Page 1439 - Sports
Maradona drama is a problem for Argentina and Messi
When Lionel Messi ran to the corner and sank to his knees, the enduring image of Argentina scrambling into the World Cup's last 16 was set. Their number 10, in the blue and white stripes, his head tilted and fingers vertical, about to be swamped moments later by adoring team-mates. But all those cameras not positioned in Messi's corner of the Saint Petersburg Stadium quickly turned their gaze upwards and slightly to the right. Diego Maradona, with his arms grappling his own chest, was grimacing towards the sky, a crazed look in his eyes of ecstasy, relief and delirium. This was the duopoly of Argentina's 2-1 win over Nigeria on Tuesday. Not Messi and Marcos Rojo, the scorer of the winning goal in the 86th minute, nor even Messi and Jorge Sampaoli, the team's estranged coach. But Messi and Maradona. On the pitch, off the pitch, present and past. One trying to win the trophy that has eluded him in an otherwise extraordinary career, the other watching on, having had his own story defined
Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio arrives ahead of Brazil vs Serbia clash
Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio has arrived here for the FIFA World Cup ahead of the clash between her country and Serbia in the Spartak Stadium on Wednesday.
Gayathri Gopichand in BAI's 20-member badminton squad for Asian Games
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) today named six youngsters including Gayathri Gopichand in a strong 20-strong squad, headlined by the star trio of K Srikanth, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal for the prestigious Asian Games in Jakarta. Gayathri, daughter of chief national coach Pullela Gopichand, will be joined by Ashmita Chaliha, Sai Uttejitha Rao, Akarshi Kashyap, Rutuparna Panda, Aarthi Sara Sunil and Sourabh Verma, winner of 2016 Chinese Taipei Masters. BAI had organised two senior ranking tournaments in Bangalore and Hyderabad to select the squad after exempting senior players from the twin events. On a comeback trail after recovering from a series of injuries, former national champion Sourabh, who had won in Bangalore and reached the final at Hyderabad, took the only remaining men's singles spot after automatic selections Srikanth, Prannoy, Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma. In women's singles, BAI picked four young shuttlers after they produced good show in the selection ...
Ultimate Table Tennis: Dabang Smashers enter semis
Dabang Smashers TTC became the first side to qualify for the semi-finals of the second season of the Ultimate Table Tennis here on Tuesday.Top-ranked Indian paddler Sathiyan Gnanasekaran-led team notched a commanding 15-6 win over Empowerji Challengers to qualify for the last-four stage for the second time in a row.Reflecting on the same, Smashers' captain Sathiyan Gnanasekaran said that it has been an amazing journey for the team."It has been an amazing journey for the Smashers this season as we have qualified for the semifinals of UTT for the second year in a row. I'm really looking forward to the big matches and I'm confident that Dabang Smashers TTC can smash their way into the final," Gnanasekaran said.Dabang Smashers made their way into the semi-finals after registering three wins.With the likes of Manika Batra, Yoshida Masaki, Sakura Mori, Archana Kamath, Sanish Ambekar, Adriana Diaz and Cedric Nuytinck, the Smashers proved to be a strong unit as they sealed their place at the .
Sushil Kumar back in TOPS, 11 dropped
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar was today included in the the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for the first time in two years while 11 sportspersons across archery, wrestling and athletics were dropped from the government-backed program after not being picked for the Asian Games. Champion wrestler Sushil was earlier excluded from TOPS as he was out of action. He is back to his best and after a third gold medal at the Commonwealth Games (CWG), is eyeing a maiden Asian Games title. Also included in the scheme is 24 year-old woman wrestler Pooja Dhanda, who had won the silver medal in the 57 kg category at the 2018 CWG. "She is considered a strong medal prospect for the Asian Games," read a statement from Sports Authority of India. Sumit Malik, gold medal winner in the 125 kg category at the Gold Coast Games, has received an extension under TOPS, having originally been included only till the completion of CWG. The Mission Olympics Cell (MOC), which met today, has also ...
Gopichand's daughter Gayatri in Asian Games squad
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand's daughter Gayatri on Wednesday broke into the senior national side as the Badminton Association of India (BAI) named a strong 20-member squad spearheaded by World No.3 P.V. Sindhu and World No.7 Kidambi Srikanth for the upcoming Asian Games in August.
Putin promises to share experience of hosting FIFA World Cup with US
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the United States upon gaining the right to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup and expressed the readiness to share the experience in organising such an event.
Uruguay's Gimenez back at practice, may play vs Portugal
Uruguay central defender Jose Maria Gimenez trained with his national football squad on Wednesday, after having been sidelined for several days due to a thigh injury, and still has a chance to play against Portugal in the knockout round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
87 percent fans want T20 in Olympics, reveals ICC study
An International Cricket Council's (ICC) survey on Wednesday revealed that 87 percent of global fans want the inclusion of T20 cricket in the Olympics even as the sport's world governing body claimed that the gentleman's game has over one billion fans across the globe.
