Tendulkar enjoys Kashmir snow, plans visit to Kaman post at LoC

While at a resort, Sachin, along with his wife Anjali and daughter Sara, ventured out to relish the snowfall. Sachin even took a spin on a snow bike at Gulmarg.

Published Date – 21 February 2024, 01:49 PM


Tendulkar enjoys Kashmir snow, plans visit to Kaman post at LoC


Srinagar: Cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar has spent three days in the Gulmarg ski resort where nature welcomed him and his family with fresh snow for which Kashmir had been craving for over three months

“Sachin Tendulkar must be one of the most blessed human beings. His arrival in Gulmarg ushered in a bountiful snowfall for which skiers at the resort and thousands of common Kashmiris waited with bated breath for over three months”, said Altaf Ahmad, 45, an ardent Sachin fan who went to Gulmarg to have a glimpse of his hero.


During his stay at a resort, Sachin, his wife Anjali and daughter Sara came out to enjoy the snowfall. Sachin also drove a snow bike for sometime at Gulmarg.

He will be visiting an art & craft centre in the Kunzer area on the Gulmarg-Srinagar road on Wednesday. At the centre, shawl and carpet weavers will display their weaving craft to Sachin and family. He has been a keen admirer of arts and crafts.

Waiting eagerly for his arrival at the art & craft centre, one shawl weaver said, “His love for art and craft is natural. After all, he has been one of the greatest artists and craftsmen with the bat & ball.”

From Kunzer, Sachin is scheduled to visit the Aman Setu Bridge at the Kaman Post on the Line of Control in the Uri area of Baramulla district.

He is expected to interact with the soldiers at the Kaman Post who are the sentinels of the nation’s borders and its integrity.

In the evening, the family will return to Srinagar city where they will spend the night at the Taj Vivanta resort situated by the banks of the famous Dal Lake.

Sachin Tendulkar congratulates Anushka-Virat on new arrival

Sachin Wishes for ‘Akaay’ to Bring Endless Joy and Laughter on His Official X Account

Published Date – 21 February 2024, 12:50 PM


Sachin Tendulkar congratulates Anushka-Virat on new arrival


New Delhi: After Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma announced the arrival of their second child, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday congratulated the India batting talisman and Bollywood actress and said that it was a “precious addition” to their “beautiful family”.

Sachin took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account, and hoped that the arrival of ‘Akaay’ would fill their lives with “endless joy and laughter”.


He added that Virat and Anushka Sharma would cherish these “adventures and memories” forever.

“Congratulations to Virat and Anushka on the arrival of Akaay, a precious addition to your beautiful family! Just like his name lights up the room, may he fill your world with endless joy and laughter. Here’s to the adventures and memories you’ll cherish forever. Welcome to the world, little champ,” Sachin wrote on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kohli and Anushka took to their official social media handle and revealed the news of their newborn baby, Akaay.

“With abundant happiness and our hearts full of love, we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February, we welcomed our baby boy Akaay & Vamika’s little brother into this world. We seek your blessings and good wishes in this beautiful time in our lives. We request you to kindly respect our privacy at this time. Love & Gratitude. Virat & Anushka,” Kohli shared on his social media handle.

Kohli opted out of India’s ongoing five-match series against England earlier, citing personal reasons.
Virat and Anushka tied the knot on December 11, 2017 in Italy. The duo was blessed with Vamika on January 11, 2021. The couple was tight-lipped about their second pregnancy.

Iran's men table tennis team beat Singapore in S. Korea

Iran’s team, featuring Noshad Alamian, Nima Alamian, and Amir-Hossein Hodaei emerged victorious against their rivals from Singapore 3-0 in the knockout stage to reach the next round.

Iran’s national table tennis squad secured their spot in the knockout stages by defeating Egypt 3-1 in the group stage round.

Previously in the tournament, the Iranian team won Thailand 3-0 but lost 3-1 against Portugal and Romania.

Iran will face Germany in the next round for a chance to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals is underway in Busan, South Korea from February 16-25, 2024.

