SPORTS

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter to state that the country is proud of Hima Das’ achievements in Europe. The accolades have been flowing for Hima Das as she collected five gold medals in Europe over the course of this month and the latest ones have come from PM Modi and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

 “India is very proud of @HimaDas8’s phenomenal achievements over the last few days. Everyone is absolutely delighted that she has brought home five medals in various tournaments. Congratulations to her and best wishes for her future endeavours,” Tweeted the PM.

Sachin, on the other hand, expressed his admiration for the 19-year-old ace sprinter through a tweet.“Loving the way you have been running in the European circuit over the last 19 days. Your hunger to win and perseverance is an inspiration for the youth. Congrats on your 5 Medals! All the best for the future races, @HimaDas8. (sic.)” Tendulkar tweeted.

New Delhi: Star Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched her fourth gold of the fortnight as she won the 200m race with a creditable time in the Tabor Athletics Meet in Czech Republic. Hima won in 23.25 seconds though the race had a mediocre field with most of the competitors representing clubs of Czech Republic. Nonetheless, she is inching closer to her personal best of 23.10, Hima’s compatriot V K Vismaya was second with a season best 23.43.

This was 19-year-old Hima’s fourth gold since July 2 when she ran her first competitive race in Europe. She has been keeping on improving since her first race. In her first competitive 200m race of the year, the old Assam runner had clocked 23.65 seconds on her way to gold at the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland on July 2. After that, she won her second 200m gold at the Kutno Athletics Meet, also in Poland, on July 7 with a time of 23.97 seconds.

On July 13, she won her third 200m gold at the Kladno Athletics Meet in Czech Republic with a time of 23.43.

Hima’s pet event is 400m and she is yet to qualify for the World Championships in both the quartermile event and the 200m.

The World Championships qualifying time for 200m is 23.02 while it is 51.80 in 400m.

In men’s 400m, Muhammad Anas won in 45.40 seconds in a mediocre field while compatriots Tom Noah Nirmal came second with a season best effort of 46.59. K S Jeevan was third in 46.60 and M P Jabir finished fourth in 47.16.

On July 13 at Kladno, Anas had bettered his own 400m national record to clinch a gold and qualify for the World Championships by clocking 45.21 seconds.

The World Championships qualification time is 45.30 seconds in men’s 400m race.

New Delhi:  “Stop fighting children, I am ready for a bout,” Indian boxing ace Vijender Singh, fresh from his 11th straight pro win, challenged British star Amir Khan here on Thursday.

Khan, the British boxer of Pakistan origin, has expressed a desire to lock horns with Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender a number of times but the bout has not materialised yet.

During the announcement of his last bout, Khan had also claimed that Vijender was scared of him. Replying to his challenge, the Haryana-boxer said it was Khan who picked juniors to fight against.

New Delhi: With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) making an exception for Yuvraj Singh and giving him permission to play in the Global T20, the doors have been opened and former India skipper and coach Anil Kumble believes that having Indian players in the new T20 leagues is an immense boost not just for the growth of the leagues, but also for the youngsters who ply their trade in those leagues. Speaking on the sidelines of the Euro T20 Slam draft on Friday, Kumble -- a board member of the advisory committee -- said that Yuvraj getting permission was a big boost and hopefully more players would get NOC from the board to play in various T20 leagues apart from the Indian Premier League.

New Delhi: Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni Saturday made himself "unavailable" for the coming tour of the West Indies but ruled out immediate retirement a day before the selectors meet in Mumbai to pick the squads for the upcoming away series. Amid mounting speculation around his international retirement after India's semi-final exit from the recent World Cup, Dhoni has told the BCCI that he will take a two-month sabbatical from the game to serve his paramilitary regiment.

Dhoni is an Honorary Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army, "We would like to clarify three things. M S Dhoni is not retiring from cricket right now. He is taking a two-month sabbatical to serve his paramilitary regiment which he had committed much earlier. We have now intimated his decision to skipper Virat Kohli and chairman of selectors M S K Prasad," said a BCCI official on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dhoni's refusal to take retirement now leaves the ball in the court of the selectors, who were expected to drop him from the squad for the West Indies. India will play three T20 Internationals, as many ODIs and two Tests in the tour starting August 3.

New Delhi: Elavenil Valarivan beat compatriot Mehuli Ghosh to win the individual gold in a one-two finish for India in women’s 10m air rifle competition of the Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany on July 15.

Elavenil won the 10m air rifle gold with a total score of 251.6 while Ghosh got the silver with 250.2 points. Oceanne Marianne Muller from France took home the silver. India created a junior world record on the way to the team gold in women’s 10m air rifle competition.

Besides the team gold, India bagged another yellow metal and a silver in individual competition, continuing their domination in the tournament.

New Delhi: Take a deep breath and reboot your memories. The World Cup has finally come home. England have kept their date with destiny, albeit a little controversially and not without a lot of drama. It doesn’t get closer than this, beating a side on the number of boundaries hit in the innings after staying level even after a Super Over custom-made only for the World Cup.

Eoin Morgan lifted the trophy but New Zealand won hearts by staying true to their fighting streak. World Cup finals tend to disappoint. The last time Lord’s had hosted one, the finest ever Pakistan team crumbled for just 132 against Australia. Previous finals in 2015, 2007 and 2003 too were equally one-sided as Australia made short work every time, irrespective of the opponent. That story has been set straight now. There was every kind of drama you could imagine. This was the dream final.

Perhaps it wasn’t meant to be for New Zealand. Just like how India were bound to be found out for not having a proper No 4, New Zealand couldn’t have expected to win every time after posting a par score. So well rounded is this England team that they don’t baulk at any target. On a difficult pitch, against the most disciplined bowling attack of the tournament, England’s batting depth again came to their rescue in the form of a 110-run partnership between Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.