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L Sarita Devi defends her decision to refuse bronze medal at Asiad, says it was for India

New Delhi, Oct 03 (ANI): Indian boxer L Sarita Devi, who has been shrouded in controversy at the 17th Asian Games at Incheon, on Friday defended her refusal to accept the bronze medal. Her refusal to accept her bronze medal on the podium went against the values of sportsmanship, Asian Games organisers had said, adding they were reviewing the incident and could take action against her. Devi refused to wear the medal when it was presented to her on October 01, taking it only in her hand before trying to drape it over another competitor who had beaten her in a fight the previous day. Devi had to settle for the bronze medal after losing her lightweight semi-final on Tuesday (September 30) to South Korea's Park Ji-na, who was declared a unanimous 3-0 winner. However, the boxer defended her actions, saying she did it for her country.

Asian Games: India bags gold in Hockey, beats Paksitan

New Delhi, Oct 02 (ANI): India bagged gold at the 17th Asian games after Indian hockey men's team defeated Pakistan in the finals. India beat Pakistan 4-2 in penalties to win gold and a place in Rio Olympics. The team scored 4th and 5th goal to add another gold to India's medal tally. The team was lead by Sreejesh. The Indian hockey team had last won Asian Games gold in 1998 in Bangkok. The Indian women's relay team consisting of Priyanka Pawar, Tintu Luka, Mandeep Kaur and Poovamma also bagged a gold 4x400m women's relay with the perfect timing of 3:28.68.

Swedish soccer legend Ljungberg hopes to inspire youth in ISL

Mumbai, Oct 02 (ANI): Former Arsenal player and Swedish captain Freddie Ljungberg, who will be playing for Mumbai FC in Indian Super League (ISL), said that he wanted to inspire youngsters through his game. The attacking midfielder was a part of Arsenal's famed "Invincibles" who went unbeaten in winning the 2003-04 English title. Addressing mediapersons in Mumbai, Ljungberg said he wanted to train kids in football in a cricket-mad nation. He added that he was ready to help Indian players to enhance their soccer skills. The 37-year old said he was impressed by the commitment of the franchise owners and that it was a great start to the new project.

Jwala Gutta congratulates Mary Kom on winning gold medal at Asian Games

Hyderabad, Oct 1 (ANI): Badminton player Jwala Gutta on Wednesday congratulated boxer Mary Kom for winning gold medal at the Asian Games. The Indian boxing icon bagged gold in the women's 48-51 kilograms final in the Asian Games going on in Incheon, South Korea. Kom defeated Kazakhstan's Zhaina Shekerbekova 3-1 in the Seonhak gym.

Asian Games 2014: Mary Kom wins India's 7th Gold medal

New Delhi, Oct 1 (ANI): Boxer M C Mary Kom on Wednesday won Gold for India at the Asian Games 2014. The five-time World champion beated Kazakhstan's Zhaina Shekerbekova in the final match. Mary Kom won India's 7th gold medal in the Women's Fly (48-51kg) category. Mary had won a bronze in the 2010 Asian Games and the 2012 Olympic Games before taking a break from the sport.

Yogeshwar Dutt clinches historic gold in wrestling, India India secures eighth position at Asiad

New Delhi, Sep 28 (ANI): Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt on Sunday bagged historic gold and with this win India secured eighth position at the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, South Korea. Dutt after beating Zalimkhan Yusupov of Tajikistan in men's 65kg freestyle added fourth gold in India's medal tally. Dutt's coach Satpal commenting on his historic win said that Dutt has given him the best gift and he is very proud to be Dutt's coach. Adding to the laurels, Khushbir Kaur became the first woman to win a medal in 20km Race Walking as she clinched silver for India on Day 9 of the Asian Games 2014.

Asian Games: Khushbir Kaur bags 20km race walk silver; tennis bronze for Yuki

New Delhi, Sep 28 (ANI): Khushbir Kaur on Sunday became the first Indian woman to clinch a 20km Race Walk silver medal in the Asian Games by bettering her personal best and setting a new national record in the process. This is the biggest triumph of Khushbir's promising career after the bronze medal she won at this year's Asian Walking Championships bronze in Japan. She was the first Indian woman to achieve such a feat. Meanwhile, Yuki Bambri settled for bronze medal after he lost his semifinals match against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka in three sets 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. It is India's first medal in tennis with four more assured by the tennis players in other events that will follow up later in the day.

