Hove, Aug 14 (Cricket News) India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara smashed his way to a career-best List A score of 174, notching up his second hundred in a span of 48 hours as Sussex amassed a mammoth 378 for 6 against Surrey in the Royal London Cup One Day Championship on Sunday.

On Friday, Pujara had caned the Warwickshire attack en route his 79-ball 107 albeit in a losing cause.

On Sunday, Sussex batted first on a small county ground at Hove, and were 9/2 inside first four overs when Tom Clark (104 off 106 balls) and Pujara joined forces to add 205 runs for the third wicket.

Pujara, who has a near 55 average in List A cricket, scored his 13th hundred in the 50-over format and in all faced 131 balls from which he hit 20 fours and five sixes.

By the time he was dismissed in the 48th over, Pujara had nearly scored half of his team's runs (350) at that time.

Pujara hit a six each off pacers Matt Dunn, Conor McKerr and Ryan Patel. Spinners Amar Virdi and Yousef Majid were also tonked for a maximum each.

Krunal gets 3 for Warwickshire --------------------------------- At the Grace Road ground in Leicester, left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya emerged as the most successful bowler for Warwickshire with figures of 3/69 against Leicestershire in another List A game.

Pandya's victims were Louis Kimber (78), South African international Wiaan Mulder (68) and Aaron Lilley (33).

Leicestershire scored 338 for 8 in 50 overs.

Umesh Yadav gets 2 for Middlesex ------------------------------------- Veteran Indian Test pacer Umesh Yadav continued his good showing for Middlesex in the ongoing 50-over competition with figures of 2/58 from 10 overs with wickets of Somerset openers Andrew Umeed (10) and skipper James Rew (114).

Umesh currently has 13 wickets from four games with a five-for and four-for under his belt. Somerset scored 335 for 6 in 50 overs.

Navdeep Saini goes wicketless for Kent ------------------------------------------ Out of favour India pacer Navdeep Saini had figures of 0/43 for Kent against Northamptonshire, who were bowled out for 210 on the day.

While Saini went wicketless, this was the least number of runs that he has conceded in Royal London Cup so far, having gone for above 61, 71 and 68 runs in his previous three appearances.

Women's Hundred: Jemimah out for 2 but team wins --------------------------------------------------------- Jemimah Rodrigues was dismissed cheaply for 2 but her team Northern Superchargers beat London Spirit by five runs in 'The Hundred Women's Competition' game at Leeds.

Rodrigues was clean-bowled to a leg-cutter from seamer Freya Davies.

Also Read : Zimbabwe ODIs: With Rahul back as opener, Gill might have to come in at No. 3

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 14 (Cricket News) The ODI series against Zimbabwe will be KL Rahul's dress rehearsal before the Asia Cup and hence he is all set to replace Shubman Gill at the top-of the order alongside Shikhar Dhawan for the upcoming games.

With T20 World Cup being paramount and Gill not exactly in the scheme of things as far as shortest format is concerned, he might be handed a number 3 slot in order to ensure that his captain gets enough game-time before the continental championship in the UAE, starting August 27.

This provided all three are fit and available for all the games in the series.

While there will be no Rahul Dravid heading the team of support staff for the short three-match series, starting August 18 in Harare, NCA head VVS Laxman is almost certain to follow the blue-print set by the head coach.

Rahul's comeback also creates problems for young Gill, who has had a stellar 50-over series in the West Indies, where he scored 64, 43 and 98 not out in three games to win the 'Player of the Series' award.

So will Rahul allow Gill to continue his good form at the top of the order or perch himself out there at the onset with one eye on the Asia Cup? "I think Shubman is being groomed in the right way by the Indian team management. While he has done exceedingly well in the Caribbean ODIs, what I can gauge from this team's philosophy is prepare players for multiple slots. Hence I feel for this particular series, Shubman might have to come in at No. 3," former national selector and Test opener Devang Gandhi gave his viewpoint on the issue.

Agreed Deep Dasgupta, another former India player and now a commentator.

"I agree it is difficult after you have had such a good series. But currently, the aim would be to prepare Rahul for the Asia Cup T20's opening slot. He needs to get a lot of batting time and that's a priority. I think it will be a short-term arrangement as Shubman I feel is being groomed as an opener for the ODI World Cup," Dasgupta, currently commentating in 'The Hundred', said.

In the 50-over set-up since the home series against England in 2021, Rahul was being seen as a middle-order anchor rather than an opener but once he was the skipper in the ODI series in South Africa, he had promoted himself as an opener.

But the last ODI that he played was against West Indies in Ahmedabad, where with both Rohit Sharma and Dhawan present, Rahul was back in the middle-order.

So won't it be unfair to Gill if he isn't opening the innings? Gandhi feels otherwise.

"Look, No.3 is a proper top-order slot. He might have to come in as early as second ball of the innings and that is as good as opening the batting. Also my hunch is that once Rahul has enough game time under his belt, he will again bat middle-order with Gill being prepared for 2023 event," Gandhi said. 

Also Read : Shakib Al Hasan appointed Bangladesh T20 captain for Asia Cup, T20 World Cup

News Source : PTI

Kolkata, Aug 14 (Football News) Defending champions FC Goa will clash with local giants Mohammedan Sporting Club in the opening Group A game of the 131st Durand Cup here on Tuesday.

FC Goa had claimed their maiden Durand Cup title after beating Mohammedan Sporting 1-0 in the summit clash of the last edition in October last year.

The first game of the tournament gets underway amidst a build-up which saw a Trophy tour of five-cities including Guwahati and Imphal, the two first time host cities.

The Goan side is brimming with young talent and Mohammedan Sporting coach Andrey Chernyshov of Russia reiterated the importance of a win to open the season.

"We all remember that we lost to FC Goa in the last final. Of course, this will give us additional motivation in this match," he said in a release.

"But we also understand that this is the opening match of the tournament and is an additional excitement. We have lot of new players that we want to see in serious games. Therefore, it is very important for us to start the tournament with a win." The Gaurs, who are being managed by Deggie Cardozo this time look to grasp the opportunity of performing on the big stage.

The young side will be led by Muhammed Nemil, who first caught Sunil Chetri's attention during the previous edition of the Durand with a wonder goal.

Phrangki Buam and Ayush Chetri also lend a lot of solidity to the line-up.

"We're excited to kick-start our Durand Cup campaign on Tuesday. They may have done their homework but so have we, and our focus is completely on ourselves and what we can do to get a good result," Cardozo said.

"Starting the tournament on a positive note, with a good result is important and that is what we hope to do on Tuesday. That the match will be held in front of fans gives us some extra motivation." The Black and White brigade, on the other hand, have retained the nucleus of last year's squad with Trinidadian marksman Marcus Joseph still leading the lines. Milan Singh in midfield and Abhishek Ambekar will bring in the experience, while the likes of Tajik national-team recruit Nuriddin Davronov brings in the likely x-factor.

Star singers at Opening Ceremony =============================== The build-up to the game will see a short and lively opening ceremony, with bands of the Armed Forces on display as well as a performance by star singers Papon and Rewben Mashangwa, of the tournament theme song.

The ceremony will conclude with the playing of the FIFA Theme song. 

Also Read : Don't pay too much attention: Chhetri tells players on FIFA ban threat

News Source : PTI

Tokyo, Aug 14 (Motor Sports News) IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team earned a point with Senthil Kumar finishing 15th in round 3 of 2022 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) here on Sunday.

In his first stint at the Sportsland SUGO international circuit, Senthil managed to bounce back from a DNF in race 1 to claim a point for the team.

However, teammate Rajiv Sethu, who had finished fifth on Saturday, could not recover from the mistake in the initial laps and finished the race in 17th Position.

The duo of Senthil and Rajiv battled their hardest with 17 best of Asian riders from six countries (Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) in Asia Production 250cc (AP250) class.

With four riders crashing out in the last lap, it proved to be a challenging race for everyone.

Senthil however, took advantage and sped up to jump ahead on the leaderboard to come in contention for winning some coveted points.

"Learning from my mistakes of yesterday I wanted to perform better today. I am happy to have bagged a point for the team and it is only with their support and guidance that this was possible," he said. 

Also Read : Formula 1 team Williams retains Alex Albon on a multi-year deal

News Source : PTI

Bengaluru, Aug 14 (Football News) Seasoned striker Sunil Chhetri on Sunday advised fellow players to continue giving their best on the pitch and not worry about FIFA's threat of suspension on Indian football.

Earlier this month, world football governing body FIFA had threatened to suspend the AIFF and strip off its right to host the women's U-17 World Cup in October due to a third party "influence", the warning coming just days after the Supreme Court's directive to hold elections of the national federation.

The SC-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) has since, though, started the electoral process. The elections are slated for August 28.

"I've spoken to the boys and my advice is to not give it too much attention because it is out of your control," Chhetri said during a virtual media interaction organised by his club Bengaluru FC in the build-up to the new season.

"People who are involved are doing their best to make sure that we are going to come out with the best results possible.

"Everyone is working hard towards it. As far as players are concerned we are going to make sure that we do our work properly.

"We have to make sure you better yourself as a player. Whenever you get an opportunity to represent your club or your country, put your best foot forward.

"All other verticals in the AIFF are trying to fix as much as possible to make sure that they come out with flying colours," he said.

India is to host the FIFA women's U-17 World Cup from October 11-30 and the Union Cabinet last month approved the Signing of Guarantees for hosting the women's age group showpiece in Bhubaneswar, Goa and Mumbai.

The Durand Cup will kick off the season in Kolkata on August 16 and Bengaluru FC will take on Jamshedpur FC on the second day of the tournament.

Having won every major national title since the team came into existence in 2013, the Blues will be desperate to add the missing Durand Cup to their trophy cabinet.

For Chhetri too, it's "very, very special" as he also has not won the oldest football competition in Asia, whose 131st edition will be held this year.

"It's very, very special. It is one of the oldest tournaments which in itself is very big. But more so for me. As a club we have not won and individually I've not won the Durand Cup.

"I've been fortunate to win a lot of tournaments, almost all the tournaments that one can in India, and the Durand Cup is missing.

"So, for me it's an added motivation. We as a club will try our best. Last year our young boys gave a good account of themselves, we want to better that." For the first time, all the 11 Indian Super League (ISL) clubs will participate in the tournament.

Trophy-less for the last couple of seasons, the BFC have had some interesting signings in former ATK Mohun Bagan marksman Roy Krishna, Javi Hernandez, Probir Das and Sandesh Jhingan.

Chhetri's pairing with Fijian star Roy Krishna may have become the talk of the town, but the India skipper tried to play it down.

"I think the pairing is over-hyped. It's not the pairing, it's just Roy. I'm just happy with Roy. We are just going to make sure that this lad is happy because we know what he can give. He has been outstanding in training.

"He has troubled us a lot in the last couple of years, so to have him wear our jersey is a pleasant feeling. We are going to sit back to keep him happy and rest we all know what he can do on the pitch.

"He's trying his best to be a part of the team, making sure that he talks to all the youngsters. He's been very chirpy.

"With so much experience he doesn't shy away from voicing his opinion. He's making sure that everyone is happy around him," Chhetri said.

Chhetri will reunite with India teammate Sandesh Jhingan at the club as the centre back returns five years after winning the Federation Cup with the team.

Terming it a "welcome addition", Chhetri said: "I wish him all the very best. I want to assure him that we are going to give him all the support he needs and also know that he's going to give everything he has for us to do well." 

Also Read : Should Manchester United listen to Erik ten Hag and buy Hakim Ziyech?

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 13 (Badminton News) India's star shuttler P V Sindhu on Saturday pulled out of the upcoming BWF World Championships owing to a stress fracture on her left foot.

In a statement which she shared on Twitter, the double Olympic medallist confirmed that she will be missing the 2022 World Championships.

Sindhu has won the World Championships gold in 2019, along with two silver medals and two bronze.

"While I am on the high of winning a gold medal at the CWG for India. Unfortunately, I have to pull out of the world championships. I felt pain and there was an injury scare at the quarter-finals of the CWG, but with the help of my coach, physio and trainer, I decided to push as far as I could," Sindhu said in the statement.

"The pain was unbearable during and post the finals. Hence I rushed for an MRI as soon as I got back to Hyderabad. The doctors confirmed a stress fracture on my left foot and recommended rest for a few weeks. I should be back to training in a few weeks. Thank you all for your support and love," she added.

The World Championships will be held in Tokyo from August 21 till August 28.

Sindhu has won the gold medal in the women's singles event at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games and revealed that she had been playing through pain at the multi-sport extravaganza.

Sindhu added a CWG singles gold to her wide array of medals with a convincing straight-game win over Canada's Michelle Li.

The world number seven from India outplayed her 13th ranked opponent 21-15 21-13 in front of a packed crowd at the NEC arena in Birmingham.

This was Sindhu's second gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, having earlier won the yellow metal in 2018 in the mixed team event. She also has one silver and one bronze in women's singles from 2018 and 2014 editions respectively.

The 27-year-old Sindhu also has two Olympic medals. She won silver in women's singles in 2016 and followed that up with a bronze medal in Tokyo last year. 

Also Read : PM Modi praises 'phenomenal' Sindhu after she wins gold at CWG

News Source : PTI

Dhaka, Aug 13 (Cricket News) The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday appointed premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan as the skipper of the T20 team for the upcoming Asia Cup, the New Zealand tri-series and the T20 World Cup.

While the Asia Cup will be held in the UAE, Australia will host the T20 showpiece in October-November.

The BCB made the announcement after weeks of uncertainty as Shakib was told by the Board to choose between playing for Bangladesh or keeping his endorsement with a "betting company" Betwinner News.

He had ended his deal with the company.

He was appointed Test captain in June after Mominul Haque stepped down.

The BCB also announced a 17-member squad for the Asia Cup, which will be played from August 27.

Bangladesh made several changes in their T20I squad for the Asia Cup, with Liton Das ruled out of the tournament due to injuries.

Middle-order batter Sabbir Rahman, who last played a T20I in 2019, returns to the squad, while Mushfiqur Rahim, who was rested for the T20I series against Zimbabwe, is also back. There was no place for Shoriful Islam, Munim Shahriar and Najmul Hossain Shanto in the team.

All-rounder Mohammad Saifuddin returned despite a recurring back problem, while fast bowler Ebadot Hossain was also included in the squad. Nurul Hasan was also named in the squad despite a finger injury, with the BCB saying they are expecting an update on him on August 21.

Bangladesh's squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Anamul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Afif Hossain, Mosaddek Hossain, Mahmudullah, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Sabbir Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Ebadot Hossain, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nurul Hasan, Taskin Ahmed. 

Also Read : Pretoria Capitals sign Anrich Nortje, Migael Pretorius for CSA T20 League

News Source : PTI 

Singapore, Aug 13 (Golf News) India's Shubhankar Sharma made a sharp move up with a solid 4-under 68 to get to 9-under which saw him rise to tied 12th in USD 1.5 million third International Series Singapore here on Saturday.

Sharma's card may have looked even better but for a late bogey on 17th. But he quickly made up for it with a birdie on 18th.

Veer Ahlawat continued to be the top Indian even though he barely made a move on the third day. He had a bogey on second and a birdie on 17th and parred the rest, while missing a handful of birdie chances for an even 72. He stayed at 10-under but slipped from overnight third to tied eighth.

Sharma had six birdies against two bogeys and looked in fine form, setting himself up for a strong challenge on the final day.

Malaysian Gavin Green (72) maintained his lead but was joined by Phachara Khongwatmai (69) from Thailand. They were both at 14-under and led by one over Chinese-Taipei's Chan Shih-chang (66) and Thailand's Nitithorn Thippong (68), who had two eagles.

Nitithorn achieved the rare feat of making two eagles on par fours on the front, on three and nine.

Chan and Nitithorn were a shot behind the leaders, following rounds of 66 and 68 respectively, while England's Steve Lewton came in with a 69 to sit a stroke further back.

Jyoti Randhawa, who turned 50 in May this year, started on the 10th and double bogeyed the 11th. But he quickly turned things around with birdies on 13th, 14th and 18th to make the turn in 1-under 35.

On the second nine he had four birdies between third and eighth for a day's work of 67 as he moved to tied 20th, up from overnight tied 46th. Randhawa's eight Asian Tour wins include one in Singapore more than two decades ago in 2000. He also won once in Japan.

Rashid Khan (71) was tied 41st as was Ajeetesh Sandhu (70), while Gaganjeet Bhullar, winner in Indonesia last week, and SSP Chawrasia, both shot 72 and were tied 57th. Aman Raj, who had a stunning hole in one on the second day shot 73 and was tied 67th. 

Aslo Read : Diksha and Aditi survive cut in Northern Ireland; Doherty leads

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 13 (Cricket News) Pretoria Capitals on Saturday announced that they have signed South African pace duo of Anrich Nortje and Migael Pretorius for the inaugural edition of Cricket South Africa's T20 League.

Parth Jindal, owner of Pretoria Capitals said, "Anrich Nortje has been an integral part of the growth and success of Delhi Capitals. So when we decided to expand our cricketing footprint to his country, he was always going to be an automatic choice for us.

"I believe Anrich will bring to Pretoria Capitals the same kind of fiery performances and off-field calmness we've seen him display at DC." Nortje, who has donned the South African colours since 2019, has played 30 games for DC over three seasons, with 43 wickets to his name.

The 27-year-old Pretorius, on the other hand, has taken over 50 domestic T20 wickets, and is yet to make his international debut.

The inaugural edition of the T20 league in South Africa will comprise six franchises, and a world-class line up of domestic and international cricketers.

The tournament will be played in January-February next year.

Also Read : Test cricket won't die in my lifetime but who'll be playing it?: Ian Chappell

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 13 (Cricket News) Australian great Ian Chappell is certain Test cricket "won't die" in his lifetime but wondered whether the best players would play it in the future amid the proliferation of T20 leagues.

The former Australia captain believed that international cricket faces a real challenge of retaining players in the face of rapid expansion of T20 leagues around the world.

"(Test cricket) won't die in my lifetime. But who'll be playing it? That's the big question," Chappell was quoted as saying by 'Wide World of Sports'.

"If you haven't got your best players, is Test cricket worth watching? The answer is probably no. Test cricket is a good game, but it's got to be well played," he added.

Chappell also spoke about the issue of Chris Lynn seeking a No-objection Certificate (NOC) from Cricket Australia to play in the UAE's ILT20.

Lynn has registered himself as a marquee player in the ILT20 but will require a No-objection Certificate (NOC) from CA to play in the league, something he may not get as the Australian cricket board also runs the Big Bash League at the same time.

Chappell said if he were at Lynn's place he would take CA to court in the event he is not given an NOC.

"To me, you then go back to the World Series Cricket days, where they took the board to court over restraint of trade. Is it a restraint of trade? "In Chris Lynn's case, if he hasn't got a contract with Cricket Australia or Cricket Queensland, what's to stop him? If I was Chris Lynn and I wanted to play in the UAE I'd take them to court. I don't think Cricket Australia would have a hope in hell.

"It's got to be a restraint of trade. You're not contracting him, but you're not letting him play either," Chappell said.

Coming back to the challenge cricket is facing, Chappell felt the expansion of T20 leagues at a rapid pace will cause huge damage to Test cricket and its future.

"I don't think there's any doubt about that. For starters, if you're being realistic you can only play Test cricket between about eight teams.

"West Indies have got a problem because they can't afford to pay their players. Sri Lanka have a reasonable infrastructure but big political problems, and South Africa is similar. Whoever thought of giving Afghanistan and Ireland Test status is off their rocker. But you know why it's been done, it's so those countries get a vote.

"To me this whole issue has been coming for quite a while, and I have no sympathy for the administrators." Chappell, who played 75 Tests for Australia, added, "I think a lot of the older players will get offers from that area, and that will be a real challenge for nations like Australia who have a lot of good players, and also for nations that can't afford to pay their players the best rates." "Then you've got the problem of the IPL franchises owning teams in different leagues around the world. If you've got a decent IPL contract and the choice is between Australia and your IPL franchise's UAE team, well are you going to put your IPL contract at risk?" 

Also Read : Afghanistan get comfortable 22-run win to keep series alive

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Watford are close to selling Emmanuel Dennis to Nottingham Forest having agreed a £20m deal for the striker Emmanuel Dennis. Forest have been on a massive recruitment spurge following promotion to the Premier League. They are still keen to improve Steve Cooper's squad to ensure that the club does not return straight back to the Championship.

The Nigerian striker scored 10 league goals in 35 appearances for Watford last season. He only scored two in his final 17 games after his blistering early season start but the Hornets were eventually relegated. He has started both of Watford's games so far in the Championship this term but is yet to find the net and did not feature in Watford's 1-0 win over Burnley on Friday. Forest are close to signing Atalanta midfielder Remo Freuler and have begun talks with former Crystal Palace midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate.

The Nigerian international impressed everyone in his first Premier League season last campaign as he was linked with numerous Premier League clubs. He was scouted by Manchester United scouts as well but they instead chose to bid for Marko Arnautovic. If the Super Eagles star could perform well in a poor team that got relegated instantly, he would have contributed much more in a team like Manchester United where he would have been surrounded by quality players but he ultimately chose Forest as United did not show any concrete interest in the player. In fact, Dennis contributed 50% of Watford's total Premier League goals last season as he scored or assisted 16 of their 32 total league appearances.

But asked about potential signings, boss Cooper said: "Until we get a player over the line there's no point in talking. It is no secret we are actively looking for players, we have been linked with more players than is actually true. [We've made] progress on some of them, others not really. We are still in that process of bringing players in and moving some out as well. It has been going on for a while and it will continue until the window closes."

Also read: Remo Freuler is set to join Nottingham Forest for €9m
 

New Delhi, Aug 13 (Hockey News) Indian women's hockey team forward Jyoti says chief coach Janneke Schopman's hands-on approach has helped her to make drastic improvements as she won a bronze medal on debut at the Commonwealth Games.

The 22-year-old was part of the Indian women's hockey team that returned to India after clinching a memorable bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, ending a 16-year medal drought at the quadrennial event.

"The players and coaching staff have really helped me improve my game. Now I feel a lot more confident while carrying the ball and my off the ball movement has improved drastically," she said in a Hockey India (HI) release.

"The coaching staff have also given me a lot of confidence to try something different and creative on the field." On the influence of Schopman, Jyoti said: "Janneke has helped me improve my game. She has taught me how to make the game simple and easy for myself, I do not ponder on the ball anymore and look to move it as swiftly as possible.

"Her hands-on approach during practice sessions has bought out the best of my abilities." Talking about her maiden appearance at the mega sporting event, Jyoti said: "Commonwealth Games was especially important for me because this was my first appearance for the team at a multi-discipline event.

"Winning the bronze medal filled us up with an immense sense of pride and joy and is a true reward for everyone's efforts connected to the team. The bronze medal has surely made this outing doubly special for me." The women's team claimed the bronze medal after pulling off a thrilling 2-1 shootout win over New Zealand after a 1-1 scoreline in regulation time.

"My whole experience of the Games was amazing. We won our matches against Ghana, Wales and Canada but lost to England in the group stages. I also understood that losing and winning will always be an important part of any tournament," she said.

"We were not favourites for a medal at the CWG 2022, but we were able to clinch the bronze medal despite all the external doubt that is why this achievement is so special as we exceeded everyone's expectations." "It is an honour for me to be part of this Indian Women’s Hockey squad, and I hope we keep improving so that we can do even better at the next tournament." 

Also Read : Have to improve as team before Hockey WC next year: Abhishek

News Source : PTI 

(Football news) Upon their return to Serie A, Lecce face a very tough task as they welcome Inter Milan to Stadio Via del Mare. Last season Lecce won the Serie B championship as they will entertain a Nerazzurri side that are intent on reclaiming the Scudetto in the 2022-23 campaign, after narrowly missing out on the Scudetto to AC Milan in May. The former Lazio manager's first season brought two trophies as they won the Supercoppa Italiana and the Coppa Italia, on each occasion they got the better of Juventus to lift the trophy.

Over the summer, Inter made some big moves in the summer as they brought in Romelu Lukaku back to the club, following his dismal time at Chelsea and now the Belgian striker will form a potent partnership with Lautaro Martinez. Milan Skriniar has been retained despite strong interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Inzaghi's revolution seems set to gather pace, but Inter's pre-season form has been inconsistent before the competitive action begins this weekend. In the recent preseason match they lost to La Liga outfit Villarreal as the Nerazzurri have won only once in five warm-up games; conceding 10 goals in the process. Nevertheless, Inter have won each of their last three opening fixtures in Serie A and are unbeaten in 11 against newly-promoted sides in the league.

Lecce possible starting lineup:

Falcone; Gendrey, Blin, Dermaku, Gallo; Bistrovic, Hjulmand, Askildsen; Ceesay, Strefezza; Di Francesco

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Martinez, Lukaku

After winning their Scudetto in May for the first time in over a decade, AC Milan set to kick off their title defence against Udinese on Saturday evening. San Siro will host the champions' competitive debut for the 2022-23 campaign, with the Rossoneri under pressure to start with a win. Stefano Pioli was the architect of a largely youthful side as he was guided by a handful of veterans, that helped the former Lazio boss win his first major trophy after many years of coaching in the Italian league

Pioli managed to win the Scudetto on a tight budget and despite his success last term, he banked from a long-overdue Champions League campaign at San Siro. Influential midfielder Franck Kessie left the club to join the revolution at Barcelona while Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be out of action until next year after knee surgery. In response, Maldini and co have sanctioned the signings of Liverpool's Divock Origi and another Belgian star Charles De Ketelaere.

Milan still have a thinner squad than their title rivals Inter and Juventus while Roma are building a deeper squad this season for Jose Mourinho. Nonetheless, pre-season has progressed smoothly as they warmed up for their title defence by winning four of five preseason fixtures, scoring 17 goals in the process. AC Milan have lost only one of their last 10 league matches against Udinese, so they start as strong favourites to get the new campaign off to a successful start.

AC Milan possible starting lineup:

Maignan; Calabria, Kalulu, Tomori, Hernandez; Bennacer, Krunic; Messias, Diaz, Leao; Giroud

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Silvestri; Perez, Bijol, Masina; Soppy, Pereyra, Walace, Makengo, Udogie; Deulofeu, Success

Also read: Messi left out of the Ballon D'or top 30 for the first time since 2005
 

Galgorm, (Northern Ireland), Aug 13 (Golf news) Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok ensured Indian presence over the weekend at the ISPS Handa World Invitational as they made the halfway cut in the USD 1.5 million tournament.

Diksha carded an even par 72 at the Massereene Golf Club with four birdies against as many bogeys. Along with her first round 73 on Par-73 Galgorm Castle course, she was even for two rounds and T-45.

Aditi shot an even par 73 following a 1-over 73. She was 1-over for two rounds and T-55.

India’s third player in the field, Tvesa Malik (77-76) missed the cut as she continued to struggle with her form.

Amanda Doherty continued her impressive form shooting a round of 5-under 67 to lead by one shot at the midway mark.

After a first round of six-under at Galgorm Castle, the 24-year-old, followed it up with a round of five-under at Massereene.

Doherty began her round with back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes, and rolled in three more on six, seven and nine.

Despite a dropped shot on the 11th, the LPGA Tour rookie made another birdie on 13 to finish with a total of 11-under-par after 36 holes.

Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen – winner of the 2020 Race to Costa del Sol – and American Lauren Coughlin sit one shot back on 10-under-par.

England’s Cara Gainer sits in outright fourth place after the opening two days of competition on nine-under-par, having produced a round of five under 67 at Massereene.

Three players are in a share of fifth place including England’s Georgia Hall, who produced a hole-in-one on day two as did Finland’s Tiia Koivisto.

Hall sits alongside Ireland’s Leona Maguire and Chinese Taipei’s Peiyun Chien on eight-under-par, American Allisen Corpuz is alone in eighth place one shot further back.

Five players are in a tie for ninth on six-under-par including 2022 Race to Costa del Sol number one and two Maja Stark and Linn Grant.

The cut fell at 1 over with 62 players making it through. 

Also Read : Lahiri starts with 71 as Korea's Si Woo Kim takes lead at St Jude Champs

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Borussia Dortmund had to come from behind to score three times in 11 minutes late in the second half through their substitutes and beat hosts Freiburg 3-1 in the Bundesliga on late night kick off on Friday. England youth international Jamie Bynoe-Gittens grabbed a 77th minute equaliser after a goalkeeping howler before he weaved past three players to help Youssoufa Moukoko bag another in the 84th as Marius Wolf sealed a difficult win in the 88th.

Dortmund started the match with new striker Anthony Modeste who signed during the week as an emergency replacement for Sebastien Haller, who is subsequently being treated for a malignant tumour. The hosts scored the first goal against the run of play as Dortmund were enjoying the share fair of possession but  Michael Gregoritsch's looping header for his second goal of the campaign gave Freiburg the lead. Dortmund lacked precision and Freiburg grew into the game and had the better chances after the break with Gregoritsch firing over the bar after again being left unmarked.

Dortmund launched their comeback after they were gifted an unexpected equaliser thanks to a howler by Mark Flekken who tried to block a 25-metre shot from teenager Bynoe-Gittens but the keeper let the ball slip through his hands and into his own net. Bynoe-Gittens should have done better in the 83rd when he was one on one with the keeper but failed to get his shot on target, but he made amends with a superb run to assist Moukoko who made it 2-1 in the next minute. Half-time substitute Wolf then put the final nail in the coffin when he made sure of the points and Dortmund's second win in their two matches in the league.

"There is a lot of room for improvement for us," said Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who joined from Freiburg this season. "We need to defend as a team. We could have conceded two or three goals. We started well and then we were 1-0 behind and Freiburg were at that stage playing much better than us. Then came [Freiburg keeper] Mark Flekken's mistake, we scored two more and the game was decided."

Also read: FC Barcelona register almost every new signing ahead of La Liga opener

New Delhi, Aug 13 (Cricket News) Star India batter Cheteshwar Pujara cracked 22 runs in an over en route to his scintillating 107 off 79 balls for his county side Sussex in the Royal London One Day Cup in Birmingham.

However, Pujara's innings went in vain as Sussex fell short by four runs while chasing Warwickshire's 310 for six on Friday.

Pujara, India's batting mainstay in Tests, looked in ominous touch as he slammed three fours and a six in the 45th over off medium pacer Liam Norwell to keep Sussex in the chase.

Overall, Pujara smashed seven fours and two sixes during his innings. He was dismissed in the first ball of the 49th over by Oliver Hannon-Dalby as Sussex finished at 306 for seven.

Pandya snaps three wickets ================= Spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya, who turned up for Warwickshire, played an important role in his side's win as he made amends for his two-ball duck with a three-wicket haul.

Pandya took the wickets of Ali Orr (81), Tom Clark (30) and Delray Rawlins (11) to return with figures of 10-0-51-3.

Earlier, Robert Yates hit a 111-ball 114, while Will Rhodes (76) and Michael Burgess (58) cracked fifties to take Warwickshire to a 300-plus total. 

Also Read : There are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Shami: Ponting

News Source : PTI

Kolkata, Aug 12 (Football News) Defending champions FC Goa will face Mohammedan Sporting in the opening match of the Durand Cup football tournament at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Tuesday.

The two sides will clash in a Group B game in what will be a repeat of last edition's final.

The 47 games of the 131st edition of the tournament will be played across four venues and three states of the country.

With all the 11 Indian Super League clubs participating along with five I-League and four Services sides, the total number of teams have also gone up to 20 from 16 last year.

Assam and Manipur will join West Bengal as tournament hosts, the first time the iconic tournament is being played in three states. Guwahati's Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Khuman Lampak in Imphal will be hosting 10 group stage games each.

Kolkata will host 27 out of 47 games of the Durand Cup. 

Also Read : AIBA changes its acronym to IBA as Extraordinary Congress adopts new reforms

News Source : PTI 

Dubai, Aug 13 (Cricket News) Australian legend Ricky Ponting feels Mohammed Shami's strength lies in the longest format and there are better quick bowlers in India's T20 set up, weighing in on his absence from the Asia Cup squad.

India hᨊave picked Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh as the three specialist fast bowlers with all-rounder Hardik Pandya being the fourth pacer in the 15-member squad.

"He's (Shami) been a very, very good bowler for India for a long time now. If you look at his strengths, his Test cricket is probably where he thrives the most," Ponting, a two-time World Cup-winning captain, said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.

"I think there are better fast bowlers in Indian T20 cricket than Shami and they've only named three (for the Asia Cup). So if there's potentially four named in the squad he might be the fourth man in." With Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel nursing injuries, many felt Shami might be included to share the new-ball duties during the Asia Cup.

"I would think they'll probably only have the four quicks coming to Australia. They’ll still want to bring a lot of spin here even though the wickets are probably not that conducive," Ponting said.

The Asia Cup will be held in Dubai and Sharjah from August 27 to September 11 and Ponting picked India as the favourites to win the tournament.

"It's always hard to go past India in any tournament, not just an Asia Cup, but I think every time we talk about the T20 World Cup which is coming up, I think that India will be right in the thick of it there," the 47-year-old said.

"Their depth is definitely better than the other teams and I think India will win the Asia Cup." Arch-rivals India and Pakistan haven't competed in a bilateral series for nearly a decade now.

"To be totally honest it's one that we've been starved of, haven't we … looking back the last 15 or 20 years," Ponting said.

"As a cricket lover like I am and a cricket observer, any time those sorts of battles come up it's almost always nice to sit back and watch because everything just goes up a notch, doesn't it? "When I think about rivalries, Australia and England and Ashes cricket is the pinnacle I've always thought of for our Test match game. I'm sure India and Pakistanis will say the same about that and the actual rivalry would be the pinnacle of Test match cricket for those two countries as well." Ponting believes India have the depth to prevail over Pakistan.

"I'll stick with India to win that clash against Pakistan. That's taking nothing away from Pakistan because they are an incredible cricket nation that continue to present out-and-out superstar players." 

Also Read : VVS Laxman will be head coach in Zimbabwe: BCCI secretary Jay Shah

News Source : PTI 

New Delhi, Aug 12 (Cricket News) National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman will be India's acting head coach for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe as there is only a short turnaround time between the series and the Asia Cup starting on August 27 in the UAE, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on Friday.

