Chasing 324 for victory, Australia were all out for 160, half-an-hour before the tea break

Sri Lanka on Wednesday defeated Australia by 163 runs in the final Test in Colombo to complete a 3-0 sweep in the three-match series. With the series win, India, which was placed second on the ranking list ahead of the series, moved to the top spot.

Chasing 324 for victory, Australia were all out for 160, half-an-hour before the tea break, succumbing to their third successive defeat against the hosts.

David Warner top-scored for Australia with a fluent 68. Rangana Herath (7/64) was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, finishing with a 13-wicket match haul.

The teams now face off in a five-match one-day series beginning on Sunday in Colombo.

(Reuters)

Mumbai: India will play an international friendly match against Puerto Rico in Mumbai on September 3, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Thursday.

The match will be played at the Andheri Sports Complex here.

“We are pleased to announce an International Friendly against Puerto Rico on September 3, 2016, in Mumbai,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said in an AIFF release.

“As per the August FIFA Rankings, Puerto Rico are ranked 114. Playing against such an opposition will help us prepare well for the forthcoming Asian Cup UAE 2019 Qualifiers,” Das added.

National coach Stephen Constantine stressed that the best way to test growth is to “playing higher ranked opposition”. India are currently ranked 152.

“During my previous tenure in India, we regularly played higher ranked Teams. It’s the best way to test yourself. Puerto Rico are presently ranked 114 and we look forward to playing them,” Constantine stated.

“The pre-season training camp had its own benefits and they were visible even in the high altitude in our unofficial friendly match against Bhutan in Thimphu. But this will be an entirely different ball game,” he added.

India beat Bhutan 3-0 in a friendly match on August 14.

(IANS)

Rio de Janeiro: Star wrestler Sakshi Malik brought an end to India’s long wait for a medal at the ongoing Rio Olympics, clinching bronze in the Women’s Freestyle 58kg category even as the Indian challenge in other disciplines continue to falter.

The 23-year-old from Rohtak overturned a 0-5 deficit in a hectic second round to script an 8-5 victory over Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan in the bronze medal bout at the Carioca Arena 2 here on Wednesday.

It was a rousing display of fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude from the Indian.

Aisuluu was clearly the superior wrestler in the totally one-sided opening round, displaying impressive strength and technique to take five points and open up a formidable lead.

But Sakshi — who has previously shown a knack of staging strong comebacks — was a totally transformed grappler in the second round, taking eight consecutive points to send the sizable number of Indian fans in the stands into wild delirium.

Sakshi, who had also finished on the podium at the 2015 Asian Championships, created history by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to clinch an Olympic medal.

Kaori Icho of Japan won the gold medal in the category while Russia’s Valeria Koblova — who had defeated Sakshi in the quarter-finals — took the silver.

Eight-time African champion Marwa Amri of Tunisia took home the other bronze medal in the category.

Icho also created history by becoming the first-ever wrestler to win four Olympic titles. She is also the first female in any sport to win gold at four Olympics in an individual event.

Earlier, Sakshi had crashed out of contention for the gold medal after a one-sided 2-9 loss to Valeria in the quarter-finals.

Sakshi, who trailed 0-1 after the first period, made a comeback in the initial minutes of the second period to go 2-1 up.

She, however, failed to maintain the lead as the Russian overpowered her with some incredible moves to take an unassailable 9-2 lead in the dying minutes.

But with Valeria later making it to the final, Sakshi qualified for the repechage round for a shot at the bronze medal.

She started her bid for the bronze in superb fashion by defeating Orkhon Purevdorj of Mongolia 12-3 in the Repechage Round 2 to move within striking distance of a medal.

Sakshi’s medal capped another day of heartbreaks for India including an unfortunate injury to Vinesh in the women’s 48kg Freestyle category that forced her out of the competition.

Vinesh had sustained what seemed to be a serious knee injury during her bout against Sun Yanan of China in the quarter-finals.

The Haryana grappler, one of India’s best bets for a medal, had received a bye in the opening round. She then started her campaign on a rousing note with a dominant 11-0 thrashing of Alina Emilia of Romania in the pre-quarterfinals.

The 21-year-old was leading 1-0 against the Chinese grappler at the time of her injury.

The match was immediately stopped to allow medical attention to Vinesh. After the Indian physio declared that Vinesh will not be able to continue, Sun, who was leading 2-1, was declared the winner by injury.

Vinesh, who got her injured knee wrapped and put in a brace, was taken away on a stretcher. She was then shifted to the Athletes Village where a clinic has all the facilities for medical test. However, she had to wait about an hour for the MRI, since the machines were busy with other athletes.

