Himachal Pradesh, Assam post wins at women’s T20 meet
Nagpur: Himachal Pradesh and Assam on Saturday posted easy victories over Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu respectively in the women’s T20 cricket tournament at VCA Grounds here Saturday. HP beat Rajastan by seven wickets, while Assam defeated Tamil Nadu by six wickets. Brief scores: Rajasthan (85 for 9 in 20 overs: Preeti Dimri 34; Anisha Ansari 3/ 13. HP 86 for 3 in 18.4 overs: Neelima Choudhary 51 not out. Tamil Nadu (114 for 6 in 20 overs): D Hemlata 49, M Shaileja 32 not out; D Shema 2/19. Assam 118 for 4 in 19.3 overs; Mamta Kanojia 60 not out. (PTI)
South Korea beat Oman 1-0 at Asian Cup
Canberra: South Korea began their Asian Cup campaign with a 1-0 win today over Oman through Cho Yong-cheol’s goal in first-half injury time here. South Korea joined Australia on three points in Group A, although the Socceroos sit on top after a 4-1 win over Kuwait Friday. On a wet afternoon in the Australian capital, both teams had their moments in the first half. South Korea’s star attacker Son Heung-min hit the top of the crossbar with a looping shot after seven minutes. Oman’s running led to openings that attackers Qasim Said and Abdulaziz Al-Maqbali could not capitalise on. The only goal of the match came when former English Premier League goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi could only parry a Koo Ja-cheol shot and Cho poked the rebound home. Koo went close to extending South Korea’s led just before the hour but his fierce header was tipped over the bar by Al Habsi. South Korea dominated the second half when Lee Chung-yong and Son went close to extending their team’s lead. Uli Stielike’s players almost paid the price for failing to finish off the game after 75 minutes, but Oman striker Abdulaziz Al Maqbali mis-kicked when free at the back post. Group A continues on Tuesday with South Korea staying in Canberra to take on Kuwait while Australia hosts Oman in Sydney. (AP)
Bengal picks 20-member team for Santosh Trophy
Kolkata: Bengal on Saturday picked a 20-member team coached by Sisir Ghosh for the 69th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy being held in Jamshedpur. Bengal will name the captain after their conditioning camp from Monday, coach Sisir Ghosh said. The squad will leave for Jamshedpur on January 14. Squad: Jhantu Mondal, Raju Ganguly, Subham Sen, Dipak Mondal, Saikat Saha Roy, Sukanta Banerjee, Sukhdeb Murmu, Babu Mondal, Johny Routh, Prasenjit Paul, Bijoy Mandi, Fulchand Hembram, Surabuddin, Jagannath Sana, Abinas Ruidas, Imran Khan, Nilkanta Paria, Raja Das, Saikat Patra, and Sayan Dutta. (PTI)