"Yes, VVS Laxman will be in charge of the Indian team in Zimbabwe for the three-match ODI series. It's not like Rahul Dravid is taking a break. The ODI series in Zimbabwe finishes on August 22 and Dravid along with Indian team will reach the UAE on August 23. Since there is little gap between the two events, Laxman will be in charge of the Indian squad in Zimbabwe," BCCI secretary Shah told PTI on Friday.

"Since only KL and Hooda are there with the ODI squad in Zimbabwe, it was only logical that the head coach would be with the T20 squad." The three ODIs in Zimbabwe will be played in Harare on August 18, 20 and 22.

Shah also informed that KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda will directly fly from Dubai to Harare as they are part of the Asia Cup squad.

The convention in BCCI has been that second string or A teams have always been monitored by the head of the NCA and hence Laxman will be with the Indian squad when the first team is on assignment elsewhere.

When the Indian team was in UK in June-July, Laxman was with the T20 squad in Ireland when Dravid was with the Test squad in England.

KL Rahul is making a comeback in the national squad after recuperating from sports hernia surgery.

He was initially not supposed to be a part of the Zimbabwe squad but since the medical team has deemed him fit, he is going to be with the team for the three ODIs, which will be good practice for him ahead of the big ticket Asia Cup. 

Also Read : CSA T20 League: De Kock, Topley sign for RPSG Durban

News Source : PTI

Durban, Aug 12 (Cricket news) Five Lucknow Super Giants players, including star South African Quinton de Kock and former West Indies captain Jason Holder, have signed for the RPSG Durban franchise that will take part in the inaugural edition of CSA T20 League.

The other three players are Kyle Mayers, English seamer Reece Topley and uncapped South African Prenelan Subrayan.

"I welcome all the players to the RPSG Durban family. It's a new beginning, full of hope and promise. We are confident that the talented players will add to the foundation of the team and will uphold our core philosophy of performance," RPSG chairman Sanjiv Goenka was quoted as saying in a media release. 

Also Read : Big WT20 Question: If Rahul opens, Kohli plays at No. 3, who to drop from middle order?

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 12 (Cricket News) Even one year back it was beyond imagination that Virat Kohli's place in the Indian team could be questioned.

Kohli is fit and available but perhaps for the first time in a decade, the former India captain's presence in the playing eleven could be a point of discussion in cricketing circle.

The T20 World Cup in the UAE last year was an unmitigated disaster and it was largely due to India's archaic batting philosophy at the top of the order. The runs scored did not come at a good pace.

It was debated if KL Rahul, Rohit and Kohli are the ideal No. 1, 2, and 3 in the shortest format and the answer received from most quarters wasn't exactly in the affirmative.

A good 10 months down line, the Indian team management finds itself at the same crossroads with another edition set to commence in October.

If India repeats its top three in Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, then one of the three other top T20 performers -- Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav and Dinesh Karthik -- would find it tough to stay inside playing XI.

Pant has that 'x-factor', Suryakumar has a bonafide 360 degree hitter and Karthik is a designated finisher.

Can India ill-afford to drop any one of the three if Kohli or Rahul has to be slotted? It is an important question and till now there hasn't been any definitive answer.

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja's positions as all-rounders seem non-negotiable and at least four specialist bowlers are required in the line-up. That leaves India with the option of only five specialist batters and hence the big question -- who to drop? Numbers ====== Rahul and Kohli are back in the side to claim their positions which they have owned for years but a big question looming in the horizon is whether their positions in the first XI in T20Is have become untenable? After the T20 World Cup last year, Kohli has played only four shortest format matches spread across nine months, scoring 17, 52, 1 and 11.

For Chetan Sharma's selection committee, despite the champion batter's indifferent form, this was too small a sample size to take a definitive step.

The bigger question is whether the team management will let Kohli play his own game which is to build the innings and accelerate after getting set.

But across formats, Kohli is getting out before getting set though he keeps hitting those delectable boundaries.

The team's philosophy has now changed completely and even skipper Rohit has tweaked his game upfront to suit the needs of Powerplay batting in the slam-bang format.

He has during the same phase played 16 T20Is and scored nearly 450 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 145.

In fact from the England series, Rohit has scored mostly at 150 plus strike-rate with Pant and Suryakumar Yadav as his opening partners in two different series.

Both looked comfortable in that new position and Suryakumar was a touch better than Pant during the recently-concluded West Indies series.

Then there is immensely talented Deepak Hooda, who has also scored a hundred as an opener although it was against minnows Ireland.

Hooda has shown his class at No. 3 although he won't be a starter going into the Asia Cup as of now but his tight off-breaks and steady fielding will keep him in the mix.

The 'KL' Conundrum ----------------------- KL Rahul seems to have rushed himself for the Zimbabwe tour, declaring that he is available after attaining fitness.

If sources close to selection committee are to be believed, Rahul will open in Asia Cup but he is a bit jittery going into high stakes game against Pakistan on August 28 in Asia Cup without any tangible game time.

Hence, he has rushed himself (medical team announced he is now fit although earlier it was said his recovery would take more time) into the Zimbabwe ODI series, where he would get to bat for lengthy time to be ready for the tournament.

But Rahul despite his stupendous T20 numbers has always been an accumulator, who plays at a certain pace in the first 10 overs and only ups the ante in the final five overs.

He has been a phenomenal run-machine for years at the IPL and has an international strike-rate of 142.

The overall numbers look good but the team's philosophy has now changed.

Pant or SKY or DK? -------------------- Rishabh Pant's T20I strike-rate across 54 games is 126 plus. If cricket would have been a game of pure statistics, Pant would have been under the sledgehammer for the underwhelming numbers.

But big tournaments are often as much about consistency as it is about that one piece of magic that can turn the table on a big day.

Kapil Dev's 175 not out was a piece of magic in 1983 while Yuvraj Singh's 369 runs and 15 wickets in 2011 was about manic consistency.

Both are needed and hence dropping Pant means striking off the option of a 'pure magic'.

In case of Suryakumar, after that innings in Nottingham where he pulled off a near miraculous chase, no one can question his inclusion.

He can play the ramp shot, change the position of his wrists at the last moment to hit a square driven six or play the 'pick-up pull-shot' behind square -- all with equal finesse.

This brings us to Dinesh karthik, who has hardly set a foot wrong since he is back in the mix.

As Karthik himself said, he is playing a high-risk game which will look good when it comes off but there will be days when it won't come off.

On Australian tracks with less lateral movement and even bounce, Karthik will surely have his good days.

So where does it leave Kohli and Rahul? The answer isn't as easy as it seems. 

Also Read : Ireland take a 2-0 lead against Afghanistan with a 5-wicket win

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Giovanni Simeone will be joining Napoli after a total agreement was reached between Hellas Verona and the side from Naples. The arrival will soon be made official once all the formalities have been completed. The transfer has been given the here we go signal by Fabrizio Romano, which means the deal is all but done. The move will be an initial loan deal for a fee worth €3.5 million, while there is a buy option included worth €12 million in the player’s contract. 

The Argentinian was one of the top scorers in Serie A as he scored 17 goals and provided six assists in 36 games which was one of the best returns in the league.  As a result, his arrival will act as added competition to Victor Osimhen to retain his starting spot. Even if the Nigerian leaves in next summer’s transfer window, Giovanni Simeone will be able to provide the much needed goals. Simeone will be bolstering a depleted Napoli attack after the departure of Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne this summer. The Azzurri are also close to bringing in Giacomo Raspadori from Sassuolo this summer. They are yet to reach a breakthrough in negotiations, but have been able to agree personal terms with the 27-year-old.

The arrival of Cholito, as he is called in Argentina, Simeone's move to Napoli is also dependent on the departure of Andrea Petagna, who is reportedly close to moving to newly promoted Monza. Simeone will make the leap to a team with a desire to fight for the title after a great season in Hellas Verona where he scored 17 goals in 35 games he was just behind the Serie A top scorers behind Ciro Immobile (27 at Lazio), Dusan Vlahovic (22 between Fiorentina and Juventus) and Lautaro Martínez (21 at Inter). Napoli will be the fifth Italian club for Simeone, who has previously played for Fiorentina, Cagliari, Genoa and Hellas Verona. After his loan Diego Simone’s son has the chance to sign a five-year contract, until June 2027.

Also read: Leicester City is set to sign Alex Smithies as a free agent
 

(Football news) Leicester City are closing in on their first signing of the summer transfer window. It has been a frustrating summer for Brendan Rodgers as he had previously made his feelings clear about the need for new players at the King Power. Despite his call for more signings, Leicester City are currently the only Premier League side that are yet to make a signing in this transfer window. Though supporters will be keen to see more high-profile arrivals after their disappointing 2-2 draw against Brentford. 

Rodgers recently admitted that the club were hunting for a third-choice goalkeeper in order to allow academy prospect Jakub Stolarczyk to gain experience out on loan this season. City’s goalkeeping department has completely undergone an overhaul this summer. After Kasper Schmeichel signed for Nice and Eldin Jakupovic was released, now Danny Ward has been promoted to the number one goalkeeper in the club with Daniel Iversen as his back-up after impressing on loan at Preston North End. The Telegraph reported that Leicester are "close" to signing 32-year-old goalkeeper Alex Smithies, who is said to be "in talks over a move". 

Smithies would arrive as a free transfer after he was subsequently released by Cardiff. The experienced goalkeeper began his career with Huddersfield before making his debut at age 17, and then went on to play over 250 times for the Terries before moving to QPR in 2015. After establishing himself as first-choice keeper at Loftus Road, Smithies was signed by the Wales club Cardiff on their return to the Premier League in 2018 and made 16 appearances during his final season. Leicester’s situation is quite concerning as their key players in the form of Youri Tielemans, James Maddison and Wesley Fofana all want to leave the club, if they do leave then the foxes would need to find three replacements in a span of 3 weeks till the transfer window closes

Speaking after the draw with Brentford, Rodgers said: “Ideally if we were to bring somebody else in, it would be a number three keeper so we could get young Jakub out on loan because we think he’s going to be an outstanding keeper, but he needs to play. The worst-case scenario he doesn’t go out, he stays, and then I’ve got three very good goalkeepers. He goes out only when we can get another one in.”

Also read: Juventus agree personal terms with PSG’s Leandro Paredes
 

Memphis (US), Aug 12 (Golf News) Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri carded a disappointing one-over 71 to lie tied 86th after the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship here.

Lahiri, who is coming into the FedExCup Play-offs a week after a Top-10 finish, will need to do a lot of work to get into the weekend.

It was a great day for Asian challenger, Si Woo Kim, who holed out for an amazing eagle from 168 yards and shared the lead at 8-under 62 with American J.J. Spaun.

Sahith Theegala, an American of Indian origin, is in third place at 7-under, while Sepp Straka, KH Lee, Tony Finau, and JT Poston are tied fourth at 6-under.

The 27-year-old Kim, who withdrew from the final round of the Wyndham Championship last weekend due to illness, was in sizzling form at TPC Southwind in Memphis where he capped his day by sinking an approach at the par-4 18th hole with an 8-iron. He had seven other birdies and a lone bogey.

Kim is hoping to become the fourth Korean golfer to win this season and the second successive following young compatriot, Joohyung "Tom" Kim's victory at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

Lahiri hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation during his first round. Many of his approaches left him some distance from the pins and he also missed a couple of birdie chances from inside and around 10 feet.

Starting from the 10th, Lahiri bogeyed the 12th but found his first birdie on the 395-yard par-4 15th hole. He hit his approach from 115 yards and set up a birdie. He bogeyed first and fifth and in between birdied third to finish at 1-over.

Kim changed his putting grip midway in the round and it worked as he powered home for an inward 28 to mark a career-low nine-hole score. It was also his first ever sub-par round at TPC Southwind in seven rounds.

Kim's compatriots, KH Lee and 'Tom' Kim Joohyung also enjoyed fast starts with rounds of 64 and 66 respectively to be tied fourth and 18th respectively.

Other Asian players in the FedExCup Playoffs, Korean Sungjae Im and Chinese Taipei's CT Pan, carded scores of 70 and 73 respectively and were in danger of missing the cut.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday due to a neck injury.

Tony Finau, who won the 3M Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic back-to-back last month, is amongst those who carded 64s, while current FedExCup No. 1 and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler returned a disappointing 71.

The top-70 ranked golfers in Memphis will progress into next week's BMW Championship, where the field will be further reduced to 30 players for the season-finale, TOUR Championship.

The PGA TOUR's ultimate prize, the FedExCup, will be awarded in Atlanta where the winner will also earn US$18 million. 

Also Read : PTI

(Football news) Leandro Paredes has reached an agreement with Juventus on personal terms as the player has been linked with a move to Turin for quite some time, and only the two clubs need to find an agreement for the fee. Paris Saint-Germain have signed several new midfielders such as Vitinha, Renato Sanches and now the imminent arrival of Fabian Ruiz joining their ranks this summer as a result of which they will trim the squad with Idrissa Gueye and Paredes expected to leave the club in the coming days. 

The Argentinian will be looking to get regular playing time, given that the World Cup is coming up later this year. Juventus might be the best destination given that they need to bolster their midfield with options since they will be letting go of one of Arthur Melo or Adrien Rabiot. The Frenchman has been heavily linked with Manchester United in recent days and a move could go through soon. Aaron Ramsey had his contract terminated already as he moved to Ligue 1 as a free agent to Nice. Leandro Paredes has spent two years with the French champions and has past experience of Serie A, playing with Roma previously. At the peak of his game, the midfielder might be returning to Italy to play with the Bianconeri once an agreement is found between the two clubs. 

Juventus will certainly be a right fit Parades since their new signing Paul Pogba will be out for a couple of months as the Argentine can fill the void left by the Frenchman. Last season, Juventus’ midfield was the downfall for them as the likes of Arthur, Rabiot and McKennie couldn't establish themselves in the playing XI. With Parades coming in they will get some assurity in the midfield since PSG man has a high passing rate and usually controls the game from the midfield. If Juventus sign him then he will become the clubs 4th player joining this summer transfer window, with the likes of Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria and Bremer coming into the squad. 

Also read: Manchester United will look to bounce back with win over Brentford

New Delhi, Aug 11 (Football News) Indian Women's League (IWL) champions Gokulam Kerala will open their campaign in the AFC Women’s Club Championship against home side Sogdiana-W in Qarshi, Uzbekistan on August 23.

The Kozhikode-based side will then face Bam Khatoon FC of Iran in their next round-robin match on August 26.

Gokulam Kerla had also participated in the last edition of the continental pilot tournament last year and had finished third in the four-team event.

Six clubs from as many member associations of Asia will feature in the expanded competition which will be held across two regions for the first time. The competition for East Zone -- with three clubs in the fray -- starts on August 15 in Chonburi in Thailand.

The West zone competitions, which will also have three clubs including Gokulam, will begin at the Markaziy Stadium in Qarshi, Uzbekistan from August 20 with the match between Sogdiana-W and Bam Khatoon FC.

The final of the tournament will be played between the two top teams from East and West zones on October 22, the same day of the title clash of the AFC Cup.

In the East region, Chonburi in Thailand will host the home side College of Asian Scholars, ISPE WFC from Myanmar, and Taichung Blue Whale from Chinese Taipei.

The AFC Women’s Club Championship – Pilot Tournament spearheads the preparations for the launch of the AFC Women’s Champions League in 2024. 

Also Read : Kroos-Casemiro-Modric continue to scale new heights

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 12 (Hockey News) Young forward Abhishek, who had a memorable outing in the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games, said the focus of the Indian hockey team is to stay in the best shape and form in the run-up to next year's World Cup.

"We all are really eager to return to training and prepare ourselves for the upcoming competitions," Abhishek, who scored two goals in six games in Birmingham, said in a Hockey India (HI) release.

"We all want to improve as a team, and with the World Cup next year, everyone wants to be in the best shape and form in the coming months." The 22-year-old featured in all six games at the CWG, helping India bag a silver medal, after going down to Australia in the summit clash.

"It was quite a memorable experience for me to perform on such a big stage. I learned a lot about my game during the tournament, and understood areas where I can improve upon," Abhishek said.

"We performed as a team throughout the competition, despite facing tough opponents. Every match had a new challenge for us, and we were able to face it head-on. Even though the final against Australia did not go our way, we learned a lot from the match and have to improve upon in training." Abhishek made his debut for India against South Africa at the FIH Pro League earlier this year and played 14 games and performed consistently, based on which he was picked for the CWG squad.

And, the Haryana forward praised and thanked current coach Graham Reid for his advices and suggestions.

"Our Chief Coach Graham Reid had already told me before in training sessions to enjoy the games and to not take too much pressure. This advice really helped me at Commonwealth Games 2022 as I was able to focus on my natural game and was able to play freely," Abhishek said.

"My teammates and coaches told me I performed well considering it was my first major tournament of such scale. There are still a few areas where I have to improve upon, and the Commonwealth Games 2022 experience has motivated me to work even harder to fulfill those shortcomings." The team will return to the National Coaching Camp in Bengaluru on August 29 and will begin preparation for the upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League season which is scheduled to begin in October.

India are scheduled to play New Zealand and Spain at home. 

Also Read : India teen golfer Avani Prashanth reaches round eight in Scotland

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 12 (Cricket News) The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be hosting the first game of the second edition of the Legends League Cricket (LLC) on September 15, the organisers said on Friday.

The match between the India Maharajas vs World Giants will be dedicated to the 75th year celebration of Indian Independence.

"This is a proud moment for us that we are celebrating 75th year of our independence. As a proud Indian, it gives me immense satisfaction to share that we have decided to dedicate this year league to the 75th year of Independence celebration," said Ravi Shastri, Commissioner, LLC, said in a release.

The Indian Maharajas will be led by former Indian captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, while the World Giants will be captained by England's 2019 World Cup winning captain, Eoin Morgan.

The second edition of the LLC will commence a day after the special match, i.e. from September 16, which will see four teams taking part in a franchise-based format.

Overall, 15 matches will be played this season over a period of 22 days. 

Also Read : After a week of logjam, star Pak cricketers sign PCB's amended central contracts

News Source : PTI

Karachi, Aug 12 (Cricket News) Top cricketers, including captain Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan, have agreed to sign the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) amended central contracts after a week of stand-off between them and the board.

According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the group of players signed the dotted lines before departing for the Netherlands tour on the condition that they will once again hold discussions over a couple of other clauses in the contract with the board post the Asia Cup in September.

The senior players have expressed reservations about few aspects of the contracts.

"These range from questions around the NOC process for participation in foreign leagues, to seeking more information about image rights in ICC events and shares from participation fees at ICC events and clauses around signing individual endorsements," the report said.

The PCB announced 33 central contracts this season, splitting between white and red-ball players for the first time 2022-23.

As per the board's standard practice, while the copies of the contract were handed to the players at the start of the pre-tour camp in Lahore, many of the players belonging to the lower categories signed the dotted lines but the senior stars did not sign immediately.

Apart from Babar, Afridi, and Rizwan, the group also included Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali. The players sought more time as they wanted to discuss the nitty-gritty of the contracts with their advisers and lawyers, given there is no players body in the country.

In the past, Pakistan cricketers rarely disputed any aspect of their central contracts signed and returned their them straightaway.

Historically, the Pakistan board also never formally negotiated with the cricketers while framing contracts on their part.

Therefore, this new development could be seen as some sort of a marker of sorts in the equation between the board and the cricketers.

According to the central contracts, the monthly retainer amounts and match fees were not among the points of contention. All players will receive match fees of Rs. 838,530 PKR (approx. US$3800) for a Test, Rs. 515,696 PKR for an ODI (approx. US$2300) and PKR 372,075 (approx. US$1700) for a T20I.

On the other hand, the retainer for a top Pakistan red-ball contract is PKR 1,050,000 per month (approx. US$4700) and PKR 950,000 (approx. US$4300) for a corresponding white-ball contract. 

Also Read : KL Rahul to lead India vs Zimbabwe after being declared fit by medical team

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 11 (Cricket News) Senior opener KL Rahul will be leading the Indian team in the three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe after being declared fit by the BCCI medical team.

Shikhar Dhawan, who was named the captain initially, will now be Rahul's deputy.

Rahul was recovering from a sports hernia surgery and was supposed to play the West Indies series before testing positive for COVID-19.

Since his recovery was taking time, he was not initially selected for the Zimbabwe tour and given time to get fully fit before the all-important Asia Cup.

However, the medical team has now given an all clear after he cleared all the requisite fitness parameters to be available for selection.

Since he is an all format first-choice deputy to regular skipper Rohit Sharma, his availability meant that Dhawan was relegated to vice-captaincy for the series.

Rahul's addition took the squad strength to 16 as the selectors didn't replace any player. But Rahul's presence means that there is virtually no chance for Ruturaj Gaikwad to get a game in this series.

There will be no Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Shami for this series as they had all been rested.

Bumrah, however, is nursing a back injury and is already ruled out of the Asia Cup in the UAE, starting August 27.

From this squad, Rahul, Deepak Hooda are the only two players in the main squad.

India Squad for 3 ODIs: KL Rahul (Captain) Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Deepak Chahar. 

Also Read : Cricketer Rishabh Pant named as Uttarakhand’s brand ambassador

News Source : PTI

Carnoustie (Scotland), Aug 11 (Golf News) Golfer Avani Prashanth's progress at the Royal and Ancient's Girls Amateur championships here continued as she scored her biggest win in the Round of 16.

The 15-year-old beat the Dutch girl Fleur Van Bleek 5&4 to progress into the quarterfinals.

Earlier in the Round of 32, she beat Italian Rebecca Galasso 3&2.

She will now meet England’s Rachel Gourley, who beat Spain’s Martina Lopez-Lanchares 2-Up.

Avani, playing on a Links Golf Course for only the third time, came through to the Matchplay segment after finishing in Top 64 from a field of 144 players.

With just the topper, Paula Martin Sampedro scoring 2-under for the two rounds, all other scores were over par at the notoriously tough Par-71, which is also an Open venue.

Avani shot 74-76 as she finished 14th and made the matchplay stage at the Carnoustie Golf club, considered as the fourth toughest Golf course in the world.

Apart from Avani, the event had another Indian, Zara Anand (82-82), but she got eliminated with the top 64 out of 144 making the matchplay stage, which is a knockout format.

Avani had been playing in a series of events outside India as she seeks to gain more experience.

Since May, she has played in the Queen Sirikit Cup in Singapore, the Women’s Amateur in Scotland, the Amundi German Masters in Germany on the Ladies European Tour, which is a professional Tour.

She took part in the R&A Junior event where she finished at T-21, and participated in the European Ladies Amateurs as well. 

Also Read : In-form Bhullar, Rashid to lead Indian challenge

Dehradun, Aug 11 (Cricket News) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday named cricketer Rishabh Pant as the brand ambassador of the state.

The wicketkeeper-batter was born in Roorkee in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district.

Naming Pant as the state’s brand ambassador at Uttarakhand Sadan in Delhi, Dhami said his achievements in the world of cricket due to his strong willpower despite coming from a very ordinary background can be a source of inspiration for everyone.

“He has carved a niche for himself in the world of cricket. He has done both his state and the country proud. Honouring him as the brand ambassador will inspire young people in the field of sports to carve an identity of their own,” Dhami said.

Pant thanked the chief minister for conferring him with the honour and giving him an opportunity to serve the state. 

Also Read : Arjun Tendulkar seeks NoC from Mumbai, likely to play for Goa next season

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 11 (Cricket News) Legendary Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun is all set to leave Mumbai and in all likelihood will ply his trade for south-western neighbours Goa in the next domestic season.

The 22-year-old left-arm pacer, who has also been a part of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, have played two games for Mumbai, during the 2020-21 edition of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Haryana and Puducherry respectively.

It has been learnt that Tendulkar junior has already applied for No Objection Certificate (NoC) from his home association MCA.

"Getting maximum game time on the ground is important for Arjun at this juncture of his career. We believe that the shift will improve the probability of Arjun featuring in more competitive matches. He is embarking on a new phase of his cricketing career," SRT Sports Management said in a statement.

Tendulkar has played two 'Tests' for the India U-19 against Sri Lanka, three summers back and has featured in the Mumbai probables for the white ball leg of the domestic season even this time.

For Tendulkar, the biggest disappointment has been getting dropped from the Mumbai squad this season without being given a chance to prove his mettle.

People who have monitored his progress feel that the youngster has the right attitude and work ethic but does need consistent game time to showcase what he is capable of.

He has recently been a part of Mumbai Indians' developmental squad that played a lot of T20 games in England.

The likes of Kumar Kartikeya, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Dewald Brevis were all part of the squad that played T20 games against club sides.

A senior Goa Cricket Association (GCA) did acknowledge that Tendulkar junior is expected to be considered among state's pre-season probables.

"We have been looking out for left-hand bowling talent as also add players to the middle order with multiple skills. In this context, we invited Arjun Tendulkar to join the Goa side. We will be playing pre-season trial-matches (white ball) and he will be playing in those games. The selectors will then take a call based on his performance," Goa CA president Suraj Lotlikar told PTI.

Among the other Indian cricket legends from Mumbai, whose son have plied trade for other states, the notable was Sunil Gavaskar's son Rohan, who in fact moved to Bengal as a 18-year old and finished as one of the state's highest run-getter and also captained in multiple seasons.

When it comes to Goa, before Tendulkar's son, another former India captain's son had briefly appeared.

It was Mohammed Azahrauddin's son Mohammed Asaduddin, who had played a couple of Ranji Trophy games in 2018 season. 

Also Read : Robyn Searle breaks multiple records as Typhoons defeat Dragons

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Arnaud Kalimuendo turned down the chance to join Leeds United and is set to sign for Rennes.The young PSG striker spent the last two seasons on loan at Lens where he scored 21 goals in 65 games for the northern french team. According to previous reports Leeds' had a long-standing interest, and the Whites were hopeful of sealing a €25m deal with the French champions but they couldn’t reach an agreement with the players.

Kalimuendo decided against a move to Elland Road and now will instead sign for Ligue 1 side Rennes. The 20-year-old was tempted by Leeds' offer but he was keen to remain in his home country and the Les Rouge et Noir offered him a five-year contract. Rennes also have the added benefit of Europa League football this season as they have strengthened this summer with Steve Mandanda, Arthur Theatre and Joe Rodon arriving at the French club. New PSG boss Christophe Galtier wanted to take a closer look at Kalimuendo this summer before deciding whether or not he could be allowed to leave, and now the Parisians have sanctioned an exit for the striker. Kalimuendo's path to an already talented starting frontline was further blocked this summer when PSG brought Hugo Ekitike after his move to Newcastle fell through.

In the past two seasons at Lens he went onto score 21 goals and 6 assists in 65 games. Kalimuendo never had the chance to train with PSG. According to the sources, the transfer amount of 25 million euros including bonuses will be the second biggest transfer from Stade Rennais behind Belgian international Jérémy Doku (26 million euros) in the summer of 2020. Rennes targeted the striker for a long time by Stade Rennais. He had already been approached last summer without the deal materialising as he had been among the club’s priorities as a striker for more than a year.

Also read: Marseille sign Alexis Sanchez on a free transfer

(Football news) Anderlecht left-back Sergio Gomez is set to complete a shocking move to the Premier League champions Manchester City. Pep Guardiola's side have agreed a fee in excess of €15m (£12.7m) for the signing of Gomez, who will subsequently replace Oleksandr Zinchenko at the Etihad. The 21-year-old came through the youth academies of both Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund before joining Anderlecht last summer, where he enjoyed a very strong debut season in Belgium.

Gomez netted seven goals and 15 assists from 49 appearances in all competitions in an Anderlecht shirt. Last season he had 12 goals in the Jupiler Pro League, which attracted the attention of the major European clubs. The Spanish Under-21 international, who has five goals and six assists from eight appearances for his nation from a more advanced position. He still has three years left to run on his Anderlecht deal but is seemingly set to leave the club just 12 months after arriving. Gomez will complete the formalities of his Man City move as he undergoes his medical and signs his contract with the Citizens.

Gomez would hope to immediately establish a place in Man City's first-team squad, but it seems that he could potentially be loaned out to Girona for the remainder of the season. With Benjamin Mendy still suspended and Zinchenko leaving the club to join Arsenal as Joao Cancelo has deputised well at left-back for the Citizens, who have also utilised Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte in the left back role. With Gomez they could get a more recognised option in that area, and the Spaniard's versatility has also seen him feature on the wing and in the midfield during his career. The former Huesca loanee only made three senior appearances for Dortmund after leaving Barcelona in January 2018 and he has gone on to win both the Under-17 and Under-19 European Championships with Spain.

Even if a deal for Gomez is wrapped up imminently, according to reports City will still be on the hunt for another left-back after losing out on Marc Cucurella. Borussia Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro has been another name linked with a move to the Etihad in recent days, and the report also states that a loan exit is the most likely option for Gomez. Portugal international Guerreiro has entered the final year of his contract with Dortmund and is the leading prospect of a cut-price deal before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Meanwhile, Anderlecht's Gomez is set to become City's fourth summer signing following Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega and Erling Braut Haaland. Guardiola will now aim to make it two for two in the 2022-23 Premier League season when they take on newly-promoted Bournemouth at Etihad on Saturday.

Also read: Manchester City linked to Dortmund’s left-back Raphael Guerreiro
 

Cape Town, Aug 11 (Cricket News) Afghanistan's star spinner Rashid Khan, South African pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada and dashing English batter Liam Livingstone are among the five direct signings of MI Cape Town which will take part in the inaugural Cricket South Africa (CSA) T20 League.

The talented Dewald Brevis, who played for Mumbai Indians in IPL along with England all-rounder Sam Curran are the other two direct signings of the franchise.

For the record, Rashid plays for Gujarat Titans, Rabada and Livingstone for Punjab Kings and Curran last played for CSK in the Indian Premier League.

MI-Cape Town has thus signed three overseas players, 1 capped South African and 1 uncapped South African.

“With our direct player signings, we have taken the first step towards building the MI philosophy - having a strong core around which the team will be planned. I am glad to welcome Rashid, Kagiso, Liam, Sam and happy to have Dewald continue with us on this new journey," team owner Akash Ambani said. 

Also Read : Robyn Searle breaks multiple records as Typhoons defeat Dragons

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 11 (Cricket News) Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has been roped in by the Johannesburg franchise owned by IPL giants Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as their marquee signing for the inaugural edition of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) T20 League, according to a report.

Du Plessis, who played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL last season, was part of the CSK from 2011 to 2021, except for 2016 and 2017 when the team was suspended.

Wednesday was the last day for the direct acquisition of players for the six-team upcoming league.

The inaugural edition of the CSA T20 League is scheduled to be played in January-February 2023 and all the six franchises in the tournament have been acquired by current IPL team owners.

Apart from CSK owning the Johannesburg-based franchise, MI Cape Town is the sister franchise of Mumbai Indians and the teams from Durban, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), Paarl and Pretoria are owned by Lucknow Super Giants, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals respectively.

The CSK-owned Johannesburg franchise is also believed to have roped in England all-rounder Mooen Ali as one of its marquee players, according to Cricbuzz.

Ali, who represents CSK in the IPL, had also featured in the marquee players' list for the UAE League (ILT20).

But, according to the Cricbuzz report, he is said to have picked the T20 tournament in South Africa over ILT20, which will also be held in January-February next year. 

Also Read : Jayawardene picks Babar Azam as player who can dethrone Root as top Test batter

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Aug 11 (Cricket News) Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene has picked Pakistan captain Babar Azam as the cricketer who, he believes, can dethrone England's Joe Root as top Test batter.

Root has been ruling the roost at the top of the Test rankings since June, with the Englishman enjoying a fine World Test Championship, and in a rich vein of form under new coach Brendon McCullum.

The former England captain has scored more runs than any other player since the turn of the decade, and deservedly claimed the ICC Men's Test Player of the Year award in 2021.

"Tough one!" Jayawardena said on the latest episode of The ICC Review, when asked who can dethrone Root from the top spot.

"I would say Babar Azam has an opportunity. He's been consistent in all three formats and it shows in his rankings. He's a naturally gifted player, plays in all conditions, he's got the game to adapt as well.

"It depends on the amount of cricket, who's playing when and how much but the Babar might be the guy." Babar is the only player in the top three in the batters' rankings in all three formats, occupying the top spot in each of the white-ball formats and currently ranked No.3 in Tests.

"T20Is and ODIs, it is tough one to hold on to because there are a lot of good players who have to be consistent," Jayawardene said.

"I would put my money on him at least for a little while to hold to all three but there are some good quality players around who will keep pushing him." Asked what makes Babar such a special player, Jayawardene said he was most impressed by the amount of time the Pakistan skipper has while at the crease.

"(I) think it is just the technique, the time that he has and the composure that he has out there in the middle," the former Sri Lanka captain said.

"He's not rattled at any time, whether he plays T20Is, ODIs or Tests, he adjusts quite brilliantly.

"Joe (Root) in Test cricket is the same. He knows what he needs to do, he can the tempo when he wants to, bats to what the conditions offer. Babar has that same quality, so that's why he's been so consistent in all three formats." The two star cricketers will come face to face later this year when England tour Pakistan for a three-match Test series in December.

Root could further solidify his No.1 spot in the upcoming series against South Africa, while Babar will have to wait until the series against England later in the year to make a charge for the top. 

Also Read : I can't beg people to play for West Indies, says head coach Simmons

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Remo Freuler is pushing for a move to Nottingham Forest from Atalanta as an agreement has now been found between the two clubs. Forest boss Steve Cooper wants to add a more experienced midfielder to his squad at the City Ground and the Tricky Trees have been in deep discussion with Atalanta regarding the experienced Swiss midfielder. Now the two clubs have found an agreement and Freuler’s will to make the move to Nottingham Forest has proven to be decisive in this deal.

The midfielder has pushed through the switch as he wanted to play in the Premier League as he has been mulling over the switch. Forest will reportedly fork out €9m plus add-ons to sign the Swiss star. Freuler will become the latest recruit at the City Ground in a summer of heavy spending for the new boys in the Premier League.The 30-year-old came through the youth ranks at Swiss clubs Winterthur and Grasshoppers. He switched to Atalanta from Swiss club Luzern in 2016 and since then he has been a key player at the Italian side in recent years.

