Page 1464 - Sports
Argentina kabaddi team hits out against Sampaoli after World Cup loss
A pall of gloom descended on the 18-member Argentine kabaddi contingent who hit out against football coach Jorge Sampaoli after Lionel Messi and Co found themselves on the brink of World Cup group stage elimination following a shock defeat to Croatia. Last night, Argentina succumbed to a 0-3 loss to Croatia who moved to the round of 16. It was their worst World Cup group stage defeat in 60 years as the the misery compounded with the great Diego Maradona watching their show from the stands. Thousands kilometres away in Dubai for the Kabaddi Masters, the Argentine kabaddi team got together to cheer for the team last night but only to return heartbroken. A team member hit out against the Argentine team manager Sampaoli for his flawed tactics of not "pressing high or attack relentlessly". "He (Sampaoli) should be immediately sacked. His team selection is flawed," a player told PTI on condition of anonymity, referring to his move of dropping Di Angel Di Maria, Marcos Rojo and Lucas ...
Ker soccer fan leaves home on suicide mission upset over
Upset over Argentina's poor showing in the ongoing football world cup, a 30-year-old ardent fan of the South American team has left his home here, saying in a note he was going to end his life, police said today. A search was on for Dinu Alex, missing since he left his home at nearby Arumanoor village last night after Argentina suffered a 0-3 rout against Croatia. In a suicide note, found in his room, Alex has said he was upset with Argentina's defeat and was going to end his life, police said. Police said they along with Fire and Rescue service personnel were also searching in a nearby river as a sniffer dog ran up to the river bank and stopped there. Father of Alex said his son was a great fan of Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina, which has just one point from two games in so far in the world cup in Russia. This means Argentina will probably have to beat Nigeria in their last game and hope other results go their way to avoid elimination.
Time for Tim' - clamour grows for Cahill to play against Peru
Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk is under growing pressure to play veteran Tim Cahill in their must-win World Cup match against Peru, with fans demanding to know why the country's top goal poacher has been ignored so far. The 38-year-old has scored 50 times for Australia in 105 games and many expected him to be used as a super-sub in Russia. But despite his experience and proven abilities he has done little more than warm the bench during their opening two games -- a 2-1 loss to France and 1-1 draw with Denmark. Australia's only two goals so far have come from penalties, with a flurry of chances going begging. "Australia's 1-all draw with Denmark left Socceroos fans asking just one question. Why is Tim Cahill at the World Cup?" the Sydney Daily Telegraph said. "Socceroos coach Bert van Marwijk continues to inexplicably snub Australia's greatest ever player and goal scorer." The Australian newspaper took a similar tack, saying the "drums were beating" for Cahill to start alongside ...
Wary of hacks, World Cup teams get serious on cybersecurity
Fearful of data breaches and keen to avoid embarrassing images surfacing in the home of 'kompromat', several teams at the World Cup in Russia have enforced rigid guidelines to shield their players from hacks. Whereas in past tournaments teams went to extraordinary lengths to keep the paparazzi at bay, the stars of Russia 2018 have a more high-tech approach to guarding their privacy. The Australian football federation is one of several to use its own mobile internet connection while in Russia, in theory to make it harder to access information contained on the devices of players and staff. The Socceroos are forbidden from joining unprotected Wifi networks and must instead connect via one of the team's own VPN-fitted 4G mobile routers. Team official Adam Mark told AFP the players had been told "just to be smart about while they're here, i.e. not logging on to public Wifis." "Cybersecurity is something that we are concerned about," said Croatia team official Tomislav Pacak. "Concerning ...
ICC CEO Richardson to deliver Cowdrey Lecture
International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson will deliver the 2018 Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's on August 6.Former South African international Richardson, who has been in post as Chief Executive of the ICC since 2012, will become the second former player of the country to give the lecture, after Barry Richards imparted the address in 2002.The MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture, in memory of Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge, has become a notable feature in the cricketing calendar, provoking debate and discussion on the major issues facing the game today. This year's Lecture will take place in the week of the Test Match between England and India at Lord's.The inaugural address was delivered in 2001 by Richie Benaud and since then, a number of eminent figures from the world of cricket, including Clive Lloyd, Kumar Sangakkara, Sir Ian Botham and last year's lecturer Brian Lara, to name but a few.Following the speech, a question and .
