Schalke 04 warmed-up for the Champions League visit of Manchester City with a goalless draw at home to fellow Bundesliga strugglers Freiburg on Saturday.
Schalke are winless in their last three Bundesliga games and sit just above the relegation places in 14th spot.
Next up is a huge challenge at home to Pep Guardiola's Premier League giants Man City in their Champions League last 16, first-leg tie on Wednesday.
Schalke qualified for the Champions League by finishing runners-up to Bayern Munich last season, but despite dreadful recent results, Schalke head coach Domenico Tedesco says they are ready to host City.
"We deserve to have got this far," Tedesco insisted after Schalke won half their games to finish second behind Porto in their Champions League group.
"We have to prepare well and everyone needs to be at 100 percent. We believe we have a chance -- otherwise there would be no point playing."
Both Schalke and Freiburg finished with ten men as the Royal Blues played for nearly 50 ..

Ten-man Schalke draw blank ahead of Man City clash

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Lionel Messi scored a penalty and missed another as La Liga leaders Barcelona ground out an unconvincing 1-0 win over Real Valladolid, while Antoine Griezmann surpassed Fernando Torres with his 130th goal for Atletico Madrid.
Messi's fitness was again in the spotlight on Saturday after a niggling thigh strain in recent weeks, but he completed the full 90 minutes at the Camp Nou and hit the 30-goal mark at Barcelona for the 11th straight season.
The Argentine coolly dispatched a spot-kick just before half-time, drilling beyond the reach of Jordi Masip after Gerard Pique was bundled to the ground by Valladolid midfielder Michel.
Masip brilliantly tipped over a Messi volley soon after the interval and Luis Suarez wasted a huge opportunity to double the lead shortly after replacing Kevin-Prince Boateng with an hour gone.
Messi found himself booked for dissent after an apparent foul on him went unpunished, and he then blew the chance to kill off Valladolid when Masip kept out his second ...

Messi penalty lifts Barca as Griezmann eclipses Torres

Focus would be trained on in-form  openerSmriti Mandhana when she leads the Board President's XI  in a warm-up match against the visiting England women's team  here on Monday.
The match is being played at the Wankhede Stadium and  Mandhana, who is being helped by team coach W V Raman to build  up her patience, would be keen to put the lessons learnt into  practice before plunging into the series opener here next  Friday.
Mandhana recently scored 196 runs in the three- match  ODI series against hosts New Zealand, including a 100  and 90.
She would be keen to carry that form into the upcoming  home series and a good knock in the warm-up match will only  boost her confidence.
Apart from Mandhana, BPXI wicket-keeper R Kalpana is  also in the ODI squad and she could also benefit from playing  in the practice game.
On the other hand, England women are a force to reckon  with in the 50-over format and they utilise this game to get  acclimatised to the pitch, weather and local conditions.
The 

Focus on Mandhana as BPXI take on England eves in warm-up game

Commonwealth Games medal-winning duo of Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and Naman Tanwar (91kg) entered the quarterfinals of the 70th Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament with contrasting wins in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Gold Coast CWG gold-winner Solanki, taking to the ring within 24 hours of his first-round win, defeated Kazakhstan's Anvar Muzaparov 3-2 in a hard-fought contest on Saturday night.
The 19-year-old Tanwar, who claimed a bronze in Gold Coast last year, got the better of Poland's Michal Soczynski 5-0 in a dominating performance.
Solanki faces Uzbekistan's Fayzov Khudonyazar in the last-eight stage. Khudonyazar defeated local hope Tinko Banabakov in his pre-quarterfinal bout, which was also ended in a split verdict.
Tanwar, on the other hand, will be up against Ukraine's Serhii Horskov. Horskov out-punched Serbia's Darko Stankovic in his pre-quarterfinal contest to fetch a 5-0 decision from the judges
However, it was curtains for Ulaan Baatar Cup gold-medallist Ankush Dahiya. Dahiya lost to 

