New Delhi Veteran Indian stars M.C. Mary Kom and Laishram Sarita Devi will spearhead the Indian campaign when the women’s World Boxing Championships start here on Thursday.

Both boxers are strong contenders for the gold in their respective weight categories in what is possibly the last world championships of both their careers.

With both boxers eyeing medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the upcoming tournament will be crucial.

Five-time world champion Mary will compete in the 48 kilogram category at the November 15-24 event.

Although she is the favourite for a sixth world title, the 35-year-old Manipuri warned that competition will be tough.

“Home advantage will be a factor that will help us. But it is going to be very tough. All our boxers will be up against tough opponents from the first round itself. We will have to be at our best,” she said.

Sarita will compete in her usual 60 kg division. The four-time Asian champion had won the world title in the 52 kg category way back in 2006 and will be hoping for an encore in the twilight of an illustrious career.

“I have trained really hard and I am definitely expecting a medal. This tournament is extremely important for me and I want to win at any cost,” Sarita told IANS.

When the event was last held in the capital in 2006, India had finished as the top nation with four gold, three silver and one bronze.

For a similar result this time around, the other Indian boxers will have to step up and be counted.

Former World Cup silver medallist Simranjit Kaur, who competes in the 64 kg division, is expected to be more prominent among them.

Lovlina Borgohain (69 Kg) and Saweety Boora (75 Kg) are also expected to put up a strong fight for medals.

The experienced Pinky Jangra is also a strong contender in the 51 Kg class and is expected to get a medal.

Indian squad: Mary Kom (48 Kg), Pinky Jangra (51 Kg), Manisha Maun (54 Kg), Sonia (57 Kg), L Sarita Devi (60 Kg), Simranjit Kaur (64 Kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69 Kg), Saweety Boora (75 Kg), Bhagyabati Kachari (81 Kg) and Seema Poonia (+81 Kg).

(IANS)

New Delhi The United Nations Children’s Fund-India (Unicef-India) has appointed Asian Games gold-medalist sprinter Hima Das as the country’s first ever youth ambassador.

The name of the woman athlete from Assam was announced by the world organisation in a tweet on Wednesday eveing coinciding with the Children’s Day celebrated on November 14 commemorating the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday.

“I’m honoured to be chosen as Unicef India’s Youth Ambassador, and I hope I will be able to inspire more children to follow their dreams,” Das responded.

Hailing from Nagaon district, Das clinched a gold medal in Women’s 4×400 metre relay event at the 2018 Asian Games. She also won a silver in the Women’s 400m Race event.

(IANS)

Mumbai Vikas Kandola’s brilliant effort wasn’t enough to bring a win for Haryana Steelers as they had to settle for a 32-32 draw against Tamil Thalaivas in an inter-zonal clash of the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the NSCI stadium here on Wednesday.

Vikas collected 14 raid points, while his teammate Naveen managed to pick four. For Tamil Thalaivas, Sukesh Hegde, skipper Ajay Thakur and all-rounder Manjeet Chillar bagged seven, six and four points respectively.

Tamil Thalaivas started on a brilliant note as their consecutive successful raids and tackles helped them take a 6-2 lead in the first five minutes.

They continued to collect points on most of the occasions as the Ajay Thakur-led side moved to 10 points, while their opponents were still at four.

Sukesh kept on breaking Haryana’s defence as his side reached 13 points, eight above Haryana.

However, the game witnessed a change in the final 10 minutes as Haryana shifted gears and Vikas along with Naveen kept on earning raid points, while their opponents suddenly started to falter.

Haryana slowly cut the deficit to just two points as the scoreline read 11-13 and later inflicted an All-Out to take a one-point lead with the score being 14-13 with four minutes left.

Vikas continued to raid successfully and his side’s defenders also rose to the occasion to collect tackle points as Haryana took a 19-15 lead at half-time.

The second-half saw both the teams creeping ahead with Haryana still managing a 25-23 lead by the 32nd minute.

With the score reading 26-24 in favour of Haryana in the final five minutes, Ajay and Jasveer’s successful raid tied the issue at 27-27 to make the matter interesting.

Tamil Thalaivas then inflicted an All-Out to make a comeback in the contest as they took a 31-29 lead.

Vikas’ failed attempt saw the Tamil Thalaivas moving to 32 points however, his back-to-back successful attempts tied the issue again at 32-32 before the final whistle and the contest ended in a draw.

(IANS)

New Delhi Dhruv Shorey yet again top-scored with an unbeaten 106 to help hosts Delhi post a massive 376-run target for Himachal Pradesh, who ended the penultimate day at 44/1 in a Ranji Trophy Group B match at the Feroz Shah Kotla here on Wednesday.

