Rio Olympics: Sindhu, Srikanth keep India's hopes alive, Vikas exits

August 16, 2016

New Delhi, Aug 16: On the tenth day of Rio Olympics, Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu+ and Kidambi Srikanth booked their quarterfinals berths to keep medal hopes alive on Monday, but boxer Vikas Krishan failed to assure a medal after losing his last-eight bout late in the day.

sindhuSindhu displayed a dominant performance to beat Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying in straight games 21-13, 21-15 and booked her spot in the quarter-finals of the women's singles badminton event at the Rio Olympics on Monday. The ninth seed Sindhu took 40 minutes to dismantle the eighth seeded Tai and gave her medal chances a boost in her maiden Olympic appearance.

Sindhu used her height to great advantage as she put pressure on Tai with jump smash and deft touch to force the opponent into unforced errors. Sindhu will need all the tricks she used successfully against Tai in the quarters as she faces world No. 2 and second seeded Wang Yihan of China next on Tuesday.

Earlier, India's lone male shuttler in singles event, Srikanth+ also continued his impressive run as he defeated world No. 5 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark to reach the quarter-finals. The 11th-ranked Indian overcame the higher ranked Danish 21-19, 21-19 in a tight 42-minute contest to keep the medal hopes alive.

With the victory, Kidambi also became the second Indian male shuttler to reach the last eight stage after Parupalli Kashyap, who made the quarters in London 2012. The 23-year-old Indian will now face China's Lin Dan, two-time Olympic champion, for a place in semi-finals on Wednesday.

India's campaign in boxing ended on Monday when Vikas was outpunched 0-3 by Uzbekistan pugilist Bektemir Melikuziev in the quarter-final bout of the men's middleweight (75kg) category. In the battle of southpaws, the younger 20-year-old Uzbek dominated the 24-year-old Indian in all the three rounds winning them 30-27, 30-25, 30-27. Needing a win to assure India its first medal in Rio, Vikas was unable to cope the barrage of punches the promising Uzbek boxer threw in the bout. Vikas was the last of the three Indians to bow out of the Games, after Manoj Kumar lost in the pre-quarterfinals and Shiva Thapa in the opening round.

At the Olympic Stadium, Lalita Babar+ finished tenth in the women's 3000m steeplechase with a timing of 9:22.74 in the final. It was a below par performance for Babar, who broke national record in the qualification (9:19.76) to become the first Indian female track finalist in 32 years. The result though remained the best performance by an Indian in a track event since PT Usha's fourth-place in 400m hurdles in 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

There was more disappointment for India in athletic events on Monday, with both sprinter Srabani Nanda and triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary failing to progress further from their initial rounds. The 25-year-old Srabani clocked 23.58s to finish sixth in her 200m heat, and crashed out of the Games as 55th ranked in the 72-athlete event.

It was a similar story for 30-year-old Maheshwary, a three-time Olympian, as he registered a best jump of 16.13m to finish 30th in the event. Unlike his London outing, where he failed to register a mark, Maheshwary successfully completed all his three qualifying jumps with his best coming in the second. But he failed to qualify for the final by a long margin with the final slot, the 12th, going to Cuba's Lazaro Martinez for a jump of 16.61m.

India's wrestling campaign also began on Monday with Ravinder Khatri participating in the 85kg category of the Greco-Roman event. But Khatri failed to cross his opening hurdle as he was thrashed 9-0 by Viktor Lorincz of Hungary on Great Superiority - which indicates a difference of eight technical points with the loser without logging any points.

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July 19,2020

Manchester, Jul 19: Former England pacer Dominic Cork reckons star all-rounder Ben Stokes will go on to become one of his country's greatest cricketers ever.

Stokes, the hero of England's World Cup triumph last year, sparkled with a fine 176 and powered his side to a strong first-inning total of 469/9 declared in the ongoing second Test against the West Indies here.

"I genuinely think he can get better because of his work ethic. He wants to bat, he wants to bowl, he wants to work on his game, wants to get better," Cork said on Sky Sports show The Cricket Debate.

