New Delhi, May 9 : India’s no 1 tennis player Ankita Raina moved to quarter-finals in the women’s singles of the ITF tournament in Luan, China on Thursday.
Ranked 175, the Indian player won in straight sets 6-2 6-3 over her Chinese rival Yue Yuan in the round of 16.
Ankita was on a high after she beat three-time Grand Slam champion Samantha Stosur at the USD 125k tournament in Anning and also made the final of a 60k event in Istanbul.
She next plays Hong Kong’s Eudice Chong, who is ranked as low as 497.
She reached a ranking of world no 181 becoming the fifth Indian national in April 2018 to crack to the top-200 ladies singles rankings, following Nirupama Sanjeev, Sania Mirza, Shikha Uberoi, and Sunitha Rao.
In August 2018, Ankita won the bronze medal in the Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia in singles event. Raina and Sania Mirza are the only players representing India to have won a singles medal at the Asian Games.
She also peaked at world no 159 in the doubles rankings on August 28, 2017. Raina has also won gold medals in the women’s singles and mixed-doubles events at the 2016 South Asian Games.

Visakhapatnam, May 9 (UNI) Coming from a win in the IPL Eliminator, Delhi Capitals will look to win and seal their place on May 12 final and as they face Defending champions Chennai Super Kings in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2019 at the ACA-VDCA Stadium on Friday.
Delhi Capitals will enter this match after a great win against SRH in the eliminator whereas CSK lost the first qualifier match against MI.
Delhi will create history if they win against CSK as they are the only side to have never played an IPL final.
DC’s young batting unit have done a remarkable job in this year’s IPL and somehow managed to score the runs whenever the team needed them.
In the last match against SRH, Pant played a superb knock of 49 runs in 21 balls in a high-pressure situation and helped DC in getting over the line. Another young batsman Prithvi Shaw too played an important innings of 56 and gave signals of returning in form.
India opener Shikhar Dhawan is also in great form and has scored runs freely at the top in the powerplay overs.
Apart from Shikhar, Skipper Shreyas Iyer too has played a couple of match-winning knocks and has led from the front.
In bowling, DC fast bowler including Trent Boult and Ishant Sharma, did a good job in the absence of Kagiso Rabada and were well supported by Keemo Paul, who picked up three wickets. Veteran spinner Amit Mishra and Axar Patel also did well against SRH.
On the other hand, Defending champions Chennai Super Kings had a bad loss against MI in the Qualifier 1 and will look to bounce back in this match. CSK also have the experience of playing the big matches, having won three titles besides being runners-up four times.
CSK captain Dhoni who is good form will expect a better performance from his batsmen after the disappointment against Mumbai Indians.
CSK’s top-order has been their concern as they haven’t fired consistently. Opener Shane Watson has not been among the run scorer ever since smashing a 53-ball 96 against Sunrisers on April 23. The likes of Suresh Raina, Faf du Plessis Ambati Rayudu will be also the key factor in this match.
Bowling has been CSK’s strong point so far this season. The responsibility will be again on the young pacer Deepak Chahar to pick up early wickets and Imran Tahir the second highest-wicket taker this season after Kagiso Rabada will look to carry forward his great form.
Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja and DJ Bravo will be raring to continue their magic with the ball.
The winner of the Qualifier 2 will face Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2019 final in Hyderabad on Sunday.

New Delhi, May 8 : Former cricket captain Kapil Dev, who led India to the maiden World Cup trophy in 1983, on Wednesday said under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, history will repeat itself in the upcoming World Cup in England.

While speaking at the ‘Britannia Khao World Cup Jao’ campaign winners’ felicitation ceremony, Kapil Dev said, ”The present Indian team has a great combination of youth and experience and the right balance which is necessary to win World Cup.We should have faith in them and in my view, India will definitely feature in the top four ”.

Asked about the teams which can make it to the semi-finals, Kapil said, ”The top three teams in the league stage will be India, England and Australia. However, there could a tough fight between New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa for the fourth spot”.
On the number four batting slot in the present Indian team, the ‘Haryana Hurricane’ said cricket has changed a lot in the past ten years and that no place is permanent today. There should be a resilience in batting order depending on the situation, he added.

Ludhiana, May 8 : Gokulam Kerala FC striker Manisha, who has been turning heads with her performances in the ongoing season of the Hero India Women’s League believes that India hosting the 2020 U-17 FIFA Women’s World Cup would “help young girls from Punjab take up the sport.”
“It feels great that the IWL is being held in Punjab. This will help raise awareness about women’s football in the state. The young girls in Punjab can watch the matches and learn more about the game,” said Manisha.
Manisha may be banging in the goals from the front, but she was not always a striker. Back in the days when she played in the India U-17 team, she used to play as a left winger.

