Nasheman News : Their slim chances of getting back into title reckoning now almost gone, a deflated Mohun Bagan will look to salvage pride when they take on relegation-threatened Gokulam Kerala FC in an I-League encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Wednesday.

Mohun Bagan suffered their second successive derby defeat on Sunday against arch-rivals East Bengal in a match where they were totally outplayed.

Khalid Jamil’s men, placed sixth in the points table having 21 points from 14 games, will now look to gather the maximum points from the remaining fixtures and finish in a respectable position. They are nine points adrift of league leaders Chennai City FC.

“We are not thinking about the past. The last match was not up to the mark, but we must go ahead,” Jamil told reporters here.

Asked about the club’s target now, Jamil said: “We will take one match a time. I can’t think too far ahead now. All I can say is tomorrow’s match is very important.”

Jamil conceded that East Bengal were the “hungrier” side on Sunday and they need to learn from their mistakes.

“It’s not difficult to motivate the players. They are professionals and are ready for tomorrow’s game.

“East Bengal were the hungrier side. We should learn from the next game and move on.”

Mohun Bagan will be without star midfielder Yuta Kinowaki who suffered a calf injury minutes before the derby kick-off.

Sukhdev Singh and Sourav Das are also doubtful for the Gokulam tie while defender Arijit Bagui and midfielder Shilton D’Silva are expected to start.

Coming to the visitors, Gokulam are currently in the tenth position with 11 points from 13 matches. They have won only two matches this season and have been subject to several changes in the middle of the season.

After Antonio German, defender Fabrizio Ortiz left the club midway through the season. 

There was also an addition in the coaching department as Gift Raikhan left Aizawl FC to join the Southern club as their technical director.

“We are fighting for relegation. So the motivation is high. We need three points very badly,” Raikhan told reporters.

Raikhan brought in former Neroca FC midfielder Fabien Vorbe in place of Ortiz. 

The Haitian central midfielder has already joined the side and has travelled with the team to Kolkata to face Mohun Bagan.

After Raikhan came on board, Gokulam managed a 1-1 draw against defending champions Minerva Punjab in their last match.

In their last meeting, Gokulam managed to hold Mohun Bagan to a 1-1 draw in their first match of the season in Kozhikode.

Moscow, Jan 29 (IANS) Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova claimed her first WTA victory in her country in 13 years in the first round of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam winner, beat Daria Gavrilova of Australia 6-0, 6-4 to make the second round on Monday. She will next face her compatriot Daria Kasatkina. Sharapova had only met Kasatkina once when she won in straight sets in Montreal in August, reports Xinhua news agency.

Sharapova has rarely played the Russian tour events during her career, and when she has she’s never got past the quarterfinals.

Nasheman News :Indian tennis players Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ankita Raina on Monday achieved their career-best rankings of 102 and 168 respectively.

Prajnesh jumped seven places to be at 102 while Ankita vaulted 35 places to sit at 168.

Women’s singles player Karman Kaur Thandi dropped five places to 210.

In the ATP list, Ramkumar Ramanathan dropped two places to 133 while Saketh Myneni also dropped four places to 260.

In the doubles, veteran player Rohan Bopanna (37) and Divij Sharan (40) dropped three places, and Leander Paes dropped 19 places to be at 78.

Nasheman News : Two-wheeler giants TVS Racing on Monday announced that the selection rounds for the 2019 edition of TVS Ladies One Make Championship will be held in Bengaluru and Mumbai on February 9 and 23, respectively.

The selection sessions will include a full-day training school conducted by national champions of TVS Racing to ensure riders are familiarised with their race-tuned TVS Apache RTR 200 4V Race Edition 2.0.

Based on their best lap timings, physical fitness and racing abilities, the top 15 riders will be selected from each city. 

The final round of selection will take place at the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai on May 4. 

The Bangalore selection round will be held at Meco Kartopia in Hennur and the Mumbai round at Island Sports Gokart Track in Wadala.

Speaking on the occasion, B Selvaraj, Team Manager, TVS Racing said: “We are the only manufacturer in India committed to women’s racing with 4 consecutive seasons of the TVS Ladies One Make Championship. We introduced this initiative to train and equip talented women riders to enter the mainstream racing arena.”

“With each passing year, I am delighted to see the increasing number of participants, which is a testimony to our effort of creating a gender-neutral space for motorsports in India. I wish all the women participants the very best and hope to see them excited about professional racing,” he added.

The team will compete in five rounds for the championship astride the race-tuned TVS Apache RTR 200 4V Race Edition 2.0. 

Post the final selection round in Chennai, the racers will undergo specific training under the aegis of the national champion riders from TVS Racing to improve physical fitness and hone their racing skills before the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (INRC) begins in June.

Nasheman News : Two-time world champion Vanesa Kaladzinskaya has said that Indian wrestling has now started becoming more professional than it had been a few years ago.

The Olympian from Belarus, who is a key member of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) side UP Dangal in Season-4, was referring to the Indian wrestling scenario from when she saw Geeta and Babita Phogat during their bronze-medal winning performance at the World Championships in Strathcona County, Canada, six years ago. Vanesa won a gold there.

