Page 67 - Sports

Indian cricket team ready to fight South Africa, says Ravi Shastri

Bengaluru, Sep 25 (ANI): Bracing up for what promises to be an exhausting series, director of Indian cricket team Ravi Shastri on Friday said that the team was in good form to challenge South Africa in upcoming two-month-long tournament. South Africa will arrive in India to play three T20s, five ODIs and four Tests during a tour that is beginning from October 2 and will end on December 7. Shastri conceded that it was indeed a tough series. The T20 series kicks off on October 2nd at Dharamsala before the action moves to Cuttack and then Kolkata. The first three ODIs meanwhile will be played at Kanpur, Indore and Rajkot on October 11, 14 and 18 respectively.

Indian cricket team gears up for series against South Africa

Bengaluru, Sep 24 (ANI): The Indian cricket team has been working hard ahead of two-month long series against South Africa, beginning October 2. South Africa will arrive in India to play three T20s, five ODIs and four Tests during a tour that ends on December 7. The T20 and ODI teams led by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been practicing for the past few days in Bengaluru city. The South Africa series will be India's toughest assignment yet post the 2015 World Cup campaign where they defied expectations to reach the semi-final stage. The T20 series kicks off on October 2nd at Dharamsala before the action moves to Cuttack and then Kolkata. The first three ODIs meanwhile will be played at Kanpur, Indore and Rajkot on October 11, 14 and 18 respectively.

Upcoming South Africa cricket series a tough battle, says Stuart Binny

Bengaluru, Sep 23 (ANI): India all-rounder Stuart Binny on Tuesday (September 22) said that he was looking ahead to play quality cricket in all three formats during the upcoming South Africa series. Interacting with media persons in Bengaluru, Binny said that the two-month-long tournament with South Africa would be a tough battle. Quoting vice-captain Virat Kohli, Binny said that a player gets better with every opportunity he gets. The South Africa series, beginning on October 2, will be India's toughest assignment yet post the 2015 World Cup campaign where they defied expectations to reach the semi-final stage. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni would lead both the T20 and ODI teams.

Leander Paes lauds Czech player after doubles defeat in Davis Cup

New Delhi, Sep 20 (ANI): Indian tennis star Leander Paes lauded 20-year-old Adam Pavlasek after suffering defeat along with his partner Rohan Bopanna in the doubles rubber against Czech Republic's pair of Pavlasek and Radek Stepanek on the ongoing Davis Cup. The Indian team under Paes and Bopanna suffered a rare doubles defeat in the Davis Cup as Pavlasek and Stepanek gave Czech Republic a 2-1 lead over India in the World Group play-off tie. Paes hailed the Czech players at a news conference in New Delhi after the match. It was Paes' second defeat in a Davis Cup doubles in the last 15 years. The last defeat had also come with Bopanna against Uzbekistan in an away tie in 2012. Paes said that he and Bopanna took the defeat on the chin and that he has complete belief in his partner. Both Paes and Bopanna accepted that they lost points at crucial moments and failed to break serve when needed. Bopanna, world number 13 in doubles rankings, said that he could have played better.

Felt good to see many young cricketers: Virat Kohli

Bengaluru, Sep 19 (ANI): Test Captain for Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli on Saturday went to a cricket academy in Bengaluru to inspire young players in the academy. Kohli said that he felt good to interact with the young players adding that they have a lot of potential for sports. He said that spotting talent in different academies was interesting and new. He said that the future of Indian cricket is quite bright.

Sania Mirza returns home after winning US open doubles title

Hyderabad, Sep 15 (ANI): Indian ace tennis player Sania Mirza arrived in her home city of Hyderabad in the wee hours of Tuesday after winning the US Open 2015 crown. Top seeds Martina Hingis and Mirza beat Casey Dellacqua and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-3 6-3 to win the US Open doubles title on Sunday and cap off a perfect visit to Flushing Meadows. Mirza, who was surrounded by family members and fans on her arrival at the airport, said it was an amazing feeling to win the tournament. She also said her partnership with Hingis is working really well and that they trust each other on and off the court. Meanwhile, Mirza's father Imran said his daughter has once again made the country proud.

