United forward Rashford to miss
crucial match against Galatasaray
Manchester, Nov 25: Marcus Rashford will miss Manchester United’s Champions League game at Galatasaray next week after UEFA confirmed a one-match ban. Rashford was sent off for “rough play” following a challenge on Elias Jelert in United’s 4-3 loss against Copenhagen earlier this month. United manager Erik ten Hag described it as “harsh,” but UEFA confirmed the decision by referee Donatas Rumsas after a VAR review had been upheld. “I think when you freeze it, it always looks worse. I’m very disappointed about such decisions. I think the game is never meant to be like this,” Ten Hag said at the time. “It has nothing to do with football.” Defeat to Copenhagen put United’s hopes of advancing to the Champions League knockout stage in the balance. United is currently bottom of Group A with three points. A loss to Galatasaray on Wednesday would end the three-time European champion’s hopes in the competition. Ten Hag will hope to have Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund available after he suffered a muscle strain against Luton before the recent international break. He could be back for Sunday’s Premier League game against Everton, with a decision to be taken over his fitness on Saturday. Luke Shaw is back from a thigh injury, which has ruled the England international out since August. Goalkeeper Andre Onana is available after suffering a knock playing for Cameroon. Christian Eriksen is out with a knee injury and Jonny Evans has a thigh problem. Ten Hag said Mason Mount has an “issue” that needs to be assessed before the Everton game. (AP)
Mehuli-Shaw pair clinches air rifle mixed team gold in Natl shooting
New Delhi, Nov 25: West Bengal’s Mehuli Ghosh and Abhinav Shaw won the 10m air rifle mixed team title, while Sarabjot Singh and Palak, representing Haryana, took home the mixed team air pistol gold in the National Shooting Championships under on Saturday. At the Karni Singh Range here, where the rifle events are taking place, Mehuli and Shaw emerged 16-6 winners over the Karnataka pair of Dairius Saurastri and Tilottama Sen. The Bengal pair had topped the 27-team qualification round with a combined score of 633, while the Karnataka duo came second with 631.3, giving them the right to compete for the title. Tamil Nadu’s R. Narmada and Karthik Sabari Raj won the bronze medal. In Bhopal, where the pistol events are taking place, Sarabjot and Palak were challenged by Rajasthan’s Anjali and Abhinav Choudhary before winning 16-14. The Haryana pair had qualified second behind the Rajasthan duo with a score of 576. Anjali and Abhinav had topped the qualifiers with 578 points. Vikram and Yogita of SSB bagged the bronze medal. (PTI)
Fulton conducts coaching session for domestic head coaches
Chennai, Nov 25: Indian men’s hockey team chief coach Craig Fulton has conducted a coaching session for the head coaches of member units, who are currently participating in the 13th Senior Men National Championship. The session was organised at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Friday to upgrade coaching standards at the domestic level. The session allowed a platform for the coaches to exchange knowledge among themselves. “It was very satisfying to interact with coaches from the home setup. It was an interactive session, and I think we learned a lot,” Fulton said in a release. “It is essential to keep raising the bar for coaching across the nation. The players who advance to the Indian setup will be more prepared to make big career advancements if this is done.” The notable coaches who participated in the session include Batham Sumit (Jharkhand), Vinay Kishor (Uttarakhand), Daljeet Singh (Punjab), Mukesh Kumar (Haryana), Yendala Sagar (Telangana), Satender Sharma of (Delhi), Moirangthem Rinash Mettei (Manipur), Aravindan Ramachandran (Puducherry), Charles Dixon (Tamil Nadu), and Deepak Saini (Arunachal Pradesh). The interactive coaching session delved into diverse topics, including the Indian principles of play both with and without the ball, strategic game management to the score and remaining time, and effective player management considering the demanding schedule, among other crucial aspects. (PTI)
Zeel, Rashmikaa in all Indian final of ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour
Bengaluru, Nov 25: Zeel Desai truly showed her zeal to come back from the brink of defeat after being a match point down against Rutuja Bhosale to set up an all-Indian final clash against reigning National champion Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty in the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour. In contrasting semifinals played at the Bowring Institute courts here on Saturday, Zeel won a hard-fought 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over third seeded Rutuja while Rahsmikaa stunned second seed Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand 6-2, 6-1. The Italian-German pair of Diletta Cherubini and Antonia Schmidt came back from a set down and lifted the women’s doubles title beating the fourth seeded duo of Punnin Kovapitukted of Thailand and Anna Ureke 4-6, 7-5, 10-4. (IANS)
ISL: Chennaiyin FC play out 1-1
draw with East Bengal FC
Chennai, Nov 25: Ninthoinganba Meetei netted an equaliser late into the second half as Chennaiyin FC played out a 1-1 draw with East Bengal FC in the 2023-24 Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Saturday. East Bengal took the lead in the first half against the run of play through an own goal by midfielder Ayush Adhikari in the 29th minute. Meetei scored the only goal for the home side in the 86th minute of an exciting contest. The Marina Machans found their feet in the game early on as a long-range attempt of Adhikari from outside the box was saved by the away team in the seventh minute. Jordan Murray soon found himself in the mix of the action and hit a right-footed shot from the centre of the box that went high over the bar. In the 29th minute, East Bengal orchestrated a decisive play that bore fruit when Vishnu Valappill’s precise cross was inadvertently directed into the net by Adhikari, resulting in an own goal. However, the Owen Coyle men kept their attacking game intact in search of a goal. Murray came close to scoring the equaliser before goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Gill saved his left-footed volley from the left side of the post. The second half also saw Chennaiyin pushing for their first goal and they almost scored when Meetei took a shot from outside the box in the 59th minute. East Bengal’s resolute defence blocked the shot and then neutralised an attempt by Ankit Mukherjee from the left side of the six-yard box. (IANS)