Page 1411 - Sports
Maradona offers to coach Argentina for free after World Cup debacle
Diego Maradona wants to return to the position of Argentina coach and is willing to work for free, as Jorge Sampaoli faces pressure to resign following their World Cup travails. Speaking on his "Hand of God" television show, the 57-year-old Maradona, who coached Argentina for two years from 2008-10, said it was painful to see the current state of the national team. "I would return to leading the national team and I would do it for free, I wouldn't ask for anything in return," Maradona said on his programme, which runs on Venezuelan channel Telesur. Sampaoli is resisting intense pressure to resign following Argentina's 4-3 defeat to France on Saturday during a World Cup campaign that was fraught with tension and disputes. The coach is believed to have lost the support of his players with some claims attributing team selection and tactics to captain and star Lionel Messi. Sampaoli, though, has another four years to run on his contract, meaning the Argentine Football Association (AFA) ...
We can 'control' Mbappe in World Cup quarters, says Uruguay's Suarez
Luis Suarez is confident Uruguay can nullify the threat from France's teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe, as they prepare for their World Cup quarter-final clash later this week. Talking to reporters at the South American team's Bor training camp near Nizhny Novgorod, where Friday's last-eight match takes place, Suarez said he had faith in the defence, which has conceded just one goal in the tournament so far. "Everybody knows he's (Mbappe) a really good player, but I think we have a really good defence to control him," said the Barcelona striker. Mbappe, 19, was the star in France's thrilling 4-3 victory over Argentina. The Paris Saint-Germain youngster scored twice and his pace and skill also forced a penalty from which France scored their first goal. Suarez said there were more threats from France than just Mbappe, picking out Antoine Griezmann, who he said had a "brilliant left foot". Mbappe and Griezmann have been singled out by Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez as the main threats to the
Sweden book place in World Cup quarter-finals after edging past Switzerland
Sweden reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in 24 years after Emil Forsberg's deflected shot earned a scrappy 1-0 win over Switzerland on Tuesday. This was far from a classic at the Saint Petersburg Stadium and if Colombia or England's players were watching on from Moscow, they could be forgiven for feeling bullish about their prospects in the last eight. Switzerland's Michael Lang was sent off in injury-time for a last-ditch push on Martin Olsson and referee Damir Skomina downgraded his penalty to a free-kick on the edge of the area. But the game was already up. Forsberg's second-half strike, which deflected off the unfortunate Manuel Akanji, means Sweden are through to the World Cup last eight for the first time since 1994 in the United States. Their route to the quarters has not been easy and, what they have lost in the individual brilliance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they appear to have gained in grit, determination and collective spirit. Their next opponents would .
Dipa Karmakar set to take part in World Cup this week
Top Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar will return to competition after a long lay-off of nearly two years due to injury as she features in the upcoming FIG World Cup to be held at Mersin, Turkey from July 6-8. Dipa will take part in the vault and beam events and will be accompanied by her coach Bisheshwar Nandi. Dipa had suffered an Anetrior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury and had undergone surgery. She was initially confident of making a comeback at the Commonwealth Games but rehab took more time than expected. She will be joined by Rakesh Kumar Patra, who had narrowly missed a medal at the Melbourne World Cup in February, finishing at fourth place. Rakesh will perform in the rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar events. Both Dipa and Rakesh would attempt for their first World Cup medal. Qualification competitions will be held on July 6 and 7 while the finals are slated for July 8. "The participation in this World Cup at Mersin is based on request from both Dipa and Rakesh to the ...
Prannoy stuns Lin Dan, Saina advances at Indonesia Open
H.S. Prannoy stunned Chinese legend Lin Dan to join Saina Nehwal in the second round of the $1,250,000 Indonesia Open badminton championships here on Tuesday.
Finch's record-breaking knock propels Australia to tri-nation final
Australia T20 International skipper Aaron Finch bettered his highest individual T20I score when he played a scintillating 172-run knock to lead his side to a 100-run win over hosts Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club here on Tuesday.