Later, doctors said Vinesh’s injury was a “ligament tear” and no fracture was seen.

“She will recover from the injury in about two weeks, but for her to start wrestling will take about six weeks at least,” the Chief Medical Officer of the Indian contingent in Rio, Pawandeep Singh Kohli told IANS.

The doctor said she sustained the injury when her opponent in the wrestling match caught her foot and turned it sharply, putting pressure on the knee. “It’s an agonising pain when a ligament tears,” he said. A brace has been put on her leg. She will be examined after two weeks and then advise given on future course of treatment.

The other events on Wednesday witnessed a by now familiar pattern of Indians producing brave efforts only to fizzle out in their respective disciplines.

The day started with Srikanth going down after a valiant fight to two-time defending champion Lin Dan of China in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event of the badminton competition.

Five-time world champion Dan edged out World No.11 Srikanth 21-6, 11-21, 21-18.

With this win, the 32-year-old Chinese legend took a 3-1 head-to-head lead against the 23-year-old Indian shuttler.

In the semi-finals, Dan will face his long-time rival and Malaysian veteran Lee Chong Wei, who crushed Chinese Taipei’s Tou Tien Chen in a dominating 21-9, 21-15 victory.

Wednesday also witnessed Tintu Luka finishing sixth in her women’s 800 metre heats despite clocking her season’s best timing.

In track and field, Tintu was the lone Indian athlete in action on Wednesday.

She started off well but her strategy backfired to finish with a timing of 2:00.58 minutes in Heat 3. Tintu finished overall 29th in the qualification round.

The qualification round was topped by Canada’s Melissa Bishop followed by Marina Arzamasova of Belarus and Habitam Alemu of Ethiopia at the second and third spots respectively.

In the women’s golf event, India’s Aditi Ashok carded an impressive three-under 68 to finish tied seventh after the opening round.

The 18-year-old got off to a flying start after getting a birdie on the par-four second hole before getting two more birdies on the par-five 10th and par-three 14th holes to get a 68 in a flawless round.

The Bengaluru golfer shared the spot with Lexi Thomson of the United States, Britain’s Charley Hull and the Spaniard Azahara Munoz.

Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand set the pace with a six-under 65 as she enjoyed a one-stroke lead at the top over the South Korean duo of Inbee Park and Seiyoung Kim.

It was an eventful round for Ariya, who got an eagle on the par-five fifth, alongside seven birdies against a double bogey on the par-three fourth and a bogey on the par-four 11th.

(IANS)

Rio de Janeiro: India’s shuttler Kidambi Srikanth will face an enormous task of beating two-time Olympic gold medallist and five-time world champion Lin Dan of China in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event at the Rio Olympics here on Wednesday.

World No.11 Srikanth stunned World No.5 Jorgensen 21-19, 21-19 in 42 minutes at the pre-quarters stage. And the stakes will be high as Srikanth will aim to prove that he has really come of age.

At Rio, Srikanth has joined Parupalli Kashyap, who was the first Indian men’s singles player to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics at the London Games in 2012.

World No.3 Dan is considered as the most successful shuttler in history. The 32-year-old Chinese has completed the “Super Grand Slam”, having won all nine major titles in the badminton world: Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cup, Thomas Cup, Sudirman Cup, Super Series Masters Finals, All England Open, Asian Games, and Asian Championships — becoming the first and only player to achieve this feat.

Many feel that Dan is past his prime but the left-hander remains the strong opponent that he used to be. Moreover, having the experience of wriggling out of crunch situations will be in his favour.

On the other hand, the 23-year-old Guntur lad has won 2014 China Open Superseries Premier after beating Dan 21-19, 21-17 in the final, thus becoming the first Indian male shuttler to win a Superseries Premier title.

It will be the fourth meeting between them with the Chinese dominating twice, but Srikanth had an upper hand at the last meeting at the 2014 China Masters.

On his way to the quarter-finals, the Indian topped Group H by registering easy wins against Munoz Lino of Mexico and Henri Hurskainen of Sweden, setting up a clash with Dane Jan O Jorgensen in the pre-quarters.

By virtue of his exceptional defensive skills, the Dane gave a tough time to Srikanth but it was the Indian who managed to clinch the well-fought battle with some body-line smashes.

After the pre-quarterfinals in the last two World Championships and the Asian Games, Srikanth has taken a good step forward, and it remains to be seen how well he tackles the extra attacking and rock solid defence of the God of badminton, Lin Dan.