Roger Federer replaces Rafael Nadal in IPTL due to 'health problems'

New Delhi, Sept 23 (ANI): Roger Federer replaced Rafael Nadal in the inaugural International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) line-up, while organisers pulled off a coup after naming Swiss maestro as replacement for the injured Spaniard. Fourteen times grand slam winner Nadal dealt a big blow to the fledgling tournament by pulling out of the Indian franchise citing 'health problems'. The event begins on November 28 to December 13. Federer will be spearheading the 'Indian Aces', the League's Indian franchise with Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna and Fabrice Santoro as the other team-mates. Founder of IPTL, Mahesh Bhupathi said that due to injury Nadal might not be making too many commitments, therefore, the next name that could come to mind was that of Federer's.

Abhinav Bindra bags two bronze medals at 2014 Asian Games, announces retirement

New Delhi, Sept 23 (ANI): India has a realistic chance to improve their golden tally on Day 4 of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon of South Korea on Tuesday. While Abhinav Bindra fired two bronze medals (team and individual), a historic squash gold beckons Saurav Ghosal. Ghosal is a win away from a historic squash gold. Abhinav Bindra, Sanjeev Rajput, Ravi Kumar bagged team bronze for India in 10m air rifle event. Bindra confirmed yesterday his decision to call time on his professional shooting career and that Day 4 at the Asian Games would be his last day as an India shooter.

First-ever veterans' football tournament held in Guwahati

Guwahati, Sep 21 (ANI): The first ever 'Challenge Veteran Football' began in Guwahati to refresh and rejuvenate soccer players past their prime. The two-day event which was inaugurated by eminent journalist and writer, Homen Borgohainon, on September 20 was organized with the aim to encourage young footballers and also pay respect to the ex-players who contributed to the game. United Brothers Club (UBC), the main organizer of the tournament, said that the event has given players a platform to sweat it out at 40 plus and a motivation to stay fit and healthy through playing this game. The tournament will be a prelude to the Indian Super League which is scheduled to begin in October. A player, Abdul Azim Lashkar said that playing at this age was a challenge but pleasure.

Jitu Rai leads India to team bronze in 10m Air Pistol at Asian Games 2014

New Delhi, Sep 21 (ANI): Continuing their good show in the 17th Asian Games on Sunday, Indian men settled for a bronze medal after narrowly missing the silver in the 10m air pistol event at the Ongnyeon shooting range. Shooting star Jitu Rai entered the eight-man final as the second best qualifier but could not stand on the podium after finishing fifth, a day after clinching the 50m gold. Jitu Rai clinched a historic gold in the 50m Pistol event on the opening day of the Asian Games at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range in Incheon on Saturday.

India bags two medals on Day-1 of 2014 Asian Games

New Delhi, Sept 20 (ANI): India bagged two medals at the 17th Asian Games in South Korea's Incheon making a good start at the prestigious games. Shweta Chaudhary shot the first medal for India in the 2014 Asian Games after she won the bronze in the women's 10m air pistol at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range. Later, Jitu Rai brought pride to the nation after he bagged gold in 50m air pistol event. Rai created history with a Commonwealth and Asian Games double gold. He has been in sensational form in 2014 winning 6 international medals since June. The Asian games opened on Friday amidst celebrations with fireworks and carefully crafted dance routines

Indian Super League will lift Indian soccer: Del Piero

New Delhi, Sept 20 (ANI): Alessandro Del Piero's two-year Sydney FC stint helped raise A-League's profile and the former Juventus great is confident of making a similar impact as the face of the Indian Super League (ISL), which kicks off next month. After 19 trophy-laden years at Juventus and the Australia sojourn, Del Piero landed in New Delhi on September 18, making an unlikely stop on an illustrious career as a 'marquee' player of ISL's Delhi franchise as well as the league's brand ambassador. That he takes the new job seriously was evident as after a 24-hour flight from Los Angeles he headed straight to the ground where his Delhi team mates were practicing and was back to face the media on September 19 under a harsh sun near the parking lot at the Delhi University Stadium. Del Piero said it was his quest to experience soccer in different cultures that took him first to Australia and now to India.

