The opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League's eighth edition turned out to be a starry affair. Heavy rain failed to dampen the spirit of Kolkata as a dazzling Bollywood-awards style opening ceremony kick-started the gala cricket show.
East Bengal got the better of Mohammedan Sporting by the odd goal in three at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday evening to move up to seventh in the Airtel I-League table.
Pursuing a largely unrewarding Olympic sport in a cricket-obsessed country requires adjustments but heptathlete Swapna Barman has taken it to a new level -- squeezing six toes in each shoe designed for five.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
The Asian Football Confederation recommended the AIFF to "open a pathway" for two I-League clubs' entry into ISL by the end of 2020-21 season.
Striker Keito Nakamura scored the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup's first hat-trick as Japan hammered Honduras 6-1 to begin their campaign on a resounding note at the Indira Gandhi International Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.
An unmarked Pritam Kotal got in between the Goa centre-backs and nodded the ball into the net to give them the lead.
The Kolkata franchise have nine points from four matches to occupy the top spot, ahead of FC Goa (eight points).
ATK may have qualified for the play-offs, but the loss came as a big blow to their AFC Champions League qualifying aspirations with FC Goa taking a three-point lead at the top with only a match left for the league stage to conclude.
Atletico de Kolkata gave the football-crazy city fans a night to remember in their 3-0 drubbing of Mumbai City FC as the inaugural Hero Indian Super League football tournament kicked off in spectacular fashion after a star-studded opening ceremony in Kolkata.
Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan kicked off their AFC Cup football campaign with a commanding 5-2 victory over Maziya Sports and Recreation Club of the Maldives in Guwahati on Wednesday.
A winless India must beat Bangladesh on Monday if they want to jump to third spot in Group E standings and keep themselves afloat for a direct berth in the Asian Cup third qualifying round.
A depleted Atletico de Kolkata, without star forward Fikru Teferra, put up a spirited show but could not score that elusive winner settling for a 1-1 draw against a lucky Kerala Blasters FC in their fifth ISL encounter at the Salt Lake Stadium.
A star-studded England will take on unpredictable Chile in a Group F match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup at the refurbished Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Bollywood star Salman Khan used micro-blogging site Twitter to deny reports of him investing in Indian Super League team FC Pune City. The actor, who was believed to be the co-owner of the Pune franchise, posted: "I do not own any ISL team. My friends Dheeraj & Kapil Wadhawan had asked me to be their partner in FC Pune City.
A third consecutive brace from India captain Sunil Chhetri inspired Bengaluru FC to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Mohammedan Sporting in a Round 14 clash of the Airtel I-League at the Salt Lake Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
India's chances of the hosting the Under-20 World Cup in 2019 have brightened after the overwhelming success of Under-17 World Cup which is all set to topple China-1985 as the best attended event in the tournament's history.
Royal Wahingdoh FC notched up another three points after beating Sporting Clube de Goa 2-0.
Expressing satisfaction over the work done at the Yuva Bharati Krirangan, a FIFA inspection team on Thursday proposed few minor changes to turn the facility into a world class stadium. "We inspected the stadium. The planning and work done here is excellent. The work done until now is fruitful and satisfactory. There are minor amendments that need to be done. "We will come back in October to see the final situation. This will become the top stadium in India in future," Jamie Yazra, Head of Events, FIFA U-17 World Cup delegation team, said. While talking about minor changes, Yazra said these will be small fine tunings
Adil Khan ensured that India at least secure a point from the home match
Mohammedan Sporting have opted against playing in the second division of the I-League and also pulled out of the Durand Cup football tournament, beginning October 28, apparently due to financial crisis.
Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg and Spanish World Cupper Luis Garcia will be the centre of attention when Mumbai City FC kick off the inaugural Indian Super League football tournament on October 12 at Atletico de Kolkata, in a tournament that will feature 61 games spread across 70 days.
The railways heritage lines that are part of the UNESCO-accorded sites list include Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway, and Kalka Shimla Railway.
The India football captain said others players in the side are very much capable of outperforming him.
The total number of spectators, who turned up at the six host venues across the country, currently stand at 12,24,027, a mere 6949 less than the earlier attendance of 12,30,976 set in the first edition of the tournament in China in 1985.
Brazilian striker Gustavo dos Santos struck an injury-time goal as Delhi Dynamos beat defending champions Atletico de Kolkata by a solitary goal in a closely-fought Indian Super League match.
Inspired by the presence of Brazilian great Pele, defending champions Atletico de Kolkata climbed to the top of the table with a 2-1 win over last year's runners-up Kerala Blasters in their first home match of the Indian Super League.
Kolkata will host the summit clash of the U-17 World Cup football on October 28 while Navi Mumbai and Guwahati were chosen to stage the semi-finals.
East Bengal suffered their third defeat in a row to be on eight points from seven matches.
The FIFA Under-17 World Cup semi-final between Brazil and England has been shifted from Guwahati to Kolkata because of poor pitch conditions in the North-Eastern city.
Chile conceded an own goal through substitute Diego Valencia in the 81st minute.
But the hosts did have their equaliser in the 54th minute from another corner. Rene Mihelic whipped one into the far post where Rana Gharami managed to head it back across the box. Kotal, this time around, directed it home from close-range.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Both the teams gave it their all to find the winner but could not do so.
AIFF plans to go ahead with the 2020-21 I-League season even if the clubs' star foreign recruits are unable to make it due to the coronavirus-forced travel restrictions.
FC Barcelona's Asia Pacific director general Jordi Camps believes it is a matter of time before an Indian plays in Spanish top-flight.
Delhi Dynamos played out their third draw on the trot at home as their Indian Super League (ISL) football match against defending champions Atletico de Kolkata ended in a 1-1 stalemate in New Delhi on Saturday.
India began the year on 97 in FIFA rankings, but after two wins, four draws and seven losses, the country ended 2019 at 108
Venezuelan Miku (64th minute and 78th) and skipper Sunil Chhetri (95th) starred for Bengaluru at the Balewadi Sports Complex as the side registered their fourth win this season to cement their place the top of points table.
A goalkeeping howler and Yuri Alberto's opportunistic late strike were enough for Brazil to beat Mali 2-0 in an uninspiring match and finish third in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
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