After taking a comfortable 94-run first innings lead, Delhi rode on Shorey’s unbeaten century, coupled with a few useful knocks from veteran Gautam Gambhir, captain Nitish Rana and the middle order to declare on 281/4 before India veteran Ishant Sharma struck early to remove Himachal captain Prashant Chopra as the tourists found themselves at 44/1 at stumps.

In another Group B tie, Kerala folded for 348 after being 241/1 against Andhra in Thiruvananthapuram. However, off-spinner Jalaj Saxena’s magical 7/44 helped the hosts inch closer to victory as Andhra found themselves tottering at 102/8 in their second innings, with a slender lead of 28 and just two wickets in hand.

In the other Group B matches, Abhinav Mukund stroked an unbeaten 101 to help Tamil Nadu reach 163/2 against Hyderabad, who posted 565/8 in their first innings, while Madhya Pradesh rode skipper Naman Ojha’s 74 to reach 254/5 but still trail by another 256 runs against Bengal’s mammoth 510/9.

In Group A, Vishnu Solanki’s ton helped Baroda dominate Maharashtra as his unbeaten 156 helped the side end the day on 367/3 with a massive lead of 421. Kedar Devdhar (91) and Deepak Hooda (96) missed their respective hundreds but their scores were enough to take the game away from Maharashtra.

In Nagpur, Vidarbha took a slim 1-run lead after reaching 72/2 against Karnataka while Chhattisgarh trailed Gujarat’s 538/7 by 172 runs at Valsad.

In the other Group A tie, India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja coupled his unbeaten 178 with three wickets in the second innings as hosts Saurashtra reduced the Railways to 278/8. The visitors now have a 130-run lead in their second essay.

In Group C, Assam found themselves in the driver’s seat after reducing hosts Tripura for 68/4 in their chase of 428 while Rajasthan ended the third day at 95 for no loss, needing 277 more on the final day against the Services in Jaipur.

In the other two Group C matches, Jammu and Kashmir ended the day at 246/7 to trail hosts Goa’s first innings score of 468/9 by 222 runs at Porvorim while Odisha lost seven wickets for 180 runs in their second innings to trail by Uttar Pradesh’s first innings total of 437 by 1 run.

Coming to the Plate Group, Uttarakhand cantered to an 8-wicket win over Manipur as they chased down 99 with ease in Dehradun. They are now second in the plate group with 13 points from two games after their bonus point win over Bihar in the first round.

Sikkim rode on a splendid double ton by Milind Kumar as they defeated Nagaland by 9 wickets to pick up their second win and climb to the top of the table.

In Assam’s Jorhat, Akhil Rajput starred for Mizoram with a handsome 124 to help his team reach 244/2 and now require only 166 on the final day to beat Arunachal Pradesh.

In Puducherry, Yogesh Nagar’s 141 helped Meghalaya post 326 but the Northeastern side however, failed to take the first innings lead after Puducherry scored 389. The hosts, in their second innings scored 95/4 to take a 158-run lead going to the final day.

(IANS)

 In no time he has become one of the latest posterboys in Indias cash-rich Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) but U Mumba skipper Fazel Atrachali, the Iranian defender, feels it is a tough task to become a standout player in a country like India, the powerhouse of this game for several years.

Fazel, who has led his Mumbai-based team to become one of the strongest contenders of this year’s title, shared his experiences with an exclusive chat with IANS.

“It is always difficult to become a star in a country like India as it produces a number of great and skilfull players. Here, one must perform very well to make your team believe in you,” opined the Iranian.

“India has a bunch of talented players and so, it is always a challenge to perform here,” added Fazel, whose side is currently leading the charts in zone A of the league.

Fazel had become the costliest purchase in this year’s PKL auction as U Mumba pocketed him for a whopping Rs 1 crore but the Iranian believes his game is more important than money.

“I don’t think about money at all. It is for just three months. I want to play like this for next five-six years more so I focus on future and try to get better every day,” Fazel explained.

The Iranian may be leading a completely new team in the ongoing season but feels it is the challenge that he enjoys the most.

“I like to play with a new team, with young players,” he said besides explaining the reason behind it.

“They (young players) never play for themselves, these players play for the team which I like the most and I like such a challenge to lead them.”

Sharing his PKL experience so far, Fazal expressed: “What I have learnt is that one must play with both his mind and body. Both must work together for you.”

“Also, if I think just about myself that I am a great player, it will not work at all. All players should come as a unit and stick to the team’s strategy and plan. Only then your team could win,” he pointed out.

Fazel, however does not subscribe to the general view that being a defender and skipper together is an added advantage in kabaddi, since a defender is on the mat till the last moment.

“No, it is not like that. Kabaddi is all about both your raiders and defenders,” the 26-year-old said.