In the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers, she played as an attacking midfielder, while Senior National Team coach Maymol Rocky promoted her to the position of a striker in recent times.

“When I’m on the left, I always try to go back and help my win back, and then run forward to attack once we get the ball,” she said. “When I play in the midfield, I always need to keep the position of the opposition midfielders in mind. Especially when we don’t have the ball, I have to keep tracking them.”

English umpire Nigel Llong could face the BCCI’s scrutiny for allegedly damaging the door of a stadium room after an argument with Virat Kohli but the Indian board is unlikely to remove him as an official for the IPL final on 12 May .

Llong reportedly lost his cool after being confronted by Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Kohli over a contentious no ball call against Sunrisers Hyderabad during an IPL match on Saturday, 4 May, in Bengaluru.

According to reports, the ICC Elite Panel official kicked the door of the umpires’ room during the innings break and damaged it.

A BCCI official told PTI that Llong might have some explaining to do but the matter will not cost him his place as a designated umpire for the IPL final to be held in Hyderabad.

The BCCI, it is learnt, is in a dilemma on whether to even consider taking such a step “for a moment’s indiscretion”.

In Bengaluru, Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary R Sudhakar Rao said the KSCA has demanded action against Llong. Rao, however, did say that the 50-year-old paid for the damage caused.“We have reported the matter to the Committee of Administrators (COA) and hopefully action will be taken against Nigel Llong. If the players are punished for their misdemeanour and fined their match fees then why not the umpires.”R Sudhakar Rao

“I didn’t speak to umpire Llong but I spoke to match referee Narayanan Kutty. I am hopeful COA will take action,” he added.

Llong paid Rs 5,000 after he was confronted by the KSCA officials and had demanded a receipt of the payment.

Llong has stood in 56 Tests, 123 ODIs and 32 T20 Internationals in his career and will be standing in the upcoming World Cup in the United Kingdom, starting 30 May.

Agencies

Bengaluru, May 7 : Majji Ganesh will lead the Karnataka State Sub Junior Men team in the 9th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2019 (A Division) to be played at Raipur, Chhattisgarh from May 11 to 22.
Karnataka Team is placed in Pool ‘B’ along with Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Hockey Bhopal and Hockey Maharashtra, according to a press release by Hockey Karnataka, Secretary General Dr A B Subbaiah here today.
The team: Ramaji Prashanth Kumar, Nitin Dasharath Katke, Ankit Prem
Sandeep Pal (Goal Keeper), G Vishwas, Majji Ganesh (Captain), A H Deekshith, M P Nachappa, M A Goutham, B Arjun, V Vikas, K B Devaiah, E B Vinayak (Goal Keeper)
C P Livin, Devendrappa,Vishal Kumar, R S Darshan.
Coach: Manohar Katke. Manager: Rahul Katke.

New Delhi, May 7 (UNI) Indian women’s cricket team will play a T20 tri-series in Australia against the host and England in January, Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Tuesday.

The series is scheduled prior to the start of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup ? to be played on Australian soil for the first time, which is slated to begin from February 21, 2020.

According to cricket.com.au, a division of Cricket Australia, CA would honour its commitment to tour India for three-match men’s One Day Internationals (ODIs) in mid-January, which had caused a reshuffle of the home international schedule and pushed back the Chappell-Hadlee series.

CA failed to cut a deal with BCCI to move the three-match ODI series. As a result of this schedule, it will be the first time in 41 years that Australia’s international schedule will stretch into late-March as Australia will host New Zealand for Chappell-Hadlee series in March.

The Black Caps ? who wrap up their Test series in Sydney with the New Year’s Test between January 3 and 7 ? will return to play three ODIs on March 13, 15, and 20.

As per the schedule, during the period, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka’s men’s teams will tour Australia.

“Scheduling international cricket is challenging in that nine of the ten major cricketing countries have seasons similar to ours, so working with them to find space in the calendar to fulfil our obligations to the ICC Future Tours Program (FTP) is a juggling act, the website quoted CA’s Head of Cricket Operations Peter Roach as saying.

“The long-range FTP had three separate limited-overs series scheduled between India, New Zealand and Australia. When the countries started working through the detail, it was clear that there was not enough space for each series at the proposed times,” he added.

During the period, Australia will play 28 international matches across 10 venues that will also include the women’s T20 World Cup.

Brisbane Gabba will host of the opening Test of the summer when Pakistan visit from November 21 for a two-Test series, with points in the forthcoming ICC Test Championship up for grabs for the first time on Australian soil.

