Page 957 - Sports
Simone Biles claims record 13th world gold medal
Superstar Simone Biles became the first-ever gymnast to win 13 world championship gold medals with victory in the individual vault competition here on Friday. The 21-year-old American broke the all-time record set by Belarusian male gymnast Vitaly Scherbo in 1996, a year before Biles was born. It was Biles' third gold medal of the week so far in Doha and she is halfway to a possible sweep of six gold medals at these championships. This was also her 17th world championship medal overall, which means she is just three shy of the all-time record of 20, held by Russia's Svetlana Khorkina. Favourite to take gold in the event, she received a mark of 15.366, well ahead of second-placed Shallon Olsen from Canada, who finished on 14.516. Bronze went to Mexico's Alexa Moreno, with 43-year-old Oksana Chusovitina in fourth. Biles has another chance of a gold medal later on Friday in the uneven bars event. Earlier, all-around gold medal winner Artur Dalaloyan won the men's floor exercise gold ...
I wouldn't have been what I am without Eden: Azharuddin
Eden Gardens forever holds a special place in former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin's heart where he has had a few memorable performances including a debut hundred in 1984-85 and match saving one in 1993. Eden Gardens also witnessed Azhar lift the Hero Cup in 1993 and tri-nation series in 1994. While there are multiple theories about what prompted him to give Sachin Tendulkar the last over against South Africa, Azhar said that it was just for the heck of being different. "My teammates told me try someone different. I thought any bowler would anyway give five runs and said if this works, it's great and if it doesn't, I will take the brunt. I was facing it anyway," he said during a panel, which also included West Indies great duo of Brian Lara and Carl Hooper. "Quite a few times Eden had saved my career. I would not be sitting here had it not for Eden," the Hyderabadi stylist walked down the memory lane during a talk show to celebrate the 25 years of stadium's first match under ...
Kerala Blasters register 4th consecutive draw in ISL
Kerala Blasters recorded their fourth successive draw after being held by FC Pune City 1-1 in a Hero Indian Super League (ISL) match here Friday. A class strike from Marko Stankovic (13th minute) put Pune City up and running only to see Nikola Krcmarevic (62nd) pull Kerala Blasters level in the second half. The result pulled Pune City, still without a win, off the bottom of the table temporarily while Kerala Blasters have moved up to the fifth spot with seven points from five games. It were the visitors who got off to an energetic start with CK Vineeth testing the Pune City custodian Kamaljit Singh in the third minute. Kerala Blasters continued to attack Kamaljit's goal with shots but the goalkeeper denied Vineeth and Slavisla Stojanovic in a space of minutes. Against the run of play, Pune City drew first blood in the 13th minute through a stunning strike from Stankovic. The Austrian gained possession in midfield before finding the top corner from about 30 yards with a terrific ...
Herediano wins CONCACAF League title
Costa Rican club Herediano captured its maiden CONCACAF League title with a 3-2 win on aggregate over Honduran side Motagua.
ISL: Kerala Blasters draw 1-1 against Pune
Kerala Blasters were handed their fourth successive draw in the Indian Super League (ISL) after being held by FC Pune City 1-1 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji stadium here on Friday.
Tamil Thalaisvas beat UP Yoddha 46-24 in PKL
Tamil Thalaivas defeated UP Yoddha 46-24 to end their losing streak in the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season VI here Friday. Manjeet Chhillar and Amit Hooda caused great difficulties for UP Yoddha as they secured eight and six tackle points respectively. Sukesh Hegde did the damage in the first half especially with his amazing 15th minute raid to inflict an all out. Ajay Thakur then took the mantle from Sukesh in the second half to increase the damage. Prashant Kumar Rai was the only UP raider who caused some difficulties for Tamil Thalaivas. UP Yoddha entered this match with an unbeaten streak of three games while Tamil Thalaivas were coming from a loss against Gujarat Fortunegiants. It looked like UP Yoddha were under pressure at the start of their home leg as they were three points down by the third minute as the score was 1-4 in favour of Tamil Thalaivas. They did get a super tackle on Jasvir Singh in the third minute when Narender got a strong ankle hold on him which reduced the ..
