Indian girls were defeated 3-1 by Argentina here at the Youth Olympics while boys went down 4-2 to Malaysia.

The South American side created history by winning its first ever Olympic gold in the women’s hockey in any category as Gianella Palet, Sofia Ramallo and Brisa Bruggesser scored for the hosts. Mumtaz Khan netted India’s only goal on Sunday.

Chinese girls won the bronze medal with a 6-0 rout of South Africa, while the Argentine boys took bronze courtesy a 4-0 win over Zambia, Xinhua news agency reported.

IANS

India won the Test series 2-0 by registering a comfortable 10-wicket victory over the West Indies in the second Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium here on Sunday.

Chasing a paltry 72-run target, openers Prithvi Shaw (33 not out) and KL Rahul (33 not out) guided India home with ease in just 16.1 overs on the third day of the Test.

After scoring 367 runs in their first innings in reply to the West Indies’ 311, India bowled out the visitors for 127 runs in the second innings, setting themselves a 72-run target.

Earlier, India had crushed the tourists by an innings and 272 runs in the first Test at Rajkot.

Indias rising star Archana Kamath put up a spectacular fight to overcome Hong Kongs Lee Ka Yee and storm into the quarter-finals of the table tennis event at the Youth Olympics here on Tuesday evening.

Archana triumphed 4-2 in the women’s singles to be just one step away from a medal in this super elite event.

Archana had to summon all her skills, energy and nerves to beat Lee in a gripping contest. Each game went down to the wire, with Archana showing more composure to win 14-12, 14-12, 9-11, 8-11, 12-10, 15-13.

She will play her quarter-final late in the evening — early morning back home in India — and a victory will ensure her a place in the Last 4 and at least a bronze medal.

“It was a tough match and I am glad I came through,” she said shortly after her victory.

“I am feeling confident now and hope to get past the next hurdle too to get into the medals’ bracket,” she added.

The country’s other medal hope Manav Thakkar, however, couldn’t emulate his compatriot and lost to top seed and former world junior champion Tomokazo Harimoto 1-4 in the men’s singles pre-quarters.

Manav began on a rousing note, winning the first game 11-9. But he couldn’t sustain the momentum and despite creating a number of opportunities lost the next four 8-11, 7-11, 8-11, 7-11.

IANS

Tamil Thalaivas succumbed to their second successive defeat in a row as they lost to Telugu Titans 28-33 on the third day of the Pro Kabaddi tournament at the packed Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Tuesday.

Playing their first game of the sixth season, Telugu Titans rode on star raider Rahul Chaudhuri’s nine raid points and Iranian Mohsen Maghsoudlou’s all round effort (three raid points, four tackle points) to down Tamil Thalaivas.

Chaudhari scored nine points and made crucial raids for the Titans. Ajay Thakur (9 raid points) and Amit Hooda (5 tackle points) were the top players for TamilThalaivas but their effort wasn’t enough.

The home team, looking to take inspiration from their remarkable back against U.P.Yoddha last night where they fought back from 7-27 to lose 32-37, raced to a two-point lead riding Athul MS’s successful raid and Titans’ star raider Chaudhari being sent out of the mat in his first attempt.

Tamil Thalaivas led till 8-7 in front of a vociferous home crowd who were lapping up the south Indian derby.

But from there on, they lost ground as the Titans fashioned a late all out to take a healthy 16-9 lead and go into the break 17-11.

Chaudhuri, who stepped down from his captaincy ahead of this season to hand over the reins to young all-rounder Vishal Bharadwaj, started the second half by getting the back of Manjeet Chhillar in the first raid to further extend Titans’ lead.

Manjeet Chhillar was a rock at the back for Tamil Thalaivas as they mounted a comeback in the second half.

After 25 minutes, Telugu Titans led 21-16 and the match hung in balance.

The fatigue was showing on Tamil Thalaivas as they played their third match in three days.
Telugu Titans were the fitter team with their defence and raiders looking sharper.

It was a Titans Tuesday Tho for Chaudhari’s team as they maintained their composure in the last few minutes of the match and didn’t give Thalaivas a chance to make a comeback.

Amit Hooda attained a high five in the last minute of the match but it wasna¿t enough. Tamil Thalaivas made critical errors throughout the match and crashed to 28-33 defeat.

IANS

India continued to hold on to its eighth spot in the medals table with the addition of 11 more medals, including three golds after the action ended on Day 3 of the Para Asian Games here on Tuesday.

With the addition of 11 medals, India’s medal tally rose to 6 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze for a total of 28 medals.

Ekta Bhyan and Narayan Thakur clinched a gold each in women’s F32/51 club throw event and men’s T35 100m dash respectively before para-shooter Manish Narwal bagged the yellow metal in the men’s SH1 10m air pistol event.

