Mohun Bagan-East Bengal derby clash
Kolkata: Bitter foes Mohun Bagan and East Bengal will clash in the season’s first local derby in the Calcutta Football league (Premier Division) fixture at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan on August 31.One of the oldest football leagues of the world, the CFl Premier Division will kick off with defending champions and record 35-time winners East Bengal facing United SC on August 3, the IFA said on Thursday.Eight qualifiers along with four seeded teams, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, United SC and Mohammadan Sporting, will vie for top honours in the championship round that will conclude on September 11, the according to the IFA fixture.The IFA has roped in Star TV as their television partners and the matches will have either 3.15pm or 4pm kickoff.
Delhigolfer Ankita wins
Srinagar: It looked like a comfortable win for Pune’s Shweta Galande on Thursday until she faltered on her last hole, giving away the winners cheque to Delhi’s Ankita Tiwana in the seventh leg of the Hero Women’s Professional Golf Tour. In what can be called the battle of nerves, the Delhi golfer utilised her experience to overpower Shweta in the second play off hole of the Rs.7 lakh tournament. The event, which was being played at the picturesque Royal Springs Golf Course, also marks Ankita’s maiden win on the domestic tour.On a tough day when none on the field could card an even par score, overnight leader Shweta seemed to be in complete control of her game until she faltered on the very last hole with a bogey to gift the win to Ankita through a play-off.
35th National Games in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: The 35th edition of the National Games will be held in Kerala from January 31 to February 14 next year in various venues across seven districts.Starting the countdown, dates of the biggest national sporting event were announced by Indian Olympic Association president N Ramachandran in the presence of Union Minister of state for Sports and Youth Affairs Sarbananda Sonowal at a colourful function in the Assembly complex on Thursday.After the declaration, Sonowal proclaimed acceptance of the dates on behalf of the Government of India.Pledging all support to the event, Sonowal said National Games was a significant event for inculcating the sense of oneness, unity and brotherhood among people from all states.
Indiato play six bilateral series against Pak
Karachi:The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday said it has signed a binding agreement with the BCCI, in which two countries will play six bilateral series over the next eight years under the new future tours program.The PCB said in a statement from lahore that it had made extraordinarily gains at the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) annual meeting in Melbourne, which included the agreement with India.”Of the three major concessions that PCB Chairman Najam Sethi was able to secure to Pakistan’s great advantage are: After N Srinivasan’s election as the first ICC Chairman in a landslide, India has officially turned the MOUs signed earlier this year with regard to six rubbers between the two nations into binding agreements straightaway,” the statement said.
Kolkata kabaddi franchise unveils team
Kolkata: Franchise-based leagues being the flavour of the season, Bengal Warriors, the Kolkata outfit of the upcoming Pro Kabaddi, on Thursday unveiled 12-member squad with Surjeet Singh as the captain.The 2013 Asian Indoor Games gold medallist will lead the side with three foreigners -- South Korean duo of Jang Kun lee and Seong Ryelo Kim and Iran’s Farhad Kamal Gharibi in the July 26-August 31 league.Bengal Warriors bought the Services lad for 12 lakh as each team had a cap of Rs 60 lakh for the Rs 1 crore prize money league.”We have a balanced team and we’re committed to bring back the lost glory of city’s kabaddi,” coach Raj Narain Sharma.
Our aggression paid dividends, says Mathews
Colombo: Sri lankan skipper Angelo Mathews attributed his team’s Test series win against England to the aggressive brand of cricket that they played during the two Test matches. “We gave it back as good as we got,” Mathews said referring to on field verbal sparring with the England batsman Joe Root in the final Test match which Sri lanka won by 100 runs at the Headingley, leeds. Sri lanka also won the one off T20 match and the ODI series making it a clean sweep for the Sri lankans. The tour was undertaken with a note of acrimony when the Sri lankans accused Engand of poaching their Head Coach Paul Farbrace.