Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Monday predicted that the high-voltage Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan would be an even contest.

“It will be a 50-50 contest between India and Pakistan,” Ganguly said on the sidelines of a promotional event here.

India have a 6-5 win loss ratio at the Asia Cup and on Wednesday the Rohit Sharma led side would look to continue the momentum.

Asked if regular captain and star batsman Virat Kohli’s absence would be a factor, Ganguly said, “Virat Kohli’s absence won’t be a factor, they are a better side.”

India are the most successful side in the Asia Cup, having won the title a total of six times, while Pakistan have won twice.

The men in blue begin their campaign against Hong Kong on Tuesday, while Pakistan beat the same opponents by eight wickets on Sunday.

(IANS)

Brazil has defeated previously unbeaten Canada 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18) to guarantee themselves a berth in the second round of the Volleyball Men’s World Championship.

After losing 3-1 to the Netherlands on Sunday, the reigning Olympic gold-medallists rebounded in spectacular fashion in front of 3,000 people at the Ruse Arena on Monday.

The first set was fairly even and Canada led 12-10 at one stage before succumbing 25-22 to a Brazil side powered by Wallace’s nine points, reports Efe news.

Canada reacted in the second set, dominating throughout to prevail 25-19 before falling 25-23 in the hard-fought third set.

The Brazilians cruised to a 25-18 decision in the fourth set to seal the victory.

Wallace led all scorers with 24 points. Canada’s most effective player was John Gordon Perrin, who scored 18 points.

With Monday’s outcome, the Dutch continue to lead Pool B with 11 points, followed by Canada (9) and Brazil (8).

Sixteen of 24 teams (four from each of the four pools) will advance to the second round of the championship, which runs through September 30 at venues in Italy and Bulgaria.

(IANS)

Ruse (Bulgaria) Brazil has defeated previously unbeaten Canada 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18) to guarantee themselves a berth in the second round of the Volleyball Men’s World Championship.

After losing 3-1 to the Netherlands on Sunday, the reigning Olympic gold-medallists rebounded in spectacular fashion in front of 3,000 people at the Ruse Arena on Monday.

The first set was fairly even and Canada led 12-10 at one stage before succumbing 25-22 to a Brazil side powered by Wallace’s nine points, reports Efe news.

Canada reacted in the second set, dominating throughout to prevail 25-19 before falling 25-23 in the hard-fought third set.

The Brazilians cruised to a 25-18 decision in the fourth set to seal the victory.

Wallace led all scorers with 24 points. Canada’s most effective player was John Gordon Perrin, who scored 18 points.

With Monday’s outcome, the Dutch continue to lead Pool B with 11 points, followed by Canada (9) and Brazil (8).

Sixteen of 24 teams (four from each of the four pools) will advance to the second round of the championship, which runs through September 30 at venues in Italy and Bulgaria.

(IANS)

Seven countries are set to kick-off the inaugural edition of the SAFF U-18 football Championship for Women which gets underway later this month in Bhutan.

India have been clubbed in Group A, along with neighbours Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The Indian girls kick-off their campaign against Maldives on September 28 before facing Sri Lanka on October 2 — the birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation and national hero Mahatma Gandhi.

The tournament follows a round robin format where all the teams in each group play each other once. The top two teams get to qualify for the semi-finals (October 5), where the winner of Group A faces the runners-up of Group B, and vice versa.

The final of the tournament is set to be held on Sunday, October 7.

At the senior level, the Indian women have been the most successful team in the SAFF Championships, winning all four editions of the tournament that have been held till date. The Senior SAFF Women’s Championship is scheduled to be held later in December.

Group A: India, Sri Lanka, Maldives; Group B: Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan;

Fixtures:

September 28: India vs Maldives; October 2: India vs Sri Lanka; October 5: Semi-final 1 (Group A Winner vs Group B Runners-up); October 5: Semi-final 2 (Group B Winner vs Group A Runners-up); October 7: 3rd-4th place match; October 7: Final.

(IANS)

The start of the sixth season of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) has been postponed by a couple of days due to logistical reasons, the organisers Mashal Sports announced on Monday.

“The 6th season of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi League will start on October 7 instead of the earlier date of October 5 owing to logistical reasons such as caravan movement and stadium availability. Mashal Sports Pvt. Ltd, the rights owner and organisers of the league has made this considered decision in consultation with the principal stakeholders,” a statement read.

Chennai will continue to host to the first leg of the tournament from October 7.

The playoffs would be held as planned in Kochi on December 30 and 31 with the final on January 5 in Mumbai.

(IANS)

Spain’s Rafael Nadal maintained the No. 1 spot in the men’s Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world singles rankings released on Monday with 8,760 points, ahead of Switzerland’s Roger Federer.

The Spaniard continued to lead the rankings despite his forced retirement at the US Open over a knee injury, which also made him miss the Davis Cup semifinal against France on Sunday, reports Efe news.

Top-10 list witnessed no change as Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is still occupying the third position, followed by Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.

