Page 1465 - Sports
Argentinian fans disillusioned after their team's debacle at World Cup
Expectation, emotion, joy, doubts, uncertainty, surprise, fear, tension and finally disappointment.
India have world's best spinners to trouble England: Kumble
Indian team boasts of world's best spinners and it has enough experience in both bowling and batting to outwit hosts England during the upcoming series, said former coach Anil Kumble. "We have a great side and an all-round side. In bowling we have the experience and bowlers who can take 20 wickets consistently. If you look at the batting line-up, it has a lot of experience as well," he said at an event here. "On average, all the players have played close to 50 Tests. That adds a lot of value and its not the first time that they are touring England. They have all been there before and they are familiar with the conditions," Kumble said. The former skipper feels India have the best spinners in the world, adding, playing in the second half of the summer in England would help the visitors. "We have the best spinners in the world and even in terms of conditions the fact that we are playing in the second-half will help our cause. We have a great opportunity to win the series. We shouldn't ..
Hussamuddin, 2 others enter semis of Chemistry Cup in Germany
Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg) was among the three Indian boxers to make the semifinals but two others lost in the quarters of the Chemistry Cup in Halle, Germany. In bouts held late last night, Hussamuddin, former national champion Madan Lal (56kg) and Narender (+91kg) advanced to the last-four stage, thereby assuring themselves of at least a bronze medal each. Hussamuddin, a two-time medal-winner at the prestigious Strandja Memorial, defeated Jordan's Mohammad Alwadi 5-0. Madan, on the other hand, got the better of Slovakian Viliam Tanko by a similar margin. Narender edged past Moldova's Alexei Zavatin 4-0. However, two-time CWG medal winner Manoj Kumar (69kg) and Manish Panwar (81kg) bowed out with quarterfinal losses. Manoj was beaten by Russia's Andrei Zamkovoi, while Manish lost to Slovakia's Matus Strnisko. Both were defeated by identical 0-5 margins. Earlier, Commonwealth Games medallists Amit Panghal (49kg) and Gaurav Solanki (52kg) and ...
ICC to hear Chandimal's appeal against ball-tampering charges today
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that chairman of the ICC Code of Conduct Commission, Michael Beloff QC, has been appointed as the Judicial Commissioner to hear Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal's appeal against ball-tampering charges.The hearing will take place later today, and, legal counsel for both parties and Chandimal will join via telephone or video conference.The ICC will announce the result of the hearing through its usual channels and will not make any further comment until that time.Earlier, Chandimal had appealed against the ICC's decision to impose a one-Test ban on him after finding him guilty of ball-tampering.The decision, taken by ICC match referee Javagal Srinath, barred the batsman from appearing in the third Test of the ongoing series between Sri Lanka and West Indies, which is slated to be held from June 23 at the Kensington Oval Barbados.The 28-year-old was charged for altering the condition of the ball during the second Test of the series ..
Players of emerging nations make big gains in T20I rankings
Left-arm spinners George Dockrell of Ireland and Mark Watt of Scotland have made it to the top 20 of the ICC T20I Player Rankings after some fine performances in recent matches.Dockrell's five wickets in the four matches of the Netherlands tri-series have helped him re-enter the top 20 in the rankings at 19th position while Watt is one slot below him after taking three wickets from five matches, including a two-match series against Pakistan.In the rankings for batsmen, Ireland opener Paul Stirling has reached a career-best 27th position after scoring 51 and 81 against Scotland.Meanwhile, the Scotland pair of Kyle Coetzer and Richard Berrington are not too far behind him at career-best positions of 31 and 32, respectively.For the Netherlands, Wesley Barresi (52nd) and Ben Cooper (65th) are the leading batsmen in the rankings list while fast bowlers Paul van Meekeren (26th) and Timm van der Gugten (28th) have made their presence felt among bowlers.Meanwhile, in the ICC T20I Team ...
