Indian cyclists finished on a disappointing note in all three qualifying events which they participated at the Commonwealth Games here on Thursday.
In the men’s Team Sprint qualifying, the trio of Ranjit Singh, Sahil Kumar and Sanuraj Sanandaraj finished at the penultimate seventh spot with an overall timing of 46.174 seconds.

New Zealand and England will fight out for the gold medal in the event.

In the women’s Team Sprint, the duo of Deborah Herold and Aleena Reji consumed 35.309 seconds to finish a disappointing last spot after the Canadian team was disqualified. Australia and New Zealand will battle it out for the gold medal in the event.

Earlier, the Indian women’s cycling team failed to qualify in the track 4,000-metre Team Pursuit event.

The team, with Deborah Herold, Amritha Reghunath, Sonali Chanu, Aleena Reji and Monorama Devi finished fifth in 5:05.668 seconds.

Australia and New Zealand will fight for gold in the event.

Ahead of the 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) experienced seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar reckons that to lay their hands on the silverware, the team needs to look out for the “little things” which can make them champions.

The 28-year-old leading India bowler said the team needs to do “things correctly” through the tournament.

“Our aim is to win the championship but we know it’s not going to be easy because each team is equally good. So we have to do out things correctly throughout the tournament and look for the little things which will make us champions,” Bhuvneshwar told IANS during an event of the Red FM, which is the principal sponsor of the Hyderabad squad.

Among the two names to be retained by the Sunrisers before the auction along with banned David Warner, is rightfully Bhuvneshwar, the top wicket-taker in both the 2016 and 2017 editions.

When asked about any special strategy for the forthcoming edition, the Uttar Pradesh cricketer said that there are no special plans as of now but the team will soon draw up something before entering the meet.

“As such there is no special strategy, but an evening before the match you have a team meeting; you make plans according to the teams. There is still a week to go for the tournament; so, for now, there is no special strategy. But, yes, we are going to make some before entering the meet,” he said.

On paper, apart from Bhuvneshwar, there are no big and experienced names in the bowling department to support him. The overall squad is also relatively young and new. Asked whether it will affect the team’s performance, the pacer said he didn’t really think so.

“It is not always about the big names in the bowling department. If you look at our bowling, Rashid (Khan) is there, Siddharth Kaul, who has done really well last year, is also there among few young players. So we have a decent bowling line-up which has done well in the last few years. I don’t think there will be any pressure or problem regarding the lack of experience,” Bhuvneshwar said.

“Inexperience does’t mean that you do not have the experience of international cricket. If you talk about IPL, in the SRH team, players have played the league at least four to five times. So it is more than enough experience to win the tournament,” he added.

Bhuvneshwar said a proper domestic set-up and IPL have helped India a lot as the country has produced several quality pace bowlers.

Unlike the 1990s when there were only one or two quality pace bowlers in the team, India now has several top pacemen like Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.

“It is difficult to tell the exact reason, but if you see our domestic set-up, it is really good. IPL has also been there for the last 10 years. There are good coaches also; so the credit goes to IPL as well. Yes, it is a shorter format but still gives you the experience and confidence to do well at different levels,” Bhuvneshwar said.

In a proud moment for people of coastal Karnataka, weightlifter P Gururaja from Kundapur has won first medal for India on first day of the 21st Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast in Australia on April 4.

Gururaj claimed silver in the men’s 56kg category on Wednesday. The 25-year-old weightlifter from Kundapur equalled his personal best of 249kg to finish second where Muhammad Izhar Ahmed from Malaysia who is a three-time medallist in the Commonwealth Championships won gold. The third position was taken by Sri Lanka’s Lakmal Chaturanga (114+134).

Son of a truck driver, Gururaja fulfilled his dream of becoming a wrestler with the help of a watchful coach.

Gururaja, son of Mahabala Poojary and Paddu Poojary couple living at Jeddu village, is currently serving Indian Air Force. He laid added emphasis in honing his skill in weightlifting. By lifting total weight of 241 kg in the 56 kg section for men in Asian Games, he got gold medal. In the South Asian Games, he got another gold medal in international weightlifting.

