Page 964 - Sports
Ramanathan, Myneni book quarters berth in Shenzhen Challenger tournament
Indian Tennis player Ramkumar Ramanathan on Wednesday progressed to the men's doubles quarterfinals of the Shenzhen Challenger tournament in China along with compatriot Saketh Myneni.Ramkumar and Myneni sealed their last-eight berth with a closely fought 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 victory over the third-seeded Chinese pair of Mao-Xin Gong and Ze Zhang.Earlier, Ramanathan was knocked out of the singles event in his first ever meeting against Mohamed Safwat. The World No 121 Indian lost a tight contest 6-7, 4-6 to his Egyptian World No 202 opponent.The defeat means Sasi Kumar Mukund is left as the sole Indian in the singles draw. He will play against Canada's eighth-seeded Filip Peliwo on Thursday.Meanwhile, the top-seeded Indian pair of Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and N. Sriram Balaji, also progressed to the quarters as they ousted M. Safwat and A. Nedovysov with a 7-5, 2-6, 10-7 win.
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Doctors urge rescheduling of marathon events due to heatstroke warnings
The organisers of the Olympic Games were urged by Japanese doctors to commence the marathon events in 2020's Tokyo Olympics as early as 5.30 a.m., citing major health issues, including deaths from heatstroke, as consequences upon failure to do so.The warning shots come in line with a number of concerns, raised in connection with the consequences that athletes have to endure due to the extreme heat conditions in the island nation, as Tokyo registered record-high temperatures this summer.The organiser of the quadrennial event, along with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have taken note of the concerns, having preponed the scheduled start time of the marathon by 30 minutes to 7:00 a.m. Competitive walking is slated to commence prior to the marathon events.However, the Tokyo Medical Association and the Japan Medical Association have stated that the rescheduling was insufficient, as the majority of the race will be held in periods of sweltering heat levels, during which physical ..
Argentina's capital unveils its first Maradona statue
Argentines celebrated the 58th birthday of Diego Maradona on Wednesday by unveiling a bronze statue of the soccer legend that recreates his goal against England that was voted the greatest of the 20th century. Maradona's birthday was Oct. 30, but the unveiling was postponed a day due to rain. The statue is located near the Argentinos Juniors club stadium in Buenos Aires, where he made his career debut in 1976. A decade later, Maradona captained Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title and scored two of the most memorable goals in the game's history. The first was the "Hand of God" goal, in which the tiny Maradona jumped with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net. The sleight of hand gave Argentina a 1-0 lead. But the real magic came just minutes later when Maradona received the ball in his own half, ran through a pair of England players and sprinted toward the opposing goal. He then beat two more opponents, fought off another and faked Shilton before shooting
Andhra poised for growth in marine tourism with F1H2O Amravati Grand Prix
The fifth round of F1H2O World Championship, scheduled to be held from November 16 to 18 on the banks of Andhra Pradesh's River Krishna is all set to create a new benchmark in Amaravati.The racing extravaganza is returning to India after a gap of 14 years.The Union Internationale Motonautique, which is the resident organising committee of the F1H2O Grand Prix is focusing on raising on the culture of water sports in the region, which will also help sustain the local fishermen communities in the area. This is one of the foundations of the Amaravati development project.Marco Pietrini, Director of Logistics is working closely to set up the teams and is extremely happy with the progress of the state in hosting the gala event."I am delighted to be here in India and receive the great hospitality from the people of Amaravati. The state of Andhra Pradesh has made arrangements to put up a grand and gala show for all spectators and visitors and I am confident this initiative will take the sport .
Bengaluru bulls edge past hosts Patna pirates in PKL tie
Bengaluru Bulls won their fourth match of Pro Kabaddi League while Patna Pirates continued to have a dismal home leg as they lost 41-43 here on Wednesday.
