Hoffman leads Masters with 67
Augusta (Georgia): Charley Hoffman had quite a day at the Masters. Not only did he shoot a 5-under 67 to grab the early lead Thursday, he managed to snag a couple of valuable autographs. While Hoffman was warming up to play in the first group of the tournament, he spotted Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer hitting balls on the range. Those two, of course, strike the ceremonial opening tee shots along with Gary Player. “That was pretty cool,” Hoffman said. “I was sort of scared of them. ‘Should I ask themIJ Should I not ask themIJ” He mustered up the courage and got them to sign a couple of flags, which Hoffman plans to auction off to benefit some of his favorite charities.
paris council to vote on bid
Paris: Paris will move a step closer to bidding for the 2024 Olympics when Mayor Anne Hidalgo submits a resolution in favor of hosting the games before the city council. Hidalgo, who was initially skeptical about the costs and environmental impact of the Olympics, now fully supports a potential bid, which won’t be officially decided before June. Apart from the Green Party members of the council, all other political forces are expected to adopt the mayor’s resolution on Monday. Paris last hosted the Olympics in 1924 and mounted unsuccessful bids for the 1992, 2008 and 2012 Games.
India 147th in fifa rankings
New Delhi: The Indian football team reaped a rich harvest of a win and a draw against Nepal last month in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers Round One as it made a huge jump of 26 places
to occupy the 147th spot in the latest FIFA rankings issued on Thursday. India beat Nepal 2-0 and drew 0-0 over the two legs on March
12 and 17 respectively to gain 87 average points from the previous month when it was lying at a lowly 173rd among 209 countries. This was the best ranking for the Indian team in the FIFA charts in nearly a year after its identical 147th in the May 2014 list.
Toulalan signs new deal
Monaco: Monaco midfielder Jeremy Toulalan has signed a new deal linking him with Monaco until June 2017 as the club increased the stability of its squad with three other contract extensions.
Monaco is fourth in the French league standings and hopes to gain direct qualification for the Champions league next season. It faces Juventus in the quarterfinals of Europe’s top competition this month. Alongside Toulalan, goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, midfielder Nabil Dirar and defender Andrea Raggi also signed new deals on Thursday. Toulalan joined Monaco in 2013 and was made captain by coach leonardo Jardim this season.
Abhijeet Gupta held by Iranian GM
Dubai: Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta missed out on a chance to clinch a win as he had to settled for a draw with Iran GM Idani Pouya in the third round of Dubai International Open Chess Tournament.
Playing with white pieces, GM Gupta enjoyed a certain advantage in the middle game that ensued and even got one opportunity when the whole point was up for grabs. However, the Indian missed and Idani, himself a former U-18 World Champion, did not give Gupta a second chance.
Haryaya ca enter pre-quarters
New Delhi: Fine spell of bowling by Akhil Kuhar (8-0-21-3) & Harshit Kaushik (7-0-18-3) enabled Haryana Cricket Academy beat Ram Pal Cricket Academy by five wickets to enter the p-q-final of 25th All-India Sperry Om Nath Sood Memorial Cricket Tournament.