Sports

Qian'an (China), Mar 31: World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) on Thursday became the first Indian boxer to make the cut for this year's Olympics by entering the Asian Qualifying Tournament's final but the celebrated M C Mary Kom (51kg) failed to book her Rio Games ticket after losing in the last-four stage here. Shiva, given the top seeding in his weight category, lived upto the

New Delhi, Mar 31: Defending champion Saina Nehwal entered the pre-quarterfinals but it turned out to be a disastrous day for the men with all of them, including reigning champion K Srikanth, failing to cross the opening hurdle at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super Series badminton here on Wednesday. World No. 10 Srikanth, who had defeated Tian Houwei during the Badminton Asia Team Championships

Kochi, Mar 30: National football team coach Stephen Constantine today lashed out at his players after India lost to Turkmenistan 1-2 to end at the bottom of their group in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, saying that they deserved to be beaten with the kind of play they dished out. India squandered a 1-0 lead to lose the match and a disappointed Constantine said there was no excuse for the poor show

Miami/USA, Mar 29: Defending champions Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis suffered yet another early exit on the American hardcourts as the world number one women's doubles pair crashed out of the Miami Open in the second round on Tuesday. The Indo-Swiss pair was beaten 4-6, 2-6 by the Russian-Romanian duo Margarita Gasparyan and Monica Niculescu, who advanced to the quarterfinals. Earlier this month

Moscow, Mar 29: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand played out a thrilling draw with Anish Giri of Holland and inched himself up to seven points after his 13th and penultimate round game in the Candidates Chess tournament now underway here. The draw might just be the end of Anand’s aspirations for the next World Championships as the Indian may not have theoretical chances of winning the

New Delhi, Mar 28: Jubilant after receiving the Padma Bhushan from President Pranab Mukherjee, Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has admitted that the prestigious award will encourage her to perform even better so that she can make the country proud in the coming future. "It is a great moment for me. It will encourage me to perform even better in the coming future and continue to make India proud,"

New Delhi, Mar 28: Virat Kohli's breathtaking batting on Sunday in Mohali not just impressed the cricket world but also found appreciation in Premier League football circles. The Delhi batter stroked a masterful 82-run knock to power India to the semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20. Under immense pressure for most part of the run chase, Kohli held his nerve to bat right through the innings. The

New York, Mar 26: Indian tennis aces Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna registered contrasting results with the former advancing and the latter losing the opening round match of the Miami Open at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. It was a rather easy outing for women's doubles top seeds Sania and Swiss partner Martina Hingis, who needed just an hour on Thursday to move past Spanish-Romanian pairing of

Recife, Mar 26: Luis Suarez scored on his return from a worldwide ban for biting as Uruguay fought back from 2-0 down to grab a 2-2 draw with Brazil in a pulsating World Cup qualifying battle here Friday. Barcelona star Suarez -- playing his first international since infamously chomping on Italy`s Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup -- struck in the 48th minute to complete a remarkable

Buenos Aires, Mar 25: Lionel Messi`s return sparked Argentina to a 2-1 win over Chile in Santiago on Thursday, breathing new life into their South American qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup. Messi, who had missed the first four games last year with a knee injury, laid on the 24th-minute winner for defender Gabriel Mercado after Angel Di Maria had cancelled out Felipe Gutierrez`s opener