Manju Rani ends phenomenal world run with silver

14/10/2019
Ulan-Ude: Indian boxer Manju Rani's stupendous debut run at the Women's World Championships ended with a silver medal on Sunday after she lost the light flyweight (48kg) final to Russia's Ekaterina Paltceva here. The Haryana-boxer, who was seeded sixth, went down 1-4 to the second-seeded local favourite in the first final of the day. Rani, who turns 20 on Saturday, was the lone Indian to make the finals after six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg), Jamuna Boro (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69k...

Hockey India name 22 players for men’s national camp

14/10/2019
new delhi: Hockey India on Sunday named 22 players for the national coaching camp ahead of the crucial FIH Olympic Qualifiers to be held on November 1 and 2 in Bhubaneswar. The players will report to chief coach Graham Reid for the camp that commences from Monday at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The team is coming from a successful Belgium Tour where they beat the hosts thrice (2-0, 2-1, 5-1) and also emerged victorious twice against Spain (6-1, 5-1). They will take on Russia in the cr...

Griffin grabs one-shot Houston Open lead

14/10/2019
Los Angeles: Lanto Griffin "free-wheeled" his way to a seven-under par 65 to seize a one-shot lead in the Houston Open in pursuit of his first US PGA Tour title. Griffin had nine birdies on the par-72 Golf Club of Houston course for an 11-under total of 205. He was one stroke in front of fellow American Mark Hubbard, whose five birdies included three in a row at 15, 16 and 17 in a three-under 69 for 206. Second-round leader Peter Malnati struggled to get anything going, settling for a one-ov...

Ahead of qualifiers against USA, India captain Rani Rampal opens up on importance of Tokyo Olympics

14/10/2019
new delhi: It was a historic moment for India Women’s hockey when they qualified for the Rio Olympics, courtesy England making it to the final of the EuroHockey Championships in London in August 2015. India had finished fifth in the women’s Hockey World League semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium a month earlier, and received a quota place in the Games, making it the first time in 36 years that the side has made it to the multi-sport event. Four years later, India have another chance to make it to ...

Sports Ministry throws open four Delhi stadia for all

14/10/2019
new delhi: In an unprecedented move, the Sports Ministry has decided to provide access to four of it's sporting infrastructure, including the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and Karni Singh Shooting range, free of cost to federations and athletes from November 1. The decision was made in an effort to promote the Fit India Movement and to make playfields and sporting infrastructure accessible to all sports persons across the country, the ministry said in a statement. The first phase will see stadiums...

Shot putter Toor smashes own national record

14/10/2019
Ranchi: Shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor broke his own national record to lit up a rainy day in the 59th National Open Athletics Championships here. Representing AFI, Toor came up with a best effort of 20.92m to improve upon his own earlier national record of 20.75m which he had set while winning the Asian Games gold medal in Jakarta last year. His farthest throw came in his third attempt. After a half-hour delay caused by heavy rain, the 25-year-old Toor warmed up with a put of 20.41m, ju...

Italy clinch place at Euro 2020 as Spain made to wait

14/10/2019
Paris: Italy became the second team to qualify for Euro 2020 after a 2-0 win over Greece, while three-time champions Spain edged closer to the finals despite conceding a stoppage-time equaliser away to Norway. Chelsea midfielder Jorginho dispatched a second-half penalty as Italy, wearing green kits for just the second time in history, registered a seventh straight win in Group J on Saturday. The Azzurri, who failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, added a second in Rome on 78 minutes throug...

Valtteri Bottas wins Japanese Grand Prix, Mercedes clinch record constructors’ title

14/10/2019
Suzuka: Valtteri Bottas jumped from third to first with an electric start to win the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and the Finn’s Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc could only finish sixth in the second Ferrari, meaning Mercedes clinched a record sixth successive constructors’ world championship with their double podium finish. “I’m happy, very happy,” said Bottas. “Starting third isn’t easy. I had a really nice start, managed to get the lead...

R Praggnanandhaa: Unconquered king of Youth Chess

14/10/2019
Mumbai: R Praggnanandhaa may come across as a shy and easy-going boy, but beneath his coy self rages a champion. He is the youngest ever in the world to become an International Master (IM), the fourth youngest in the world and India’s second-youngest ever Grandmaster (GM) and on Saturday he became first male chess player from the country to win a world title in the under-18 category. The 14-year-old Chennai boy with an Elo rating of 2567 scaled the new peak after playing out a draw against Ger...