“It is not just your raiders are performing or just your defenders, both have to work together only then it is an advantage. It is never about the one side, the whole team needs to click together on every occasion,” Fazel concluded.

IANS

Telugu Titans defeated Puneri Paltans 28-25 in an inter-zonal clash of the ongoing sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the NSCI stadium here on Tuesday.

Telugu Titans witnessed a collective effort from raiders Rahul Chaudhary (8 points), Nilesh Salunke (6 points) and Krushna Madane (4 points) to register their fifth win of the season, while it was the seventh loss for Puneri Paltans from 14 games.

Sandeep Narwal and Akshay Jadhav collected seven and five points, respectively for Pune.

Telugu Titans tackled Rajesh Mondal to open their account before their successful attempts saw them take a 5-1 lead in the first five minutes. Pune then changed gears, managing five points in quick succession to tie the issue at 6-6 in the eighth minute.

The next two minutes saw both teams failing in stretching their lead. Telugu Titans then tackled Akshay to take a one-point lead before extending it to 13 points while their opponents were reeling at just eight points by the 14th minute.

Both the sides then managed to pick three points each in the last six minutes even as Telugu Titans managed to lead 17-11 at half-time.

Rahul continued to break their opponent’s defence successfully, that took his side to 22 points by the 27th minute, while failed attempts by Pune left them at 13.

The next four minutes saw Pune failing to move ahead as they were still at 13 points while the Titans marched to 25 points. Monu’s successful two back to back raids gave some respite to Pune but their opponents were still 10 points ahead by the 35th minute.

Telugu Titans were leading 27-17 in the last four minutes but Pune somehow managed a comeback grabbing two points to move to 19 points which also saw their opponents with just three men on the mat.

Pune continued to show some fight in the final moments by inflicting an All Out as they moved to 24 points, cutting the deficit to just three points.

Mahendra Reddy’s successful one-point raid in the last few seconds was not enough to stop Telugu Titans as Rahul also raided successfully to help his side clinch the contest 28-25.

IANS

 It was a day when host U Mumba’s attack and defense cameA all gun blazing to thrash UP Yoddhas 41-24 in an inter-zonal calash of the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the NSCI stadium here on Tuesday.

U Mumba saw stunning performences from Siddharth Desai, skipper Fazel Atrachalli, Darshan Kadiyan and Surrender Singh.

While Siddharth and Darshan collected seven raid points, Fazel took six tackle points to help their side maintain their first spot in the zone A table.

The visitors started with a bonus point by Prashant Rai before Mumbai’s star raider Siddharth also replied back with aA bonus point to make the score 1-1.

Sachin Kumar’s successful raid and Darshan failed attempt helped UP take a 3-1 lead by the third minute. Siddharth made continous attack and collected couple of points on as many occassions to make 3-4 before his team tackled Prashant to tie the contest again at 4-4.

The hosts finally took a one pojnt lead in the game as their defenders tackled Shrikant Jadhav but the visitors also fought back to tie the score 6-6.

Sachin collected two points in a single raid for UP, while Darshan unsuccessful raid took UP to nine points, a two point lead over their opponents.

Two back to back super tackle by the visitors saw UP taking the issue 13-9 in their favour. However, the hosts rode on some successful raid and tackle points to make it 12-14 and inflicted an All-Out in the final moments of first-half to take a 15-14 lead.

U Mumba continued to dominate the second-half as the visiting side’s raiders continous failure made the contest 19-15 in the host’s favour.

U Mumba then saw some fine efforts by their raiders and defenders as the scoreline read 21-15. The home side inflicted anaother All-Out to reach 25 points, while the visitors were still at 15 points by the 30th minute.

Shrikanth came to rescue UP by collecting three raid points in back to back attempts but the score still read 25-18 in Mumbai favour.

Darshan bagged two points for his side as Mumbai moved to 29 points in the 35th minute.

U Mumba came all gun blazing in the final five minutes as they collected 12 points through some terrific tackles and raids while the visitors could only manage to pick three points as the hosts ran away 41-24.

IANS

 Considering the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)’s plea to appoint higher-ranked umpires for Ranji Trophy games, the BCCI has decided to “relook” at the matter, sources close to the board said.

The CAB had said, in a letter, that the BCCI has deputed lower-ranked umpires for the Ranji Trophy and other domestic tournaments in December with higher-ranked umpires not being given a chance.

In its reply, the BCCI has assured CAB joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya, who wrote the letter initially, that “the points raised in your mail are well received”, and the issue will be looked into.

“I am sure you would appreciate the fact that we have 115 umpires from which we have to manage the domestic matches appointments keeping in mind the travelling of umpires from one venue to the other.

