India win bronze in hockey
Bangkok: Sangita Kumari scored twice as India blanked Korea 3-0 to clinch a bronze medal in the 4th Women’s Under-18 Asia Cup hockey tournament, here on Thursday. Sangita scored in the 55th and 58th minutes, after Ritu had put India ahead in the 45th minute in the bronze-medal play-off. The two teams played out a goalless first half, with India content with dropping deep and relying on the counter to create opportunities. Korea earned several penalty corners but failed to convert from any, as India’s defence closed them down perfectly.
Beighton Cup
Calcutta: Bharat Petroleum continued their winning run, beating RCF Kapurthala 6-3 in Thursday’s Beighton Cup match at the SAI ground. Amir Khan scored a hat-trick for Bharat Petroleum. In the other matches, ERSA beat Punjab & Sind bank 6-4, while Punjab National Bank recorded a 5-2 victory over Bhubaneswar Hostel.
Miserly
New Delhi: A struggling Air India on Thrusday announced cash awards of a meagre Rs 25,000 and Rs 10,000 for two of its employees — coach Harendra Singh and striker Armaan Qureshi — who were part of the historic Indian hockey team that won the Junior World Cup last week after a gap of 15 years. Air India chairman and managing director, Ashwani Lohani, said if the national carrier was in a good position financially, he would have rewarded the duo more for their accomplishments.
Sacked
London: Crystal Palace sacked manager Alan Pardew on Thursday after a poor run of results that have left the London club 17th in the 20-team EPL.
Holland post
London: Chelsea assistant coach Steve Holland has been appointed assistant to England manager Gareth Southgate, the FA has announced. Holland, 46, will combine his duties as assistant first-team coach at Chelsea with his England role until the end of the season, before linking up with the FA on a full-time basis. “I am delighted to have Steve as my assistant manager,” Southgate said.
Bundesliga
Berlin: Bayern Munich put upstarts RB Leipzig firmly in their place by sweeping to an emphatic 3-0 home win, with all the goals coming in the first half, in a disappointingly one-sided top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash on Wednesday. Thiago Alcantara, Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowski scored one goal each.
India 135th
Calcutta: India jumped two places to finish 2016 at 135 in the Fifa Rankings published on Thursday. This is India’s highest ranking in six years. They had finished 134 in 2009. Argentina lead the rankings, followed by Brazil and Germany.
Simmons role
Calcutta: The St Kitts & Nevis Patriots announced that former West Indies coach Phil Simmons will become the new head coach of the franchise for the 2017 Caribbean Premier League season, a release stated.
sportsdesk & agencies