India hockey board seeks apology from Pak to resume bilateral series

Bhopal, Sept 15 (ANI): The chief of Indian hockey board, Narinder Batra, sought an apology from Pakistan for the "unacceptable behaviour" of some of its players during a tournament to resume bilateral series. After beating India in the Champions Trophy semifinal in December last year, some of their players made obscene gestures to the crowd and also took off their shirts in celebration. Hockey India president Batra also demanded an undertaking from Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) that they would reprimand its players if they repeat their antics in future. However, India will continue to play against Pakistan in international tournaments. International Hockey Federation had suspended two Pakistani players for misconduct during their Champions League tournament last year.

Paes-Hingis duo lifts US Open Mixed Doubles trophy

New Delhi, Sept 13 (ANI): Martina Hingis and Leander Paes once again proved to be a potent partnership as the Swiss-Indo duo captured their third mixed doubles title of the year with victory at the US Open. The fourth seeded Indo-Swiss pair defeated Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sam Querrey 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 to lift their third title of this season. Paes and Hingis had earlier won the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championship. Hingis and Paes became the first duo to capture three major mixed titles in the same year since Margaret Court and Marty Riessen achieved the feat in 1969. .

PM Modi has forgotten farmers: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, Sept 13 (ANI): Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for describing the opposition as undemocratic and alleged that the latter has forgotten the farmers who form the democracy. Gandhi also met farmers at Congress' office at 10, Janpath in New Delhi. Prime Minister Modi had yesterday criticized the Congress Party over the deadlock in Parliament, saying the opposition was conspiring to block the nation's development. .

16-year-old launches 'InRio' app for Rio bound Para-athletes

New Delhi, Sept 03 (ANI): 16-year-old Arhan Bagati, launched 'InRio', a mobile application which he developed, that would provide useful information and assist the para-athletes bound for the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Launching the application in presence of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Union Minister of state (IC) for Sports and Youth Affairs Sarbananda Sonowal, Bagati said that the contract is for Rio and it would be modified for the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.

National level boxer forced to collect garbage to earn living

Kanpur, Sept 03 (ANI): A national level gold medalist boxer, Kamal Kumar now collects garbage from door to door for the livelihood of his family in Kanpur. Kumar could have become the pride of the nation but the government have been very ignorant towards him like other sportsmen. No matter which political party runs the state, all have the same attitude towards the sports persons of the country. Kamal Kumar still does not complaint about it and he is training his children so that they can bring pride to the nation one day. No matter what he is facing, he still carries the same passion for sports, sportsmen need to be acknowledged and appreciated by the govt.

Soccer fever grips Kashmir as women play football tournament

Srinagar, Sep 02 (ANI): A football association in Jammu and Kashmir organised an all-women tournament in the valley, attracting at least 112 participants. The semi-final match of the Women's Football Tournament that began in the first week of August continued till Tuesday in state capital Srinagar. Football, termed as the traditional sport of Kashmir, witnessed resurgence in the state after 2010, with decade-long militancy subdued. Inhabitants of the valley, who were denied entertainment due to constant curfews and restrictions, lapped up at the opportunity. Consequently, football teams were formed and formal coaching became a norm. Organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA), the tournament saw participation from 12 teams from the women's colleges and schools. A woman football player, Afshana, said girls in the valley were thawing towards sports. JKFA plans to select senior state women team, along with under-15 and under-18 categories at the women's football tournam

Saina Nehwal encourages children to be healthy

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): Ace Indian Shuttler Saina Nehwal on Wednesday supported a campaign to encourage children to have breakfast daily, organized by Kellogg India in New Delhi. Saina said breakfast is very important for health so it should be made compulsory in schools and colleges. Talking about the Japan tournament, Nehwal said she is not worried. She added that she is trying to make herself better for upcoming tournaments.

The series belonged to bowlers, time for celebrating victory: Virat Kohli

Colombo, Sep 01 (ANI): The test captain for Indian team during India-Sri Lanka test series on Tuesday said that an angry fast bowler is a captain's delight. Kohli was addressing media after team India established its victory in the test series against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Team India won the third test match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday by 117 runs, thus winning the 3-match test series by 2-1 after 22 years. Kohli said that the series belonged to bowlers adding that it was time for celebration. He said that the team has played really well and remained together throughout the series. On being asked about his growth as a captain, Kohli said that he doesn't want to speak about it. Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi also congratulated the team via twitter.