Mahabala Poojary provided good education to his children. Gururaja showed his interest in sports when studying in government higher primary school at Vandse. The then physical education teacher had encouraged him. His talent came into the open when studying in Mookambika high school, Kollur. The physical education teacher of the school, Sukesh Shetty, extended lot of encouragement to him. Gururaja also got support for his interest in wrestling there. Later, he pursued graduation in SDM College Ujire where Rajendra Prasad trained him in weight lifting in tune with his interests. He got training in SDM sports training institute. He emerged as national champion twice when there.

Saina Nehwal’s father Harvir Singh and PV Sindhu’s mother Vijaya Pusarla were among the 15 officials/non-athletes who were cleared to travel with the Indian contingent for 2018 CWG at no cost to the government.

Sania Nehwal vented her anger in a series of tweets, claiming that her father Harvir’s name was removed from the Indian team’s officials list for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which meant that he would not be allowed entry to the Games village or see any of her matches. The Sports Ministry had earlier cleared the names of Saina’s father and PV Sindhu’s mother to travel with the Indian contingent at no cost to the government. However, the Indian badminton star tweeted that after the reaching the Games village, she found out that her father’s name was cut off from the list.
Sindhu’s mother Vijaya Pusarla and Saina’s father Harvir Singh were among the 15 officials/non-athletes who were cleared at no cost to the government.

According to the revised list provided by the Indian Olympic Association website, India have sent a 326-member contingent, including 218 (including eight para-athletes) athletes, for the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia starting on April 4.

In the last three editions, the Indian contingent has amassed a total of 215 medals — 50 in 2006, 101 in 2010 and 64 in 2014 — and thus it comes as no surprise that with a larger pool of athletes, fans are expecting a string of podium finishes.

Jamshedpur FC rode on young goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh’s heroics to put it across I-League champions Minerva Punjab FC 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out and take their place in quarterfinals of the Super Cup here.

In the fourth Round of 16 match of the tournament, being played at the Kalinga stadium Sanjiban affected at least 8-9 saves throughout the 120 minutes of the match and then put the icing on the cake with two more saves in the sudden death tie-breaker to emerge the undisputed hero of the match on Monday.

Minerva, who were clearly the better team in the match, were left ruing their missed chances in the game, including an opportunity to close the game out in the tie-breaker.

The game began with Minerva lining up a 4-3-3 formation, going in with a seemingly potent strike force of Ghanian William Asiedu, the young and talented Girik Khosla and Chencho Geyltshen upfront.

Jamshedpur went in with their strong four-man defence led by India star Anas, and Brazilians Trindade Goncalves and Wellington Priori making up the attack engine in the central midfield, with Haitian Belfort and Farukh Choudhary tasked to do all the running in and around the Minerva penalty box.

After a listless first 20 minutes, the game opened up when Anas brought down Chencho in a dangerous area outside the Jamshedpur box. Asiedu’s free kick rebounded off goalkeeper Sanjiban Ghosh, and fell tantalizingly at the feet of an on-rushing Deepak Devrani. The defender, with only a fallen goalkeeper to beat, lobbed over.

Then in the 26th minute, off a Robin Gurung cross from the left flank, the ball found a faint deflection from a diving Farukh, fell invitingly at the feet of Belfort, who muffed his shot to allow Bikash to unleash a curling left footer, which beat Kiran Limbu all ends up but could not beat the Minerva upright.

Chencho and the young midfielder Akash Sangwan then got involved prominently in the game. Chencho first had a long ranger comfortably saved by Sanjiban and then from an Akash Sangwan ball into the box, he could not manage to wrap his legs around the ball eventually, with only the goalkeeper ahead of him.

Akash’s second beauty of the half, found Girik Khosla one on one with the keeper again, but the forward’s shot was saved ably by Sanjiban, who had a brilliant game.

The half ended with a booking for the experienced Anas, when he went into referee Santhosh’s book for a second cynical tackle in the game, this time on Girik Khosla, just outside the Jamshedpur box.

Although possession was even, Minerva clearly ended the half, the stronger side.

The second half mirrored the first in terms of Minerva having the better chances and looking the stronger side, although possession remained divided equally.

The best chance of the half, came in the 56th minute, with Chencho and Akash Sangwan again at the heart of it.