Lukaku tells how poverty fired World Cup dream
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku realised how poor his family was when he saw his mother watering down the milk. The football talent he is showcasing at the World Cup was their passport out of poverty. The Manchester United man has opened up about growing up in Antwerp and his resolution to ignore critics and have fun in Russia. Lukaku started the tournament in spectacular style, scoring two goals against Panama for the Red Devils. But he told sports website www.theplayerstribune.com that his determination to succeed was forged far from the glamour of football's biggest showpiece, in the gritty suburbs of Belgium's second largest city. The child of Congolese immigrants, he recalled that his family were often short of food when he was a child and sometimes prayed in the dark because there was no money to pay for power in their apartment. "We didn't have enough money to make it last the whole week. We were broke. Not just poor, but broke," he wrote. "My father had been a pro footballer, ...
Argentina learning to embrace kabaddi and 'how it's played 'without a ball?'
'Where's the ball?' -- it's a common question faced by the promoters of kabaddi in Argentina which is slowly embracing the sport. The country of Maradona and Messi got a taste of kabaddi in late 1990s when Ricardo Acuna, who is now the president of the Argentina Kabaddi Federation, brought it the Latin American country after learning the sport while in Quebec in Canada which has a lot of Indian influence. Having debuted in the 2016 World Cup in Ahmedabad, Argentina will make their only second International appearance when they compete against the likes of heavyweights India, Iran, Korea, Pakistan and Kenya in the six-nation Kabaddi Masters Dubai. The game now has emerged as an "alternative sport" in Argentina and they are looking for sponsors as country's top raider Federico Gramajo says it's a beautiful game that requires a lot of skill, technique, agility much like rugby. "But it is played without a ball... Countless times we face this questions from the people of Argentina. The ...
Lanka captain, coach and manager admit breaching ICC code
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and manager Asanka Gurusinha have admitted to breaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) code of conduct during the side's second Test against West Indies at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia.The trio has breached Article 2.3.1, a Level 3 offence, which relates to "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game".Following their admission, the ICC, in accordance with Article 5.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct, has appointed Michael Beloff QC as the Judicial Commissioner to hear the case to determine the appropriate sanction.Beloff has also been appointed as the Judicial Commissioner to hear Chandimal's appeal against the match referee's decision for changing the condition of the ball.As per Article 5.2.3, the Judicial Commissioner will use Friday's hearing in that appeal to hold a preliminary hearing to establish the procedural schedule on the Level 3 charges.The three were charged by the ICC Chief Executive ...
FIFA WC: Brazil, Costa Rica look for first win
Second-ranked Brazil, who are one of the favourites to clinch FIFA World Cup title this year, will be up against 23rd-ranked Costa Rica in their second match in Group E here at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Friday.Brazil will head into the clash on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw against Switzerland in the opening match of the ongoing 21st edition of the tournament.Costa Rica, on the other hand, couldn't repeat their heroics of four years ago and are coming off a shocking 0-1 defeat at the hands of Serbia on a free-kick goal.The encounter, however, is crucial for both teams as they are yet to clinch a win in the tournament.While Brazil are trailing group leaders Serbia by two points and are keen to pick up three points against a Costa Rica team, a defeat for the latter in the second match could see them eliminate from the showpiece event.All eyes will be on Neymar, who was roughed up in the first match as he committed 10 fouls and he limped out of training early on Tuesday ...
Over half of Chinese fans travelling for World Cup are women
More than half of the Chinese fans who have bought tickets for the 2018 World Cup are women, and the visitors are expected to spend millions of dollars in Russia, according to a report released on Friday.
ICC CEO Richardson to deliver 2018 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture
International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson will deliver the 2018 Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey lecture at Lord's on August 6. Former South African international Richardson, who has been the Chief Executive of the ICC since 2012, will become the second former Proteas player to give the lecture, after Barry Richards imparted the address in 2002. The MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture, in memory of Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge, has become a notable feature in the cricketing calendar, provoking debate and discussion on the major issues facing the game today. This year's lecture will take place in the week of the Test match between India and England at Lord's. The inaugural address was delivered in 2001 by Richie Benaud and since then, a number of eminent figures from the world of cricket, including Clive Lloyd, Kumar Sangakkara, Sir Ian Botham and last year's lecturer Brian Lara, gave the speech. Following the speech, a question and answer ...
England beat Australia by 6 wickets in 4th ODI
England registered their fourth consecutive win in the five-match ODI series against Australia as they outclassed the visitors by six wickets at the Riverside Cricket Ground here on Friday.
