Page 981 - Sports
Khalin Joshi fires 64; joins Siddikur in lead at Panasonic Open India
Khalin Joshi on Saturday raised hopes of a seventh Indian win in eight editions of the Panasonic Open India, firing the week's best card of eight-under 64 to grab a share of the lead with Bangladesh's Siddikur Rahman here. Joshi is still looking for his first Asian Tour win, despite two runner-up finishes in Bangladesh (Bangladesh Open in 2015) and Bengaluru (Take Solutions Masters in 2017). Siddikur, on the other hand, stayed in the hunt for his second Asian Tour title at the Delhi Golf Club, where he won his last Asian Tour title -- the Hero Indian Open -- in 2013. Ajeetesh Sandhu (70), who was the best-placed Indian on the first two days, stayed one stroke behind the leaders at third spot with a total of 12-under 204. Joshi produced a smooth 64 with nine birdies and a bogey, while Siddikur battled to two-under 70 with pars in each of his last seven holes, where he missed a bunch of chances. The duo is now 13-under 203. Joshi has three wins on the PGTI but none on the Asian Tour, ...
Rahane, Kishan star in India C's Deodhar triumph
Ajinkya Rahane's patience trumped Shreyas Iyer's flamboyance in a 'battle of captains', leading India C to the Deodhar Trophy title triumph with a 29-run win over India B here Saturday. Rahane dropped anchor to score an unbeaten 144 off 156 balls while the young Ishan Kishan smashed his way to an 87-ball 114 during their opening stand of 210, which took the C team's score to 352 for seven in 50 overs. In reply, Shreyas Iyer hit eight sixes in his 148 off 114 balls, but India B finished on 323 in 46.1 overs. Iyer's hundred was easily the best of the three tons but lack of support from the other end hurt the B team captain as he fought a lonely battle for the better part before getting dismissed by leg-spinner Rahul Chahar while trying to slog sweep. There was a heated moment as Rahul Chahar gave him a send-off and Iyer was seen angrily charging towards him. However, things were under control shortly. The most significant stand was the 116-run partnership for the second wicket with ...
3rd ODI: India restrict West Indies to 283/9
A disciplined Indian bowling attack restricted the West Indies to a healthy 283/9 in the third One Day International (ODI) of the five-match rubber at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) stadium here on Saturday.
Shillong Lajong play hosts to Aizawl FC
Shillong Lajong FC will play host to Aizawl FC in their first game of the Hero I-League here Sunday. Shillong Lajong have so far never lost a home match against the Mizo rivals in the league. Shillong go into their 12th Hero I-League campaign as the only team other than the Indian Arrows to not have any foreigners in their squad and as such will be up against it against a strong Aizawl FC squad. The home team has Alison Kharsyntiew in the saddle since last year and it is an advantage as he has been with their academy setup for long. It will be the boys he has trained over the years who will be the cornerstones of the Shillong campaign this year. Shillong will be led by exciting 20-year old midfielder Samuel Lalmuanpuia. He had a wonderful season last year with some fine displays and has scored seven goals so far in what will be his third I-League stint with Lajong. Kenstar Kharsong and Rakesh Pradhan will lead the Shillong defense, both bringing in the experience of having been a part
Pune City set for daunting Goa challenge
FC Pune City have a tough job on their hands as they make their journey to FC Goa to take on the in-form hosts in the Indian Super League here Sunday. Not only are they playing against a team which just blew Mumbai City FC to smithereens in a 5-0 rout, they have also decided to part ways with coach Miguel Angel Portugal. A lacklustre start to the season which saw the Stallions fall to two defeats and a draw cost Portugal his job. They have been listless in front of goal despite having the attacking riches of Emiliano Alfaro and Marcelinho. Pune have scored just the one goal in the three games so far which makes for difficult reading for a team which had one of the best attacking records last season. "We do have strikers who can be contenders for the Golden Boot or top assists in this league. It's just a matter of them finding form and us giving them the supply line so that they can score more goals," said Pune City interim coach Pradyum Reddy. In the absence of Portugal, the task for .
