All posts tagged: Decider

Devika Sihag wins in 3 sets; Anmol Kharb fritters 11-2 lead in decider vs former Olympic champion

Devika Sihag wins in 3 sets; Anmol Kharb fritters 11-2 lead in decider vs former Olympic champion

Published by Webster

Bronze medals at Thomas Cups don’t have aftermaths. But if the last week has proven anything to upcoming shuttlers, it is that only wins will be considered to be making any headway in Indian badminton. From amongst those needing to prove a point at the Thailand Open in Patumwan, Bangkok, Devika Sihag had the most significant win, defeating Natsuki Nidaira 21-19, 13-21, 21-15 to move into the second round. The Indian ranked No 40 defeated the Japanese No 26. Her state-mate from Haryana, Anmol Kharb, had a tougher opponent in former Olympic champion, Chen Yufei. The once Indian prodigy, who won the National Badminton title at 16, and then proceeded to help India claim the women’s Asian team title, put the Chinese former World No 1 under the pump with a spirited display to lead 21-19, 13-21, 11-2. But she was sloppy thereafter, and a tad clueless thereafter not knowing the best tactical path to close out, as she gave away 19 points thereafter and managed to score only 7. It’s where the big names, …

Who is the player making Pep Guardiola’s heart go “…pff” ahead of Man City-Arsenal decider? | Football News

Who is the player making Pep Guardiola’s heart go “…pff” ahead of Man City-Arsenal decider? | Football News

Published by Webster

There are Arsenal’s highly controlled, clockwork, almost Teutonic setpieces. And then there’s the free-flowing, mind-of-his-own Man City playmaker, Rayan Cherki. Ahead of the big Premier League showdown against Arsenal, Man City coach Pep Guardiola, was trying to contain and channel the effervescence of his young French midfielder, who tends to do his own thing but is highly effective for the team. Cherki had got Guardiola confessing that he was loosening some of his controlling strings ahead of the Chelsea game last week. “Rayan is a special, special player. He is a little bit of a free soul. I am a manager who likes control, we know this. So sometimes, on the touchline, it is so, so tough to watch. My heart… pff,” he was quoted as saying by Goal.com. City have Haaland and they have a bunch of others who he has tried to fit into his patterns. But Cherki has left Guardiola reconsidering his own beliefs. ALSO READ | Arteta vs Guardiola, master vs protege: A title decider 25 years in making “He gets …

In title decider, Mikel Arteta hopes to symbolically retire his master; Pep Guardiola sets out to render his protege an imposter

In title decider, Mikel Arteta hopes to symbolically retire his master; Pep Guardiola sets out to render his protege an imposter

Published by Webster

The introduction to the Pep Guardiola-Mikel Arteta action flick begins with a flashback set in the Catalan heartland at the stroke of the century. Guardiola, the midfield don of Barcelona, is watching a youth tournament with his understudy Xavi Hernandez. A skinny boy from the beaches with thick dark hair from the La Masia Academy impresses him. He whispers to his heir apparent, “You will retire me. This kid will retire both of us!” It turned half prophetic. Xavi became Barcelona’s rhyme and rhythm. The guy who was to retire them both, Mikel Arteta, waited futilely on the doors of one of football’s greatest empires and left disillusioned. But the bond of the La Masia brethren runs deep. Guardiola, by then the Czar of modern football coaching, had kept his ears firmly to the ground. He had heard that the boy anointed to retire them all, having ended a successful but not spectacular career, was nursing coaching ambitions. So, when Guardiola embarked into building the Manchester City dynasty, he checked with Arteta if he wanted …

Badminton Asia Team C’ships: Kidambi Srikanth stars in decider as Indian men edge Singapore, women beat Myanmar convincingly | Badminton News

Badminton Asia Team C’ships: Kidambi Srikanth stars in decider as Indian men edge Singapore, women beat Myanmar convincingly | Badminton News

Published by Webster

4 min readFeb 4, 2026 10:30 PM IST Gunning to still deliver on the international circuit, former World No 1 Srikanth Kidambi – now India’s No 3 at world No 34 – delivered in the deciding fifth match against Singapore at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Qingdao, China, on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, India women’s team – defending champions – dominated Myanmar in their opening group stage encounter 5-0. Both teams have assured themselves of a quarterfinal spot at the event, while the top spot in their groups is still up for grabs. The men’s Group C clash between India and Singapore went down to the wire, with Srikanth coming up with a clinical performance in the third men’s singles against Jia Wei Joel Koh 21-15, 21-16 to ensure that the Indian men’s team avoided a banana peel before taking on favourites Japan in the decisive tie on Thursday. In what was the toughest contest in the tie, Lakshya Sen went down 21-16, 19-21, 21-16 against former world champion Loh Kean Yew. But …

Venue dispute overshadows CAF Confederation Cup title decider

Venue dispute overshadows CAF Confederation Cup title decider

Published by Parlour News

A CAF Confederation Cup final venue dispute has overshadowed the second leg between Simba of Tanzania and Renaissance Berkane of Morocco in the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar on Sunday. HT Image Hosts Simba, who trail 2-0 after the first leg last weekend, wanted to stage the return match at the 60,000-seat Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam. But an inspection of the national stadium in the Tanzanian commercial capital by the Confederation of African Football ruled that it was unsuitable for the title decider. Instead, CAF ordered the second leg to be played at the Amaan Stadium, a 15,000-seater in Zanzibar, which is a three-hour ferry journey from Dar es Salaam. A popular tourist resort, Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of east Africa and consists of two main islands and many small ones. The origins of the venue dispute can be traced to Benjamin Mkapa Stadium last month where Simba beat Egyptian visitors Al Masry on penalties in a quarter-final after a 2-2 aggregate tie. A pitch littered with divots …

