WIndies end Irish hopes of history
Kingston: Ireland’s flirtation with cricketing history came to a disappointing end in Kingston’s Sabina Park when they lost their second Twenty20 international with the West Indies. Victory, following a famous six-wicket win on the same ground earlier in the week, would have given the Irish a first series win over a Test-playing nation. But the West Indies drew on all their experience to win by 11 runs on Friday, hitting 96 for nine off their 20 overs after Ireland had won the toss and put them into bat, and then restricting the Irish to 85 for eight in theirs. Gary WIlson led Ireland’s run chase with a brave 35 from 39 balls after they had slumpoed to 25 for four and he moved them on to 72 for seven before being caught and bowled by Dwayne Bravo. Brief Scores: WI: 96/9 (Alex Cusack 4/11) beat Ireland: 85 (Gary Wilson 35; Darren Sammy 3/22) by 11 runs.
Advani crashes out of Welsh Open snooker
New Delhi: Top Indian cueist Pankaj Advani crashed out of the Welsh Open snooker tournament with a 3-4 defeat at the hands of Joel Walker of England in the first round at Newport in Wales on Saturday. Advani lost 00-87 (52), 105 (97)-00, 82-30, 01-65, 60-65, 68 (57)-46, 16-78 (55) to make an early exit from the event. Advani will now play in the Senior National Snooker Championship which will be held from March 1-7 in lucknow. He will then fly to China to take part in Haikou Open.
Desai enters Qatar Open U-21 final
New Delhi: Harmeet Desai entered the final of the Under-21 men’s singles final after beating Brazilian Hugo Calderano 11-6, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 at the USD 3.5 million Qatar Open Super Series Table Tennis Championships at Doha. In the final, Desai will take on Frenchman Tristan Flore, who had defeated Benjamin Brossier in an all-French semifinal 11-2, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3.
FIFA team inspects venues in Goa for U-17 WC
Margao: A FIFA team on Saturday visited Goa as part of its ongoing tour to inspect venues suggested by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), for hosting matches of the U-17 World Cup to be held in India in 2017. The two-member team of Inaki Alvarez and Vijay Parthasarthy, FIFAs Director of Competitions and Competitions Manager, respectively, visited half a dozen grounds in Goa including Nehru Stadium. “We have inspected half a dozen grounds in Goa and are satisfied with their condition,” Alvarez told reporters.
Dhaliwal wins golf tournament
New Delhi: In a keenly contested match of the inaugural Powerbuzz Golf Tournament, the overall winner was Mr. H.S. Dhaliwal (IPS) while the runner- up trophy was bagged by Dr. Kashmir Singh (Retired-IPS).