Santosh Trophy: Maharashtra edge past Rajasthan 1-0
Mumbai: Maharashtra scored their third successive win Tuesday when they overcame Rajasthan 1-0 in the concluding Group-B league match of the West Zone leg of the AIFF National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2018-19 at Solapur. Having convincingly defeated Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli in the previous rounds, the hosts struggled to break down the packed Rajasthan defence and were also denied on a couple of times by framework, a media release said. Maharashtra finally broke the deadlock when Dhruwesh Nijap scored the decisive winner midway through the second session to help his team snatch the win. Earlier, Gujarat proved too strong for Dadra & Nagar Haveli as they charged to a thumping 10-0 win. Leading Gujarat’s charge to victory was striker Pavan Ramanuj who scored five goals and Aditya Jha got two. Musamiyan Syed and Nitin Singh scored one each while Francis Barbosa scored an own goal. Goa and Maharashtra have qualified for the final round of the AIFF National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2018-19 to be held later this year, the release stated. (PTI)
India ‘A’ beat France ‘A’ 2-0 in women’s hockey
Lucknow: The India ‘A’ women’s hockey team defeated France ‘A’ 2-0 in the third match to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium here on Tuesday. Local girl Mumtaz Khan (42nd minute) and Sharmila Devi (60th) scored for the home team. The match saw the visitors dominate in the opening minutes, but the Indian defense made sure they did not allow their opponents to draw the first blood. After going through two goal-less quarters, India finally managed to break the deadlock in the 42nd minute through young striker Mumtaz. The French had several chances in the match, but could not get past Indian goalkeeper Bichu Devi Kharibam. Some reflex saves from the Indian custodian meant that the hosts took their lead into the last quarter. An eventful last quarter saw both teams vie for the next goal of the match, but eventually it was India ‘A’ who were successful in their pursuit as they scored another field goal in the last minute to come out winners. The India ‘A’ women’s team will play their fourth and last match against France here on Wednesday. (PTI)
Badminton legend Lee delays cancer comeback until April
Kuala Lumpur: Badminton great Lee Chong Wei aims to make his comeback in April at the Malaysia Open after a cancer battle, a month later than he originally hoped, an official confirmed on Tuesday. The three-time Olympic silver medallist and former world number has been on the sidelines since July last year when he was diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer. The Malaysian star underwent a gruelling programme of specialist treatment in Taiwan but pledged not to retire and resumed training last month. The 36-year-old had previously said he wanted to make a return to competitive play at the All England Open in March. But on Monday Lee told local media he was targeting a return to action on home soil at the Malaysia Open, which he has won 12 times, from April 2 to 7. “I have got another appointment with my doctor in Taiwan next month. Once I get the green light from him, then I will make a full comeback, hopefully at the Malaysia Open,” he told the New Straits Times newspaper. (AFP)