Freuler had recently signed a new contract with Atalanta in May 2022 which would have run until 2025. The player turned down the transfer to Nottingham Forest initially but the situation changed. He first joined La Dea in January 2016 from FC Luzern and as part of that €2.1m deal, the Swiss will get a 15% cut of the future transfer fee. In total, Freuler made 259 appearances for Atalanta, contributing 20 goals and 23 assists. Nottingham Forest have just earned promotion this season and have been spending big this summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Neco Williams from Liverpool, Jesse Lingard and Dean Henderson from Manchester United, plus Orel Mangala, Taiwo Awoniyi, Moussa Niakhate and Omar Richards from the Bundesliga.

Also read: Real Madrid comfortably clinch the Super Cup with win over Frankfurt

New Delhi, Aug 10 (Football News) The Delhi Football Club won the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Football Cup 2022 organised by the Kejriwal government on Wednesday.

The winners of the cup were felicitated by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia at Thyagraj Stadium.

Jose Maria Radao Dominiquez, Spanish Ambassador and Elena Parez Villanueva, Deputy Head of Mission, also joined the deputy chief minister at the closing ceremony of the football cup.

Other esteemed guests at the event were Commonwealth Games 2022 medallists wrestler Ravi Dahiya and athlete Tejaswin Shankar along with Kasturba Nagar MLA Madan Laal.

"I congratulate the teams for putting up a great show throughout the tournament, " said Sisodia in his address to the footballers and sports enthusiasts at the stadium.

Over the past one month, the government organised the football event at its various sports facilities namely, Thyagraj Stadium, East Vinod Nagar Sports Complex, Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Bawana, Pitampura Artificial Football Turf and Sudeva Football Ground to inculcate the passion of football among athletes all around Delhi.

"Excitement at the stadium today is proof that Delhi is set to be the leader of football in future," he added Various top clubs from Delhi participated in this mega tournament which competed in a Round Robin League format.

A prize money of Rs 5 lakh was awarded to the winning team whereas Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 1 lakh were awarded to the runner-up team and team at the third position, respectively. 

Also Read : Fabian Ruiz joins PSG from Napoli for a fee of €30m

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 10 (Sports News) Telugu Yodhas, the GMR Group-owned franchise for the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Kho Kho, on Wednesday announced attacker Prajwal KH as the captain of the team.

All-rounder Pratik Waikar will be the vice-captain.

The Ultimate Kho Kho – the professional Kho Kho league of the Kho Kho Federation of India -- will kick off its inaugural season on August 14 at the Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex in Pune.

Telugu Yoddhas completed their player drafts for the inaugural season last month, drafting 22 top Kho Kho players from across India.

The 25-year-old Karnataka-born Prajwal KH is one of the leading attackers for Telugu Yoddhas. An engineer by education Prajwal took onto Kho Kho as a hobby in school which eventually became his passion and profession.

He has led his state team Karnataka to win the gold medal as a captain. Some other notable feats for Prajwal include a gold medal in 2013-14 Federation Cup and a third-place finish for his state team in the 54th Senior Nationals last year. 

Also Read : Long jumper Sreeshankar finishes 6th in Monaco Diamond League

News Source : PTI

Monaco, Aug 10 (Sports News) Commonwealth Games silver medallist long jumper Murali Sreeshankar finished sixth in the Diamond League Meeting with a below-par effort of 7.94m here on Wednesday.

Sreeshankar achieved his best jump in his fifth attempt. He had won silver in the Birmingham CWG six days ago with a best jump of 8.08m. He has a season's and personal best of 8.36m.

He had finished seventh in the World Championships in Eugene, USA, last month.

Maykel Masso of Cuba won the event with a best effort of 8.35m while World Championships silver medallist and reigning Olympic champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece (8.31m) and Marquis Dendy (8.31m) of USA finished second and third respectively. 

Also Read : Bhavani Devi wins gold, defends Commonwealth Fencing Championship title

News Source : PTI

Port of Spain, Aug 10 (Cricket News) "I don't think that I should be begging people to play for the West Indies," said the team's dejected chief coach Phil Simmons.

The former opener expressed his disappointment even as the board struggles to home in on their best squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, with most cricketers either playing franchise league elsewhere or out injured.

"It hurts. There's no other way to put it. But what can you do? I don't think that I should be begging people to play for their countries. I think if you want to represent West Indies, you will make yourself available," Simmons was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

"Life has changed, in that people have the opportunities to go different places and if they choose that over West Indies, that's just how it is," he added.

The list of absentees is long.

Andre Russell hasn't made himself available for selection as the star all-rounder -- along with Sunil Narine -- is currently playing the Hundred. Evin Lewis and Oshane Thomas have not appeared for their fitness tests, while Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen and Roston Chase are all out with injuries.

While the 1-4 drubbing to India recently didn't help, the team gets one last chance to try the remaining players in the international arena before the T20 showpiece in the three-match series against New Zealand, starting later today.

"From what I have gathered, I think he is unavailable because he hasn't made himself available," chief selector Desmond Haynes said of Russell.

"I will love everyone to play for West Indies. I would love to make sure that all the guys make themselves available to play," Haynes added.

"But you must realise that the guys have options now, and if guys are choosing other franchises in front of West Indies, then we have to pick from who is available to us." The T20 World Cup will be played in Australia in October-November. 

Also Read : Boult to follow a path similar to that of Stokes and de Kock

News Source : PTI

London, Aug 10 (Combat Sports) India's Bhavani Devi won the gold medal in the ongoing Commonwealth Fencing Championship here, defending the title she won last time.

The 42nd ranked Indian fencer defeated second seeded Australian Veronika Vasileva 15-10 in the senior women's sabre individual category final on Tuesday.

Since becoming the first Indian fencer to qualify for the Olympics, the Chennai-born Bhavani has had a steady rise in her sport.

The year began with the World Cup in Istanbul where she finished 23rd after missing out a spot in the last 32.

Thereafter Bhavani's World Championship campaign in July at Cairo ended in the second round. The Commonwealth Fencing Championship is her 10th international tournament this year.

Speaking after her win, Bhavani said, "It was a tough final and I am glad I could add another gold medal for India this year. It has been a great journey for me this year and I would like to continue this momentum for the upcoming tournaments. The support back home has been great for me throughout." Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General of the Fencing Association of India, sees her as the torchbearer of fencing in the country.

"She has been an inspiration to every fencer in India, and it is because of her that many youngsters now dream of making it big in the global fencing map.

"This gold medal only adds to our belief that fencing in India is growing and I am confident that the day is not far away when we will have Indian fencers competing at the top international tournaments regularly including the Olympics," said Bhatia. 

Also Read : Tulika Mann wins silver in women's 78kg judo event

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Manchester United are set to lose out on another target as Fabián Ruiz edges closer than ever to joining French Champions Paris Saint-Germain.The Spanish footballer has enjoyed an outstanding spell in Italy with Serie A side Napoli and now will be moving to a new challenge sooner than people expect. It was widely reported that Real Madrid were interested in Ruiz on a free transfer in 2023 but now the Spanish international has chosen to play for the French giants.

Manchester United were very keen on the player, but a move didn’t advance as they continued their pursuit of Frenkie de Jong. The Spanish footballer could have been a cheaper alternative to the Dutch international but again the club acted with no real conviction. According to Fabrizio Romano, Ruiz is now expected to join PSG as the two clubs get ready to complete the final details of the transfer. He said in a tweet “Paris Saint-Germain have full agreement on personal terms with Fabián Ruiz. It's a matter of final details with Napoli then the deal will be done. Luis Campos anticipates Real Madrid wanting him for free in 2023.”

The 26-year-old would be a perfect replacement for the departing players like Ander Hererra, Idrissa Gueye and Leandro Paredes. His performances in big games would help PSG considering the lack of talent the club currently have in his position.The negotiations between PSG and Ruiz were speedy because Real Madrid reportedly sped up their interest in the player. Now the Spanish giants and United will both miss out on such a versatile player with the French giants signing yet another midfielder as they have already signed Renato Sanches and Vitinha. As for the Red Devils they are still searching for a midfielder in the transfer window as they enter the final weeks with the De Jong saga still ongoing.

Also read: United pull out of the Marko Arnautovic deal after backlash from fans

(Football news) Manchester United have decided that they will end their pursuit of Austrian forward Marko Arnautovic and instead pursue other targets in the transfer market.The Red Devils' interest in the Austrian striker emerged late on Sunday after their dismal 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton to kick off the new Premier League season. However, having held talks with the Bologna president regarding a transfer, United have now decided against a deal for the former West Ham man.

Bologna had set a €15m price tag, but that proved to be a stumbling block for United who were not willing to pay more than €10m for the 33-year-old striker. Bologna's manager and director of football publicly admitted on Monday that they expected Arnautovic to stay at the club. United will now look at other attacking options on the market, and they are considering Watford winger Ismaila Sarr. The Senegal international has been previously heavily linked with a move to Manchester United for the last couple of seasons. He started their campaign back in the Championship following relegation in fine form, scoring a wonder goal from his own half in a 1-1 draw against West Brom on Monday.

While a deal for Arnautovic is off because of the price tag while the disgruntlement of the fans also played a part in the move not happening. On the other hand, United are still progressing with talks for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot as they are having discussions with his mother Veronique. Several United fan groups also contacted the club to complain about the prospect of Arnautovic playing for United. Bologna's asking price for the forward was believed to be more than what United were expected to pay. Gary Neville criticised Manchester United's recent transfer policy after the club had a bid rejected for Arnautovic. Reports in Italy claimed that United had a bid of approximately £7.6m turned down by Bologna for the 33-year-old, but were expected to return with an improved offer but ultimately decided against it 

"We want to keep going with Arnautovic and keep him, he's at the centre of our project," Di Vaio told Italian press

"Bologna's wish now is to keep our current team and strengthen it in order to have an important season. Money is not the issue, Marko is priceless for us."

Also read: Italian club Bologna reject Man United’s bid for Marko Arnautovic

New Delhi, Aug 10 (Golf News) A rejuvenated Anirban Lahiri is looking to make a late charge to qualify for the year-ending Tour Championships with a good show in FedExCup Playoffs after cleaning up his game during his recent trip back home.

The 35-year-old Indian snapped a poor run of form with a tied eighth finish at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday which has put him in a buoyant mood as he prepares for his fifth Playoffs, starting with the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Thursday.

The next couple of weeks will be crucial for Lahiri as he seeks to qualify for his first-ever appearance in the season-finale, the TOUR Championship, and also a third appearance at the Presidents Cup for the International Team.

"You want to get hot at the right time of the year. There's never a bad time to play well, but if there's ever a good time to play well, it's now," said Lahiri, who begins the post-season in 63rd position on the FedExCup standings, said in a release.

"You can have a pretty average year, but if in your good week, you're in the Playoffs, it will give the entire season a different outlook." The top-125 qualified for the first of three Playoffs event this week, with the top-70 progressing into next week's BMW Championship and finally the top-30 make it to the TOUR Championship which crowns the new FedExCup champion.

Lahiri will also seek to break into the top-8 of the International Team standings by the end of next week to make his third Presidents Cup team. He is currently ranked 15th with two qualifying weeks remaining.

He spent nearly two weeks in India last month to work with long-time coach Vijay Divecha, partly due to him missing four cuts in five appearances since May.

The dismal run spoilt an otherwise strong 2022 which saw him finish an impressive runner-up at TOUR's flagship tournament, THE PLAYERS Championship in March.

He notched another top-10 and two top-15s in his next four starts before his game hit a road bump following a break from competition to welcome the arrival of his son, Avyaan in early May.

"Just felt like I needed to clean up on my game," said Lahiri of his trip home.

"I hadn't been playing my best. So I'm coming in with some rest, with some good work under my belt and looking to make a charge late in the season.

"This is the time of the year to play your best and hopefully make it all the way to the TOUR Championship, that's definitely one of the goals." Talking about his time with coach in India, he said: "I think it was long overdue to see Vijay. We spent a good 10 days or so and we worked on a bunch of different things.

"We looked at my grip, my posture, which has been my long-standing issue and then we also looked at kind of taking those aspects, those factors and finding a way to put it into my pre-shot routine." Travelling on TOUR on a weekly basis can take its toll and Lahiri said spending time at home with his close friends and fellow golfers was the anecdote he needed to recharge his batteries.

"I also spent some time with my friends, which is always chicken soup for my soul and that always makes me feel very upbeat." Lahiri's best finish in the FedExCup was 51st in 2017 and he is aiming to achieve so much more.

Qualifying for the TOUR Championship is a priority as it will open up playing opportunities, especially in the majors and elevated events on the PGA TOUR.

"It's been a very up and down sort of season. I haven't obviously had the consistency that I was looking for or I would like but at the end of the day, the life cycle of the way a lot of the years pan out for professional golfers, you play well in patches," he said.

"Ideally if I go deep into the Playoffs, if I get to the TOUR Championship, in an ideal situation, then I'm looking at a different schedule." 

Also Read : Lahiri finishes 8th ahead of play-offs, Kim wins maiden title at Wyndham

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Aug 10 (Cricket News) Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav held on to his second position while compatriot Shreyas Iyer moved up six places to 19th in the latest ICC T20 rankings released on Wednesday.

Yadav is the best-placed Indian with 805 points in the batting list headed by Pakistan's Babar Azam.

Iyer, who had hit a 40-ball 64 in the final T20 after a subdued show in the first four matches of the recently-concluded series against West Indies, has 578 points.

Among bowlers, spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav also made massive gains in the rankings.

The 21-year-old Bishnoi, who scalped six wickets in two matches in the T20I series against the Windies, galloped 50 places to take 44th position, while Kuldeep, who had a three-wicket haul in the last game, leapt 58 places to 87th.

However, senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar dropped a spot to 9th despite having had a good outing in West Indies.

South Africa's Reeza Hendricks is the main gainer in the T20 rankings, moving up to 13th position with knocks of 74 and 42 in a 2-0 series win over Ireland.

South African spinner Keshav Maharaj is up 10 places to 18th among bowlers, while fast bowlers Lungi Ngidi (23rd) of South Africa and Lockie Ferguson of New Zealand (31st) are others to move up the chart.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has managed to hang on to his mantle as the No.1 ranked T20I batter while Australian Josh Hazlewood and Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi continue to top the chart as the best bowler and all-rounder respectively. 

Also Read : Lanka Premier League to be played from December 6 to 23

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Aug 10 (Cricket News) Star India batter Virat Kohli is a quality player and has all the tools needed to come out of his prolonged dip in form, said former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene.

Kohli and a fit-again KL Rahul on Monday returned to a 15-member Indian squad for the Asia Cup scheduled to be held in Dubai and Sharjah from August 27 to September 11.

Kohli is enduring his worst slump in form and has not scored a century in international cricket since November 2019.

His last assignment was the England tour where he could manage just 76 runs from six innings across formats, which included the rescheduled fifth Test, two ODIs and as many T20s in July.

The former skipper was rested for limited over West Indies tour and the upcoming ODIs against Zimbabwe.

"It is unfortunate what Virat is going through right now at the moment, but he is a quality player," said Jayawardene in the latest episode of The ICC Review show.

"I believe Virat has the tools to come out of it (the form slump). He has done that in the past as well and I'm sure he'll come through this. Class is permanent and form is temporary." Rahul, who did not feature in the T20 series against the West Indies due to COVID-19 and then underwent a sports hernia surgery, will be back as vice-captain during the Asia Cup.

Jayawardene feels lack of game time could be a problem for Rahul as he gears up for the tournament.

"That (Rahul's lack of cricket) would be a concern for India. He has been out for a little while since the IPL, so having game time is quite crucial especially out there in the middle.

"The sooner he can get some game time and get that confidence back, the better. It will help him, as well as the national team." The former Sri Lankan skipper feels India should go with a left-handed opener, preferably Rishabh Pant, with the right-handed Rohit Sharma incase Rahul doesn't make an impressive return to the game.

Pant had opened twice in T20Is against England in July.

"Even though he (Pant) hasn't done that (open the batting) much in domestic cricket, he has the capacity to do that. Wherever he bats, you're not going to change his game. He is going to be a very natural player so yes, it is an option (for Pant to open)." 

Also Read : Lanka Premier League to be played from December 6 to 23

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 10 (Hockey News) The bitter loss to Australia in the Commonwealth Games final is "hard to digest" but the Indian hockey team will have to move on, said star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, promising a thread-bare analyse of the side's performance in Birmingham.

In one of its worst performances in recent times, India suffered an embarrassing 0-7 drubbing at the hands of defending champions Australia to settle for a silver medal on Sunday.

"It is hard to digest a loss by such a big margin," the India vice-captain said in a Hockey India (HI) release after returning to the country early on Wednesday morning.

"Definitely the entire team is disappointed by the way we played but it's important we move on from this bitter outing. Like Chief Coach mentioned, we lacked the energy and tempo required to match-up to a team like Australia." While the final was a forgettable experience, India marched into the summit clash on the back of some fine performances in the group stage as they beat Ghana 11-0, drew against England 4-4, beat Canada 8-0 and Wales 4-1 followed by a 3-2 win against South Africa in the semifinal.

"There are many lessons from this campaign that we can work on and improve upon. Every match we played will be analyzed thoroughly when we return to camp after a two week break and we will be starting from scratch," said Harmanpreet.

The 26-year-old from Amritsar was in sublime form through out the tournament as he scored nine goals and was the second highest goal scorer along with Wales' Gareth Furlong.

"This was a memorable outing for me personally despite the final not going our way. For the first time after the pandemic, we were playing in front of such a big crowds and many Indian fans had turned up," he said.

"My wife travelled to Birmingham to watch our matches, and this was the first time she was watching me play a big tournament live. This is my first Commonwealth Games medal, so in all it was a special outing for me on a personal note," he said.

Furlong scored nine goals from penalty corners, while Harmanpreet scored eight from PCs and one from a penalty stroke. He also scored a hat-trick, in India's 4-1 win against Wales. England's Nicholas Bandurak remained the highest goal-scorer of the tournament with 11 goals.

India will now prepare for the upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League season 2022/23 which begins in October.

India is scheduled to play New Zealand and Spain at home. The team will return to the national coaching camp in Bengaluru on August 29. 

Also Read : Lanka Premier League to be played from December 6 

News Source : PTI

Colombo, Aug 10 (Crjcket News) The postponed Lanka Premier League (LPL) will now be held from December 6 to 23, the organisers have announced.

The T20 League which was originally slated to be played from August 1 to 21, had been rescheduled last month due to the economic crisis engulfing the island nation.

"It's my pleasure to announce that the LPL will be held from 6th to 23rd December," LPL tournament organiser Samantha Dodanwela was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The league's promoters, IPG, also confirmed the news on Twitter.

Despite the economic crisis and political unrest, Sri Lanka had successfully hosted Australia for a month-long series in July.

However, the Asia Cup, to be played from August 27 to September 11 in the island nation, was moved to UAE.

A decision on the re-draft is yet to be taken.

"It is understood that the tournament organisers are deciding between two options: either holding a fresh draft, or going ahead with as many of the available players as possible with only the slots taken up by any unavailable foreign players being re-drafted," the report read. 

Also Read : We want to create our bench strength: Rohit

News Source : PTI

Shimla, Aug 9 (Sports News) Union Youth Affairs & Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said the country's overall performance has improved in Commonwealth Games and "we are heading towards a new India." Thakur said this while interacting with the volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra Saghthan (NYKS) and the National Service Scheme (NSS) at Peterhoff here as a part of 'Har Ghar Tiranga Abhiyan'.

A youth conference and dialogue program was organised by the NYKS, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.  The Union Minister said that "India is performing well in the Commonwealth Games. We have done well in weight lifting to athletics and our overall performance has improved and India has won 61 medals and we also dominated Kenya in running events." India is growing stronger and better, he added.  India finished with 61 medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, five less than their tally four years ago at Gold Coast.

Thakur, also the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, interacted openly with the youth and got to know the views one by one from the volunteers of NYKS and the NSS and members of various youth circles.

He also exchanged views of youths on issues like youth exchange program, Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat program, Border area program for NYKS and NSS, women empowerment and awareness, sustainable development, skill development and career counselling.

He said that in the future also it will be his endeavour to organise such youth dialogue programmes across the country so that the views of the youth can reach the government.

Thakur urged the volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan and the National Service Scheme to conduct a door-to-door tricolour campaign and called upon the youth to celebrate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

He said India is celebrating 75 years of its independence and the country is in celebration mode. He said all the citizens should come forward and put national flags on their houses from August 13 to 15.

Earlier on his arrival, Union minister Thakur received a warm welcome in Shimla. 

Also Read : Chess Olympiad: India 'B' team wins bronze in Open section; India 'A' women also finish third

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 9 (Cricket News) With cricket being played round the year, India captain Rohit Sharma feels having a solid bench strength is paramount, and the team is striving to build one with an eye on the future.

Since their shock group-stage elimination in the last T20 World Cup, India have been experimenting with their squads, with injury and workload management also playing a part in it.

"We play lot of cricket, so there will be injuries and workload management, so we have to rotate players," Rohit said on Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues'.

"But it gives our bench strength to go and play the game, which is why we could try so many other guys who are ready to take that international stage and perform," he added.

"We want to create our bench strength, we want to make sure that India's future is in safe hands. That's the planning that we are trying to have." Rohit is now gearing up to lead India in the upcoming edition of the T20 showpiece in Australia, but before that, they have the Asia Cup to deal with.

He said the objective should be to get better as a team everyday.

"I don't know what next to expect but for me particularly, it's just about getting better every day as a team," said Rohit.

"No matter if you win or lose the series, that cannot take priority. What should take priority is if we are getting better as a team.

"The team's goal is important and then obviously parts in it where the individuals come into play and play the role in the team's success. But whatever the team is trying to do, the individuals need to buy into that thought process and work towards that direction." While Rohit succeeded Virat Kohli as India's all-format captain, India also had a new coach at the end of last year's T20 World Cup, with Ravi Shastri making way for Rahul Dravid, who was the captain when Rohit made his ODI debut.

Rohit spoke about the conversations they have had since taking over the reins of the Indian cricket team.

"When he became the coach here, we met and sat together in a room for a while and decided how we want to take this team forward," Rohit said.

"He was pretty much on the same thought process as me. That made it easier for me to give out a clear message to the boys because the coach and captain always need to be on the same page for the team to move in the same direction.

"One thing we have decided and have in common is we want to send the right messages and we don't want to create any confusion in the group.

"That's something we spoke about and of course, we wanted to change the style of cricket as well. We wanted to play in a certain way in all three formats and he was ready to accept all of that," Rohit said. 

Also Read : Indian pacer Renuka Singh surges to career-best ranking

News Source : PTI

Mamallapuram, Aug 9 (Chess News) India 'B' team settled for a bronze medal in the Open section while the India 'A' women's side also finished third in the 44th Chess Olympiad here on Tuesday.

India 'B' defeated Germany 3-1 in their final round match to end at third position.

Uzbekistan sprung a surprise by bagging the gold medal with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands ahead of a strong Armenian team, which beat Spain 2.5-1.5 in the final round, in the Open section.

The top-seeded India 'A' women's team crashed to a defeat in the 11th and final round to USA to see it's gold medal hopes evaporate. The Koneru Humpy-led team finished third.

Also Read : Time to do more for chess in India, says new FIDE deputy president Anand

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Aug 9 (Cricket News) Indian pacer Renuka Singh, the leading wicket-taker at the Commonwealth Games, reached a career-best ranking of 18 in the latest ICC T20 women's rankings released on Tuesday.

The 11 scalps at the recently-concluded Birmingham Games, where India finished with a silver medal, helped Renuka jump 10 places and enter the top 20 for the first time.

Jemimah Rodrigues's return to form saw her score 146 runs in Birmingham, helping her gain seven spots and return to the top 10 batters list for the first time since October 2021. She is ranked 10th.

Smriti Mandhana dropped two spots to fourth while Shafali Verma slipped to sixth.

Deepti Sharma gained two slots to reach the 36th position in the batters list.

Among bowlers, left-arm spinners Radha Yadav moved up to 14th.
 

Also Read Never let this feeling creep in that I play only one format for India now: Shikhar Dhawan

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Spurs have agreed to sign Udinese left-back Destiny Udogie and the Italy U21 international who will be loaned back to Serie A club this season before joining Tottenham in summer of 2023. Tottenham have agreed for an initial fee of £15m and there are also some performance-related bonuses in his contract.

The Italy U21 international made 35 Serie A appearances, scoring five goals, while on loan at Udinese from Hellas Verona last season. Udinese were obliged to make Udogie's move permanent after the completion of his loan this summer and he joined the club on July 15. The 19-year-old Italian full back shot to the limelight last season after an incredibly impressive debut campaign in Udinese colours. His work soon caught the attention of Antonio Conte, who had been paying particular attention to Italy following the appointment of Fabio Paratici. The 19-year-old is set to become Tottenham's seventh summer signing after the signings of Perisic, Yves Bissouma, Richarlison, Djed Spence, Clement Lenglet and Fraser Forster.

The two clubs were locked in intense talks on Monday and reached an agreement late at night. Udogie will be loaned back to Udinese for the 2022-23 season and join up with Antonio Conte and his team for pre-season next summer. Udogie has been the prime target for Spurs’ Sporting Director Fabio Paratici and manager Antonio Conte. Juventus and Inter were also interested in the 19-year-old but were not prepared to invest a lot of money for that position. Brighton had also been in touch with Udinese regarding the player but Paratici has a very good relationship with all the Serie A clubs and he always looked destined to join Spurs once talks got to an advanced stage. Tottenham started off their Premier League campaign with a 4-1 win against Southampton on Saturday and face a difficult trip to Chelsea this Sunday.

Also read: Dortmund sign Anthony Modeste as a short term replacement for Haller
 

New Delhi, Aug 9 (Cricket News) Behind Shikhar Dhawan's cheerful exterior lies an intensely "spiritual man" who has made peace with representing India in only one format.

Approaching his 37th birthday, Dhawan has made a pledge to himself.

"Till the time I am playing for India, I would like to be an asset and not a liability," Dhawan told PTI in an exclusive interaction after leading India to an ODI series victory in the West Indies.

From the start of 2020 till the end of West Indies series, Dhawan has played 22 ODIs and scored 975 runs with 10 half-centuries, the highest by an Indian batter by a distance.

"I am a calm, matured person. The performance is a reflection of my experience," Dhawan said when he was reminded of his phenomenal numbers.

"My basics have been pretty strong and I have put in a lot of work to improve my technique. Understanding a format is also very important. I understand the dynamics of ODI format and that has helped me a lot," he added when probed further.

So what is the process to remain consistent in ODIs at a time when bilateral T20Is are gaining precedence. Besides, there is also considerable gap between two 50-over series? "I never let this feeling creep into my system that "Oh God, I am playing only one format or I am playing an ODI series after a long time. Will my body respond well to the rigours of international cricket or will it not? Frankly speaking, I don't like entertaining these thoughts," the senior opener gave a peek into his thought process.

"I view it like this. If I am playing a format after a gap of two months or three months, it always gives me a chance to remain fresh and come into battle fully fit, and with enough time to work on my game." For Dhawan, it is important to value what he has rather than cribbing about what he doesn't.

"I am always counting my blessings and if I am playing one format for India, I should try and make the most of it and give it my all. I am a very positive person. You won't find a negative bone in my body," he smiled.

Dhawan feels that fitness wise, he is getting better with age.

"I think now, at 36, I am fitter than ever before and also skill-wise, I have gotten better. Gym sessions, skill sessions, running and yoga, these four things are core aspects of my training," he added.

Of late, Dhawan hasn't played red ball cricket at first-class level and does get a lot of time apart from the IPL, where he is able to work on his game, something that has really helped him.

"When I am not playing matches, I train at my own academy in Gurgaon. I mostly do my net sessions there. I try and hire some quality net bowlers. Also in and around Gurgaon, you have some good facilities and a lot of net bowlers who are ready to come and bowl to you." "As a leader, you need to get best out of people with a smile" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dhawan will soon be leading India in an away series in Zimbabwe, and is also likely to lead against South Africa at home in October, when the first team will be off to Australia for the T20 World Cup.

While he completely understands that it is a makeshift role, the veteran of 155 ODIs with nearly 6500 runs is enjoying every moment of it.

"As a leader, my first instinct is to go with a bowler's plan. I ask them what's the plan and what exactly would they want in the fielding set-up. At the highest level, everyone is a hardcore professional, who are there because they know their job well." He comes into the picture, with his plan B, only when the bowlers have failed to execute their plans.

"But yes, if their plan doesn't work, obviously there needs to be a Plan 'B' and me coming into the picture.

"If a bowler is hit for a few boundaries, he is bound to be under pressure and that's the time the captain needs to put an arm around his shoulder.

"But then also politely nudge him that 'listen your plan isn't working, so why don't you try my plan for a change?'" A captain only grows into a role with time as one understands the core principles of man management, so very necessary at the elite level.

"As a leader, when you start interacting with players, after a passage of time, you get a fair idea of how they react to situations.

"No two players are same and the way you handle each of them will also be different -- with some you need to be a slightly lenient, with some you need to be a bit more pushy. That's the beauty of a leader. You have to give them love and extract the best out of them." While he understands that he is more of a stand-in captain, Dhawan does communicate with his opening partner and regular skipper, Rohit Sharma, when the latter takes a break.

"Obviously, I speak to Rohit as he is the main leader. So when it comes to continuity, you need to discuss and consult with him. Team's vision is paramount for all of us." "Have had good communication with Rahul bhai" ---------------------------------------------------- Head coach Rahul Dravid is big on communication, something that has helped Dhawan in expressing his ideas.

"It's always a two-way street between captain and coach, and same is the case between me and Rahul bhai. Whatever decision is taken is a collective one," he said.

"In meetings, every individual is given freedom to express his opinion and once we get multiple opinion, we come together and decide what's best. In this way, you empower people to think and at the same time decide what's best for the team," he reasoned.

Setbacks and spiritualism ---------------------------- For Dhawan, "balance on and off the field" is very important, in theory and in practice.

"I have been a balanced person all my life. If you look at my career, I played the U-19 World Cup in 2004 where I was the highest scorer. But then, I had to wait for nine years before I made my Test debut (2013, Mohali)," Dhawan recollected his years of wait despite being a heavy scorer in domestic cricket.

"From junior India to Test cap, it took me almost a decade and it couldn't have happened, if I wouldn't have been patient and remained positive." In the last four years, he has learnt playing the flute, and in fact, got a lot of traction on social media for his rendition of the Jagjit Singh classic 'Hothon se chulo tum, mera geet amar kar do'.

Playing flute is a stress-buster for him and practising spiritualism after facing some personal setbacks has given his life new meaning.

"In my personal life also, I have seen ups and downs, and I have been able to come through those rough times because of spirituality. I listen to the teachings of spiritual gurus like Shivani didi and Gaur Gopal Das. Listening to their teachings brings in a certain sense of calmness in me," he said.

He signed off with his life's philosophy.

"To have a blessed life, you need to have a blessed mind first." 

Also Read : England Women’s Head Coach Lisa Keightley to leave role in September

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 9 (Football News) National captain Sunil Chhetri was on Tuesday named the AIFF Men's Footballer of the Year for the seventh time while Manisha Kalyan was picked for her maiden honour in the women's category for the 2021-22 season.

Chhetri and Kalyan were nominated as the winners by their respective national team coaches Igor Stimac and Thomas Dennerby.

Chhetri, the third highest goal scorer among active international players, was first named for the award in 2007. He then went on to win it in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018–19 seasons.

"Sunil was our highest goal-scorer, scoring 5 goals, and also the Player of the Tournament in the SAFF Cup," Stimac said.

"Furthermore, he led from the front scoring 4 goals in 3 games in the 3rd round of AFC Asian Cup qualifiers in Kolkata. His commitment, leadership, discipline and hard work were impressive throughout bad, and good times." For Kalyan, it was her first Women’s Footballer of the Year award. She won the Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year in the 2020-21 season.

"Manisha has come up with some outstanding performances for the National Team, and also her club. She has scored goals, and also assisted on a regular basis," Dennerby said.

"Blessed with excellent speed and being a good dribbler, she has the potential to play in bigger leagues in the future. She’s young, and still developing but has been our best player.” Kalyan recently signed a multi-year contract with Cypriot top division winners Apollon Ladies, which has earned a place in the qualifying rounds of the 2022-23 UEFA Women's Champions League.

In other awards, Martina Thokchom was named the 2021-22 Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year, and Vikram Partap Singh was picked as the 2021-22 Men’s Emerging Footballer of the Year by the two national team coaches.

AIFF Awards (2021-22): Women’s Footballer of the Year: Manisha Kalyan Men’s Footballer of the Year: Sunil Chhetri Women’s Emerging Footballer of the Year: Martina Thokchom Men’s Emerging Footballer of the Year: Vikram Partap Singh Best Referee of the Year: Crystal John Best Assistant Referee of the Year: Ujjal Halder. 

Also Read : Dortmund sign Anthony Modeste as a short term replacement for Haller

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Borussia Dortmund have completed the signing of Anthony Modeste from FC Köln, with the striker joining the black and yellow on a one year contract. Borussia Dortmund have reinforced their attack with the signing of Anthony Modeste from FC Köln as the 34 year old joins them and will act as the short-term replacement for Sebastien Haller.

The BVB officials made the decision to sign another striker after Sebastien Haller was diagnosed with a malignant testicular tumour that will keep him sidelined for the majority of the season. They have found their short-term solution in Modeste, who is a proven goalscorer in the Bundesliga as his performances last season helped FC Koln finish seventh in the Bundesliga and qualified for the UEFA Europa Conference League. He recently hinted that he would be open to a move away from the club and now he joins the best team in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, where he could have an important role to play this season up front.

Modeste scored 20 goals in just 32 Bundesliga appearances for FC Köln last season and 10 of those goals were headers, and he will certainly add a new dimension to Dortmund’s attacking play. According to reports in Germany, FC Köln will receive a transfer fee of just under five million euros for Modeste as the striker is in line to make his Borussia Dortmund debut on Friday in the Bundesliga against SC Freiburg. Anthony Modeste became Dortmund’s ninth signing of the summer transfer window. It remains to be seen if BVB will make further new signings before the transfer window closes, they are currently being linked with a move for Callum Hudson-Odoi who is reportedly interested in making the switch over to Germany to get more regular playing time. 

Also read: Benjamin Sesko is set to join RB Leipzig next year
 

Chennai, Aug 9 (Football News) Indian team forward Rahim Ali has extended his stay at Chennaiyin FC till 2024, the two-time ISL champions announced on Tuesday.