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Carlos Alcaraz retires due to ankle injury in Rio opener

Alcaraz Moved to Center Court After Forehand Return Before Monteiro’s Behind-the-Back Move

Updated On – 21 February 2024, 10:59 AM


Carlos Alcaraz retires due to ankle injury in Rio opener


Rio de Janeiro: Top seed Carlos Alcaraz suffered an ankle injury just two points into his Rio Open opening-round match against Thiago Monteiro and retired shortly after despite a valiant attempt to continue the match.

After hitting a forehand return, Alcaraz was moving laterally back towards the centre of the court when Monteiro went back in behind him. The Spaniard planted his right foot to halt his momentum, but his right ankle rolled badly and he fell to the ground on his backside, according to tournament website.


With Monteiro’s help, the Spaniard made his way back to his bench and had his ankle heavily strapped by ATP physio Alejandro Resnicoff. He returned to the court and broke the Brazilian to take a 1-0 lead. But his movement was compromised and he retired after dropping serve in the next game.

“Tomorrow I’ll have a test for my ankle and let’s see if it’s something serious or not,” Alcaraz said. “After a few points it didn’t feel better. I was feeling the pain. I couldn’t move well, and I knew that it was going to be impossible to continue. I thought it was going to get worse if I kept playing for such a long match and that’s why I choose to retire.”

Alcaraz, who made his ATP Tour debut in Rio in 2020, won the title in 2022 and finished runner-up to Cameron Norrie in 2023.

The injury setback will not help the Spaniard in his battle to defend the No. 2 ATP Ranking from surging Italian Jannik Sinner. The reigning Wimbledon champion leads Sinner by just 535 points and has 1000 points to defend next month as the defending champion at the Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Premier League: Haaland’s goal secures narrow Man City win against Brentford

City’s Hard-Fought Win Propels Them to Second Place in Premier League, Just a Point Behind Liverpool

Updated On – 21 February 2024, 10:59 AM


Premier League: Haaland’s goal secures narrow Man City win against Brentford


Manchester: Erling Haaland scored the only goal of the match as Manchester City edged to a 1-0 home win over Brentford.

The victory on Tuesday night, which was far from easy against the determined and resolute visitors, moved City into second spot in the Premier League table, a solitary point behind leaders Liverpool.


Haaland’s strike in the 71st minute was his 17th in the Premier League this season and has now scored against every side he has faced in the competition. Before Tuesday’s encounter, Haaland had scored against 20 of the 21 Premier League teams he’s faced. With his solitary goal on Tuesday, he added Thomas Frank’s men to his now complete list.

City showed an early sign of their intent when Haaland’s curling shot in the third minute was straight at Mark Flekken. Moments later, Wissa made a vital block to block a fearsome volley from Phil Foden, Premier League reports.

But Brentford nearly caught Man City by surprise as Wissa played in Onyeka, who failed to capitalise with only Ederson to beat.

Thereafter the half was dominated by City, who had several chances. Haaland volleyed over. Bernardo Silva somehow headed wide eight yards out. Manuel Akanji’s 30-yard strike forced Flekken to make a fingertip save over the crossbar, before the goalkeeper also denied Ruben Dias.

The best chance was still to come for City, but Ben Mee did brilliantly to get back and clear Bobb’s effort off the line.

City came out strongly again after the break but were unable to convert their 70 per cent possession into goals and Doku was soon introduced in search of a breakthrough, which eventually came in the 71st minute.

After a Brentford attack broke down, City drove forward and Julian Alvarez found Haaland. Kristoffer Ajer slipped at a crucial moment, leaving Haaland with a 1v1 to slot in a cool finish past the on-rushing Flekken into the bottom-left corner.

PKL 10: Pawan Sehrawat’s 4-point Super Raid steers Telugu Titans to a thrilling tie

Telugu Titans skipper Pawan Sehrawat was the top performer of the game with 14 raid points, while U Mumba’s Amirmohammad Zafardanesh finished with 11 points.