Bhyan clinched the gold in the women’s club throw F32/51 event as she produced her best throw in her fourth attempt, 16.02 metre.

The F32/51 class features athletes with significant impairment in hand function.

Thakur then boosted India’s gold count by winning the T35 100m final race in 14.02 seconds. Athletes in T35 class have coordination impairments.

India also bagged three silver medals through Surender Aneesh Kumar (men’s F43/44,F62/64 discus), Ram Pal (men’s T45/46/47 high jump), Virender (men’s F56/57 shot put).

Para athletes continued to make India proud by bagging five bronze medals on Tuesday. Monu Ghangas, Jayanti Behera, Anandan Gunasekaran, Sundar Singh Gurjar and Pradeep settled for the bronze medal in their respective categories.

Behera finished third in the women’s 200 metre T45/46/47 event for athletes with limb impairment.

Gunasekaran bagged bronze in the men’s 200 metre T44/62/64 class that covers impairment in foot, ankle and/or lower leg but the athletes compete without prothesis.

Ghangas finished third in the men’s shot put F11, which covers vision impairment, while Gurjar bagged the bronze in men’s F46 discus throw.

On Monday, India had bagged 11 medals, including three gold.

The Indian junior mens hockey team registered their third successive victory at the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup 2018 as they beat Japan 1-0 in a closely-fought match here on Tuesday.

The rain-affected India-Japan match which was stopped for a few minutes during the first quarter was intensely fought between the two teams.

With Japan on the rise with both their senior and junior teams making good progress in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics, the India colts had their task cut out.

Their attack was often challenged with good, disciplined defence structure that Japan adopted during the entire duration of play. Though India made a few chances in the opening quarter with the team winning a PC, it was denied by a good Japanese defence.

With the second quarter too ending in a stalemate with both teams at 0-0, the third quarter saw India up their attack.

While two PCs were awarded to India after a Japanese infringement, it was in the second attempt that skipper Mandeep Mor converted a well-executed PC in the 42nd minute.

Leading by only a goal, India put all their might into defence with goalkeeper Pankaj Rajak making some excellent saves to keep his team in the lead.

India overcame a close shave when Japan won a PC with minutes left for the final hooter, however, the chance was missed and India held their nerves to seal the match.

Earlier in the tournament, India had won 2-1 against Malaysia and 7-1 against New Zealand.

The Indian colts will next take on defending champions Australia in their fourth match on Wednesday.

IANS

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced there will be a Olympic team made up of refugees at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, as happened in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

“Last time (in the 2016 Rio Olympics) we were under very high time pressure. Now we have two years. We have already taken precaution… and we have a pool of athletes in place. Already now we’re supporting 51 or 52 refugee athletes who we have identified. This pool can still grow in the run-up to Tokyo 2020,” IOC president Thomas Bach of Germany said at the close of the 133rd IOC Session, which ended on Tuesday in Buenos Aires, Efe news reported.

The IOC said in a statement that with the creation of this refugee team, the committee seeks to convey a message of solidarity and hope to millions of refugee and internally displaced athletes around the world.

“In an ideal world, we would not need to have a Refugee Team at the Olympic Games. But, unfortunately, the reasons why we first created a Refugee Olympic Team before the Olympic Games Rio 2016 continue to persist,” Bach said, adding: “We will do our utmost to welcome refugee athletes and give them a home and a flag in the Olympic Village in Tokyo with all the Olympic athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees.”

In the 2016 Rio Olympics, the team comprised ten refugee athletes from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The 32nd Summer Olympic Games will take place from July 24 to August 9 in Tokyo.

Tokyo will hold this international sports event for the second time after the 1964 Olympic Games.

IANS

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who played a hockey coach in “Chak De! India”, will attend the opening ceremony of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 on November 27. He says his heart beats for the sport.

The actor, who is a sports enthusiast himself, has urged people to support hockey and Team India.

He took to Twitter to extend his support.

Hockey player Manpreet Singh asked SRK via Twitter if he would be a part of the hockey tournament and if the actor would support them.

SRK replied saying he would jump at the opportunity. “I wish you and our team the best. Hockey is the pride of India. We will cheer Chak De India! Thank you for thinking of me. #HeartBeatsForHockey.”

The Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018 is just a few weeks away. While the team is also gearing up for the mega tournament and training in Bhubaneswar, they will also leave for the Asian Champions Trophy on October 14.

In a statement, Shah Rukh has said: “Hockey is the song of my heart. It is that time of my youth that is forever etched in my consciousness. I follow the game and watching the game, even now, gets my pulse racing.