“However, we will definitely relook at the match allocations to ensure that top eight ranked umpires from Group C, no matter which association they belong to, are posted for Ranji matches,” the mail, a copy of which is with IANS, read.

Asked about BCCI’s reply, Dalmiya said, “It’s a routine matter and we don’t want to make an issue out of it. We wrote the letter in good faith and the BCCI has assured us that the matter would be looked into.”

In the letter, Dalmiya wrote: “I am constrained to write this mail to you regarding the posting of the BCCI umpires allocated by the Board for the upcoming matches to be played in December 2018.

“In this regard, you are aware that ranking of umpires for the season has been done by the BCCI and as part that, the highest ranking umpires are given the priority when allotments are done.

“However, we’ve been given to understand that despite the above policy in place, yesterday when the allotment were made, it was observed that while one to four ranked umpires were given postings in Ranji Trophy games, 5 to 32 ranked umpires were not considered for posting in Ranji Trophy matches to be played in December.

“The most surprising factor here is that again, the umpires who are ranked 33-35 in Group C were considered for Ranji Trophy matches,” the letter said.

IANS

A brilliant batting display from Shikhar Dhawan (92) and Rishabh Pant (58) helped India edge past West Indies by six wickets in a last ball thriller in the final match of the Twenty20 International series here on Sunday.

With this win, India completed a whitewash in the three-match series.

After two quick wickets, Dhawan and Pant batted well and put India on the brink of victory but Pant’s wicket in the penultimate over changed the scenario of the match and the game went to the last over.

Needing five runs in seven balls, Dhawan and Manish Pandey scored four runs in first three balls but then a dot ball and Dhawan’s wicket made the match interesting which could have been finished much earlier.

Needing one run in one ball, Manish, who seemed out of sorts in the middle, somehow managed to steal a run to hand India a victory.

Chasing a challenging score of 182, India started on a bad note, losing opener Rohit Sharma (4) in the third over.

New batsman Lokesh Rahul (17) then came in the middle and displayed some brilliant shots but soon he was also dismissed by Oshane Thomas in the sixth over.

With the scoreboard reading 45/2, Dhawan (92) and Pant (58) took the charge and hammered the Windies’ bowlers all around the park to forge a 130-run partnership. In the process, the duo completed their respective half centuries.

But just when it seemed India will finish off the proceedings in style, Pant was dismissed in the 19th over.

New batsman Pandey then struggled at the crease but at the end, India managed to steal the game in the last ball.

Earlier, a good batting show helped West Indies post a challenging total of 181/3.

The visitors applied themselves perfectly and made sure they did not loose wickets till the end which saw middle-order batsmen Darren Bravo (43 not out) and Nicholas Pooran (53 not out) taking the charge towards the end, helping their team to post a decent score.

Opting to bat, openers Shai Hope (24) and Shimron Hetmyer (26) started the proceedings on a good note, forging a 51-run partnership in six overs.

But while trying to accelerate the score, Hope was dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal in the seventh over. After adding 11 more runs to the total with Bravo, Hetmyer was also sent packing by Chahal.

Despite two quick wickets, Bravo kept on playing sensibly with Denesh Ramdin (15). Just when things seemed good in the middle, Ramdin played a poor shot and was clean bowled by Washington Sundar in the 13th over when the scoreboard was reading 94/3.

New batsman Pooran then joined Bravo in the middle and started punishing the bad balls. The duo forged a crucial unbeaten 87-run partnership for the fourth wicket and helped West Indies finish their innings in style.

Pooran played 25 balls and slammed four boundaries and as many sixes.

For India, Chahal took two wickets while Sundar scalped one.

Brief scores: West Indies 181/3 (Darren Bravo 43 not out, Nicholas Pooran 53 not out; Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28) against India 182/4 (Shikhar Dhawan 92, Rishabh Pant 58; Keemo Paul 2/32)

Hobart South Africa beat Australia by 40 runs in the third One day International match to win the series 2-1 here on Sunday.

“I thought we played our best game of cricket. We challenged ourselves to put in a performance. A high pressure game. (…) we have fantastic memories of Hobart. We’ll remember this place fondly,” said South African captain Faf du Plessis after the game, reports Efe.

Australia won the toss and elected to field first on a batting friendly track. The pace bowlers got to work straight away, dismissing the South African top order cheaply, leaving them reeling at 55/3 by the middle of the 16th over.

What followed was an absolute masterclass by du Plessis and David Miller, who helped stage a recovery by teaming up for a record 255-run partnership, with both batsmen scoring centuries.

Set a target of 321 in 50 overs, Australia could only manage 280/9, with Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis showing some resolve with a century and a half-century, respectively.

Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn were the pick of the South African bowlers with three wickets each.

(IANS)