Five Indians in main draw of World Squash Championship

Dhaka

Bangladesh today appointed all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan as Test captain, removing Mushfiqur Rahim from the post ahead of the two-Test home series against Sri Lanka next month. Shakib, who is already the national T20 captain, takes over the Test side after a disastrous tour of South Africa in a move that the cricket board said would allow Mushfiqur to focus on his batting. "We have decided to change the Test captain. Shakib will be our new Test skipper from the upcoming series and Mahmudullah will be the vice-captain," said Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hasan. Mushfiqur led Bangladesh in 34 Tests since 2011, guiding them to some remarkable wins over England, Sri Lanka and Australia since last year.   

Kolkata

Legendary Maradona arrives in 'City of Joy'     

The legendary Diego Maradona finally kept his date with the football-crazy Kolkata for a three-day private trip, which was originally scheduled for September. Sporting a blue T-shirt and a cap, the Argentine and his female companion arrived on Sunday evening. "It is such an honour for me to be able to make this trip. Kolkata is a very special place and I have good memories from my trip there many years ago, the fans were fantastic," Maradona said.

Jamshedpur

ISL: Pune hand Jamshedpur 1-0 defeat, join toppers    

FC Pune City joined the toppers in the Indian Super League after claiming a well-deserved 1-0 victory over Jamshedpur FC here tonight. Defender Adil Khan's strike at the half-an-hour mark proved to be the difference between the two sides as Pune registered their third win in five matches to accumulate nine points -- at par with leaders Bengaluru FC, FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC. 

Bhubaneswar

'Khelo India' to be launched from 2018: Rathore    

Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today said the government will launch a 'Khelo India' programme at a cost of Rs 1,756 crore for the period 2018 to 2019-20. Highlighting some salient features of the programme, the Minister said a new pan India sports scholarship scheme, which would cover 1,000 most talented young athletes each year across select sports disciplines will be introduced. Each athlete selected under the scheme will receive an annual scholarship worth Rs 5 lakh for eight years. — Agencies

Manchester

Five Indians in main draw of World Squash Championship

Two of the three Indians in the fray for the qualifying round made it to the main draw of the men’s section at the World Squash Championship here. While Vikram Malhotra lost out in the final round of the qualifying phase, both Mahesh Mangaonkar and Harinder Pal Sandhu went past the final hurdle to earn a spot in the main draw. Saurav Ghosal has made it to the main draw as a direct entry. In the women’s section, Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal Karthik have made it to the main draw. 

Barasat (West Bengal)

Mohun Bagan rout Churchill 5-0, go top of table 

Aser Dipanda Dicka struck twice to power Mohun Bagan to a 5-0 win over Churchill Brothers as another goal fest was witnessed in the I-League football fixture at the Barasat Stadium here on Sunday. On a rain-drenched afternoon, it was also raining goals after Ansumana Kromah (23rd) opened the scoring, before Dipanda Dicka (34th, 46th) made it 3-0 after the break. Midfielder Sheikh Faiaz notched his maiden goal of the I-League in the 49th minute before captain Sony Norde completed the rout in the 84th minute.

New Delhi

Pooja to spearhead Indian wushu squad  to China

Reigning world champion Pooja Kadian will spearhead a 10-member Indian squad at the 1st Asian Sanda Cup to be held in Guangzhou, China, on December 13-17. World Championships bronze medallist Rajinder Singh and K Arunpama Devi are the other star players in the Indian squad. — Agencies