Page 953 - Sports

Emery's impact puts Arsenal rebuild ahead of schedule

Arsenal are still waiting for a first statement win of the Unai Emery era, but the progress made by the Spaniard in his first three months in charge was clear to see as Liverpool left the Emirates content with a point from Saturday's thrilling 1-1 draw. Despite a 14-game unbeaten run in all competitions, the Gunners remain four points off Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table and will end the weekend outside the top four courtesy of North London rivals' Tottenham's 3-2 win at Wolves. But much has changed since the opening day of the season when reigning champions Manchester City outclassed Arsenal on Emery's first chance to make an impression as the man to succeed Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign in charge. That sunny August afternoon the home fans bristled at the sight of veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech struggle to come to terms with the former Paris Saint-Germain coach's instructions to play out from the back. On a brisk November evening, Emery lauded the part played by the ...

Herath on happy hunting ground for last hurrah against England

Rangana Herath, the most successful left-arm spinner in history, will be looking to bring down the curtain on his long and glittering Test career with some big name England scalps in Galle this week. Sri Lanka's Herath, aged 40, has taken five-wicket hauls against all the Test nations during his 19-year career and he stands 10th on the all-time bowlers' list with 430 dismissals. Picturesque Galle, which hosts the first match of the three-Test series beginning Tuesday, has always been a special venue for the spin warhorse. He made his international debut at there against Australia in 1999, rejuvenated his career at the age of 31 by taking five wickets in Galle against Pakistan and, in 2016, claimed a hat-trick at the ground against the same nation. Now Herath, the last active Test player to have made his debut in the 1990s, needs just one more scalp to reach 100 wickets at his favourite hunting ground. While injuries have limited recent appearances, he will be making one last effort to

Djokovic edges Federer in Paris Masters thriller

Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in a thrilling semi-final at the Paris Masters on Saturday to extend his winning run to 22 matches ahead of his return to world number one next week. The Serb outlasted Federer in just over three hours to prevail 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 7-6 (7/3). He will meet Russia's Karen Khachanov in Sunday's final as he looks to pull level with Rafael Nadal on 33 career Masters titles. Djokovic, who will replace an injury-plagued Nadal at the top of the rankings on Monday, now leads Federer 25-22 overall and has not lost to the Swiss since 2015. "Novak is obviously on a roll. You can feel it. At the end it came down to a few things here and there," said Federer, who returned to play in Paris this week for the first time in three years. "But overall I'm happy with my game. It's better than last week in Basel. There I won the tournament and here I played in the semis and it needed somebody of Novak's calibre to beat me. "So that's all right. And I'm looking forward to .

Irina knocks out number two seed Dalila to enter final

Rallying from behind in both sets, unseeded Irina Khromacheva of Russia stunned second seed Dalila Jakupovic of Slovenia 6-4 7-5 to enter the singles final of the L and T Mumbai Open tennis tournament here Saturday. Irina is to meet Thailand's fifth-seeded Luksika Kumkhum in the final following the latter's 6-2 6-4 victory in 1 hour and ten minutes over another Russian player, sixth-seeded Margarita Gasparyan, in the second semi final. Left-handed Irina was trailing 0-3 in both the sets after dropping her serve but came out with some clever play to upset the rhythm of Dalila, ranked 73rd and the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus last year in this USD 125,000 WTA event, to come out trumps. Irina, who was ranked 165 going into the tournament at the Cricket Club of India, slowed down the pace of the rallies consistently to upset the rhythm of her higher-ranked rival and won the match in an hour and 30 minutes at the Cricket Club of India's hard courts. The ...

'Don't compare Virat and Sachin'

Raj Kumar Sharma, the childhood coach of Indian skipper Virat Kohli, on Saturday asserted that he doesn't want a comparison between former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and his protege."I don't want to make any comparison. Sachin was a great batsman and has many records to his name. But the way Virat has shown consistency in all three formats is a big achievement. Sachin was Virat's idol. Since both of them played in two different eras, they cannot be compared," Raj Kumar told ANI.Stressing that Rohit Sharma will have a huge responsibility on his shoulders in the three-match T20I series against West Indies beginning November 4 in Kolkata, he said, "The T20I format suits them (West Indies). They can be dangerous. We saw the glimpses of this during the initial matches of ODIs and now after Andre Russell, Carlos Braithwaite and Keiron Pollard return, this will be an uphill task. These players can snatch the match from your grasp on any given day. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit must fire on ..

