India pulls out of cyprus shooting wc
New Delhi: India on Friday pulled out of next month's shooting World Cup in Cyprus, citing the novel coronavirus threat there. The shotgun world cup, recognised by the ISSF is scheduled to be held in Nicosia from March 4 to 13. “Acting upon the travel advisory by the Ministry of Health dated the 26th of this month, wherein certain nations have been listed for a complete travel ban, the Indian team has been withdrawn from the Cyprus World Cup beginning Mar 4, because we have found that at least one of those nations will be represented there,” the NRAI said.
Pandya, bhuvi make strong return
Navi Mumbai: Injured trio of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya and Shikhar Dhawan made a confident return to competitive cricket in the 16th DY Patil T20 Cup. Playing for Reliance 1, Hardik showed his all-round skills with a knock of 38 off 25 balls to help his side post 150 for eight. In response, Bank of Baroda were bowled out for just 125 thanks to an incisive spell by Rahul Chahar (5/18) and Hardik's three for 26 to help Reliance 1 win by 25 runs. Bhuvneshwar bowled a sharp spell of 3-0-14-0, while Dhawan scored 14.
Saurav, Veer nominated for ASF awards
Chennai: Saurav Ghosal and Veer Chotrani are the only two Indians to be nominated in the Asian Squash Federation Performance Award for their stellar performance in 2019. World number 13 Ghosal has been nominated for the Dato Alex Award for the Outstanding Performance of the Year in the senior category (men), while Veer has been picked for the Hassan Musa Award for the Outstanding Performance of the Year in the junior category (boys).
Clijsters gets Indian Wells wildcard
Brussels: Former world number one Kim Clijsters will continue her WTA comeback at Indian Wells in March after receiving a wild card into the elite hard court tournament in the California desert. The four-time Grand Slam champion, had been out of the game for seven years before playing the first match of her return in Dubai, where she lost to Garbine Muguruza in the opening round. She is scheduled to play in Monterrey, Mexico, before arriving at Indian Wells, where she won the title in 2003 and 2005.
India, Tajikistan Friendly on March 31
New Delhi: India is scheduled to play a FIFA international friendly away match against Tajikistan on March 31 and the venue for it will be confirmed at a later date. “Tajikistan are a respectable side in Asia and we're looking forward to a tough challenge from them. That is going to be a great opportunity for us to assess ourselves ahead of our final two qualifiers in June,” India's head coach Igor Stimac said. “It would be interesting to find out how much we have advanced our game from our last encounter.”
Wood ruled out of Sri Lanka tour
London: Pacer Mark Wood has been ruled out of England's tour of Sri Lanka with a left side strain and has been replaced in the squad by Saqib Mahmood. England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday said scans had revealed the 30-year-old sustained “a small tear to his left side”. Wood will now “commence an injury rehabilitation programme, working with England and Durham medical teams”, the ECB statement added.
Tasnim, Treesa march into 3rd round
Haarlem: India No 1 Tasnim Mir and rising star Treesa Jolly notched up convincing victories to enter women singles third round at the Dutch Junior Int'l tournament. 11th seed Tasnim held her nerves to complete a 21-14, 21-17 victory from Lui Lok Lok. While seventh seed, Treesa looked comfortable during her 21-12, 21-13 win over Fenna Laros. In the mixed double category, Indian pair of Edwin joy and Shruti Mishra also registered 21-13, 19-21, 21-11 win in second round match.
Chennaiyin-FC Goa clash in ISL semis
Chennai: Having made a superb turnaround after a poor start, two-time champion Chennaiyin FC will look to continue the good run when they take on FC Goa in the first leg of ISL semifinal today. The transformation under Owen Coyle has been remarkable and in 12 games, Chennayin has got 24 points — from 7 wins and 3 draws — to sealed a play-off berth. Now, the team has everything to play for when it takes on FC Goa at the Marina arena. Gaurs on the other hand is on a five-match winning streak.
Kyrgios, de Minaur out of Davis Cup tie
Sydney: Injured Nick Kyrgios and Alex de Minaur were on Friday ruled out of Australia's Davis Cup qualifier against Brazil, dealing captain Lleyton Hewitt a blow in his bid to steer them to the Madrid finals. The mercurial Kyrgios is dealing with a wrist injury while De Minaur continues to struggle with an abdominal tear that he picked up at the season-opening ATP Cup. Despite both players being named in the team this week, they will no longer play, with Alex Bolt and doubles specialist John Peers called up instead.