“India is hosting the Hockey World Cup in November at Bhubaneswar, and I am honoured to be a part of hockey at the highest level. We have a young and promising team and they have my unconditional support. They are my heroes and I pledge my heartbeat for India, for the Indian team and for hockey.”

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said Shah Rukh’s support for hockey will not only motivate the team, but it will also catalyse the nation to join this movement for hockey. “I thank him for the same.”

IANS

West Indies have recalled seasoned batsmen Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo to the T20 International squad for the three-match rubber against India after explosive opener Chris Gayle “declined selection”.

Chanderpaul Hemraj, the 25-year-old left-hand batsman, has been included in the Windies team for the five-match One-day International (ODI) series, while Oshane Thomas, a 21-year-old right-arm medium pacer, and Fabian Allen, an aggressive right-hand batsman and left-arm spinner, found themselves in both the ODI and T20I squads.

According to a release from West Indies Cricket, star all-rounder Andre Russell was not included in the ODI squad due to fitness concerns, but he is in the T20I set-up, as are Pollard and Bravo. Alzarri Joseph, who has been named in the ODI squad, will undergo a fitness test before leaving for India.

Jason Holder will captain the Windies in the ODI series while Carlos Brathwaite will captain the team for the T20I series against India.

Commenting on Gayle’s decision to opt out of the tour, Courtney Brownie, Chairman of the selection panel, said: “We will be without our stalwart, Chris Gayle for this Indian tour and the next tour against Bangladesh as he has declined selection at this time, however, he has made himself available for the selection for the visit of England to the Caribbean and the CWC in 2019.”

“As we continue our World Cup preparations, the upcoming tour of India provides a great opportunity to expose some of our young talent.”

“Opener, Chandrapul Hemraj, all-rounder Fabian Allen and fast bowler Oshane Thomas will get their opportunity to showcase their skills, along with Sunil Ambris, who is returning to the fold,” Brownie added.

Explaining the reason behind announcing the squad so early, Johnny Grave, Chief Executive Officer of the Windies, said: “The team will have a camp before the start of the ODI series in Guwahati, so we had to select the squad before the start of the Super50 Cup, in order to organise flights and visas.”

“With the CPL finishing last month, there was no reason to delay announcing the T20 squad,” he added.

Squads:
ODI: Jason Holder (Captain), Fabian Allen, Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Oshane Thomas.

T20I: Carlos Brathwaite (Captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas.

U.P. Yoddha held off a monumental comeback from Tamil Thalaivas to win 37-32 on the second day of the Pro Kabaddi tournament at the packed Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Monday.

Leading 18-4 at halftime, U.P. Yoddha were expected to canter to victory but Tamil Thalaivas, led by India captain Ajay Thakur, staged a marvellous fightback to lose by five points only despite being 19 points in arrears at one stage in the second half.

Recovering from a sloppy start, Thakur pocketed 12 points (nine raid points, three bonus points) to sizzle the mat in the dying minutes of the game with back-to-back successful raids.

The experienced Manjeet Chhillar was excellent too defensively, picking up four tackle points as Tamil Thalaivas came close to pulling off a improbable triumph.

For U.P. Yoddha, Prashanth Kumar Rai (eight points) and Shrikant Yadav (five points) starred in attack while Narender (four tackle points) did the job defensively.A

There was only one team from the beginning as Tamil Thalaivas — who won by 16 points against Patna Pirates on Sunday — looked colourless and lacking ideas.

Thakur, who bagged 14 points in the previous game, unsuccessfully tried to skip past U.P. Yoddha defenders early on as the visitors raced to a 4-0 lead.

U.P. inflicted an all out on Tamil Thalaivas to lead 10-0 and even went to extend their advantage to 12-0 before Prashanth was sent out of the mat to make it 1-12.

Thakur then followed it up with a successful raid to make it 2-12 but his joy was shortlived as Shrikant sent the India captain out of the mat.

To make matter worse, Jasvir Singh failed to wriggle past Pune defenders immediately to leave his side haplessly reeling at 2-14.

At halftime, U.P. Yoddha led 18-4.

It was one way traffic from the start of the second half too, as U.P. Yoddha effected a second all out to further stretch the lead to 22-5.

Tamil Thalaivas tried to fashion a comeback after the all out and did remarkably well to trim the gap to 19-27 riding an all out at the halfway mark of the second period.

Thakur and Chhillar were at the heart of the comeback, the pair using their reservoir of experience to inflict an all out and cut the gap to nine points.

However, UP Yoddha maintained their composure
and didn’t give too many opportunities to Thalaivas to make a comeback.

Thakur achieved a super 10 in the 38th minute as Tamil Thalaivas trailed 26-33. Tamil Thalaivas inflicted an all out in the 29th minute as they trailed 30-34. U.P. Yoddha managed to held firm in the last few minutes to ensure the win.

IANS