Real Madrid squad earns praise from club president despite struggling season

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez on Saturday praised the club's football team and painted an optimistic picture of the future, despite the struggling start to the season that has left Los Blancos in ninth place in the Spanish league

Khachanov enters Paris Masters final

Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov beat sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Paris Masters final for first time in his career.

U Mumba win Maharashtra derby against Puneri Paltan

U Mumba finally won the Maharashtra derby against Puner Paltan with a 31-22 scoreline in the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League here Saturday. Puneri Paltan had drawn and lost the last two contests against U Mumba. Fazel Atrachali had a near flawless match as he got 4 tackle points from his 5 tackle attempts. More GB of Puneri Paltan and Vinod Kumar shocked the opponents as they got 4 and 3 tackle points even though they are raiders for their respective teams. Girish Ernak had a mediocre performance as he only got 1 tackle point from 3 tackle attempts. Fazel Atrachali was given the Orange Sleeve for hoarding the highest number of tackle points this season after Saturday's incredible performance. Deepak Kumar Dahiya started the match with a running hand touch on Surender Singh to open the floodgates but this was overturned by U Mumba in the next 4 minutes. U Mumba took the lead and kept a gap of 4 points by the 5th minute to make it 5-1. With two men on the mat, Puneri Paltan got a strong Super .

Atletico chokes again at Butarque stadium with 1-1 draw vs Leganes

Atletico Madrid was held to a late 1-1 draw by Leganes on Saturday in the 11th round of La Liga here at Butarque stadium, where Atletico previously suffered two draws in the past two years.

Mumbai add to Chennaiyin nightmare

Chennaiyin FCs nightmarish start to their Indian Super League (ISL) title defence continued as Mumbai City FC inflicted a 1-0 defeat at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium here on Saturday.

PKL: U Mumba outclass Puneri Paltan 31-22 in Maharashtra Derby

For the first time in the ongoing edition of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), U Mumba won the Maharashtra Derby after outclassing Puneri Paltan 31-22 here on Saturday.

Anirban Lahiri misses cut in Las Vegas

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri's disappointing run on the PGA Tour continued as he missed the cut at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open after carding a second straight 70 here. The cut fell at three-under and he missed it by one. Lahiri began with a series of six pars and then dropped on seventh and before he could recover, he gave away a double on ninth after he went into the native area. He fought hard to make up with four birdies on his second nine, but fell short and crashed out. Peter Uihlein birdied five of the last seven holes for a 5-under 66 and a two-stroke lead. Uihlein reached 13-under 129 at TPC Summerlin, a day after opening with a 63. Robert Streb and Whee Kim were tied for second, and Bryson DeChambeau, Abraham Ancer and Harold Varner were another stroke back. Kim shot 65, DeChambeau, Streb and Ancer 66, and Varner 67. Jordan Spieth had two late birdies in a 68 to get to 8 under in his season debut. Uihlein was even par for the round through 11 holes, making a bogey

Mumbai stun Chennaiyin in ISL

Mumbai City FC rode on Modou Sougou's 20th minute strike to register a shock 1-0 win over defending champions Chennaiyin FC in an Indian Super League match here Saturday. While it was Mumbai's third win in the last four games, Chennaiyin slumped to a fifth defeat in six games this season to continue a surprisingly barren run. John Gregory's men languish at the bottom of the table with a solitary point from a drawn game against Delhi Dynamos. The all-important goal came against the run of play when Rafael Bastos sent a through ball to Modou Sougou. The Senegalese player got inside the box and shot with his left foot but Chennaiyin goalie Karanjit Singh made a good stop but he got a second chance and didn't miss this time. He slotted the ball past the goalkeeper to the far corner to make sure that Mumbai's first shot was on target. Chennaiyin had made a good start to the game and they were spurred into action by the Sougou strike but their attempts to level the score didn't materialise.

Star West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell ruled out of T20 series

Star West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was on Saturday ruled out of the three-match T20 series against India, dealing a big blow to the visitors on the eve of the opening game at the Eden Gardens here. West Indies chief selector Courtney Browne confirmed Russell's unavailability for the India series but did not give the details of his injury. "Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are injured at this time. Ashley Nurse will miss both the remainder of the India tour and the Bangladesh tour as he recovers from his injury. We wish the team every success on a challenging assignment in India," Browne said in a statement. On Thursday, spinner Nurse pulled-out of the remainder of the India tour with a shoulder injury. The team is already without the services of Chris Gayle and Sunil Narine though the likes of Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo are here. The 30-year-old Russell last featured in the Afghanistan Premier League representing Nangarhar Leopards on October 9 but was not named in the ODI .

