Jaipur pip Bengaluru 30-28 in PKL thriller
Jaipur Pink Panthers pipped Bengaluru Bulls 30-28 in a thrilling tie of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 of the inter zone challenge week at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow on Friday. Jaipur rode on terrific raiding performance from Jasvir Singh (10 points) and a rock-solid defensive display from birthday boy Manjeet Chhillar (8) to hold their nerve and hold on to a much-needed win. In another match, U Mumba bounced back in style to beat UP Yoddha 37-34 in the opening tie.
Liverpool reject fresh € 125M offer for Philippe Coutinho
Liverpool have rejected a fresh a €125 million offer from Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho, thus maintaining their "definitive stance" that the Brazilian mid-fielder will not be sold this summer and will remain a Liverpool player when the window closes. On Thursday, Barcelona general manager Pep Segura had claimed that the club was "close" to signing Coutinho. Last Friday, Coutinho had submitted a transfer request to Liverpool, hours after the club came out with a statement that they will not be selling the mid-fielder, reports goal.com.
Ronaldo, Messi shortlisted for FIFA's Best Player 2017 award
Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to clinch the Best FIFA Men's Player 2017 award for the second time after being named among the 24-man shortlisted candidates for this year's coveted prize. Ronaldo, who bagged the inaugural gong last year, is a front-runner to clinch the 2017 award after inspiring Zinedine Zidane's side to the Champions League glory and Portugal to the European Championship 2016 Trophy, reports goal.com. The Portuguese will face tough competition from his long-time Barcelona rival Lionel Messi, who inspired his side to Copa del Rey glory besides also finishing up as La Liga's top scorer with 37 goals—12 ahead of the Real Madrid star.
In a first, FIFA appoints female referees for U-17 WC
With only two months to go before the FIFA U-17 World Cup kicks off, the FIFA Referees Committee has appointed 21 trios of match officials, representing all six confederations. However, the most astonishing part of the appointment is the appointment of female referees. It will be the first-ever time that FIFA has selected female referees for a men's tournament. Apart from match referees, FIFA has also selected seven support referees. "We think it's time for elite female referees to be involved in a FIFA men's competition," said FIFA head of refereeing Massimo Busacca.
CAS imposes 4-year ban on Russian triple jumper Pyatykh
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday imposed a four-year ban on Russian triple-jumper Anna Pyatykh for doping. CAS said in a statement that the athlete violated anti-doping rules related to the use of a prohibited substance, reports eFE. "A period of ineligibility of four (4) years is imposed on Ms Anna Pyatykh starting on 15 December 2016, the date of commencement of her provisional suspension," CAS added.
Australia recall Faulkner, Coulter-Nile for India tour
Cricket Australia (CA) on Friday recalled the pace duo of James Faulkner and Nathan Coulter-Nile while resting injured Mitchell Starc for the upcoming limited overs tour to India from September 17 to October 13. Besides Starc, all-rounder Moises Henriques and the injured trio of Chris Lynn, John Hastings, James Pattinson were also rested for the tour, comprising five One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three Twenty20 Internationals. All-rounders Ashton Agar and Hilton Cartwright were the fresh additions to the squad for the tour.
2008 Olympic champ cyclist Sanchez tests positive
Spanish cyclist Samuel Sanchez, who won the gold medal in the men's road race in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, has been suspended after testing positive for drugs, the International Union of Cycling (UCI) has announced. The UCI on Thursday confirmed the test result in a press communique explaining Sanchez "was notified of an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) of GHRP-2* in a sample collected in the scope of out-of-competition control on August 9, 2017, reports Xinhua news agency. "The doping control was planned and carried out by the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF), the independent body mandated by the UCI, in charge of defining and implementing the anti-doping strategy in cycling."
Sania, Bopanna advance in Cincinnati Masters
India's Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna advanced in the men's and women's doubles categories at the Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament in Ohio on Thursday. The fourth seeded pair of Sania and her Chinese partner Peng Shuai overcame unseeded Romanians Irina-Camelia Begu and Raluca Olaru 6-3, 6-7 (1), 10-3 in the quarter-finals. Bopanna and Croatian Ivan Dodig battled past the Colombian-Italian pair Juan Sebastián Cabal and Fabio Fognini with a 5-7, 7-5, 10-8 victory in the pre-quarterfinals.
