Page 76 - Sports

Asian Games opens in style

Incheon, Sept 20 (ANI): The 17th Asian Games opened in a multi-coloured blaze of fireworks and carefully crafted dance routines on September 19, as athletes from the world's most populous region came together in pursuit of gold and glory in South Korea. An array of Olympians and regional sports stars will compete over 15 days of competition in Incheon where South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Olympic chief Thomas Bach were among the powerful figures watching a vivid opening ceremony. Athletes dressed in colourful national garb, sharp suits and comfortable tracksuits waved to a crowd of 60,000, who offered enthusiastic welcomes to delegations from 45 countries including the South's belligerent neighbour, North Korea.

Indian boxers' preparations in full swing ahead of 2014 Asian Games in Incheon

Patiala, Sep 17 (ANI): Eyeing a rich haul of medals, including several golds, the Indian boxers have been sweating and toiling at the last training camp before leaving for the Asian Games in South Korea's Incheon. The boxers, who returned from recently-ended Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with a less-than-expected five medals, are training to perfect the knock-out punch for the September 19-October 4 event. Shiva Thapa, one of the boxers who will be representing India at the Asian Games, said the training had gone as per plan and the squad was feeling fighting-fit. Manoj Kumar said Indian boxers were feeling very confident going into the event and expected to come back with a bag full of medals. Akhil Kumar, who has been training hard at the National Institute of Sports camp in Patiala, said the standard of boxing had improved dramatically over the past few years and there were no clear favourites.

Marin Cilic overpowers Kei Nishikori to win US Open

New Delhi, Sep 09 (ANI): Croatia's Marin Cilic swept past Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-3 6-3 6-3 to win the US Open in New York and reach the pinnacle of the sport one year after a doping ban kept him out of the year's final grand slam. The big-serving Croatian overwhelmed a weary Nishikori in one hour, 54 minutes to clinch a ruthless victory and deny his 10th-seeded opponent's bid to become the first Asian man to win a grand slam. The two players walked onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court under overcast skies watched by their grand slam winning coaches Goran Ivanisevic and Michael Chang.

Serena Williams wins US Open

New Delhi, Sep 08 (ANI): World number one Serena Williams swept past good friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-3 6-3 in the US Open final to win her 18th grand slam title. It was the third straight and sixth US Open crown for the 32-year-old American. Having failed to get beyond the last 16 of the year's first three slams, Williams sailed through the US Open without dropping a set, finishing off Wozniacki in a snappy 75 minutes. For the 10th seeded Wozniacki, back in a grand slam final for the first time in five years, it was another frustrating end to a promising fortnight as she once again left Flushing Meadows empty handed, a major title still beyond her grasp.

Michael Chopra joins Tendulkar-owned team in new Indian soccer league

Mumbai, Aug 22 (ANI): Former Newcastle United striker Michael Chopra was picked by the Kerala Blasters, co-owned by cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar, in an international draft for the upcoming Indian Super League. A total of 49 foreign players were drafted during the session for the eight-franchise league, which is slated to run from October 12 to December 20. Seven players have been directly recruited by the teams. Chopra, who has also played for a host of other Premier League clubs, was the only English player in the draft, which was held at a Mumbai hotel overlooking the Arabian Sea. Addressing the media persons General Manager (GM) of Kerala Blasters, Viren Disilva expressed his happiness on having Chopra as part of their team.

Sushil Kumar gets a rousing welcome after returning from CWG

New Delhi, Aug 02 (ANI): Wrestler Sushil Kumar got a rousing welcome after returning home from the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Galsgow, where he bagged a gold medal in wrestling. The Glasgow Commonwealth Games saw many young sportsmen rising to fame with their extraordinary performances, adding to the medals tally for India. Two time Olympic winner Sushil Kumar, too, bagged the gold medal in men's 74 kg freestyle category by defeating Pakistan's Qamar Abbas.