Ali is among the handful of members of the Chennaiyin squad that reached the ISL final in the 2019-20 season. He has made 40 appearances for the club spanning over three years.

"I'm very happy to sign a new contract with Chennaiyin FC. There was never a doubt in my mind. I'm not going anywhere," Ali was quoted as saying in a release.

The 22-year-old is also a current member of the national team, having made six appearances since his debut in September last year.

Ali was also part of the Indian squad that won the SAFF Championship last year, coming off the bench in three games, including the final against Nepal and assisted in the third goal.

The forward was also a part of the Indian squad that took part in the U-17 World Cup held in the country in 2017.

He also made 31 appearances for I-League outfit Indian Arrows FC. 

Also Read : Inter Milan and Alexis Sanchez mutually agree to terminate contract

News Source : PTI

(Football news) RB Leipzig are close to agreeing a deal with Red Bull Salzburg for their Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko in 2023. The 19-year-old has earned rave reviews for his performances in the Austrian league this season as he scored five times in the Bundesliga last season, and a number of top clubs around Europe have been extensively scouting him in recent months.

In late July Salzburg were standing firm with their intention to keep Sesko for at least one more season, as the youngster has attracted interest from Manchester United, Newcastle and Wolves, as well as Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. However, it is Salzburg's sister club Leipzig who became the front runners to bringing Sesko to Germany as they continue their aggressive approach to the summer transfer market. They have already brought in Xaver Schlager and David Raum to strengthen their squad, while Timo Werner is also expected to return to the club following an unsuccessful spell at Chelsea.

The striker has become one of the most sought after teenagers in European football and has been on Manchester United’s radar for quite some time, but it looks like Erik ten Hag’s side will miss out on the 12-time Slovenia international. According to reports Salzburg did not want to sell for less than £55 million with United’s interest in Marko Arnautovic it may have been a direct result of Sesko opting to join Leipzig over the twenty-time league champions. Missing out on Sesko is yet another blow in Ten Hag’s transfer plans to rebuild a Manchester United side that desperately needs quality reinforcements in the forward line.

The former Ajax manager has now become accustomed to setbacks in his first transfer window at the helm and with his priority target Frenkie de Jong not joining him to Old Trafford as it looks like the panic is kicking in with 24 days of the summer transfer window remaining. Sesko, who already has two goals to his name this season, will now spend another season with the Austrian giants before making the move to Germany next year. The teenager’s career path looks to be following a similar path to Erling Haaland who made an instant impact for CIty scoring two goals on his Premier League debut. Manchester United missed out on the Norwegian superstar during his time with Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, and  look to have missed out on another burgeoning talent in Sesko.

Also read: Why are Manchester United and Chelsea interested in Benjamin Sesko?
 

New Delhi, Aug 9 (Cricket News) Former India all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar has been appointed head coach of the Nepal cricket team.

Prabhakar succeeds Pubudu Dassanayake, who stepped down from the position in July to take up head coach's role with Canada.

Prabhakar, who featured in 39 Tests and 130 ODIs for India between 1984 to 1996, has previously coached Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh Ranji teams.

He also served as the bowling coach for the Afghanistan national team in 2016.

"Seeing the interest for cricket in Nepal, their talent & skill level, I'm really looking forward to working with the Nepal cricket team to make them into a cricketing force to be reckoned with," Prabhakar was quoted as saying in a statement by Cricket Association of Nepal. 

Also Read : Kohli, KL Rahul back in India squad for Asia Cup, Iyer relegated to standby list

News Source : PTI

Greensboro (US), Aug 8 (Golf News) Anirban Lahiri rounded off the week with a 2-under 68 in a tournament that made 20-year-old Korean Joohyung "Tom" Kim a hero.

Kim added to his stature of a rising star with an emphatic five-shot victory over compatriot Sungjae Im and John Huh of the U.S. at the Wyndham Championship here on Sunday.

Lahiri, whose rounds for the week included 66-67-68-68 for a 11-under total, finished tied eighth.

The Indian had five birdies against three bogeys on a day when he missed quite a few chances. Yet he will rise to 66th as the Play-offs start with St. Jude Invitational.

At 20 years, one month and 17 days, Kim became the second-youngest winner since the second World War. The youngest being Jordan Spieth at the 2013 John Deere Classic. He is also the first PGA Tour winner born in the 2000s.

He closed with a stunning final round of 9-under 61, that included an 8-under 27 front nine. He totalled 20-under winning total. His 20-under came after a quadruple bogey on his first hole on the first day.

Kim, who became a temporary member last Sunday, needed to win to be able to play in the lucrative FedExCup Playoffs. 

Also Read : Diksha Dagar, Aditi Ashok miss cut at Women's Open

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 8 (Hockey News) An angry Indian men's hockey team coach Graham Reid lashed out at his wards for their disastrous showing in the Commonwealth Games final, saying they lacked the energy and application required to upstage mighty Australia. In one of its worst performances in recent times, India suffered an embarrassing 0-7 drubbing at the hands of the defending champions to settle for a silver medal. Australia blew away India with their whirlwind speed and relentless attacks, extending their dominance at the CWG stage, claiming their seventh straight gold.

"There is a thing called energy and I don't think we had that today," Reid told PTI after the match.

"When you play Australia this can happen sometimes. But I'm disappointed we didn't play well at all. We let ourselves down and all the things we talked about we didn't do. It's disappointing." India, thus, lost to Australia for the third time in CWG final after New Delhi 2010 and the Glasgow 2014.

The thumping loss also reminded of India's 1-7 thrashing by the world number one side in their pool match at the Tokyo Olympics last year, and Reid said perhaps they were intimidated by the atmosphere.

The margin would have been worse had it it not been for veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. "We could not get pressure out of the ball today, we needed to do that. We talk about getting in front of the day," Reid said.

"Pressure will always be there at the big stage. It's never away, who knows what history is in store, it's hard to gauge. I told them that the most important thing was to play our best and the result will look after itself. As I said we have got a lot of work to do." Reid, himself an Australian, knows what it takes to beat his home country in a big match.

"At the end, it boils down to winning one-on-one battle and we didn't win that today. If you want to win a final, that's what you have to do. You have to win every single battle." Manpreet injury blow ============= There was no let up as the Aussies kept pressing hard from the start, while India hardly enjoyed possession, which was further compounded by an injury to skipper Manpreet Singh.

Manpreet had a collison with Aran Zalewski in the second quarter and was in quite "pain" as he spoke to the media, clutching his left shoulder.

"I'm going for an X-ray but it's painful and seems like a fracture," he said.

He, however, said Australia are not invincible.

"I won't say they are an invincible team. They also have XI players we too have XI players. It's who avails the opportunity wins the match.

"But we made some mistakes and conceded easy possession today. We need to work on that. We can beat them if we play our best," Manpreet said.

Having failed to perform to their potential on Monday, the skipper vowed to comeback stronger against Australia in future.

"We need to have more pressure on the Aussies in upcoming tournaments. We'll watch these matches and we'll come back strong.

"It was not our A-game today and we kept conceding silly goals. We have a lot to learn. Not getting a PC is one of the areas we have to work on, distribute the ball well in the midfield," he said.

Hard to swallow for Sreejesh -------------------------------- Goalkeeper Sreejesh said missing a CWG gold for the second time in his chequered career is a hard pill for him to swallow.

"We didn't win a silver medal, we lost gold. It's disappointing, but in a tournament like the Commonwealth Games, getting into the finals is a great thing.

"As the most senior (in the team) this is my second time losing in the final (after 2014), so it's quite hard but for the youngsters this is going to be a great learning," he said.

Also Read : India settle for silver in men's hockey, lose 0-7 to Australia in final

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 8 (Cricket News) Former skipper Virat Kohli and a fit-again vice-captain KL Rahul were back in the 15-member Indian squad for the Asia Cup while senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah missed out owing to back injury.

Rahul, who did not feature in the T20 series against West Indies due to COVID-19, has recuperated from sports hernia surgery and is back as vice-captain.

The notable names dropped from the main squad are batter Shreyas Iyer and left-arm spinner Axar Patel. Seamer Deepak Chahar, who has had a four month lay-off due to hamstring tear and back injury was also among reserves.

The other absentee from the squad is pacer Harshal Patel owing to rib injury.

"Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel were not available for selection owing to injuries. They are currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru," the BCCI said on Twitter.

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Y Chahal, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan. 

Also Read : Duleep Trophy back in old format, Irani Cup slotted in calendar

News Source : PTI

Mamallapuram, Aug 8 (Chess News) Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand, who has been elected deputy president of FIDE, on Monday said it is time to do more for the sport in the country.

"We are going to work as a team... especially do more for India. There are plans to hold more tournaments. Our youngsters are playing very well. We have to use that momentum and do something.

"We have to see what we can do in association with the Tamil Nadu government," Anand, who was part of incumbent FIDE president Dvorkovich's team that contested the elections to the world chess body, told reporters here.

Dvorkovich won the elections convincingly on Sunday to retain his post.

"It is a good time for India, when everybody is talking about chess to do more for the sport," the five-time world champion said and underlined the presence of numerous players from Tamil Nadu in the various Indian teams competing at the 44th Olympiad.

Anand further said he was happy because the Olympiad was happening in Chennai and added that "it (the Olympiad) has been an out and out success." Asked about his vision for India now that he has been elected as FIDE deputy president, he spoke about the need to push the game in schools and various other programmes that are already in place.

"In a sense, we are already one of the top (chess) nations. Now we are one of the top organising nations...with the Olympiad. The next step is to see how to cover the gaps. We need to push it in schools, social programmes that the president spoke about.

"We are strong in some areas. Very happy with the way this Olympiad has been organised," Anand added.

On his part, Dvorkovich, who has been re-elected as the FIDE president for a second term, thanked the Tamil Nadu government for efforts taken to help organise the Olympiad, the sport's showpiece.

He said he wanted to continue what had happened in his first tenure.

"We want to continue what has happened for four years so far. Compared to four years ago when we started from scratch.

"We have something to work on. Chess should be much stronger in the next few years. Chess in schools, chess for people and promoting women's chess are among the priorities," Dvorkovich, a former Russian Prime Minister, said. 

Also Read : Sharath Kamal, Nikhat Zareen to be India's flagbearers for CWG closing ceremony

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 8 (Cricket News) The Duleep Trophy, back in the calendar in its old zonal format after three years, will kick-start the Indian domestic season from September 8 with 1500 games across all age-groups over a period of six months, the BCCI said on Monday.

"The prestigious Duleep Trophy will mark the start of a full-fledged season, which will also see a return of the Irani Cup,' BCCI secretary Jay Shah was quoted as saying by media release.

"The Duleep Trophy (September 8-25) will be contested between six zones (North, South, Central, West, East and Northeast) on a knockout basis," Shah added.

The BCCI was not following the zonal format for the last few seasons, fielding the India Red, Blue and Green teams instead.

With the zonal format making a comeback, it will have one extra zone in northeast, besides the existing five.

The two multi-day tournaments will be followed by the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (October 11-November 5) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (November 12- December 2).

The two white-ball tournaments will be contested between 38 teams split into three groups of eight teams and two groups comprising seven sides.

The Ranji Trophy will be back to its old format and starts from December 13 and ends on February 20.

The elite and plate groups will be back. The elite group will comprise 32 teams and will have four groups of eight teams in a home and away format with each team playing seven matches in the league stage.

The top two teams from each of the four groups will directly qualify for the quarterfinals.

The plate group will comprise six teams with 15 league matches and the top four will directly qualify for the semi-final while the bottom two will play against each other for the 5th/6th place.

Both the elite group and plate group league matches will start on December 13 with the plate league concluding on January 29 and the elite group finishing on February 20.

Women's domestic itinerary ----------------------------- As the ICC Women's T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in South Africa in February 2023, the women's calendar begins with the Senior Women's T20 Trophy on October 11 and concludes on November 5.

It will then be followed by the Senior Women's Inter-zonal T20 and T20 Challenger. The 50-over format will then take over with Senior Women's one-day Trophy and the inter-zonal one-day.

Both the Senior Women's Inter-zonal T20 and one-day have been re-introduced this season.

For the first time, the board will conduct a one-day tournament for girls at the U-16 level. The competition will help the girls get a feel of competitive cricket at a young age and help them make a smoother transition to the U-19 level.

Since South Africa will also host the inaugural U-19 Women's T20 World Cup in January, the women's U-19 T20 Trophy and Women's U-19 T20 Challenger have been scheduled from October 1 to November 7.

Domestic Calendar Senior Men Sep 8-25: Duleep Trophy (Multi-Day) Oct 1-5 : Irani Cup Oct 11-Nov 5: Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Nov 12-Dec 2: Vijay Hazare (50 over) Senior Women Oct 11-Nov 5 : National T20 Nov 8-15 : Inter-Zonal T20 Nov 20-26 : Challenger T20 Jan 18-Feb 7 : National One Dayers Feb 12-21 : Inter-Zonal One Dayers.. 

Also Read : Jasprit Bumrah ruled out of Asia Cup with back injury

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 8 (Table Tennis News) G Sathiyan bagged his maiden Commonwealth Games singles medal as he won bronze, beating home-favourite Paul Drinkhall 4-3 in front of a packed crowd here.

Sathiyan avenged his men's doubles final loss against Drinkhall and triumphed 11-9 11-3 11-5 8-11 9-11 10-12 and 11-9.

The bronze was Sathiyan's sixth overall medal at the Commonwealth Games since Gold Coast 2018 and back-to-back medals in as many days.

On Sunday, Sathiyan paired up with the veteran Achanta Sharath Kamal to win the men's doubles silver after going down to the English duo of Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford. 

Also Read : Sharath enters singles final, settles for silver in men's doubles; Sathiyan falters

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 8 (Cricket News) Senior fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is set to be ruled out of the Asia Cup T20 tournament with a back injury, which would require some time to heal.

The Indian squad for the continental championship will be selected on Monday, but it is still not clear if the official announcement will happen on the day.

"Jasprit Bumrah has a back injury and will not play in the Asia Cup. He is our main bowler and we would like him to be back in action before T20 World Cup. WE can't risk him in Asia Cup and the injury could aggravate," a senior BCCI official told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

Bumrah last played in the ODI away series against England before being rested from the rubber against West Indies and the upcoming one against Zimbabwe.

However, it is understood that the back issue will keep him out for some time and he will need to do rehabilitation work at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru before being deemed fit for the white-ball home series against Australia and south Africa in September-October.

Bumrah had had similar issues few years ago and was out for a considerable amount of time.

Currently, the pacer is holidaying with his family in the United States.

Bumrah's injury is a setback for the Indian team as he would need some matches to get into the groove after a long lay-off which will be more than two months.

While he is an automatic choice as and when he makes a comeback, the same can't be said about someone like Avesh Khan, who, if given a chance in the Asia Cup, would like to prove his worth to remain in the mix. 

Also Read : Prabath Jayasuriya, Emma Lamb win ICC Player of Month honour for July

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Aug 8 (Cricket News) Sri Lanka spin sensation Prabath Jayasuriya and England women's cricket team's emerging all-rounder Emma Lamb were on Monday voted ICC 'Player of the Month' for July.

The 30-year-old Jayasuriya faced off competition from England's in-form batter and June's Player of the Month winner Jonny Bairstow and French youngster Gustav McKeon to claim the honour.

Jayasuriya, who made his Test debut in Sri Lanka's final Test match against Australia in Galle earlier in July, picked up 12 wickets and guided the Lankans to a series-levelling victory.

He also scalped another 17 wickets in the recently-concluded two-match Test series against Pakistan.

"I am delighted with this announcement, and wish to thank the fans for voting me as the ICC Men's Player of the Month. Certainly it has been an incredible month for me, as I made the Test debut, and also got the opportunity to contribute for my team to level the Test series played against Australia and Pakistan," Jayasuriya said.

"I take this opportunity to thank my fans, teammates, coaches, family and friends for helping my journey, and thrilled with what I am experiencing at this moment in my life," he added.

Meanwhile, Lamb was rewarded after an extraordinary three-match ODI series against South Africa.

The 24-year-old youngster beat compatriot Nat Sciver and India pacer Renuka Singh to win the award.

Lamb amassed 234 runs in three matches, including a match-winning century (102 off 97 balls) followed by two half-centuries (67 off 65 balls and 65 off 66 balls) in the next two games.

"It's very exciting to have been awarded the ICC Women's Player of the Month award for July. I'm very happy to have earned my spot at the top of the order in the Test and ODI team and it's been brilliant to be able to score some runs and help the team win," Lamb said.

"Everyone in the squad contributed to our multi-format series win against South Africa so I just want to keep scoring runs for the team. I feel very lucky that my performances across the last month have been rewarded and I hope to carry on my good form," she added. 

Also Read : Bhavi Devchand's all-round leads Scorchers to victory over Dragons

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 8 (Hockey News) India settled for the silver medal in men's hockey after losing to Australia 0-7 in a one-sided final at the Commonwealth Games here on Monday.

The goals were scored by Blake Govers, Nathan Ephraums, Jacob Anderson, Tom Wickham and Fynn Ogilvie.

Up against the rampaging Australians, Indians struggled to get their act right in the summit showdown, which turned out to be completely lopsided.

Australia scored the first goal of the game in the the first quarter, having started the final on a dominating note.

Australia were 2-0 at the end of the first quarter, with Ephraums scoring the second goal for the six-time CWG champions.

They continued to dominate the game and scored five more goals to extend their domination at the multi-sport sporting extravaganza. 

Also Read : Indian DOTA 2 Team win bronze at Commonwealth Esports Championship 2022

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Everton are closing in on the signing of Wolves captain Conor Coady. The 29-year-old is expected to join on an initial loan deal with an option to buy the England international next season. The deal could happen before Everton's next game against Aston Villa on Saturday as Coady was dropped by Wolves manager Bruno Lage for Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Leeds when Max Kilman was paired with Nathan Collins in a four-man defence. It was the first time that the 29-year-old defender was left out by choice in a Wolves shirt since April 2017, and he remained an unused substitute at Elland Road.

Everton have reportedly beaten West Ham for his signature, with Coady wanting to end his seven-year stint at the Molineux for guaranteed first-team football ahead of the Qatar World Cup and a potential England call-up. It is hard to understand why Wolves would sanction a loan move for Coady as the player will want to play regularly, which is very understandable but if Coady was allowed to depart and Wolves had trouble with playing four at the back then serious questions would need to be asked. It is a tricky situation as Wolves have to consider the implications of not having Coady around or even purchase a replacement for him. Having let several experienced stars go already,  Wolves have got to make sure they receive compensation now and not next summer so that the funds can then be reinvested to make the team stronger.

At his press conference on Friday, Lage said Coady was "still my captain but accepted he had decisions to make about the structure of his team.: It's only right and respectful not to answer on individuals. He's one of the best people I know in football. Today I can say he is a guy I will keep in my friendship, he is still my captain.”

Coady was also attracting interest from West Ham and Lage said "I have massive respect for him. I need to make my decisions, but I cannot forget Coady or any player. It's not just about the World Cup, every player wants to play. Coady and all the players are focused and try to improve in a line of four. I have all my team motivated." Asked whether Coady could leave, Lage added: "I really don't know. But I will respect him and understand what is best for him."

Also read: RB Leipzig re-sign Timo Werner from Chelsea for £25.3m
 

New Delhi, Aug 8 (Badminton News) Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded ace badminton player P V Sindhu as phenomenal and champion of champions on Monday after she won the gold medal in the singles at the Commonwealth Games event.

Sindhu added a Commonwealth singles gold to her wide array of medals with a convincing straight-game win over Canada's Michelle Li in the final in Birmingham on Monday.

The world number seven from India outplayed her 13th ranked opponent 21-15, 21-13. Praising her, Modi said, "The phenomenal P V Sindhu is a champion of champions! She repeatedly shows what excellence is all about. Her dedication and commitment is awe-inspiring. Congratulations to her on winning the Gold medal at the CWG. Wishing her the best for her future endeavours." 

Also Read : Sindhu wins maiden CWG gold with win over Michelle Li

News Source : PTI

(Football news) After the best goalscoring season of his career, Portuguese winger Goncalo Guedes has reportedly earned a move to Wolverhampton as he is said to be finalising a transfer worth up to £35 million. After arriving at Valencia in 2017 from Paris Saint-Germain, the 25-year-old forward has established himself as a regular in Portugal's international side, collecting 32 caps and scoring the only goal in their 1-0 Nations League final win against the Netherlands in 2019 where he helped his country win the Nations League title.

Having never previously scored more than five league goals in a season, last season Guedes racked up 11, as well as six assists for Valencia and helped his side through to the final of the Copa del Rey. Wolves have no shortage of talent as they arguably have the strongest Portuguese contingent in the Premier League including manager Bruno Lage and four players who started their opening fixture against Leeds United, Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence, Ruben Neves and Jose Sa, with Joao Moutinho and Nelson Semedo among the others in their squad.

According to the reports Guedes is set to sign for Wolves after agreeing personal terms with the club. His arrival at the same starting position may be opening for the club as Morgan Gibbs-White's name continues to be included in heavy transfer speculation, with Nottingham Forest keen to sign him for a similar price Wolves will fork out on this reported deal. Replacing an unproven talent like Gibbs-White with an established international performer like Guedes would likely be seen as a win by the club. It has also been reported that they should be able to collect £12m from Everton in exchange for club captain Conor Coady as well.

Neto excelled on the opening day even though Wolves were defeated 2-1 by Leeds United. Jesse Marsch’s team earned three points thanks to goals from Rodrigo Moreno and USMNT international Brenden Aaronson. Despite the attacking impetus shown from Neto, Morgan Gibbs-White and co, there was a lack of an out-and-out striker as Raul Jimenez’s injury only leaves Hwang Hee-chan as the available striker. This doesn’t necessarily play a part in the arrival of the Portuguese international as he can play up front and as a winger. The 25-year-old is one of the many very capable players who had to leave Paris Saint-Germain to play regular football.

Current Valencia manager Gennaro Gattuso is pretty content with the loss of the Portuguese winger for a while now. Problems with the hierarchy have seen several perfectly competent managers struggle in the La Liga and it looks like Gattuso is facing the same issue as the manager and it seems things aren't getting any easier for him at the Mestalla. Talk remains of who they could bring to the club. There were rumours of a few Tottenham Hotspur players being close to moving to Spain. Bryan Gil did make the move on loan whilst other targeted players like Dele Alli and Tanguy Ndombele moved elsewhere. Wolves weren’t the most clinical side in the attacking third last term and there are few signs of that improving just yet, the arrival of Goncalo Guedes for a sizable fee is certainly a step in the right direction.

Also read: Sevilla sign free agent Isco on a 2 year deal

Birmingham, Aug 8 (Badminton News) India's sporting icon PV Sindhu added a Commonwealth Singles gold to her wide array of medals with a convincing straight-game win over Canada's Michelle Li in the final here on Monday.

The world number seven from India outplayed her 13th ranked opponent 21-15 , 21-13 in front of a packed crowd at the NEC arena. The 30-year-old had to produce something special for her first win against Sindhu in eight years but the Indian did not give her a window.

Sindhu was clinical in her short game and pounced on the slightest of attacking opportunities.

Michelle had beaten the 2019 World Champion way back in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

In the first game, Michelle was trying to get points by playing close to the net while Sindhu was the more attacking one.

A smash on Li's left made it 7-5 before the Canadian came with a drop shot on Sindhu's right to make it 7-6.

Sindhu took three straight points after the interval to stretch her lead to 14-8. Michelle then netted a regulation forehand drop, leaving her smiling in frustration.

Michelle did come up with two consecutive backhand winners for 14-17 but Sindhu bagged the first game with a swat shot on the Candian's body.

The Hyderabadi took a 4-2 lead in the second with a brilliant retrieve off her body and was cruising 11-6 at the interval.

The crowd sensed a comeback from Michelle who won the longest rally of the match with a forehand winner. Sindhu however shut the door on her and completed a fine win with a cross court winner.

"I had been waiting for this gold for a long time and finally I have got it. I am super happy. Thanks to the crowd, they made me win today," said Sindhu after the final.

Also Read : Sindhu one step away from winning maiden gold, Sen too makes singles final

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 8 (Sports News) Star paddler Sharath Kamal and world champion boxer Nikhat Zareen have been named India's flagbearers during the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games here on Monday.

The 40-year-old Sharath has a rich haul of four medals in this edition of the Games, having won the men's team and mixed team gold and a silver in the men's doubles event.

He will also be playing in the men's singles gold medal match later in the day.

Zareen, on the other hand, won the gold medal in the light flyweight event (50kg) on Sunday.

"Nikhat Zareen and Sharath Kamal will be India's flagbearers in the closing ceremony," the Indian team's chef de mission Rajesh Bhandari told PTI.

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and men's hockey captain Manpreet Singh were the flagbearers for the opening ceremony. 

Also Read : Chess Olympiad: India 'B' draws with Azerbaijan; India 'A', 'C' teams register wins

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 8 (Boxing News) Fast-rising Indian boxer Sagar Ahlawat concluded an impressive Commonwealth Games campaign by clinching the silver medal in the superheavy weight (+92kg) division here.

Competing in his maiden international event, Sagar lost the gold medal bout to home favourite Delicious Orie via a 5-0 unanimous decision late on Sunday.

The 20-year-old, who surprised everyone with his powerful performance in the earlier bouts, was forced to defend in the opening round as Orie assumed the role of the aggressor.

But the Indian defended well and also managed to land some counter punches with all five judges ruling in his favour.

However a minute into the second round, the Haryana pugilist, who belongs to a family of farmers, seemed to have tired as he repeatedly resorted to clinching, which also earned him a warning by the referee.

By the third round, Sagar looked completely spent but managed to land a few jabs. He also started bleeding as one of Orie's punches left a cut above his left eye.

The Englishman took full advantage of that connected a flurry of upper cuts to take the title.

Despite the loss in the final it was a successful campaign for the youngster, who took up the sport five years ago after reading a newspaper article on the 2015 'Fight of the Century' between boxing legends Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao.

The Indian boxing contingent will return with seven medals, including three gold, a silver and three bronze.

Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Amit Panghal (51kg) and Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) are India's three gold medallists. 

Also Read : Gold Rush:Boxers Nikhat Zareen, Amit Panghal, Nitu grab maiden CWG gold medals

News Source : PTI

(Football news) A first half goal by Dortmund captain Marco Reus was enough to carry last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund past Bayer Leverkusen in their first match in the Bundesliga on Saturday but their win was overshadowed by an injury to new signing Karim Adeyemi. It was also a victorious return to coach for Edin Terzic, who was back on the bench after 15 months following his first stint as an interim coach in 2021.

Adeyemi's injury forced him off in the 23rd minute and was the latest new signing who got injured, as Dortmund are already without defender Niklas Sule who is nursing a thigh injury and forward Sebastien Haller could be out for months following the discovery of a malignant testicular tumour. Adeyemi thought he had scored the first goal when he turned a Youssoufa Moukoko cutback toward goal in the 10th minute but the ball was kept on the line by Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky before Reus stabbed it over for the much deserved lead. Minutes later, the German international Adeyemi was taken off following a knock on his foot 

Leverkusen, who finished third last season, had their share of chances and Mo Dahoud perfectly timed a sliding tackle in the 42nd minute on Patrik Schick who would have had the chance to level. Dortmund came close to doubling the lead after the break with Hradecky denying Thorgan Hazard in the 50th before Schick responded with a pair of chances of his own and forced two good saves from Dortmund's Gregor Kobel. It was a much improved performance by Leverkusen who were shocked last week in the German Cup first round exit to third division team Elversberg. The hopes of a draw were spoilt when Hradecky was sent off for holding the ball with his hands outside the box late in the game.

"We did not start really well, lost possession a few times but recovered well. They were better after the break but we defended our lead well," said Terzic, who coached for the first time in the Bundesliga in front of fans. Sometimes it's not possible to score more than one and you have to protect that clean sheet instead."

"He tried to play on but it was not possible," Terzic said. "We have to wait until tomorrow to have a clear diagnosis."

RB Leipzig dropped points in their first match of the Bundesliga season, drawing 1-1 against VfB Stuttgart on Sunday despite taking the lead early, they went on to miss a bagful of chances in the second half. Leipzig lost 5-3 to Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup last week. The defending DFB Pokal winners got off to a flying start as 2021/22 Bundesliga Player of the Year Christopher Nkunku slotted the ball in the back of the net to take the lead in the eighth minute. Stuttgart gradually grew into the game and found space to attack, with Naouirou Ahamada's strike from the edge of the box levelling in the 31st minute with France's youth international first career goal. Dani Olmo also could not beat Mueller in the 73rd as Leipzig piled up a total of 27 efforts towards goal to Stuttgart's 11.

Also read: Erling Haaland brace propels Manchester City to victory over West Ham

Other results were:

• VFL Bochum 1(Stoger) - 2 Mainz (Onisiwo x2)
• Augsburg 0 - 4 Freiburg (Gregoritsch, Grifo, Ginter, Doan)
• Wolfsburg 2 (Nmecha, Guilavogui) - 2 Werder (Fulkrug, Bittencourt)
• Union Berlin 3 (Siebatcheu, Becker, Knoche) - 1 Hertha Berlin (Lukebakio)
• Monchengladbach 3 (Bensebaini, Thuram, Elvedi) - 1 Hoffenheim (Skov)
• Koln 3 (Kilian, Kainz, Ljubicic) - 1 Schalke (Butler)

Birmingham, Aug 8 (Cricket News) Heartbroken after a gold medal slipped out of their hands, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur harped on the need to stop repeating same mistakes in 'title clashes', saying the "mental block" has to be broken, going forward.

Indian team came to close winning coveted gold on women cricket's CWG debut but fell short by nine runs after being in a dominant position against mighty Australia. It was deja vu for Harmanpreet and Co. who had suffered a similar inexplicable batting collapse during the T20 World Cup finals defeat against Australia in 2020 and the 2017 ODI World Cup final in England.

"Every time in big finals, we make the same mistakes again and again (with the bat), that is something we have to improve," Harmanpreet said after the match on Sunday.

"We don't do these mistakes in the league phase or in bilateral. That is blocking our mind somewhere," the skipper added.

With 50 needed off the last six overs with eight wickets in hand, India seemed to be on course to title triumph but lost last five wickets for 13 runs owing to some poor shot selections.

Harmanpreet and Jemimah Rodrigues strung a 96-run partnership but both ended up playing some poor shots to make their way back to the dug out.

"I am someone who is always looking for one more batter in the side. Unfortunately, we're working on that. Once we get that, this thing [collapsing] will go away." "After losing two crucial wickets, the way Jemi (Jemimah Rodrigues) and I batted was much needed at that time. You need to hold your nerves. We were nearly there." "Maybe if Pooja (Vastrakar) or I were around, we could've won the game. But that is part of the game; sometimes some things you can't control. It is great learning for us," she added.

Although India ended on the losing side in the summit clash, Harmanpreet is "happy and satisfied" with her side's CWG campaign.

"I know we were close to winning gold, but all around our performance was great. This is the first time we got to play in this tournament and we're happy to have won a silver medal.

"A medal is something people back home will get inspired from and they could start playing cricket. As a team, we want to inspire young girls. Doing well on this platform will motivate a lot of people back home." All-rounder Tahlia McGrath was a part of the Australian playing XI despite testing positive for COVID-19.

"They informed us before the toss. That was something not in our control. The CWG had to take a decision and we were okay with it since she wasn't very ill, so we decided to play. We had to show sportsman spirit.

"I'm happy we didn't say no to Tahlia, it (missing the final) would've even very hard-hitting for her." India put up a spirited fielding display that helped them restrict Australia 161 for 8.

"If you want to beat this Australian team, you have to field well. If you give them easy runs, they can easily take the game away. We discussed it in the team meeting and Radha (Yadav) set the example for us.

"The effort we put up today is something we wanted to do. I know the last 2-3 overs [in the chase] were not in our favour but throughout the game, the way we played was outstanding to watch." "We've been working on our fielding for a long time. I'm happy with the way we fielded today. That is something we wanted to do as a team," Harmanpreet said.

Also Read : Iyer, spinners complete 4-1 Windies rout as India win final game by 88 runs

News Source : PTI

Mamallapuram, Aug 7 (Chess News) India 'B' played out a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan in the 9th round of the open section, while India 'A' and 'C' teams registered identical 3-1 wins in the 44th Chess Olympiad here on Sunday.

Teenaged Grandmaster D Gukesh saw his winning streak come to a halt after he drew his top board game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov after having notched up eight victories on the trot.

His sensational run included wins over world No.5 Fabiano Caruana and former world championship challenger Alexei Shirov.

Gukesh's fellow teenaged GM R Praggnanandhaa did the star turn for India 'B' against Azerbaijan, beating Vasif Durarbayli in 66 moves. Raunak Sadhwani went down to Nijat Abasov, while Nihal Sarin drew with Rauf Mamedov.

India 'A' defeated Brazil 3-1, while India 'C' beat Paraguay by a similar margin. Young GM Arjun Erigaisi and K Sasikiran starred for India 'A' with wins over Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian and Andre Diamant respectively.

Meanwhile, leaders Armenia were surprised by Uzbekistan who posted a 3-1 win. Armenia's defeat leaves the field open with Uzbekistan climbing to the top position.

In the women's section, the top-seeded India 'A' were handed a 2.5-1.5 defeat by fourth-seeded Poland, while No.2 seed Ukraine and No.3 seed Georgia played out a 2-2 draw.

Georgia caught up with India 'A' with 15 match points, while Ukraine lies one point behind.

The two other Indian teams -- 'B' and 'C' were on the winning side, thrashing Switzerland 4-0 and Estonia 3-1 respectively.

Results - India's matches: Open: India 'A' beat Brazil 3-1 (P Harikrishna drew to Param Maghdoodloo, Vidit S Gujrathi drew with Alexandr Fier, Arjun Erigaisi beat Krikov Sevag Mekhitarian, K Sasikiran beat Andre Diamant).

India 'B' drew with Azerbaijan 2-2 (D Gukesh drew with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Nihal Sarin drew with Rauf Mamedov, R Praggnanandhaa beat Vasif Durarbayli, Raunak Sadhwani lost to Nijat Abasov).

India 'C' beat Paraguay 3-1 (Surya Shekhar Ganguly lost to Axel Bachmann, S P Sethuraman beat Rami Delgado, Karthikeyan Murali beat Jose Fernando Cubas, Abhimanyu Puranik beat M Ruben D Zacarias).

