Page 45 - Sports

England is strongest contender for 2019 World Cup: Glenn McGrath

Rohtak (Haryana), Aug 06 (ANI): Former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath stated that England is the strongest side in One Day Internationals, according to him. "For me England is the best team, the way they play, the team they have. If they continue playing this way, it will be tough for other teams to compete with England", said Glenn McGrath. About India's last Test match against England, Glenn said that top batsmen of India including skipper Virat Kohli make a huge difference for the team. Cricket World Cup 2019 will be hosted by England and Wales.

India vs England: Lot of things to be proud about the 1st Test match, says R Ashwin

Birmingham (United Kingdom), Aug 04 (ANI): India faced a narrow defeat against England in the first Test match at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Saturday. On the loss, Indian ace spinner R Ashwin said, "I think this a game we would have liked to finish on the winning side. I think there are a lot of things we can feel proud about after this game". "I don't feel that bad or hurt right now because I feel we competed really well", he added. India lost by a small margin of 31 runs in the first match of five test match series.

U-17 football team returns home after becoming champion at SOAG

Agartala (Tripura), Aug 04 (ANI): Members of the Under-17 football team from Tripura, who became champions of the Students Olympic Asian Games (SOAG) by defeating Pakistan, returned to India. Executive Member of Sports and Youth Affairs of ADC Parikhshit Murasingh welcomed the boys, who became the best football team of Asia Continent. The U-17 India team defeated Pakistan by 3-0 goals in Thailand's Pattaya. Earlier, the team defeated Bangladesh in the quarter-final and Thailand by 7-0 goals in the semi-final.

If each player plays as per plan, we can beat any team in Asian Games: Sardara Singh

Bengaluru, Aug 03 (ANI): Veteran defender Sardara Singh on Asian Games said, for the past 3-4 years, our team has been performing well and our world ranking has improved. This is a very important tournament and each player will have to give their 100%. If each player plays as per plan then Sardara said, he is sure that India can beat any team in Asian Games.

India Vs England Coach Sanjay Bangar hails Kohli for his crucial ton

Birmingham (United Kingdom), Aug 03 (ANI): Indian test team skipper Virat Kohli scored his first century in England in the first Test at Edgbaston. With early fall of wickets, Kohli managed to keep India close to England's first innings score. Assistant coach Sanjay Bangar hailed Kohli's innings, for his ton (149) to take India to the total of 274, falling short of just 22 runs of England's total. "Brilliant innings by Virat massively narrowed gap between two teams with contributions from other batsmen", said Sanjay Bangar.

India vs England 1st Test: Kohli and Co aim to fix past records

Birmingham (UK), Aug 01 (ANI): Indian Cricket team is all set for their first match of the five-match Test series against England on Wednesday at Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham. The match beginning at 3.30 PM (IST) will be a chance for India to set their victory against England on English soil as their last win was in 2007 in three-match Test series. The match will see Captain Virat Kohli along with Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav among others. Among the English players, Captain Joe Root, Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes among others will play. Though, India have been handed a few setbacks, with pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar missing the first Test due to their respective injuries.

Asian Games Gold Medalist Hakkam Singh Bhattal battling liver, kidney ailments

Sangrur (Punjab), Jul 29 (ANI): Hakkam Singh Bhattal who has twice won gold for India is now battling with liver and kidney ailments. Due to his ailments, Bhattal is unable to talk. However, Bhattal received no help from the government in such health conditions. His wife said, "The government should help us. My husband's pension is the only help for us. A player is popular only till he is a player after that no one even asks him. We have only 2 acres of land and my husband's pension is only Rs 7,000. In such a situation it is difficult to do treatment."

Team India reached stadium for last of their 3-ODI match against England

Leeds (United Kingdom), Jul 17 (ANI): Indian cricket team arrived at the Headingley Carnegie Cricket Ground in Leeds for the last of their 3-ODI match on Tuesday. Players could be seen coming out of their designated bus outside the stadium. Indian fans cheered on as the players made their way to the stadium, chanting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. England and India are on a draw, winning one ODI each.

FIFA WC 2018: France lifts cup, beats Croatia 4-2

New Delhi, Jul 16 (ANI): France emerged victorious after beating Croatia 4-2 in FIFA World Cup final 2018 at Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday. Croatia's Striker Mario Mandzukic handed France the lead for the game as he head the ball into his own net. The second goal from Croatia's midfielder Ivan Perisic leveled the game at 28 minutes. It was an intense game till half-time with France achieving another goal. Till the 65th minute France took the lead by achieving four goals as Croatia's score remained at one. At the end of the game Mario Mandzukic made the closing interception.

FIFA World Cup 2018: French take to streets to celebrate its win

Paris (France), Jul 16 (ANI): It seems as if the FIFA fever was high in France as French took to streets to celebrate its win in the FIFA World Cup 2018. Fans were seen raising its flag and shouting in excitement. Fireworks lighted the skies. France emerged victorious after beating Croatia 4-2 in World Cup final 2018 at Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday.

