Page 1394 - Sports
Wimbledon: Sharan-Sitak enter 2nd round
India's Divij Sharan and his New Zealand partner Artem Sitak survived a tough five-set battle to enter the third round of the men's doubles category at the Wimbledon tennis tournament here on Saturday.
Maguire, Alli take England to FIFA World Cup semis
England broke a 28-year-old jinx as they entered the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup, defeating Sweden 2-0 in a quarter-final match at the Samara Arena here on Saturday.
FIFA WC: England cruise past Sweden to reach semis
England continued their rich vein of form in this year's FIFA World Cup by brushing aside Sweden 2-0 to progress to their first semi-finals after 28 years at the Samara Arena here on Saturday.Defender Harry Maguire's superb header in the first half and midfielder Dele Alli's swashbuckling header in the second half were too good for Sweden, as the latter failed to pose any challenge for the English side.Fresh from their victory in the penalty shootouts against Colombia, England took no time to settle and got down to business by playing attacking football, putting intense pressure on Swedish defence, at times creating chances to score goals.In the 30th minute, Maguire opened the 'Three Lions' account when he scored a beautiful header shot just outside the penalty box, beating Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olson. It was Maguire's first international goal.England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford proved to be a thorn for the Swedish players as he consistently made glorious and unbelievable saves to ...
Southgate eyeing Moscow semi-final clash with Russia
England manager Gareth Southgate said a World Cup semi-final against hosts Russia in Moscow would be "incredible", after his side saw off Sweden today to reach the last four. The 1966 winners will face either Russia or Croatia on July 11 at the Luzhniki Stadium for a place in the final, and Southgate has his eyes on the home nation. "We have to stay seven days anyway," he said. "We approach each game similarly, but Russia in Moscow would be an incredible game to be involved in." England controlled the game for long periods against Sweden, but needed three excellent second-half saves from Jordan Pickford to secure a 2-0 win after goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli. "We knew it would be such a different game to Colombia (in the last 16) and we would have to come back from that and lift ourselves in a scrappier game as Sweden don't let you play," former Middlesbrough boss Southgate added. "The resilience of the team and togetherness was special today. We got goals from both areas we .
Nadal won't rule out doubles dream team with Federer
Rafael Nadal said he would like to play alongside career rival and friend Roger Federer in a dream-team doubles pairing at a tournament before they retire. World number one Nadal and second-ranked Federer, with 37 Grand Slam and 177 singles titles in total between them, are no strangers to doubles. They played together at the Laver Cup last year. Nadal already has 11 career doubles titles to his name including the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medal with compatriot Marc Lopez. Federer has eight doubles trophies, the last of which came alongside Swiss teammate Stan Wawrinka at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. "You never know. You can't say never," said 32-year-old Nadal when asked about the prospect of teaming with Federer at an ATP tournament. "It is true that our calendars are not easy. Probably something that would have been nice if it happened six years ago, seven years ago, when we were younger. "Today's a little bit more difficult. But why not? He is able to do it. I'm able to do it." Nadal
Sweden coach says England 'can go all the way'
Sweden coach Janne Andersson said England are capable of winning the World Cup after seeing his side beaten 2-0 by Gareth Southgate's side in the quarter-finals today. England will meet hosts Russia or Croatia on Tuesday for a spot in the final, after goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli sent through to the last four of the competition for the first time since 1990. "Yes, I definitely believe they are," Andersson responded when asked if England were good enough to win the tournament. "They're strong and well-organised. I'd like to pay tribute to both the team and the coach. "They're a good football side, they don't give a lot of openings. I believe they are perfectly capable of going all the way." For Sweden, who failed to qualify for the previous two World Cups, it was their best result since finishing third at the 1994 finals. "We came through to the quarter-finals in a World Cup. I think we performed really well to get here, we just weren't good enough to beat this side today," ..
Brazil World Cup exit 'the saddest moment of my career' - Neymar
Neymar has expressed his anguish after Brazil were knocked out of the World Cup on Friday, losing 2-1 to Belgium in the quarter-finals in Russia. "I can say it is the saddest moment of my career, the pain is great because we knew we could get there, we know we had a chance to go far, to make history... But it wasn't to be this time," he wrote in an Instagram post. Brazil were left stunned in Friday night's match in Kazan, finding themselves 2-0 down at half-time and unable to rescue the game in the second half, despite substitute Renato Augusto getting a goal back late on. The disappointment follows Brazil's humiliating 7-1 loss against Germany in the semi-finals four years ago, when they hosted the tournament. They played that match without Neymar, who had been stretchered off in the quarter-final win over Colombia with a fractured vertebrae. He came to Russia having only just returned from an operation on a fractured bone in his foot in early March. "It is difficult to find the ...
Kane says 'we're buzzing' after reaching World Cup semi
England captain Harry Kane said his team were "buzzing" and full of confidence as they reached their first World Cup semi-final since 1990 after seeing off Sweden 2-0 today. Goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli and a string of fine second-half saves from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford were enough for England to progress to the last four. "We're buzzing. It's probably not sunk in," Kane said. "We know there is still a big game ahead but we are feeling good, confident. "We were composed, we controlled the game. We've just got to keep doing what we are doing. "We're enjoying it, the fans are enjoying it, I'm sure we'll see some videos later of the fans enjoying it." Maguire's thumping header gave the Leicester centre-back his first international goal, just two years after watching Euro 2016 in France with his friends in the stands. "It (the first goal) can't come better than that. The win sends us through and that's the main thing," Maguire said. "We felt like we could dominate the ball in
Hamilton speedy last lap grabs pole at British Grand Prix
An emotional Lewis Hamilton outpaced Sebastian Vettel in a keenly-fought record-breaking qualifying contest today to claim his fifth consecutive British Grand Prix pole position. The defending world champion, who trails Vettel by a single point in the drivers' world championship, increased his record total of career poles to 76 with a dazzling record lap under pressure in the closing seconds. Hamilton in a Mercedes and Ferrari's Vettel traded fastest laps until Hamilton clocked 1min 25.892sec in his final lap to outpace Vettel by 0.044sec. Kimi Raikkonen was third in the second Ferrari and the other Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas fourth, ahead of Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. It was Mercedes' sixth consecutive pole position at Silverstone, but came after a close battle that, which, Hamilton said, was decided by the support of his army of fans. "These guys are the best," said Hamilton, pointing to the grandstands. "I gave it everything I could and it was .