Rohit Sharma chooses to ignore criticism and take it in stride

Colombo, Aug 31 (ANI): While addressing a press conference in Colombo on Monday Indian Cricketer Rohit Sharma said he invariably chose to ignore criticism and took it in his stride as whatever happens outside the playing field held no relevance for him. Rohit also mentioned that all is fine till the time he enjoys his cricket. India handed Sri Lanka a challenging target of 386 runs to win after the Indians were bowled out for 274 in their second innings on the fourth day of the third and final cricket Test on Monday. Rohit Sharma scored a much needed half-century to help India gather a vital 243-run second innings lead at lunch on Day 4 of the third and final cricket Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground on Monday.

Lanka fight back after bowler fires India

Colombo, Aug 31 (ANI): Fast bowler Ishant Sharma's five-wicket haul helped India bundle out Sri Lanka for 201 but the hosts fought back to take three quick wickets and leave the third and final test evenly poised. At the news conference after the game, Ishant said that the new ball got him wickets. Ishant had Upul Tharanga (four) caught at second slip by Lokesh Rahul, who had earlier dropped the same batsman on zero in the first over of the innings. However, Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera said that calculated risks helped his team.

Pujara's gritty ton helps India reach 292-8 on Day two against Sri Lanka

Colombo, August 30 (ANI): Cheteshwar Pujara recorded his seventh hundred and held India's innings together against an inspired spell of fast bowling by Dhammika Prasad on the second day of the third and final test against Sri Lanka. Pujara, playing his first test since the Boxing Day match against Australia in December, remained unbeaten on 135 and guided India to 292 for eight wickets before rain brought an early close to the day's play. Ishant Sharma (two) was not out at the other end. Resuming on 50-2, the visitors lost captain Virat Kohli (18) early but Pujara and Rohit Sharma (26) added 55 for the fourth wicket to prop up the Indian innings in the deciding match of the series, tied at 1-1. Rohit, who has recently been preferred to Pujara in the test team, fell in the last over before the lunch break, edging Prasad to Upul Tharanga at first slip. Pujara said wicket was challenging and batsmen could not be blamed for the failure.

Women Hockey team qualifies for 2016 Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro

New Delhi, Aug 29 (ANI): The Indian women's hockey team has qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While interacting with the media persons, captain of Indian team, Ritu Rani she said they are very happy and working hard on their strength and on weakness. This is a well deserved and great achievement, team has to work on some technical areas said Mathias Ahrens, Coach of Indian women's hockey team. The Indian women's only previous qualification for the Games was in 1980, when they had finished fourth.

Sports Minister pays tribute to Dhyan Chand on National Sports Day

New Delhi, Aug 29 (ANI): Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Saturday paid tribute to hockey icon and legend Major Dhyan Chand on his 110th birth anniversary and all sports enthusiasts across the country on the occasion of National Sports Day. Sonowal along with tennis star Sania Mirza paid floral respects to Dhyan Chand at a stadium in Delhi. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too paid tribute to the hockey icon on his 110th birth anniversary. Using the medium of Twitter to convey his message, Prime Minister Modi tweeted, "Best wishes to sports enthusiasts and tributes to Major Dhyan Chand on National Sports Day. May sports and sportsman spirit shine in India." Dhyan Chand was born on August 29, 1905 and died on December 3, 1979. He was widely considered the greatest field hockey player of all time and is most remembered for his extraordinary goalscoring feats.

BCCI meeting adjourned due to Srinivasan's presence

Kolkata, Aug 29 (ANI): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) adjourned its working committee meeting following the presence of former cricket board chief N Srinivasan in Kolkata. The incumbent BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya called off the all-important meet opposing the attendance of Srinivasan, who justified his presence as president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The meeting was scheduled to discuss the report of four-member working group on the roadmap for conducting Indian Premier League (IPL) following the two-year ban on two IPL teams - Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) - by a committee appointed by Supreme Court of India. IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said meeting was adjourned sine die. According to reports, Srinivasan's presence allegedly divided the cricket board as Dalmiya didn't seem pleased with his involvement while certain factions supported his participation as president of a state cricket association. Supreme Court had banned Srinivasan