, a TNCA release said. Mystery spinner Varun had done well in the TNPL earlier this year. He had previously played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament and performed well. Medium-pacer Vignesh is returning to the team after recovering from a hamstring strain. Shahrukh Khan is a middle order batsman. Tamil Nadu had started its Ranji campaign against Madhya Pradesh with a rain-hit draw against Madhya Pradesh at Dindigul.