"I know he works a hell of a lot on his bowling as well. I just see this man not becoming only the best in the world but one of the best we have had ever. That's how highly I rate him."

The former seamer thought things changed for better for the World Cup hero after the Bristol bar brawl three years ago.

Last year, Stokes himself had said that the unsavoury incident and the ensuing chain of events, which dogged his career for 15 months, may be the best thing that could have happened to him.

Following the incident in September 2017, Stokes was acquitted of affray by a Bristol court in August 2018, before the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) ended his 15-month exile after a hearing in December 2018.

Former England batsman Ravi Bopara also spoke about the remarkable change in Stokes' approach.

"I think there has definitely been a change with Ben. He has made his mistakes and learnt from them. He looks a formidable cricketer," he said.

"He is a fiery character and always has been - even if you are playing PlayStation in hotel rooms.

"But as he has had a more important role in the side as an all-rounder, making an impact with bat and ball, winning games for England, and since England have started looking at him as the main guy, his attitude has changed with it."

West Indies lead the three-match series 1-0 after their win in the opener at Southamton.

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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News Network
January 20,2020

Jan 20: Both Steve Smith and Rohit Sharma made sparkling centuries in Bengaluru, but it was the Indian who finished on the winning side, leading his team to a 2-1 series win.

Smith, having run out his captain Aaron Finch early on, dug in to bring up his ninth ODI century, his 131 off 132 balls setting India a target of 287 on Sunday, 19 January. Continuing the dazzling display of batting at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, Rohit struck 119 in 128 balls, and skipper Virat Kohli chipped in with 89, as the hosts chased down the target with seven wickets to spare in 47.3 overs.

With Shikhar Dhawan hurting his shoulder in the fifth over of the day and sidelined for the rest of the match, Rohit was reunited with KL Rahul – who had a chance to open the innings after coming in at No.3 and No.5 in the first two matches, while also standing in as wicket-keeper. The vice-captain was on the ball right away, dominating the scoring as India raced to 61/0 in the first 10 overs.

The introduction of spin gave Australia a vital breakthrough: Ashton Agar trapped Rahul in front on review, and although the new pair of Rohit and Kohli weren't unduly troubled, the run-rate slowed down. Josh Hazlewood, playing his first ODI in India and his first match in the format in 14 months, was especially miserly, conceding just 10 runs in his first five overs.

But, having settled in, the duo built a useful partnership of 137 and gave themselves the chance to hit out with wickets in hand. The part-time bowling of Finch and Marnus Labuschagne was punished, Rohit lapping up the short balls and sending them soaring into the stands. His century, his eighth against Australia, came with a single to third man.

Zampa finally got the breakthrough, having him caught in the deep going for another big one. But with Kohli having loosened his arms with a couple of beautiful fours off Pat Cummins to go past his half-century, India remained on course.

The skipper missed out on a hundred, but with Shreyas Iyer too clearing the ropes, there were no hurdles as India wrapped up an entertaining series win.

Earlier, the Indian bowlers struggled to find their lines after Australia chose to bat, but Australia weren't able to fully capitalise. David Warner was thrown by the movement to nick Mohammed Shami to the wicket-keeper, while Finch was caught short after Smith pulled out of a run, to leave the hosts at 46/2.

Labuschagne and Smith, though, combined for another special partnership, going at a brisk rate and showing delectable timing against spin. They had guided their side to 173 in the 32nd over when the a sharp piece of fielding from the home captain and strong bowling pulled things back.

Kohli, at cover, plucked a drive from Labuschagne soon after the batsman had reached his maiden fifty. Ravindra Jadeja had his second of the over when the experiment to send Mitchell Starc at No.5 lasted just three balls.

Alex Carey gave Smith company as he brought up a well-earned century, having fallen just short the previous game. The former skipper stepped up the scoring once he crossed three figures, a wristy helicopter six over deep square leg the highlight of his innings. But, excellent death bowling by Shami, who finished with four wickets, ensured the tourists were kept to under 300 – a total that proved below par.

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