Ankita fights back to subdue Rutuja and enter round two
India number one Ankita Raina fought back doggedly to subdue long-time rival Rutuja Bhosale in three sets and move into the second round of the L and T Mumbai Open tennis championship here on Wednesday. Direct entrant Ankita, ranked 197, overcame Rutuja, ranked 366, 4-6, 6-2 7-6 (5) in 2 hours and 17 minutes in a late night match after she trailed 0-3 in the final set by dropping her serve twice before restoring parity at 4-4. Ankita, the lone Indian remaining in the singles draw, will now meet Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, conqueror of fourth seed Olga Danilovic, in the round of 16 tomorrow in the USD 125,000 WTA event. It was the seventh meeting between the two Indian women on the professional circuit going back to 2012 with Ankita leading 4-2 going into the match at the Cricket Club of India. Rutuja and Ankita split the first two sets before the former took an early 3-0 lead by breaking her rival twice. But Ankita, a quarterfinalist here last year, hit back to retrieve
Services, Railways dominate national boxing championships
The domination of Services and Railways boxers was evident in the early session on the fourth day of the third Elite Men Boxing National Championships at the AIS rings here as six each of their pugilists entered the medal rounds on Wednesday.
I-League: East Bengal test for youthful Shillong Lajong (Preview)
Shillong Lajong will have their task cut out when they take on East Bengal in an I-League tie here on Thursday.
Pune beat Delhi 31-26 in PKL-6 (Lead, Correcting headline)
Puneri Paltan defeated Dabang Delhi 31-26 to register their sixth win in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 6 here on Wednesday.
Bopanna-Vasselin enter pre-quarter round of Paris Masters
Indian-French duo of Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin cruised into the pre-quarters round of the ongoing Paris Masters after defeating Dutch pair of Matwe Middelkoop and Robin Haase in the men's doubles event here on Wednesday.Bopanna and Vasselin registered a convincing 7-6, 5-7, 10-5 win over their Dutch opponents to advance further in the tournament.Hitting eight aces, while maintaining 86 percent win percentage in the match, the Indo-French pair battled hard to edge past the Dutch duo.The pair made a winning start to the match by clinching the opening set 7-6 but in the second set, they slumped to a 5-7 defeat.In a hard-fought third set, they managed to get back to the winning momentum as they ended with a 10-5 score in their favour.Bopanna and Vasselin will next take on Mate Pavic of Croatia and Australia's Oliver Marach to book a spot in the quarter-final of the tournament.
Dalaloyan upsets China, snatches men's all-round gold
Russia's Artur Dalaloyan held his nerve to claim his first ever men's all-around title in a thrilling finish at the world championships in Doha on Wednesday. On a night of high tension and despite ending on the same score as China's defending champion Xiao Ruoteng, 87.598, the 22-year-old Moscovite took gold on a count back of each competitor's top five scores. His compatriot Nikita Nagornyy took bronze, finishing on 86.331. It capped a great comeback for Dalaloyan, who was left in tears earlier in the week after falling off the parallel bars in the team competition. He took the slenderest of leads, 0.1 points, into the final discipline, the high bar, but held his nerve to set Ruoteng a tough target of 14.233. Incredibly, the Chinese star matched that score, showing grace under pressure to produce a fine routine but ultimately ended with silver. There was disappointment for the USA's Samuel Mikulak. He went into the final round in third with a chance of all three medals but a high ...
Mary Kom named as brand ambassador of Women's World C'ship
The Olympics bronze-medallist, who will be eyeing sixth World Championship title and second gold at home since 2006 during the prestigious tournament, expressed delight over the same and assured that she would give her best shot."This World Championship is special in lot many ways, I would definitely give my best shot and want to live the feeling of winning gold in front of the home crowd," the boxer said.Meanwhile, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) unveiled the logo and anthem of the Championship.The logo, depicting "fire and women's empowerment," was designed to bring in the two key elements-the inner strength of a woman and the national colours-together to mark the occasion of India playing hosts to the championships for the second time in the country.Similarly, the theme of the anthem: "Make some noise, scream and shout! We are here to knock you out!!!" encapsulates the emotion that a boxer goes through when she takes to the ring.The logo launch event was attended by Indian ...
