Page 1073 - Sports
Fiorentina bounce back with 2-0 win over Atalanta
Fiorentina topped Atalanta 2-0, bouncing back from its first Serie A defeat of the season.
Malaysia appoint Oltmans as new head coach of national hockey team
Former India coach Roelant Oltmans was Monday appointed as the new head coach of the Malaysian men's national hockey team with an aim to take the side to the next level. "Welcome to Coach Roelant Oltmans @OltmansOltmans to the Malaysian Hockey Confederation after being newly appointed as the National Head Coach. Let's take Malaysian Hockey to the next level," the Malaysian Hockey Confederation tweeted. MHC President Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal confirmed Oltmans' appointment at a press conference here. Long-serving Stephen Van Huizen has not been appointed as an assistant coach and team manager. Oltmans' main priority will be to guide Malaysia to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games through next year's qualifying tournaments after missing out a golden chance to seal a direct berth through the Asian Games, where they lost to Japan in the final. Oltmans was sacked from the post of Indian men's team head coach in September last year after a string of unimpressive outings at the international ...
James Rodriguez set for Colombia return
Bayern Munich midfielder James Rodriguez has been recalled to Colombia's football squad for friendlies against the US and Costa Rica.
Mumbai City aim for winning start against Jamshedpur
With a new head coach in place, the Mumbai City FC will look to start the fifth season of the Indian Super League (ISL) with a win when they take on Jamshedpur FC here Tuesday. The coveted ISL crown has eluded Mumbai for the past four seasons. The 'Islanders' - as they are fondly called -- had a particularly disappointing time last season. But with new coach Jorge Costa taking over their reins, they will look forward to an improvised show and change of fortunes at the Mumbai Football Arena in suburban Andheri. Mumbai have made several changes to their squad and roped in Indian players like Souvik Chakrabarti, Raynier Fernandes and Subhashish Bose. Their notable foreign acquisitions include Paulo Machado (Portugal)and striker Rafael Bastos (Brazil). With Bose, Mumbai have strengthened their defence, which was a definite concern last season, and also included Romanian Lucian Goian, Arnold Issoko (Congo), Souvik Ghosh and Anwar Ali. With Senegal's Modou Sougou bringing his ..
Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad elected as new Hockey India president
Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad was on Monday named as the new President of Hockey India (HI) following the 8th Hockey India Congress and Elections here. Ahmad, who formerly held the post of Secretary General, takes over from outgoing President Rajinder Singh after being elected unopposed, a media release said. Manipur Hockey's Gyanendro Ningombam will take over as the Senior Vice President, while Asima Ali of Hockey Jammu & Kashmir and Bhola Nath Singh of Hockey Jharkhand will serve as Vice Presidents. Hockey Jammu & Kashmir's Rajinder Singh, who held the President's post after Mariamma Koshy had reached the retirement age earlier this year, has been elected as the new Secretary General and Tapan Kumar Das of Hockey Assam was re-elected as the Treasurer for a second term. Former Indian women's team captain Asunta Lakra was entrusted with the responsibility of Joint Secretary along with Firoz Ansari of Chhattisgarh Hockey. Meanwhile, Arti Singh of Hockey Rajasthan, M Renuka Lakshmi of ...
Levante downs Alaves 2-1
In a great first half, in which it played its best football of the season, Levante cruised to a 2-1 victory over Alaves, which only managed to control the flow of the game in the final minutes when they desperately tried to secure a draw.
Betis gets 2nd consecutive win with 1-0 defeat of Leganes
Betis grabbed its second consecutive win, a 1-0 victory over an ultradefensive Leganes at Villamarin stadium, with Loren Moron once again propelling the team into the top five so far this season.
Messi speaks up amid slump in new role as Barcelona captain
With his actions, and now words, Lionel Messi is embracing a new role as Barcelona captain. Messi came off the bench to set up a late equalizer by fellow substitute Munir El Haddadi and salvage a point in a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Extremely reticent to talk to the Spanish media in the past, the club's all-time leading scorer faced the cameras afterward to explain why his team over the last week had secured only two out of a possible nine points in the Spanish league. Messi acknowledged that Barcelona must improve in defense after it drew 2-2 to Girona and lost 2-1 at Leganes before its latest slip against Bilbao. "We are angry for this run of results," Messi said. "We are aware that we have to be stronger in defense and not concede goals in every match. Last year it was very difficult to score against us, and now it doesn't take much." Messi then pointed to Barcelona's upcoming Champions League trip to Wembley Stadium, where the defending Spanish champions play ...