Boxing: Solanki, Tanwar enter quarters of Strandja Memorial

Match-winner Kusal Perera insisted "all I did was my role" after his epic 153 not out took Sri Lanka to a dramatic one-wicket victory over South Africa in the first Test at Kingsmead on Saturday.
Perera scored 67 of his runs in an unbeaten 78-run last-wicket stand with Vishwa Fernando which gave his underdog team a sensational victory.
"When I was batting with the tail, I knew we couldn't win this match by just scoring singles," said Perera after his career-best knock which was already being hailed as one of Test cricket's greatest innings.
"I was the last proper batsman left. When the time felt right for me, I took my chances."
The left-hander managed to keep most of the strike and played some audacious strokes, including two sixes off fast bowler Dale Steyn and one each off Kagiso Rabada, Duanne Olivier and Keshav Maharaj.
"I tried to hit to the closest boundary," said Perera, who was described as "superman" by opposition skipper Faf du Plessis.
"It was a superman effort. He ...

'Just doing my job', says 'superman' Perera after epic Sri Lanka win

England coach Trevor Bayliss will lose a key member of his staff ahead of the team's home World Cup and Ashes after it was announced Saturday that assistant coach Paul Farbrace will leave to join Warwickshire.
Farbrace, credited with helping kickstart England's revival in one-day cricket, will succeed Ashley Giles as the sport director at Edgbaston after England's tour of the West Indies ends next month.
Former England spinner Giles left Warwickshire in December to become England's managing director of men's cricket, succeeding Andrew Strauss.
Bayliss had already announced he was standing down as England head coach when his contract ends in December, leaving Farbrace facing an uncertain future.
Former Kent and Middlesex wicketkeeper Farbrace, who first worked under Bayliss when the latter was Sri Lanka coach, joined the England staff in 2014 after guiding Sri Lanka to the World Twenty20 title that year.
After England's woeful early exit at the 2015 World Cup, which saw Peter Moores ...

Farbrace leaves England set-up for Warwickshire role

Ethiopia's Samuel Tefera set a new 1500 metres indoor world record in Birmingham on Saturday as he broke a mark that had stood for more than 20 years.
Tefera upstaged compatriot Yomif Kejelcha to stop the clock in a time of 3min 31.04sec, shaving 0.14sec off the previous record set by Moroccan middle-distance great Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997.
Kejelcha, who came within 0.01sec of the world indoor mile record last week, had announced his intention to break the 1500m mark ahead of Saturday's World Indoor Tour meeting in Birmingham.
And with pacemakers taking the field through 800m in 1:52.70 and 2:49.28 at the 1200m mark, Kejelcha was on course for a record.
But Tefera, the world indoor champion at the distance, was tucked in on his shoulder and, as the bell sounded for the final lap, he kicked past his countryman and charged towards the line.
Kejelcha came second in an outright personal best of 3:31.58.

Ethiopia's Tefera breaks Guerrouj's 1500m indoor world record

FC Pune City produced a clinical display to beat Jamshedpur FC 4-1 in an Indian Super League clash at the JRD Tata Sports Complex here on Saturday.
Robin Singh (17and 65th minute), Marcelinho (45+2) and Ashique Kuruniyan (70th) found the target for Pune while Carlos Calvo (76th) scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot for Jamshedpur who slumped to their first defeat of the season at home.
The result put a huge dent in Jamshedpur's chances of qualifying for the play-offs while Pune City's slim hopes of going through remain alive.
Cesar Ferrando's side are now four points behind fourth-placed Mumbai City with two games remaining. Pune, on the other hand, are nine points behind Mumbai with three matches in hand.
Jamshedpur's defeat meant league leaders Bengaluru FC became the first team to qualify for the play-offs ahead of their away match against Delhi Dynamos on Sunday.
The home side started the game with urgency and should have scored at least twice within the opening 15 ...