Kohli is the superstar of world cricket: Graeme Smith
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith on Friday heaped praise on India skipper Virat Kohli, saying he is a superstar of world cricket and someone who can keep the dying face of Test cricket alive.
India have a good chance to win in Australia: Azharuddin
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin on Friday said India have a good chance to win in Australia although they will have to push hard for every inch as it won't be easy Down Under.
Atletico gear up for La Liga clash vs Leganes without Costa, Godin, Koke
Atletico Madrid on Friday completed its final training session ahead of the away La Liga clash against Leganes without injured Diego Godin, Diego Costa and Koke.
Kohli is superstar who can keep Test cricket alive: Smith
Virat Kohli is a "superstar" who will be at the forefront of keeping Test cricket alive, feels former South African captain Graeme Smith. The year 2018 has been great for the Indian captain, who has produced some exceptional ODI feats including the fastest to reach the 10,000 club, elevating his stature as the best batsman in the world. "World cricket is lacking huge amount of superstars. May be one or two in England. I think Virat (Kohli) is that guy (superstar)," Smith said in his address at the Jagmohan Dalmiya Annual Conclave (Chapter II) here Friday. "The fact that he loves Test cricket and puts in performances, it keeps Test cricket relevant in a country that loves the game with IPL and other T20s. It's huge for the game. "As long as Virat keeps promoting Test cricket as an icon and superstar, we all have the chance to keep the game relevant," he added. Smith, who played 117 Tests while captaining South Africa in 109 of them, criticised the Kookaburra balls for adding to Test ...
Valverde keeps in mind Barça's disappointment to Leganes
FC Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde on Friday stressed that his team needs to remember the sting of defeats they experienced in their 1-2 away loss to CD Leganes in La Liga play over a month ago and the lessons they have learned.
Subhankar loses momentum midway, cards one-over 72 in Turkey
India's Shubhankar Sharma was unable to convert his early chances and lost the momentum around the turn to finish with a round of one-over 72 to drop to tied 53rd at the halfway stage of the Turkish Airlines Open golf tournament here Friday. Shubhankar, who shot one-under 70 on first day, is now even par for 36 holes and will need to get a couple of solid rounds to get his confidence back and also make a nice move up the leaderboard. Defending champion Justin Rose made a definite move towards defending his title and taking the world no. 1 spot as he moved two shots clear of the field going into the weekend. He shot a second successive 65 at Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort to move to 12-under. England's Tom Lewis fired the lowest round of the week so far with a 63 to get to 10- under alongside countryman and 2016 Masters Champion Danny Willett (65), and Danish Ryder Cup star Thorbjrn Olesen (67), who three-putted for a bogey on the last while Rose birdied the same minutes ...
Real Madrid wrap up preparations for La Liga clash vs Valladolid
Spanish defender Dani Carvajal on Friday could not make it to the Real Madrid final training session ahead of the upcoming La Liga clash with Valladolid as he has not recovered from a muscle injury.
Only winning matters, not style of play: Atletico Madrid coach
Atletico Madrid's Argentine coach Diego Simeone said on Friday that winning was the only thing that mattered, regardless of the playing system, adding that his team had been improving recently.
Karandeep moves into halfway lead along with Chikka
City-based teenager Karandeep Kochhar kept local hopes alive on day two of the Jeev Milkha Singh Invitational 2018 golf tournament as he carded a round of two-under-70 to move into the joint halfway lead along with Bengaluru's Chikkarangappa here Friday. Kochhar (66-70) and Chikka (70-66) were tied for the lead with a total eight-under-136 at the Rs 1.5 crore event. Gurgaon-based Indian great Jyoti Randhawa made major gains on Friday with a 68 that placed him third, just one off the lead, at seven-under-137. Chandigarh's Sujjan Singh also shot the day's best score of 66 to climb to tied fourth along with Bangladesh's Md Siddikur Rahman (68) at six-under-138. Round one leader Shiv Kapur, who matched the course record with his 65 on Thursday, slipped to tied 10th as his second round effort of 75 took his total to four-under-140. Indian golf legend, tournament host and local favourite Jeev Milkha Singh, however, missed the cut as he followed up his first round 77 with a 73 on Friday to ..