Two new balls in ODIs is recipe for disaster: Tendulkar
Concerned by a spate of run fests recently, Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has criticised the use of two new balls in ODIs, saying it is "a perfect recipe for disaster". Mostly a reticent commentator, Tendulkar shared his point of view after watching England batsmen go on a rampage against Australia in the last two ODIs. "Having 2 new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse. We haven't seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time," Tendulkar tweeted from his official handle. England posted a world record 481 for 6 against Australia in the third ODI, bettering their own record of 444 vs Pakistan. In the next ODI, England chased down a target of 312 inside 45 overs. Tendulkar's view was endorsed by Pakistan's legendary master of reverse swing Waqar Younis. "Reason why we don't produce many attacking fast bowlers..They all very defensive in their approach...always looking ..
Australia's Mennie first player 'subbed out' of English county game
Australia paceman Joe Mennie became the first player to be substituted out of a match in English cricket's County Championship under new concussion guidelines after suffering a blow to the head. The 29-year-old Mennie was withdrawn after bowling for Lancashire away to Worcestershire in a First Division match when a drive from opposing overseas player Martin Guptill, the New Zealand batsman, hit him on the bounce as he followed through. Mennie, whose lone Test appearance for Australia was against South Africa at Hobart in November 2016, received prolonged on-field treatment before walking off at New Road during the second day of a scheduled four. Lancashire subsequently informed the match cricket liaison officer, Richard Ellison, of their intention to withdraw Mennie from the remainder of the fixture. Former Kent and England swing bowler Ellison approved Lancashire's request to replace Mennie with Danny Lamb, who was travelling down from Manchester on Thursday. Traditionally, ...
Windies hope night time is right time to win back fans
West Indies join the day-night Test match revolution tomorrow, hoping the innovation will win back legions of fans who have turned their backs on the under-performing Caribbean side. The third Test of the series against Sri Lanka at Kensington Oval in Barbados will be the 10th day-night affair since it debuted in 2015 when Australia hosted New Zealand in Adelaide. Since that time, three more day-night Tests have been staged in Australia, two in Dubai, in an effort to entice expatriate workers to watch Pakistan, and one each in England, South Africa and New Zealand. West Indies lead the series against Sri Lanka 1-0 but the first two matches in Trinidad and St Lucia were very poorly attended. For several prominent former West Indies cricketers, the uniqueness of the day-night encounter presents an additional attraction to fans who have generally been turned off the regional team, especially in the traditional format of the competition, because of their consistently sub-standard ...
'New level of intensity' as England reach for whitewash
England captain Eoin Morgan hopes his side can maintain their "new level of intensity" after moving to within sight of a first 5-0 one-day international series whitewash of Australia. Morgan's men, the number one-ranked side in this format, beat Australia by six wickets at Chester-le-Street yesterday. Set an ODI ground record of 311 to win, England finished on 314 for four with more than five overs to spare after Jason Roy (101) hit his second hundred of the series. Following their century partnership during England's 481 for six -- the highest total in men's ODI cricket -- at Nottingham on Tuesday, Roy and Jonny Bairstow (79) again overwhelmed a novice Australia attack while putting on 174 for the first wicket. There was a brief wobble when both openers fell in quick succession, but Jos Buttler's unbeaten 54 put the result beyond doubt. This latest victory left England 4-0 up in the five-match series against world champions Australia heading into Sunday's finale at Old Trafford. It ..
Salah, Neymar, Messi, messy, messy: World Cup stars stifled
With nagging injuries, heavy marking from opponents and some simply uninspired play, the top stars of the 2018 World Cup have struggled to deliver on the impossible expectations they carried into the tournament, with one prominent Portuguese exception. Aside from Cristiano Ronaldo, who has all four of Portugal's goals in its two games, many of the biggest names are off to a shaky start. No one has had rougher treatment from the opposition than the world's priciest player, Neymar. During Brazil's opening 1-1 draw with Switzerland, the 26-year-old was fouled 10 times, the highest number on a single player in a single match since the 1998 World Cup, when England's Alan Shearer took 11 challenges against Tunisia. Overall, Switzerland fouled Brazil 19 times, with little intervention from the referee, and it worked especially on Neymar. Brazilians suggested their opponents were too violent; Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes thinks Neymar has another problem. "He just falls too much," ...