Pune dent Jamshedpur's play-offs chances with a 4-1 win

: U Mumba Volley defeated Chennai  Spartans 3-2 (15-14, 15-8, 15-10, 10-15, 10-15) in the opening  match of the Chennai leg of the Pro Volleyball League here  Saturday to keep its hopes of a semifinal spot alive.
Skipper Dipesh Sinha was the top scorer for U Mumba  with 11 points (5 spikes, 2 blocks and 4 serves) and helped  the team post its first win.
For the Spartans, Rudy Verhoeff equalled his  individual points record of 20 in a match (14 spikes and 6  serves) but ended up on the losing side.
It was a hard-fought battle as both teams knew it was  a crucial game and didn't allow the other any leeway.
Chennai Spartans got the first advantage as they went  into the first Technical Time Out (TTO) with a spike from Rudy  Verhoeff at 8-7. Chennai looked in good rhythm after the TTO,  as they mounted a 13-8 lead with the help of Naveen Raja  Jacobs Super Serve.
U Mumba called for a Super Point at 8-13 and won the  same. It was the start of a comeback. At 14-10, it looked like  Chennai ..

U Mumba Volley beat Chennai Spartans to keep play-off hopes

The funeral of Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala took place in his home village in Argentina on Saturday three weeks after he was killed in a plane crash.
A public vigil was held in a gymnasium in Progreso, the modest village in the province of Santa Fe which Sala left as a teenager to forge a career in Europe.
Sala's father, mother, sister and friends were seen arriving at the ceremony and dozens of local people filed in after them.
The 28-year-old died on January 21 just two days after completing a ?15 million ($19.3 million, 17.1 million euros) move to the Premier League club from French club Nantes.
The single-engine private plane carrying Sala and pilot David Ibbotson crashed in the English Channel near Alderney. Sala had been flying back to Wales after returning to France to say goodbye to his former teammates.
The player's body was recovered from the submerged wreckage on February 7 but Ibbotson remains missing, with funds being raised to continue the search for the ...

Tragic footballer Emiliano Sala's funeral takes place in Argentina

Gokulam Kerala FC's winless run got extended to three months after Indian Arrows held the hosts to a 1-1 draw in a bottom of the table I-League fixture on Saturday.
Rahul KP gave Arrows the lead in the first half but Trinidadian striker Marcu Leric Joseph's fourth goal in as many games in the second, ensured there was not a repeat of the first leg fixture between the two sides, where the Arrows won by a solitary goal.
With this result, Gokulam stay put at 10th position with 13 points after 16 completed games. The Arrows also maintained their seventh position on the points table, now having 17 points from 18 games.
After an initial spell of pressure by the Malabarians, the Indian Arrows slowly started to find their bearings with Rahul finding the back of the net in the 22nd minute.
Ashish Rai delivered the cross from the right flank for Rahim Ali, who was positioned inside the box, wide on the left.
Rahim brought down a cushioned header towards Rahul, who was sprinting from the centre .

Gokulam Kerala share spoils with Indian Arrows in Kozhikode

Defending champions Minerva Punjab FC Saturday forfeited their I-League match against Real Kashmir FC in Srinagar after the All India Football Federation (AIFF) turned down their request to relocate the fixture in the aftermath of the Pulwama terrorist attacks.
The match was scheduled for Sunday and Minerva said its foreign players have been advised by their respective countries' embassies to pull out.
"...we regret to inform you that this is not a risk that we are ready to take hence we shall not be travelling to the turbulent region," the Punjab club said in its letter to the AIFF.
Minerva also said that it did not receive the security assurances it had sought from the AIFF following the attack on Thursday which led to the death of 40 CRPF personnel. It is being termed as the deadliest terrorist strike in three decades in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Considering the extraordinary circumstances following the Pulwama attack just 20Km from Srinagar Airport, the Ministry of Home affairs need to .