Barcelona hold final practice ahead of La Liga clash with Rayo
Barcelona held its final training session on Friday before travelling to Madrid, where the La Liga side was set to play Rayo Vallecano.
Thai Luksika slays top seed Saisai to enter semis
Fifth seed Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand produced the biggest upset of the L and T Mumbai Open tennis tournament here Friday by knocking out top seed Saisai Zheng of China to enter the semi finals of the 125K WTA event. Luksika fought back brilliantly after dropping the opening set, hitting hard and deep with her double-fisted forehand as well as backhand, besides attacking the net at opportune times, to carve out an impressive 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory in 2 hours and 17 minutes at the Cricket Club of India hard courts. It was the second time in three meetings stretching back to 2013 that the Thai player, ranked 103rd, had beaten Saisai, ranked 47th who had made the second round of Wimbledon this year, and both her victories had come this year the first one in a 25K ITF event in Japan in April. In their first ever meeting, Saisai had beaten the Thai woman in three sets in a 5k WTA event in her home country. Incidentally the Chinese had sent India number two Karman Thandi ...
Shivam, Tushar put Mumbai in driver's seat vs Railways
All-rounder Shivam Dubey's smashing hundred complemented by pacer Tushar Deshpande's late evening burst saw Mumbai gain upperhand against Railways on the second day of the Ranji Trophy group A encounter on Friday. After Siddhesh Lad (99) missed out on a hundred, Dubey (114) struck his maiden century in only his second first-class game as Mumbai scored 411 in their first essay. The Railways were down in the dumps at 115 for 6 with Deshpande (3/29 in 11 overs) struck a double blow with the semi-new ball. Dubey on his part took a wicket while senior seamer Dhawal Kulkarni also got a wicket. For Railways, their senior pro Arindam Ghosh is at the crease having crawled his way to 39 off 115 deliveries. At the start of the day, Lad, who hit a couple of boundaries to reach into the 90's was bowled by left-arm spinner Avinash Yadav with a just a run required for his coveted three-figure mark. Lad faced 189 deliveries and hit 14 boundaries. However left-handed Shivam played a counter-attacking .
Man Utd launch security review after fan brings toy guns to match
Manchester United have launched a security review after it emerged a pitch invader got into Old Trafford with two toy guns during last month's Champions League game against Juventus. Shortly after play started during United's 1-0 defeat to the Italian champions, a fan ran across the pitch and was restrained by stewards close to the players. The Daily Mail newspaper reported that security staff later inspected his seat and found two toy guns in a backpack. Manchester United said the safety of fans was an "absolute priority" for the club. "Carrying a children's miniature plastic toy gun into a stadium is clearly an extremely irresponsible act," a spokesman said. "Fortunately, the actions of the pitch intruder at the Juventus game did not harm anyone. "However as the security and safety of all fans and staff is the absolute priority at Manchester United, the club immediately launched an investigation into the circumstances around this issue. This includes a full review of our already ...
De Bruyne blow for City as star ruled out for up to six weeks
Kevin De Bruyne will be sidelined for up to six weeks after the Manchester City star suffered knee ligament damage in Thursday's League Cup win against Fulham. De Bruyne limped off in the closing minutes of City's 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium after falling awkwardly in a clash with Timothy Fosu-Mensah. The 27-year-old had scans on Friday that revealed the left knee injury is serious enough that he is unlikely to be back in action until mid-December, although he does not require surgery. De Bruyne only recently returned from another knee problem that forced him to miss two months this season, limiting the Belgium international to five appearances. His absence during a busy period is a major blow for Premier League leaders City, who face crucial Champions League fixtures, the Manchester derby and a trip to Chelsea before De Bruyne is likely to be fit. "Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne suffered knee ligament damage in his left knee during Thursday night's Carabao Cup ...