Paris, May 7 : Two brand-new accolades will be up for grabs at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony, bringing the number of total categories to 11 this year, the world’s football governing body announced on Monday.
FIFA unveiled the Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper and FIFA FIFPro Women’s World 11 as the latest glories.
“FIFA is certain that France will host a groundbreaking edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup this year, so I cannot think of a better moment to introduce these new awards. It is yet another step in the right direction to raise the profile of women’s football,” said FIFA’s Deputy Secretary General Zvonimir Boban.

Following the inclusion, the 11 categories honored this year are the Best FIFA Men’s Player, the Best FIFA Women’s Player, the Best FIFA Men’s Coach, the Best FIFA Women’s Coach, the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper, the Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper, FIFA FIFPro Men’s World 11, FIFA FIFPro Women’s World 11, the FIFA Puskas Award, the FIFA Fair Play Award and the FIFA Fan Award.
The Best FIFA Football Awards will be presented in Milan on September 23.

Bengaluru, May 6 : The Indian Men’s Hockey Team left for their first tour under newly-appointed Chief Coach Graham Reid on Sunday night from Bengaluru.

The Indian team led by the charismatic midfielder Manpreet Singh will play two matches against Australia A, two matches against Australian National Team and one match against Western Australia Thundersticks club team starting from Wednesday.

Manpreet Singh believes will give the team a chance to further understand Reid’s style and try different combinations ahead of the FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019.

“The new Chief Coach constantly reminds us why a team player holds more value to him than an individual player with excellent skill set. He also instills winning mentality in every player and confident body language has also been an area of focus apart from game-specific tactics over the past three weeks of training under Graham Reid,” Manpreet said.

The team with an interesting mix of experienced players and new comers will be tested ahead of the important FIH Men’s Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019 where India needs to finish on top to ensure a place in the Olympic Qualifier in October.

“Playing a world class team like Australia ahead of the important Series in June will only help build our confidence. We had a good tournament in Malaysia in March and some of the youngsters did well there. While Jaskaran Singh will make his International debut, it will be Gursahibjit’s second tournament with the Indian team and Armaan Qureshi is also returning to the team after a long gap. I am confident these players will live up to the expectations. It will be good exposure for them against the World No.2 side,” he added.

Chennai, May 6 : Defending champions Chennai Super Kings and three time IPL winner Mumbai Indians will look to seal their place on May 12 final as they face other in the qualifier 1 of the ongoing IPL season at MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
Both teams have won the title three times each and will look to take the prestigious title home for the fourth time after a tough league phase of the ongoing IPL season.
CSK are coming to this match from a six-wicket defeat against KXIP whereas MI had a comprehensive win over KKR in the last match of the league stage on Sunday.
CSK will be happy to return to their den where they have won six of its seven games and will definitely want to take home advantage.
However, MI won’t be worried much as they registered convincing victories over CSK in both home and away matches of the IPL.
CSK’s top-order has been their concern as they haven’t fired consistently. Openers Shane Watson and Faf du Plessis will have to come out all guns blazing against a formidable MI bowling attack and the likes of Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu will be also the key factor in this match.
CSK Skipper Dhoni has been the highest run-getter with 368 runs from 12 matches including 3 fifties and once again he will the centre of attention in this match. However, CSK will miss the services of the Kedar Jadhav, who has been ruled out of the remaining matches due to shoulder injury.
Bowling has been CSK’s strong point so far this season and becomes even more strong on sluggish wicket. The responsibility will be on the young pacer Deepak Chahar to pick up early wickets for hosts who has taken 16 wickets so far in the tournament.
Imran Tahir (21 wickets), the second highest-wicket taker this season after Kagiso Rabada (25), has been at the frontline bowler for CSK , and spin trio including veteran Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja (both with 13 wickets each) will try to spin the bowl on slow pitch of Chennai.
On the other hand, MI batsmen including MI captain Rohit Sharma (386 runs), Quinton de Kock (492, third leading run-scorer), Hardik Pandya (380) and Kieron Pollard have been in great form and it will be tough task for CSK’s bowlers to stop them.
In bowling, MI have a formidable attack that includes Jasprit Bumrah (17 wickets), Lasith Malinga (15 wickets), Pandya brothers (Hardik 14 wickets and Krunal 10 wickets), leggie Rahul Chahar (10 wickets) and Mitchell McClenaghan.
The losing team from this match will face the winner of the Eliminator, to be played between Delhi Capitals vs SunRisers Hyderabad, in the Qualifier 2 in Visakhapatnam on Friday.