Women: India 'A' lost to Poland 1.5-2.5 (Koneru Humpy drew with Alina Kashlinskaya, D Harika drew with Monika Socko, Oliwia Kiolbasa beat R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev drew with Maria Malicka).

India 'B' beat Switzerland 4-0 (Vantika Agrawal beat Lena Georgescu, Padmini Rout beat Ghazal Hakimifard, Mary Ann Gomes beat Gundula Heinatz, Divya Deshmukh beat Camille De Seroux).

India 'C' beat Estonia 3-1 (Easha Karavade drew with Mai Narva, P V Nandhidhaa beat Margareth Olde, Varshini Sahiti beat Anastassia Sinisina, Vishwa Vasnawala drew with Sofia Blokhin). 

Also Read : India wins historic gold and silver in men's triple long jump

News Source : PTI

Lauderhill, Aug 7 (Cricket News) Shreyas Iyer roared back to form with a stroke-filled 64 while the spinners picked up all the 10 wickets as India recorded yet another one-sided 88-run victory over West Indies to wrap up the five-match T20 International series by a comprehensive 4-1 margin here.

It was Iyer's half-century and useful contributions from Deepak Hooda (38 off 25 balls) and stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya's (28 off 16 balls) cameo that propelled India to 188 for 7 in 20 overs after being put in to bat.

Then, Pandya handed the new ball to Axar Patel (3-1-15-3), who quickly removed makeshift opener Jason Holder (0), Shamarah Brooks (13) and Devon Thomas (10) with three arm balls on a track where balls stopped and gripped off the surface.

West Indies were all out for 100 runs inside 16 overs as one of the most lopsided T20I bilateral series came to an end even though India won't be complaining having ticked most of the boxes.

Once Kuldeep Yadav (4-1-12-3) caught rival skipper Nicholas Pooran (3) plumb in-front with a flighted delivery, there was no way that the West Indies could have made a comeback on a track which wasn't easy for batting.

It started getting slower with the passage of time and despite Shimron Hetmyer's (56 off 35 balls) resistance, it was never going to be enough as the Caribbean batting line-up never had the wherewithal to cope with the quality of Indian spinners.

Ravi Bishnoi (2.4-0-16-4) also got into the act and snapped his share of wickets as India's spin troika varied their lengths and pace with ease to keep the Windies batters on tenterhooks.

But the day belonged to Iyer, who was able to release the pressure piling upon him with a blistering knock as the Indian team, even without its regular top-order, scored above par on a slowish track.

Stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya played a nice little cameo to beef up the score in the end with 18 runs coming off the penultimate over bowled by Jason Holder. Due to lightning in the vicinity of the stadium, the match was halted for 15 minutes after 14.3 overs, when India were nicely placed at 135 for three.

Having failed in the first three games and dropped from the fourth, not only did Iyer perform admirably in an unfamiliar position as an opener but also won his little 'battle within battle' with Deepak Hooda, who was equally impressive during his stay at the crease.

The Iyer-Hooda pair added 76 runs in only 7.1 overs and their partnership was nothing short of breathtaking with as many as four sixes (two each) hit between them apart from a flurry of fours.

The innings played a day before the Asia Cup team selection will certainly leave Iyer in a far better mind space although he is certainly going to miss out in the first XI berth when all the 'big boys' turn up.

The bulk of his eight fours and two sixes were all sweetly timed strokes.

Ishan Kishan (11 off 13 balls) failed to make it count and opportunities will be rare in the next two months for the pint-sized Jharkhand dasher.

Iyer teed off against Dominic Drakes with a couple of boundaries while Hooda played a cute little ramp shot over the keeper off Keemo Paul.

It was the eighth over bowled by Odean Smith where Iyer launched into the bowler with back-to-back sixes -- a slash over point and a lofted drive over extra cover.

Off the first delivery by leg-spinner Hayden Walsh's very next over, Hooda hit a picturesque inside-out six over extra cover.

However, the shot of the Indian innings was Hooda's lofted drive over Obed McCoy's head for a maximum.

In fact, the Baroda man would be trifle disappointed as he showed right intent while trying to deposit a Walsh half-tracker into cow corner stands but it was the string winds blowing from the opposite direction that became his undoing.

Iyer departed soon after while trying to drag a low wide full-toss from Jason Holder but in the end only managing to offer a simple return catch. 

Also Read : Shreyas Iyer shines as India pile up 188 for 7 vs West Indies

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 7 (Table Tennis News) Indian table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal defied age and produced a class act to reach the men's singles final, but G Sathiyan lost his semifinal contest at the Commonwealth Games here on Sunday.

The 40-year-old paddler, who won a bronze medal in the last edition in Gold Coast, defeated home country's Paul Drinkhall 11-8, 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 to reach his second CWG final.

The only other time Sharath, fourth seeded here, made it to the final, he returned with a gold in the 2006 edition in Melbourne.

By reaching the final, Sharath has already assured himself of a silver and has increased his CWG medal count to 12. His mixed doubles gold medal match is scheduled later in the day.

Sharath will team up with Sreeja Akula and eye a gold in the mixed event against Javen Choong and Karen Lyne.

Third seed Sathiyan, however, failed to set up an all-Indian final, losing 5-11, 11-4, 8-11, 9-11, 9-11 to second seed Liam Pitchford of England.

Sharath will play Pitchford in the gold medal match on Monday, while Sathiyan will battle it out against Drunkhall for a bronze medal.

Earlier in the day, the seasoned pair of Sharath and G Sathiyan was outsmarted by familiar foes Drinkhall and Liam Pitchford of England in the men's doubles final.

The Indian duo had to settle for silver for the second successive edition after losing 11-8, 8-11, 3-11, 11-7, 4-11 to the English combine.

It was a repeat of the 2018 final in Gold Coast and to the disappointment of the Indians, it was the same result.

The Indian contingent has been getting tons of support from the crowd here but at the NEC table tennis arena on Sunday, English fans outnumbered the Indians.

With very little separating the two pairs, the Indians began well with Sathiyan hitting a crisp forehand winner to go 1-0 up in the gold medal match.

Drinkhall and Pitchford fought back in the second game. A down the line backhand from Pitchford made it 5-1 for England. The Indians were having a tough time retrieving the serve with their opponents mixing things up.

Sharath's returns from the backhand were yielding mixed results. Pitchford's cross court winner after a long rally gave England a 7-5 lead before they levelled the tie.

The English pair ran away with the third game which had the best rally of the match which Indians won after trading a series of booming forehands far away from the table.

The Indians were able to take the final to the decider after course correction in the fourth game.

However, Drinkhall and Pitchford took a huge six point lead from 4-4 to gain six gold medal points in the fifth game. They converted the very first one drawing a huge roar from the crowd. The Indian pair shook hand with its opponents who once again proved better on the day. 

Also Read : CWG: Para athlete Bhavina Patel storms into TT final, assured of a medal

News Souece : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 7 (Sports News) Eldhose Paul led India's historic 1-2 finish in men's triple jump at the Commonwealth Games as he won a rare gold medal in track and field events and was followed by fellow Kerala athlete Abdulla Aboobacker here on Sunday.

Paul produced his best effort of 17.03m in his third attempt while Aboobacker was not behind much as he finished at 17.02m, which he managed in his fifth attempt.

Jah-Nhal Perinchief of Bermuda won the bronze with his best jump of 16.92m.

India has won four triple jump medals in the past editions but this is the first time two athletes from the country have got podium finishes.

Mohinder Singh Gill had won a bronze and a silver in 1970 and 1974 editions while Renjith Maheswary and Arpinder Singh had finished third in 2010 and 2014 editions. 

Also Read : Annu Rani wins bronze, becomes first Indian female javelin thrower to win medal in CWG

News Source : PTI

Lauderhill, Aug 7 (Cricket News) Shreyas Iyer released the pressure piling up on him with a blistering 40-ball 64 as the Indian team, even without its regular top-order, scored a commanding 188 for seven against West Indies in the fifth T20 International, here on Sunday.

Stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya (28 off 16 balls) played a nice little cameo to beef up the score in the end with 18 runs coming off the penultimate over bowled by Jason Holder. Due to lightning in the vicinity of the stadium, the match was halted for 15 minutes after 14.3 overs, when India were nicely placed at 135 for three.

Having failed in the first three games and dropped from the fourth, not only did Iyer performed admirably in an unfamiliar position as an opener but also won his little 'battle within battle' with Deepak Hooda (38 off 25 balls), who was equally impressive during his stay at the crease.

The Iyer-Hooda pair added 76 runs in only 7.1 overs and their partnership was nothing short of breathtaking with as many as four sixes (two each) hit between them apart from a flurry of fours.

The innings played a day before the Asia Cup team selection will certainly leave Iyer in a far better mind space although he is certainly going to miss out in the first XI berth when all the 'big boys' turn up.

The bulk of his eight fours and two sixes were all sweetly timed strokes.

Ishan Kishan (11 off 13 balls) failed to make it count and opportunities will be rare in the next two months for the pint-sized Jharkhand dasher.

Iyer teed off against Dominic Drakes with a couple of boundaries while Hooda played a cute little ramp shot over the keeper off Keemo Paul.

It was the eighth over bowled by Odean Smith where Iyer launched into the bowler with back-to-back sixes -- a slash over point and a lofted drive over extra cover.

Off the first delivery by leg-spinner Hayden Walsh's very next over, Hooda hit a picturesque inside-out six over extra cover.

However, the shot of the Indian innings was Hooda's lofted drive over Obed McCoy's head for a maximum.

In fact, the Baroda man would be trifle disappointed as he showed right intent while trying to deposit a Walsh half-tracker into cow corner stands but it was the string winds blowing from the opposite direction that became his undoing.

Iyer departed soon after while trying to drag a low wide full-toss from Jason Holder but in the end only managing to offer a simple return catch. 

Also Read : CWG: Australia beat India by 9 runs to win maiden gold medal in women's cricket

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 7 (Boxing News) The indomitable Nikhat Zareen added a Commonwealth Games light flyweight (50kg) title to her bulging trophy cabinet while Amit Panghal (51kg) began his redemption journey with a much-needed gold winning show, here on Sunday.

Nikhat, who is on a winning spree since the Nationals last year, asserted her dominance over Northern Ireland's Carly Mc Naul as she punched her way to a comprehensive 5-0 win in her maiden CWG appearance.

Panghal, on the other hand, avenged his 2018 Commonwealth Games final loss against Kiaran MacDonald by clinching the title with a comprehensive 5-0 win over the favourite.

Indian boxers made it three out of three golds on the day as young Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) too reigned supreme on her CWG debut.

But Sagar Ahlawat will have to be content with a silver medal as he lost by an unanimous 0-5 verdict against England's Delicious Orie in the men's over 92kg (super heavy weight) category, in what was the final bout of the Games.

Sagar started positively in the first round but Orie completely dominated the next two as the Indian started to tire out.

The Englishman took full advantage of that and landed big punches, hooks and jabs on Sagar, who started to bleed in the last round after getting a cut over his left eye.

The India pugilists will return with seven medals -- three gold, one silver and three bronze -- from Birmingham, two less than the previous edition.

Nikhat started off the year by clinching a gold at the prestigious Strandja Memorial tournament before going on to become a world champion.

The Telangana boxer, who dropped from 52kg to 50kg for the CWG, glided around the ring, landing hooks and tight jabs at will. Her defence was equally impressive.

Such was her dominance that when the nine minutes ended there was no doubt which way the decision would go.

Having lost to a Briton four years ago at the same stage in Gold Coast, the 26-year-old Panghal was at his aggressive best against MacDonald as he clinched the yellow metal with a 5-0 verdict.

The dominating Panghal, who was lightning quick with his jabs, also left MacDonald with a cut above his right eye that needed a few stitches and a stoppage in play as the Indian was on song.

Using his height advantage, MacDonald tried to bounce back in the third round but the Asian Games champion had it easy.

The turning point for Panghal, however, was the semifinal win over Zambia's Tokyo Olympian Patrick Chinyemba as the Indian bounced back to win the bout.

"It was the toughest round and was the turning point. I lost the first round and gave it all to produce the win and there was no looking back," Panghal told PTI.

Asked about his strategy against his British opponent, he said: "He was taller than me and I had to be more aggressive and get inside his arms. That worked. My coaches did a great job because we worked out how to win and I did it in the ring." "I did enough to win the first two rounds and I held it in the last. I thought he probably won the last round but I was too far ahead by then. He was a great opponent." Panghal said.

"This has avenged my loss in Australia in the final. I knew it would be very tough because I was fighting an Englishman in England but the judges were very fair and very accurate," Panghal said.

With the gold, Panghal also put his disappointing Tokyo Olympics outing where he made a round of 16 exit, behind.

Nitu, on the other hand, upstaged 2019 world championships bronze medallist Demie-Jade Resztan of England by a 5-0 unanimous verdict.

The first Indian boxer to take the ring, Nitu, competing in her first CWG, looked completely in control throughout the nine minutes, giving the home boxer no chance.

The atmosphere was intimidating for the 21-year-old facing the home favourite but she pinned her with her unwavering gaze into her eyes.

In a battle of two southpaws, the Indian who was taller than her opponent showed fluid and clever movements while stepping back to the rival's attacks.

The long-range shots being her advantage, Nitu used them to perfection to land her jabs perfectly on her opponent's face as she also won via 5-0 unanimous verdict to claim the women's minimum weight (45kg) gold.

"I am so happy, I can hardly breathe," Nitu told reporters.

Daughter of an employee in Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Nitu, who hails from India's 'mini Cuba' in boxing Bhiwani, further said: "My parents have been my inspiration and my gold medal is for them." The legendary MC Mary Kom had won the coveted yellow metal in the same category at the 2018 Games.

Incidentally, it was in the selection trial against Nitu that Mary Kom had injured her knee and had to withdraw. 

Also Read : Boxers Nikhat, Amit Panghal storm into finals; Jaismine bags bronze

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 7 (Sports News) Annu Rani scripted history as she became the first Indian female javelin thrower to win a medal, a bronze, in the Commonwealth Games on the penultimate day here on Sunday.

Rani sent the spear to a distance of 60m in her fourth attempt to finish third.

World champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia stole the gold with a final round throw of 64.43m from compatriot Mackenzie Little (64.27m) who was leading at the end of the penultimate round.

Before Rani, Kashinath Naik and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra had won a bronze and a gold in the men's javelin throw respectively.

Naik had won the medal at the 2010 Delhi Games while Chopra won the gold in Gold Coast in 2018. 

Also Read : Indian team wins silver in men's fours lawn bowls

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 7 (Cricket News) World champions Australia beat India by nine runs in a thriller to win the gold medal in the women's cricket event at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday.

Batting first, Australia scored 161 for 8 in 20 overs with Beth Mooney scoring 61 off 41 balls while Renuka Singh taking 2 for 25.

In reply, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur smashed 65 off 43 balls but India's lower-order caved in meekly to get all out for 152 in 19.3 overs.

The Southern Stars took the last five wickets for 13 runs. Spinner Ashleigh Gardner was the most successful bowler with 3 for 16.

Brief Scores: Australia 161/8 (Beth Mooney 61, Renuka Singh 2/25, Sneh Rana 2/38).

India: 152 in 19.3 overs (Harmanpreet Kaur 65, Ashleigh Gardner 3/16). 

Also Read : WI wins toss, invites India to bat in 4th T20I

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 7 (Badminton News) Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu stayed on course for an elusive gold medal while Lakshya Sen regained his rhythm just in time to enter his maiden final at the Commonwealth Games here on Sunday.

Sindhu rode on her superior technical superiority to outwit Singapore's Yeo Jia Min 21-19 21-17 in a 49-minute contest to reach her second successive final. The Indian had also beaten her in the team event.

In the following match, world number 10 Sen lost his way after a dominating start against 87-ranked Jia Heng Teh of Singapore. Sen however recovered to complete a 21-10, 18-21, 21-16 win in the men's singles semifinals.

Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty ensured a third gold medal match for India on Monday when they downed Malaysia's Chen Peng Soon and Tian Kian Men 21-6, 21-15 to reach the men's doubles final. The world number 7 duo was too good for the Malaysians.

It could have been an all-Indian men's final but an error-prone Kidambi Srikanth squandered a first game advantage to lose to lower-ranked Tze Yong Ng of Malaysia 21-13, 19-21, 21-10. The world number 42 Tze had shocked reigning world champion Yew Kean Loh of Singapore in the quarterfinal.

After winning the opening game, the 13th ranked Srikanth made too many unforced errors to go down in the semifinals. From 4-4 in the decider, errors rained from Srikanth's racket, leaving him frustrated on court.

With the Malaysian leading 17-9, there was no point of return for the Indian who netted a forehand on match point.

The last edition's silver medallist will now fight for the bronze and so will the Indian women's doubles pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand who lost to the seasoned Malaysian combine of Thinnah Muralitharan and Pearly Koon Le Tan in the semifinals in straight games.

In the first men's singles semifinal, Sen was stretched by his Singaporean opponent. He relied on relentless attack to put his Singaporean opponent on the backfoot and he was able to do that in the first game. A couple of forehand smashes on the Singaporean's right helped him take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The momentum shifted towards Jia in the second game as he slowed the pace of the game. A drop shot followed by a backwand winner made it 8-8 before Jia went into the interval with a 9-11 advantage.

A slew of unforced errors from Sen saw Jia take the next five points to make it 9-16. Sen tried to hang in the game, but after the Singaporean took a shoe change break at 15-18, he was able to level the match when Sen hit a forehand long.

Sen built an 11-7 lead in the decider though Jia made the Indian work hard for every point. The Singaporean was also given a last warning for delay in between points.

Sen got four points and converted the first one with a deft drop shot that set up a backhand winner.

"I didn't get in the rhythm in the second but I managed to pull it off in the end. The crowd support also helped a lot in the first game," said Sen.

"It was a tough game today. I have played him before, so I was expecting a good, fast-paced match.

"I wanted to control the net much better, but overall and from the back, the defence was very good. That was a really good match before the final," said Sen.

Earlier, former world champion Sindhu, who has a silver and a bronze from the 2018 and 2014 editions, was clearly the better player on display as she kept a firm grip on the match.

Sindhu seemed a bit restricted in her movement with the achilles of her left leg strapped. The Singaporean played some good-looking shots to make it 8-4 early on but she allowed the Indian to draw level.

Sindhu entered the break with a two-point lead after producing a straight drop.

The Indian depended on her technical acumen, producing the right shots at the right time to surge ahead.

Yeo Jia Min was too erratic to put any pressure on the Indian, who moved to 19-12 with a perfect net shot.

The Singaporean used her cross court slices to trouble the Indian, making her move diagonally to reduce the gap to 16-19. But a forehand return going to the net from her gave Sindhu three game points, and she converted it on the third attempt.

It turned into a seesaw battle in the second game with the two playing some intense rallies, but Sindhu ensured she had her nose ahead at the interval.

A wide return and one going to net put Sindhu two points away from the final. She squandered two match points out of five before unleashing a pitch-perfect body smash to secure her place in the final. 

Also Read : Sindhu enters women's singles semifinals, Kashyap's campaign ends in CWG

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 7 (Hockey news) The Indian women's hockey team beat defending champions New Zealand 2-1 in shootout to win the bronze medal and finish its campaign at the Commonwealth Games on a high note here on Sunday.

Leading 1-0, India conceded a penalty corner with less than 30 seconds to go for the final hooter, as the match went into shootout after Olivia Merry's equaliser.

India though held their nerves in the shootout to emerge winners.

Coming off their heartbreaking loss to Australia in a controversial semifinal, India showed the intent to wrap up their campaign with a win and earn a podium finish.

Salima Tete's goal gave India the lead and they led 1-0 at half time, paving the way for an entertaining second half.

Neha Goyal almost doubled the lead after the break, but good defending by New Zealand prevented the Indians from consolidating their position.

New Zealand have had to do a lot of defending and they've done quite well to remain disciplined until that Tete's goal. 

Also Read : Sindhu enters women's singles semifinals, Kashyap's campaign ends in CWG

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Boxing News) Reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen and Amit Panghal were among three Indian boxers who entered the finals while Jaismine Lamboria settled for bronze at the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

Nikhat stormed into the final of women's 50kg after outclassing England's Stubley Alfia Savannah 5-0. Panghal (51kg), too, displayed his class as he reached his second consecutive CWG final.

Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) also remained on course for a gold in her maiden appearance.

But another debutant, Jaismine (60kg), had to be content with a bronze as she went down to Gemma Paige Richardson of England via a 2-3 split verdict.

Nikhat started the semifinal on a confident note and dominated all three rounds to emerge the winner in the lop-sided bout.

As expected, the 26-year-old Indian was in lead after the opening round with all the five judges ruling it in her favour, and it went on similar lines in the ensuing two rounds.

Panghal, who is vying to win the yellow metal after his silver in the last edition, came from behind to beat an aggressive Patrick Chinyemba of Zambia with a 5-0 unanimous decision win.

Nitu, on the other hand, prevailed over Canada's Priyanka Dhillon as she notched a RSC (Referee Stops Contest) win in the minimum weight category.

Such was the 21-year-old Nitu's confidence that she played with an open guard, inviting her opponent to strike while using her straight jabs and combination punches to great effect. In the end, the referee had to end the contest.

In pursuit of their maiden gold medals, both the boxers will have to overcome local challengers in Kiaran Macdonald (men's fly) and Demie-Jade Resztan (women's minimum) in their respective finals on Sunday.

"I know it would be tough, there would be loud cheers for him but I've to stay focused. Can't let it go this time," a determined Panghal, who lost to another Briton and Tokyo Olympics champion in Galal Yafai in 2018, told PTI.

Panghal, 26, was left on the back foot as his younger, more aggressive opponent landed a barrage of punches on the world championship silver medallist.

Trailing 2-3 after initially, Panghal, who looked to put behind the ghost of the Tokyo Olympics where he made a first round exit, had to dig deep in his reservoir of experience. The Asian Games champion upped the ante, landing hooks and jabs at will to take the round.

The final three minutes were keenly contested with both pugilists trying to leave an impression but four of the judges ruled in favour of Panghal.

"He was aggressive up front and I had to give it my all and used all my experiences to bounce back in the last two rounds. I hope I get a gold this time," Panghal said. 

Also Read : Boxers Nitu, Amit Panghal storm into finals, eye CWG gold medals

News Source : PTI

Fort Lauderhill (Florida), Aug 6 (Cricket News) West Indies won the toss and elected to against India in the fourth T20 International here on Saturday.

India made three changes bringing in Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Sanju Samson in place of Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer.

Teams: India: Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh.

West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (c), Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Devon Thomas (wk), Jason Holder, Dominic Drakes, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy. 

Also Read : Will remember Rana's amazing performance for long time: Mandhana

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Cricket News) Smriti Mandhana may have laid the platform for India's memorable semifinal win against England with her blistering 61 but the stylish opener says it is Sneh Rana's "amazing" death overs bowling that will be remembered for ages.

Rana (4-0-28-2) and Deepti Sharma (4-0-18-1) fashioned India's memorable win after Mandhana recorded the fastest half-century in T20 cricket.

"In matches like this, roles have to be changed. Deepti's overs in the middle were important. Rana was amazing bowling with only three fielders in the deep. That will be remembered for a long time," Mandhana said after the game.

For Mandhana, it was more important to win at any cost, having lost some close games including the 2017 ODI World Cup final.

"I was trying to remember the last-ball matches and hoped we would get over the line. We haven't done that well, so more than my fielding, I was hoping to get over the line this time," Mandhana said, when asked about her throw from the deep to run Nat Sciver out.

On her own form, Mandhana said: "I was batting well in the last 2-3 weeks, it was like I was 2-3 years back. I'm happy to have found the touch, hope to do it in the final too." He thanked the Indian supporters for their vociferous support.

"The crowd is amazing, today England had the support. We usually have it. I'll take half an hour for things to settle in. But it's been an amazing today." Jemimah has sprain but will be fine, says Harman ------------------------------------------------------ Jemimah Rodrigues sustained a hand injury during fielding but she is expected to play in the final tomorrow.

"Jemimah is a fighter, these things happen. She will be fine, she got a little sprain on her hand but she will be fine," the skipper said.

Harmanpreet defended the decision to give Shafali Verma the 16th over that went for 15 runs.

"She's very confident. We need someone who wants to bowl. You need to mix up the pace, so we tried to use her to vary the pace. One of her overs went well but the other one was expensive." She looked very fired up during England innings and that was done intentionally to keep the intensity up.

"I had to be fired up, because if I am charged, the team would be involved and they'd never think we're out of the game." 

Also Read : Cricket: India beat England by four runs to enter CWG final

News Source : PTI

Murifield (Scotland), Aug 6 (Golf News) Diksha Dagar and Aditi Ashok missed the halfway cut at the AIG Women's Open here.

Dagar (77-70) and Aditi (73-74) were both 5-over and two shots outside the cut line.

It was a disappointing week for the Indian duo who played well in 18-hole qualifier to earn a place in the last Major of the season. Aditi was playing a record 23rd Major.

Korea's In Gee Chun produced a round of 66 (-5) to climb to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage.

The three-time Major champion made the most of the afternoon conditions making two birdies and one bogey on her front nine before rolling in four birdies on her back nine to reach a total of eight-under-par.

And Chun, who leads by one shot, has a goal for the two rounds over the weekend thanks to caddie Dean Herden.

Sweden's Madelene Sagström and South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai sit one shot back in a tie for second place on seven-under-par.

It was an excellent day for three-time LET winner Buhai after she made the turn in 30 (-6) with four birdies and one eagle on her scorecard.

Korea's Inbee Park sits in fourth place on six-under having shot a round of 67 (-4) on day three with Japan's Miyuu Yamashita and Australia's Hannah Green one shot further back in T5.

France's Celine Boutier is in a share of seventh place on four-under-par alongside Australian pair Minjee Lee and Steph Kyriacou, as well as 2019 AIG Women's Open champion Hinako Shibuno.

The cut fell at +3 with 65 players making it through to the final two rounds at Muirfield. 

Also Read : Aditi, Ashok make disappointing start at LPGA tour in Scotland

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Sports News) India won its second medal in lawn bowls competition at the Commonwealth Games after the men's fours team settled for a silver after losing to Norther Ireland in the final here on Saturday.

The final score read 18-5 in favour of Northern Ireland.

The Indian team comprised Sunil Bahadur (lead), Navneet Singh (second), Chandan Kumar Singh (third) and Dinesh Kumar (skip).

Northern Ireland's last gold medal in lawn bowls came way back in the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

The Indian team defeated hosts England by a close 13-12 margin in the semifinal to assure India of at least a silver medal.

This comes after the women's quartet of Lovely Choubey (lead), Pinki (second), Nayanmoni Saikia (third) and Rupa Rani Tirkey (skip) beat South Africa 17-10 in the women's fours final to hand India a historic gold on Tuesday.

Also Read : Priayanka Goswami clinches silver in women's 10,000m race walk

News Source : PTi

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Badminton News) Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu struggled past Malaysia's Goh Wei Jin in women's singles quarterfinals to stay on course for a maiden individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

A former world champion, Sindhu registered a come-from-behind 19-21 21-14 21-18 win over Goh, ranked 60th, to enter her third successive semifinals at the Commonwealth Games.

However, young Aakarshi Kashyap's CWG debut ended with a 10-21 7-21 defeat to Scotland's Kristy Gilmour, a silver and bronze medallist in 2014 and 2018 editions respectively.

Sindhu, who had won a bronze and silver in the last two editions, looked slightly shaky against Goh, whom she had defeated in two tight games in the mixed team championship final.

Goh's attacking prowess was once again on display as she made the Indian work hard in the opening game.

The 27-year-old from Hyderabad had a two-point cushion in the mid-game interval but Goh managed to turn the tables with her better display in the second half of the first game to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

A vastly experienced Sindhu, however, got back her bearing soon as the duo engaged in some superb rallies with the Indian managing to grab a three-point advantage at the break.

Sindhu, ranked world number 7, extended her lead to 19-14 and soon roared back in the contest.

The decider saw some enthralling rallies with the duo moving neck-and-neck till 6-6. Sindhu managed to eke out a 8-6 lead but Goh soon reeled off three points to turn the tables.

The Indian disposed off a short return from Goh to enter a slender one-point lead at the interval.

While Goh played some exceptional shots, including a body smash, Sindhu focussed on making her opponent move across the court and used her repertoire of strokes to achieve that.

Sindhu tried to get into good positions to open up multiple options for her strokeplay. Soon she was leading 15-11 with Goh looking frustrated, flat on the floor.

The Indian kept a firm grip on the rallies as Goh looked tired with her returns and seemed to have lost the sting.

In the end, Sindhu grabbed three match points and converted in her second attempt, much to the joy of the Indian fans at the NEC Hall here.

Also Read : Season 6 of Premier Badminton League to kick-start from December 17th

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Wrestling News) Putting aside the mental and physical struggles that pegged her back, an intimidating Vinesh Phogat pounced on her rivals to put herself in line for a hat-trick of CWG gold medals while the formidable Ravi Dahiya too cruised into the final, here on Saturday.

In what was expected to be a tough opener against world championship bronze medallist Samantha Leigh Stewart, Vinesh reduced it to a no contest and finished it in mere 36 seconds.

Vinesh had the Canadian in a head lock from where she pushed her on the match and in no time pinned her rival.

Even before people could warm up to the contest, it was all over.

Next up for the 27-year-old Vinesh was Nigeria's Mercy Bolafunoluwa Adekuoroye, who tried to resist a bit but soon the Indian had her in an iron grip. Vinesh kept her in that position for more than a minute in a magnificent show of power.

With only four wrestlers in the women's 53kg draw, Vinesh now needs to beat Sri Lanka's Chamodya Keshani Maduravlage Don to win her third successive gold.

Vinesh has been struggling for form and fitness ever since her defeat at the Tokyo Games, where she made a shock first-round exit after entering the field as the hot favourite for the gold medal.

Tokyo Games silver medallist Ravi Kaumar Dahiya was also too good for his field. He won both his bouts -- against Suraj Singh of New Zealand and Pakistan's Asad Ali -- by technical superiority.

He will face Nigeria's Ebikewenimo Welson for his maiden CWG gold.

Also fighting for gold is Naveen (74kg), who began with TSU wins over Nigeria's Ogbonna Emmanuel John, Singapore's Hong Yeow Lou and England's Charlie James Bowling.

He will next fight it out with Pakistan's Tahir Muhammad Sharif.

In women's 50kg, Pooja Sihag made a confident start with a TSU win over Scotland's Christelle Lemofack Letchidjio and then got a walk over from Cameron's Rebecca Ndolo Muambo to make the semifinal stage with ease.

However, she lost the last-four clash 6-9 to Canada's Madison Bianca Parks and will fight for bronze against the Scottish player. Since only six wrestlers featured in this category, it was competed in Nordic style where all wrestlers, divided into two groups, competed once against each other.

In men's freestyle 97kg, Deepak will also fight for bronze. He will clash with Pakistan's Tayab Raza.

India have already won six medals in wrestling, including three gold. 

Also Read : From crisis of confidence to CWG gold, Sakshi Malik turns a corner

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Cricket News) The Indian women's team defeated hosts England by four runs to enter the final of the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

Opting to bat, Smriti Mandhana blasted 61 and Jemimah Rodrigues' produced a useful 44 not out to power India to a healthy 164 for 5 in the semifinal.

In reply, England managed 160 for six in their stipulated 20 overs with Natalie Sciver (41) and Danielle Wyatt (35) scoring the most runs for the hosts.

Brief Scores: India: 164 for 5 in 20 overs (Smriti Mandhana 61; Freya Kemp 2/22) England: 160 for 6 in 20 overs (Natalie Sciver 41; Sneh Rana 2/28). 

Also Read : CWG Semifinal: Mandhana blasts 61 as India score 164 for 5 vs England

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Wrestling News) If she had not topped the wrestling trials for the Commonwealth Games, Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik could not have overcome the 'crisis of confidence' she was experiencing over the last two years.

She also strongly thought about retirement.

The demons in her mind were understandable as she was losing to her juniors in the domestic circuit and had not done much of notice since getting that historic bronze in Rio Olympics six years ago.

The 29-year-old somehow managed to beat Sonam Malik to top the 62kg trials after losing to the youngster a number of times and made the India squad for the Birmingham Games.

That was the moment when Sakshi started to get her confidence back and also paved the way for a gold medal winning performance here on Friday. Making hand written notes of her thoughts after sessions with psychologists also helped immensely.

"My confidence was down for a while. My coaches told me I was the fittest among seniors and juniors and had all the power.

"I used to wonder what was wrong with me. Whether it was bad luck. I won the trials (in May) and from then I started to feel confident about my game," said Sakshi after bouncing back from 0-4 to pin Canada's And Godinez Gonzalez.

She called the gold medal finish her biggest result since the Rio Games.

"I had not won gold in CWG (she had won silver and bronze earlier). I wanted to fight till the end to get that gold. Even when I was 0-4 down, it did not bother me. I had won bouts with seconds left in the Olympics, here I had three minutes left," she said referring to her double leg move that settled the contest.

"I have been wrestling for 18 years, I can do this in my sleep as well. I am so used to it that it comes subconsciously to me." "It's a kind of comeback for me since I had not done anything in last year. Now I feel I am strongest in my weight category. In coming times I will compete in Asian Games and try to win medal," she said.

'Crisis of confidence and how she fought it' ================================== With the medal in the bag, Sakshi has managed to turn it around but in February when Jitender Yadav joined as the women's national coach, she was down in the dumps.

Yadav said self doubt had crept into Sakshi's mind and she pinned all her hopes on the trials.

"She surely had a crisis of confidence. It was psychological and nothing else. She thought she was weak and that brought her confidence down.

"She was not performing even in nationals so there was surely a big crisis. There was also fear of failure." Yadav felt she needed to change her training regime.

"She used to train with heavyweight partners, I switched it to lightweight partners to help her movement.

"She is the most powerful among the lot and most disciplined. Before the trials she said 'if I don't get selected I will pack my bags and go home'.

"It was my responsibility to get her out of that zone. I told her 'you will not go back, you will rather get gold for India'." She did keep the promise. 

Also Read : Priayanka Goswami clinches silver in women's 10,000m race walk

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Boxing News) Indian boxer Amit Panghal (51kg) displayed his class as he reached his second consecutive Commonwealth Games final while Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) also remained on course for a gold in her maiden appearance here on Saturday.