(IANS)

Jamaican icon 3-peats; Canadian sets personal-best time of 9.91 seconds

by Benjamin Blum, CBC Sports

Usain Bolt completed a historic three-peat, winning gold in the 100-metre final Sunday in Rio. Canada’s Andre De Grasse captured bronze.

Bolt won the race in 9.81 seconds, followed by American Justin Gatlin at 9.89 and De Grasse at a personal-best 9.91.

De Grasse out-leaned Yohan Blake at the finish to reach the podium, edging the Jamaican by 2-100ths of a second.

“I’m feeling pretty good right now, I can’t complain,” De Grasse said after the race. “To be able to race against Usain and Gatlin, being a part of the same race as them and being a part of history today in Rio, it was a great feeling for me and I just have so much to learn from that race.”

De Grasse, from Markham, Ont., finished 1-100th of a second faster than the time he posted to win bronze at the 2015 world championships and equalled earlier Sunday in the 100 semifinals.

He is also the first Canadian male athlete to win a medal in Rio. Canada’s first 12 medals were won by women.

“I’m shaking,” Canadian 1996 Olympic champion Donovan Bailey told CBC Sports’ Scott Russell after the race. “This is great for track and field in Canada.”

Bolt enters Olympic pantheon

If there were any doubts, it took less than 10 seconds — 9.81, to be exact — for Bolt to erase them.

On a muggy Sunday night in Rio, the Jamaican superstar became the first person to capture three straight 100-metre titles at the Olympics.

The 6-foot-5 sprinter overcame his typically slow unfurling from the blocks, gradually worked up speed, caught American Justin Gatlin with 40 metres left and was celebrating — pointing at his chest with his thumb — before he crossed the finish line.

“Bolt just had that extra gear and I tried to go with him, it was tough but I know now I just need to work harder for next year and be more prepared,” De Grasse said.

“After having an up and down season with injuries this year,I can’t complain about the bronze medal. This is the best shape I’ve ever been in [and] I came away with a personal-best.”

As for the Olympic icon Bolt, he had nothing but praise for the Canadian medallist.

“He came through again,” Bolt said. “He’s going to be good, he runs just like me, I mean he’s really slow at the blocks but when he gets going, he gets going.”

“I think he can improve his start much better than me because he’s shorter so he will get better at the start if he works on a few things.”

The next one?

De Grasse’s Olympic debut comes on the heels of a changing of the guard in sprinting.

With Bolt and Gatlin’s futures uncertain, the Canadian’s bronze medal could be a golden opportunity going forward.

“We were just having some fun,” De Grasse said about his post-race encounter with Bolt. “Me and Usain met back in January, we did a lot of things together.”

“He feels like I’m the next one, and now I’m just trying to live up to it.”

De Grasse has plenty of confidence on the track, but credits his mother Beverley for pushing him to succeed.

“She’s everything,” De Grasse said. “Without her I don’t know even know if I would even be so motivated to do this sport.”

“I feel like I’m capable of doing it, my next Olympics I’m looking forward to it but as of now I’m just trying to get ready for my 200 and just sink it all in.

Duisburg: The Indian U-17 football team defeated German U-17 Bundesliga Youth League’s second division club Rot Weiss Oberhausen 4-1.

The Indian team got off to a flying start at the Sports School here on Sunday as they scored in the fourth minute of the match, according to an All India Football Federation (AIFF) release.

Abijit Sarkar tapped home a cross from the left flank to hand India the lead.

After conceding the goal, the German players counter attacked and dominated ball possession.

In the 13th minute they equalised.

But in the 37th minute, the Indians took the lead when Aniket Jadhav poked a routine corner kick scenario home.

India went into half time leading 2-1.

The second half was totally dominated by India as they scored in the 73rd minute through Sanjeev Stalin and 85th minute through Jitendra Singh to seal the match.

(IANS)

Toronto: Minutes after completing a 6-3, 7-5 ATP Toronto Masters final win over Kei Nishikori for his 66th career title, Novak Djokovic had already shifted his focus to the Rio Olympics.

The world number one, who claimed his fourth Canadian title with a command performance over Asia’s top player lasting less than 90 minutes, will waste no time in heading south to Brazil for the weekend start of the Summer Games.

“It’s the biggest event in the history of the sport, so to be part of it is already a huge privilege and honour that I will cherish, as I did in Beijing and London Olympic Games,” said the holder of a leading 30 Masters 1000 trophies.

“I had an honour of carrying the flag for my country in London 2012, one of the most unique and unforgettable moments of my life. So I look forward to that, honestly, just being part of it.