India's medal tally reaches 26 in Commonwealth Games with fourth position in hand

New Delhi, July 29 (ANI): India added four more medals to its Commonwealth Games 2014 tally on Day 5. Shooter Jitu Rai kept his reputation intact by clinching the gold medal and Gurpal Singh bagged silver in the 50m pistol event. Gagan Narang, taking part for the first time in the 50m Rifle prone event had to be content with a silver as the shooters did the bulk of the medal shopping during the day. Weightlifter Vikas Thakur added another silver when he came second in the 85kg category late on Day 5.

2014 Commonwealth Games: India still at fifth position with 22 medals tally

New Delhi, July 28 (ANI): India ended Day 4 of the 2014 Commonwealth Games at No. 5 in the standings. Shooters continued to lead India's medal charge with Shreyasi Singh winning silver in the women's double trap event. While Mohammed Asab clinched bronze medal in the men's double trap event. Punam Yadav of India also won bronze in 63kg women's weightlifting. Weightlifting brought India some more joy as Satish Sivalingam and Ravi Katulu won gold and silver in the 77kg category. On the 4th day, the 2010 hosts touched medal count of 22 - six gold, nine silver and seven bronze - and the country still remained in the fifth place behind Australia, England, Scotland and Canada.

CWG 2014: Abhinav Bindra wins gold in men's 10m Air Rifle

New Delhi, July 26 (ANI): Ace Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra won the 10m Air Rifle final at the Barry Buddon Shooting Centre at Glasgow. Bindra had earlier announced that this would be his last CWG appearance. This is India's second medal in shooting after 16-year-old Malaika Goel won silver in 10m Air Pistol final.

CWG 2014: Lifter K Sanjita Chanu's coach hails her for winning gold medal

Imphal, July 25 (ANI): Coach of Indian weightlifter K Sanjita Chanu, Ranjan Singh, on Friday hailed her for clinching gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Sukhen Dey and K Sanjita Chanu won a gold medal each in weightlifting, as India began its campaign by notching up seven medals in all on the opening day of the competitions in Glasgow. Coach Ranjan Singh said she could perform even better. A weightlifter, Suman, was happy for her friend's feat in 48 kilogram category.

India beat England at Lord's after 28 Years

New Delhi, July 21 (ANI): India clinched their first Test win at the historic Lord's after 28 years after Ishant Sharma took seven wickets for 74 runs in a dramatic post-lunch session at Lord's on Monday. India, thus, took a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series as the first Test at Nottingham ended in a draw. The third Test starts in Southampton on July 27. Skipper MS Dhoni said that the victory was because of team work. It took 28 long years for India to win a Test match at the 'Home of Cricket' after 'Kapil Dev's team achieved the feat back in June 1986 winning by five wickets. Scores: England 319 and 223 (J. Root 66; I. Sharma 7-74) v India 295 and 342 (M. Vijay 95, R. Jadeja 68, B. Kumar 52; B. Stokes 3-51, L. Plunkett 3-65)

England pacer Anderson charged with offence under ICC's Code of Conduct

New Delhi, July 16 (ANI): England fast bowler James Anderson has been charged under Level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel by India team manager Sunil Dev following an alleged incident that took place on the second day of the first cricket Test at Trent Bridge. The alleged offence has been reported under Article 2.3.3 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. Anderson has been charged for allegedly abusing and pushing Ravindra Jadeja immediately after they left the field for lunch. It is alleged that this was a continuation of a verbal altercation between Anderson and Jadeja as they were walking from the field. Level 3 charges are referred to a Judicial Commissioner for adjudication. Meanwhile, former Indain cricketer Kirti Azad termed the incident as unfortunate