Panghal, who is vying to win the yellow metal after his silver in the last edition, came from behind to beat an aggressive Patrick Chinyemba of Zambia with a 5-0 unanimous decision win.

Nitu, on the other hand, prevailed over Canada's Priyanka Dhillon as she notched a RSC (Referee Stops Contest) win in the minimum weight category.

Such was the 21-year-old Nitu's confidence that she played with an open guard, inviting her opponent to strike while using her straight jabs and combination punches to great effect. In the end, the referee had to end the contest.

Both the boxers will have to overcome local challengers in Kiaran Macdonald (men's fly) and Demie-Jade Resztan (women's minimum) in their respective finals on Sunday in pursuit of their maiden gold medals.

"I know it would be tough, there would be loud cheers for him but I've to stay focused. Can't let it go this time," a determined Panghal, who lost to another Briton and Tokyo Olympics champion in Galal Yafai in 2018, told PTI.

Panghal, 26, was left on the back foot as his younger, more aggressive opponent landed a barrage of punches on the world championship silver medallist.

Trailing 2-3 after the opening round, Panghal, who looked to put behind the ghost of the Tokyo Olympics where he made a first round exit, had to dig deep in his reservoir of experience. The Asian Games champion upped the ante, landing hooks and jabs at will to take the round.

The final three minutes were keenly contested with both pugilists trying to leave an impression but four of the judges ruled in favour of Panghal.

"He was aggressive up front and I had to give it my all and used all my experiences to bounce back in the last two rounds. I hope I get a gold this time," Panghal said. 

Also Read : CWG: Amit Panghal enters semi-final to assure fourth boxing medal

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Cricket News) Smriti Mandhana's elegant yet brutal knock of 61 along with Jemimah Rodrigues' useful 44 not out powered India to a healthy 164 for 5 against hosts England in the semifinal of the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

Mandhana's 32-ball assault in the Powerplay laid the platform while Rodrigues, who is finally doing justice to her enormous potential, improvised well during his 31-ball unbeaten stay at the crease.

En route her knock, Mandhana also recorded the fastest T20 International fifty in women's cricket off only 23 balls.

A new and improved Deepti Sharma chipped in with 22 off 20 balls but India might think they ended 15 runs short of the par-score after 64 runs came in the six Powerplay overs.

The next 14 overs yielded 100 runs as India lost the momentum when three wickets fell in quick succession during middle overs.

Rodrigues and Deepti added an invaluable 53 runs for the fourth wicket partnership.

Mandhana's drives are the most picturesque thing in women's cricket and one would rub his eyes in disbelief when the normally rampaging Shafali Verma (17 off 15 balls) was the silent partner in their opening stand of 76 in 7.5 overs.

There were cover drives off Katherine Brunt, pulled sixes off seamers Natt Sciver an Issy Wong and a lofted one of spinner Sarah Glenn's bowling over long-on.

The half-century came in only 23 balls as England bowlers looked clueless during that phase.

Once Sciver got rid of Mandhana, who was trying to play the lap-scoop, the run-rate slowed down as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, despite a couple of fours and a six, played few dot balls in her run-a-ball 20.

While Mandhana had eight fours and three sixes in her knock, Rodrigues had seven fours to her credit, mostly using the gaps in arc between point and extra-cover. 

Also Read : India Women win toss, opt to bat against England in CWG semifinal

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Everton are going to sign Lille midfielder Amadou Onana after submitting a £33 million offer and are now also interested in a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers center back and captain Conor Coady. The deal for Onana, who was very close to joining West Ham United, has now chosen to play for Frank Lampard’s side. Along with Onana they also plans to recruit Idrissa Gana Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain three years after he left Goodison Park. Onana who is just 20 years old is a defensive midfielder who has played for the Belgium national team.

He was tracked by West Ham throughout the summer and manager David Moyes tabled a bid for the youngster worth an initial £29.2 million with a further £4.2 million in add ons. However, sources in France say that Everton have now matched Lille’s asking price following talks between both the clubs. He will make his move to Goodison Park after having chosen Everton over fellow Premier League side West Ham who had a similar agreement with the Ligue 1 outfit. The Belgian international is now waiting for the final go-ahead from Lille to fly to Liverpool in time to watch his teammates to take on Chelsea on the opening day of the new Premier League season.

The 20-year-old is now expected to sign a five-year deal with Everton just as he did with Lille last summer where he quickly forced himself into the playing XI. Everton have needed a defensive midfielder for a long time, ever since Idrissa Gana Gueye left them to join Paris Saint-Germain, and that position finally looks like that issue is going to be resolved. The Toffees are replacing Gueye with someone who is a very highly-rated player as he already towers over the vast majority of footballers, standing at six-foot, five-inches tall.

This kind of force should help Frank Lampard to stop them from conceding a lot of goals, at the very least while his lanky stature may also see him be able to bomb forward from time to time and hopefully physically dominate the opposition defenders instead. If things go quickly and smoothly, it might be that Onana could be revealed as an Everton player either at half-time or before Saturday’s game at home to Chelsea. He would have to be registered before midday on Friday to be able to play against Thomas Tuchel’s side which seems highly unlikely at this stage.

Also read: Maxwell Cornet joins West Ham United for £17.5m
 

(Football news) West Ham United have confirmed the signing of former Burnley winger Maxwel Cornet on a five-year deal. The 25-year-old, who can play on both wings as well double up at the wing-back or full-back position. He arrives at the London Stadium after West Ham triggered the £17.5m release clause in his Burnley contract which became active after the Clarets' relegation to the Championship.

Cornet's contract contains an option to extend his stay by a further year, and the Ivorian will wear the number 14 shirt, he also expressed his delight at signing for the Hammers. Cornet became a priority signing for West Ham after Filip Kostic, who was another left-sided player that West Ham had targeted as indicated he was reluctant to join from Eintracht Frankfurt. Cornet signed for Burnley from Lyon last August and went on to score nine goals and set up another in the Premier League last season. West Ham had their offer accepted by Lille for Onana and are due to discuss personal terms with the Belgium international but Everton have also met Lille’s asking price for the 20-year-old for an initial €35m plus €5m in add-ons and the indications are that Onana would favour a move to Goodison Park.

Everton’s manager Frank Lampard is also keen to sign two midfielders and the club have held talks over re-signing Idrissa Gana Gueye from Paris Saint-Germain. Maxwell Cornet turned 25-year-old recently as he arrived at Turf Moor from Lyon last August for £12.85 million. He was Burnley's top scorer last season with nine goals in 28 appearances but couldn’t save the Clarets from relegation in the Premier League. Cornet before Burnley spent seven and a half seasons at Lyon, playing 252 games and scoring 51 goals for the Ligue 1 club. He can play multiple position as Moyes might use him as a utility player.

“It’s a new step for me to join this big Club and I’m really happy to be here, to be part of the project for the club. I’m just excited to start,” Cornet said. “Everyone knows the level here in the Premier League is very high and I want to play here for that, so I'm really happy to be here for the next stage in my career. It will be amazing to play in front of 62,500 fans at London Stadium. I played here for Burnley last season and I can’t wait to experience it as a West Ham player.”

West Ham manager David Moyes, who has already signed Gianluca Scamacca, Nayef Aguerd, Alphonse Areola and Flynn Downes this summer, said: “We are delighted to welcome Maxwel to West Ham United. He is a versatile player with good experience, both in the Premier League and in European football, and will add strength and quality to our squad. He made a big impact with his performances for Burnley last season and he has impressed me with his desire to improve and challenge himself further here at West Ham. We look forward to bringing Maxwel into the group and wish him all the best in his career with us.”

Also read: Bayern beat Eintracht Frankfurt 6-1 in the season opener

(Football news) Champions Bayern Munich scored five goals past a woeful Eintracht Frankfurt in the first half on the way to an amazing 6-1 victory in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday. The Bavarians put down a marker to their competitors at the start of the campaign as they look to land an 11th consecutive Bundesliga trophy and outclassed the Europa League winners, who now subsequently face Real Madrid in the Super Cup next week.

Mane, who scored in last week's German Super Cup win over RB Leipzig, was among the five different scorers in a scorching first half with all the Bayern's goal coming in a span of 38 minutes. Joshua Kimmich opened the scoring with an audacious free kick that went in off the post and Benjamin Pavard drilled in their second six minutes later just before Eintracht came close to scoring when they hit the woodwork through Tuta. Thomas Muller had what could become one of the misses of the season when he hit the post from very close range and then also failed to score on the rebound. Mane did much better in the 29th minute, heading home a Serge Gnabry cross to make it 3-0 and the match was pretty much done and dusted. He then sent Muller through to set up Jamal Musiala for their fourth in the 35th with a simple tap-in as the Eintracht defence was in tatters.

Gnabry got himself onto the scoresheet two minutes before the break, burying any thoughts that Bayern may struggle scoring goals after the departure of striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona. Eintracht, who will now play in the Champions League this season were much more lively after the break as Bayern eased off the constant pressure and they pounced on Neuer's error outside the box to score through Randal Kolo Muani in the 64th minute. Musiala, however, wrapped up the match in emphatic fashion when he latched onto Leroy Sane's assist to slot in his second goal of the evening seven minutes from time to complete the rout.

"The first half was outstanding I must say," Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann said. "I don't think it will always be like that but after two matches we can be satisfied. The energy we have in our game is really good," he said.

Also read: Arsenal defeat Crystal Palace to secure three points in PL opener

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Sports News) Priyanka Goswami on Saturday scripted history as she became the first Indian woman to win a medal in race walk with a silver in 10,000m event at the Commonwealth Games here.

Goswami clocked a personal best time of 43:38.83s to finished second behind Jemima Montag (42:34.30) of Australia. Emily Wamusyi Ngii (43:50.86) of Kenya took the bronze.

The other Indian in the fray, Bhawna Jat finished eighth and last with a personal best time of 47:14.13.

Harminder Singh was the first Indian to have won a medal in race walk -- bronze -- in the 20km event in 2010 CWG in Delhi. 

Also Read : CWG: Marfa Ekimova secures gold in rhythmic gymnastics for England

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Cricket News) Indian women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and opted to bat against England in the cricket semi-final match of the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

Both sides fielded an unchanged playing XI from their last match.

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh, Radha Yadav, Renuka Singh.

England: Nat Sciver (capt), Danni Wyatt, Sophia Dunkley, Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wk), Maia Bouchier, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Freya Kemp, Issy Wong, Sarah Glenn. 

Also Read : Playing in different conditions will help during T20 World Cup preparation, feels Karthik

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 6 (Football News) World football governing body FIFA has threatened to suspend the AIFF and strip off its right to host the women's U-17 World Cup in October due to a third party "influence", a development which comes just days after the Supreme Court's directive to hold elections of the national federation.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the executive committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to expeditiously hold elections as per the schedule proposed by the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which is currently running the affairs of the national federation.

It took note of the fact that India is due to host the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup from October 11.

The elections were to be held on August 28 and the poll process was to start on August 13, as the top court approved the time-line prepared by the CoA.

"...we kindly ask the AIFF to provide us without further delay with an official transcript of the Supreme Court's decision of 3 August 2022 by 17:00 hours Indian Standard Time on 9 August 2022," FIFA said in a letter sent to acting AIFF General Secretary Sunando Dhar.

"Upon receipt of the said documentation and following its in-depth analysis, should there exist serious deviations to the aforesaid roadmap, we would submit the matter to our relevant decision-making body for further considerations and possible decisions based on FIFA Statutes, including the suspension of the AIFF and the withdrawal of the hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in India." FIFA made it known that it is against any third party intervention to the running of its member units.

"In this context, we would like to recall the AIFF's statutory obligations applicable to all of FIFA and the AFC member associations, including the obligation to manage its affairs independently and ensure that its own affairs are not influenced by any third parties (cf. art. 14.1.(i) and art. 19.1 of FIFA Statutes in conjunction with art. 15.4 of the AFC statutes)." In the letter sent on Friday, signed by FIFA and AFC General Secretary Fatma Samour and Datuk Windsor John respectively, the world body said the Supreme Court's order "allegedly" resulted in deviations to the roadmap agreed upon earlier.

"Kindly refer to our joint FIFA-AFC letter of 1 July 2022 which addressed the roadmap agreed upon by AIFF and further participants to the meetings organised during a joint mission held on 21-23 June 2022. FIFA and the AFC further reiterated our positions in our joint FIFA-AFC letter sent on 25 July 2022.

"As per the said roadmap, the AIFF was to call for a special general assembly on the first week of August 2022 to approve the new statutes worked upon with FIFA, the AFC and the Indian football community.

"Unfortunately, we have been informed that the Supreme Court's hearing held yesterday on the situation of the AIFF allegedly resulted in deviations to the aforementioned roadmap. If this is considered to be true, it would irrefutably jeopardise the mutual understanding which was displayed so far on the steps forward." India is to host the FIFA women's U-17 World Cup from October 11-30 and the Union Cabinet last month approved the Signing of Guarantees for hosting the women’s age group showpiece to be held in Bhubaneswar, Goa and Mumbai. 

Also Read : Liverpool and Chelsea look to secure three points in the Premier League

News Source : PTI

Lauderhill, Aug 6 (Cricket News) Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik feels playing in different conditions on the Caribbean tour will stand India in good stead while preparing for the various challenges Australian grounds will pose during the T20 World Cup later this year.

India played the opening three T20s in West Indies before moving to Florida for the remaining two games. In the three games, the Indians had to navigate through different conditions. They were faced with a two-paced pitch in Tarouba, while St Kitts had a strong wind.

"I think it is very interesting because even in the World Cup straightaway the three grounds that come to my mind are Sydney - [where] the sides are slightly smaller and the straights are longer," Karthik said ahead of the fourth T20I.

"Adelaide, we all know that the sides are very small and again, the straights are long, whereas in Melbourne, it's the exact opposite - the straights are short and the sides are very big.

"So, obviously, we are going to be encountering different grounds wherever we are going to be playing, so the challenges are going to be different," he added.

India lead the tie 2-1, having won the opening and third T20.

"Here, the challenges have been different in every venue where we have played. So, the fact that every time you get an opportunity, there's a certain challenge that comes with just walking in. That is pressure by itself.

"One of the key things that Rohit [Sharma] and Rahul [Dravid] have spoken about in this series at the start was adaptability and understanding the situations. I think that is something we've done pretty well so far." Karthik has flourished in his new role in the team but the 37-year-old feels it hard to be consistent as the finisher.

"Finisher's role is one such that it is hard to be consistent. Every time you get in, you should be able to make an impact that will help the team.

"There are a lot of factors that can make it tougher for you, especially in the Caribbean and Miami, wind will be a massive factor, even though it is a sport which is played with a heavy ball, the wind dictates some of the times, where you play the shots.

"It works both ways, the bowlers are clever and they try to force you to hit into the wind as much as possible. That makes it all the more tougher." Karthik returned to the Indian team on the back of a spectacular IPL season where he was at his explosive best. Asked if he feels the pressure to perform every time in national set up he said: "Pressure is a privilege at this point of time." "As a sportsperson, it is a given, when you are playing at the higher level and when people expect certain things out of you. What is important is making sure that on a given day, what the match situation is, reading the match situation and trying to give your best on that given day." Karthik also lavished praise on the captain and the coach for giving players ample opportunities despite facing a problem of plenty in terms of talent.

"Players are given the opportunity to fail. It's very important to give players the opportunity to fail and then move on to the next player. In India right now, there are so many players.

"But here you get value for what you have achieved over a period of time. That is something that needs to be respected with this coaching staff.

"Right now in the Indian team, we have the potential to put out two teams or maybe even three teams in terms of the number of players available. I don’t think many countries can boast of that." "Players who are part of the 15 (for the T20 World Cup) should realise how important and how beautiful it is to be part of this team and how proud we should be of representing our country on a world stage." 

Also Read : India opener Shikhar Dhawan launches his sports academy and CoE

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 6 (Hockey News)"Frustrated and angry" by the 'clock howler' during the Indian women's hockey team's controversial Commonwealth Games semifinal loss to Australia, coach Janneke Schopman said her side was left deflated and lost momentum after the incident.

The Hockeyroos set up the gold medal clash against England after a controversial 3-0 win over India on penalties here on Friday.

During the shootout, Australia's Rosie Malone missed her shot but to the dismay of the Indian team and fans, the forward was given a second chance as a technical official, B Morgan of England, had failed to start the clock on time.

Each player gets eight seconds to put the ball into the net in the shootout.

Given a second chance, Malone scored and that set the tone for the shootout as the Indians failed their first three attempts, while Australia converted all their chances.

"After that, we lost a little bit of our momentum. Then it did go in, and everyone is deflated," Schopman, a double Olympic medallist said.

"I’m not using it as an excuse, but when you make the save, that’s an enormous boost for the team and you turn the decision around and the girls are really upset about it," she added.

Narrating the incident, she said: "The official's hand was up, but I didn't really know and the umpires -- A Church and H Harrison of England -- also did not. So, that's why I'm frustrated because the umpires said we have to retake it." "I tried to calm them down. In hindsight it's 50-50 but I’m sure their focus was lost a little bit after that moment," a frustrated Schopman said.

The match had headed to penalties after both the teams were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation time.

"It’s all human and all emotion. Should we be better? That’s what I was trying to say, 'girls it doesn’t matter, it doesn't matter'. But of course it does matter and of course I am angry also because I don’t think even the officials understood what happened.

"They said it’s not our decision. I said 'Australia are not complaining, they know they’ve missed it, it was easily 10 seconds and they got the opportunity to score'." "I think those people just don’t understand the game and the emotions that are involved." India captain Savita Punia, however, played down the incident and said: "Maybe it was our hard luck in the shootout. We saved the first goal in the timeout but we're told that the timer didn't start only.

"This definitely played a part in the players' psychology. But we have learnt from our coach that all these things are part of the game. We tried to bounce back." "Definitely, I'm sad about this. But I'm proud of the girls for making a comeback from being 0-1 down against a team like Australia. We had decided at half-time to go for that one goal and the team executed it perfectly." Savita said their initial reaction was shock and disbelief.

"Of course, we are human beings. Yes, the next moment we realise that we cannot change it, can't give an excuse and can't fight for it. It happens sometimes.

"It was tough and we had to move on. But when we came to know about this, we thought how could this have happened? It has never happened in my career. It was a first for me," she added.

India will now play New Zealand in the bronze medal playoff on Sunday.

Also Read : Hockey: Great chance for India men to return to CWG podium, start favourites against SA in semis

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Birmingham, Aug 5 (Badminton News) Star Indian shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen, registered easy wins to storm into the quarterfinals of singles events at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

Sindhu, a silver medallist at the 2018 edition, expectedly faced no resistance from Uganda's Husina Kobugabe, winning 21-10 21-9 in her pre-quarterfinal match.

Srikanth, who had also finished second best at Gold Coast, too didn't break any sweat on his way to a 21-9 21-12 win over Sri Lanka's Dumindu Abeywickrama in men's singles.

Sen, a world championships bronze medallist, too advanced into the last eight with a 21-9 21-16 win over Australia's Ying Xiang Lin, while Aakarshi Kashyap prevailed 21-2 21-7 over Cyprus' Eva Kattirtzi to ease into the quarters.

Commonwealth Games silver medallists Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also cantered to a 21-8 21-7 win over Pakistan's Murad Ali and Muhammad Irfan Saeed Bhatti to seal their place in the men's doubles quarterfinals.

Earlier, Indian women's pairing of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly had entered the last eight with a 21-2 21-4 win over Mauritius' Jemimah Leung For Sang and Ganesha Mungrah.

Double Olympic medallist Sindhu will face Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei in the next round for a place in the semifinals.

Sindhu had defeated Goh in two tight games in the final of the mixed team event and can ill-afford to lower her guard against the 22-year-old Malaysian, a winner of the World Junior Championships gold in 2015 and 2018.

Former world number one Srikanth will be up against England's Toby Penty, who is ranked 54th in the world, while CWG debutants Sen and Kashyap will take on Paul Julien Georges of Mauritius and Scotland's Kristy Gilmour respectively.

Gilmour is a silver and bronze medallist in 2014 and 2018 editions respectively.

World number 7 Satwik and Chirag is likely to be pitted against Australia's Jacob Schueler and Nathan Tang, while Gayatri and Treesa will meet Jamaica's Tahlia Richardson and Katherine Wynter. 

Also Read CWG: PV Sindhu sails into women's singles pre-quarters

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Birmingham, Aug 5 (Sports News) Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Saurav Ghosal progressed to the semifinals of mixed doubles event in squash competition at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

The Indian duo beat Rachael Grinham and Zac Alexander of Australia 11-9 11-5 in the quarterfinals.

Velavan Senthil Kumar and Abhay Singh also had a good day in office as they scripted a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Scotland's Douglas Kempsell and Alan Clyne to advance to the quarterfinals of men's doubles event.

The Indian duo beat the Scottish pair 8-11 11-10 11-8 in the round of 16.

Earlier, Joshana Chinappa and Dipika lost 0-2 to Yiwen Chan and Ainaa Ampandi of Malaysia in women's doubles.

Ghosal had claimed India's first ever singles CWG medal in squash when he won a bronze on Wednesday. 

Also Read : England women’s team defeat New Zealand by 7 wickets at CWG

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Birmingham, Aug 5 (Wresting News) Bajrang Punia was a class apart while defending his title before Sakshi Malik produced a sensational gold medal winning effort as Indian wrestlers grabbed five medals, including three gold, at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

Deepak Punia (86kg) also contributed in swelling India's medal tally by winning the men's free style gold but birthday girl Anshu Malik (57kg) had to be content with a silver medal in her maiden CWG appearance.

Divya Kakran clinched a bronze in 68kg, winning the medal play-off in just 26 seconds against Tonga's Tiger Lily.

Courtesy three golds, India moved to fifth position in the medal tally ahead of Scotland. Such was Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang's dominance in the 65kg competition that he won three of his four bouts inside first rounds.

The 28-year-old defending champion beat Naurau's Lowe Bingham and Mauritius' Jean Guyliane Joris Bandou 'by fall' before winning by technical superiority against England's Geroge Ramm.

Canada's Lachlan Maurice McNeil fought well against Bajrang but the Indian was far superior in technique and stamina as he won the bout 9-2.

Bajrang has been struggling to play freely since last year and his over defensive tactics put a question-mark over his ability to extend his dominance in international arena but on Friday he made his moves without inhibition.

However, the CWG is not the best platform to judge if Bajrang has got his mojo back because of the inferior field quality.

Sakshi reverses trend, wins after trailing ========================= For Sakshi, who has been battling for relevance for long, it was an ideal opportunity to get some confidence back and she used it to optimum level in the 62kg contest by winning her maiden CWG gold.

She began by pinning home team wrestler Kelsey Barnes and followed that with a technical superiority win against Cameroon's Berthe Emilienne.

In the final against Ana Paula Godinez Gonzalez, Sakshi trailed 0-4 after the Canadian scored on counter-attack. Sakshi's right leg attack got wrong as she lost position, allowing her rival to complete a take down move.

The U-23 World champion effected another take down to go into the break with a 4-0 lead.

Sakshi, who of late, has been seen succumbing to pressure reversed the trend this time as she initiated a right leg attack to throw the Canadian on the mat.

From there she used power to pin Gonzalez, turning the table on her rival in a sensational manner. She had won a bronze in 2018 in Gold Coast and a silver in 2014 Glasgow Games.

Deepak Punia grabs gold for loss of just one point ============================= Deepak Punia (86kg) was calculative in his bouts and finished on top of the podium without losing a single point.

The wrestler from Chhara village began with technical superiority win over Matthew Clay Oxenham from New Zealand and beat Canada's Alexander Moore 3-1, setting up the gold medal bout against Pakistan's Muhammad Inam.

The 23-year-old Indian had better stamina and outlasted Inam 3-0. His first point was from a push out while the second came on passivity of the Pakistani.

There were no big moves in the bout as Inam had lost steam by the second round. Deepak completed his win with another push out point.

Anshu gets silver on birthday ================== Anshu, who has taken rapid strides in her career, reached the women's 57kg final with similar dominance but ended up second-best with a silver medal.

The Nidani wrestler, who turned 21 on Friday, won by technical superiority against Australia's Irene Symeonidis and Sri Lanka's Nethmi Ahinsa Fernando Poruthotage.

It did not take Anshu much time to measure her opponents. Her trademark aggression and quality was too hot to handle for her rivals till the gold medal bout.

The World Championship silver medallist though could not breach the defence of Nigeria's Odunayo Folasade Adekuoroye, losing the gold bout 3-7. The Nigerian was strong with her defence and Anshu could not find a way to make her moves.

She left mat with tears in her eyes as it was not the birthday present she wanted to give herself.

Divya Kakran takes bronze ================= Divya had got a tough 68kg draw as she found Tokyo Olympic silver medallist and 11-time African champion Blessing Oborududu from Nigeria in her campaign-opener.

The first round was worth a final though but Divya was outplayed by the formidable Nigerian. The Asian Games bronze medallist won her repechage round against Blandine Nyeh Ngiri by fall.

Also fighting for bronze will be Mohit Grewal (125kg), who won against Cyprus' Alexios Kaouslidis 10-1 but lost in the semifinal to Canada's Amarveer Dhesi by technical superiority.

He is up against Jamaica's Aaron Anthony Johnson. 

Also Read : Bajrang moves to quarterfinals with dominating 'by fall' win over Bingham

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Birmingham, Aug 5 (Hockey News) The Indian men's hockey team would fancy its chances of at least securing a silver medal from the Commonwealth Games as it will start as the overwhelming favourite against a lower-ranked South Africa in the first semifinal here on Saturday.

The Indians were awarded the golden opportunity after South Africa stunned defending champions New Zealand in their final match to finish second in Pool A behind six-time champions Australia.

India, on the other hand, finished on top of Pool B ahead of England to avoid Australia in the last four round.

The Indians have been unbeaten in the tournament so far, registering three wins and a draw. South Africa, on the other hand, have recorded two victories and a draw and a loss each.

Going by current form and world stature, the world no.5 Indians will start as overwhelming favourites against world no.13 South Africa.

India vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh has been in top form, leading the goal scorers' chart with nine goals. He converted as many as eight penalty corners and scored one from the spot.

If Harmanpreet was not enough, the presence of Varun Kumar, Jugraj Singh and Amit Rohidas gives India a wide range of variation in penalty corners.

While skipper Manpreet Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad have been the backbone of India's midfield, Nilkanta Sharma has impressed all and sundry with his display in the tournament so far.

In the front line, the ever-reliable Mandeep Singh has been a livewire. He has not only created opportunities, but has also placed himself at the right position at the right time to score some fine poaching goals.

In Mandeep, Lalit Upadhayay, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Abhishek, the Indians boast of a threatening strike force and the South African defence will have to play out of their skin to keep them in check.

The only blot for India so far in the Games has been the match against England, which they were leading 3-0 at one stage before lapse in concentration and indiscipline allowed the home team to finish the game in a 4-4 stalemate.

India would look to put up a disciplined effort and avoid unnecessary cards, which cost them dearly against England.

Harmanpreet said the bronze medal finish at Tokyo Olympics imbibed self-confidence in the team.

"We learnt a lot about ourselves as a team at the Tokyo Olympics, which has helped us improve as a squad. But first, our target is on the match tomorrow and we are all set," he said.

South Africa, meanwhile, would be brimming with confidence after upstaging higher-ranked New Zealand.

South Africa are known for sitting back and surprising their opponents with brisk counter-attacks.

"It doesn't matter who we play in the semis, we'll just focus on that game and see what happens," drag-flicker Connor Beauchamp said.

In the other semifinal, Australia will take on hosts England. 

Also Read : India’s Ibrahim qualifies for Sim Racing World Cup final

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 5 (Cricket News) Senior India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Friday launched his own sports education and training organization by the name Da One Sports.

The academy has begun various programmes like Grass Root Innovation Program and Sports Training Programme and will also focus on developing sporting culture at a base level.

The academy will undertake training of eight sports at grass roots and elite level.

The organization is developing four Centre of Excellence along with educating 500 coaches through its Coaches Education Programme.

The aim of Da One is to have a Sports and Wellness Programme that impacts lives of one million athletes in a positive manner in next five years.

"We are selecting best coaches from all over India to ensure good quality training. I feel cricket has given me so much and I want to give in my efforts and play my part towards keeping it alive," Dhawan said. 

Also Read : England women’s team defeat New Zealand by 7 wickets at CWG

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(Esports news) Ibrahim secured second position in the Continental Qualifiers and stood fifth globally. The SRWC final will be held in Monaco from October 23-24 as India’s Mohammed Ibrahim secured his place in the final of the first-ever Sim Racing World Cup. Ibrahim ended the race impressively with a lap time of 1:33.575 behind Thailand's Thanathip Tanalapanan, who grabbed the top position after completing the race in 1:33.561.

India’s other participating driver was Davlish Singh,who could only secure a sixth position with a lap time of 1:34.026 at the Qualifiers which saw the participation of 14 top drivers from across Asia, competing for two available spots in the final. Both Ibrahim and Davlish had won the NESC22 (Simracing), the Indian National Qualifiers which were held in a hybrid mode at INOX’s Megaplex, Malad, Mumbai.

 “Since my childhood, I’ve been fascinated with racing cars, which developed into a passion for motorsports. It is a surreal feeling to qualify for the grand final of the SRWC. I feel glad to have carried the momentum in the qualifiers after winning the NESC and hope to do so in Monaco as well. It is going to be a challenging experience to compete with the best sim racing drivers from all over the world. I will be working on a few minor things to improve my gameplay and perform at the highest level to make my country proud in the finals. Racing is my goal and vision, wish to excel in both Sim as well as on Real Motorsports, and always look for opportunities and support." said the jubilant Ibrahim, who already has titles of the Isolation E Championship, McLaren Logitech G Challenge, US F4 Kcr Championship and Ultimate E Championship to his name.

Interestingly, Ibrahim's timing was also the fifth fastest, globally. Apart from Tanalapanan, only David Toth of Hungary (1:33.197), Slovenia’s Jernej Simonic (1:33.329) and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez (1:33.336), qualified from the European continent, recorded less time than Ibrahim.The Continental Qualifiers saw drivers from 39 countries, divided into 5 continents. The final will take place in Monaco from October 23 to 24 as Ibrahim will be in the 12 top drivers to fight for the title.

 "Ibrahim has made the entire country proud by making sure India is one of the countries that contests in the inaugural Sim Racing World Cup final. Both Ibrahim and Davlish performed brilliantly against the top drivers from the Asia region. This is a huge achievement for the sim racing community and another step towards further growth of Esports in India. Everyone at ESFI wishes him the best of luck to win the championship." said Lokesh Suji, Director of Esports Federation of India and Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation.

Also read: ESFI gives grand send-off to Indian contingent for 2022 CW

Birmingham, Aug 5 (Wrestling News) Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia needed less than two minutes to move to the 65kg quarterfinals at the Commonwealth Games as he pinned Naurau's Lowe Bingham in his opening bout, here on Friday.

Bajrang, who has entered the field as the defending champion, measured his rival for about a minute and then put him on the mat from a lock position to finish the bout in a jiffy.

Bingham had no clue what struck him as the wrestler from the island nation was at sea.

Next up for Bajrang, the Olympic bronze medallist, is Jean Guyliane Joris Bandou of Mauritius.

Other Indian wrestlers taking the mat on Friday in the men's freestyle competition are Deepak Punia (86kg) and Mohit Grewal (125kg).

In the women's event, Anshu Malik (57kg), Sakshi Malik (62kg) and Divya Kakran (68kg) will present India's challenge. 

Also Read : CWG: Rejuvenated Jeremy wants gold at “biggest competition” since Youth Olympics

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Eintracht Frankfurt host Bayern Munich in the first match of the 2022-23 Bundesliga campaign on Friday night. Frankfurt last season went onto win the Europa League, while Bayern this season are aiming to win the Bundesliga for an 11th successive season. Oliver Glasner's debut season in charge of Frankfurt was one to remember, with the 47-year-old winning the Europa League without losing a single game in the competition.

Their trophy-winning run included defeating Barcelona in the quarter-finals and then West Ham United in the semifinal, before beating Rangers to win their first European trophy in 32 years. Die Adler's league form suffered as a result, with them finishing in 11th place, but given that they won the Europa League, it means that Frankfurt have direct qualification to the Champions League group stage. Oliver Glasner has guided Wolfsburg to fourth spot in the Bundesliga before and he will hope he can do the same with Frankfurt. There is little doubt that Glasner will be demanding more from his players on the domestic front this season.

They started in clinical fashion in the DFB-Pokal on Monday by beating second tier outfit Magdeburg 4-0 away from home, with debutant Lucas Alario getting on the scoresheet. New signing Mario Gotze and Alario, while also keeping hold of star man Filip Kostic despite strong interest from West Ham, suggests that they may be in a position to challenge on all fronts, even if they have the toughest possible start in the Bundesliga in the shape of Bayern Munich on at Deutsche Bank Park.

Despite losing Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, Bayern are looking stronger than ever and  still looked capable of scoring at will.  Last weekend they won 5-3 against RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup, which gave us an indication for the things to come in the Bundesliga. The Bavarians raced into a 3-0 lead at half time against Julian Nagelsmann's former side, courtesy goals from Jamal Musiala, debutant Sadio Mane and Benjamin Pavard before surviving a spirited comeback from the Red Bull club to win the German Super Cup for the 13th time in their club history.

Mane will be the player to watch out for as Bayern signed him from Liverpool for around £35m to help fill the void left by the record goalscorer Robert Lewandowski. It looks like Mane has adjusted to a central role, with his natural tendency to drift left suiting Nagelsmann's tactical plan. Last week’s super sub Leroy Sane looked somewhere back to his best, settling any late nerves with a superb counter-attacking goal in injury time. The German international ran from the halfway line before showing excellent composure to take opposing goalkeeper Peter Gulasci and Hugo Novoa out of the equation and slot the ball into an empty net. Bayern's opponents on Friday will likely prove to be more stubborn and difficult, but in that form that they are in it is tough to see anyone stopping them this season.