Minerva refuse to travel to Srinagar, forfeit I-League match against Real Kashmir

Anirban Lahiri is all set to miss the cut with disastrous seven-over after playing 33 holes on a rain-curtailed second day at the Genesis Open here Friday.
Lahiri had a long day as he played 18 holes for the first round along with 15 for the second round. He was lying 133rd after the first round with four-over 76 and slipped further to tied 142nd after Friday.
Apart from the wet weather and the cold, Lahiri's putter also went cold as he missed a whole lot, at least five inside ten feet. The story continued in the second round.
Meanwhile, Justin Thomas was leading the pack having completed 12 holes in his second round and remained five under.
Tiger Woods, who is the host, had some good moments but not many. He had four straight birdies around the turn in the morning but that ended with a three-putt bogey at No. 12. He had four three-putts in the first round for a 70.
His highlight in the afternoon was a 45-foot eagle putt on the par-5 first to start his back nine. But he had bogeys on .

Lahiri set to miss ct after poor show

Indian race walker K T Irfan Saturday said his aim was to do well in next month's Asian Race Walking Championship in Japan and secure qualification for the World Championships later this year.
"I am very happy to win a gold medal here (in the National Open Race Walking Championship). It is my first event of the season and I have done well. Now my aim is to do well in the Asian meet in Nomi City, Japan and gain qualification for the World Championship," he told PTI here.
The Kerala athlete had won the 20 km race (Elite) for men in the 6th National Open Race Walking Championship in a time of 1:26:18.00, well below the World Championship qualification standard of 1:22:30.
He said Japan was always good for him as he had won a bronze medal in the Asian meet in 2017 and hoped that this time he would be able to meet the qualification standards.
"I am looking forward to the Asian Championship. Japan is very good for me. I have always done well there. I won a bronze medal in the 2017 Asian ...

Race walker Irfan aims World Championships qualification at next month's Asian meet

A late goal by Bikramjit Singh saw Mohun Bagan beat Aizawl FC 2-1 on Saturday, ensuring at least a top-six finish in the ongoing I-League.
Ugandan forward Henry Kisekka put the Green and Maroons forward in the 22nd minute before former Bagan man Ansumana Kromah drew Aizawl level at the half-hour mark.
The Kolkata giants left it late for defender Bikramjit to seal three points with a 78th minute strike. Mohun Bagan are currently sixth with 26 points from 17 games. NEROCA are currently fifth with same number of points but a better goal difference.
Aizawl remained eighth in the list with 14 points from 16 games.
Bagan boss Khalid Jamil came in with attacking tactics, looking for an early goal.
The team's efforts finally bore fruit when an Abinash Ruidas free-kick from long range was chested down by Henry in the 22nd minute before calmly slotted it into the goal.
However, Aizawl came back with a goal of their own just eight minutes later, when Kromah's powerful shot from outside the ...

I League: Bagan beat Aizawl 2-1, assured of top six finish

Kusal Perera carried Sri Lanka to a sensational one-wicket win on the fourth day of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead on Saturday as he hit a career-best 153 not out.
Perera and Vishwa Fernando put on an unbeaten 78 in a last-wicket partnership to secure only Sri Lanka's second win in 14 Test matches in South Africa.
Victory seemed unlikely when the ninth wicket fell with the total on 226, with the tourists chasing a target of 304.
But the left-handed Perera successfully farmed the strike, with South African captain Faf du Plessis persisting with wide-spread fields for the in-form batsman, while Fernando only had to face 27 balls during a 96-ball partnership.
Perera was on 86 when the ninth wicket fell but managed to keep most of the strike and to hit some telling blows in an innings of 200 balls which included 12 fours and five sixes.
"It was a superman effort," said Du Plessis.
"He (Perera) deserves all the accolades."
- Low previous average ...

Perera takes Sri Lanka to sensational win in South Africa

Shiv Kapur missed out the match play action at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 in Perth on Saturday by just one shot as he bogeyed his final hole in the third round.
A superb first nine after starting from the tenth saw him go five-under, but he bogeyed his final hole, the ninth and missed out. He shot four-under 68 for a total of 211 over 54 holes and ended T-26th.
Top-24 advanced to the match play stage.
Also missing out was SSP Chawrasia (71) as he finished at three-under 213.
Sweden's Per Langfors returned with a 64 to emerge as the 54-hole stroke play leader.
Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond is ready to prove his worth as he advanced to Sunday's six-hole match play knockout rounds after carding a four-under-par 68 in the third round.
Despite missing out on a top-eight position where the seeded players will receive a bye into the last 16, the three-time Asian Tour winner Jazz, 23, is in a relaxed mood ahead of Sunday's showdown with Australia's Steven Jeffress at the Lake Karrinyup ...