“I’m approaching the Olympic Games as any other tournament. I’m trying to respect the same kind of preparation and routine that I have with my team and that I have respected for so many years.

“It has worked well for us this week and as most of the other weeks the last couple of years.”

Djokovic lifted his game in Canada as the week progressed, sweeping to the title without the loss of a set and dispatching challenges from Gael Monfils in the semis followed by Japan’s Nishikori.

“The overall sensation (of Rio) is not going to be the same as the other tournaments, because it’s Olympic Games,” he said. “Of course you represent your country.

“You get to feel that you’re part of something much larger than just the tennis event. I look forward to that.

“I’m going to try to extract that positivity out of that huge attention and energy that will be directed into the Olympic Games and hopefully put myself in a position to battle for a medal.”

Djokovic won a bronze medal in Beijing and just missed the podium in London, losing to Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro in the bronze medal match.

Sunday’s title erased memories of a third-round Wimbledon upset loss a month ago to Sam Querrey.

“Everything in life happens for a reason. The fact that I have lost in the first week of Wimbledon allowed me to have a week more of the time with my family and just the quality time off the tennis, thinking about other things, recharging my batteries, and then coming in here with plenty of motivation to do well.

“I couldn’t ask for a better start to the hard court season, and hopefully I can keep going in the right direction.”

Djokovic won his seventh trophy this season. “It has happened many times in my career where I would start a tournament still feeling a little bit uncomfortable on the court and finding my rhythm, and then in the end of the tournament I find that proper comfort level with shots, with the way I feel, with mental attitude.

“My two best performances arrived in semi-finals and finals — the right moment for me.

“That gives me a lot of confidence that I will try to carry into Rio.”

North Sound: Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin starred with a seven-wicket haul as India defeated West Indies by an innings and 92 runs on the fourth day of the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.
Ashwin decimated the West Indies’ middle and lower order after lunch to boast figures of 7/83. This was India’s biggest margin of victory outside the sub-continent.

The Chennai off-spinner made good use of the conditions to extract appreciable turn from the pitch and was helped along by some poor application by the West Indies batsmen.

Carlos Braithwaite, who remained unbeaten on 51, was the highest scorer among the hosts.

Coming together with the hosts toterring at 132/8, Braithwaite and Devendra Bishoo (45) engaged in a desperate battle with the Indian bowlers as they sought to postpone defeat.

The duo displayed copious amounts of patience and application — qualities sadly missing in their top order colleagues — to frustrate the Indian bowlers for a long time and forge a 95-run partnership.

Bishoo even hit Ashwin over the mid-wicket boundary for a six a couple of overs before tea to offer some much needed cheer to the home crowd.

However, the hosts’ heroic resistance suffered a rather tame end shortly after tea. Bishoo fell agonisingly short of a half-century when he offered a relatively tame catch to Cheteshwar Pujara at midwicket while trying to hoick a delivery by Ashwin.

Shannon Gabriel lasted all of three deliveries before being outfoxed by an Ashwin delivery that spun in sharply to hit the stumps as the visitors celebrated a well-deserved victory.

Earlier, the West Indies continued their battle during the rain-shortened morning session.

Opening batsman Rajendra Chandrika and Samuels forged a 67-run stand following the dismissal of Darren Bravo early in the morning.

The match was halted due to rain half an hour before the end of the first session, forcing an early lunch, as the West Indies, who were on Saturday bowled out for 243 in their first essay, were battling to avert an innings defeat.

Resuming the day at 21/1, the West Indies received a big blow in the first over of the day when left-handed overnight batsman Bravo edged an away-moving delivery from pacer Umesh Yadav to wide third slip fielder Ajinky Rahane, who dived low to his left to pluck a brilliant catch.

It was just the start the Virat Kohli-led visitors wanted and the wicket further boosted their confidence.

However, the home batting duo of Chandrika and Samuels came out with strong resistance to deny India any more wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium.

While Chandrika was all about doggedness and determination as he played 84 deliveries for 22 not out, Samuels, 35, showed the way for the West Indies with attacking intent.

Samuels took the attack to the opposition and hit 11 boundaries among the 85 deliveries he faced.

Indian pacer Ishant Sharma tested him early with rising deliveries but he fended them with determination — twice spanking them through the covers for fours.

Indian bowlers also made the fault of bowling much outside the off stump as Samuels and Chandrika found them comfortable.

Samuels produced an off-drive and a punch towards the covers of Mohammed Shami and later punished Ashwin with three fours in a single over, making the best use of experience and feet movement.