Also read: Arsenal kick off the first match of the season against Crystal Palace

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Trapp; Toure, Tuta, N'Dicka; Knauff, Jakic, Sow, Kostic; Kamada, Gotze; Borre

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Neuer; Pavard, Upamecano, Hernandez, Davies; Sabitzer, Kimmich; Gnabry, Muller, Musiala; Mane
 

Birmingham, Aug 5 (Table Tennis News) India's Bhavina Patel cruised to the women's singles class 3-5 para table tennis final and assured herself of a medal at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

The Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist thrashed England's Sue Bailey 11-6 11-6 11-6 to seal her final berth.

The 35-year-old Gujarat paddler will take on Nigeria's Christiana Ikpeoyi in the final on Saturday.

Sonalben Patel, on the other hand, went down to Ikpeoyi 11-8 6-11 4-11 7-11. She will now face Bailey in the bronze medal match.

Raj Aravindan Alagar also lost 11-7 8-11 4-11 7-11 to Nigeria's Nasiru Sule in the men's 3-5 class semifinal.

He will now cross swords with Nigerian Isau Ogunkunle in the bronze medal play-off on Sunday. 

Also Read : TT at CWG: Sreeja Akula enters women's singles pre-quarters, Shetty-Tennison out of mixed doubles

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 5 (Sports News) He may have missed out on a gold by the thinnest of margins, but the ever-smiling Murali Shreeshankar, who bagged a historic silver medal in men's long jump at the Commonwealth Games here, said this is just the beginning and he is hungry for more success.

The lanky youngster's road to silver, however, was not that smooth as he slipped to the sixth spot after his 7.84m jump in the third attempt.

The 23-year-old endured a further setback when he the sport's latest technology, only introduced less than a year ago, caught him committing a foul in his fourth attempt.

With two attempts remaining, the Kerala lad listened to his dad-cum-coach S Murali's advice from the sidelines to execute a perfect 8.08m jump, that rewarded him with a silver.

"I've been waiting for a medal (at a global meet) for a very long time. I was seventh at World Indoor and World Outdoor, sixth at World Juniors, fourth Asian Indoors, sixth at Asian Games," Sreeshankar told PTI.

"Every time I was 6-7-6-7-4, so I was really happy with the silver. I have been waiting for a global medal for a very long time, but I kept missing out. This is a small step towards my big goal in the 2024 Paris Olympics and I'm working towards that.

"Every athlete has gone through it. (Reigning Olympic champion) Miltiadis Tentoglou told me in Greece that even 'I too came 7-6-4 multiple times' then he went to win the gold (in Tokyo). It's a step by step process," he added.

Reflecting on his sixth and final jump that was also called a foul, much to his disbelief, Sreeshankar said, ""At the take-off it even catches the toes getting beyond the 45-degree, otherwise to me it seemed like a 8.10m jump. That's the way it is." Sreeshankar's medal in men's long jump comes 44 years since Suresh Babu's bronze at the Edmonton Commonwealth Games in 1978.

He is also fourth Indian jumper since Babu, Anju Bobby George (bronze at Manchester Games in 2002), and MA Prajusha (silver at New Delhi Games in 2010) to win a medal at the showpiece event.

Interestingly for Sreeshankar, what happened in Birmingham had an uncanny resemblance with the National Inter-State Athletics Championships held in June earlier this year.

He had sub-seven jumps and only went on to win the event with a meet record of 8.23m in his fifth attempt, that also booked his berth at the ongoing Commonwealth Games.

Sitting on the sidelines, his dad, who is also a former South Asian Games medallist in triple jump, would spur him on and say, "You can do it, you have done it in the past." However, the conditions deteriorated as it became extremely windy at 9pm local time, with the temperature also dropping to 17 degree Celsius.

"It was windy and bit of cold also so had to tackle that also. But I knew that it takes one good jump to get into the top," Sreeshankar said.

"I was not anxious about the position. I knew fifth and sixth would be crucial and without taking any pressure I could do well.

"I was aiming for that gold medal jump and waiting for the perfect moment to hit the board and execute the technique," he said.

Sreeshankar added that his experience of competing in the big stages - both at home and abroad - helped him to perform better at CWG.

"I was able to use all the experiences of competing in the global stage and domestic circuit that experience helped me to channelise all my energy and hit the board perfectly," Sreeshankar said.

"That was like a perfect jump, only five-centimetre to spare on the take off board. Proper planting on the board and could execute the perfect jump. It was far below my personal best (8.36), but that's all needed for a medal," he added.

Despite the historic silver, Sreeshankar brushed off any plans of celebrating his success and wants to focus on the next big events.

"No celebration as of now. This really requires a celebration but we will keep it short and muted and keep working as immediately I've to leave for the Monaco Diamond League and the immediate next target is Budapest World Championships next year," Sreeshankar said.

In 2018, the then 18-year-old Sreeshankar's dreams were dashed as he missed out on his CWG debut in Gold Coast because of a surgery due to ruptured appendix.

"I still have the selection picture of the 2018 Commonwealth Games that I was not able to go. I still remember it and cherish it. So this one is a big thing for me," Sreeshankar said, "I was in intensive care for a week, followed by intensive rehabilitation, so it took me five-six months to get back on track because of the infection and poisoning.

"So, winning a medal now here in Birmingham four years later feels really great. I am thankful to God and to my father (Murali), who’s also my coach," he said.

"This medal is for everyone who stood beside me. This really goes to them. And thank you Neeraj Bhaiyya (Chopra), who keeps on inspiring us," he signed off. 

Also Read : Murali Sreeshankar wins a historic first medal in long jump for India

News Source : PTI

Fort Lauderhill (Florida), Aug 5 (Cricket News) Shreyas Iyer's performance will be under intense scrutiny as India gear up for the back-to-back T20I games against West Indies, starting here on Saturday, with the twin objective of winning the series and also firming up squad for T20 World Cup.

India are currently leading the five-match series 2-1 and nothing would be more satisfying than a couple of thumping wins in front of the USA's Indian diaspora, which is anticipating an enjoyable weekend cricket carnival.

However in this current India set-up, if there is one man whose performance will be monitored more than anyone else, it has got to be Iyer.

Deepak Hooda, who has used most of the opportunities handed to him, looks good to outwit Iyer at the moment as far as the big ticket T20 World Cup berth is concerned.

With KL Rahul and Virat Kohli all set to be back in the playing eleven for the Asia Cup, time is certainly running out for the 27-year-old Mumbaikar, who has had scores of 0, 10 (11 balls) and 24 (27 balls) in the three games so far in the ongoing series.

He looked distinctly uncomfortable against the fast and rising deliveries.

While the short ball is his main problem, watching Iyer gives a feeling that he is unable to decide at what pace and which gear would he bat in a T20 game, something that's not the case when he is taking strike in 50-over format.

In head coach Rahul Dravid's regime so far, no player has got a raw deal in terms of chances and are given long enough rope to succeed.

However in case of Iyer, his T20I game hasn't exactly yielded the results that one has seen him deliver in the ODI cricket.

Even then, Dravid has given Iyer nine T20I games in last two and half months, out of which, one in Bengaluru was a wash-out and there hasn't been a single fifty-plus score even when he got chance to come out within first 10 overs.

If Iyer gets a go in the last two games, he has no option but to put his best foot forward as the Asia Cup team, in all probability, will also be the likely team for the T20 World Cup.

Even if Iyer makes the cut for Asia Cup or T20 World Cup, there is a miniscule chance of him getting a first XI look-in in a jam-packed top-order.

Rohit likely to be available ------------------------------ While Suryakumar Yadav's awe-inspiring shots left all and sundry wide-eyed, he is expected to have his skipper Rohit Sharma for company at the top of the order.

In the third game in Basseterre, Rohit was forced to retire hurt with a back spasm when he was batting on 11 and it was more like a precautionary measure with a three-day gap in between games.

The Indian captain would like to continue his recent good form and positive intent in the two remaining games but at the same time would have the best seat to judge the form of some of his batters.

Rishabh Pant has looked good in all his short stints at the crease and wouldn't mind having a big one in front of a packed audience at Central Broward Park Stadium.

Playing Avesh a compulsion in wake of Harshal's injury ------------------------------------------------------------ Avesh Khan has been taken to cleaners in the last two games but Dravid-Rohit pair has no other option but to continue with the profligate MP speedster as Harshal Patel hasn't fully recovered from his rib-cage injury.

Avesh throughout his career has been a bit one-dimensional with either bowling too short or too full giving batters ample time to work on the pace or play the full-blooded drive.

It will be interesting to see if Kuldeep Yadav gets a game in the series and India play an extra spinner in case Harshal doesn't get fit in time.

Teams India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Dinesh Karthik, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Parel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneswar Kumar, Harshal Patel West Indies: Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell, Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh.

Match starts at 8 PM IST. 

Also Read : Threat looms large for Big Bash: 15 Australian players offered AUD 700,000 to play in UAE League

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Lucas Torreira is close to joining Galatasaray with Fabrizio Romano reporting on Twitter that the Arsenal midfielder has accepted personal terms with the Turkish side. Torreira’s exit has been on the cards for some time as he has been out on loan for much of Mikel Arteta’s tenure. He has not had a prominent role in the Gunners’ pre-season plan but he shone in the Serie A last season. Fiorentina opted against keeping the Uruguay international. Reports on Thursday claimed that Galatastary were desperate to sign the 26-year-old and fresh talks were set to take place as they struggled to agree the fee with Arsenal for Torreira but yesterday they reached a breakthrough

Now only the finer details of the contract need to be finalised before he flies out to Turkey to get his medical done as Arsenal will receive up to £5.9 million for the former Sampdoria man. It is a shame that Torreira’s time at the North London club simply did not work out, it appeared that he had the makings of a cult-hero when he arrived. His tough-tackling and high energy style meant that he quickly became a fan favourite amongst the Arsenal fans. However, he started to fall out of favour initially under Unai Emery and then the same continued under Mikel Areteta. He had the potential to be an ‘incredible‘ signing for Arsenal and plenty of supporters will now be hoping that he can really get his career going and hopefully make the World Cup squad this year.

With Torreria sold, Arsenal can focus on buying one more midfielder before the transfer window closes. Hence, it is only a matter of time before the Gunners hierarchy step up their interest in landing Tielemans, who has been their number one target for quite some time. The Belgian international reportedly agreed personal terms several months ago, but the Gunners have not yet made a concrete approach for the player. Edu and co were previously reluctant to meet the £30m plus price tag but with less than a month left in the transfer window, Leicester will likely accept a lesser fee from the Gunners, considering that Tielemans’ deal expires in the summer of 2023. The Belgian had an impressive last season as he had 12 goal contributions while winning 2.3 tackles per game. His arrival should provide a different outlook to the Gunners’ midfield this term which really struggled to find some consistency.

Also read: Everything you need to know about the 2022/23 Premier League season

Sydney, Aug 5 (Cricket News) The International League (ILT20) in UAE has reportedly offered 15 top Australian players a whopping AUD 700,000 deals to ditch the Big Bash League (BBL), dates of which are overlapping, causing considerable tension in Cricket Australia (CA)'s ranks.

The Big Bash League will be played between December 13 to February 4 while the inaugural edition of ILT20 is scheduled from January 6 to February 12, making it virtually impossible for Australian players to take part in both the tournaments.

According to a report in Sydney Morning Herald,"As many as 15 Australian players have been offered contracts worth up to AUD 700,000 a year to abandon the Big Bash League and play in the UAE Twenty20 tournament in January." Most of the top Australian players have no obligation to play BBL under their existing central contract, with Warner not having played a single edition since 2014.

The BBL's highest payment till date from the draft has been D'arcy Short's USD 258,000 (AUD 370,000) and the money compared to what has been paid to marquee Australian players in IPL, has been significantly lesser.

But with Indian IPL owners investing in UAE and CSA T20 leagues, the BBL will need to revamp its pay structure to keep the best in the business interested.

According to Australian newspapers 'The Age' and 'The Sydney Morning Herald' by senior cricket sources, "the scale of the attempted raid on Australian players goes far beyond the threat of losing one player – David Warner – to the UAE because he does not have a BBL deal." The paper also revealed: "UAE contract sizes so far above and beyond what has been on offer in the BBL have placed Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association under pressure to reassure players that they are not being left behind the rest of the world by remaining loyal to the game in this country." However it is learnt CA in its bid to retain the sheen and quality of BBL, is keen on signing a lucrative one-off deal with Warner, which will prevent him from taking up the ILT20 offer.

"While CA is in talks with Warner about finding a way to get him back into the BBL this summer, the governing body's chief executive Nick Hockley and his player union counterpart Todd Greenberg have been fielding countless calls from players about the offers,' SMH further reported.

Greenberg feels that Australian players are not "mercenaries" and would eventually take an informed and matured decision.

"They do have this genuine sense of care about the game – if they didn’t, they would be mercenaries and take what’s in front of them.

"But they're not, they're actually taking a mature, considered approach to this and trying to be part of the solution. This comes down to establishing trust with your own players and the relationships you develop with them," Greenberg said.

But he didn't forget to mention that CA needs to do something about the salary cap.

"I do know CA have to stay within the salary cap principles for any player and that includes Dave (warner)," Greenberg said.

"But clearly they’ve got to try to make the best offer they can to keep him here. It’s a balance of trying to make sure you’re attracting your best players and there’s some equity in the system and the model, so that all of them have the opportunity to play and are remunerated accordingly." 

Also Read : Asia Cup: KL Rahul, Deepak Chahar set for comeback

News Source : PTI

Muirfield (Scotland), Aug 5 (Golf News) Indian golfers Aditi Ashok and Diksha Sagar made a disappointing start at the 2022 AIG Women's Open here. The Indians came into this tournament through their qualifiers at North Berwick earlier this week.

Aditi opened with a 2-over 73 and was at T-56, while Diksha scored a 77 and was at T-118th.

The Indians will need a strong second round to keep the hopes alive of making a cut.

Japan's Hinako Shiburo leads the chart as she fired an opening round of 65 (-60) as she had a one-shot lead over American Jessica Korda, who sits alone in second place on five-under-par.

The 23-year-old Shibuno won the Open in 2019 at Woburn, her first event outside her country.

She got off to a quick start with three birdies in a row before dropping a shot on the fourth.

The Japanese star rolled in birdies on the fifth and ninth holes to make the turn in 32 (-4) before making three more birdies and one bogey on her back nine for a round of six-under-par.

Scotland’s Louise Duncan and Mexico’s Gaby Lopez share third place on four-under-par with Lopez having a bogey-free day.

Duncan, who won the Smyth Salver in 2021 at Carnoustie, had an up and down round with two bogeys, four birdies and an eagle for her 67.

Five players are in a tie for fifth place on three-under-par after 18 holes including 2022 Race to Costa del Sol leader Maja Stark, France’s Celine Boutier and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff. 

Also Read : Indian-American Aman Gupta finishes 49th, Crocker wins Hero Open

News Source : PTI

(Sports news) Murali Sreeshankar won a historic silver medal in the men's long jump at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 with a jump of 8.08m. He achieved this feat with his fifth jump, having spent most of his time outside the medal spots. Bahamas's Laquan Nairn won the gold medal as he also had a best jump of 8.08m but his second best of 7.98m was better than 7.84m of Sreeshankar. Under rules, if two jumpers are tied on the same distance, the one who has a better second best jump will be ranked ahead. In a dramatic final round it seemed that the Indian did enough to cross the 8m mark, which would have given him the gold but to his disappointment his foot landed 2cm ahead of the line. Sreeshankar had gone into CWG as the gold medal favourite with his season's and personal best of 8.36m, which had put him joint second in the world rankings this season.

Jovan van Vuuren (8.06m) of South Africa took the bronze and the other Indian in the final Muhammed Anees Yahiya ended the competition at fifth with a best jump of 7.97m on his last and final jump. Sreeshankar's silver was the best result among any Indian male long jumpers in the CWG as Suresh Babu had won a bronze in the 1978 edition. Prajusha Maliakkal won a silver in the 2010 edition in Delhi, while the legendary Anju Bobby George bagged a bronze in 2002. This was Sreeshankar's first major medal in an international competition and a multi-sport event. Before this, he had only won a bronze in the 2018 Asian U-20 Championships in Gifu, Japan. The medal will give him some sort of relief after his disappointing outing in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, USA, where he had finished seventh with a very mediocre jump. Yesterday, Tejaswin Shankar opened India’s medal tally in CWG 2022 where had won a bronze in men's high jump 

One thing that Sreeshankar Murali proved by winning a historic silver at the CWG is that nice guys don’t finish last. The 23-year-old hailing from Pallakad district of Kerala became the only the second male long jumper from the country to win a CWG medal with a magnificent effort of 8.08m in Birmingham on Thursday. The wiry-framed and ever-smiling jumper is one of the most amicable athletes in India. He may not be as flashy as the top stars like Neeraj Chopra but the budding athletes and even former players have become admirers of him due to his warm persona, dedication and focus in life.

He was allowed to join Facebook and use WhatsApp only after he turned 18. Sreeshankar, like every Indian household child, never created a fuss over these restrictions and in fact he believes that it has helped him focus better on sports. “My father knows what is best for me,” he said in one interview. Another thing his father firmly believes is in prioritising studies, despite his busy schedule, has not let his academic side of things go down. He apparently carries his study materials wherever he goes to compete and it paid dividends as Murali stood second in his state  for the NEET exam and cleared engineering on pure merit. His NEET scores would have earned him a medical seat in any premier college in India but he had other plans and chose to take up high jumping as his main profession.

Also read: Harmanpreet's hat-trick hands India 4-1 win over Wales, enter semifinals

Cali (Colombia), Aug 5 (Sports News) Rupal Chaudhary created history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals at the World U20 Athletics Championship as she followed up her 4x400m relay silver with a bronze medal in the women's 400m here.

Hailing from a family with modest means, her father being a small time farmer in Shahpur Jainpur village in UP's Meerut district, the 17-year-old has been in incredible form having run as many as four 400m races in just three days.

Rupal clocked 51.85 seconds to finish third behind Yemi Mary John (51.50) of Great Britain and Damaris Mutunga (51.71) of Kenya on Thursday night.

On Tuesday, she had won a silver as part of the 4x400m relay quartet that finished second behind USA with an Asian junior record time of 3:17.76s.

On the same day, she ran her individual 400m first round heat before featuring in the semi-finals on Wednesday and final on Thursday.

She ran her personal best time twice in the championships, first a 52.27s in semi-finals before bettering it in the final.

Earlier this year, Rupal stunned pre-race favourite Priya Mohan of Karnataka to clinch the gold medal in the women's 400m at the National U-20 Federation Cup Athletics Championships here on Friday.

Rupal is the second Indian to have won a medal in the women's 400m after Hima Das clinched a historic gold in the 2018 edition of the championships in Finland with a time of 51.46s.

Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was the first Indian to win a gold in the championships in 2016 in Poland.

Rupal's bronze is India's ninth medal overall from the championships, which was earlier known as World Junior Championships. In the last edition in Nairobi in 2021, India had won three medals -- 2 silver, 1 bronze. 

Also Read : Sreeshankar wins silver in long jump at CWG

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Table Tennis News) Reigning national champion Sreeja Akula entered the women's singles round of 16 with a hard fought 4-1 win over Malaysia's Karen Lyne in the table tennis competition of the Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.

Lyne had stunned defending champion Manika Batra in the team event here with India going down in the quarterfinals. India are looking to make up for that shock loss in the singles and doubles events.

Sreeja beat Lyne 12-10, 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 11-8 in a round of 32 contest.

Her teammate Reeth Rishya, however, went down to England's Charlotte Bardsley 1-4 in the round of 32.

India's star player Manika will play Canada's Fu Ching Nam on Thursday night.

In para table tennis, Paralympic silver medallist Bhavina Patel cruised to a 3-0 win over Akanisi Latu of Fiji in a class 3-5 group match.

The Indian mixed pair of Sanil Shetty and Reeth Tennison went down to the Malaysian pair of Wong Qi Shen and Tee Ai Xin 6-11 10-12 13-11 11-8, 8-11 in a round of 64 match.

The Indians were caught off guard as they lost the first two games but bounced back to clinch the next two and took the match to the decider. 

Also Read : Jamshedpur FC rope in Rakshit Dagar, Sheikh Sahil

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Hockey News) The Indian women's hockey team would look to draw inspiration from its Tokyo Olympics success when it takes on mighty Australia in the second semifinal of the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

India had stunned Australia 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics last year. And come Friday, the Savita Punia-led side would look to do an encore here.

But it would be easier said than done as Australia are by far the dominant force in the CWG with four gold medals in six editions since hockey's introduction at the Games in 1998.

The Hockeyroos are in sublime form here having topped their pool with four wins from as many games and that too without conceding a single goal.

India, on the other hand, finished second in Pool A behind hosts England with nine points. India's only loss (1-3) came against the home team.

The Indians will have to play out of their skin and chief coach Janneke Schopman would be hoping that her side can produce a clinical performance in all aspects of the game.

The Indian defence, led by skipper Savita and which has the likes of Gurjit Kaur, Udita and Deep Grace Ekka, will have to be on its toes against the fast attacking Australians.

The defence crumbled when put under pressure which was evident in India's 1-3 loss against England in their last pool match.

Neha Goyal has been a livewire in the link-up between midfield and the forward line but she needs more support.

The strike force too will have to be in its best and the likes of Sharmila Devi, Navneet Kaur and Lalremsiani can't afford to waste scoring opportunities, especially against a strong Australia, who are yet to concede a goal in the tournament.

Having finished second to New Zealand in the last CWG at home, the Australians would be desperate to return to the top of podium.

In the first semifinal, hosts England will be up against reigning CWG champions New Zealand. 

Also Read : Harmanpreet's hat-trick hands India 4-1 win over Wales, enter semifinals

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 4 (Cricket News) Senior opener and first-choice vice-captain KL Rahul is expected to reclaim his place back in the Indian team along with seamer Deepak Chahar when the squad will be selected for the Asia Cup on August 8.

The Asia Cup will be played in T20 format in Dubai and Sharjah from August 27 to September 11.

Rahul was supposed to make a comeback for the away ODI series in Zimbabwe but a bout of COVID-19 has apparently delayed his recovery from the sports hernia surgery he underwent recently.

What would be interesting is to find out whether the selection committee, headed by Chetan Sharma, picks a usual squad of 15 or extend it to 17, keeping in mind a chance to try out all possible options.

The Indian squad for the Asia Cup will provide a fair idea about the team's composition for the T20 World Cup as the team is set to play around a dozen games before its game at the showpiece against Pakistan at the MCG on October 23.

While Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav have been Rohit Sharma's opening partners in the last six T20 games, Rahul will get back his place at the top of the order in this line-up.

"KL Rahul doesn't need to prove anything. He is a class player. Whenever he plays T20, it is always as a specialist opener and that would continue. Surya and Rishabh are set to play as specialist middle-order batters going forward," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

One of the most prolific IPL performers, Rahul has often been criticised for his dated approach while opening the innings in T20Is.

But with Indian team employing an 'attack at all costs' philosophy in the Powerplay, propagated by both Pant and Surya, Rahul will certainly need to change his game in the continental tourney in the UAE.

Debate regarding Virat Kohli ------------------------------- While Virat Kohli's form has been the biggest worry for the Indian team, there is no imminent threat to master batter's No. 3 slot as he is set to continue in the same slot.

There has been no specific discussions on Kohli's future in the shortest format and even if he doesn't have a great Asia Cup, his years of experience and match-winning ability will be difficult to ignore for the marquee event in Australia where experience always rules the roost.

Dinesh Karthik has made one middle-order slot his own while Deepak Hooda is going to be the first back-up option going forward.

The interesting aspect will be whether selectors prefer an extra opener/keeper in Ishan Kishan or an explosive middle-order back-up/keeper in Sanju Samson. Either way, one among the two will miss out.

Bowling attack ----------------- In the bowling unit, Chahar, who will make a comeback in the Zimbabwe ODIs, in all likelihood, will also be a part of the Asia Cup-bound squad.

"Deepak was one of India's consistent T20 bowlers before he got injured. He deserves a fair chance and also we need a like-for-like back-up for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Also now that he is coming back, he would need to play a lot of games to get his rhythm back," the source added.

Harshal Patel is reportedly down with a rib-cage injury and his inclusion in the squad will be subject to fitness.

As far as the off-spinner's position is concerned, Washington Sundar won't be considered for the T20 World Cup as the team management wants to go ahead with the experience of Ravichandran Ashwin alongside Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel.

Similarly, Mohammed Shami has been intimated that he will only be considered for Tests and ODIs.

Asia Cup Squad (In Contention) Certainties (13): Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Back-Up batter: Deepak Hooda/Ishan Kishan/Sanju Samson Back-Up Pacers: Arshdeep Singh/Avesh Khan/Deepak Chahar/Harshal Patel.

Back-Up Spinners: Axar Patel/Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi. 

Also Read : What effect will India's experimentation in T20Is have in big tournaments?

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Hockey News) Vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh slammed a hat-trick as the Indian men's hockey team beat Wales 4-1 in its final Pool B match to qualify for the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.

Harmanpreet (19th, 20th, 40th minutes) converted two penalty corners and scored one from the spot while Gurjant Singh struck a field goal in the 49th minute for India.

Wales' lone goal was scored by drag-flicker Gareth Furlong in the 55th minute from a set piece.

After the win, India were on course to top Pool B as they enjoy a goal difference of 22 over England, who still have a match against Canada.

The Indians had the better share of possession in the first two quarters, but Wales gave a tough fight to their fancied opponents, especially in the first 15 minutes.

India relied on quick inter-passing game and made a few circle penetrations, but failed to create any clear cut chance, barring a penalty corner in the eighth minute, which Varun Kumar failed to utilise.

Wales also made some circle entries inside the Indian D and their best chance came when an unmarked Carlson's shot was saved by an onrushing Sreejesh from a one-on-one situation.

After a barren first quarter, India secured back-to-back penalty corners in the 18th minute, the second of which was put into goal by the ever-reliable Harmanpreet with a low powerful grounded flick.

A minute later, India secured another penalty corner and Harmanpreet exhibited his bagful of tricks with another perfect conversion to hand his side a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Two minutes after the change of ends, India secured their fifth penalty corner but wasted the chance.

In the 40th minute, the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists earned back-to-back penalty corners, the second of which resulted in a penalty stroke, and Harmanpreet made no mistake from the spot.

Minutes later, Akashdeep Singh's deflection from a close range was kept out by Wales goalkeeper Tobias Reynolds-Cotterill.

An agile Gurjant made the scoreline 4-0 two minutes later as he perfectly turned the face of his stick to deflect in Samsher Singh's high pass.

Wales then secured two penalty corners in quick time and Furlong made use of the second opportunity.

A minute from the final hooter, India earned another set piece but Harmanpreet was denied by the Wales defence. 

Also Read : Indian women register 3-2 win over Canada, enter semifinals

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Aug 4 (Football News) Indian Super League franchise Mumbai City FC on Thursday announced the signing of Argentine centre-forward Jorge Pereyra Díaz.

Diaz has joined the 'Islanders' on a one-year deal until May 2023.

"I've only spent one season in India but there are only a few clubs which have the ambitions that Mumbai City do and I think it was on full display in the club's performances in Asia last season," Diaz was quoted as saying in a media release.

The club's head coach Des Buckingham termed Diaz a talented player and said that his experience of playing in the ISL will allow him to quickly settle down.

Ahead of the 2021/22 season, the 31-year-old arrived in India and signed for ISL side Kerala Blasters, impressing with eight goals and an assist on the way to the final. 

Also Read : Jamshedpur FC rope in Rakshit Dagar, Sheikh Sahil

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Sports News) Youngsters Sunayna Kuruvilla and Anahat Singh entered the pre-quarterfinals of the women's doubles event in squash at the Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.

Sunayna and the 14-year-old Anahat made short work of Yeheni Kuruppu and Chanithma Sinaly 11-9, 11-4 in straight games in their opening match.

The other Indian pair in the fray are seasoned pair of Joshna Chinnappa and Dipika Pallikal, who will play their round of 16 match later in the day. 

Also Read : CWG: Hima wins her heat to qualify for 200m semi-finals

News Source : PTI

Jamshedpur, Aug 4 (Football News) Indian Super League franchise Jamshedpur FC have roped in former Gokulam Kerala FC goalkeeper Rakshit Dagar and midfielder Sheikh Sahil for the upcoming season.

Jamshedpur FC signed them till 2025, a club statement on Thursday said.

Rakshit, who joined Gokulam Kerala FC in 2021, made 18 appearances and was an integral in winning the I-League for the club. He has two I-League trophies under his name.

He has been a part of Sudeva FC, East Bengal and Punjab FC during his time in the I-league. Rakshit made his debut for United Sikkim FC in 2013.

Sahil started his career at Mohun Bagan academy and played in the U-16 I-League as a part of the Mohun Bagan youth team.

"These two youngsters have shown great potential in the teams they have played for, and I am happy to have them. I hope to see them grow as individuals and contribute to team success in the coming season," said head coach Aidy Boothroyd.

Rakshit and Sahil will join the squad in Jamshedpur for the pre-season in mid-August. 

Also Read : Why are Manchester United and Chelsea interested in Benjamin Sesko?

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Boxing News) Amit Panghal ensured a fourth medal for India from the boxing ring after winning his flyweight (48-51 kg) quarter-final against Scotland's Lennon Mulligan at the Commonwealth Games on Thursday.

It was a unanimous verdict in favour of the Indian southpaw. Panghal had won a silver medal during the last edition in Gold Coast.

The bout wasn't of great quality but the 26-year-old India prevailed over his much younger Scottish opponent, tiring him out with a solid defence. He gained points with occasional ferocious counter-attack.

In the first two rounds, Panghal employed a guard down approach to invite Mulligan to go on the offensive but swayed away from his reach with some nimble footwork.

In between he did land a couple of left jabs to rattle the 20-year-old Scot and in the final round unleashed a barrage of 'one-two' combination (a left-jab followed by a right cross).

Mulligan in fact got a standing count and by the end of round two, the writing was clear on the wall that Panghal will earn a second CWG medal.

Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Nitu Ganghas (48kg) and Mohd Hussamudin (57kg) have also reached the semifinal stage to be assured of medals in their respective categories. 

Also Read : Boxer Nitu Ganghas enters semifinals, assures India of medal in CWG

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Badminton News) Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarterfinals of the women's singles event with a comfortable straight game win over Maldives' Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq at the Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.

It was always going to be a tough task for Fathimath against the two-time Olympic medallist, who pocketed the Round of 32 match 21-4 21-11 in just 21 minutes.

Sindhu, the last edition's silver silver medallist in the singles, hardly broke a sweat while toying with her opponent in the first game.

Without adopting an aggressive approach, Sindhu outfoxed the Madives shuttler with her all-round game. She mostly used her deceptive drops shots to garner points.

In the second game, Fathimath produced some resistance initially and was on level terms with Sindhu till 9-9, as the Indian mostly gave away points on unforced errors.

But Sindhu got her composure back and went into the breather leading 11-9.

After the break, it was all Sindhu as she ran away with the game with Razzaq managing just two points, to book her place in the last-16.

Also Read : Inaugural Grand Prix Badminton League to be broadcasted by Eurosport India

News Source : PTI





 

(Football news) Erling Haaland may have only turned 22 earlier this month, but Benjamin Sesko has already been dubbed as 'the next Haaland' which speaks volumes of the Slovenian's talent. After breaking onto the scene with Salzburg, the striker has continued to shine with clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool are going all out to sign the 19 year old.

Six months before Erling Haaland left RB Salzburg for Borussia Dortmund, the Austrian side secured the services of Benjamin Sesko. The Slovenian had to wait patiently for his chance to secure a starting berth at Salzburg having spent two seasons on loan at sister club FC Liefering. Sesko struggled for regular minutes at the club as he scored just five goals across 24 appearances. Last season he came back and largely played second fiddle to Karim Adeyemi and Noah Okafor, but now Adeyemi moved to Borussia Dortmund which meant that the teenager had the chance to consolidate a starting spot. Sesko took the opportunity with both hands as he netted the opener in Salzburg's opening day 3-0 win over Austria Wien last week in the Austrian league. 

How long he'll remain in Austria remains to be seen as he has suitors not only from the Premier League suitors but also from the La Liga. Labelled as 'The Next Erling Haaland', the striker stands at 6'4" and uses his powerful build to get the better of defenders. Despite his stature, the teenager has ample pace to drive past opponents or time his runs to perfection in his quest for a goal. He is usually the first one to capitalise on parried shots on goal or if he does hang off the shoulder of the last defender, he tends to beat the offside trap. 

Sesko is capable of finishing well with his right or left foot and the two-footedness to his game means he can at times prove very difficult to read for the opposition defender. This quality has helped raise his player valuation considerably and when you take into account that only eight players have scored in excess of five goals with their right foot and their left foot in Europe's top five leagues last season, it is something that the modern game demands. Sesko is also a solid aerial threat inside the opposition area as the youngster is able to find pockets of space between the defence and midfield that enables him to link up play in attack. He uses his strength to hold off pressure from markers and allow those in behind to make runs, maximising the space he has worked through his movement. His movement is somewhat similar to Edinson Cavani as he has a tendency to play just behind the back of the defender.

Interest in Sesko has risen tremendously in recent months with United the front runners for the Slovenia international. Question marks over Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Old Trafford continue to linger, with United having been linked with a number of strikers this summer. It seems that Ten Hag  is eyeing up a specific type of forward in order to succeed Ronaldo should he depart this summer, one that performed in a similar style as Sebastien Haller did for Ajax last season. VfB Stuttgart's Sasa Kalajdzic is another name being rumoured for United but Sesko seems like the number one option. Salzburg are keen to retain his services with a view to sell him next summer but the Austrian side are aware that a big enough bid would allow them to reinvest that money. Sesko seems the perfect striker for United if they can get this deal done and he could prove the perfect frontman to succeed Ronaldo at Old Trafford next season.

Also read: Chelsea open talks with a shock transfer for Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
 

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Sports News) Star Indian sprinter Hima Das qualified for the women's 200m semifinals after winning her heat with a timing of 23.42s at the Commonwealth Games here on Friday.

The 22-year-old Hima led the five-woman field from the start with Rhoda Njobvu of Zambia clocking 23.85s to finish second while Jacent Nyamhunge of Uganda finished third with a timing of 24.07.

There are six heats lined up in the women's 200m and the top-16 will qualify for the semi-final.

Hima won heat 2 but Favour Ofili of Nigeria (22.71s in Heat 1) and the formidable Elaine-Thompson-Herah (22.80s in heat 5) had superior timings.