Meanwhile, Argentine Guido Andreozzi rocketed 11 places to the 97th, following his victory at the Pekao Szczecin Open played at Szczecin, Poland against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.

The current top-10 ATP rankings and point scores are as follows:

1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 8,760 Points
2. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 6,900
3. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 6,445
4. Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) 5,980
5. Alexander Zverev (Germany) 4,890
6. Marin Cilic (Croatia) 4,715
7. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 3,755
8. Dominic Thiem (Austria) 3,665
9. Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 3,595
10. John Isner (US) 3,470.

(IANS)

Ever since she was a kid, Hima Das woke up every morning before the crack of dawn and would go to the local grazing ground in a remote Assam village. With no proper gear or even a playground, she practiced running at this grazing ground, around 50 metres from her house, before the villagers let their cattle loose post sunrise.

Daughter of rice farmers, the same teenager left the world awestruck when she ran at a track and field stadium in Finland during the 400 metre final at the U-20 World Championships, becoming the first Indian sprinter to win a gold medal at an international track event.

The 18-year-old from Kandhulimari village in Dhing — a small town situated approximately 20 km from Nagaon — followed that with a gold in the women’s 4×400 metres and silver medals in the women’s 400 metres and mixed 4×400 metres events at the recently-concluded Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia.

There are numerous such stories of Indian athletes who came from poor, underprivileged families but who showed true grit and fought extreme odds to make their families and the nation proud.

Swapna Barman, daughter of a van-rickshaw puller and tea-estate worker from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, overcame extreme poverty to become the first Indian woman to achieve a top podium finish in the gruelling heptathlon event at the Asian Games.

The Indian Army rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal did all sorts of odd jobs from digging wells to selling onions to working at a petrol pump in his arduous journey to the gold in men’s quadruple sculls event at the Asiad.

Harish Kumar, who was a part of Indian sepak takraw team that won bronze at the Asian Games, used to sell tea at his father’s shop in Delhi to support his family.

These are not isolated instances. According to one of India’s most celebrated athletes Anju Bobby George, this is more a norm than an aberration. Perhaps because due to their tough lifestyle and the absence of too many options in life, “they have insatiable hunger to succeed”, George told IANS.

“Children from rural areas or poor backgrounds engage in physical activities as part of their normal daily routine. After returning from school, they either work in the fields or play sports. So naturally most of our sports stars come from rural areas,” he said.

Recalling Hima’s childhood, her mother Jonali recalled she was always competitive and hated losing and related how she practiced running at a local grazing ground every morning before dawn as the villagers came there with their herds of cattle after sunrise.

Swapna Barman, from Jalpaiguri town in northern Bengal, was born with six toes. She never found a shoe that fit her perfectly and pain was part of her life ever since she started walking. But enduring that constant pain, she won gold at heptathlon at the Asian Games. The heptathlon is a grilling seven-event contest which covers a range of track and field events and is spread over two days.

Swapna’s father Panchanan Barman has been bedridden for the last few years. “It was not easy for her. We could not meet her expectations all the time but she would never complain,” Swapna’s mother Basona told IANS in an emotion-choked voice.

The extra width of her feet makes landing painful and shoes wear out quickly. She found it difficult to meet the expenses of her equipment, said her childhood coach Sukanta Sinha.

“I was her coach from 2006-2013. She comes from a very poor family and could barely meet the expenses of training. I saw a spark in her when she was in the fourth standard. I started training her,” said Sukanta who could not get past the state level himself, his best being a third place finish in triple jump in a inter district meet in Bengal in the 1980s.

“She was extremely stubborn and that worked in her favour. We at Raikot Para Sporting Association club supported her with all the equipment and shoes. Today I cannot express in words how happy I am,” he added.

In Maharashtra, Dattu Baban Bhokanal endured unimaginable suffering and hardships before achieving the pinnacle of sporting success. The Indian army rower won gold in the Men’s Quadruple sculls event at the Asiad. The 27-year-old, who had claimed a silver medal in the men’s single sculls at the Asian Rowing Championships in 2015, is currently one of the top rowers in the continent.

But his upbringing and early struggles is typical of millions of sportspersons in the country. From digging wells to selling onions to working in a petrol pump to representing India at the Rio Olympics while his mother was in a coma, Dattu has overcome every obstacle in life.

“We could not even afford two meals a day and it was then that I decided to start working with my father, who used to dig wells,” Dattu told IANS.

After the death of his father, Dattu joined the Indian Army, a decision which was driven more by the need to feed his family than serving the nation.

“In 2013, I was selected for the Army Rowing Node (ARN) in Pune for better training. After six months of practice, I struck two gold medals at the national championships and that was a confidence-booster,” he said.

Boxer Amit Panghal, another rising star, hails from the msall Mayna village in Rohtak district of Haryana. His father Chaudhary Bijender Singh Panghal owns just an acre in his village and the family struggled to make ends meet.

“My elder brother was a boxer as well. He introduced me to boxing. But my family did not have the resources to support both our careers. So my brother decided to sacrifice his dreams for me and joined the army,” Amit said.