Belgium face Tunisia at World Cup with eye on England
Belgium take on Tunisia tomorrow with their eyes set on the knockout round of the World Cup but fearful that star forward Eden Hazard is set for another bruising encounter. The Belgians want to win at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow to avoid making their final group game against England on June 28 a make-or-break qualification affair. The Red Devils opened their account in Russia with a 3-0 win over Panama on Monday, when Romelu Lukaku netted twice, but Hazard was tightly marked and occasionally clattered by the Central American opponents. Belgium coach Roberto Martinez hopes the Chelsea player will not get the same treatment from Tunisia. "It is a worry that in any of those tackles he could really get hurt," said Belgium's Spanish coach. "It doesn't worry me if that is just their way of trying to stop him." History favours the Belgians. They are yet to lose to African opposition at a World Cup, while Tunisia have never beaten a European side at a finals. The experienced Oussama Haddadi
Son under pressure to save South Korea's World Cup
South Korea's Son Heung-min is bearing the weight of expectation at the World Cup just as heavily as Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane. Even Lionel Messi, whose bid to add a World Cup to his career collection has become something of a communal objective for football, enjoys the support of a star-studded Argentinian side, from Angel Di Maria to Javier Mascherano to Sergio Aguero. For Son and South Korea, the pressure is shared in the kind of unequal measure that perhaps only Salah would know with Egypt, before his own tournament was hampered by injury. South Korea are teetering on the brink too, after a 1-0 defeat by Sweden left them needing at least a draw, and probably a win, against Mexico tomorrow to keep any hopes of progressing from Group F alive. Son blamed himself for the opening loss. "I'm still disappointed about my performance," he said. "I feel very, very sorry for my team-mates because if we don't score, it's my fault, because I need to take the ...
Catastrophe! Argentina press wails at World Cup 'disaster'
Argentina's media stuck the boot into Lionel Messi and his teammates, branding the team's World Cup defeat to Croatia a "catastrophe" and a "humiliation". Argentina face the prospect of an embarrassing first-round exit in Russia after suffering a 3-0 loss to the Croatians in Nizhny Novgorod, which left them with one point from two games. For Argentina's press, the result was too much to bear. "Catastrophe against Croatia, Argentina disappoints and is on the way out of the World Cup," the Clarin newspaper wrote on its website. "Argentina were ridiculed by Croatia and has jeopardised its future in the competition," La Nacion added. Television commentator Diego Latorre, of the TV Publica network, reflected on the lacklustre contribution of Messi. "Messi was at a standstill, he was off the pace, depressed," Latorre said. The Infobae website described the loss as a "humiliation". Infobae took aim at the blunder by goalkeeper Willy Caballero that handed Croatia their opening goal early in
Sweden's Forsberg can hurt Germans in World Cup crunch match
An early German exit from the World Cup seems unthinkable, but that could be the grim reality for the reigning champions unless they get the better of Sweden this weekend. Still, at least they know exactly where the danger is coming from. The main creative threat in Janne Andersson's principally solid, unspectacular side lies in the shape of Emil Forsberg, one of the most talented wide attackers in Europe. "I'm a big fan of Emil Forsberg, he's a great player," said Germany defender Mats Hummels when asked if anyone in the Scandinavians' side could make it into the World Cup holders' line-up. Bayern Munich defender Hummels and his international teammates are well placed to comment on Forsberg's ability. The 26-year-old has come to Russia on the back of two outstanding seasons in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, and on Saturday evening, at the Fisht Stadium by the Black Sea, he will come up against a German side featuring his club colleague Timo Werner. The Germans came early to Sochi ..
Argentine fans weep as World Cup dream fades
The party at the Buenos Aires fanzone fell flat as a crowd expecting a Messi-inspired Argentina World Cup revival could only watch in horror at as the nadir of Nizhny Novgorod unfolded. "We lost very badly, they really humiliated us this time," said 22-year-old Joaquin. "And now, on top of that, we're depending on Nigeria!" After the abject 3-0 loss to Croatia, the team will have to beat Nigeria in their final game and hope other results go their way to advance. For even the most passionate fans here, that seems a tall order now. Lionel Messi came in for particular criticism after an under-par performance. "Messi, who keeps winning for Barcelona, who continues to deliver triumph after triumph for Barcelona, has given us nothing but defeats and sadness," said an angry Miguel Angel Gutierrez, 50, wearing an "Albiceleste" wig. But this was no party in Buenos Aires as fans young and old hid their sky blue-and-white painted faces in their hands, the classic reflexes of cinemagoers at a ...