German fans in Berlin celebrate team's 7-1 rout of Brazil at World Cup

Berlin, July 09 (ANI): Fans of the German national team in Berlin were in a euphoric mood after their team shocked the host country Brazil 7-1 in the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. More than 600,000 fans gathered at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to cheer on their team known as "Die Nationalmannschaft" as their resounding victory put them in the World Cup final once again after a 12-year interval. German fans were in total surprise as their team held a 5-0 lead over Brazil after 30 minutes of play in the first half. The Germans' lead grew to 7-0 in the second half, leaving fans even more ecstatic. The host, who were missing injured star player Neymar and suspended captain Thiago Silva, could only respond with a consolation goal late in the match as it ended 7-1. While tears rolled down the faces of Brazilian fans at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, rapturous celebrations went on through the night among German fans as they know their country will play for the big prize in five days

Evaluation committee says Indian hockey team needs development at grassroots level

New Delhi, July 06 (ANI): A panel formed to look into India's debacle in the Hockey World Cup met the team to discuss reasons that led to its dismal performance. The director of the committee, Roelant Oltmans, shed a positive light on the team and said India has shown 100 percent improvement in their game. Coach of Indian men's hockey team, Terry Walsh, said the main reason presented to them over the debacle was that India's development process was slower than the rest of the world. Former captain of Indian hockey team and a member of the evaluation committee, Ajitpal Singh, said the development needs to begin from grassroots level for better performance of the players.

Dutch fans relieved after nail-biter World Cup quarter-final v/s Costa Rica

Amsterdam, July 6 (ANI): Dutch supporters celebrated after a nervous match against Costa Rica which they won on penalties. A viewing of the match for 1200 people was organized at a former school in Amsterdam under the glass roof and flags of all World Cup participating countries. The city did not give permission for public viewing on a large scale because of the late timing of the match, so fans have mostly spread throughout the city's bars to watch their team.

Rio's fan fest erupts into cheers as Argentina books a place in the World Cup semi-finals

Rio de Janeiro, July 6 (ANI): A wave of blue and white descended on the Copacabana Fan Fest as Argentina fans celebrated getting into the semi-finals of the World Cup in Brazil. Fans chanted songs and cheered after Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain upstaged talismanic team mate Lionel Messi with a superb goal to clinch a nervy 1-0 win over Belgium that put them in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 24 years.

One Woman, One Bike 42 Countries and 7 Continents

New Delhi, July 4 (ANI): A lady biker from Britain, Steph Jeavons, is on a mission to travel 42 countries and seven continents on her honda bike alone. Starting from London in March, she has already covered 13 countries and is currently riding in India. 38-year-old Jeavons, who hails from North Wales, wants to be the first British to ride across all seven continents on her own and that too at once. Having travelled 1000 miles on Indian backroads and dirt tracks, including Mumbai, Gujarat and Rajasthan, Steph narrated her experience of riding in the country. Jeavons, who is planning to take around 18 months to cover her tour, has a long list of places to explore to, next being Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Australia, South America, North America, Canada, Antarctica and Africa. Steph is definitely on a journey that most of the people can only dream about.

Saina Nehwal says she was confident of winning Australian Open

Hyderabad, July 1 (ANI): Badminton Player Saina Nehwal who has recently won Australian Open Super Series says that she was confident of the win. She further said that she hopes to give her best in upcoming tournaments.

French fans celebrate in Rio's Fan Fest as team book quarter final place

Rio De Janeiro, July 1 (ANI): The FIFA fan fest in Rio de Janeiro was rocked by waves of red, white and blue tricolor flags as Les Bleus took the French soccer team into the quarter finals of the 2014 World Cup. For 55 minutes Nigeria were comfortably keeping France at bay, but then Blaise Matuidi planted his studs on Ogenyi Onazi and their World Cup ambitions were as damaged as the midfielder's ankle.

Germany fans finally get to celebrate in Rio

Rio de Janeiro, July 1 (ANI): It was a tense time for Germany fans in the FIFA Fan Fest on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach. Far from it being a picnic on the beach while die Mannschaft sailed easily into the quarter-finals, it looked at times as if the German fans might be leaving with their heads in their hands. Germany had only their superior fitness and world-class goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to thank for scraping past Algeria 2-1 in extra time to move into the World Cup quarter-finals after doing almost everything wrong over 90 minutes.