At least six athletes have clocked better time, compared to Hima, en route their semi-final entries. 

Also Read : Tejaswin Shankar wins bronze, becomes first Indian to win medal in CWG high jump

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 4 (Cricket News) Jemimah Rodrigues knows her strengths well and finds no reason to change her natural game in order to ape power-hitters like skipper Harmanpreet Kaur or elegant timers of Smriti Mandhana's ilk.

Jemimah played an important role in India's thumping 100-run victory opver Barbados with an immensely important knock of 56 off 46 balls, which was different in its construction from how Harmanpreet or a Shafali Verma plays.

"Smriti had told me long back in the IPL [Women's T20 Challenge] in 2019 that you don't have to be a Harmanpreet Kaur or a Smriti Mandhana. You have to be a Jemimah Rodrigues. I think I have understood that role and it's helping me," Jemimah said after the match.

For Jemimah, people's perceptions doesn't matter much.

"The team has given me a role. If I can play that role, it doesn't matter how other people look at it. If the dynamics suit our team, we have Shafali, Smriti, Harman, so I just want to play the best role I want to play for the team," she added.

She has no qualms in admitting that power-hitting isn't her forte but she is still working on that particular skill-set in order to contribute more in the shortest format of the game.

"Definitely, I've worked on my power game, but more than that, I've understood my game better. I'm not a power-hitter, I'm a placer. I can hit the (gaps for) singles and doubles well; I know how to manoeuvre the field. I think that is my strength," she said.

Jemimah is confident that even without hitting a fair amount of sixes, she can still firm up the strike-rate at a decent pace.

"My game is not very flashy but even without that, I end up with a good strike rate. That is what I have realised I don't have to be someone else; I have to be Jemimah Rodrigues to score. This is what has helped me," she went on to add.

She also highlighted the equation shared between her and the coach Ramesh Power and the latter's role in promoting her at number three, which she belives, is her ideal position to flourish.

"Ramesh [Powar] sir had told me after the last game to be prepared for No. 3," she said. "Honestly, when I was preparing, I was ready for both. Even when I was preparing in the nets, with our side-arm (throwdown) specialist, I was prepared for both, because you never know, the team can need me anywhere and I should be ready for that," Jemimah said.

"But definitely, I love No. 3. It's my position. [I'm] glad I got to play there and contribute to the team, contribute to the plan, and it worked out well for the team," she added.

The Mumbai-born cricketer also went on to add that the opportunities she got at The Hundred tournament for the Northern Superchargers last year has played a pivotal role in helping her grasp the English conditions and given her ample confidence to perform at the CWG in Birmingham.

"The best thing about the 'Hundred' was the opportunity to get to play in English conditions, which I wouldn't have gotten normally," Jemimah said.

"Any match, even if it's a domestic game, I think when you go out there and score runs, you get confidence. And that is what happened to me. I was blessed that I got to play for the Northern Superchargers.

"I had a good season there, and I just wanted to continue that because the more I play, the better I do and the more I learn. I just want to apply that whenever I play for India," she added. 

Also Read : IOC to consider cricket's inclusion in 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games

News Source: PTI

(Football news) Premier League side Chelsea have added Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to their list of potential targets for the striker and have already begun talks with the player, according to Fabrizio Romano. Chelsea are still in the initial stages of the deal and haven’t talked to Barça yet, but it’s quite a surprise to see the Blues potentially making a move for Aubameyang since they were other targets such as Sesko and Dominic Calvert Lewin.

It will be interesting to see if the two clubs will eventually discuss some sort of a swap deal as Barca want to sign César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso. Chelsea also reportedly want to hijack the Frenkie De Jong deal but he doesn’t want to leave the club. Aubameyang is happy at Barça but his role is going to be considerably diminished with the arrival of Robert Lewandowski and he could be tempted to re-join his former coach Thomas Tuchel if he’s promised first team football in London. This has really come as a shock since Chelsea were reportedly looking for young striker to replace Romelu Lukaku who left Chelsea for Inter on loan this summer 

Aubameyang, who’s very familiar to the Premier League from his time at Arsenal, is the latest striker to be linked with Chelsea in what has become a manic window for them. ‘Auba’ scored 92 goals in only 163 Arsenal appearances, so he’s a striker who knows where the back of the net is and also last season he netted 13 goals in 23 games for Barcelona, helping them in their late resurgence. It’s obvious that the Chelsea fans are desperate for the club to sign a new No.9 in this window because of a huge void that has emerged since the departure of Romelu Lukaku but Aubameyang seems to fit the bill.

It’s unclear at this stage on how likely this deal actually is to happen, but it’s interesting that Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel previously coached Aubameyang when the pair were successful at Borussia Dortmund. Tuchel even explained last year that he remains “very close” with the Barca star who is reportedly earning £250,000-a-week. Aubameyang spent his best goal scoring years with Dortmund under Tuchel’s management as he almost helped the Black and yellow win the Bundesliga. Tuchel is concerned with his side’s preparation going into the season as the players he originally targeted rejected Chelsea for Barcelona. The Chelsea manager needs a quick fix to his problems at the club, hence he is targeting players who he has previously worked with.

“He( Aubameyang) was a very important player for me and I still have a very close relationship with him,” Tuchel said in December, 2021.

Also read: Amadou Onana joins West Ham for a fee of £33.5m
 

Lausanne, Aug 4 (Cricket News) Cricket's much-anticipated inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics received a shot in the arm as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) shortlisted it for a review along with eight other sporting disciplines. Cricket has only featured once at the 1900 Paris Olympic Games, with Great Britain and hosts France as only participants.

According to ESPN Cricinfo, The development comes a day after the International Cricket Committee (ICC) was formally invited by both the LA28 and IOC to submit presentation in order to make their case considered.

However, a final decision is expected to be announced ahead of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai sometime in mid-2023.

The other eight sports in consideration for the showpiece event are baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, break dancing, karate, kick-boxing, squash, and motorsport.

In February this year, the IOC said that a total of 28 sporting events will be part of the Los Angeles Games and also added that the 'potential new sports' will be considered with a focus on youth.

As per IOC diktat, a sport should clear some set of criteria in order to be considered for inclusion.

This includes priorities to cost and complexity reduction, engaging the best athletes and sports with safety and health first, global appeal, host country interest, gender equality, youth relevance, upholding integrity and fairness to support clean sports, and long-term sustainability.

Cricket is currently being featured in the ongoing Commonwealth Games with the women's T20 format being played among eight nations, albeit only the women's teams are participating in it.

However, for a sporting event to be featured at the Olympic Games, it must be for both men and women.

ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said he was pleased the way the cricket was viewed during the Birmingham Games and the sport has been a "star attraction" at the showpiece event.

"We've seen from the Commonwealth Games how much the world's best players have enjoyed playing in front of big crowds and what I'm sure will be large TV audiences," Allardice told the website. 

Also Read : Indian women's cricket team maul Barbados by 100 runs, qualify for semifinals

News Source : PTI

(Football news) West Ham have had a bid worth £33.5m accepted by Lille for their 20 year midfielder Amadou Onana. David Moyes has been looking to add more depth in the midfield  after Mark Noble retired and Alex Kral returned to Spartak Moscow at the end of an unsuccessful loan. Moyes signed 23-year-old midfielder Flynn Downes from Swansea last month to add further depth in the middle of the park. West Ham are also close to agreeing a deal to sign the Burnley forward Maxwel Cornet after having an offer of about £17m rejected.

West Ham have been tracking Onana all summer and are set to discuss personal terms with the 20-year-old. Lille have been holding out for about €40m for the Belgian this transfer window and West Ham have agreed to pay an initial €35m (£29.3m) plus €5m in add-ons. The Hammers have been busy this summer, having already signed Nayef Aguerd, Gianluca Scamacca and Alphonse Areola. West Ham are also on a look for a left-back, with Leicester’s Luke Thomas in their sights, and are also monitoring one more forward in Blackburn forward Ben Brereton Díaz who is another target. They have already loaned out Arthur Masuaku to Besiktas and French centre-back Issa Diop is a target for Fulham.

The East London remain in discussion with Burnley over the signing of Ivory Coast forward Maxwel Cornet as they are proposing an initial loan deal with an option to make the deal permanent based on certain player and club performances. West Ham on the other hand have not given up on signing Filip Kostic from Eintracht Frankfurt but are focusing on other deals also. West Ham's bid worth £12.6m including add-ons was rejected, with Frankfurt looking for somewhere around £16.8m ( for a player who has entered the final year of his contract. Kostic is represented by World Soccer Agency (WSA) which was subsequently the same agency that looks after Gianluca Scamacca.

Onana was born in Dakar and was capped for Sengal at youth levels before he decided to change nationality and made his senior Belgium debut in a 4-1 Nations League defeat to the Netherlands in June. The 6ft 5 prodigy began his youth career at Belgian clubs Anderlecht, RWS Bruxelles and Zulte Waregem before spending three seasons with the Hoffenheim academy. Onana then went on to sign for Hamburg before the 2020-21 season and swiftly established himself as a first-team regular for the German second-tier side.He then made his big move to the French champions Lille in August 2021. Onana made 31 appearances in Ligue 1 last season and featured in all of the club's Champions League matches. 

Also read: Ronaldo’s Old Trafford exit is unacceptable says Erik ten Hag

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Sports News) A last minute addition to the athletics team, Tejaswin Shankar on Wednesday became the first Indian to win a men's high jump medal in the Commonwealth Games as he clinched a bronze in the final here.

The national record holder cleared 2.22m to finish third on countback. Donald Thomas of Bahamas and England's Joel Clarke-Khan also cleared 2.22m but they needed more than one attempt to do it while Shankar was successful in single try.

In women's shot put final, Manpreet Kaur finished 12th and last with a disappointing best throw of 15.69m.

The 23-year-old Shankar could not soar over 2.25m in two attempts. He then went for 2.28m in his third and final attempt in a bid to win a silver but failed.

Before Shankar, the best position an Indian had achieved in men's high jump in CWG was by Bhim Singh who cleared 2.06m in the 1970 edition in Edinburgh.

"I had a long (US) collegiate season and started jumping in January but getting a bronze here is like a dream come true and I'm just happy to take something back home with me," an elated Shankar said.

Shankar had finished sixth in the 2018 Gold Coast edition with a best jump of 2.24m.

Shankar, who was added in the Indian athletics squad on the orders of Delhi High Court, has a season's best of 2.27m and personal best of 2.29m.

Hamish Kerr of New Zealand won the gold while Australia's Brandon Starc clinched the silver. Both cleared 2.25m but could not soar over 2.28m but the Kiwi won the gold on count back.

"I've been seeing these guys (Hamish Kerr and Brandon Starc) on TV all the time so just to share the podium with them is spectacular. This is my first feather in my cap so I just want things to move forward from here," he added On July 22, Shankar was cleared to compete at the Commonwealth Games after the organisers accepted his entry on the request of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), ending a month-long drama surrounding his participation.

The organisers had initially rejected Shankar's late entry but the IOA later got confirmation from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Birmingham CWG organisers about acceptance of his entry after a Delegate Registration Meeting (DRM).

Shankar had petitioned the Delhi High Court after he was not selected for the CWG despite achieving the qualifying standard set by the AFI.

The national federation later told the Delhi HC that Shankar has been included in the Indian athletics team in place of 4x400m relay team member Arokia Rajiv, who was named in the original squad.

Initially, the AFI had requested the IOA to increase its quota to accommodate more athletes. The IOA, in turn, had requested the CWG organisers in this regard.

Shankar had filed a petition at the Delhi High Court challenging the decision of the AFI to exclude him from the team, contending that he reached the qualification guidelines of the AFI by jumping 2.27m at the NCAA Championships in USA, where he is studying. 

Also Read : Ghosal makes history with maiden singles medal in CWG squash

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Cricket News) Medium pacer Renuka Singh ran through Barbados' top order with a four-wicket haul as India beat their lowly opponents by 100 runs to qualify for the semifinals of the women's T20 cricket at the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

Invited to bat, India posted a competitive 162 for 4 on the back of a fine unbeaten half-century from Jemimah Rodrigues (56 not out off 46 balls) and a 26-ball 43 from opener Shafali Verma.

The Indians then restricted Barbados to 62 for 8 in 20 overs with Renuka bamboozling the Barbados batters with an impressive spell.

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Sneh Rana, Meghna Singh and Radha Yadav chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Kyshona Knight was the top-scorer for Barbados with 16 while Shakera Selman made 12. Seven of their batters failed to reach double-digit figures.

Barbados were dismissed for 64 in their nine-wicket defeat against Australia in an earlier match.

With the win, India finished second behind Australia (6 points from 3 matches) in Group A with four points from two wins. They had beaten Pakistan and lost to Australia in their earlier matches.

The semifinals will be played on Saturday. Renuka struck in the third ball of the Barbados innings, removing opener Deandra Dottin for a duck. She then dismissed captain Hayley Matthews (9), Kycia Knight (3) and Aaliyah Alleyne (0) in quick succession to reduce Barbados to 19 for 4 in nine overs.

During the Indian innings, opener Smriti Mandhana (5), who hit a half century in India's win over arch-rivals Pakistan, fell cheaply but Verma and Rodrigues stitched a 71-run stand for the second wicket to prop up the innings.

India were, however, in a spot of bother as captain Harmanpreet (0) departed just three balls after Verma's dismissal. But a 70-run partnership between Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma (34 not out) for the unbroken fifth wicket took India to a good total.

For Barbados, Shanika Bruce, Hayley Matthews and Shakera Selman took a wicket each.

Brief Scores: India: 162 for 4 in 20 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 56 not out, Shafali Verma.43; Shanika Bruce 1/17) Barbados: 62 for 8 in 20 overs (Kyshona Knight 16; Renuka Singh 4/10). 

Also Read : Ireland Academy announce squad for red-ball fixture Vs England Under-19s

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Swimming News) Indian swimmers Advait Page and Kushagra Rawat finished seventh and eight respectively in the men's 1500m freestyle event at the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

Page had a timing of 15:32.36 while Rawat clocked 15:42.67 to finish last in the eight-swimmer field.

With this, India's swimming challenge at the Games ended. 

Also Read : Nataraj registers best Indian time in 200m backstroke, but fails to enter final

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Combat Sports News) Indian judoka Tulika Maan gave her all but came up short against Scotland's Sarah Adlington in the final to settle for a silver medal in the women's 78kg category in the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

Tulika, who won two fights earlier in the day to make it to the final, led for majority of the bout before Adlington pulled off a decisive move, an Ippon, to win gold.

Adlington had Tulika on the mat with a forceful throw and the Indian landed on her back, ending the contest with 30 seconds remaining.

A silver was still a creditable performance from the 23-year-old from Delhi who gave India its third judo medal in the Birmingham Games.

The spectators too was largely in favour of the Scottish judoka and they went berserk after Adlington employed an Ippon.

Tulika, who lost her father when she was a two-year-old and is a single child of a widowed mother, is a former Commonwealth judo champion.

She was inconsolable after the bout and was not able to speak to the media though she tried, a standard protocol after every bout.

After that she fell on the floor with tears rolling down her eyes. Clearly, it was the disappointment of missing out on the gold.

She had beaten Tracy Durhone of Mauritius in her opening bout before winning against Sydnee Andrews of New Zealand in the semifinals.

Tulika initially trailed in the semifinal match against Andrews but performed an 'Ippon' to humble the New Zealander.

The only other Indian, Deepak Deswal, went down to Fiji's Tevita Takawaya in the men's 100kg Repechage event.

L Shushila Devi and Vijay Kumar had claimed a silver and bronze in women's 48kg and men's 60kg respectively on Monday.

It must be noted that in the wake of the de-recognition of the Judo Federation of India on April 22, an expert committee was constituted by the Sports Authority of India to oversee the trials and the selection process for the CWG and also suggest necessary changes.

The committee included Olympian Judokas Cawas Billimoria, Sandeep Byala and Sunith Thakur as well as Judo masters Arun Dwivedi and Yogesh K Dhadve. 

Also Read : India's Deepak Deswal win in men's 100kg Judo in CWG

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Sports News) Breaking a long-standing jinx, Saurav Ghosal on Wednesday claimed India's first ever singles medal in squash -- a bronze -- at the Commonwealth Games here.

World No.15 Ghosal dominated the contest against England's James Willstrop from beginning to end, winning 11-6 11-1 11-4 in the bronze play-off.

It was Ghosal's second CWG medal, having won a mixed doubles silver with Dipika Pallikal in the 2018 Gold Coast edition.

Ghosal, playing his fourth CWG, broke into tears after the play-off against the former world number one. The medal meant the world to him and it came in probably his last appearance at CWG.

"I'm very very happy, it's a historic day for Indian squash. To be able to do this against a player of this calibre is very special. I'm happy that after all these years I have been able to win this," Ghosal said.

"This was one - a CWG singles medal - that was missing from my collection and I have played three CWGs before and to be able to pull through in my fourth attempt is even more special. I had to wait for so long," he added.

The 35-year-old Ghosal proved too strong for his 38-year-old opponent who is also at the fag end of his illustrious career. The Indian outclassed the Englishman in all aspects of the game, from court coverage to placement of his shots.

Incidently, Ghosal trained under Willstrop's father Malcolm in Pontefract for many years.

"I would like to dedicate this to my grandfather who passed away in 2020, he was very important to me and my grandmother.

"And also to Malcolm, who passed away last year. The player I am today is because of him. I trained with him for 10-15 years. I have practised with James a lot as well.

"Playing James, it’s like master vs apprentice. Since he lost yesterday there have been waves of emotions that I have been trying to control in my head." Former national coach and current team manager Cyrus Poncha, who watched Ghosal make history said," The first game lasted 18 minutes and was really intense. Ghosal being the younger of the two was much stronger.

"I thought yesterday he played even better in the semifinals. Years of hard work has led to this. It is a great day for Indian squash." Ghosal had lost the men's singles semifinal 3-0 (11-9 11-4 11-1) to New Zealand's Paul Coll.

Earlier in the day, the mixed doubles pair of veteran Joshna Chinappa and Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu progressed to the pre-quarterfinals.

The immensely experienced Chinappa and her partner Sandhu downed Sri Lanka's Yeheni Kuruppu and Ravindu Laksiri 8-11 11-4 11-3.

The Indians were a bit shaky initially and ended up conceding the first game.

However, they quickly turned things around and made a strong comeback to bag the next two games without breaking much sweat.

Sunayna Kuruvilla also defeated Fung-A-Fat of Guyana in the women's squash singles plate final.

Sunayna downed her Guyanese opponent 11-7 13-11 11-2 in what turned out to be a comfortable victory for the 23-year-old squash player. 

Also Read : It's my last CWG, but not retiring yet: Seema Punia

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Sports News) A medal-less campaign for the first time in five straight Commonwealth Games appearances since 2006, veteran discus thrower Seema Punia on Wednesday admitted that the Birmingham edition will be her last CWG but insisted that her career is not yet over.

The 39-year-old Punia, the most decorated track and field athlete in the Commonwealth Games, will return home empty-handed for the first time since her silver medal-winning feat in the 2006 edition in Melbourne as she finished fifth here on Tuesday night.

She could only produce a best throw of 55.92m which she came up in her second attempt but that was not enough for a podium finish.

"This will be my last CWG but I'm not done yet, who knows I'll be there at the Paris Olympics," Punia told PTI.

"The day I don't get my best in training, it would be my last. I don't chase after Games, I'm strong so I'm here.

"I think I can throw well at the Asian Games (next year). I'm very confident of a medal there. And, if I get to 63-64m mark, I can also make the Olympics (Paris)." She said she has no regrets of having missed out on a medal in her last CWG here.

"No regrets... This was my fifth CWG which itself is a big achievement although there is no medal this time but I'm happy," she said.

"You win some, you lose some. Just imagine for how long you have been training and giving all your effort in a power sport like discus throw." Punia has won three silver -- 2006, 2014, 2018 -- and one bronze -- 2010 -- from her earlier four appearances in the CWG.

"I cherish all my medals, even the ones I won at the district level. It doesn't matter at what level, but it takes a lot to win a medal," said Punia, who also has won a gold and a silver in the 2014 and 2018 Asian Games respectively.

Punia claimed that she successfully battled a hip joint injury in her bid to compete in her fifth straight CWG.

"The doctor had told me it's all over for me and you cannot do a power sport like this with a hip injury. But to make a comeback and compete at this level was a big thing for me.

"It's a very serious injury. It's the most crucial part of a discus thrower as it bears most of the impact. I had to take three injections and one year to rehab. I started training only in September without any coach as I knew I would need one only after I recovered," she said.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for Seema who was stripped of her 2000 World Junior Championships gold medal after testing positive for a banned drug. But she returned to win a bronze in the 2002 World Junior Championships and four years later bagged a silver at her debut CWG.

Fighting injury, she won a bronze at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, which she termed as the "turning point" in her career.

"That was my second medal (in CWG) and a turning point that I'm still standing there." 

Also Read : Timely action needed against those indulging in doping: P T Usha

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Hockey News) The Indian women's hockey team survived some anxious moments before beating lower-ranked Canada 3-2 in its must-win Pool A match to qualify for the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

The Indians looked in control of the match till the 22nd minute, having taken a 2-0 lead over their world no.15 opponents through goals from Salima Tete (3rd minute) and Navneet Kaur (22nd).

But the Canadians, then, produced a lion-hearted performance to level the scores through goals from Brienne Stairs (23rd) and Hannah Haughn (39th).

With England already assured of a semifinal berth from the pool with a 3-1 win over India on Tuesday, it was a do-or-die match for the Savita Punia-led side, with Canada needing just a draw to progress as they had a better goal difference.

Locked 2-2, Janneke Schopman's girls responded brilliantly when Lalremsiami scored off a rebound, after a penalty corner in the 51st minute.

The Indians came out aggressive in the first quarter and dominated the proceedings from the start.

India's attacking intent bore fruit as early as the third minute of the game when Salima scored off a rebound from a penalty corner.

Two minutes later, Lalremsiami missed a great opportunity to double the lead, her shot whizzing past the Canadian goal post.

Just seconds from the first quarter, Sangita Kumari showed great skills to carry the ball from the baseline and create a great chance for India, which was saved by Canadian goalkeeper Rowan Harris.

The Canadians showed more intent in the second quarter and managed to put the Indian defence under pressure on a few occasions.

But it was India who doubled their lead, in the 22nd minute, through Navneet Kaur, who shot in an open goal after receiving a pass from Lalremsiami.

A minute later Canada secured a penalty corner and reduced the deficit through Stairs.

In the 39th minute, Canada secured another penalty corner and Haughn equalised for her side.

With seconds left in the third quarter, Canada secured two more penalty corners, but India defended in numbers.

Facing elimination, Monika came close to handing India the much-needed goal in the 47th minute, but was denied by Canadian custodian Harris.

Two minutes later Neha Goyal pushed in from close range but the goal was disallowed as the ball hit Salima's back stick.

The Indians kept up the pressure and secured a penalty corner in the 51st minute, and this time, Lalremsiami tapped in from a goal mouth melee after Gurjit Kaur's shot was saved by the Canadian defence.

Two minutes from the hooter, India secured another penalty corner but failed to utilise it.

The Indians kept their defence in shape for the rest of the game to eke out the all-important win. 

Also Read : India lose 1-3 to England in CWG women's hockey

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Aug 3 (Sports News) Legendary athlete PT Usha on Wednesday batted for bringing all competitions under National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) and sought more focus on the field of sports medicine and science to help players recover from injuries.

In her maiden speech in Rajya Sabha, Usha, who was participating in the discussion on the National Anti-Doping Bill, said the country ranks third in the number of individuals who tested positive for steroids and were punished for doping.

"We are yet to open our eyes to the doping in our country which was earlier confined only to the senior national level but has now reached the junior, college and district levels. It is a serious concern which needs to be addressed," she noted.

Usha, who was nominated to the Upper House last month, said sports medicine and sports science need more focus in the country.

The leading sporting nations had adequate support in the sports medicine system which was lacking in India, she said.

"The new generation sportspersons are now getting better coaches, diets and resting facilities but there is one department which needs more focus and that will be the field of sports medicine and sports science," said Pilavullakandi Thekkeraparambil Usha.

She noted that injuries were an inseparable part of sports and the department of sports science and medicine has an important role to play in helping recover from injuries.

"Unfortunately in our country, this branch is still in the infancy stage. We need to have immediate and special attention to this sector," Usha said.

"This is the time to become self-reliant and I strongly suggest all this should come under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative, she added.

Speaking about doping, she said the alarming situation could be controlled to some extent by legislative business and more effective measures are required to create awareness about the problem.

"There is a need to create awareness about the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs and there should be no delay in timely action and an appropriate ban against those who test positive for steroids and performance-enhancing substances," Usha said.

At the same time, the activity of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) should be accelerated and it should be given the freedom to operate without any obstacles, she said.

Both NADA and Delhi-based National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) should get the necessary financial freedom, the MP said.

Usha also called for bringing all competitions under the watchful eyes of NADA.

According to experts, NADA collects sample from athletes in most of the National Championships as well as national camps that are held at Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres across the country. It is authorised to collect samples from all athletes, who are part of their registered testing pool.

Taking samples and sending them to labs for testing requires resources, hence testing at all competitions would require a hike in budget, they said.

In 2019-20, NADA tested around 4000 Indian athletes. About four per cent tested positive. Speaking in the Upper House, Usha said if the country follows all scientific processes, in the next ten years India will become one of the top sporting nations in the world.

Participating in the discussion, Ayodhya Rami Reddy Alla (YSRCP) noted that adequate testing infrastructure was required in the country to check doping.

John Brittas CPI (M) and Sanjay Singh (AAP) sought enhanced budgetary allocation for sports.

Supporting the bill, Amar Patnaik (BJD) said that countries like Italy are on the top of the list for doping and India is inching towards that.

"This (legislation) is a structure which has come to make us more credible in the international sports arena," he said.

Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik (BJP) said the drugs used for doping are now easily available across the country and are sold as organic medicine.

"Many times, an athlete is not even aware of the negative impacts of this drug," he said.

Fauzia Khan (NCP), Abdul Wahab (IUML), GK Vasan TMC (M), K Ravindra Kumar (TDP), M Thambidurai (AIADMK), Anil Agrawal (BJP), Binoy Visvam (CPI), Ramji (BSP), S Phangnon Konyak (BJP), Mausam Noor (AITC) and Birendra Prasad Baishya (AGP) also participated in the discussion.

The bill, which was earlier approved by Lok Sabha, was passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. 

Also Read : India's Lovepreet Singh wins bronze in men's 109kg

News Source : PTI

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Boxing News) Indian pugilist Nitu Ganghas progressed to the semifinals of women's 48kg boxing category to assure herself of a medal at the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old Nitu, a two-time youth gold medallist, was declared winner by ABD when her Northern Ireland's opponent Nicole Clyde threw in the towel in the third and final round of the quarterfinal match.

Four Indian boxers Lovlina Borgohain, Nikhat Zareen, Ashish Kumar and Mohammad Hussamuddin will compete in their quarterfinal bouts later in the day. 

Also Read : India's Lovepreet Singh wins bronze in men's 109kg

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Brazilian left back Alex Telles at his time in Manchester United has never really nailed down a starting spot at Old Trafford, and he is set for a new opportunity in Spain with a move to Sevilla on a season-long loan. The 29-year-old arrived at Old Trafford back in October 2020 and found himself on the bench after being behind Luke Shaw in the pecking order during his first season at the club.

Following Shaw's injury last season, Telles did enjoy a bit more first-team action, but the arrival of Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord this summer means that he has become the third choice left back at the club. Overall, Telles has made exactly 50 appearances in all competitions for United across two seasons, and he will be hoping for more regular playing time in the La Liga with Sevilla, providing Marcos Acuna some competition for the starting left back role. The defender has a chance to prove his worth for a European powerhouse and a medical has already been scheduled. It has been reported that United will pay some of his wages when he’s out on loan.

Telles will become Sevilla's second major signing of the summer after centre-back Marcao joined from Galatasaray following the departures of Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde. United have not been very active this summer with top target Frenkie de Jong seemingly no closer to signing. Should they fail to land the Barcelona midfielder, the club could move for another midfielder, such as Leicester City's Youri Tielemans or Ruben Neves but as of now United are not only struggling to buy players but also sell some of the deadwood from the squad. Despite their struggles in negotiations with De Jong, United have managed to recruit Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia while they have moved fringe players such as Andreas Pereira, Dean Henderson and now Telles.

Also read: Goalkeeper Dean Henderson describes Man Utd treatment as “criminal”
 

Birmingham, Aug 3 (Sports News) India's Lovepreet Singh won a bronze in men's 109 kg to continue the country's medal rush in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old from Punjab lifted a total of 355 kg, including a new national record of 192 kg in clean and jerk, to finish third on the podium. He lifted 163kg in snatch.

Junior Nyabeyeu of Cameroon claimed the gold medal with a total lift of 361 kg, while Jack Opeloge of Samoa bagged the silver by lifting 358 kg in the event.

India have so far won eight weightlifting medals, including three gold, in the showpiece. 

Also Read : My dream is to win the British Junior Open: Squash player Yuvraj Wadhwani

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Brentford's are set to sign Danish midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard for £16.7m which has been accepted by Sampdoria as the Bees close in on their replacement for Christian Eriksen. The Bees are now discussing personal terms and they hope that the 22-year-old midfielder will undergo a medical in the coming days. He came into the limelight when he scored twice during Denmark's journey to the Euro 2020 semi-finals, he then scored in the semi finals in their defeat to England at Wembley and has been linked with a move to the Premier League since then. The west Londoners club made their initial approach for Damsgaard a week ahead of their crucial season opener against Leicester City next Sunday. 

Damsgaard caught the attention of other Premier League clubs but Brentford jumped ahead of the queue as Sampdoria accepted their bid. Mikkel Damsgaard's links to Christian Eriksen go way beyond the midfielder just filling in for him at last summer's Euro 2020 campaign. The new Brentford player even studied Eriksen's game during his younger years as he was somewhat of an inspiration to him. Eriksen was crucial to Brentford's survival in the Premier League last season as the team picked up seven wins in the 10 games. The Bees' goal ratio doubled in that time and Ivan Toney also got more chances to score goals. Eriksen’s another quality was that he brought a lot of joy from set-pieces, creating 17 chances from dead-ball situations last season for the Bees and Damsgaard can potentially bring all of his compatriot's skills with him. 

England fans will remember him scoring a wonderful free-kick in the Euro 2020 semi-finals at Wembley. Damsgaard's season since last summer's Euros has not gone to plan with a mysterious illness, with his agent claiming it was arthritis. His class and form got him a move to Serie A with Sampdoria in 2020, where he had a solid start in Italy making 35 appearances in the league. However, due to injury, last season he played just 11 times in the Serie A as.Sampdoria finished 15th, helping them survive relegation by a margin of just six points. Brentford finished 13th in the Premier League last season which was 11 points above the drop zone. It would be a step up for Damsgaard to move to England with Brentford.

He has already starred for Denmark at a major tournament before and will be looking to do the same at the Qatar World Cup later this year. Denmark is in a tough group with France, Australia and Tunisia. This move suits him as playing in the Premier League would no doubt prepare him for competing against the world’s best in November. Damsgaard is still just 22 years of age and a move to Brentford would suit him as he will be joining fellow Danes in the likes of Christian Nørgaard, Mathias Jensen, Kristoffer Ajer, Mads Bech Sørensen, Mads Roerslev and Luka Racic. He would also be under the guidance of fellow countryman Thomas Frank so it should not take long for him to settle at Brentford.

"I can say that I'm inspired by him," Damsgaard said about Eriksen last season. "Eriksen is one of the players I have looked to emulate the most. I admired him a lot when I was younger and since then, I've always played as a No 10. I took a lot of inspiration from him. I studied many details of his game and how he finds spaces. I've tried to include him in my game when I was little."

Also read: Goalkeeper Dean Henderson describes Man Utd treatment as “criminal”

Dubai, Aug 3 (Cricket News) India batter Suryakumar Yadav has moved three spots up to the second position in the latest T20 rankings for batters.

Suryakumar, who scored a 44-ball 76 in the third T20 International against the West Indies on Tuesday, moved within two rating points of top-ranked batter Babar Azam.

The knock against the West Indies won Suryakumar the player of the match award.

Suryakumar, who now has 816 rating points, leads the batting chart with 111 runs from three matches in the five-match series, which India lead 2-1.

Meanwhile, South Africa batter Reeza Hendricks, who notched half-centuries in all three matches against England, has moved up 16 slots to 15th position.

West Indies batter Brandon King (up 29 places to 27th), England's Jonny Bairstow (up 13 places to 31st) and South Africa's Rilee Rossouw (joint-37th) have also made notable gains.

Heinrich Klaasen and Indian wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant (66th spot) have also moved up in the rankings.

South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who grabbed eight wickets in the series against England, has made remarkable gains in the T20 bowlers ranking and advanced to the second spot.

He gained 19 rating points due to his impressive show against England.

Shamsi, who was top-ranked for most of the period from April to October last year, has advanced one slot but remains 64 rating points adrift of top-ranked Josh Hazlewood, who is on 792 rating points.

West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein (up three places to sixth), England's Chris Jordan (up one place to 16th), New Zealand spinners Mitchell Santner (up three places to 17th) and Ish Sodhi (up two places to 19th) are among the others to move up.

In the ODI rankings, India opener Shikhar Dhawan has moved up one slot to 12th position after getting a half-century in the last match of their series in the West Indies.

India bowlers Yuzvendra Chahal (16th) and Shardul Thakur (72nd) have also moved up in the rankings while West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran is up two places to 30th spot. 

Also Read : Pakistan pick young Naseem Shah in place of Hasan Ali for Netherlands tour and Asia Cup

News Source : PTI

Coventry, Aug 3 (Combat News) Indian judoka Deepak Deswal progressed to the quarterfinals of men's 100kg competition after beating Cameroon's Eric Jean Sebastien Omgba Fouda at the Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old took down his opponent from Cameroon with an 'Ippon' in a round of 16 contest that lasted 3 minutes and 37 seconds.

Deswal will face England's Harry Lovell-Hewitt next.

India have won two medals in judo so far with L Shushila Devi and Vijay Kumar claiming a silver and a bronze in women's 48kg and men's 60kg respectively on Monday. 

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News Source : PTI