TENNIS star Naomi Osaka has taken steps to give up her US citizenship to play for Japan in the 2020 Olympics, Japanese media said on Thursday. The 21-year-old, born in Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother but raised in the United States, told NHK it will be special for her to represent host Japan at the Tokyo Games, the public broadcaster said. Osaka, who will turn 22 on Wednesday, faced that deadline to relinquish one nationality because neither Japan nor the United States permits dual citizenshi..

   NEW DELHI :   INDIAN woman chess player Koneru Humpy has jumped to world number 3 position in the latest rankings released by the world body (FIDE). The 32-year-old from Andhra Pradesh made a brilliant comeback after a two-year hiatus to win the FIDE women’s Grand Prix tournament held in Skolkovo in Russia recently. Grand Master Humpy accumulated 17 ELO points to rise to the third spot with a global rating of 2,577.   Humpy had taken a break of two years to take ..

A TRAILBLAZER in Indian tennis, Sania Mirza on Thursday revealed that as a child, she was once asked to stop playing as “no one would marry” her if her complexion turned “dark” due to the rigours of an outdoor sport. Speaking at the World Economic Forum here, Sania, who has three doubles and an equal number of mixed doubles Grand Slams to her credit, reflected on the challenges she faced during a panel discussion on women and leadership. Sania remains India’s most successful woman tennis player, rising ..

DONAVAN Brazier shrugged off the doping controversy surrounding his Nike Oregon Project training base on Tuesday to blast to 800 metres gold at the World Championships. The 22-year-old American produced a tactical masterclass at Doha’s Khalifa Stadium to surge away from the field in a championship record time of 1min 42.34sec, breaking the previous mark which had stood for 32 years. Brazier is one ..

  DOHA :   CHRISTIAN Coleman hit back at US sprinting legend Michael Johnson after powering to a brilliant 100m victory at the World Championships. Coleman blew away his rivals to take the first major outdoor title of his career, clocking a world-leading personal best of 9.76 sec at the Khalifa Stadium. The win cemented Coleman’s status as the man to beat at next year’s Tokyo Olympics, and elevated the 23-year-old American to the head of a pack of sprinters aiming to ..

 SOCHI (Russia) :  A EUPHORIC Lewis Hamilton extended his World Championship lead to 73 points on Sunday when he rode his luck to claim a strategic victory for Mercedes in a roller-coaster Russian Grand Prix. The defending five-time champion came home 3.829 seconds ahead of team-mate and nearest championship rival Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes took advantage of Ferrari’s reliability and tactical problems by delivering a Silver Arrows one-two.  Having grabbed the lead from pole man ..

 Amit Panghal NEW DELHI :  IGNORED for the Arjuna award due to an “inadvertent” doping violation in 2012, trailblazing Indian boxing ace Amit Panghal (52kg) said he does not care for personal honours but pleaded for a Dronacharya award for his formative coach Anil Dhankar. Panghal became the first Indian boxer to claim a silver medal at the just-concluded World Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia. He is also an Asian Games and Asian Championships gold-medallist. However, ..

   PARIS :  HOLDERS Liverpool began their defence of the Champions League trophy with a defeat against Napoli on Tuesday, while one missed spot-kick condemned Chelsea to defeat against Valencia and another came to Barcelona’s rescue. Liverpool survived a 1-0 defeat in Naples in the group stage last season to go on and win their sixth European Cup, and this time a 2-0 reverse at the San Paolo made them the first reigning champions to lose their opening game in the competition since ..

 EKATERINBURG :  INDIA were assured of an unprecedented two medals at the World Men’s Boxing Championships after Amit Panghal (52kg) and Manish Kaushik (63kg) entered the semi-finals of the marquee event with impressive victories here on Wednesday. While Asian Games and championship gold-medallist Panghal defeated Filipino Carlo Paalam 4-1, Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Kaushik got the better of Brazil’s Wanderson de Oliveira 5-0. Both the boxers sealed their maiden world ..

 BARCELONA :  BARCELONA’S 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati continued his explosive start to life in the first team by scoring and providing an assist as the La Liga champions thrashed Valencia 5-2 on Saturday. Goals from Fati, Frenkie de Jong, Gerard Pique and two from Luis Suarez gave Barca their second win of the season. Kevin Gameiro and Maxi Gomez scored for Valencia, who suffered their biggest defeat in over three years in coach Albert Celades’ first game. The victory took ..

 NEW DELHI :  THE World Championship gold has healed the wounds of all past final debacles except the Rio Olympics, says Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu, who has kept an empty space in her trophy cabinet for the top prize, which she hopes to claim in Tokyo next year. An Olympic silver-medallist, Sindhu clinched the historic World Championship gold at Basel after beating Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in her third successive final. Before that historic day, the 24-year-old Indian ..