“Not only those two girls — Geeta and Babita — but Indian wrestling has now started doing things more professionally and you can see more and more improvements in every department and the level has become better day by day. I have been to India last year also for the PWL and I can see a lot of promising wrestlers, both male and female in the league here. They have also started winning in big events like the world championships and the Olympics,” Vanesa told IANS in an interview.

She asserted that the PWL is a key catalyst for this change as it gives Indian wrestlers much needed exposure and has turned the sport into a lucrative career option.

“Youngsters get inspiration when they see such a big league like this from up close. They want to come out and take up wrestling which is a big boost for the sport. It is helpful for the current athletes too because more people will get to know them and they will get more support from their countrymen when they go for bigger competitions abroad,” said the 2018 European championships silver medallist.

Vanesa took a sabbatical after her World Championship gold in 2012 to raise her child and returned to win her second World Championships gold in Paris five years later. 

“I participated in the 2013 European Championships where I was placed third. After that there were some health issues for which I missed another year and started training again in 2016. The next year, I became the world champion again,” said the mother of a five-and-a-half-year-old boy who has already started taking gymnastics lessons from his grandparents who are gymnastics coaches.

“I also started with gymnastics as both my mom and dad are gymnastic coaches. My father Valery is an international coach while mom does coaching in Belarus. It was much later that I shifted to wrestling,” said Vanesa who has become a huge fan of the Indian sweet gulab jamun and doesn’t mind having some even if her diet plan doesn’t approve of it.

“Oh I love them! I have started liking a lot of things here and the sweet is one of them. I also watched a lot of Hindi movies when I was here last year but not many this time,” she added. 

Vanesa, who misses her five-year-old a lot and tries to spend as much time with him as possible when not travelling or training, said: “That is all part and parcel of an athlete’s life. I miss him a lot, but I also need to train and compete to improve. My immediate focus is the world championship and then, of course, winning a gold in the Tokyo (2020) Summer Games.” 

Nasheman News :  Jhulan Goswami’s 3/23 and half-centuries by Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj helped India thrash New Zealand by eight wickets and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ICC Women’s Championship one-day international series here on Tuesday.

Like the first match, New Zealand struggled against India’s bowlers. Apart from Amy Satterthwaite, who scored a gritty 71 runs, no other batswomen contributed handsomely as Goswami led the charge and restricted the hosts to a modest 161 at the Bay Oval here, according to an ICC release.

Coming in to bat, India’s Mandhana (90 not out) dominated the proceedings, forging an impressive 151-run partnership with Mithali Raj (63 not out off 111) for the third wicket. 

But the victory was set up by the bowlers. Goswami’s opening over accounted for Suzie Bates for a duck, and that was a big blow for New Zealand. Then, Shikha Pandey trapped Sophie Devine in front for seven.

When Ekta Bisht removed Lauren Down and Amelia Kerr for 15 and 1 respectively, the hosts were left tottering at 38/4. Maddy Green looked to knuckle down with her captain, but fell to Poonam Yadav after a 28-ball 9.

Satterthwaite took the lead and stitched together a relatively brisk 58-run stand with Leigh Kasperek before finally being dismissed by Yadav. There were some handy contributions from the lower order, but Goswami helped end the resistance, dismissing Kasperek and Lea Tahuhu for 21 and 12 respectively.

Goswami finished with 3/23, while Bisht, Deepti Sharma and Yadav chipped in with two wickets each.

India’s chase had a rather wobbly start, though, with Anna Peterson and Tahuhu accounting for Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma early. Unfortunately for the hosts, that was all the success they were allowed.

Mandhana just picked up from where she had left off in the first ODI, when she had scored her fourth century in the format. Once again, she scored freely and found a solid partner in captain Raj at the other end.

Raj scored relatively slowly, but hit a couple of sixes off Kasperek, and as the target came in sight she too scored boundaries more regularly. 

Mandhana remained unbeaten and her knock featured 13 fours and a six. Raj scored 63 from 111 deliveries, including two sixes and four fours. Her second six brought the winning runs for India.

With the win, India have moved to No.2 on the Championship table, on 12 points after 11 games, ahead of New Zealand on net run-rate.

Nasheman News :  Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal was crowned champion of the Indonesia Masters 2019 on Sunday after her opponent Carolina Marin pulled out of the summit clash due to an injury.

Marin, the reigning Olympic champion and three-time world champion, twisted her right knee after landing awkwardly following a smash in the first game itself. 

The Spanish shuttler was leading 10-4 before her discomfort and pain made her pull out of the mega final.

Saina was the runner-up in the 2018 edition of the Indonesia Masters.

Nasheman News : India’s Ambati Rayudu has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect after the part-timer’s action was reported during the first ODI against Australia earlier this month, the ICC announced on Monday.

“The International Cricket Council today announced that Ambati Rayudu has been suspended from bowling in international cricket,” an ICC statement read.

