India U-16 lose to Thailand
China: India Under-16 team currently on an exposure trip in China went down 1-3 against Thailand in the Four-Nation Hua Shan Cup CFA International Youth Football Tournament on Thursday. Two lapses of concentration, the first in the 88th minute and the other in the 90th minute proved costly as Thailand capitalised on these same to score two goals in the last three minutes. The Indians, however, started the match on an attacking note and tested the opposition defence early on. In the ninth minute, Vikram Pratap Singh shot inches wide of the goal as the Indian U-16s pressed to take an early lead. In the 12th minute, Rohit Danu released a pass for Givson inside the box but the latter failed to make the most out of the chance.
IOA chief defends football's exclusion
new delhi: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra on Thursday defended football's exclusion from the Asian Games contingent and justified the decision of including lesser known sports like pencak silat, saying they are potential medal winners and there is no place for "also rans" in the squad. "It is not that we personally like those sports and have included them. They have been winning medals and are expected to win at the Asian Games too. There were another 5-6 lesser known sports besides pencak silat but we did not include them because they were not potential medal winners," Batra said. Men and women football teams will not be travelling because they are "unlikely" to win medals while a 22-member pencak silat squad (an Indonesian form of martial arts) will represent India at the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang.
India to open ACT title defence vs Oman
new delhi: Defending champions India will open their campaign in the fifth men's Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) hockey tournament against hosts Oman on October 18 in Muscat. The Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) on Thursday announced the schedule of the tournament to be held from October 18 to 28. Besides title holders India, other participating nations in the six-team competition are Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan and hosts Oman. The Indian team will be the highest ranked side in the tournament, and will be the favourites to retain their title. However, world no 6, India will face tough challenges from the likes of world no 12 Malaysia and world no 13 Pakistan.
TOP Scheme to be reviewed after Asiad
new delhi: The beneficiaries under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) will be thoroughly reviewed after the upcoming Asian Games and the administrative mechanism of the programme will be completely overhauled, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) said on Thursday. Under the TOP Scheme, some 180-odd athletes are currently getting financial assistance from the government for their training to prepare for the Asian Games and 2020 Olympics. "We will have an entire restructuring of the TOP Scheme. First, we will have a complete review of the beneficiaries after the Asian Games. Many of them are there in the list in view of the Asian Games," SAI Director General Neelam Kapur said. Asked if there would be drastic reduction in the number of beneficiaries, she said, "let us wait for the Asian Games to be over."
Hamilton looks to bounce back
Silverstone: lewis Hamilton and Mercedes would be well advised to ignore all previous form and a pile of encouraging statistics as they bid to bounce back at their home British Grand Prix on Sunday. After the debacle of their double retirement at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, where they were previously unbeaten in four years, and Hamilton's travails in Canada, where he was a clear pre-race favourite, the Mercedes team has lost its near-metronomic consistency.