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28Jun

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Contemporaries mourn World Cup winner Varinder’s demise

One of the best right-halves of the 1970s, Varinder Singh breathed his last in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Singh, 75, was a gold medallist at the 1975 Kuala Lumpur Hockey World Cup and won bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He was also a member of the 1973 World Cup team that won silver. Varinder was born on May 16, 1947 in village Dhannowali near Jalandhar and Ajitpal Singh, captain of the World Cup winning side, recalled his association with the deceased. “When Varinder came to the Indian hockey team, he was my room-mate till our last tournament together. He was the gentle giant of the World Cup winning team and the most disciplined and honest hockey player of his time,” Ajitpal said. Varinder played as a right-in early in career, and was recruited by Indian Railways in the late 1960s. “On...

19Jun

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Neeraj Chopra allays injury fears, looking forward to opening Diamond League season on June 30 | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Allaying fears of any injury during the Kuortane Games in Finland where he claimed his first win of the year, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra said he is looking forward to starting his Diamond League season in Stockholm on June 30. The 24-year-old Chopra slipped after his third attempt in Kuortane on Saturday. The conditions were treacherous for a javelin throw competition with a wet and slippery run-up due to rains. He lost his balance after releasing the spear in his third attempt and had a nasty fall with his left shoulder hitting the turf. Chopra won the competition with his opening throw -- his lone legal attempt -- of 86.69m. He took only three attempts, just like second and third-place finishers -- Trinidad and Tobago's 2012 Olympics champion Keshorn Wal...

13Jun

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Nikhat Zareen: Need to train Indian athletes to handle mental pressure at big events | Boxing News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Handling "mental pressure" at the highest level is something Indian athletes lack, according to reigning world champion boxer Nikhat Zareen, who feels specialised training should be given to overcome this hurdle at big-ticket events. Indian athletes have a tendency to perform well at regular events but falter at the big stage like the Olympics or the World Championships. "Our Indian boxers are very talented, we are not less than anyone. We have strength, speed and power.. everything," Zareen said when asked where the Indian boxers are lacking. "It's just that once you reach that (world) level, boxers should be given training to handle the mental pressure. "Once you reach the big platforms a lot of athletes become nervous, they aren't able to perform," added Zareen, who was ta...

12Jun

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Viktor Axelsen wins Indonesia Masters title | Badminton News – Times of India

JAKARTA: Danish badminton ace Viktor Axelsen clinched the men's singles title at the Indonesia Masters on Sunday, beating Taiwan's Chou Tien-chen in straight sets. The world number one beat Chou 21-10, 21-12 in a 41-minute match held at the Istora sporting arena in Jakarta. "I love playing here in Istora and I always dreamt of winning a tournament at Istora. It's a legendary venue, so to have done that is something that is really special to me," 28-year-old Axelsen told reporters. Axelsen's victory came after he downed home favourite Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the semi-finals. In the women's singles, China's Chen Yufei overcame Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon to win her first title since her gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. She defeated Ratchanok, who won the Indonesia Masters wo...

12Jun

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For little-known quartermiler Kiran Pahal, her late father’s memory will continue to inspire her | More sports News – Times of India

CHENNAI: For little known Haryana athlete Kiran Pahal, who won the women's 400m gold in the National Championships, the triumph was an emotional moment as she remembered her late father who backed her sporting dreams to the hilt despite social opprobrium in a male dominated society. Hailing from Ganaur village in Sonepat district of Haryana, the 21-year-old Kiran also recollected the struggles she had to undergo as her family was in abject poverty. Her father Om Prakash, who died last month after a prolonged illness (lung problem), was a munshi at a Tehsil court in Sonepat district. Her mother Maya Devi is a homemaker. "My father was the only earning member. I am the youngest of three siblings. It was tough in our family, we struggled a lot due to financial issues," Kiran told PTI after...

25May

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Delhi High Court places Hockey India under Committee of Administrator for Sports Code violation | Hockey News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday placed Hockey India under a three-member Committee of Administrators (CoA) after observing that the federation has violated the National Sports Code. The Court ruling came on a petition filed by former India player Aslam Sher Khan, who had challenged Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra's appointment as life member of Hockey India. The High Court held that HI's appointment of Batra as its life member and Elena Norman as CEO were illegal and thus the administrative setup of Hockey India was erroneous or illegal. Now in a space of seven days, two national federations have been put under CoA as the Supreme Court, on May 18, had appointed a three-member committee to manage the affairs of the All India Football Federation (AIF...

25May

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IOA President Narinder Batra says he will not run for second term | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra on Wednesday announced that he will not run for a second term for the top job when the elections for the national sport's apex body are held, the development coming weeks after the CBI initiated a preliminary inquiry against him for alleged misappropriation of public funds. Batra said he needs to spend more time as head of International Hockey Federation. Batra, who was elected as IOA president for the first time in 2017, is eligible to contest for re-election. His decision means that his membership of International Olympic Committee will also come to an end as the coveted position was linked to his IOA presidency. Batra was made an IOC member in 2019. The IOA elections, which were due to be held in December last year, have ...

