Maini, Bafna rule penultimate round of JK Tyre National Karting C’ship
Hyderabad: In the Junior Max Category, Bangalore boy Kush Maini (Team Maini Racing) reigned from beginning to end, winning all proceedings, including the pre-final and final races. Putting in the best lap in 29.458 seconds, the talented young driver was way ahead of all the other competitors including championship leader Krishnaraj Mahadik (Mohites Racing), who finished the final in fourth place. In the Senior Max Category, talented driver Ameya Bafna (Rayo Racing) - who started on pole - led from beginning to end, winning the pre-final with ease 4.7 seconds before Mithun Ganatra (Team Maini Racing).
IES V N Sule Guruji, Bombay Scottish enter Finals
MUMBAI: Mohit Jeste and Pratik Kishore propelled defending champions V N Sule Guruji English Medium Secondary School, Dadar, into the Boys Team Championship final of the MSSA Inter School Badminton tournament defeating Chatrabhuj Narsee Memorial School, Vile Parle 2-0. In the girls section, reigning champions, Bombay Scottish spearheaded by Ahilya Harjani and Divya Vaidya had to fight hard to quell the challenge of Stuti Agarwal and Simran Singhi representing Ryan International, Malad, before prevailing 2-1.
Senhora set for double
MUMBAI: India No 3 Sanil Shetty was in devasting form that left second seeded Noel Pinto in a daze as he went on to win the men’s singles title in the of the PRO-TT Academy-All Mumbai ranking tale tennis tournament, at the University Stadium, here on Sunday. Sanil was at his aggressive best and at no stage gave Noel an earthily chance to make a match of it before winning the tie 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9. Ravindra Kotiyan’s superiority over Nishaad Shah once again came to light with Ravindra scoring over Nishaad 11-9, 14-12, 8-11, 6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6 in the youth boys (U-21) finals. While the youth girl’s singles final witnessed junior Senhora D’Souza virtually outplaying another promising junior Akshi Sancheti, a relatively newcomer in the local table tennis scene. Senhora was ably fought by Ashlesha Trehan before winning 4-2. Senhora is in line for a double, having also made the women’s singles final.
MGVM wins road race
MUMBAI: Mahatma Gandhi Vidya Mandir, Bandra East, once again won both the girl’s and boy’s championships in the 24th All-Bandra Inter-Schools Road Races organized by the United Athletes Sports Club in Bandra West logging 150 and 131 points respectively.
Girls u-10 (1 km): 1. Nicol Franco (St Joseph’s Convent) 5.3 mins 2. Heena Khan (St Catherine of Sienna) 3. Krushna Jadhav (MGVM). Girl’s u-12 (1.2 km): 1. Diksha Salve (MGVM) 7.4 mins 2. Anjana Chavana (MGVM) 3. Gayatri Sawant (IES New English HS). Girl’s u-14 (2 kms): 1. Leah D’Souza (Bai Avabai Framji Petit) 7.57 mins 2. Ekta Sonavane (MGVM) 3. Mayuri Shetye (MGVM). Girl’s u-17 (3 kms): 1. Sanaya Wadkar (Apostolic Carmel) 2. Jyoti Shinde (MGVM) 3. Manasi Chindekar (MGVM).
Atul Jadhav’s hat-trick lifts Tanishka to close 3-2 win
MUMBAI: Bolstered by Atul Jadhav’s timely hat-trick, Tanishka SC managed to pull off a close 3-2 win against Hegdewar Boys in a third division match of the Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA) League played at the St. Xavier’s ground, Parel on Sunday. Aditya Kamat and Gandhar Rane were on target for the losers. In another match of the same division, United Brothers outplayed Desperadoes by a convincing 5-0 margin. Edilbert Martis played a key role in the win as he hit the target thrice, while Elvis Fernandes and Charles Lewis netted one goal apiece. In other one-sided encounters played earlier, Sahar Silver Star tamed Shree Sai Dindee 3-0, while RCF Youth Council outplayed SJU Mandal by a 4-0 margin.
Results – Div-III, at St. Xavier’s ground, Parel: Sahar Silver Star 3 (Rohit Chavan 2, Vinit KV) beat Shree Sai Dindee 0; RCF Youth Council 4 (Amran Shaikh 2, Sonu Thappa, Ali Maknijia) beat SJU Mandal 0; Tanishka SC 3 (Atul Jadhav 3) beat Hegdewar Boys 2 (Aditya Kamat, Gandhar Rane); United Brothers 5 (Edilbert Martis 3, Elvis Fernandes, Charles Lewis) beat Desperadoes 0.