 NEW DELHI :  INDIA ace sprinter Hima Das was on Thursday named as the brand ambassador of Gatorade India. The 19-year-old from Assam, nicknamed the Dhing Express, thus joins ace badminton player PV Sindhu and star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra as the brand’s ambassador in the country. “I am honoured to join the Gatorade family which consists of sporting legends across the world,” said Das, who had won two gold medals in women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m at the Jakarta ..

 NEW DELHI :  INDIAN badminton ace PV Sindhu says she will be marked by opponents after her World Championships gold and would need to constantly discover “new things” in her game to maintain her stranglehold on international badminton. Olympic silver medallist Sindhu became the first Indian to win a historic World Championships gold medal after thrashing Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in a lop-sided final at Basel, Switzerland last month. Asked about the challenges ..

 Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his victorry over Diego Schwartzman NEW YORK :  The Spaniard storms into semis after beating Schwartzman DIEGO Schwartzman may have been the smallest player in 25 years to reach the US Open quarter-finals but gave Rafa Nadal a big fight and forced the Spaniard to grind out a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 win on Wednesday to reach the last four at Flushing Meadows. With Roger Federer and 2018 champion Novak Djokovic having already made exits, Nadal’s path ..

    GUWAHATI :   CAPTAIN Sunil Chhetri’s splendid first-half strike went in vain as India surrendered a one-goal advantage to lose 1-2 to Oman in their opening fixture of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, here on Thursday. The 87-ranked Oman turned it around in the last eight minutes of regulation time by scoring twice through Rabia Alawi Al Mandhar, leaving the hosts distraught. India were left to rue the missed chances in the first half after a spirited second half ..

 MADRID : GARETH Bale scored twice to save Real Madrid from a damaging defeat away at Villarreal on Sunday before capping a dramatic 2-2 La Liga draw by being sent off in injury-time. Zinedine Zidane said in July it would be “best for everyone” if Bale left this summer but it was the Welshman’s double that earned Madrid a point from a thrilling contest at la Ceramica. Villarreal took the lead through Gerard Moreno in the 12th minute and then Moi Gomez 16 minutes from the ..

 NEW YORK : Prajnesh goes down in straight sets THE improbable did not happen but India’s Sumit Nagal exited the US Open fighting, stretching and even earning the respect of his opponent, the incomparable Roger Federer. In another first-round match featuring an Indian, Prajnesh Gunneswaran got a taste of high-level tennis, losing to world number five Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at the Flushing Meadows on Monday night. With their losses, India’s singles challenge drew to a close ..

  BASEL (Switzerland) :   PV SINDHU says she felt “angry and sad” after being criticised for not finishing on top in the last two World Championship finals and the gold medal in the just-concluded edition is her answer to all the critics who questioned her. Two-time silver-medallist Sindhu ended an agonising wait for an elusive gold with a maiden World Championship title on Sunday. “This is my answer to the people who have asked me questions over and over. I just ..

  INDIA’S invincible run in the Olympic test event has boosted the confidence of the women’s hockey team but there are still areas where it needs to put in the hard yards ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers, said skipper Rani Rampal. The Indian women’s hockey team put up a brilliant performance at the Olympic test event in Tokyo as they defeated hosts Japan 2-1 in the Final to win the competition. Captain Rani seemed extremely pleased with the way the side played against ..

 BOURNEMOUTH : SERGIO Aguero struck twice as Manchester City moved into second place in the Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool, with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth on Sunday. Aguero, who has scored in all three games this season, gave City a 15th-minute lead, slotting home after left back Oleksandr Zinchenko’s low cross had been mis-hit by Kevin De Bruyne only to fall kindly for the Argentine. Adam Smith then missed a great chance to level for the Cherries, firing high over the ..

 LONDON: CHELSEA manager Frank Lampard had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Leicester City in his first home match in charge on Sunday as a second-half header by Wilfred Ndidi cancelled out Mason Mount’s early goal on his home debut. Chelsea raced into a quick lead when the 20 year-old Mount, one of a crop of young players given their chance by Lampard, stole the ball from a dallying Ndidi and left Kasper Schmeichel with no chance with his shot in the seventh minute. The goal capped an ..

 NEW DELHI:  AFTER being recommended for the highest sporting award in the country the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna para athlete Deepa Malik has dedicated the honour to her late father Bal Krishan Nagpal, saying the recognition was a real tribute to “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikaas.” The Government on Saturday decided to recommend Deepa’s name for the Khel Ratna award. She will become the second para athlete to be honoured with the prestigious award after javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia ..

STAND-IN goalkeeper Adrian was the hero as his save from Tammy Abraham allowed Liverpool to beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties and win the UEFA Super Cup after a richly entertaining match in Istanbul finished 2-2 at the end of extra time.Every penalty in the shoot-out had been successful before Mohamed Salah stepped up to convert Liverpool’s fifth kick at the home of Besiktas. Substitute Abraham then had his effort saved by Adrian, the summer signing only playing in the absence of the injured Allison Becker...

