The Tata Mumbai Marathon on Saturday joined an elite list of marathons in Asia, after its 16th edition was accorded the Gold label by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), making it the only Gold label marathon in the country.

Promoted by Procam International, Tata Mumbai Marathon is one of the top 10 marathons in the world and with this Gold label, the event has firmly cemented its position as one of the preferred events world-wide.

The $405,000 event will witness in action over 46,000 participants running across six race categories on January 20, 2019.

Speaking on the development, Vivek Singh, Joint MD, Procam International, said, “We are honoured to receive the IAAF Gold Label for the Tata Mumbai marathon. This achievement is symbolic of the collective efforts of a team that works tirelessly for months to ensure a race day that we all look forward to.”

Calling it a “phenomenal accolade” for the Tata Mumbai marathon, Athletics Federation of India (AFI) President Adille Sumariwala said: “With this added feather in its cap, the Tata Mumbai marathon joins an illustrious list of gold label marathons in Asia.”

“We are all witnessing the revolution that is taking place in sports in India, especially in track and field, on the international stage; and events such as these have had a huge impact in building the sporting fabric of our country,” he added.

The IAAF Gold label is granted to races on the basis of stringent criteria including organizational excellence, world class elite filed representation, prize money for male and female runners, exhaustive medical support system, live television coverage for an enhanced reach of the race, media facilities, timing and qualified personnel to ensure smooth conduct of the event across departments.

In addition, it also considers the course measurements, sanitation of the route which includes – safety and quality of the route, restrictions on traffic to allow free movement for runners within the specified time, facilities provided on course for a pleasant running experience for all participants.

(IANS)

Cricket Australia (CA) has responded positively to India head coach Ravi Shastri’s request for more warm-up games in the run-up to the four-match Test series between the two nations later this year.

Following the recent 1-4 series loss to England, Shastri had demanded more warm-up games against Australia ahead of first Test in Adelaide from December 6.

India only had one practice match ahead of their recent Test series against England, which was preceded by the limited over series, comprising three One-day Internationals and as many T20 Internationals.

Responding to Shastri’s requests of having more warm-up fixtures ahead of the red ball matches, CA has made it clear that they are open to more tour matches.

“We are happy to discuss options with the BCCI, but we have not received any formal notification to increase the number of tour matches prior to their series commencing in Australia,” a Cricket Australia spokesperson was quoted as saying.

India are slated to tour Australia for three T20 internationals, four Test matches and three ODIs from November 21 to January 18.

(IANS)

Ace shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and P.V. Sindhu are the only Indians in the top-10 of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) singles rankings, released on Thursday.

Srikanth, who suffered a shocking defeat in the recently-concluded Asian Games 2018, maintained his eighth spot in the men’s singles rankings with 63,835 points.

Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen topped the chart with 83,754 points, while China’s Shi Yuqi and Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei sit at the second and third place, respectively.

In women’s singles, Asian Games silver medallist Sindhu also maintained her third spot carrying 85,414 points.

Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying, who had defeated Sindhu in the Asian Games finals, holds the top spot with 98,317 points and is followed by Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi (87,743 points).

Another Indian Saina Nehwal, who had made to the quarters of the Asiad, is placed 10th with 58,014 points.

Meanwhile, no other Indian pair were listed in the top 10 of the mixed doubles, women’s doubles or men’s doubles charts.

(IANS)

Mumbai City FC ended their pre-season campaign on a high note, recording a 3-2 victory over Thai League 1 side Bangkok United FC at the Thammasat Stadium here.

Mumbai will be happy with their run ahead of the 2018-19 season of the Indian Super League (ISL), with three victories and one draw in their pocket in a 16-day pre-season tour across Thailand.

Mumbai began the onslaught early on, with Shouvik Ghosh providing the perfect cross to new recruit Modou Sougou as early as in the fourth minute. The former Olympique de Marseille star delicately back-heeled it over the keeper to give his side an early lead in the match on Thursday.

With the home side on the prowl, Bangkok United FC found gaps to exploit and bombarded Mumbai City’s goal with a barrage of shots.

However, 2016 Indian Super League (ISL) season’s golden glove winner Amrinder Singh produced a string of heroic saves to keep his team’s lead intact.

In the 33rd minute, however, a vicious strike from Ekkachai Samre left him stranded, allowing the home team to restore parity.

Mumbai City FC didn’t get deterred by the reputation of Thailand’s top tier team and 22-year-old Raynier Fernandes produced his moment of magic when he caught the opponent’s goalkeeper off the line and shot right into the top corner to regain the lead.

Jorge Costa, the Portuguese coach at the helm of Mumbai City FC, made a couple of changes as the team came back for the second half.

Milan Singh and goal-scorer Raynier were rested while Sanju Pradhan and Bipin Singh were given the opportunity to prove their worth.

Half-way into the second half, another in-form youngster Pranjal Bhumij, displayed his nimble feet as he beat two opponents and fired in a captivating shot to give his team a 3-1 lead and a two-goal cushion.