Esqueda double helps East Bengal beat Neroca
The visiting East Bengal notched a comfortable 2-0 win over Neroca FC in the I-League here Saturday, with Mexican recruit Enrique Esqueda scoring both the goals. The match saw the home side dominate possession but their opponents always looked in control, particularly following Esqueda's early strike in the 10th minute. Esqueda doubled the lead through a penalty in early second-half to seal the deal for the Kolkata giants at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium. The game gave enough evidence of the quality the two sides possess but the day belonged to East Bengal who logged full points in what was a satisfactory result for newly appointed Spanish coach Alejandro Menendez Garcia. The home team incidentally also had a new Spanish coach and Manuel Fraile opted to start with a flat 4-4-2 formation. With Subash Singh and Nigerian Felix Chidi up front, Japanese Katsumi Yusa was left to lead the attack from midfield against his former club. Australian Aryn Williams was supposed to play as the ...
Bumrah returns four-wicket haul on comeback but West Indies post 283/9 in 3rd ODI
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah denied Shai Hope a second-consecutive century on his way to a four-wicket haul but the West Indies made a superb recovery after a shaky start to post a respectable 283 for nine against India in the third One-day International, here Saturday. Returning to the team after being rested for the first two matches, Bumrah emerged the most effective bowler, conceding just 35 in his 10 overs. Bumrah sent both the visiting openers -- Kieran Powell (21) and Chanderpaul Hemraj (15) -- in his first spell to give India a solid start and later dismissed Hope and Ashley Nurse (40). Hope, who had struck an unbeaten 123 in the Visakhapatnam ODI, played a significant role in reviving the Caribbean innings with his 95-run knock, which came off 113 balls. Towards the end, Nurse and Kemar Roach (15 not out) added crucial 56 runs for the ninth wicket, taking the side close to 300-run mark. The West Indies batsmen got starts but could not convert them into big knocks and also struggled .
Simona Halep becomes first recipient of Chris Evert WTA World No.1 Trophy
World number one Simona Halep has become the first recipient of the Chris Evert Women's Tennis Association (WTA) World No.1 Trophy, named after WTA's first-ever world number one, Chris Evert.The 27-year-old, who lifted her maiden Grand Slam title at the Roland Garros and claimed the WTA Year-End world number one singles award for the second consecutive year, said that she is delighted to become the first receiver of the trophy."I'm very happy to be the first player to hold the Chris Evert WTA World No.1 Trophy. Chris is one of the greatest players of all time and I think it's great that she is being honoured this way," WTA quoted Halep, as saying.With a total of 157 titles, including 18 Grand Slam titles, Evert held the top spot for 260 weeks.Reflecting on her name carved on the trophy, 63-year-old Evert said, "I'm honoured and privileged to have my name on this trophy."When quizzed about what makes her universally admired, Evert said that for her, it was important to be a good sport .
Rahane, Kishan tons guide India C to Deodhar Trophy title
India C rode on excellent centuries from skipper Ajinkya Rahane and stumper Ishan Kishan to beat India B by 29 runs and lift the Deodhar Trophy 2018-19 at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Saturday.
Mahak shocks higher-ranked Russian Yana in Mumbai Open
India's Mahak Jain pulled off a surprise three-set win over higher ranked Yana Sizikova to enter the second and last qualifying round of the USD 125,000 WTA L&T Mumbai Open tennis championship Saturday. Seventeen-year-old wild card Mahak, who hails from Bhopal, put her first serves in on a consistent basis to get past her Russian rival, seeded sixth in the qualifiers, 3-6 6-3 7-5 in 2 hours and 18 minutes to get into the second qualifying round in the singles. The Russian, with a world rank of 374, blew hot and cold on her serve as she hit seven aces, but also committed eight double faults, that helped the Indian to fight her way back. Mahak, ranked a distant 658 in the world, will take on second seed Hiroko Kuwata on Sunday for a place in the 32-strong singles main draw commencing on October 29. Also through to the second qualifying round was Pranjala Yadlapalli, seeded third in this phase, who put out compatriot Mihika Yadav quite easily 6-3 6-0. Pranjala will take
BWF French Open: India's singles campaign ends; Satwik-Chirag in semis
India's challenge in singles events at the French Open BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament came to a disappointing end after star shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth, joined senior pro Saina Nehwal in being ousted from the quarter-final round.
Paddler Ayhika bags silver, Anthony-Sanil take bronze at Belgium Open
Indias young table tennis player Ayhika Mukherjee put up a stellar show in the ITTF Challenge Belgium Open 2018, winning the silver medal in the Under-21 womens singles category here.
I-League: Minerva begin title defence vs Churchill at home (Preview)
Defending Champions Minerva Punjab FC, begin their I-League title defence with a home game against Goan giants Churchill Brothers Sports Club at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Sunday.