Hsieh stuns Halep at Wimbledon, Nadal keeps top spot
World number one and French Open champion Simona Halep was knocked out of Wimbledon today, losing to Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the third round as the All England Club seeds' carnage claimed another victim. Defeat for Halep means that Karolina Pliskova, at number seven, is the only women's top 10 seed to reach the fourth round. It also further boosted Serena Williams's chances of becoming an eight-time Wimbledon champion. Hsieh, the world number 48, battled back from 2-5 down in the final set and saved a match point when the Romanian served for the match at 5-3 in the decider. It will be Hsieh's first appearance in the last 16 of a Slam where she will face Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia for a place in the quarter-finals. "It's my first win against a world number one," said 26-year-old Hsieh. "It's amazing. I was 2-5 down in the final set but the crowd pushed me to fight." Two-time champion Rafael Nadal reached the last 16 for the eighth time and made sure of keeping the ...
Divij in third round at Wimbledon
The duo of Divij Sharan and Artem Sitak showed remarkable resilience while fighting back from two sets down to prevail over Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos and enter the pre-quarterfinals of the men's double event in the Wimbledon here today. The Indian combined with Sitak of New Zealand to win the five-setter 6-7 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-4 in a match that lasted three hours and 22 minutes on court number 17. Both the pairs had 13 aces but at five, Divij and his partner committed two less double faults than their opponents from Chile and Argentina. They won 22 points on first serve and six points on the second serve in the first set. In the final set, the Indo-Kiwi pair won 14 points on the first serve and six on the second. Sharan and Sitak defeated Macedonia's Radu Albot and Tunisia's Malek Jaziri 7-6 6-7 6-3 6-2 in the first round.
England sink Sweden to clinch World Cup semi-final berth
Harry Maguire and Dele Alli scored as England comfortably defeated Sweden 2-0 in Samara today to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1990. Leicester defender Maguire headed in the opening goal from a corner on 30 minutes, with Alli adding a second just before the hour. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford then produced a series of crucial saves in the final half-hour to seal England's long-awaited spot in the last four. It was just a second England victory over Sweden in nine competitive meetings, and sets up a clash with either hosts Russia or Croatia on July 11 in Moscow for a place in the final. Southgate stuck with the same team that overcame Colombia on penalties in the last 16, while Sebastian Larsson returned for Sweden after missing the 1-0 win over Switzerland through suspension. Viktor Claesson drilled over for Sweden early on with an ambitious attempt from distance, while Harry Kane, the tournament's leading scorer with six goals, dragged wide after a penetrating
Hamilton wins pole position at British GP
Defending Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) on Saturday won the pole position for the British Grand Prix.
IOA drops entire triathlon team from Asian Games, equestrian show jumping added
The Indian Olympic Association today made several changes to the country's contingent of athletes for the upcoming Asian Games, dropping the entire triathlon team for furnishing "misleading information" by the national federation. The IOA had on July 3 announced a 524-member contingent but after a long meeting today, as many as six athletes were rejected on various grounds. Eight athletes from sport climbing -- who were not in the list of 524 -- were considered later but out of the eight, five were rejected today. The participation of these three athletes from sport climbing depends on the acceptance of their entries by the Asian Games organisers. There could also be some changes in the 10-member swimming team already named. "All the four triathletes who were named in the earlier list were rejected today as we were misled by the federation. We were earlier told that the relay event was happening for the first time (in Asian Games). But today, we found out the information given to us ..
Del Potro beats Paire, reaches Wimbledon last 16 for record 4th time
Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro defeated world no 47 Benoit Paire of France 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on Saturday, booking a place in Wimbledon's Round-of-16 for the fourth time in his career.
Brazil 'haven't learnt anything' from 2014, says local media
Brazil's media has directed sharp criticism at the national football team after their 1-2 quarter-final defeat by Belgium, a result that dumped the World Cup favourites out of the sport's showpiece event in Russia.
Rajiv, Anish post wins on Day 1 in National Motorcycle Racing
Hondas Rajiv Sethu and Anish Shetty started the weekend action with wins in the first race of MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship Round 2.
Ostapenko beats Diatchenko, enters Wimbledon 4th round
Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Wimbledon tennis championships after beating Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia 6-0, 6-4 here on Saturday.
France defender Varane says no favourites in 2018 World Cup
France defender Raphael Varane gave his opinion on Saturday that there are no sure favourites to win the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
Indian lifter bags bronze medal in junior world championships
Indian lifter Jhilli Dalabehera bagged the bronze medal in the 2018 IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships at Tashkent today. Jhilli Dalabehera lifted 167 kg (75 kg + 92 kg) in 48 kg to finish third on the podium, according to Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) secretary general Sahdev Yadav. She is the second woman lifter after Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (in 2013) to win a medal in the Junior World Championships.