Madrid head to Moscow with fewer stars and bigger plans for future
Luka Modric returns to the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday, the scene of Croatia's World Cup final defeat to France, not only as FIFA's best men's player but the star of Real Madrid too. For the first time in his six seasons at Madrid, Modric will line up for a Champions League tie without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was sold, or Gareth Bale, who is injured. There will be no Kaka, Angel di Maria or James Rodriguez either, all of whom Modric has rubbed shoulders with. At 33, he has outlasted them all. Together, that quintet cost Madrid almost 400 million euros (USD 464 million), and each considerably more than Modric, whose fee of around 30 million pounds in 2012 would not even have got Richarlison out of Watford last summer. But in this current squad, Modric stands out. In part, because of his brilliance, which has never been in doubt, but also because of Real Madrid too. The Galacticos are, just about, all gone. Bale is the last, and he would have been playing against CSKA Moscow, had it not .
Need to win tournaments to overcome 'mental block': Mortaza
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza believes that there is some mental block in the team which could only be overcome by winning a tournament.The comment came in the backdrop of Bangladesh's close three wickets defeat at the hands of India in the final of the recently-concluded Asia Cup."For some reason, it's not happening. If we can do it once, maybe it will be easier. Of course, there is some mental block. Winning a tournament is important to overcome this hurdle," ICC Website quoted Mortaza, as saying.Reflecting on their overall performance in the tournament, the bowling all-rounder stated that the team played in an outstanding manner and that they should continue with same in future as well."There is no scope to say that we are happy after losing ... we lacked many things, (but) still we wanted to win it. But with the mentality, the boys played, of course, it was outstanding. I will be disappointed if we don't see the same mentality or efforts in future," he concluded.Next, ...
Japanese qualifier wins maiden tour-level title
Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka lifts his maiden tour-level title, Shenzhen Open, after beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France in the final of the men's singles event on Sunday.The 27-year-old clinched the title after handing over a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 defeat to his French opponent.Reflecting on his victory, Nishioka said that it is a very happy moment for him and now he would aim for ATP World Tour and Masters Titles."I believe this is the beginning," said Nishioka. "[Now I will] try to win [ATP World Tour] 500 and [Masters] 1000 events... This is a very happy [moment] and I believe I can win more," ATP quoted Nishioka, as saying."To get here, it was seven matches. It is not easy," said Nishioka. "I am very tired right now but my strength is my mentality, my stamina and never giving up. Those are my weapons," he added.Following the victory, Nishioka got 250 ATP Ranking points along with a prize money of USD130,885.
India play draw against Russia in Chess Olympiad
Indian men's chess team, led by five-time world champion Vishwanathan Anand, played a 2-2 draw against the Russian squad in the sixth round of the ongoing 43rd Chess Olympiad here on Sunday.While Anand played a 20-move draw against Ian Nepomniachtchi, P. Hari Krishna took 45 moves to draw against Vladimir Kramnik.Vidit Gujarati, on the other hand, signed peace with Nikita Vitiugov in 31 moves.B. Adhiban, who was playing whites against Dmitry Jakovenko, was handed over a draw after he failed to get any decisive advantage in the game.Indian women's team also settled for a 2-2 draw against USA after registering initial success in the event.Koneru Humpy and Tania Sachdev had won their respective games while playing with white pieces but the subsequent defeat handed over to D Harika and Eesha denied them the victory in the sixth round.
Martina Hingis announces pregnancy
Swiss tennis star Martina Hingis has announced her pregnancy on the occasion of her 38th birthday.Taking to Twitter, Hingis, who is married to a former sports physician Harald Leemann, wrote that by her next birthday the couple would become a family of three."Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Happy to share that this will be the last time we'll celebrate as a couple...excited to announce that we will become a family of three!" she wrote.The five-time Grand Slam champion, who spent around 209 weeks at the top of the women's tennis ranking, had retired from the game in 2017 putting an end to her 23-year long illustrious career.Prior to this, she had retired twice -- once as a 22-year-old in 2003 and again in November 2007 -- after a hip injury and testing positive for a metabolite of cocaine.Hingis had taken the tennis world by storm when she lifted her first three major titles--the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 1997--at the age of just 16.
