Page 75 - Sports

Sports stars hail govt's training initiative for athlete ahead of Olympic Games

New Delhi, Oct 29 (ANI): Sports stars hailed Modi government's initiative of better training programme for athletes ahead of Olympic Games in a bid to enhance their performance to bag more medals for the country. The Sports Ministry has decided to start a "Target Mission Olympic Podium Scheme", an initiative promoted by National Sports Development fund to identify sports personnel and train them for Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics and other major sporting events up to 2020 games. Appreciating the government's plan, Cricketer Rahul Dravid said the initiative will not only encourage the sportspersons but will also play a major role in increasing the medal tally of India in the future events. Olympian boxer Mary Kom said she being part of the planning committee would help in structuring a better programme for sportspersons, which would in turn help to boost their performance on the international platforms.

India hopes to get Sarita Devi's suspension reversed

Imphal, Oct 26 (ANI): The banned boxer, Sarita Devi and Boxing India is confident of her return to the ring before too long after the International Boxing Federation suspended the 29-year-old for her petulant display at the recent Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea. International Boxing Association had suspended Laishram Sarita Devi from all international competitions and events for protesting during the Asian Games in Incheon. Devi was furious after losing her light (57-60kg) semi-final boxing bout with South Korea's Park Ji-na on September 30, believing she should have been declared the winner. Devi refused to wear the bronze medal when it was presented to her, taking it only in her hand before trying to drape it over Park. When the presentation was over, Sarita left the medal behind, despite being told by the organisers to take it with her. The International Boxing Federation took a dim view of her actions, submitting a formal report to the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) over her be

Mega sports event gives a boost to business and tourism in Assam

Guwahati, Oct 24 (ANI): People in the Northeast display an unmatched enthusiasm for football. And this spirit was evident during the 1st Indian Super League match of the Northeast United FC on their home turf in. Thousands of football fans queued up outside the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium at Sarasujai to watch the North East United FC take on Kerala Blasters and defeat them by 1-0. The Indian Super League fever has gripped Northeast and the football fans in the region are excited to watch top-class football and some of the best players of the game in action. During the tournament that will continue till 20th December, Guwahati will be hosting a number of matches for the Home team, North East United FC. With a number of tourists from both within the country and outside coming in to watch the matches, tourism sector in the state is sure to get a boost. The tournament has also come as a boon for the local businessmen.

Indian Super League's trophy unveiled in Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 06 (ANI): Reliance Industries Chief Mukesh Ambani's wife and founder chairperson of Football Sports Development, Nita Ambani unveiled the trophy of the Indian Super League (ISL) in Mumbai. Indian Super League is India's indigenous football championship scheduled to kick off on 12th October 2014. It is supported by All India Football Federation (AIFF). Designed by Frazer and Haws, the Indian Super League trophy stands 26 inches tall. The logo on the top band has the ISL colours assigned to it and the handles are ornately carved and embellished with 24k gold gild to imbue a sense of pride when held up. Amid glitz and glamour, world foot balling legends and iconic players of the eight Indian Super League clubs came together for the first time on same platform in India.

Mary Kom gets grand welcome in Imphal after bagging gold at Asiad

Imphal, Oct 06 (ANI): Indian woman boxer, MC Mary Kom, who won the gold medal at the Asian Games, got a grand reception at her hometown in Imphal. Hundreds of people waited at the airport to welcome her with traditional dance. She left for her house in an open vehicle. Her family and coach were proud of her achievement. Kom, a five-time world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, had to dig deep to beat Shekerbekova, who held her own in the opening round but was unable to hold off the Indian after that. Kom's win was her first at the Asian Games after she finished with bronze four years ago and her first major title in more than two years after she took a break to have her third child.

Men's hockey team receives grand welcome upon arrival in New Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 5 (ANI): The Indian men's hockey team, which won gold medal in the 17th Asian Games after defeating Pakistan, received a grand welcome upon its arrival in New Delhi on Sunday. A group of traditional dancers performed to the beats of drums. The Indian team defeated Pakistan 4-2 to win a Gold after a gap of 16 years. India, which last won the gold in the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, has also bagged direct entry to 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after it beat Pakistan in the shoot out. However, the Indian team's coach, Terry Walsh, cautioned the players to continue working hard. India now has a total of 57 medals, which includes 11 Gold, 10 Silver and 36 Bronze. India's position is 8th in the overall medals tally at the Asiad.

Canadian biker enthralled to take part in mountain biking race in Shimla

Shimla, Oct 04 (ANI): Canadian biker, Cory Wallace, said on Friday that participating in a biking race in Himachal Pradesh for the first time was a great experience. Wallace clinched the men's title in the 10th edition of six-day Mountain Biking (MTB) Himalayas 2014. A total of 67 cycling riders from 14 different countries, including India, participated in this annual event of cycling. One of the female participants from India, Aparna, said in order to make mountain biking more popular, they will have to work hard for the next few years until this sport gets global recognition.

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

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

Asian Games: India bags gold in Hockey, beats Paksitan

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

Swedish soccer legend Ljungberg hopes to inspire youth in ISL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First-ever veterans' football tournament held in Guwahati

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

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

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

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

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

Indian Super League will lift Indian soccer: Del Piero

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