Argentina coach asks for 'forgiveness' as World Cup hopes fade
Jorge Sampaoli begged for forgiveness from Argentina's fans after a 3-0 drubbing by Croatia left Lionel Messi's World Cup dreams hanging by a thread. Second-half goals from Ante Rebic -- the first from a horrendous error by Argentina goalkeeper Willy Caballero -- Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic sealed a deserved victory for the European side and ensured their passage into the last 16. A contrite Sampaoli said the rout was his fault entirely and apologised to supporters left in tears in the Nizhny Novgorod stadium on the banks of the River Volga. "First and foremost, I would beg for their forgiveness, especially those who came great distances to see Argentina," said the softly spoken Sampaoli. "I am responsible for this result but I was as dreamy-eyed as the fans." The Group D defeat means Argentina, one of the pre-tournament favourites and defeated finalists in 2014, are on the brink of a humiliating first-round exit. They have just one point from two games and will certainly have to ...
Messi feels pain as World Cup dream turns to nightmare
Lionel Messi sloped off down the tunnel in Nizhny Novgorod with his head bowed, knowing Argentina face the humiliation of a group-stage exit at the World Cup in Russia. The Barcelona star was silenced by a far superior Croatia side in a brutal 3-0 defeat that left the South Americans needing an unlikely series of results to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive. The World Cup is likely to lose the man who -- along with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo -- has dominated and defined football for a decade. Messi is just days short of his 31st birthday. We may be witnessing him on football's biggest stage for the final time -- a talent curiously unfulfilled at international level despite his astonishing feats for his club. Argentina lost the 2014 World Cup final 1-0 to Germany after extra time, before suffering successive defeats by Chile on penalties in Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016. Messi hinted before the start of this World Cup that he could quit international ...
Heena Sidhu tops selection trial at KSS Shooting
Former World No.1 Heena Sidhu of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) topped the charts for the selection trials 5 in the 10M Air Pistol Women category.Sidhu scored 240.9 to top the charts.Whereas, para-shooter Rubina Francis from Madhya Pradesh clinched a gold and silver medal in the senior and junior category of the 10M Air Pistol (IPC) Championship women, respectively.The competition was held at the Dr. Karni Shooting Range in the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting Championship on Thursday.Punjab's Harveen Sarao who won a bronze in the 10M Air Pistol event, couldn't catch up to Sidhu and eventually had to settle for the second spot with a score of 240.3.Rahi Sarnobat, who won double gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games secured the third spot with a score of 217.7.In the 10M Air Pistol (IPC) Championship event, Rubina missed her second gold and scored 549, the same as Pooja Agarwal who eventually clinched gold.Maharashtra's Annaya Batra scored 525 and took home a bronze medal, ...
Federer beats Paire, enters Halle Open quarter-finals
Roger Federer saved two match points to avoid an upset against France's Benoit Paire and reach the quarter-finals of the Halle Open.
FIFA World Cup: Croatia dominates Argentina 3-0
Lionel Messi's dream of winning the World Cup now looks remote as Argentina crashed to a 3-0 defeat to Croatia at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero in the 53rd minute gave Ante Rebic an opportunity which was hard to refuse, as per goal.com.Rebic sent a volley through Caballero's silhouette to begin the scoring.Real Madrid's Modric bent a wonder strike around a diving Caballero in the 80th minute before Messi's Barcelona team-mate Rakitic completed the scoring after Croatia sliced apart Argentina's hapless defence in injury time.Second-half goals from Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic sealed a deserved victory for Croatia.Croatia has made space for itself into the last 16 of the World Cup.Croatia has been in two wins against Nigeria and now La Albiceleste, Argentina.In order to save itself from humiliation, as per the Group D defeat, Argentina will probably have to beat Nigeria in their last game to avoid elimination.Talking about the match, Argentina ..