Chennai, Sep 16 (PTI) Ask any international cricketer worth his salt and he would tell you about how important the second season is after a stellar first season. If sky-rocketing expectations are one aspect of it, the other part comprises of opposition’s familiarity with his game and enough on-ground material available for dissection. As Yashasvi Jaiswal eyes to beat second season blues, he can consider himself lucky that that he gets to face Jasprit Bumrah in the nets, the best in the business that you want to face before real action begins. During Monday’s net session, Bumrah repeatedly made short…
Author: Team Spogonews
Hulunbuir (China), Sep 16 (PTI) Skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s sublime form resulted in twin strikes as defending champions India entered the final of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy with a clinical 4-1 win against South Korea in the semi-final here on Monday. India scored through Uttam Singh (13th minute), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (19th, 45th) and Jarmanpreet Singh (32nd), while Korea’s lone goal came from through Yang Jihun (33rd)’s penalty corner conversion. India will take on hosts China in Tuesday’s final. Earlier in the day, China defeated Pakistan 2-0 via shoot-out in the first semifinal after the two teams finished 1-1 at…
New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Olympic medallists Sakshi Malik and Aman Sehrawat, along with former world championship bronze-winner Geeta Phogat, on Monday announced that they would soon launch a Wrestling Champions Super League (WCSL) for the country’s budding grapplers but are yet to get the national federation’s backing for it. Sakshi, along with Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat, had spearheaded the wrestlers’ protest against ousted Wrestling Federation of India President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexual harassment. She has, however, distanced herself from the latter two after they took the political plunge by joining Congress ahead of…
Mumbai, Sep 16 (PTI) Indian players have been working on their mental strength for a “long time” which should help the team in overcoming hurdles, says skipper Harmanpreet Kaur ahead of the upcoming women’s T20 World Cup next month. India, who finished as runner-up in the 2020 edition of the tournament, are placed in Group A along with six-time winners and defending champions Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Kaur said on Monday that the Indian players have been working on the mental aspect to bring out their best in crucial moments. “We have been working on mental strength…
Napa (California, US), Sep 16 (PTI) Indian-American golfer Sahith Theegala was unable to find the necessary extra zip on the final day and shot an even par 72 for a tied seventh-place finish at the Procore Championship here, the FedExCup Fall season’s opening event. Theegala, the winner last year, closed with a 72 to tie for fifth at 12-under 276. He shot 69-66-69-72 and was 12-under 276 and eight shots behind the winner, Patton Kizzire. Kizzire, meanwhile, returned to the winner’s circle after a long gap, shooting a scrambling 2-under 70 for a tournament-record, five-stroke victory. Kizzire had gone 176…
Dubai, Sep 16 (PTI) Sri Lanka players Dunith Wellalage and Harshitha Samarawickrama were on Monday named as the ICC Players of the Month for August 2024.The rare double for Sri Lanka comes after Wellalage excelled in a home ODI series against India and Samarawickrama hit a purple patch on a tour of Ireland.The only previous instance of players from the same country winning the awards in the same month was when Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana were named the Players of the Month in June this year.Wellalage won the coveted monthly award ahead of South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj and…
Budapest, Sep 16 (PTI) Defending champion Ding Liren says his Indian challenger D Gukesh can be considered the favourite to win their eagerly-anticipated world chess title showdown in November, conceding that he has “dropped a lot” in the last one year. The two are currently competing in the 45th Chess Olympiad here and the Indian team has been on a roll with five consecutive victories. The quartet of Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi currently occupy the top spot alongside Liren’s China and hosts Hungary. “I can see my opponent (Gukesh) playing extremely well in this tournament. Maybe…
Budapest, Sep 16 (PTI) Defending champion Ding Liren says his Indian challenger D Gukesh can be considered the favourite to win their eagerly-anticipated world chess title showdown in November, conceding that he has “dropped a lot” in the last one year. The two are currently competing in the 45th Chess Olympiad here and the Indian team has been on a roll with five consecutive victories. The quartet of Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaise currently occupy the top spot alongside Liren’s China and hosts Hungary. “I can see my opponent (Gukesh) playing extremely well in this tournament. Maybe…
Budapest, Sep 16 (PTI) Backed by the two in-form stars in World Championship challenger D Gukesh and Arjun Erigaise, the Indian men scored a 3-1 victory over Azerbaijan in the fifth round of the 45th Chess Olympiad here. It seems like Gukesh and Arjun can do nothing wrong in this Olympiad as they overpowered Aydin Sulemanli and Rauf Mamedov respectively with their white pieces in quick time. Praggnanandhaa played another draw on board two to only ensure an Indian victory while Vidit Gujrathi played out a draw with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in a marathon game to complete the triumph. After scoring…
Kochi, Sep 15 (PTI) Punjab FC secured a stoppage time 2-1 victory over Kerala Blasters FC to kick off their Indian Super League (ISL) campaign here on Sunday.The game looked set to end in a goalless draw, despite exciting efforts from both sides until the final 10 minutes of the contest and deep into the stoppage time.It was a close affair until then, with offensive lines of both teams giving each other a tough run, stretching the backlines.However, the livewire Punjab attacker Leon Augustine earned a spot-kick in the 86th minute that skipper Luka Majcen converted into a goal with…