22May

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Australia’s Titmus smashes Ledecky’s 400m freestyle world record | More sports News – Times of India

ADELAIDE (Australia): Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus smashed Katie Ledecky's 400m freestyle world record at the Australian championships Sunday, touching in 3mins 56.40secs. The 21-year-old upset American great Ledecky in the Tokyo Olympic pool last year to claim gold and on Sunday shattered her world best of 3:56.46 set at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. !(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {}; const { TimesApps } = window; TimesApps.loadFBEvents = function() { (function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) { if (f.fbq) return; n = f.fbq = function() { n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(...arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments); ...

9May

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‘He calls me from where he is, motivates me, prays for me’: Talented swimmer Vedaant Madhavan on father R Madhavan’s support | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: There were tears of joy when actor-cum-filmmaker R Madhavan's son Vedaant Madhavan added a second medal to his kitty - a gold medal in the men's 800m freestyle at the Danish Open in Copenhagen recently. He immediately rushed to his room, after the medal ceremony, and did a video call with his parents. Vedaant's father was elated but couldn't control his emotions after seeing the gold medal around his son's neck. The 16-year-old Vedaant clocked 8:17.28, his personal best, to claim the top honours. He edged past local lad Alexander L Bjorn by 0.10 to clinch the top position on the podium. Vedaant's gold medal finish was applauded by all and is a great sign for Indian swimming in the long run. Though Vedaant and Indian swimming both still have a long way to go. Swimming is a spo...

6May

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Nobody is tough, everybody is beatable: PV Sindhu | Badminton News – Times of India

PANAJI: Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu says she can't pick her toughest opponent in the international circuit as all are of the same standard and one has to be always alert irrespective of the world ranking of the player. "I feel nobody is tough and at the same time, anybody is beatable," she said during an interaction at the ongoing Goa Fest 2022 on Friday. "Right now everybody is of the same standards, you can't think that a higher ranking player will be hard or not beatable and at the same time when you are playing with the low ranking player, you can't expect that it is going to be an easy win. "So you have to give your hundred percent, no matter what. I can't say that one person is toughest opponent and she is unbeatable, everybody is beatable." Recalling the times when everyth...

28Apr

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Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag enter BAC quarterfinals

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu advanced to the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Championships after beating lowly-ranked Yue Yann Jaslyn Hooi of Singapore in straight games in the women’s singles competition on Thursday. The fourth-seeded Indian, who had claimed a bronze in the 2014 Gimcheon edition, defeated Jaslyn Hooi, ranked 100th, 21-16 21-16 in 42 minutes to set up a clash with third seed Chinese He Bing Jiao, whom she had beaten for a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. Sindhu has a 7-9 head-to-head record against Bing Jiao, whom she has beaten twice in the last two meetings. The third-seeded Indian men’s doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also made it to the quarterfinals with a 21-17 21-15 win over Japan’s Akira Koga and Taichi Saito. The world nu...

5Apr

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Israel’s Tokyo Olympics gold medallist gymnast Linoy Ashram retires aged 22 | More sports News – Times of India

Israel's Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Linoy Ashram has announced her retirement at the age of 22, adding that she will be taking up a coaching role. Ashram won the individual all-around gold in Tokyo last year to break a Russian stranglehold on the Olympic title that stretched back to 2000. "That my business card says Olympic champion, I know it was worth making this journey," Ashram told a news conference on Monday. "An athlete needs to know when to retire. I have fulfilled my dream. I will continue but on the other side." Ashram added that she will be joining her former coach Ayelet Sussman's team. Ashram won six silver and five bronze medals across the 2017, 2018 and 2019 world championships, and claimed two gold medals and a bronze at last year's World Cup. She also won all-...

3Apr

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Bid for cricket’s inclusion in Olympics is about getting exposure in non-popular markets: ICC CEO | Cricket News – Times of India

MELBOURNE: International Cricket Council (ICC) CEO Geoff Allardice on Sunday said the ICC's bid for cricket's inclusion at the Olympics is not aimed at making money, but it's about taking the sport to non-cricketing markets to grow its global reach. Allardice made the statement following the ICC's push for inclusion of the sport in the Olympics after women's T20 cricket is set to make its debut at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The men's competition has already made its debut at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. "In many of our members, being seen as an Olympic sport and having an association with the government and the national Olympic movement is something that is going to be really beneficial in terms of facilities and high-performance assistance,” Allardice wa...

22Mar

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All England has given me self-belief to beat big players: Lakshya Sen | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Making the All England Championships final has given him the self-belief to beat top players but Indian shutter Lakshya Sen on Tuesday said he will need to maintain his fitness going into the upcoming big-ticket events. The 20-year-old from Uttarakhand has been sensational en route to the men's singles final at Birmingham, and he attributed his transformation to the experience of playing in Indonesia and the World Championships last year. He also said the hard work he put in to improve his fitness during the COVID-19 pandemic, helped. "I had a lot of time in the pandemic where I could improve my fitness to the next level. As a junior player I would go on attack and play smashes all the time but, in big venues, you have to play a patient game and build on those winners and the...