FIFA World Cup 2018: Indian fans celebrate France's win over Croatia

Thiruvananthapuram/ Panaji/ New Delhi, Jul 16 (ANI): As France lifted FIFA World Cup 2018 at Luzhniki Stadium on Sunday, fans across India celebrated its win with much excitement and fervor. One of the fans said, "We are very proud we have won this battle." Another fan who was very excited about France's win said, "We were all excited and earlier I had hopes that France would lift the world cup." In the FIFA World Cup 2018, France beat Croatia 4-2 to lift their first World Cup trophy since 1998. Fans were seen glued to the match screenings and shouted in excitement after France won the match.

Watch: Torch relay for Asian Games 2018 begins from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium

New Delhi, Jul 15 (ANI): Torch relay for Asian Games 2018 began from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. The multi-sport event will begin in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 18. Prominent sports stars including boxer MC Mary Kom, hockey captain PR Sreejesh and many others participated in the relay. The torch will travel back all the way to Indonesia through 50 cities.

India lose 2nd ODI against England by 86 runs

New Delhi, Jul 15 (ANI): India lost second ODI against England by 86 runs at Lord's stadium in London on Saturday. Earlier, India outclassed England by 8 wickets in the first ODI held at Trent Bridge here. With the win, England levelled the three-match series at 1-1 with a victory over India. After Joe Root hit a century in the first innings, Liam Plunkett shunned with the bowl for English side while Plunket took four wickets conceding 46 runs.

Milkha Singh advises Hima Das to eye Olympics medal

Chandigarh, Jul 14 (ANI):'Flying Sikh', legendary athlete Milkha Singh advised Indian sprinter Hima Das should now eye for Olympics after winning IAAF World U-20 meet in Finland. "She should get herself prepared for competing in Olympics where athletes from all over the globe participate". He said that if Hima and her coach will be sincere, her gold medal is guaranteed in next Olympics.

Mohammad Kaif retires from all form of cricket

New Delhi, Jul 14 (ANI): Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif has on Friday officially retired from all forms of cricket. He began his two-decade-long first-class career in 1997-98. In an international career that spanned six years (2000-2006), he played in 13 Tests and 125 One Day Internationals. He played his last international game for India around 12 years ago, during the South Africa tour in 2006. He even captained India's U-19 team in their first-ever World Cup win in 2000.

India outclass England by 8 wickets in first ODI

New Delhi, Jul 13 (ANI): India beat England by 8 wickets in the first One Day International (ODI) at Trent Bridge in England. Rohit Sharma's searing century (an unbeaten 137) helped India walk to the victory with nearly 10 overs to spare. He completed his century off just 82 balls. Skipper Virat Kohli scored 75 runs. The Kohli-Rohit duo added 177 runs in 25.1 overs. India chased the target of 269 in only 40.1 overs. The win saw India take a 1-0 lead in a three-match series that continues at Lord's on July 14.

Wimbledon 2018: Serena Williams enters final, beats Julia Gorges

New Delhi, Jul 13 (ANI): Tennis ace Serena Williams on Thursday entered the Wimbledon final after defeating Germany's Julia Gorges 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-final. Williams is now just one win away from getting the record-breaking 24th grand slam title. Julia Gorges was completely out-played by Williams in the semi-final. Despite being away from the court for several months due to maternity leave, Williams looked aggressive and precise with her groundstrokes and kept Goerges pinned back and working hard just to remain in rallies.

Mary Kom to skip upcoming Asian Games

New Delhi, Jul 11 (ANI): Indian ace boxer and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Mary Kom will not participate in the upcoming Asian Games due to injuries. "I won't be participating in Asian Games as I have some injuries and I am currently recovering. Next thing that I'm preparing for is the World Championship that India is hosting in November", said Kom. Asian Games 2018 will commence in the month of August in Jakarta.

Dipa Karmakar gives credit to her coach for winning gold at Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup

New Delhi, Jul 10 (ANI): Dipa Karmakar became the first Indian gymnast to win gold at a world event. She won the Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup on July 08. Karmakar scored 14.150 to win gold at the tournament. She gave the credit for winning the gold to her coach. She said, "After winning an Olympic, may be because of my injury I could not perform up to the mark. Everyone started to think that Dipa Karmakar is finished. I would like to thank my coach for support. My coach supported me a lot. I was getting a constant reminder from them that I can do it and I don't have to lose".

Dipa Karmakar returns to India after her 'golden win' in Gymnastics World Challenge Cup

New Delhi, Jul 10 (ANI): The 24-year-old gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Tuesday returned to India after clinching gold in the vault event at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Challenge Cup in Mersin, Turkey. Karmakar expressed gratitude to her coach and the Sports Authority of India for their support, which motivated her to perform better. Karmakar, who had finished fourth in the vault event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, scored 14.150 to win gold. This is Dipa Karmakar's first medal in a World Challenge Cup.