Indian women all set to handle pressure in World T20, says
The Indian women's team, bound for the West Indies to take part in next month's Women's World T20, has tried out various permutations and combinations to handle different kinds of pressure in the tournament, team coach Ramesh Powar said on Saturday. "We tried to put them under pressure during power play and when chasing. The good thing is the youngsters - they are fearless. I don't feel them succumbing under pressure," said the former Mumbai and India off-spinner at the pre-departure press conference here. It was the failure to handle pressure that cost India dear in the July 23, 2017 final of the ICC Women's 50-over World Cup against hosts England when they collapsed to 219 all out when seemingly all set to reach the target of 229 at 191 for 3. "This team is more of dominance rather than competing. We tried to put the players under pressure in the last eight games that we played. At times we played only with one seamer to put pressure on the spinners. We let them go ...
Dhoni being dropped akin to MeToo fire in cricket board (Column: Just Sport)
The national cricket selectors sparked a bigger conflagration than the raging 'MeToo fire engulfing Indian Cricket Board CEO Rahul Johri by quietly sending a 'thank you note to Mahendra Singh Dhoni by dropping him from the Twenty20 squad.
Holders Minerva Punjab begin title defense against Churchill Brothers
Defending champions Minerva Punjab FC begin their title defence in the Hero I-League with a home game against Goan giants Churchill Brothers here Sunday. The 'Warriors' from Punjab have a 2-1 head-to-head advantage going into the game with the former two-time winners. Both teams have new strategists at the helm in the form of Irishman Paul Munster for the champions and Romanian Petre Gigiu for the Goans and with new look squads from last year, it will be interesting to see what impressions they form at the beginning of the season. Technical director and UEFA Pro-license holder coach Paul Munster, is a 36-year old who played as a striker in Canada and comes to India after successful coaching stints in Sweden with youth teams. It should hold them in good stead because Minerva is known for their good youth setup as well as for scouting and nurturing good young talent, in their brief but impressive history so far. He sounded professional in the build-up opining and said, "We are the ...
Ayhika wins silver, Anthony-Sanil clinch bronze at Belgium Open
Indian table tennis player Ayhika Mukherjee settled for a silver medal after going down 1-3 to Korea's Youjin Kim in the final of the ITTF Challenge Belgium Open in the under-21 women's singles category. Anthony Amalraj and Sanil Shetty too fought their way into the medals' bracket, bagging a bronze in the men's doubles. Ayhika put up a brave fight in the summit clash but Kim proved to be a tough nut to crack in the end. In the semifinals, Ayhika had defeated Hong Kong's Chengzhu Zhu 3-1 to enter the finals. She had lost the first game 6-11 but showed great spirit to win the next three 11-3, 11-7, 11-8 against Chengzhu. Ayhika's impressive run in the tournament started with a 3-1 win against Poland's Natalia Bajor in the round of 32. Compatriot Sreeja Akula also beat Alina Nikitchanka of Belarus by a 3-0 margin to enter the prequarters. However, Archana Kamath and Moumita Dutta bowed out with defeats. In the pre-quarters, Ayhika downed France's Audrey Zarif 3-0 but Sreeja lost to ...
Broad completes triple century as ICC match referee
Former English batsman Chris Broad on Saturday became only the second ICC match referee to officiate in 300 One-day Internationals (ODI) when he walked out for the toss in the third of the five-match ODI rubber between India and the West Indies in Pune.
Spain's Marquez claims 6th pole of season for Australian MotoGP
Spanish rider Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) on Saturday clinched his sixth pole of the year ahead of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix race.
India's U-19 women's football team faces Thailand test
The Indian team will look to get back to winning ways when it takes on Thailand in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship Qualifiers here Sunday. India suffered a shocking 0-2 defeat at the hands of Nepal in their previous game. Despite the fact that the players are disappointed after the loss, head coach Alex Ambrose was optimistic, saying that the girls can learn a lot from such matches. "They are not too happy about the result yesterday. But again, it's all about the exposure that they get, at this age," said Ambrose. "It was a tough game, but they will learn from mistakes like these." "They have to believe in themselves. Playing international teams is important for the players. The more they play, the better they get," he continued. "That's where implementing the things on the pitch begins. Once they do that, the results will automatically come." Currently, Thailand stand at the top of the group with six points from two games, followed by Nepal and India, who have three points from two