Sai Praneeth goes down fighting in New Zealand Open semi-finals
AUCKLAND: Indian shutter B Sai Praneeth went down fighting to second seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the men’s singles semi-finals of the New ZealandOpen on Saturday. The 25-year-old Praneeth was the lone Indian left in fray in the tournament. However, his run came to an end after he succumbed to a 14-21, 21-19, 21-8 loss in a match that lasted over an hour. (PTI)
Saina and Sindhu are precious diamonds: Gopichand
NEW DELHI: India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand called PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal – his two most successful pupils – as “precious diamonds”. Last month, Saina claimed her second individual Commonwealth Games gold medal by defeating world number three Sindhu 21-18, 23-21 in a riveting women’s singles final at Gold Coast, Australia. “As a coach I treat both Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu as precious diamonds. Winning or losing happens every day at the Academy in Hyderabad. Win or defeat in game encourages the winner and loser to raise the bar and reach higher,” said Gopichand. (PTI)
Many top Indian players could miss Afghanistan Test
NEW DELHI: Apart from Virat Kohli, several top Indian cricketers are set to miss the inaugural Test match against Afghanistan in Bengaluru. With the BCCI focusing on the England tour, some second-string players who were part of the team which won the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka could get the chance to play against the Afghans, sources close to the Committee of Administrators (CoA) said on Friday. (TNN)
BCCI uses VJD for all domestic tournaments but not in IPL
MUMBAI: Ten years after the technical committee of the BCCI, under the chairmanship of former batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, first took a call to introduce the Jayadevan System (VJD method) in all domestic tournaments but the Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to use the Duckworth-Lewis (DL) Method season after season. It was the BCCI technical committee’s call, under Gavaskar, to use the VJD Method to calculate target scores in all one-day and T20 tournaments played in the Indian domestic circuit, a decision seconded by the rest of the members in the committee. However, as most things usually stand unexplained in the Indian cricket fraternity, the BCCI has steadfastly refused to apply the same in the IPL under its stated logic that T20 league involves a lot of overseas cricketers and DL is a method popular overseas. (TNN)
India can qualify for Asian Cup knockout stage: Constantine
DUBAI: India have the ability to qualify for the knockout stage of the 2019 Asian Cup, said national football team coach Stephen Constantine, giving wings to his players’ aspirations, quite appropriately, from the world’s tallest building — the Burj Khalifa. India were clubbed with hosts United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Bahrain in Group A of the AFC Asian Cup, the draw for which was held at the iconic Burj Khalifa on Friday. (AFP)
Brighton beat Manchester United to secure Premier League survival
BRIGHTON: Brighton secured their place in the Premier League next season as Pascal Gross’s solitary goal inflicted a 1-0 defeat on Manchester Unitedon Friday. Just over two weeks ahead of the FA Cup final against his old club Chelsea, United manager Jose Mourinho made six changes and was punished as Brighton recorded their first win over the Red Devils since 1982. (AFP)
Atletico boss Simeone banned for Europa League final
LAUSANNE: Atletico Madridcoach Diego Simeone will be forced to watch the Europa League final against Marseille from the stands after receiving a four-match European ban for insulting a referee, UEFA said on Friday. Simeone was ordered from the touchline during last week’s 1-1 draw in the first leg of their semi-final with Arsenal after a heated exchange with French referee Clement Turpin. (AFP)
Nadal downplays chances of finishing as year-end No.1
MADRID: Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, has said that despite a torrid start to his clay-court campaign it was unlikely he would be able to overcome an injury hiatus earlier in the season and finish as tennis’ year-end No.1 for the fifth time. Nadal, in an interview with Efe here on Thursday made the remarks ahead of the start of next week’s Madrid Open, where he will try to win a third (IANS)
LOCAL
Albert Developers SC blank Regina Martyrum
CHINCHINIM: Albert Developers SC blanked Regina Martyrum, Assolna 3-0 to move into the semi-finals of the CRC Women’s Cup played at CRC Chinchinim ground, on Friday.
Albert Developers netted their first goal through Clency D’Souza’s placement shot in the 15th minute. Later, Sima Fernandes doubled the lead for Albert Developers with a snapshot in the 20th minute. It was Sima Fernandes who drove the final nail into the coffin as she completed her brace for Albert Developers in the 59th minute to make it 3-0 at full-time. (HERALD)
Naveen’s treble fires Dempo SC past hapless Vasco SC 6-1
AMBELIM: Dempo SC thrashed Vasco SC 6-1 in the Goa Sevens Premier League, organised by Goa Sevens and Ambelim Sports Club in association with Goa Football Association (GFA), at Ambelim Sports Complex, on Friday.
The Dempo side playing their first game of the tournament started the game with a strong line-up with Nickson Castanha leading the side along with Suraj Hadkonkar who was GSPL 1 leading goal scorer. (HERALD)