Just after Jamshedpur affected the first substitutions of the match, a double change, bringing in Sumeet Passi for Farukh Choudhary and Karan Amin for Yumnam Raju, Chencho had another shot on target in the 74th minute, Minerva’s fifth of the match, but it was the Jamshedpur custodian to the rescue again.

Minerva finished with two more chances going a begging, Chencho hitting the side netting and this time Bali Gagandeep (brought in in the 77th minute for Girik Khosla) having his shot saved by Sanjiban.

Sumeet Passi converted Jamshedpur’s fifth to put them ahead 4-3 and Kamalpreet then cooly converted for the Punjab side to get into sudden death.

Kiran Limbu then stopped Bikash Jairu’s power drive and the Minerva’s goalkeeper then opted to seal the issue himself, but Sanjiban extended his brilliant day with a crucial save.

The experienced Mehtab Hussain then converted cheekily and Sanjiban blocked Bali Gangandeep’s shot for Minerva and it rebounded off the post to send Jamshedpur FC into ecstasy and the Super Cup quarterfinals.

The tennis world is turning its attention to the clay court season, with the field wide open due to the absence of Swiss great Roger Federer and Argentina’s Juan Martín del Potro, as well as questions about the health of Spain’s Rafa Nadal, the undisputed “king of clay.”

Nadal, the World No. 1, may make his return to the court from a leg injury next weekend, when Spain take on Germany in a Davis Cup tie in Valencia, reports Efe.

The Spanish star, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, has been bothered by the leg injury since the Australian Open and again injured the leg in Acapulco.

Nadal faces a tough challenge since he will be defending 4,680 points after winning titles on red clay at the French Open, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Barcelona last year.

The Spaniard regained the top spot in the ATP rankings with 8,770 points, while Federer, who is once again skipping the clay season to focus on the grass court events leading up to Wimbledon, has 8,670 points.

Federer was the World No. 1 until the Miami Open, where the defending champion went out in the second round, losing 990 points.

The Swiss legend, however, has no points riding on clay, while Nadal will have to equal his 2017 performance to stay in the top spot, a difficult task at best.

On the women’s side, Romania’s Simona Halep, the world No. 1, won Madrid, was the finalist in Rome and went down in the semis last year in Stuttgart.

Danish World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki and Spanish World No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza, the 2016 French Open champion, will also be in the mix.

Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the defending French Open champ and finalist at the Miami Open, will also be bringing her hard-hitting game to the chase for glory on clay.

South Africa’s hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen has replaced Steve Smith in the Rajasthan Royals’ squad for the coming Indian Premier League (IPL) season, after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) barred the Australia captain from participation in the league, following his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal and subsequent ban by Cricket Australia (CA).

“The Rajasthan Royals have picked Heinrich Klaasen as the replacement for Steve Smith. The wicketkeeper-batsman was picked for INR 50 lakh from the Registered and Available Player Pool (RAPP) list,” an IPL media advisory read.

Klaasen made his international debut during the ODI series on India’s recent tour of South Africa. He was also named the ‘Man of the Match’ in the second match of the series that India won 5-1
The South African was then rewarded for his impressive show with a T20I debut in the three-match series against India, which the visitors clinched 2-1.

“I am thankful to the Rajasthan Royals for giving me this opportunity and making me part of the squad,” said Klaasen. “It would be my first IPL and, in fact, my first ever visit to India, so I am really excited to be teaming up and sharing the dressing room with some great names.

“I have made it my mission to ensure my performance makes a large impact for my team in the tournament.”

Royals’ Head of Cricket, Zubin Bharucha, said: “We are delighted to have Klaasen onboard. His hard-hitting ability with plenty of options against spin makes him dangerous through the middle of an innings.

“What struck us about Klaasen, other than his ability to strike a ball, was his inherent hunger to make every opportunity count. This is a good space to be in as a cricketer and batsman. We look forward to working with Klaasen to ensure he has a great career in the IPL.”

Smith, meanwhile, was banned by CA for 12 months after admitting to his role in a plan, along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, to cheat by tampering with the ball in the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

The CA also banned Warner for 12 months and Bancroft for nine months.

Warner, who was scheduled to lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, has also been barred by the BCCI from playing in the league. He has been replaced by England batsman Alex Hales in the Hyderabad squad.