Ramesh Powar applies for Mumbai Ranji team coach post
Former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar has applied for the position of the coach of the Mumbai Ranji team. Powar himself confirmed the development to PTI. "Yes, I have applied for it," said the 40-year-old bowler, who has taken six Test and 34 ODI wickets, when asked whether he has applied for the post of Mumbai's Ranji coach. Powar, who had made a mark in the domestic circuit for Mumbai, also played in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Powar had earlier quit as the spin bowling coach of the MCA's Indoor Cricket Academy. It is also learnt that former India pacer Abey Kuruvilla and ex-India batsman Pravin Amre have not applied for the position of the coach as was being speculated. A section of the Mumbai cricket body was said to be keen to have Kuruvilla on board. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) had invited applications for the positions of the coach for the Ranji team and also coach for its U-19 team. Today was the last date for submitting applications. Former India ...
Wild card Siddharth stuns Royson in ITF tennis championship
Local wild card Siddharth Verma stunned fifth seed Royson Kwan of Singapore to enter the quarter-finals of the men's singles event at the red clay courts of the Calcutta South Club Senior ITF Tennis Championship here on Tuesday.
ICC Chief Executive Richardson to step down post 2019 World Cup
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday confirmed that David Richardson will step down as its Chief Executive when his contract expires post next summer's cricket World Cup in England and Wales.
India U-16 football team loses 0-1 to China in four-nation meet
The Indian Under-16 football team lost to China 0-1 in the Four-Nation International Tournament in China's Wei Nan city on Tuesday.
All eyes on Anu Kumar as India looks to book quota spots for Youth Olympics
All eyes will be on 800m runner Anu Kumar at the Youth Olympics Asian Area qualification leg which begins here tomorrow. Kumar is one of 21 Indian athletes -- 10 men and eight women -- who will be looking to secure qualification in the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Buenos Aires in October. A total of 89 quota places are up for grabs in the tournament in Thailand. Competing in the 800m, Asian junior champion Kumar will have to be on his best as only the top two finishers will qualify for the Youth Olympics. The 16-year-old from Uttarakhand is in strong form, having won a gold medal at the 18th Junior Championships in Gifu, Japan last month by clocking 1:54.11. Kumar, one of the brightest prospects in middle distance running in India, had won a silver in 800m at the World School Games in France and had clocked a personal best time of 1:50.60 to take gold at the Junior Federation Cup in April. Kumar's compatriot Sreekiran Nandakumar will also be hoping for better luck than he had at
Prannoy stuns Lin Dan, Saina notches up easy win at Indonesia Open
H S Prannoy stunned the legendary Lin Dan of China before Saina Nehwal cruised into the second round with an easy win against local player Dinar Dyah Ayustine at the Indonesia Open badminton tournament, here today. World No. 13 Prannoy took exactly one hour to prevail over the Chinese stalwart 21-15 9-21 21-14 in the first round of the men's singles in the World Tour Super 1000 event. Prannoy started off well against eighth-ranked Lin Dan, winning the first game 21-15. However, the Chinese shuttler came back strong to level the match. Prannoy then dug deep into his reservoir to see off the iconic shuttler in the third game at the USD 1,250,000 event. Prannoy had also got the better of Lin Dan at the 2015 French Open. "I am really happy, I had a couple of months off. Getting back to tournament was really great. Having such a big win against Lin Dan, that too in such tough conditions, especially the drifts, is great," Prannoy said after the match. "The way I played the first game was ...
We took performance to next level : Sreejesh
Disappointed he may be for not winning the gold at the Champions Trophy but India hockey captain P R Sreejesh insisted that the players took the game to the next level in Breda and it will help them do well at the Asian Games and the World Cup at home. India were beaten 1-3 by Australia in the shootout after score remained 1-1 at the end of regulation time. It was second consecutive silver medal for India in the tournament. Sreejesh, who stood out under the bar throughout the tournament, said the Indian players had it in them to prevail over Australia. "I was disappointed for not winning the gold in the Champions Trophy because we anticipated meeting Australia in finals. We did meet them, but could not do well in shootout. We believed we could beat Australia and played with that spirit," Sreejesh told PTI after his arrival from Netherlands here. "We did extremely well, especially after the team lost striker Ramandeep Singh, who sustained an injury. Boys took the performance to next ...
