Kochi to host ISl 2016 finale
New Delhi: The city of Kochi in Kerala was on Friday selected as venue for the Indian Super league finale on December 18. "Kerala has been the bedrock of Indian football. It is one of the few states in the country where interest in football is unparallelled. I have always been intrigued by the pride and passion of the football fans in Kerala," Nita Ambani, Chairperson, Football Sports Development limited, that runs ISl, said in a release. "We felt that awarding the prestigious final of ISl 2016 to Kochi would be an apt ode to the State's contribution to Indian football," she added.
Indian Aces begin IPTl with win
Saitama: The Indian Aces began their 2016 IPTl campaign with an easy 30-17 win over hosts Japan Warriors at the Saitama Super Arena on Friday. Indian team's Kirsten Flipkens made the most of her return to the IPTl with a 6-2 win over Kurumi Nara in the women's singles. Flipkens hit 19 winners against the Japanese. The Mixed Doubles contest was a thrilling one, decided on a shoot-out that also had a Power Point. The Sania Mirza Rohan Bopanna duo prevailed 6-5 against Jelena Jankovic and Jean-Julien Rojer. The legends set between Australian Mark Philippoussis and Russian Marat Safin was decided in a couple of points, where the former was more effective than the latter, winning 6-3. Men's Doubles action didn't disappoint either with a great clash between experts but again, the away side got the upper hand as Feliciano lópez and Ivan Dodig kept the momentum going and denied Jean-Julien Rojer and Fernando Verdasco the win with a 6-2 scoreline.
Joshna, Dipika ensure India's win
Paris: Dipika Pallikal Karthik beat Satomi Watanabe in a do-or-die-match as India survived a minor scare before edging out Japan 2-1 in the second Play-off match in the World women's team squash championship here on Friday. Having beaten Netherlands on Thursday and Japan on Friday, India now play Canada next for the ninth and 10 places. On the last occasion India had finished 14th. The happy ending on Friday was assured by the seasoned Dipika after Joshna's flawless start had put India 1-0 up in the tie.