Birmingham, Mar 11: Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will face Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals of the All England Championships in Birmingham on Friday.
In the second round of the Women's singles on Thursday, the World No. 2 defeated Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungphan in straight games 21-16, 21-9.
However, Praneeth failed to make into next round after his defeat by Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.
Kidambi Srikanth also lost 10-21, 13-21 to Japanese Kento Momota.
New Delhi, Mar 5: India's men's team skipper Virat Kohli congratulated the Harmanpreet Kaur-led women's side for reaching its maiden final of the T20 World Cup in Australia, saying the outfit's performance is something to be "proud" of.
The Indian women's team advanced to the the summit clash owing to a superior group stage record, after the semifinal clash against England was abandoned without a ball being bowled at the Sydney Cricket Ground due to persistent rain.
"Congratulations to the Indian Women's team on qualifying for the @T20WorldCup final. We are proud of you girls and wish you all the luck for the finals," Kohli tweeted.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag also took to Twitter to wish the Indian side luck for the final which is scheduled to be played in Melbourne on Sunday.
"...A reward for winning all the matches in the group stage. Congratulations @BCCIWomen and wishing you glory this Sunday #T20WorldCup," Sehwag said.
Former India Test specialist VVS Laxman hailed the side for its unbeaten record in the tournament so far.
"Would have been great to see the match, but many congratulations to @BCCIWomen for making it to the finals of the #T20WorldCup . A reward for winning 4 out of 4 in the group stages. Wishing the girls the very best for the finals on #WomensDay"
India have been in red-hot form in the tournament winning all four of their group A matches.
They began with a win over defending champions Australia followed by victories against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Sri Lanka to top group A with eight points from four matches.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side will take on the winner of the second semifinal between hosts Australia and South Africa in the summit clash.
Jun 20: Bengaluru FC (BFC) have signed Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva for a one-year deal, the ISL club said in a statement on Saturday.
As per the agreement, BFC have the option of extending Silva's contract for another year.
The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent the better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China.
Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League.
His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club.
The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn't materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move.
"I've signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city," said Silva.
Silva, thus, became BFC's first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals with Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu.
Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva's addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring.
"Cleiton has a proven track record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we're looking forward to working with him," he said.
Mumbai, May 21: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has chosen legendary Sachin Tendulkar over current skipper Virat Kohli as a better batsman in the ODI format, considering the changed rules of the game and the Mumbaikar's longevity of career.
Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, played 463 ODIs and amassed 18, 426 runs with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.
Kohli, on the other hand, has played 248 ODIs and scored 11, 867 runs with 43 tons at an average of 59.33.
"Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside, it will be Sachin Tendulkar for me," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.
Nowadays, a one-day innings is played with two white balls and with three powerplays.
In the first power play (overs 1-10), two fielders are allowed beyond the 30-yard circle, while in the second powerplay (overs 10-40) four fielders are allowed. In the last powerplay (overs 40-50), five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
Gambhir, who was the star performer in 2011 ODI World Cup final which India won, feels that the change in rules has helped batsmen.
"It's difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well but I think the rules have changed as well, which has helped a lot of new batters," elaborated Gambhir, who played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.
"The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier.
He said he would also go with Tendulkar, considering his longevity and flow of the ODI cricket format at that time.
"Probably I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar if we see the longevity and flow of the one-day cricket format.
"Look at how Sachin Tendulkar has played, different rules, that time 230 to 240, was a winning total," Gambhir signed off.
Comments
Add new comment