Tennis: Irina knocks out second seed Dalila to enter final

Rallying from behind in both sets, unseeded Irina Khromacheva of Russia stunned second seed Dalila Jakopovic of Slovenia 6-4 7-5 to enter the singles final of the L&T Mumbai Open tennis tournament here Saturday. Left-handed Irina was trailing 0-3 in both the sets after dropping her serve but came out with some clever play to upset the rhythm of Dalila, ranked 73rd and the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus last year in this USD 125,000 WTA event, to come out trumps. Irina, who was ranked 165 going into the tournament at the Cricket Club of India hard courts, slowed down the pace of the rallies consistently to upset the rhythm of her higher ranked rival and won the match in an hour and 30 minutes. The 23-year-old Moscow-born Irina thus made it 2-1 in head to head encounters between the two players, having won on clay in the round of 16 in Budapest, Hungary last year and then losing on hard court in Monterrey, Mexico in the first round this year. Irina cleverly ...

Humpy wins the opener, Harika held

Grandmaster Koneru Humpy got off to an easy victory over Hayat Toubal of Algeria but D Harika was forced to concede a half point against lower ranked Sopiko Khukashvili of Georgia in the first game of the first round of the World Women's Chess Championship here. On what could be the last world championship in a knockout format for women, Padmini Rout did well to hold Kazakhstan star Zhansaya Abdumalik while Bhakti Kulkarni lost to Russian Natalija Pogonina. The 64-players here come from 28 countries fighting it out for a total prize pool of 450000 USD out of which 60000 USD is reserved for the winner. There are two games in each round and in case of a deadlock, tiebreak games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner. Humpy almost made sure of an entry to the second round with her first victory. The Indian will now just need a draw in the next game to advance to the last 32. Playing the white side of a queen pawn game, Humpy was always in command over Hayat who is way

Sehwag, Kings XI Punjab part ways

Virender Sehwag on Saturday announced that he will not be part of the Kings XI Punjab dressing room next IPL after mentoring the team in the previous three seasons. Sehwag's future at KXIP became unclear after the team appointed former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson on a two-year contract earlier this week, replacing Australian Brad Hodge. "All good things must come to an end and I've had a wonderful time at Kings 11 (sic) Punjab, for 2 seasons as a player and 3 as a mentor. My association with Kings 11 (sic) comes to an end and I am thankful for the time I have had here and wish the team all the very best for the times ahead," tweeted Sehwag. The former India opener had become KXIP's mentor in 2016 after being a player for two seasons. KXIP have never won the IPL and their last appearance in the play-offs came in 2014, when they lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final.

Unwell BFI President skips AIBA Congress; No EC membership for India

Boxing Federation of India President Ajay Singh was not elected to the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) Executive Committee after he was forced to skip the world body's Annual Congress in Moscow on Saturday owing to illness. "Mr Singh was indisposed and had to skip the Annual Congress because of which his name was not considered by the delegates," a top federation source told PTI here. "Since he was our voting delegate as well, India did not cast a vote in the Presidential election either," he added. Singh's nomination was approved, along with 10 others from the Asian bloc, by the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) election committee chairman Jost Schmid last month in Lausanne. It is learnt that the Asian bloc will be represented by Thailand and Qatar now. Singh, also the co-founder of low-cost airline Spicejet, is currently a member of the Asian Boxing Confederation's EC. The AIBA held its elections in the Russian capital where incumbent Gafur Rakhimov won after ...

Lara on Kohli: Good to see that game has a leader now

Eulogising Virat Kohli's phenomenal achievements is the new normal and latest to join the bandwagon is West Indies legend Brian Lara terming the Indian captain as "game's leader at the moment." "Whatever Kohli is doing today is phenomenal. The rate of scoring, his fitness, and the importance he gives to a lot of different things. It is great to see the game has a leader at this moment," Lara told PTI during an interaction on Saturday. In the city to participate in the fourth edition of Krishnapatnam Port Golden Eagles Golf Championship, Lara refused to comment on the Kohli-Sachin Tendulkar "who is better" debate. Lara spoke about how and Tendulkar never bothered about comparisons. "If you talk about Sachin and me - you read a lot about it and you hear about the comparisons and it was not a significant thing (for us)," Lara said. "I am sure Kohli also does not pay much attention to these things. I think everyone gets it wrong. Everyone grows up in a different era and you have to ...

I-league: Aizawl deny Mohun Bagan win at home with late strike

David Lalrinmuana curled in a superb, world class free-kick deep into second half injury time as Aizawl FC earned a last gasp 2-2 draw against title contenders Mohun Bagan in an I-League encounter at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan here on Saturday.