Indian FC on a roll, score two wins
MUMBAI: Indian FC won both of their two qualifying matches in Pool-A on the opening day of the 13th Kalina Football League (KFL), organised by the Sports Committee of Our Lady of Egypt Church, and played at the church ground. In the first match Indian FC overcame Talaikerz SC by a close 3-2 margin and later put up a much improved display to blank Arvind Nagar United 3-0 to enhance their chances of qualifying for the main league. In Pool-B action, Rovers got the better of Trashers by a solitary 1-0 margin. Larry Kinny scored the lone winning goal of the match. However, Trashers found success later as they scored a comfortable 5-2 victory against Khan Boys. Russell Galbano and Mario Fernandes scored a brace each, while Dolton Rodrigues chipped in with one. For Khan Boys their goals came through the efforts of Vinayak Patil and Clinton Cordeiros.
RESULTS: Men - Pool-A: Indian FC 3 (Prakash Sonawane 2, Pawan Rawat) beat Talaikerz SC 2 (Kyle John 2); Devil Strikers 3 (Kapil Semwal 2, Sumit Pawar) beat Arvind Nagar United 1 (Sunil Rode); Indian FC 3 (Akash Chowhan, Prakash Sonawane, Pawan Rawat) beat Arvind Nagar United 0; Talaikerz SC 3 (Kyle John 2, Shanawaz Varunkar) beat Devil Strikers 0. Pool-B: Rovers 1 (Larry Kinny) beat Trashers FC 0; Trashers FC 5 (Russel Galbano 2, Mario Fernandes 2, Dolton Rodrigues) beat Khan Boys FC 2 (Vinayak Patil, Clinton Cordeiro).
Windies clash with Kiwis for semi-final spot
TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA: Unbeaten West Indies team will chase a spot in the final four of the Under-19 cricket World Cup when they clash with New Zealand in their quarterfinal match here on Monday. The West Indies, who dominated Group C to top the standings, and the Kiwis, who finished second in Group B, will face off at Endeavour Park, reports CMC. The Caribbean side will enter the encounter on the back of three convincing preliminary round victories after they beat India by four wickets, Papua New Guinea by nine wickets and Zimbabwe by six wickets. The Windies also went unbeaten in the warm-up phase, edging hosts Australia by 13 runs before thrashing Namibia by 146 runs. The West Indies have also never lost to New Zealand in their two previous U-19 World Cup meetings but captain Kraigg Brathwaite said his side would be taking nothing for granted. In contrast, New Zealand have been hardly convincing. Though they beat Scotland by 39 runs in their opening game, they narrowly edged Afghanistan by eight runs before going down to Group B winners Pakistan by five wickets. New Zealand captain Will Young said his side would be lifting their game for the match.
Neymar can surpass Messi, Maradona: Pele
RIO DE JANEIRO: Football legend Pele says Brazil sensation Neymar has the ability to be better than Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona. Speaking at an event in Sao Paulo Saturday, Pele said Barcelona star Messi and 1986 World Cup winner Maradona shared "similar limitations", reports Xinhua. "Maradona was a great player but he only had a left foot and wasn't a renowned header of the ball," Pele said. "Messi is almost a copy of him. That's why I think Neymar has the capacity to be better." Pele, widely regarded as the greatest player in history, scored 1,284 goals in a career that spanned from 1956 to 1977. Neymar, 20, has scored 133 times in three seasons with Santos. Asked if Neymar could be better than him, Pele replied: "It's difficult to say but it won't be easy for him. He is an exceptional player but at times he has shown that he is not mature enough yet to take on certain responsibilities."
CAF match interrupted after fans invade pitch
TUNIS: An African Champions League (CAF) football match between two Tunisian teams, Esperance Sportive de Tunis and Etoile du Sahel, was interrupted Sunday after supporters invaded the pitch in Sousse. The match was first interrupted in the 41st minute after Esperance scored a first goal, it was later interrupted in the 70th minute after Yanick Djeng doubled the score for Esperance, reports Xinhua. After the referee was forced to leave the pitch, police used teargas to disperse Etoile fans unhappy about the score. The match was played in the presence of Etoile supporters only. During the first match between both teams in Rades near Tunis two weeks ago, Esperance Sportive won 1-0.
Li Na in Cincinnati final
CINCINNATI, US: Chinese tennis player Li Na beat American Venus Williams 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the final of the Cincinnati Masters. The former French Open winner will face fifth seed Angelique Kerber of Germany or Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova, reports Xinhua. "I'm sorry for Venus. She had a back problem and she really couldn't serve," said Li after the game on Saturday.
China wants to boost badminton abroad
BEIJING: Badminton giant China is ready to spread its expertise abroad for the game's betterment, China Daily reported on Sunday. China's dominance in badminton has raised concerns about the sport's future around the world. However, China's head badminton coach, Li Yongbo, said he was keen to promote more exchanges with other countries to boost the international standard of the sport. Li made the statement after a star-studded Chinese team claimed all five gold medals at the London Games, the first badminton sweep in Olympic history. "I hope we have more and wider exchange programs with Britain or other countries," said Li.