Lahiri ready for more; Tiger back in action
Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri would look to continue the form that fetched him a top-10 finish last week when he tees off at the Quicken Loans National as the PGA Tour settles into the final stretch of the season. Lahiri was tied ninth after being tied third at the end of 54 holes in the Travelers Championships, which was won by Bubba Watson. Lahiri, after falling to as much as 112th is now 101st in world rankings, would be aiming to get back in the top-50 once again. Lahiri has been paired with JJ Henry and Rory Sabbatini for the first two rounds and will tee off from the first in the morning wave. "Overall I was happy with my game last week, though in the final round I did not play my 'A' game. But things are falling into place finally," said Lahiri, who was tied fifth at the CIMB Classic and tied 10th at CJ Cup in Korea late in 2017. His last win came more than three years ago at his home event, the Hero Indian Open. Even as Rickie Fowler heads a strong field, the focus returns to ..
Soares aims to keep it tight when Portugal meet Uruguay in last 16
Portugal defender Cedric Soares says his side will continue with their pragmatic approach when they face Uruguay in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup on Saturday.
Sindhu, Srikanth make promising start at Malaysia
Star Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the pre-quarterfinals after pulling off contrasting wins in the opening round of the USD 700,000 Malaysia Open World Tour super 750 tournament here today. Olympic silver-medallist Sindhu, who had skipped the Uber Cup Finals to regain full fitness after claiming a silver at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, took some time to get into the groove before she edged out World No.14 Japan's Aya Ohori 26-24 21-15 in the opening round. The third-seeded Indian will meet Malaysia's Ying Ying Lee tomorrow at the Axiata Arena at Bukit Jalil, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. In the men's singles, World No 7 Srikanth, who claimed four titles last season, dumped former World No 2 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark 21-18 21-9 in a 31-minute clash here. The 25-year-old from Guntur will next face Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei, who defeated Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth 21-12 21-7, in the other opening round match. In men's doubles, Commonwealth .
Iceland head home from World Cup, heartbroken but unbowed
Gallant Iceland headed home heartbroken but unbowed after a premature end to their first World Cup adventure, ruing what might have been after a narrow defeat by Croatia. Iceland caught the public imagination with their fairytale run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2016 in France and waltzed through qualifying for Russia, topping their group, which included Croatia. At the World Cup they held their own in a section that also featured Argentina and Nigeria but were left to regret a string of near misses in their final match before Ivan Perisic sealed their fate with a last-minute winner on Tuesday. "It's sad to go out after that performance. We had more inside us and thought we would go further in the tournament," said Sverrir Ingason. "That was our best game of the World Cup, we had many chances to score," added the defender, whose second-half header hit the crossbar. After Milan Badelj put Croatia ahead early in the second half, a Gylfi Sigurdsson equaliser from a penalty meant the ...
Kvitova withdraws from Eastbourne with hamstring injury
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova withdrew from the WTA Eastbourne event on Wednesday with a hamstring injury saying it was precautionary with the grass court Grand Slam event beginning next Monday. The 28-year-old Czech -- ranked eight in the world -- told the WTA website the hamstring injury felt worse when she awoke today and did not wish to endanger her chances of playing at Wimbledon. Kvitova -- who has been seeded eight for Wimbledon -- came into the tournament on the back of victory at last week's WTA grasscourt tournament in Birmingham, England and was due to play Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the third round today. "I'm really disappointed to have to withdraw from Eastbourne this morning," the Czech said in a statement, quoted on the WTA website. "I felt my hamstring in the Birmingham final and, although I played with tape in my match here yesterday, when I woke up this morning it felt worse. With Wimbledon around the corner I couldn't take the risk of making it ...
Japan looking to maintain Asian presence at 2018 World Cup (Preview)
Japan will be the only Asian side to qualify for the last 16 of the World Cup if they take a point from Poland in the Volgograd Arena here on Thursday.
Belgium defender Alderweireld knows all about Kane
Belgium central defender Toby Alderweireld knows more about the threat posed by England striker Harry Kane than virtually anyone else in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Williams seeded No. 25 for Wimbledon, Federer No.1
American tennis star Serena Williams, who is currently ranked at a lowly 183rd spot in the WTA rankings, has been seeded number 25 for the ongoing third major of the season i.e Wimbledon.The 36-year-old will be appearing in her second Grand Slam tournament since giving birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr, in September last year.Earlier, Williams competed in the French Open but she failed to make it beyond the fourth round of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. She withdrew at the last moment prior to her clash against Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova.Williams' return to the Grand Slam event holds significance in the sense that she is just one victory away from achieving the feat of holding the highest number of women's Grand Slam titles, equalling Margaret Court's record of 24.Meanwhile, top-ranked Roger Federer and Simona Halep have been named top seeds in the women and men's singles category, respectively.While women's singles defending champion Garbine Muguruza .
Ramos seeks unity as Spain prepare to take on Russia
Spain captain Sergio Ramos took to social media on Wednesday, urging fans to unite behind the national team as it builds up to play hosts Russia in the FIFA World Cup's last-16 knockout phase.
Gaurika leads by three in 8th leg of Hero women's golf
Seasoned golfer Gaurika Bishnoi fired a near-perfect round to open up a handy three-shot lead in the eighth leg of the Hero women's Pro Tour here on Wednesday.
Nadal is second seed at Wimbledon, Federer first
Rafael Nadal of Spain was on Wednesday named second seed for the upcoming 2018 Wimbledon tennis tournament, despite currently holding the top spot in the ATP rankings, due to the special classification system used by the English Grand Slam event.