“He told me before going to the army that he will take care of the family and my training expenses and asked me to focus on my boxing career. His words left a deep impression on me and I have been striving to live up to his expectations ever since,” he added.

The 22-year-old started training in 2007 at the Sir Chhotu Ram Boxing Academy in Rohtak. Trained by coach Arjun Dhankar, Amit enoyed an explosive start to his career at the national and international levels.

The light flyweight (49 kg) boxer won the gold medal in his debut appearance at the national championships in 2017 and took bronze at Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Tashkent in May last year. He took silver at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year before defeating reigning Olympic and Asian champion Hasanboy Dusmatov in the Asian Games final.

(IANS)

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has ended his association with Kerala Blasters Football Club (KBFC), the Indian Super League (ISL) outfit said in a statement on Sunday.

“Sachin has been a great support and we thank him for his immense contribution to KBFC. He will forever be a member of the Yellow Army. As it has been, we will continue to uphold and take forward, the spirit of the sport, spirit of the fans and the spirit of Kerala,” the statement said.

“The existing 80 per cent Ashareholders of KBFC comprising of IQuest, Chiranjeevi and Allu Arvind have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sachin Tendulkar’s 20 per cent stake in the club,” it added.

“Any other news regarding the shareholding is purely speculative in nature.”

For the past two days, a section of the media had speculated that hat UAE billionaire businessman and Keralite M.A. Yusuf Ali has bought Sachin’s stake.

Sachin has been the face of the franchise since its first edition in 2014 and it was along with the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, he held a press conference in the state secretariat announcing the name of the club.

(IANS)

 Indian women pugilists put up a stellar display at the 32nd Ahmet Comert boxing tournament here, sweeping seven medals in as many categories, including three golds, two silver and two bronze.

While Mary Kom won the gold and the junior women boxers created history winning 13 medals in Poland, the Indians once again established themselves as a boxing powerhouse with a splendid medal haul.

Monika, Bhagyabati Kachari and Simranjeet confirmed the yellow metal, while Pinki Jangra and Meena Kumari settled for silver.

In the first final of the afternoon, Monika got the better of Turkish pugilist Ayse Cagirir in the 48 kg category, securing a unanimous 5-0 win.

Following it up in the 81kg category was 2012 Asian Championship bronze medalist Bhagyabati Kacahri who not only put up a dominant display but exhibited technical precision and finesse to secure the gold, forcing Selma Karakoyun to a 0:5 submission. Following her sublime display, she also received the award for the most scientific boxer at the event.

Pinki Rani, however, suffered an unfortunate result, being downed by yet another Turkish opponent, Busenaz Cakiroglu, in a 1-4 verdict and had to settle for a silver. Meena Kumari too suffered a similar fate in the 54 kg category against Romania’s Maria Nechita. One of the most enthralling bouts on the final day, Meena lost by a narrow margin with a split 2-3 decision.

Capping off the tournament in style, Simranjeet showed strong character to win the gold in the 64kg category. Dubbed as an underdog ahead of the bout, she beat the odds and looked on top of her game, eclipsing past Turkey’s Sema Caliskan in a unanimous 5-0 decision to secure the third gold for India.

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will be the star attraction at the Tata Steel Chess India rapid and blitz tournament to be held here from November 9-14.

Anand, 48, said here on Saturday that he would return to the city to play in a GM competition after a gap of 32 years.

“I remember playing my first GM tournament in Kolkata in 1986 — that was also a Tata Steel event here. I was an International Master then,” Anand said during the announcement.

“I have played occasionally in India. But to have fellow top 10 players here, I am very happy and excited to be part of it. It will be a super tournament.

“I hope this tournament will revitalise chess in India. We now have a lot of chess fans in India who follow chess but its always happening somewhere else, some other time zone. This will be an excellent chance for them to come and enjoy like when the World Championship happened in Chennai, a lot of people saw an event live. This will be the same thing,” he added.

The USD 40,000 prize money tournament will feature three top players in the 2800-plus Elo rating, it was announced.

The top players include Azerbaijan GM and world number three Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Armenian GM and world number six Levon Aronian, the USA’s GM Wesley So who is world number 9, Japanese-American GM and four-time United States champion Hikaru Nakamura who is world number 14 and Russian GM Sergey Karjakin (world number 15).

Anand regained some form at the Sinquefield Cup that ended in August in St Louis, US.

The first Indian to become a chess GM, Anand went undefeated in the tournament, though he did not manage any wins either, and finished sixth out of 10 participants.

Anand is part of the Indian contingent for the Chess Olympiad later this month. It will be his first appearance in the tournament since 2006.

Apart from the Indian chess wizard, the Indian GMs include P Harikrishna, Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Vidit Gujarati, Nihal Sarin, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa as a total of 11 top-ranked players will compete in the meet at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

The participants will play a single round robin (all play all) rapid tournament from November 9-11 followed by a double round robin blitz on the last two days.

(IANS)