As both the teams fought tooth and nail, Bangkok United FC got one back in the 83rd minute as Sathaporn Daengsee finished a well-constructed move to make it 2-3.

There were a few nervy moments right at the end but Mumbai pulled through, courtesy of some stubborn defending to end their pre-season campaign with an important win.

Mumbai end their pre-season tour on September 15 and will take on Jamshedpur FC on October 2 at the Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri in the opening game of the ISL season.

(IANS)

Quebec City (Canada) Top-seed Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka has crashed out of the Coupe Banque Nationale, a WTA hard-court event in Quebec City, losing 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) to American Varvara Lepchenko.

The 20-year-old Sabalenka, who is ranked No. 20 and is one of the most promising young stars on the WTA Tour, was the only player to take a set off of eventual champion Naomi Osaka at the just-concluded US Open in New York, reports Efe news.

But Lepchenko pulled off the upset on Tuesday, thanks to her success on the big points.

The 110th-ranked American saved all three break points she faced in the first set and then in the second set fought off a determined comeback bid by Sabalenka, who rallied from a break down and also nearly came back after trailing 0-4 in the tiebreaker.

Next up for Lepchenko in the second round will be the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova, who brushed aside fellow qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-1 on Tuesday.

Two other seeded players also crashed out in the first round.

German No. 7 seed Tatjana Maria lost 6-2, 6-2 to Canadian wildcard Rebecca Marino and sixth-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova fell 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 7-5 to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur.

(IANS)

Observing that the five-match Test series against England was highly competitive, India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said India played fearless cricket and the team has a lot of character but lacked in experience.

India lost the fifth and final Test by 118 runs despite heroic resistance from opener KL Rahul (149) and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant (114) in the second innngs.

England, thus, won the series by a comprehensive 4-1 margin after India were bowled out for 345 chasing 464 for victory.

“We have character in the team and we just need some experience,” Kohli said at the post match presentation ceremony.

Lauding the efforts of Rahul and Pant, who raised hopes of an improbable win, Kohli said the team’s willingless to fight till the end came to the fore.

“I think a lot of credit has to go to the two young guys. The kind of cricket we have played might not show on the scorecard.

“Pant showed a lot of grit and character. When you get into a zone when you are not thinking about the result, things go your way.

“I am delighted for both the guys and it speaks of India’s future. We did not take out opportunities.”

Kohli, who has had a great series himself amassing 593 runs, added that the five games with packed crowd and some fascinating cricket on display has been a great advertisement for the longest format of the game.

“Both the teams know this series has been a competitive one. This has been a great advert for Test cricket. The basic idea was to go out there and play the cricket we are supposed to do,” Kohli said.

“England are a professional side and we realized that as the game changed with in two-three overs.

“England also don’t go for draws and they played fearless cricket and so did we. That is why you won’t see draws,” he added.

(IANS)

Opener Lokesh Rahul and Rishabh Pant’s heroics went in vain as England defeated India by 118 runs in the fifth and final Test to clinch the series 4-1 at the Oval here on Tuesday.

With India chasing a massive 463-run target, the last day of the series saw a bit of drama as centuries by Lokesh Rahul and Rishabh Pant gave India a slim hope of clinching, or at least saving, the Test.

Rahul played a fighting knock of 149 runs before a spectacular delivery by England spinner Moeen Ali ended his resistance.

Pant, who scored 114, gave him excellent support from the other end as the duo built up a partnership of 204 runs to frustrate the England bowlers for a long time.

However, their fall bought the hosts back in contest and the English bowlers then made no mistake as they performed the last rites with ease, scalping the remaining three Indian wickets of Ravindra Jadeja (13), Ishant Sharma (5) and Mohammed Shami (0) in quick succession.

For England, James Anderson picked up three wickets for 45 runs while Sam Curran and Adil Rashid bagged two wickets each.

It was a memorable day for Anderson as the England pacer’s second innings figures of 4/63 saw him go past Australian legend Glenn McGrath to take the fourth spot on the list of all-time highest Test wicket takers.

Anderson, who now has 564 Test wickets to his name, is leading McGrath by one wicket. He is preceded on the list by Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Anil Kumble.

After losing the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s, the visitors managed to win the third Test in Tentbridge. However, they went down in the remaining two contests to complete a miserable series which was totally dominated by the hosts.

India had last won a series on English soil way back in 2007 when the Rahul Dravid-led side had managed a 1-0 win over the hosts in a three-Test affair.

India had started the fifth Test on a promising note as they had reduced England to 181/7 in their first innings on the opening day before the hosts recovered to post a healthy 332.

India had managed to post 292 runs in their first innings before England piled up a mammoth 423/8 to hand India a challenging target.

On Tuesday, the final day of the fifth Test, India started the proceedings at 58/3.

Overnight batsmen Ajinkya Rahane (37 off 106 balls) and Rahul showed tremendous resistance against the English bowlers by taking India past the 100-run mark.

However, just when everything was going India’s way, Moeen Ali struck to send back Rahane as an across the line sweep by the batsman fell into the hands of Keaton Jennings in front of square, which left the visitors at 120/4.

