Saurav sails into 2nd round of world’s
Doha: Saurav Ghosal reached the second round of the PSA World men's squash championship with a straight-game win over compatriot Mahesh Mangaonkar. The 10th seed Saurav won 11-7, 11-7, 18-16 in the opening round on Friday. The other Indians in the fray, Ramit Tandon and Vikram Malhotra made first round exits. While Ramit lost to Borja Golan of Spain 9-11, 6-11, 3-11, Vikram squandered a two-game lead to go down to Declan James of England, 11-8, 11-1, 5-11, 3-11, 6-11.
India suffer 0-4 defeat to Saudi arabia
Al Khobar: India bowed out of the race for the 2020 AFC U-19 Championships qualification after a 0-4 defeat to Saudi Arabia. The home side opened the scoring in the second minute as forward Mohammad Khalil Marran latched on to a loose ball and put it past Indian custodian Prabhsukhan Singh Gill. Saudi Arabia made it 2-0 in the 10th minute as midfielder Ahmad Albassas got on the end of a cross from the left flank by Hazzaa Alghamdi. Albassas scored his second of the game in the 18th minute at the Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium on Friday and completed his hat-trick in the 28th minute, once again converting a low cross from the left flank as Saudi Arabia broke forward in numbers on the break.
Dennerby is new U-17 women's coach
New Delhi: Sweden's Thomas Dennerby was on Saturday appointed head coach of the Indian women's team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, bringing with him plenty of success he had tasted with various national squads. The 60-year-old UEFA Pro Diploma holder comes with a rich coaching experience of 30 years in which he guided Sweden women's national team to a third-place finish in the FIFA World Cup in 2011, and a quarterfinal spot in the 2012 London Olympics. His last assignment was with the Nigerian women's national team, coaching the Super Falcons to the 2019 FIFA World Cup. He also helped the Nigerian women win the AWCON 2018, and was awarded the 2018 Coach of the Year in Nigeria.
kane confident of regaining fitness
Napier: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson is confident of regaining full fitness and recover from an “ongoing niggle” before the start of the two-Test series against England beginning November 21. “It's been an ongoing niggle, really,” he told Sky Sports NZ. “That comes at goes. It is settling, which is nice.” “A lot of (the last few months) has been rehab to get the hip right,” he explained. “I had a four-dayer recently (for Northern Districts, against Canterbury), and there's a gap between this series and the first Test, so it's basically training going into it. “A lot of it is mindset. So trying to get that right, trying to prepare as well as well as you can to give yourself the best chance,” he added.
Smith could be SA 1st director of cricket
Mumbai: Former captain Graeme Smith is in contention to become South Africa's first director of cricket, a post created in the aftermath of the country's group-stage exit from the World Cup. According to ‘ESPNcricinfo', Smith is in running for the top job alongside two other contenders — the suspended interim director of cricket, Corrie van Zyl, and former national selector Hussein Manack, both of whom were also interviewed. One of South Africa's finest captains, the 38-year-old Smith could emerge as the figure the embattled team looks up to for a revival in its fortunes. The director will be responsible for overseeing all cricket played under Cricket South Africa's ambit, which includes the national teams, high-performance, age-group structures, and the domestic set-up. The position is expected to be filled by the end of this month.
50K+ spectators expected for d/n test
Kolkata: The Eden Gardens is expected to witness a turnout of more than 50,000 spectators on the first three days of India's first ever Day Night Test, against Bangladesh, here from November 22-26. "More than 50,000 people to witness India's first PinkBall D/N Test at EdenGardens each day for first three days as demand for tickets shoot through the roof," the Cricket Association of Bengal tweeted on Saturday. Giving a breakup, a CAB official said 50,000 tickets include about 17,000 were sold online, while the remaining were distributed among affiliated members.