Haryana Steelers sneak past UP Yoddha in PKL
Haryana Steelers edged past hosts UP Yoddha 36-29 in an inter zone challenge of the Pro Kabaddi League (IPL) Season 5 at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium Lucknow on Saturday. The match turned out to be such a tight encounter that both the respective coaches had to be warned by the referees even as Haryana kept their calm to pip the hosts by a whisker. In another match, Telugu Titans overcame some nervy moments to beat former champions U Mumba 37-32 in an inter-zone challenge. The pendulum shifted either way with both teams going all out in the first half of the game before Titans, coming into the match on the back of a heavy defeat, won their second match of the season.
India rally to beat Mauritius 2-1
India came back from a goal down to edge past Mauritius 2-1 in their first game of the Tri-Nation football tournament at the Mumbai Football Arena on Saturday. Jean Mervyn Jocelyn (15th) gave the visitors a shock lead before Robin Singh (37th) restored parity and substitute Balwant Singh (62nd) scored the winner. India, without skipper Sunil Chhetri, nippy wideman Udanta Singh and first choice goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu among a few Bengaluru FC players who would miss the tournament due to their AFC Cup commitments, started on a dismal note.
India win two silver, 6 bronze
India won two silver and six bronze medals at the Asian Junior Individual Squash Championship in Jordan's capital city Amman, on Saturday. Neel Joshi (Under-15) and Yuvraj Wadhwani (Under-13) ended runner-up in their respective sections The bronze medals were won by Sunayna Kuruvilla, Ashita Pranaya, Yoshna Singh, Ananya Dabke, Navmi Sharma and Yuvna Gupta.Â
Valencia, Leganes open La Liga season with wins
Valencia and Leganes share the lead in the La Liga football championship after winning their respective matches by identical 1-0 scores on the first day of the 2017-2018 football season. Both of Friday's matches were preceded by a minute of silence in honour of the victims of the terrorist attack in Barcelona.
Gabriel joins Valencia from Arsenal
Brazilian central defender Gabriel Paulista has joined Valencia for five seasons after the Spanish top division football club reached a transfer deal with English Premier League side Arsenal. Under the terms of the deal, Gabriel will be with the La Liga club until June 30, 2022, and has a buyout clause of 80 million euros ($93.99 million), Valencia said on their website on Friday, reports Efe news agency.
China snubs 'Little Olympics' opening ceremony
China boycotted the opening ceremony of the World University Games hosted by Taiwan today in the latest reflection of deteriorating relations between the two sides. The biennial Summer Universiade, dubbed the "Little Olympics," is the largest ever sporting event Taipei hosts but it has also highlighted tensions with Beijing and the island's struggle for international recognition. It is the first time Taiwan has held the Games, but even on home turf it must compete as "Chinese Taipei" and is unable to fly its national flag or play its national anthem because of Beijing's sensitivities. The two sides split after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still sees the self-ruled island as part of its territory and objects to any official diplomatic recognition of Taiwan. Relations have deteriorated since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in May last year, with Beijing cutting off all official communications.
Mahmudullah, Mominul Haque dropped
Bangladesh all-rounder Nasir Hossain, who played his last Test for the national side in August 2015, has been recalled to the 14-man squad for the opening Test of the two-match series against Australia, beginning August 27 in Mirpur. Medium-pacer Shafiul Islam, who last played in October 2016, has also been named while Mominul Haque has been left out of the Test squad for the first time since his debut in March 2013.
Lahiri moves into contention
Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri turned in nine-under after three birdies in his last five holes to move into contention in the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina. Lahiri followed up his first round of 65 with a 66, and at nine-under he is four shots behind the leaders—Ryan Armour (61) and Webb Simpson (64) -- who are at 13-under 127 halfway through the PGA TOUR's final event of the regular season. Henrik Stenson was a stroke behind them after a 66. Ollie Schniederjans and Vaughn Taylor and were 11. Schniederjans shot 63, Taylor had a 66.