Debutant Hanuma Vihari, who had notched up his maiden half-century in the first innings, fell cheaply after contributing just one run.

A short-pitch delivery by Ben Stokes kissed Vihari’s outside edge before landing in the gloves of Jonny Bairstow, putting India in deep trouble.

Later, incoming batsman Pant along with Rahul prevented the English bowlers from making any further inroads into the Indian camp, after the hosts had jolted them with two quick wickets in the morning session.

It was the duo’s fearless batting which helped India go close to the 300-run mark without losing any further wicket.

A brilliant fightback by Rahul and Pant kept England at bay as India reached 298/5 at tea.

At the break, Rahul was batting on 142, while Pant, who was on 101, gave him excellent support from the other end.

The duo’s sixth wicket partnership of 177 runs not only kept the English bowlers struggling, but also gave India a slim hope of clinching the Test as the visitors now needed 166 runs in the final session, which made the contest interesting.

This was the fifth century of Rahul’s Test career. The opener, who hit 19 boundaries and a six off the 216 balls he has faced so far, was the epitome of patience and grit during India’s second innings.

Pant, meanwhile, slammed his first Test ton after facing 117 balls and slamming 14 fours and three sixes over the course of his knock. In the 74th over, the Delhi batsman slog-swept a Moeen Ali delivery over deep mid-on to become the first-ever Indian wicket-keeper to score a Test century in England.

The scenario, however, changed in the final session when Rashid’s magical delivery came from the leg-stump to dislodge Rahul’s off-stump, breaking the 204-run partnership and leaving India at 325/6.

With the addition of just three runs in the visitor’s scorecard, Rashid struck again, this time to send back the other settled batsman — Pant. The Indian stumper while looking for a quick run handed an easy catch to Ali at the long-off.

Curran then gave two back-to-back blows to India, dismissing Ishant and Jadeja, while Anderson packed Shami back to finally crush the visitors’ 11 long years’ dream of winning a Test series in England.

Brief scores:

England: 332 & 423/8 declared vs India: 292 & 345 (Lokesh Rahul 149, Rishabh Pant 114; James Anderson 3/45).

(IANS)

Riding on centuries by Alastair Cook and skipper Joe Root, England took a massive 404-run lead against India in the fifth and final Test of the series at the Oval here on Monday.

After remaining wicketless in the morning session of the fourth day, the visitors finally got a bit respite as debutant Hanuma Vihari struck twice in consecutive deliveries to dismiss Cook (147) and Root (125) leaving the hosts at 321/4.

The English duo however, helped their side have a firm grip on the match before being dismissed. Cook and Root were involved in a 259-run partnership for the third wicket.

Meanwhile Cook, featuring in his last Test, smashed many records enroute to his 286-ball knock, laced with 14 boundaries.

The 33-year-old England opener on Monday became the fifth batsman in the history of the game to hit a ton both on debut and final game as Cook had also smashed a century in the second innings of his maiden Test, against India, in Nagpur in 2006.

The England opener also became the highest Test run-scorer among the left-handed batsmen as he went past Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (12400), adding another achievement to his illustrious Test career with 12472 runs.

Resuming the post-lunch session at 243/2, Cook and Root took England past the 300-run mark before being dismissed on successive deliveries in the 95th over.

Incoming batsmen Jonny Bairstow (18) fell cheaply as a Mohammed Shami delivery took an inside edge and went on to hit the stumps.

Bairstow was followed by Jos Buttler, who departed without contributing. While looking for some quick runs, Buttler went down the track but offered a thick edge to Shami at backward point.

Ben Stokes and Sam Curran were unbeaten on 13 and 7 runs respectively at the time of tea-break.

Brief scores: England 332 and 364/6 (Alastair Cook 147, Joe Root 125; MoHanuma Vihari 2/24) vs India 292 at Tea on Day 4

(IANS)

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

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic jumped three spots to third after he captured his third US Open title and 14th overall grand slam with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who fell to fourth spot, reports Efe news.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev came in fifth, ahead of Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, sixth and seventh respectively.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa fell four spots to ninth in the rankings after he lost 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(2) to eighth-placed Dominic Thiem of Austria in the US Open round of 16.

(IANS)

Madrid Romania’s Simona Halep continued to lead Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings released on Monday, ahead of Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki.

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka rocketed 12 spots to the seventh after claiming the US Open title on Saturday, defeating Serena Williams of the US 6-2, 6-4 in the women’s final of the season’s last Grand Slam tournament, reports Efe news.

Osaka’s victory also made her the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam title, leaving her with a record of two wins and no losses against the world’s top female tennis player, as she had previously beat Williams in the first round of the last Masters 1000 in Miami.

US Sloane Stephens dropped six positions down to the ninth after being eliminated by Latvian Anastasija Sevastova at the US Open quarterfinal.

Further down the rankings, Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic jumped 32 places to world No. 71 having competed in the US until the round of 16, in which she was knocked out by Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.

(IANS)