Page 1466 - Sports
Croatia stun Argentina 3-0 to qualify for last 16 stage
A far superior Croatia stunned heavyweights Argentina 3-0 to qualify for the knockout stages and leave their opponents' fate hanging by a thread in a crunch Group D encounter here.
Argentina, Messi on brink of World Cup exit after Croatia drubbing
Lionel Messi's World Cup dream was left hanging by a thread as Croatia powered into the last 16 with a 3-0 rout of Argentina here. Second-half goals from Ante Rebic, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic sealed a deserved victory as a poor Argentina were left on the brink of a humiliating first round exit yesterday. The Group D defeat means Argentina have just one point from two games, meaning they will probably have to beat Nigeria in their last game and hope other results go their way to avoid elimination. The result left Argentinian fans in tears inside the Nizhny Novgorod stadium, while Diego Maradona watched from the stands in stunned disbelief. Croatia took the lead after a horrendous blunder by Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero in the 53rd minute, the stopper chipping a clearance straight to Rebic who lashed home a thunderous volley. Real Madrid star Modric then produced an electrifying 80th-minute goal before Messi's Barcelona team-mate Rakitic completed the scoring after Croatia ...
England beat Australia by six wickets, lead ODI series 4-0
England beat Australia by six wickets to win the fourth one-day international at Chester-le-Street as they went 4-0 up in the series with one to play. England, set a ground record 311 to win, finished on 314 for four after Jason Roy top-scored with 101 and fellow opener Jonny Bairstow made 79 yesterday. Jos Buttler (54 not out) ended the match with 32 balls to spare when he hit a four off Michael Neser. Earlier, Australia made 310 for eight, with both Aaron Finch (100) and Shaun Marsh (101) scoring centuries in an innings where England paceman David Willey took four wickets. England will try to complete what would be their first 5-0 ODI series sweep of world champions Australia at Old Trafford on Sunday. Brief scores Australia 310-8, 50 overs (S Marsh 101, A Finch 100, T Head 63; D Willey 4-43) England 314-4, 44.
FIFA WC: Mbappe's goal takes France into knockout stages
Kylian Mbappe's close-range goal on Thursday got France through to the knockout rounds of the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup at the Ekaterinburg Arena courtesy of their 1-0 win over Peru.After being fortunate in their 2-1 opening match win over Australia, France had their slices of luck again as Peru players did give a tough competition before their expected departure from the tournament.Mbappe's goal in the 34th minute came from close-range after Olivier Giroud's shot took a wicked deflection to beat Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.The 19-year-old also became the youngest player to score for France at a major international tournament.Quite like their narrow encounter with Denmark in the first game, which they lost, Peru had plenty of chances against France, seeing returning captain Paolo Guerrero firing at goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and Pedro Aquino clipping the post with a super strike from range.However, Peru was unable to find a way through and Ricardo Gareca's side is ...
Juventus sign German midfielder Emre Can
Italian football champions Juventus on Thursday announced the signing of German midfielder Emre Can on a free transfer.
Kabaddi Masters: India to take on Pakistan in opening game
India and Pakistan are set to face each other in a showdown of rivals on Friday at the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 opening match at the Al Wasl Sports Club here.The tournament comprises a total of six nations, namely India, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Iran, Argentina and Kenya which are slated to compete in the tournament.Indian Kabaddi team coach Srinivas Reddy admitted that although there would be pressure while taking on the arch-rivals, the team would be focused on giving their best."We have India's best players participating for this tournament and we will not underestimate any team as all teams have come equally prepared. In terms of our competition, there is always a certain amount of pressure when India and Pakistan face each other, but once the game begins the team will only focus on giving their best on the mat and keep the trophy as their goal," Srinivas told media.Meanwhile, the team captain Ajay Thakur said winning the opening match would be crucial for boosting the ...
Federer breezes into Halle Open quarters
Defending Champion Roger Federer continued his winning streak on the grass court after defeating France's Benoit Paire in the second round of the Halle Open here.The 36-year-old thumped his French rival 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 to enter the quarter-final of the tournament.After conceding defeat in the first set, Paire made a solid comeback and fought hard till the final set. But in the end, it was the Swiss player who turned the tables on his opponent.Earlier, the 20-time Grand Slam champion began his last week pre-Wimbledon competition with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Slovenian Aljaz Bedene in a one-sided opening-round clash that lasted one hour and 11 minutes.The Swiss tennis maestro, 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 ...