In the absence of Smith and Warner, Rajasthan will be led by Ajinkya Rahane and Hyderabad by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

Ruing the unavailability of three players who could have changed the fate in tie-breakers for holders Bengal, their coach Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday said the “battle was lost before it began” in the Santosh Trophy final penalty shootout against Kerala on Sunday.

Kerala beat defending champions Bengal 4-2 in the tie-breaker to lift the 72nd edition of the Santosh Trophy football tournament title.

Both teams were locked 2-2 after extra time at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan leading to a tie-breaker to decide the champion.

Ankit and Nabi Hussain Khan missed the first two attempts for Bengal as Kerala goalie Midhun pulled off saves on both occasions.

Tirthankar Sarkar and Sanchayan Samadder’s conversion did not help as Kerala had a 100 percent record with Rahul V Raj, Jithin Gopalan and Jestin George all scoring.

For the final kick, Jiten Murmu took on the gloves but Seesan S shot past the striker to deliver Kerala their first Santosh Trophy after a thirteen-season gap.

“I had to make three substitutions all because of injury. And all three of them were supposed to take penalties so we lost the battle of penalties before it began,” Chowdhury told reporters after the match.

Bidyashagar Singh (90+2), Sourav Dasgupta (start of extra time) and Sumit Das (halftime) were all taken off before the tie-breakers with the former two being injured and Das brought off due to poor showing.

During the match, M.S. Jithin scored in the 19th minute for Kerala while Jiten Murmu drew level for Bengal in the 68th minute.

In extra time, Vibin Thomas found the net in the 117th minute for Kerala after Bengal’s Rajon Burman was given his marching orders.

Bengal’s Tirthankar Sarkar scored late into injury time to take the game to penalties.

For the record, Bengal and Kerala have met twice before in the summit clash with the former winning on both occasions on penalties.

Coming to the winning team, Kerala coach Satheevan Balan credited his youngsters in the team for the success, saying it is the freshness in their ranks that helped him plan in his way and mastermind the triumph.

This is the youngest-ever Kerala team to take part in the nationals.

“It’s a fresh team and my technical staff also is new so I could work freely,” coach Balan told reporters.

“I could choose the players I like and they have done an excellent job. We have thirteen players without job and they are young players,” the former India U-19 coach added.

Kerala won all their matches leading up to the final. They finished top of Group A and also got the better of Bengal in the group stages.

“Recently, there are many youth leagues (in Kerala) which is encouraging for upcoming boys,” the national team scout said.

Balan had previously been vocal about the lack of promoters and exposure hurting the growth of Kerala football.

Kerala last won the Santosh Trophy in 2004-05.

In a big blow to two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL), pace spearhead Mitchell Starc was on Friday ruled out of the fourth Test against South Africa and the IPL due to a tibial bone stress fracture in his right leg.

In the final Test here, Starc was replaced for by South Australia’s Chadd Sayers. Starc will fly home after the series for further injury investigation and assessment.

Starc was roped in for a whopping sum of Rs 9.4 crore by KKR and was tipped to lead the franchise’s bowling attack,.

Sans the 28-year old fast bowler, KKR will now depend more on compatriot Mitchell Johnson.

It is understood that in accordance with the Player Regulations, KKR will now be allowed to choose a replacement from the Registered and Available Player Pool (RAPP).

Breaking down often during a press conference, a distraught former Australia skipper Steve Smith on Thursday apologised for his involvement in the ball tampering scandal and took full responsibility for it.

Smith, who along with his deputy David Warner was banned for a year, arrived here on Thursday and appeared before the media when he admitted that the Cape Town ball tampering scandal was a failure of his leadership.

“I am sorry. I want to make it clear that as captain of the Australia Cricket team I take full responsibility. I made a serious error of judgment and I now understand the consequences,” an emotional Smith told reporters.

“I will do everything I can do to make up for my mistake and the damage it has caused. If any good can come of this, it can be a lesson to others, and I hope can be a cause for change,” he added.

Smith, who was stripped of the Australian captaincy for at least two years, owned full responsibility for the whole scandal that broke out during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.

“I’ve been privileged and honoured to represent my country. Cricket has been my life and I hope it can be again.

“I’m sorry and I’m absolutely devastated. I don’t blame anyone. I’m the captain of the Australian team. It’s on my watch and I take responsibility for what happened,” he added.