New Zealand football coach Fritz Schmid, on Tuesday, dubbed India lying somewhere between 'a sleeping giant and a rising competitor'.
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
The Hussain family from Sopore and Iqbal household in Kashmir's Anantnag are eagerly waiting for their cell phones to buzz. It's been 11 days since 20-year-old Amir Hussain Rather and 25-year-old Wasim Iqbal last spoke with their folks back home.
Gurcharan Singh tells Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com why he deserted the Indian team and the reason for wanting to return to the country after 15 years.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Former captain Sardar Singh was brought back to bolster the Indian hockey team's mid-field while Birendra Lakra was included to shore up the defence line-up for the upcoming Champions Trophy, beginning on June 23 in Breda, The Netherlands.
2018 was largely forgettable for Sushil Kumar -- India's only double Olympic-medallist -- and Sakshi Malik -- the country's first and only woman wrestler to win a medal at the biggest stage.
Pakistan's new chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq is not happy with the state of pitches being used for a top ongoing domestic one-day tournament and also with the quality of cricket on display in the event.
The national selection committee ignored senior Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal for the coming one-day series in Sri Lanka.
'To be good at the heptathlon takes at least seven years; to compete internationally and win medals takes 10 years.' 'Swapna became Asia's best heptathlete in just five years!' 'Nobody would have believed it. but she did it.'
Germany coach Joachim Loew has named four talented youngsters, including three uncapped players, in his preliminary 27-man squad for Euro 2016.
The year-long suffering she faced following the controversial "gender test" in 2014 has hurt promising sprinter Dutee Chand so much so that she still feels that she may get trapped and her resurrected career may be in ruins again. Two years ago, Chand's dreams of representing her country at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games came crashing when an indefinite ban was imposed on her, barring her from taking part in women's competitions due to her higher levels of testosterone (hormones primarily produced by male). Dutee fought the case at the Court of Arbitration for Sports in Switzerland which upheld her appeal, citing no clear cut link with higher levels of these hormones with enhancement in performance. She returned to competitions last year and broke the national record in 100m dash recently. "I'm not able to trust anyone. I am scared that I might get trapped again. I hardly have any friends," Dutee told reporters on the sidelines of the GAIL Indian Speedstar event. "I prefer to train alone at SAI camp in Hyderabad. I don't train at national camp at NIS Patiala. Some of the 4x400 relay members don't like me," she added.
MC Mary Kom pulled no punches as the celebrated Indian boxer announced her intention to stretch her career by another "three-four" years and while the 2018 Asian and Commonwealth Games remain her "main focus", Tokyo Olympics, she said, is also not out of the radar yet. The London Olympics medallist and five-time world champion recently decided to go back to the light flyweight (48kg division) amid speculation that it is among the two categories that the International Boxing Association (AIBA) is pushing for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 33-year, a mother of three, is back in the ring with renewed hopes.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Shot putter Inderjeet Singh's confirmatory B sample also returned positive for banned substances, virtually ending his hopes to compete in the Rio Olympics. 28-year-old Inderjeet's 'A' sample had returned positive for banned steroids androsterone and etiocholanolone on June 25 and now his B sample has also tested positive for the same substances, sources told PTI. Inderjeet has been provisionally suspended and served a second notice by the National Anti-Doping Agency. He will have to appear before the NADA Disciplinary Panel for a hearing and he will be given a chance to present his case before the panel.
Irked by Wasim Akram questioning PCB's decision to form an inquiry committee on team's disastrous show in Asia Cup, influential board official Shakil Sheikh has threatened to open old files related to legendary fast bowler's alleged involvement in match-fixing. "I don't think Wasim is 'King of Swing'. I think he is 'King of Betting'. He should think before criticizing anyone because his past is known to all and old files in the board can be opened," Sheikh, who is the head of PCB's inquiry committee told Geo Super channel on Monday night. As far as old files are concerned, Sheikh was referring to report submitted by Justice Malik Qayyum on match fixing inquiry at the start of the millennium. Sheikh, who also heads the Islamabad regional cricket association made references to his name (Wasim) being linked to betting in cricket and in the Justice Malik Qayyum match-fixing inquiry. Sheikh was upset with the remarks made by Akram recently at a press conference in which he questioned the purpose of the board appointing an inquiry committee on the eve of the World T20 to probe into the national team's poor performance in the Asia Cup.
Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel was charged with violent conduct for appearing to stamp on Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar bagged India's 13th Olympic quota in shooting with a bronze medal in men's 50m rifle 3 positions at the 14th Asian Championship.
'Our defence system starts with our first four and that's why we have a solid defence. People look to Brazil and always try to find players who score or dribble but we have many other qualities. With our goalkeeper and defenders, we have a solid defence' 'It's pretty exciting for us and we are looking to do something great here'
Kings XI Punjab head coach Sanjay Bangar believes out-of-favour opener Virender Sehwag is capable of making a national comeback despite being out of the Indian team for nearly two years now.
Manjit Singh came from nowhere to snatch the men's 800m gold for the biggest medal of his life but finals continued to be a riddle for P V Sindhu
In a first of sorts for Indian football, the national team implemented the 'Player Tracking System' at its ongoing preparatory camp at the DSK Dream City, the home of DSK Shivajians Football Club, in Pune.
Barcelona midfielder Xavi will announce on Thursday he is leaving the club he joined as an 11-year-old to sign a lucrative three-year deal with Qatari side Al Sadd, his agent told Reuters on Wednesday.
Former India wicketkeeper Ajay Ratra, who was Punjab's coach when Shubman Gill made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2017, believes the time is right to blood the youngster into the India's Test team
As 2018 draws to a close and the white noise of 24-hour news cycles and Twitter storms fade into the background, it is already clear that history will remember only a handful of those people, each of whom has taught us something about ourselves and the rapidly changing world in which we live.
'He (Smith) will be so excited to turn up and play cricket. That's what he loves doing and that's what he is very, very good at. Smith and Warner are two of the best players in world cricket, I think Smith will be giving a lot and integrate with the team'
The heated rivalry between Swede Bjorn Borg and American John McEnroe is the centerpiece of a new film on the famous battles between the tennis greats both on and off the court. "Borg/McEnroe," starring Swedish actor Sverrir Gudnason as Borg and U.S. actor Shia LaBeouf as McEnroe, traces the rivalry between the two tennis players at the 1980 Wimbledon final, considered to be one of the best tennis matches ever played.
Any hopes that the issue of race in South Africa's sport was fading were damaged this week when the government banned its national cricket, rugby, athletics and netball federations from bidding for international tournaments due to a failure to increase their number of black players.
Just a few days after wrestler Narshing Yadav was caught for doping, another Rio Olympics qualified athlete Inderjeet Singh, a shot putter, has failed a dope test.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Domestic cricket will only happen when travelling is safe: Ganguly
Minutes earlier, Sarkar had been in the media tribune, capturing the proudest moment of his coaching career on a modest mobile phone as Barman stood on the podium shrouded in India's tri-colour flag with the gold medal around her neck.
The challenge for Virat Kohli's team is not just winning the four-Test series, but winning it handsomely.
The thousands of Welsh supporters who have brought their nation's famed singing, not to mention plenty of plastic dragons, to a major tournament after a wait of more half a century are steeling themselves to hit the heights -- or rock bottom -- on Monday.
Olivier Giroud said he had breathed a sigh of relief after scoring the first goal in Euro 2016 and wished the boos he has faced throughout his career would now go away. The France striker, who opened the scoring with a brave header in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday, now has eight goals from his last eight games for the national team. Giroud, who has scored 18 goals for France, is the team's most prolific striker since Didiers Deschamps took over as coach in 2012. "My statistics speak for themselves," Giroud told a news conference at France's training camp outside Paris on Saturday. "People say I get better through adversity but I'd be happy to live without all the mudslingers," he added.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chappell, now 66, came to India after a five-year stint as coach of South Australia, where he was noted by the Australian media as exhibiting "fantastic" individual skills, but proving "poor" when it came to group dynamics.
Five years ago, a starry-eyed Shafali Verma wrestled through a vociferous crowd at the nondescript Lahli ground in Haryana to get a glimpse of her idol Sachin Tendulkar, the moment that inspired the then 10-year-old to take up the game.
'We keep climbing one step and slipping three. In 2004, our relay team was 7th in the world. Then we slipped from there. Otherwise, today our 4x400 metres relay team would have been gearing for a medal at the Rio Games.' 'If we need to compete at the world level, our thinking needs to be at world level. You can't have akhada thinking.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field