Treesa-Gayatri drag top Chinese pair to decider but exhaustion proves costly, again

Treesa-Gayatri drag top Chinese pair to decider but exhaustion proves costly, again

Published by Webster

There are no incremental improvements when playing World No. 1 Liu Sheng Shu-Tan Ning for Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. The Indians had beaten the Chinese the first time they played, winning the decider 21-19 from 18-19 down in 2023. Treesa-Gayatri have since lost six times to the jaunty juggernaut, two women with tremendous power and stamina and sufficient mental strength. The 15-21, 21-15, 21-12 on Saturday in the semifinals of the Swiss Open means the Indians have now twice gone down 21-14 and 21-12 in the third set to them. So there’s no pattern as such apart from the satisfaction of dragging the top-ranked pair to deciders. But as Genghis Khan said, the beauty of an action lies in its completion. Story continues below this ad It is plainly clear that Indian plans work against the top Chinese. It is also evident that Treesa and Gayatri will need the next two notches of fitness, not because their smashes lack the sting in the latter stages but because exhaustion can affect decision-making. It allows the …

Will captain Rohit Sharma play Sydney Test? India’s playing XI might undergo massive change for series decider – India TV

Will captain Rohit Sharma play Sydney Test? India’s playing XI might undergo massive change for series decider – India TV

Published by Webster

Image Source : GETTY Indian captain Rohit Sharma has been in woeful form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy scoring just 31 runs in five innings Indian captain Rohit Sharma may not be a surety for the fifth and final Test against Australia, set to begin on Friday, January 3 in Sydney. Rohit, who has been in woeful form in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy scoring just 31 runs in five innings, averages just a little over six and the head coach Gautam Gambhir remained tight-lipped about whether the 37-year-old will play or not in the series decider. “Everything is fine with Rohit and I don’t think it’s anything traditional,” Gambhir said after being asked why Rohit didn’t address the media in the pre-match press conference. “The head coach is here and that should be good enough,” he added. “We are going to have a look at the wicket and finalise it tomorrow,” the head coach said if Rohit Sharma would make the playing XI or not. When pressed by the reporter once again on Rohit’s place, the …

Harmanpreet Kaur doubtful for T20 series decider against West Indies

Harmanpreet Kaur doubtful for T20 series decider against West Indies

Published by Webster

Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur is doubtful for the deciding game of the India v West Indies T20 series on Thursday. Harmanpreet was sidelined from the second game after she suffered a niggle in her knee during the first game. Her deputy, Smriti Mandhana said that the team is awaiting an update on Kaur’s availability for the third match. “Harman’s fitness, (the) BCCI medical team is observing on a day-to-day basis. They’ll be in a better place to answer that question. I think we’ll have to wait for the update from their side,” Mandhana told media after India’s crushing nine-wicket loss here on Tuesday. Kaur, who turned up for practice here last Saturday with her knee strapped, scored 13 not out in India’s big total of 195/4 but she did not take the field in the series opener here. “Harmanpreet Kaur sustained a niggle in her knee while batting during the first T20I against West Indies. Hence, she remains unavailable for selection for the second T20I. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring her …

Taylor Fritz Beats Alexander Zverev, Through To ATP Finals Title Decider

Taylor Fritz Beats Alexander Zverev, Through To ATP Finals Title Decider

Published by Webster

Taylor Fritz after his victory against Alexander Zverev.© AFP Taylor Fritz reached the ATP Finals title decider on Saturday by beating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) at the season-ending event in Turin. Fritz will face either world number one Jannik Sinner or Casper Ruud in Sunday’s showdown where he will bid to become the first American since Pete Sampras in 1999 to claim the title. James Blake, in 2006, was the last US man to make the final. Fritz could yet have the chance to gain revenge on Sinner for being beaten in the US Open final following a gruelling match in northern Italy. Both players had chances to take control in a topsy-turvy third set, but failed to capitalise on a host of break points. But Fritz held his nerve better in the tie-break to claim a spot in the final. Home hope Sinner will be backed by a passionate crowd in the day’s main event, the Italian aiming for his first Finals title after an exceptional year in which he …

Making a comeback after leading and then trailing in the decider makes Sindhu’s win over World No.7 Han Yue special | Badminton News

Making a comeback after leading and then trailing in the decider makes Sindhu’s win over World No.7 Han Yue special | Badminton News

Published by Webster

Anup Sridhar watched close to 25-30 hours of match footage from the time when PV Sindhu used to “play really well.” Their coaching partnership, alongside the elegant Korean Lee Hyun-il, is scribbled in for a 3-month trial basis at the moment. But Anup was keen to learn every minor detail about what had once clicked for Sindhu. The tiniest of glimpses of that attacking game – circa 2014-2019, flickers of that aggressive intent, were visible on Thursday at the Denmark Open, when the 29-year-old returned to normalcy, which in Sindhu-Universe means taking on, and taking out the latest in-form Chinese. The pre-quarterfinals’ 18-21, 21-12, 21-16 win over World No.7 Han Yue, a winner at Finland’s Arctic Open last week, saw Sindhu give plentiful evidence of attacking play — she was taking the shuttle at the net as high as possible. And unleashing many body-attacks on the Chinese fourth seed from there. It’s generally a harbinger of exciting times. “It’s just the Round of 16, and personally there’s a long way to go before we see …