(IANS)

Antigua: Leading from the front, skipper Virat Kohli smashed his 12th Test century to guide India to an impressive 302/4 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sir Viv Richards stadium here on Thursday.

Kohli remained unbeaten on 143 off 197 balls alongside Ravichandran Ashwin’s 22 not out off 69 balls.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, India were off to a disappointing start, losing the wicket of opener Murali Vijay (7) few minutes after start of play and Cheteshwar Pujara (16) cheaply just after lunch.

But Dhawan and Kohli put on a 105-run partnership for the third wicket to rescue the visitors.

The hosts struck just at the stroke of tea dismissing set batsman Dhawan to have India at 179/3 in 54.5 overs.

The fall of Vijay brought in No.3 Pujara, who along with southpaw Shikhar Dhawan (84) forged an unbeaten 58-run stand for the second wicket when the umpires called for lunch.

But soon after lunch, leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo dismissed Pujara to end the 60-run partnership for the second wicket.

Pacer Shannon Gabriel drew first blood for the hosts with an accurate delivery on middle and off which climbed on Vijay, forcing him to nick and was well caught by Kraigg Brathwaite at second slip in his third attempt.

Vijay consumed 26 deliveries for his seven runs which included a boundary.

Dhawan, who has been long due for runs started vulnerably getting a thick edge off a short ball from Gabriel but survived only to flourish with a flurry of shots on the off-side.

The Delhi left-hander seems to have found his groove, with his knock coming off 74 deliveries and comprising four boundaries.

Pujara, meanwhile, stood rock solid taking 63 balls for his patient 14 on a pitch which had a bit of bounce for both spinners and pacers.

Earlier, keeping his five-bowler strategy intact, Kohli opted for three seamers in Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami while picking leg-spinner Amit Mishra alongside offie Ravichandran Ashwin.

The batting line-up relatively remains the same with Dhawan and Vijay at the top followed by Pujara, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. Stumper Wriddhiman Saha will bat at No.6.

For the hosts, skipper Jason Holder has decided to go in with six batsmen and four bowlers, with middle-order batsman Roston Chase making his debut.

After the dismissal of Vijay and Pujara, Dhawan and Kohli played on well to complete the 100-run partnership for the third wicket.

Both the batsman completed their half-centuries and stayed on course for a big one.

But the 105-run partnership came to an end in the 55th over when Bishoo struck for the second time in the day to dismiss the left-handed batsman and take the advantage away from India, who had so far had a good session.

After tea, Kohli kept his sublime form going as he along with Ajinkya Rahane (22) helped the visitors cross the 200-run mark with ease.

But Bishoo showed his class yet again dismissing Rahane in the 68th over of the play to put breaks on India’s scoring.

Despite wickets falling at other end, the skipper played his natural game and with night-watchman Ashwin, kept the run flow going and helped India cross the 300-run mark at end of day’s play and stay on course for a big first-innings total on the second day.

India have won both their previous two Test series against the West Indies in 2006 and 2011.

(IANS)

Bengaluru: Promising golfer Amandeep Drall carded one under 71 on the final day to grab a comfortable victory in the KGA women’s Pro championship at the Karnataka Golf Association here on Friday.

Kolkata talent Neha Tripathi came second with a total score of 224 whereas Kapurthala’s Gursimar Badwal finished third with 225.

Amandeep had a shaky start and carded a bogey on the very first hole. The professional from Panchkula, however, regained her composure immediately and carded consecutive birdies on the second and third holes. She dropped another shot on the seventh hole in her front nine.

On her return journey, she carded two more birdies on the 11th and 15th holes, while dropping a shot on the 18th hole to finish the round with a total score of 213.

In the process, she claimed her second title of the season with a comfortable margin of eleven shots.

Neha too carded one under 71 on the day to take the second position. She started with aplomb, firing three consecutive birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh holes, while dropping a single shot on the 8th in her front nine.

She carded two more bogeys on the 16th and 18th holes along with a double on the 10th in the latter half. However, an eagle on the 11th with a birdie on the 14th helped her to retrieve the situation, and finish the round with a total score of 224, one shot clear of Gursimar Badwal.

Gursimar had an indifferent day in the park and carded five bogeys on the seventh, ninth, 15th, 16th and 17th holes. However, two birdies on the 14th and 18th helped her to control the damage and she finished the round with a score of 3 over 75.

Local golfers Sharmila Nicollet and Trisha Sunil finished fourth and fifth with scores of 227 and 228 respectively after the final round.

The Tour now moves to Prestige Golfshire for the 11th Leg to be played from Tuesday.

(IANS)