Two more Indian boxers enter semis of Ulaabaatar Cup
Debutant Vanhlimpuia (75kg) and Etash Khan (56kg) advanced to the semifinals to assure themselves of medals at the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament in Mongolia today. However, the experienced L Sarita Devi (60kg) lost a closely-contested quarterfinal bout to Chinese Taipei's Shih Yu Wu to go out of the tournament. Vanhlimpuia, competing in his maiden international tournament, defeated Korea's Song Myong Su in a unanimous verdict, producing a power-packed performance. Etash, on the other hand, had to slog it out a bit against China's Jia Wei Lu before fetching a split verdict in his favour from the judges. India were earlier assured of four more medals when world and Asian silver-winner Sonia Lather (57kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Himanshu Sharma (49kg) and Ashish (64kg) advanced to the semifinals.
Lankan trio admit to breaching Level 3 offence
The Sri Lankan team management, including skipper Dinesh Chandimal, has accepted the ICC's charge of acting against the spirit of the game by refusing to take the field in the second Test against the West Indies after a ball-tampering row. Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and manager Asanka Gurusinha have admitted to their role in team's refusal to take the field during the second Test at St Lucia, the ICC said in a statement. Following their admission, the ICC appointed Michael Beloff QC as the Judicial Commissioner to hear the case to determine the appropriate sanction as according to the ICC code of conduct it breaches Article 2.3.1, a Level 3 offence, which relates to "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game". The three were charged by the ICC chief executive David Richardson on Tuesday for their involvement in the incident at the start of Saturday's play, which caused a two-hour delay in the start of play. Chandimal had been found guilty by the ICC for ...
India aim for maiden CT title; play Pakistan in opener
The Indian hockey team would be aiming for a fresh start, putting behind the disappointment of a poor Commonwealth Games campaign, when it begins its pursuit of a maiden Champions Trophy title, taking on arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening clash, here tomorrow. Asian champions India have never won the Champions Trophy in its last 36 editions but will be hoping to claim the feat in the tournament's last edition here. The best India has fared in the tournament was the runners-up finish at the 2016 event in London, losing to Australia in a shoot-out. Claiming the title would be easier said than done for the eight-time Olympic champions as they come into the tournament on the back of a disastrous campaign at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, where they finished fourth. The disappointing finish triggered a change in head coach's position with Harendra Singh taking charge from Dutchman Sjoerd Marijne, who moved back to his old position as coach of the Indian women's team. World's best six .
Winning opening match at Hockey Champions Trophy is vital: India coach
With solid ground work after two back-to-back national training camps at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru, the Indian men's hockey team look upbeat and well-prepared for this week's Champions Trophy.Taking on 13th ranked arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening match on Saturday, India ranked much higher at world number six should have no qualms in overcoming the challenge albeit they keep their emotions in check and stick to the game plan.Reflecting on the same, chief coach Harendra Singh said that kicking off a campaign with a win is vital to set the momentum for the rest of the tournament."Getting off to a winning start is vital because it sets the momentum for the rest of the tournament. There will be no room for emotions when we take on Pakistan. The team will play against them like any other team where we go for the three points. We have prepared well for this tournament and are confident of a good performance. Our focus will be on playing to the structure and executing our .
France coach lauds team's progress to knockout stage
France head coach Didier Deschamps said he was very satisfied that his team had progressed to the knockout stage in the FIFA World Cup.
Peru coach vows to finish World Cup with victory
Peru coach Ricardo Gareca has praised his team for their endeavours during the game against France and assured that Peru will try to finish the tournament with a victory.
Halle Open: Federer faces Australia's Ebden for semi berth
World number one Roger Federer will aim to book his place in the semi-finals of the ongoing Halle Open, when he crosses swords with Matthew Ebden of Australia in their last-eight clash of the tournament here on Friday.Yesterday, the Swiss maestro produced a spirited performance as he bounced back from a second-set down to clinch a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 win over his French rival Benoit Paire in a thrilling round-of-16 that lasted one hour and 57 minutes.With the win, Federer also extended his winning streak on the grass-court to 18 matches.The 36-year-old will now look to continue his momentum when he heads into his quarter-final clash against Ebden later today.Federer, who recently won his 98th title by defeating his Canadian opponent Milos Raonic in straight sets in the finals of Stuttgart Open, is spending his second consecutive week on the grass court in the build-up to the third major of the season, that is, Wimbledon.The nine-time Halle Open champion, who recently climbed up to the top ..
Costa Rican President wishes soccer team success vs Brazil
The president of Costa Rica telephoned the national soccer team to wish them success and show his support for the players in the 2018 World Cup Group E match against Brazil on Friday.