Kapur misses match play berth in Perth by one shot

The likes of Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna may have opted out, but India can still finish on the podium at the upcoming World Team Chess Championships in Astana next month, former Asian champion Surya Sekhar Ganguly said Saturday.
India's top three, Anand (world number 7), Harikrishna (26) and Vidit Gujarati (34) have pulled out of the 10-team premier championship for which the country has got a wildcard entry after being nominated by the FIDE president.
In the trio's absence, India's challenge in the men's section will be spearheaded by the next five top rated players -- world number 52 B Adhiban, Krishnan Sasikiran (67), SP Sethuraman (102), Surya (130) and Arvind Chithambaram (240).
"By rating we may not be high but we are one of the youngest teams with the likes of Sethu, Adhiban and Arvind. We have got a very decent chances to finish podium," Surya told PTI before leaving for the Aeroflot Open in Moscow from February 18.
The Moscow meet will serve as a preparation for 

India can finish on podium in World Team Chess: Surya

Delhi Dynamos midfielder Lallianzuala Chhangte has returned from a short trial stint at the Norway's top-flight side Vikings FK, enriching himself with technical aspects and professionalism of European clubs.
The fleet-footed 21-year-old Mizoram player was to have a longer trial stint at Stavanger, the home city of Vikings, but ultimately had just two days with the club, which has won the Norwegian top division title eight times.
"I gained a lot as a player even though it was a very short stint. They (Vikings) play fast football and they are technically very sound, I like the way they play. It was very exciting for me to have got the opportunity to be there," Chhangte said ahead of Delhi Dynamos' Indian Super League match against Bengaluru FC on Sunday.
"Their technique was really good. They have a very good first touch. I realised how important is your first touch. They are also very professional. They even put my name in the dressing room (of the club). It was a very satisfying ...

Dynamos player Chhangte returns after two-day trial at top Norwegian club Vikings

Bengaluru FC will be keen to put their recent disappointing run of form behind them and become the first team to qualify for the Indian Super League play-offs when they take on laggards Delhi Dynamos here on Sunday.
The league leaders need a win on Sunday to confirm their place among the top four and will look to do just that at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium.
The Blues have taken their foot off the accelerator following the winter break and have stumbled a bit. They have just one win in the last four matches and are coming off a 1-2 reverse against Chennaiyin FC.
They have not started matches well and found themselves trailing at half-time in their last two games before rallying in the second half.
Coach Carles Cuadrat has been testing his bench strength by resting regulars and affording game time to his fringe players. Dimas Delgado, Udanta Singh, Albert Serran were all rested in Chennai last time out.
With play-offs approaching, Spanish coach may continue his tinkering against Delhi .

Bengaluru FC keen to seal play-off spot in match against Delhi Dynamos

Real Kashmir's home I-League match in Srinagar on Sunday will go ahead as scheduled, despite holders Minerva Punjab FC's request for either deferring the match or shifting it to a neutral venue in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Pulwama.
Minerva, who are yet to reach Srinagar, have decided to forfeit the match, citing security issues as well as to pay homage to the slain CRPF Jawans.
I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said local security authorities in Srinagar have given the go ahead to hold the match at the TRC Ground. He said the AIFF has been assured by the local authorities of all the necessary security arrangements for the players and officials.
"Our officials are already in Srinagar in preparation of the match. I have spoken to the match commissioner and he told me that the situation in Srinagar is currently normal. The local security in-charge of the match has also assured full security to the players, officials and all those related to the match," Dhar told PTI on Saturday.
"We ..

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