“The player elected not to submit to a test of his bowling action within the stipulated period of 14 days of being reported for a suspect action, and therefore he has been suspended with immediate effect in accordance with clause 4.2 of the ICC regulations, which can be found here.”

“The suspension will remain in place until he is tested, and can demonstrate he is able to bowl with a legal action,” it added.

The 33-year-old India player was reported on January 13 for a suspect action during the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia in Sydney.

The ICC also announced that Rayudu may however continue bowling in domestic cricket without being tested.

“However, according to Article 11.5 of the Regulations and with the consent of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Rayudu may be allowed to bowl in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of the BCCI,” the statement further read.

Nasheman News :  India rode on another all-round show to thrash New Zealand by seven wickets in the third ODI at the Bay Oval here on Monday and take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match rubber.

This is India’s first ODI series win in New Zealand in a decade. The Men-in-Blue last achieved the feat under Mahendra Singh Dhoni in 2009.

Chasing a below-par 243, India lost opener Shikhar Dhawan after a breezy 28 off 27 balls, but fellow opener Rohit Sharma struck his 39th ODI fifty to lay the foundation in the company of the skipper Virat Kohli, who also got to his 49th ODI half century.

Rohit (62 off 77 balls; 4X3, 6X2) and Kohli (60 off 74; 4X6, 6X1) forged a 113-run second wicket stand to ease the work for the middle order, weakened by the absence of the in-form former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was left out of the playing XI after suffering a hamstring injury.

Rohit appeared the more aggressive in the second wicket stand, stamping his authority over the Kiwi bowlers and smashing them all over the park before racing to his half century and taking India’s total to the three figures.

Kohli wasn’t left much behind and the Delhi right-hander gradually matched his partner shot by shot to eventually get to his fifty even as the India total swelled past the 150-run mark.

Just when the duo looked set to take the men-in-blue to another easy win, left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner deceived Rohit with a flighted delivery to be stumped only for the second time in one-day internationals.

Three overs later, Kohli also followed Rohit back to the dressing room after being spooned by Henry Nicholls at cover off Trent Boult, leaving the untested middle order to fetch another 76 runs from 113 balls.

The new pair of Ambati Rayudu (40 not out) and Dinesh Karthik (38 not out) showed no nerves and went about the business in their customary fashion.

While Rayudu, who was on Monday suspended by the ICC from bowling in international cricket, started off aggressively, Karthik was welcomed by a bouncer and the Tamil Nadu stumper didn’t look back from there on, playing his natural game and eventually sealing off the deal in India’s favour.

Earlier, pacer Mohammed Shami starred with the ball taking three wickets to help India overcome veteran Ross Taylor’s defiant 93 and Tom Latham’s 51, and restrict the hosts to 243 in 49 overs.

Shami accounted for the wickets of opener Colin Munro (7), Taylor and Ish Sodhi (12) while fellow quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar accounted for the scalps of the other opener Martin Guptill (13) and Trent Boult (2).

Electing to bat on a slow track, New Zealand once again lost the momentum quite early after the cheap dismissals of the openers before skipper Kane Williamson (28) and Taylor steadied the ship with a brief 33-run third wicket stand.

The middle overs witnessed comeback man Hardik Pandya (2/45) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/51) ripping through the Kiwi middle and lower order even after Taylor and Latham were engaged in a 119-run fourth wicket stand.

Barring that, New Zealand fans had hardly anything to cheer for as the tail also failed to wag as the innings eventually ended in the penultimate over.

Both the sides will now move to Hamilton for the fourth match on Thursday.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 243 (Ross Taylor 93, Tom Latham 51; Mohammed Shami 3/41, Hardik Pandya 2/45, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/46) lose to India 244/3 (Rohit Sharma 62, Virat Kohli 60, Ambati Rayudu 40 not out; Trent Boult 2/40) by 7 wickets.

Nasheman News :  An unbeaten 201-run partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson against hosts Karnataka on Sunday brought Saurashtra to the verge of sealing a Ranji Trophy final berth.

Chasing a moderate target of 279 runs, Saurashtra suffered a top-order collapse before Pujara (108 batting) and Jackson (90) put on a rescue act with their side now just 55 runs away from victory with seven wickets in hand.

The visitors were once reeling at 23/3, thanks to pacer Vinay Kumar, who struck twice to pack off Vishvaraj Jadeja (0) and Snell Patel (0). However, Pujara and Jackson’s sensible batting not only repaired the damage but also took Saurashtra to the brink of victory with the fifth and final day left.

Saurastra were 224/3 when stumps were drawn for the day.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka resumed from the overnight score of 237/8 and could add just a couple of runs before being bowled out.

Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja starred with the ball for Saurashtra with figures of 5/78.

Brief scores: Saurashta 236 all out, 224/3 (Cheteswar Pujara 108 batting, Sheldon Jackson 90 batting; Vinay Kumar 2/48 ) need 55 runs to win vs Karnataka 275 and 239 all out (Shreyas Gopal 61, Mayank Agarwal 46; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 5/78)