 Real Madrid’s French forward Karim Benzema (R) vies for the ball with defender Jerome Junior Onguene during the pre-season friendly match against FC Red Bull Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria. (AFP) MADRID:  ZINEDINE Zidane returned to save Real Madrid and the time has come for results. In a packed-out press conference under the Santiago Bernabeu in March, the club’s president Florentino Perez delivered the grandest of re-introductions. “We need to start working on a ..

 PORT OF SPAIN: RISHABH Pant is on a learning curve in a tricky journey called international cricket and his only endeavour is to improve each day, not only as a cricketer but also a human being. The nascent international career of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s heir apparent has been an eventful one — a few eye-catching knocks interspersed with indiscreet shot selections that invited a lot of critical comments. With India having a packed schedule in the next six months, Pant was asked ..

    MUMBAI: THE Committee of Administrators (CoA) on Tuesday cleared Rahul Dravid’s appointment as Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), ruling that there is “no conflict of interest” case against the former India captain. Lt General Ravi Thogde, the new member of the CoA, said the ball is now in BCCI Ombudsman-cum-ethics officer DK Jain’s court. “There is no conflict on Rahul’s case. He has got a notice and we have cleared his appointment..

MONTREAL: DEFENDING champion Rafael Nadal heads the field for the ATP Montreal Masters that starts on Monday with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer opting out of the key US Open tune-up. With Djokovic and Federer putting a return to action on hold after their dramatic Wimbledon final, 33-year-old Nadal will be seeking to retain the title he earned last year in Toronto, when he beat rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.  The Greek is back, taking the fourth seeding behind a pair of ..

 BANGKOK: ACE Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth crashed out of the Thailand Open after suffering unexpected defeats but B Sai Praneeth sailed into the quarter-finals of the men’s singles here on Thursday. Seventh seed Saina, who returned to action after nearly two months, squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against unseeded Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in a women’s singles second round duel that lasted 48 minutes. In the absence of PV Sindhu, ..

 BENGALURU:  PULLING off a victory against the world No 2 Australia will help boost our confidence ahead of the Olympics qualifiers, feels Indian women’s hockey player Gurjit Kaur. The Indian women’s team, currently ranked 10th in the FIH Rankings, will face tough challenges against the likes of Australia, China (11th) and hosts Japan (14th) at the Olympic test event, scheduled to begin in Tokyo on August 17.  The tournament will give the Indian team a chance to work on ..

 NEW DELHI: INDIAN athletics’ High Performance Director Volker Herrmann feels star sprinter Hima Das is nearing her best, having won five successive gold medals in three weeks in Europe. The 19-year-old Hima has won five races — four in 200m and one in her pet 400m event — in Poland and Czech Republic since July 2. She has been improving on her timing even though the field in all the five races was mediocre. “Hima is progressing in the right direction. If you want ..

 TOKYO:  ACE Indian shuttler PV Sindhu will have to quickly pick up the pieces after her deflating loss in the Indonesia Open final and prepare for the next battle at the Japan Open BWF World Tour Super 750 starting here Tuesday. The USD 750,000 tournament will also see the return of Saina Nehwal, who had missed the Indonesia Open Super 1000 event due to fitness issues.  Sindhu missed an opportunity to break a seven-month title drought when she lost in straight games to Akane Yamaguchi ..

China’s Sun Yang poses with his medal after the men’s 400m freestyle final at the 2019 World Championships at Gwangju, South Korea. (AFP/Oli Scarff)   GWANGJU: CHINA’S Sun Yang stormed to 400 metres freestyle gold at the world swimming championships Sunday, retaining his title and winning it for a record fourth time. The controversial triple Olympic champion clocked three minutes, 42.44 seconds in Gwangju with fierce Australian rival Mack Horton taking silver ..

 JAKARTA: TOP Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth made impressive starts to their campaign, progressing to the second round of the Indonesia Open with contrasting wins at the BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament here Wednesday. Rejuvenated after a month-long break from a hectic BWF schedule, Sindhu and Srikanth prevailed over Japanese shuttlers Aya Ohori and Kenta Nishimoto in women’s and men’s singles respectively.  Fifth seed Sindhu, who is looking for her ..

 STAR Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched her fourth gold in a fortnight as she won the 200m race with a creditable timing in the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic, Wednesday. Hima won the race in 23.25 seconds, which had a mediocre field with most of the competitors representing clubs of Czech Republic. Hima’s compatriot VK Vismaya was second with a season of best 23.43 seconds. Hima has a 200m personal best of 23.10 seconds.  This was 19-year-old Hima’s fourth gold since ..

NEW Zealand did not lose. England did not win, but they are the World Champions. That is the insanity this game throws up once in a blue moon..