26Feb

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FIH Pro League: Indian women’s hockey team looks to continue winning | Hockey News – Times of India

After more than two years, the Indian women's hockey team is set to play their first game at Kalinga Stadium when they face off against Spain in FIH Pro League in Bhubaneswar on Saturday. The last time they played here they beat the US and booked their place at Tokyo Olympics. It was the start of a memorable journey which, even though ended in disappointment, saw the team reach new heights. Post the Olympics, the women's team hasn't seen too much success, although they did qualify for World Cup, to be held later this year. After that they began their maiden Pro League campaign on a high when they beat China in a double header with ease and will now look to put on another good show against the world No. 7 team, who were knocked out from the quarterfinals at Tokyo Olympics by Great Britai...

23Feb

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Olympic champion Alexander Zverev says behaviour was ‘unacceptable’ in Acapulco | Tennis News – Times of India

ACAPULCO: German Olympic tennis champion Alexander Zverev said there "was no excuse" for smashing his racket on the umpire's chair several times and his foul-mouthed rant at the official was "unacceptable", as he was expelled from the Acapulco Open by the ATP. Zverev, ranked three in the world, posted an apology posted on his Instagram account a few hours after his expulsion. "It is difficult to put into words how much I regret my behavior during and after the doubles match yesterday," he wrote. "I have privately apologised to the chair umpire because my outburst towards him was wrong and unacceptable." Zverev lost his cool after he and doubles partner Marcelo Melo of Brazil fell 6-2, 4-6, 10-6 to Briton Lloyd Glasspool and Finn Harri Heliovaara. Ausraster von Alexander #Zverev: Beim AT...

18Feb

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Novak Djokovic sets sights on Paris Olympics, wants to return to Australia | Tennis News – Times of India

BELGRADE: Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic said he has unfinished business at the Olympics and will be gunning for gold at Paris 2024, adding that he is keen to return to Australia despite his deportation this year. Djokovic's quest for an Olympic gold in Tokyo ended in a semi-final defeat to Germany's Alexander Zverev, marring an otherwise stellar 2021 in which he won the first three Grand Slams and reached the final of the fourth. A day after his loss to Zverev, he went down to Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match to return empty-handed from Japan. "An Olympic medal, especially gold, is always a big wish," the 34-year-old told Radio Television of Serbia ahead of his return to competitive action next week. "Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to fight for it in...

16Feb

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SAI appoints 398 coaches, assistant coaches in preparation of Olympics 2024, 2028

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) on Wednesday announced it has appointed 398 coaches at various levels across 21 disciplines to prepare for important tournaments including the Paris and Los Angeles Olympics. The new batch of coaches and assistant coaches has a host of eminent names, including Asian Games gold medallist rower Bajrang Lal Thakar. He joins as rowing coach. Commonwealth Championship gold medallist grappler Shilpi Sheoran joins as an assistant coach in wrestling, while Olympian Jincy Phillip will serve as an athletics coach. Pugilist Pranamika Borah, multiple medallist in leading international championships, joins as a boxing coach. “The recruitment comes in the wake of the effort of the Ministry of Youth Affairs of Sports to provide 360 degree support to athletes as the...

9Feb

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Winter Olympics: Germany’s Geiger wins normal hill gold with stunning comeback | More sports News – Times of India

ZHANGJIAKOU (China): Vinzenz Geiger of Germany pulled off a stunning comeback in a thrilling sprint finish to win the individual normal hill/10 km Nordic combined gold medal at the Beijing Olympics on Wednesday. Joergen Graabak of Norway took silver, with Lukas Greiderer of Austria securing the bronze in a race that exploded into life on the final lap. Ryota Yamamoto of Japan landed a monster leap of 108 meters to soar into the lead after the ski jumping as some of the favourites came up short, including world number one Johannes Lamparter of Austria and third-ranked Geiger, who came in 11th. That meant a start one minute 26 seconds after Yamamoto, whose lead was quickly whittled away in the skiing as he was reined in by the chasing pack. Germans Julian Schmid and Johannes Rydzek plus G...

7Feb

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Women’s IPL to start ‘soon’, says BCCI secretary Jay Shah | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: A full-fledged women's Indian Premier League (IPL) could begin as early as next year, with the Indian cricket board (BCCI) saying it is working on delivering the tournament "soon". A three-team Women's T20 Challenge is staged alongside the men's IPL, but many believe women deserve their own expanded tournament with more teams and players. The Women's T20 Challenge will continue this year, but BCCI secretary Jay Shah said things would change soon. "I want to assure you that BCCI is not only sincere but is taking all necessary steps to start a full-fledged women's league similar to the IPL soon," Shah told Reuters in an email. "The huge interest among fans and players towards the women's T20 Challenge is an encouraging sign and we are all committed to making it happen." The ent...