Published Date – 20 February 2024, 11:16 PM


PKL 10: Pawan Sehrawat’s 4-point Super Raid steers Telugu Titans to a thrilling tie

Picture: Telugu Titans

Panchkula: U Mumba and Telugu Titans ended their Season 10 campaigns on a thrilling note as they shared points in a gripping 45-45 draw in the Pro Kabaddi League match at the Tau Devilal indoor stadium here on Tuesday.

Telugu Titans skipper Pawan Sehrawat was the top performer of the game with 14 raid points, while U Mumba’s Amirmohammad Zafardanesh finished with 11 points. Telugu Titans took time to get off the blocks as they needed six minutes for their first tackle point, which was followed by a fantastic multi-point raid from Pawan that reduced U Mumba to 2 men.


However, they failed to capitalise on the momentum as Super Tackles from Sombir and Guman Singh took U Mumba to an 11-7 lead in the 10th minute. Pawan struck again a minute later with another multi-point raid, which steered Telugu Titans to the 1st All-Out and a slender lead at 13-12 in the 12th minute. Both teams traded blows and exchanged the lead thereon, but the half ended with them on level terms at 19-19.

U Mumba struck right after the restart as Zafardanesh got the better of Sandeep Dhull and Hamid Nader and a solid tackle from Bittu on Sanjeevi soon after saw U Mumba bag the All-Out and soar to a 25-20 lead. Telugu Titans battled their way past the opposition defence to get themselves back in the game. Shankar Gadai’s 2-point raid rescued them from the clutches of an All-Out and Pawan completed his Super 10 by getting past Sombir as the opposition were down to 2 men.

Telugu Titans got their much-needed All-Out in the 31st minute and trailed by just 2 points at 31-33. Pawan got the better of Shivansh to become the 3rd player to cross the 200 raid points milestone in PKL 10 as Telugu Titans drew level at 34-34 with 7 minutes to go.

While it appeared like the Telugu Titans might just end their campaign with a win, Heiderali Ekrami came off the bench to produce a mind-blowing raid as he cleaned up the Telugu Titans’3-man defence and inflicted an All-Out. With three minutes to go, U Mumba had a comfortable lead at 44-35. It all changed in the final minute of the match as Pawan produced a sublime 4-point Super Raid.

He forced three defenders into self-outs and tagged the 4th as U Mumba were down to 1 man and the scorecard read 45-42 in their favour. Zafardanesh attempted the bonus but was not successful as Telugu Titans inflicted the ALL OUT in the very last raid of the match to restore parity at 45-45.

 

Bumrah released from Indian Test squad, Rahul ruled out of Ranchi match

Bumrah has been released as part of his workload management, while senior batter K L Rahul was ruled out of the fourth match beginning in Ranchi on Friday.

Updated On – 20 February 2024, 11:02 PM


Bumrah released from Indian Test squad, Rahul ruled out of Ranchi match

Picture: BCCI

Rajkot: India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was on Tuesday released from the Indian Test squad while senior batter K L Rahul was ruled out of the fourth match beginning in Ranchi on Friday.

Bumrah has been released as part of his workload management. He is the leading wicket-taker in the Test series with 17 scalps from three matches. He singlehandedly bowled India to victory in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. Rahul had also missed the second and third Test after complaining of pain in his right quadriceps.


“Jasprit Bumrah has been released from the squad for the 4th IDFC First Bank Test against England in Ranchi. The decision was taken keeping in mind the duration of the series and amount of cricket he has played in recent times,” the BCCI said in a statement.

“Meanwhile, KL Rahul is ruled out of the 4th Test. His participation in the final Test match in Dharamsala is subject to fitness,” it added. Pacer Mukesh Kumar, who was released from the squad for the third Test in Rajkot, has joined the team in Ranchi.

The decision to rest Bumrah was expected, considering he bowled 80.5 overs in the first three Tests. As part of workload management, India had also rested Mohammed Siraj from the second Test in Visakhapatnam before he returned to play a part in India’s record 434-run win over the visitors in Rajkot on Sunday.

India are well-placed to seal the series in Ranchi but if they are not able to, the home team will desperately need the services of Bumrah for the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala beginning March 7. Rahul was among India’s best batters in the opening Test in Hyderabad before going down with the same injury that he suffered during last year’s IPL. He was the only centurion for India in the drawn two-match Test series in South Africa in December.