Asian Games opens in style

Incheon, Sept 20 (ANI): The 17th Asian Games opened in a multi-coloured blaze of fireworks and carefully crafted dance routines on September 19, as athletes from the world's most populous region came together in pursuit of gold and glory in South Korea. An array of Olympians and regional sports stars will compete over 15 days of competition in Incheon where South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Olympic chief Thomas Bach were among the powerful figures watching a vivid opening ceremony. Athletes dressed in colourful national garb, sharp suits and comfortable tracksuits waved to a crowd of 60,000, who offered enthusiastic welcomes to delegations from 45 countries including the South's belligerent neighbour, North Korea.

Indian boxers' preparations in full swing ahead of 2014 Asian Games in Incheon

Patiala, Sep 17 (ANI): Eyeing a rich haul of medals, including several golds, the Indian boxers have been sweating and toiling at the last training camp before leaving for the Asian Games in South Korea's Incheon. The boxers, who returned from recently-ended Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with a less-than-expected five medals, are training to perfect the knock-out punch for the September 19-October 4 event. Shiva Thapa, one of the boxers who will be representing India at the Asian Games, said the training had gone as per plan and the squad was feeling fighting-fit. Manoj Kumar said Indian boxers were feeling very confident going into the event and expected to come back with a bag full of medals. Akhil Kumar, who has been training hard at the National Institute of Sports camp in Patiala, said the standard of boxing had improved dramatically over the past few years and there were no clear favourites.

Marin Cilic overpowers Kei Nishikori to win US Open

New Delhi, Sep 09 (ANI): Croatia's Marin Cilic swept past Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 6-3 to win the US Open in New York and reach the pinnacle of the sport one year after a doping ban kept him out of the year's final grand slam. The big-serving Croatian overwhelmed a weary Nishikori in one hour, 54 minutes to clinch a ruthless victory and deny his 10th-seeded opponent's bid to become the first Asian man to win a grand slam. The two players walked onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court under overcast skies watched by their grand slam winning coaches Goran Ivanisevic and Michael Chang.

Serena Williams wins US Open

New Delhi, Sep 08 (ANI): World number one Serena Williams swept past good friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3 6-3 in the US Open final to win her 18th grand slam title. It was the third straight and sixth US Open crown for the 32-year-old American. Having failed to get beyond the last 16 of the year's first three slams, Williams sailed through the US Open without dropping a set, finishing off Wozniacki in a snappy 75 minutes. For the 10th seeded Wozniacki, back in a grand slam final for the first time in five years, it was another frustrating end to a promising fortnight as she once again left Flushing Meadows empty handed, a major title still beyond her grasp.

Michael Chopra joins Tendulkar-owned team in new Indian soccer league

Mumbai, Aug 22 (ANI): Former Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra was picked by the Kerala Blasters, co-owned by cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar, in an international draft for the upcoming Indian Super League. A total of 49 foreign players were drafted during the session for the eight-franchise league, which is slated to run from October 12 to December 20. Seven players have been directly recruited by the teams. Chopra, who has also played for a host of other Premier League clubs, was the only English player in the draft, which was held at a Mumbai hotel overlooking the Arabian Sea. Addressing the media persons General Manager (GM) of Kerala Blasters, Viren Disilva expressed his happiness on having Chopra as part of their team.

Sushil Kumar gets a rousing welcome after returning from CWG

New Delhi, Aug 02 (ANI): Wrestler Sushil Kumar got a rousing welcome after returning home from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Galsgow, where he bagged a gold medal in wrestling. The Glasgow Commonwealth Games saw many young sportsmen rising to fame with their extraordinary performances, adding to the medals tally for India. Two time Olympic winner Sushil Kumar, too, bagged the gold medal in men's 74 kg freestyle category by defeating Pakistan's Qamar Abbas.

India's medal tally reaches 26 in Commonwealth Games with fourth position in hand

New Delhi, July 29 (ANI): India added four more medals to its Commonwealth Games 2014 tally on Day 5. Shooter Jitu Rai kept his reputation intact by clinching the gold medal and Gurpal Singh bagged silver in the 50m pistol event. Gagan Narang, taking part for the first time in the 50m Rifle prone event had to be content with a silver as the shooters did the bulk of the medal shopping during the day. Weightlifter Vikas Thakur added another silver when he came second in the 85kg category late on Day 5.