Moscow, (IANS/RIA Novosti) Around 500 football fans in Krasnodar took to the streets Saturday to protest the Russian city’s exclusion from the 2018 World Cup, accusing organisers of “spitting on the souls of fans”. Krasnodar was thought to be a safe bet to make the final list of 11 cities as the only one outside [...]

Madrid, (IANS) Central defender Gerard Pique looks likely to make his return to the starting lineup as Barcelona make the short flight to Mallorca Sunday. Barca travel after suffering a shock defeat to Glasgow Celtic in the Champions League in a match where they controlled around 90 percent of the ball, but were unable to [...]

Madrid, (IANS) Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has selection problems of a different kind for his side’s difficult visit to play Levante Sunday night. If recent matches have seen Mourinho struggle to pick his defence as a result of injuries, his side travel to Valencia with players missing in attack, reports Xinhua. Karim Benzema, who [...]

New Delhi, (IANS) Kedhar Jadhav of Maharashtra and Arlen Konwar of Assam hogged the limelight on the second day of the round 2 of Ranji Trophy matches Saturday. Jadhav smashed the first triple ton of the season, scoring a massivee 327 runs for his team against Uttar Pradesh. While 31-year-old, Konwar, took six wickets for [...]

London, (IANS/RIA Novosti) World No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro defeated ninth-ranked Janko Tipsarevic to end the Serb’s chances of reaching the semi-finals of the $8.85 million ATP World Tour Finals here. Del Potro swept away his opponent in the first set and denied him any break points as he secured a 6-0, 6-4 win [...]

Brisbane, (IANS) South Africa batsman Jean-Paul Duminy will take no further part in the Test series against Australia after rupturing his left Achilles’ tendon here Friday. The injury occurred during a fitness training drill after the opening day at the Gabba with MRI scans confirming the injury. Team manager Mohammed Moosajee said: “At first assessment [...]

Brisbane, (IANS) Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis helped South Africa score 255 for two against Australia on day one of the first cricket Test at the Gabba here Friday. Amla (90) and Kallis (84) forged an unbeaten 136-run stand before bad light cut short the play by eight overs. Opener Alviro Petersen played well for [...]

Bangalore, Nov 9 (IANS) Dipika Pallikal will lead the Indian challenge in the Women’s World Team squash championship to be held in Nimes, France, Nov 12-17. The event will be staged in France for the first time in the 33-year history of the tournament. Besides World No.13 Pallikal, the contingent includes the experienced Joshana Chinappa [...]

Valencia, (IANS) Mahindra Racing team has signed up a new line-up in experienced Spaniard Efren Vázquez (26) and exciting Portuguese teenager Miguel Oliveira (17) for the 2013 Moto3 World Championship. Earlier this year, Mahindra Racing, the only Indian team in the championship, announced a new technical partnership with established Swiss firm Suter Racing Technology AG [...]

New Delhi, (IANS) Vijay Kumar Malhotra Friday became the first official to get re-elected as president of the Archery Association of India (AAI) for a record 40th successive year, defying the government’s National Sports Development Code. Malhotra, 80, who has been getting elected un-opposed since 1973, for the first time faced some semblance of opposition [...]

New Delhi, (IANS) As the Andhra Pradesh High Court Thursday overturned the life ban imposed on him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin humbly said he was grateful to the board for whatever cricket he played. Azharuddin said he always believed in the “almighty Allah” and [...]

New Delhi, (IANS) Delhi will look to regain their lost pride as they take on Odisha in the second round of the Ranji Trophy Group B cricket tie which starts here Friday at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Having suffered a humiliating first-round loss to Uttar Pradesh, despite the presence of Test stars like Virender Sehwag, [...]

Ahmedabad, (IANS) Kevin Pietersen smashed 110 runs off 94 balls as England XI plundered the Haryana bowling scoring 408 for three on the first day of their warmup match at the Sardar Patel Stadium here Thursday. The four-day game is England’s final match before the first Test against India starting here Nov 15. England sent [...]