Dave Richardson to quit ICC CEO's post after 2019 World Cup
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed that David Richardson will step down as ICC Chief Executive when his contract expires after 2019 ODI World Cup in England. Richardson has already intimated the global body that he will not seek an extension. The former South Africa wicketkeeper joined as General Manager (Cricket Operations) back in 2002 and was promoted as Chief Executive in 2012 after Haroon Lorgat quit. It is learnt that a global recruitment process will soon get underway to identify Richardson's possible successor. ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar said: On behalf of the ICC Board, I would like to thank David for his service and commitment to cricket over the past 16 years and, particularly, over the last six years as CEO. David will be missed by everyone in the game, but this is an opportunity for the ICC to drive forward our new global growth strategy, which David has played an integral part in developing, under new leadership. A global recruitment process will .
World Cup: Nigeria captain played with news of father's kidnapping
In a startling revelation, Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel said he learnt that his father had been kidnapped just hours before he led Nigeria into their final World Cup group phase tie against Argentina.
Inter sign De Vrij, Asamoah
Inter Milan have announced the signings of Dutch central defender Stefan De Vrij and Ghanaian versatile footballer on free transfers from Lazio and Juventus respectively.
World Cup: Low to continue as Germany coach
Germany coach Joachim Low will continue in his position despite the reigning World champions' shock exit from the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Dravid "satisfied" over India A performance
Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has said that he is pleased with the way India A team have performed in the tri-series against England Lions and West Indies.Backed by Deepak Chahar's 3 wickets off 58 runs and Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 64, India A thrashed England Lions by 5 wickets in the final match to register a series win here at Kennington Oval on June 2.Expressing delight over team's performance after the final match, Dravid said that they performed really well and it was good seeing them competing in the foreign conditions."It's been quite satisfying, some good performances. A tough game today as well, we had to fight back with the ball and the bat - so good to see them fight, good to see them compete in these conditions. Definitely, some positives, as well as seeing some of the boys get into the national side as well, irrespective of the result," ESPNcricinfo quoted Dravid, as saying.Dravid further said that with the World Cup tournament around the corner, these Youngsters can
HS Prannoy outperforms Lin Dan at Indonesia Open
Indian Badminton player HS Prannoy outshined legendary Chinese player Lin Dan in the first round of the men's singles event of Indonesia Open here on Tuesday.The 25-year-old thrashed his Chinese opponent 21-15, 9-21, 21-14 in a thrilling contest.The first game started on a steady note with both the players striving hard to go up in the game.After stumbling for first few minutes in the game, Prannoy kept his nerves intact and defeated Lin Dan 21-15 in the first game.As soon as the second game started, it was expected that Dan would make a solid comeback and he did not disappoint. After being cautious at the beginning of the second game, he gained a strong lead of eight points making it difficult for the Indian shuttler to hit back.In an absolutely dominating performance, Dan won the second game 21-9.Heading into the third game, both the shuttlers started with a point each as the game advanced.Prannoy gained the lead for the first time in the game and was holding firmly to his ...
Bangladesh recall half-fit Mustafizur for Windies ODIs
Bangladesh on Tuesday included half-fit pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman in their squad for a three-match one-day international series against the West Indies later this month. Mustafizur has been out of competitive cricket since he hurt his left big toe in May during an Indian Premier League match for the Mumbai Indians. The 22-year-old missed a three-match Twenty20 international series against Afghanistan in June and was also excluded from the Bangladesh squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies, beginning on Wednesday in Antigua. "He has yet to regain his full fitness. Yet, we included him in the ODI squad because we have some time in our hands," said chief selector Minhajul Abedin. "We will see him how he goes in a four-day match against Sri Lanka A next week. If he can prove his match fitness, only then he will travel with the squad," he said. Minhajul added they have already included uncapped pacer Abu Jayed as back-up to Mustafizur, which raised the number of players ..