 

Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma announce birth of their second child Akaay

Kohli took to Instagram to share the news of the birth of their baby boy Akaay

Updated On – 20 February 2024, 09:13 PM


Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma announce birth of their second child Akaay

File Photo

Hyderabad: Indian star cricketer Virat Kohli on Tuesday announced birth of his second child with Anushka Sharma.

Kohli took to Instagram to share the news of the birth of their baby boy Akaay.


“With abundant happiness and our hearts full of love, we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February. we welcomed our baby boy Akaay / 31414 & Vamika’s little brother into this world! We seek your blessings and good wishes in this beautiful time in our lives. We request you to kindly respect our privacy at this time. Love & Gratitude. Virat & Anushka.” posted Kohli on the social media platform.

Virat Kohli pulled out of India’s ongoing series against England due to personal reasons, and there were many speculations going around regarding his absence from the test match series.

Nelson wins Brilliant Trophy Open Online Chess Tournament

Nelson Lau with 10.5 points clinched top spot in tie-break to emerge champion ahead of Aji Bagus and Kapil Lakhwani in second and third places respectively.

Published Date – 20 February 2024, 08:34 PM


Nelson wins Brilliant Trophy Open Online Chess Tournament

Nelson Lau

Hyderabad: Nelson Lau of Indonesia emerged winner of the Brilliant Trophy Open Online Chess Tournament on Tuesday.

After the conclusion of 12 rounds, Nelson with 10.5 points clinched top spot in tie-break ahead of Aji Bagus and Kapil Lakhwani in second and third places respectively.


Results: Top Ten Prize winners: 1. Nelson Lau, 2. Aji Bagus, 3. Kapil Lakhwani, 4. A Vikas, 5. Arnav Pradhan, 6. K Sahithya, 7. Sricharan Sandipagu, 8. Soumya Ranjan Mohanty, 9. Kumar, 10. P Harshit; Best Woman: Rushitha Haju; Best Veteran: Devasish Pal.

 

Vooty Masters golf tournament in Vikarabad from Feb 21

The likes of top Indian golfers Manu Gandas, Aman Raj, Karan Pratap Singh, Rahil Gangjee and Udayan Mane will be seen in action at the Vooty Masters golf tournament.

Published Date – 20 February 2024, 08:52 PM


Vooty Masters golf tournament in Vikarabad from Feb 21

K Santhosh Reddy, Chairman and MD of Dream Valley Group, golfers Karan Pratap Singh, Aman Raj and Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO, PGTI, pose with the Vooty Masters trophy.

Hyderabad: The likes of top Indian golfers Manu Gandas, Aman Raj, Karan Pratap Singh, Rahil Gangjee and Udayan Mane will be seen in action at the Vooty Masters golf tournament, a collaboration of Dream Valley Group and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), which will be held at the Vooty Golf County in Vikarabad from February 21 to 24. The tournament offers a prize money of Rs 1 crore.

The tournament will also have prominent foreign golfers like Sri Lankans N Thangaraja and K Prabagaran, Bangladeshis Jamal Hossain and Badal Hossain, Andorra’s Kevin Esteve Rigaill and Nepal’s Sukra Bahadur Rai as well as rookies including PGTI Qualifying School winner Matias Dominguez of Chile, Nepal’s Subash Tamang, Italy’s Michele Ortolani, Czechia’s Stepan Danek, American Dominic Piccirillo and Germany’s Wenzel Krzenck.


The local players in the field are Mohd Azhar and Rahul Malik of the Vooty Golf County and amateurs Vilok Gadwal and Suraj Joshi from neighbouring Hyderabad.

Santhosh Reddy Kancharla, Chairman & Managing Director of Dream Valley Group, expressed excitement, stating, “We are thrilled to once again collaborate with PGTI, a distinguished name in Indian golf. Our partnership brings forth a promising future of tournaments. Best wishes to all the talented participants gearing up for Vooty Masters 2024.”