Nadal pulls out of Paris, Djokovic number one
Rafael Nadal pulled out of the Paris Masters on Wednesday guaranteeing Novak Djokovic's return to world number one spot. Announcing his withdrawal at a hastily arranged press conference Nadal said: "My abdominal muscles haven't felt good for the past few days, especially on serve, doctors recommended that I didn't play." Djokovic arrived in Paris knowing that he would regain the top spot he relinquished two years ago if he bettered the Spaniard's performance at the indoor event he has won four times. The Wimbledon and US Open champion becomes the first player to start the season outside the top 20 and end up top of the ATP rankings since Marat Safin in 2000. The 14-time Grand Slam champion had begun his pursuit of the top spot in encouraging fashion with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Joao Sousa on Tuesday, his 19th consecutive win. For Nadal it means delaying his long awaited comeback from injury which has kept him sidelined since the US Open. Nadal was forced to withdraw from his US Open ...
Nadal not to play in Paris due to abdominal problems, to lose World No.1 spot
Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal announced on Wednesday that he will not be able to compete at the Paris Masters due to abdominal problems, meaning that the Spaniard will lose the world number one position in the ATP rankings.
ISL: Bengaluru rally to beat ATK 2-1 and remain unbeaten
Bengaluru FC came from behind to beat ATK 2-1 and continue their unbeaten start to the Indian Super League (ISL) season at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Wednesday.
Zverev advances to Paris Bercy's last-16
German tennis player Alexander Zverev, the No. 4 seed, on Wednesday won in straight sets over Frances Tiafoe of the United States to book his place in Paris Bercy's round of 16.
ISL: Bengaluru FC pip ATK 2-1
A magical Miku helped Bengaluru FC come from behind and secure a fine 2-1 win over ATK in an Indian Super League football fixture here Wednesday. Playing in front of home crowd at the Saltlake Stadium, ATK got off to a positive start with Komal Thatal giving them an early 14th minute lead with his maiden goal. But it was Miku who hauled Bengaluru FC level on the stroke of half-time (45+3rd) with a stunning freekick. ATK suffered an injury blow to their key forward Kalu Uche in the first-half as they looked desperate to firm up their attacking prowess. But Bengaluru FC held on to the momentum given by Miku with Erik Paartalu scoring the winning goal from a side-volley in the 47th minute to hand ATK their third defeat from four matches at home. For the last year's runners up Bengaluru FC, this was their third win over ATK from as many matches. It also halted the Kolkata franchise's three-match unbeaten run this season. With 10 points, Bengaluru FC are now one point behind leaders ...
Karman, Pranjala make first round exits in contrasting styles
India number two Karman Thandi and number three Pranjala Yadlapalli made contrasting first round exits from the L and T Mumbai Open being played at the Cricket Club of India here on Wednesday. Karman made a tame exit as she lost in straight sets, 2-6, 4-6, to top-seeded Chinese Saisai Zheng in the singles after starting off brilliantly by taking a 2-0 lead, but then slumping badly and dropping the next ten games on the trot to lose in 1 hour and 17 minutes. But the bigger heartbreak was reserved for Pranjala, ranked 288. She won the opening set 6-3 and was on the cusp of eliminating number five seed Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand when she was serving for the match at 5-3 before the latter made a splendid comeback and won 7-5 to level the set scores. A downcast Pranjala, who came into this USD 125,000 WTA event with back to back wins in two 25K ITF events in Lagos, Nigeria, dropper her serve early in the third set and lost the match 3-6 5-7 1-6 in 2 hours, 13 minutes to the .
Pune beat Delhi 26-31 in PKL-6
Puneri Paltan defeated Dabang Delhi 31-26 to register their sixth win in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 6 here on Wednesday.
I-League: Real Kashmir stun defending champs Minerva
Debutants Real Kashmir on Wednesday stunned holders Minerva Punjab by a solitary goal in an I-League match at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Wednesday.