France beat Peru 1-0 to enter World Cup pre-quarters
Kylian Mbappe became France's youngest goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup history as they beat Peru 1-0 in a Group C match here on Thursday to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
Thakkar stuns Karlsson as Challengers win big in UTT
Teenaged Manav Thakkar turned in a sensational display, stunning World No 20 Kristian Karlsson 2-1 to inspire Empowerji Challengers to a 15-6 victory against Maharashtra United in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex here on Thursday.
Mbappe makes history as France battle into World Cup last 16
Teenager Kylian Mbappe became France's youngest World Cup goalscorer as they beat Peru 1-0 on Thursday to reach the last 16 and condemn the South Americans to an early exit. France, one of the pre-tournament favourites, join Uruguay and hosts Russia in the knockout rounds with one group game to go. Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe -- aged 19 years and 183 days -- underlined his rich talent and claimed his place in the French record books when he poked home in the first half. Didier Deschamps' side face Denmark on Tuesday with top spot in Group C up for grabs but progression to the next stage assured. In contrast, Peru face Australia with their fate sealed and just pride to play for in front of their passionate and large following that has decamped to Russia. Some Peru fans were in tears even before kick-off -- a generation of Peruvians have never known their country in the World Cup before. The South Americans' last appearance was in 1982 and they made this like a home game, ...
Finch and Marsh hit hundreds before England fight back against Australia
Australia's Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh both hit hundreds before England fought back to hold the world champions to 310 for eight in the fourth one-day international at Chester-le-Street on Thursday. The tourists, 3-0 down in this five-match series after England posted an all-time ODI record 481 for six during a 242-run win at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, were on course for a large total at 225 for one in the 40th over. But fast bowler Mark Wood took two wickets in an over on his Durham home ground before left-arm quick David Willey topped that with three wickets in the 48th over on his way to figures of four for 43. Although Finch (100) and Marsh, whose 101 was his second hundred of the series, both reached three figures, neither lasted long after posting their respective centuries. Even so, Australia's total topped the previous Riverside ODI ground record of 307 for five, made by England against New Zealand 10 years ago. It was no surprise when Australia captain Tim Paine, who fielded ..
Djokovic crushes Dimitrov to reach win No.799
Novak Djokovic swept into the Queen's Club quarter-finals and recorded his 799th career win with a 6-4, 6-1 demolition of Grigor Dimitrov on Thursday. Djokovic needed only 65 minutes to crush world number five Dimitrov in the second round of the Wimbledon warm-up event. In the last eight, the former world number one faces the winner of the all-French clash between Adrian Mannarino and Julien Benneteau. If Djokovic is successful in his next match, the Serb will become only the 10th man in the Open era to join the 800-win club.
Ex-striker turned coach Klose says Germany have talent on bench
Germany assistant coach Miroslav Klose on Thursday acknowledged that they may have to alter tactics in order to overcome Sweden in their FIFA World Cup Group F second match but was optimistic the defending champions have strength on the bench.
Morocco's decision to play Amrabat after concussion 'questionable': FIFA
World football governing body, FIFA has described Morocco's decision to allow winger Nordin Amrabat to play only five days after suffering concussion as "questionable".
Young Manav Thakkar trumps World No. 18 in UTT
Young Indian paddler Manav Thakkar stunned World No. 18 Kristian Karlsson 2-1, inspiring Empowerji Challengers to a 15-6 victory over Maharashtra United in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis here tonight. The 18-year-old Thakkar rattled his Swedish rival, ranked 223 places above him with an attacking display to win 11-9, 8-11, 11-8. He had earlier helped Challengers assert their dominance by clinching the mixed doubles with Hungarian Georgina Pota. They downed Anthony Amalraj/ Elizabeta Samara in straight games 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-10) to surge ahead as the scores after the first two matches were tied 3-3. Tiago Apolonia, Lee Ho Ching and Pota swelled the tally with impressive victories in their respective singles. The big win helped Challengers rise to the third spot (30 points), pushing Maharashtra to the fourth spot (26 points). Maharashtra were hampered by an injury to their top foreign player, World No. 19 Elizabeta, who twisted her ankle in the second game of the mixed doubles. She ..
