India U-23 football team lose 0-1 to Qatar
Doha: The Indian under-23 football team couldn't convert the chances that came its way and suffered a narrow 0-1 loss to Qatar in a preparatory match ahead of the AFC Championship Qualifiers in Uzbekistan. Monday evening's game was India's first under the tutelage of new coach Derrick Pereira. Three of the starting XI players were from the Indian Arrows setup, while the likes of Dheeraj Singh Moirangthem, Anwar Ali, Rahul KP, and Komal Thatal were a part of the India U-17 World Cup squad two years back. Despite the chances created by Pereira's men, it was Qatar, which got the breakthrough close to the half time break, when a Salmin Atiq pass from the right was met by Amro Abdelfatah Surag, who made no mistake. With this preparatory game done, the team will now turn its attention to the AFC U-23 Qualifiers later this month.
Joshna beats Nicol David for 3rd time
Cairo: India's leading squash player Joshna Chinappa pulled off a sensational win over eight-time world champion Nicol David in a first round match of the $107,000 Women's Black Ball Squash Open. The Indian, playing with a lot of fire and purpose, got the better of the Malaysian legend 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 in a match played on Monday night. It was Joshna's third win over 21st-ranked Nicol, who will retire at the end of the season. The 16th-ranked Indian had also beaten Nicol during the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia. Joshna was in great touch in the first two games before Nicol bounced back to put up a fight in third. Points had gone neck and neck before the Indian outdid her opponent to earn a passage into the last 16. Joshna now plays sixth seed Sarah-Jane Perry of England.
rahul rises in t20 ranking, kuldeep drops
Dubai: Indian opener KL Rahul's two impressive knocks in the recently concluded two-match T20 series against Australia helped him climb to fifth in the latest ICC Rankings for T20 batsmen on Tuesday. Rahul, who made a comeback to international cricket after a brief suspension scored 47 and 50 in the two matches and gained a spot in the latest rankings. In the bowlers' list, Kuldeep Yadav, who was rested for two T20 Internationals, dropped a place to fifth. Pakistan's Babar Azam and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan remained in top positions in batsmen and bowlers' list respectively. Pakistan (135) enjoys a 13-point lead over second-placed India (122) with England remaining at third place with 121 points.
Ranieri off to winning start with as roma
Rome: Claudio Ranieri got off to a winning start as Roma coach with Stephan El Shaarawy and Patrik Schick's first-half goals enough to squeeze past lowly Empoli 2-1 on Monday to keep in touch with the Champions League places. Eusebio Di Francesco was sacked after the team's elimination in the Champions League last-16 last week with Ranieri returning to the club he coached for 18 months until February 2011. The 67-year-old former Roma player was welcomed back to the Stadio Olimpico with a banner reading "Good luck Mister Ranieri". "I thank the fans, as they gave us a big hand this evening," said Ranieri. Captain Daniele De Rossi, Kostas Manolas, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Cengiz Under were all out injured with Edin Dzeko, Federico Fazio and Aleksandar Kolarov suspended.
Warner shares special messge for SRH fans
New Delhi: After being forced to miss last year's edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the wake of the ball-tampering controversey David Warner has shared a special message for his IPL fans. Warner will mark his return to the cash-rich league this year, starting March 23, where he will lead the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Ahead of his return to IPL, Warner posted a video of him, which was shared on the official Twitter page of Sunrisers. "Hi everyone, this is David Warner, I've a special message for all the Orange Army fans..thank you for showing us all the love and support for all these years! Now its our time to give back to our loyal fans," the Aussie opener said in the video. He also informed that as a return gift, the SRH franchise has decided to keep the rate of 25,000 seats for their first home game at a low price of just Rs 500.