VAR in spotlight again, this time for not working in France
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system has been much talked about since being used at the World Cup earlier this year praised by some for spotting fouls, criticized by others for slowing down matches. On Sunday, VAR attracted attention for another reason altogether: it stopped working during the 1-1 draw between Rennes and Toulouse. "The fourth official came to see me 10 minutes from the end of halftime to tell me it wasn't working," Toulouse coach Alain Casanova said. "There was a problem, quite simply." Casanova said he and his Rennes counterpart, Sabri Lamouchi, as well as the two team captains, were all informed before the second half started. Toulouse may have cause for regret because VAR was not used to review images when a penalty was given to Rennes midway through the second half. It was awarded after striker M'Baye Niang fell under a challenge from Jean-Clair Todibo, who was shown a yellow card for protesting the decision. Niang converted in the 70th minute, but Todibo ...
Homecoming offers Man City's Sane chance to show Germany what they missed
Manchester City travel to Hoffenheim on Tuesday desperately needing a win to kickstart a Champions League campaign that began with a shock 2-1 defeat to Lyon for the competition favourites. There should therefore be no shortage of motivation for Pep Guardiola's men, but one member of the City squad will be especially keen to make a big impression back on German soil. Leroy Sane was one of the stars of City's romp to a record 100 Premier League points and the League Cup last season. The 22-year-old was crowned Young Player of the Year in England thanks to a stellar return of 14 goals and 19 assists in all competitions. However, that still wasn't enough to earn him a place in Germany's World Cup squad as Sane was surprisingly cut from Joachim Loew's 23. Sane may have had the last laugh as the defending champions crashed out in the group stages -- the first time in 80 years Germany had fallen at the first hurdle. The pace, direct running and eye for a quick shot at goal possessed by the .
Discarded Sanchez a window into Man Utd's wasted millions
Manchester United believed they were closing the gap on "noisy neighbours" Manchester City when they beat the Premier League champions to the signature of Alexis Sanchez just nine months ago. But as the Red Devils slumped to a third defeat just seven games into the new league season at West Ham on Saturday to already fall nine points adrift of City, Sanchez was nowhere to be seen. That the Chilean was deemed not good enough to make Jose Mourinho's 18-man squad for such a shambolic display at the London Stadium speaks volumes for Sanchez's slide since joining United in January. Prolific in four years at Arsenal and three seasons with Barcelona before then, Sanchez has scored just three times in 23 appearances under Mourinho -- none of which have come this season. Mourinho's power battle with 89 million pounds (USD 116 million) midfielder Paul Pogba has drawn the spotlight from Sanchez. But Mourinho's patience with the other marquee signing of his time in charge at Old Trafford ran out
Frankfurt down Hannover 4-1 in German Bundesliga
Ante Rebic's goal and assist helped Eintracht Frankfurt beat winless Hannover 4-1 in the 6th round of Bundesliga.
Real Valladolid stun Villarreal 1-0 in La Liga
Real Valladolid on Sunday beat Villarreal 1-0 in La Liga action, with the lone goal scored by the young Argentine winger Leonardo Suarez in the second half.
Priyanka cheers for Nick at friendly football match
The much-in-love global star Priyanka Chopra cheered for her fiance Nick Jonas, who sweated it out at a football match in Mumbai on Sunday.In her Instagram story, Priyanka posted a picture of Nick playing a football match, while she was seen cheering in the background.In the picture, Nick is seen wearing an Orange sleeveless T-Shirt with black shorts and yellow sports shoes, while Priyanka chose a white basic tee and jeans for the occasion.Priyanka had earlier posted a number of pictures, one of which showed the couple having a conversation before the match.The post was captioned "Bae in Bombae!!"Jonas played the match along with the who's who of Bollywood, including Kunal Khemu, Ishan Khattar, and Aditya Roy Kapoor, along with the Indian cricket team's wicketkeeper MS Dhoni.After keeping fans and media guessing for the longest time, Priyanka and Nick confirmed their engagement in August with a 'roka' ceremony, followed by a private party in Mumbai.
Indian men hold Russia; women draw with United States
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand helped Indian men hold second seeds Russia to a draw in the sixth round of the 43rd Chess Olympiad here Sunday. Anand was in a much worse position according to computer assessment and this was the day when the machine was proven wrong as the Indian ace came up with a brilliant counter attack to hold Ian Nepomniachtchi to a draw on the top board. While the Russians had figured their chances on the top board, P Harikrishna held mighty Vladimir Kramnik to a draw on the second board while Vidit Gujrathi and B Adhiban drew with Nikita Vituigov and Dmitry Jakovenko on the last two boards to restore parity. The Indian women came almost close to beating sole leaders United States but eventually had to settle for a draw. Koneru Humpy and Tania Sachdev did the trick on board one and three playing white by winning their respective games but black pieces seemed a curse on the day as D Harika and Eesha Karavade suffered a defeat to let USA remain in joint