Iceland will feel the heat in Volgograd: Nigeria coach Rohr
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr says that his side are looking to turn up the heat on Iceland in a sweltering Volgograd tomorrow as they bid to keep their World Cup campaign alive. The Super Eagles must avoid defeat after opening Group D with a 2-0 loss to Croatia, while Iceland managed a surprise 1-1 draw with Argentina. And Nigeria are hoping the temperature will work in their favour in the southern Russian city, where the mercury is expected to still be topping 30 Celsius at the 1800 local-time kick-off (1500 GMT). The African players should be more acclimatised to the hot conditions than their northern opponents who hail from just outside the Arctic Circle. Rohr said they will use any advantage they can. "It will again be an away game for us, they will have 20,000 fans here so let's have a little advantage with the temperature," the German coach told reporters at the Volgograd Arena on Thursday. Defeat would see Nigeria become the third African side after Morocco and Egypt to be dumped .
Federer saves two match points to reach Halle last-eight
World number one Roger Federer kept his quest for a 10th Halle grasscourt title alive by saving two match points to defeat France's Benoit Paire 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7) and make the quarter-finals today. Federer will face Australia's world number 60 Matthew Ebden, who defeated Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, for a place in the semi-finals. Federer's preparations in the build-up to the defence of his Wimbledon title had been running smoothly, with a title last week in Stuttgart and a solid opening Halle win for the top seed. It was a tough fight on Thursday, however, with the 36-year-old missing two match points in the final-set tiebreak and then saving two for Paire. The top seed finally won on his third match point when Paire returned long. Federer, who won the opening set with back-to-back aces, fell 4-0 down in the second set as Paire rallied. The Swiss got one of the breaks back but could not work his usual magic as the contest was squared at a set each. The victory in
Tirkey praises Patnauk initiative to popularize hockey
Former Indian hockey team captain Dilip Tirkey today appreciated Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's initiative to officially notify hockey as the national game of the country. Tirkey's reaction came a day after Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention for issuing a notification to accord national game status to hockey. In his letter to Modi, Patnaik had wondered as to how there was no official notification declaring hockey as a national game. I appreciate Chief Minister's work and research which bring to light that hockey is not yet the national sport officially. If you check facts, youll realize an RTI filed in 2012 had revealed the same. Peoples misconception had the sport taken for granted, when hockey actually brought laurels to the country in the past," Tirkey, a former Rajya Sabha member, said. Tirkey, who too belonged to Patnaik's BJD, urged the people across the country to support Odisha chief minister and promote hockey in ...
Brazil boss Tite won't sacrifice Neymar's 'genius' for good of the team
Brazil coach Tite said he will not tell Neymar to be more of a team player as he insisted the Paris Saint-Germain star is fit for tomorrow's crunch World Cup clash with Costa Rica. The world's most expensive player had been an injury doubt after hobbling out of training on Tuesday with an ankle problem, 48 hours after he was on the end of 10 fouls from robust Swiss opponents as Brazil opened their campaign with a disappointing 1-1 draw. But Tite confirmed he will put his faith in the same XI that started against Switzerland in Saint Petersburg as Brazil look to kickstart their quest for a sixth World Cup. In their desperation for a breakthrough in the final stages against the Swiss, Neymar's team-mates consistently looked to their star man to provide the final finish or pass without success. And he was criticised for being self-indulgent, often taking too many touches to try and beat Swiss right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner instead of moving the ball on quickly to teammates. - 'Genius' ..
Australia's Van Marwijk says 'last part of puzzle' missing at World Cup
Disappointed coach Bert van Marwijk said Australia have to find "the last part of the puzzle" if they are to stay in the World Cup after a 1-1 draw with Denmark today. Australia captain Mile Jedinak hit a VAR-assisted penalty to earn the Socceroos' first point in Russia after Christian Eriksen's opener, giving Australia a glimmer of hope of reaching the last 16. Van Marwijk praised a team that has "improved every day" but bemoaned a lack of clinical finishing after his team missed chances to win the game in the second half in Samara. It followed a 2-1 defeat to France in their opening match. "We had chances to win and we deserved to win, so I'm disappointed," the Dutchman said. "I fully agree we should have won. Against France we also deserved more, I think. "We have one point and we deserve four points from these two games. "The last part of the puzzle is that we must make the difference by scoring one goal more than the opponent. "I must be satisfied about all the things we asked ..