Inter-region IOCL sports meet from November 26
GUWAHATI: Indian Oil Corporation (Eastern Region) will be organising the 19th edition of the Inter Region Sports Meet (IRSM) from November 26 to 30 with the objective of providing the regular employees, other than those under sports category, a chance to take part in five disciplines of sports. Differently-abled employees will also be able to participate in table tennis, badminton, bridge, carom and chess. More than 200 players from various units of Indian Oil, across the country will compete for the trophies. The overall winning team will lift the director (marketing) trophy, while the first runner up and second runner up teams will get the ED (HR) and ED (RS) trophies respectively. According to practice, IRSM is held every two years and is hosted by each region on a rotation basis.
Hockey WC: Pak excited to play at ‘lucky’ Kalinga Stadium
Bhubaneswar: The Pakistan hockey team players on Saturday said they were looking forward to play at the “lucky” Kalinga Stadium, venue for the World Cup. The team received a warm reception at the Wagah Border earlier in the day for the much-awaited showpiece. “We have come here before and we have always enjoyed playing at this venue. It is a lucky ground for us and we are very excited to be back,” said skipper Muhammad Rizwan Senior on the team’s arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport. Speaking of the ‘Pool of Death’, Hasan Sardar, the legendary centre forward and team manager of Pakistan team said, “With Germany, the Netherlands, Malaysia in our pool, it is a pool of death and every single match will matter. “We will need to play it like it is a knockout in every single game. First match is against Germany and we are targeting a win against them. I would like to wish all participating teams the very best.” (PTI)
Ramos brands anti-doping charges a lie, denies wrongdoing
Madrid: Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has dismissed anti-doping allegations against him as a “lie” and a deliberate attempt to tarnish his reputation. According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, Ramos failed to declare he had taken dexamethasone ahead of the 2017 Champions League final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in which Real beat Juventus 4-1. The club denied the claims on Friday night and Ramos, speaking after Real lost 3-0 at Eibar on Saturday, made a staunch defence of his record. “I am calm,” Ramos said. “It is true that it hurts, and obviously I will come out with my legal team against these people, who try to stain my status and my professional career. “After 15 years, I have never refused an anti-doping test, I have never breached any procedure and I have passed around 250 to 300 tests. For this reason, I am calm.” Ramos added: “When you know the truth, you can act with a lot of tranquility. You can tell the lie many times over but it is still a lie.” Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid on the banned list of the World Anti-Doping Agency. (AFP)
Hamilton on pole with record lap as Mercedes dominate
Abu Dhabi: New five-time champion Lewis Hamilton smashed the lap record as he secured pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and led team-mate Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes to another front-row lockout. In a scintillating performance, the Englishman clocked a best lap in one minute and 34.794 seconds to outstrip Bottas by almost two-tenths of a second. It is his 11th pole of the season and the 83rd of his career. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Sauber-bound Kimi Raikkonen, Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo and his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen. Romain Grosjean was seventh for Haas ahead of Ferrari-bound Charles Leclerc of Sauber, Esteban Ocon of Force India and Nico Hulkenberg of Renault. Hamilton kissed his car after the session. (AFP)