Page 1472 - Sports
'Don't blame Messi', pleads Argentina boss Sampaoli
Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli again defended star player Lionel Messi today and said his side's World Cup match against Croatia was effectively a must-win. The beaten 2014 finalists go into tomorrow's crucial Group D clash desperate for three points after a disappointing 1-1 draw with minnows Iceland in their first outing in Russia. The South Americans have been criticised both for their performance and the result. They took the lead through Sergio Aguero but conceded a goal to Alfred Finnbogason before Messi missed a second-half penalty. Sampaoli admitted Argentina's "window of opportunity" was narrowing after the draw but said he was confident his team could put things right. "We need to move on to the next phase, that's what we came here for," he said. "We don't want to go to the last match not having resolved that." Asked repeatedly about Messi, Sampaoli said the disappointing start against Iceland was not the fault of his star player, despite the penalty miss. "We were quite ...
Manika's heroics in vain as Mavericks beat Smashers in UTT
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games double gold medallist Manika Batras heroics went in vain as RP-SG Mavericks outplayed table toppers Dabang Smasher in CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Tyagaraj Stadium here on Wednesday.
Confusion prevails over football team's participation in Asian Games
The Indian men's football team's participation in the Asian Games was today thrown into confusion after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), amid AIFF's optimism, said it will stick to its criteria for team events, which the sport does not meet at the moment. The All India Football Federation (AIFF), which is believed to have got positive fillers from the Sports Ministry, stated that it is very hopeful of being cleared for the multi-sport extravaganza. However, the IOA's contention is that it can only send the top eight sides in team events as per the norm. "I will not speak about individual sports but the criteria of top 8 in team events and top 6 in individual events stand. We will stick to that, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta said. When contracted AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said: Our president Mr Praful Patel has spoken to Mr Narinder Batra (IOA president) and we are very hopeful of our team being sent to the Asian Games. And it's not just about the men's team. Football
Sweden captain surprised by Germany lack of 'balance'
Ahead of a crunch Group F tie with Germany on Saturday Sweden captain Andreas Granqvist said today he was "surprised" by the World Cup holders' tactics in their shock 1-0 opening loss to Mexico. The German defence was ripped apart by Mexico's counter attacks, leaving Joachim Loew's side under intense pressure before the Sochi clash with the Swedes who beat South Korea 1-0 Monday. "Germany were quite offensive and Mexico made some quick contras, did some two against ones and three against twos," said the 33-year-old Granqvist. "It surprised me a little bit that they didn't have more balance in the team, they are probably going to change that against us," he said. "We thought of course Germany was the favourite to win the group but now they have a more difficult task, to win two games in a row," he added. Asked if Janne Andersson's men can copy the Mexico blueprint for success, Granqvist said Sweden "don't play as Mexico play". "We are not the same type of players, we need to be very ...
Manika's heroics go in vain as Mavericks beat Smashers 13-8 in UTT
Manika Batra's heroics went in vain as RP-SG Mavericks outplayed table toppers Dabang Smasher TTC in Ultimate Table Tennis at the Tyagaraj Stadium here today. The win now sees Mavericks end the night on 37 points, just two adrift of the table toppers Smashers. Indian table tennis' poster girl, Batra came back from a game down to eke past the World No.60 Sabine Winter of Germany 2-1 (4-11, 11-3, 11-7) in a thrilling encounter to help Smashers race to an early lead but the Mavericks launched a great fightback to record a 13-8 victory. The 2018 Commonwealth Games doubles gold medallist, playing infront of her home crowd, conceded the opening game in a rather meek fashion. But she made a strong comeback and fired in a total of 10 winners in the next two games to seal the match. Skipper Harmeet Desai, however, drew level (3-3) for Mavericks in the next match with a prolific win over World No.27 Yoshida Masaki of Japan 2-1 (11-8, 10-11, 9-11). In the mixed doubles encounter, captain ...
Wawrinka rocked by Queen's blow
Stan Wawrinka's Wimbledon preparations suffered a blow as the Swiss star crashed to a 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-1 defeat against Sam Querrey at Queen's Club today. Wawrinka has struggled to return to peak form since sustaining a left knee injury last year that required two operations and wiped out the second half of the Swiss star's season. Still hampered by the problem this term, Wawrinka was sidelined again for three months in between a second round exit at the Australian Open and a first round loss in the French Open. The three-time Grand Slam champion had swatted aside British youngster Cameron Norrie in the first round of the Wimbledon warm-up at Queen's. But Wawrinka faded badly in the final set against Querrey as the American world number 13 condemned the 33-year-old to his seventh defeat in his last nine ATP Tour matches. It is a major setback for Wawrinka ahead of the July 2 start of Wimbledon, where he has never made it past the quarter-finals. Querrey, who won Queen's in 2010, will
Nadal, Munar complete pre-Wimbledon training on grass courts
Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and Jaume Munar on Wednesday completed their pre-Wimbledon training on the grass courts of the WTA Mallorca Open women's tournament.
Marco Reus wants to help Germany in World Cup campaign
Germany's forward Marco Reus, whose team lost their debut match 0-1 to Mexico in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, on Wednesday said he wished he could play and help the team.
Serbia defender Tosic cautions team against over-confidence
Serbia defender Dusko Tosic said on Wednesday that his national team is facing a must-win match against Switzerland, and cautioned against overconfidence after beating Costa Rica 1-0 in their debut in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Germany sports chief predicts tough clash with Sweden
Oliver Bierhoff, sporting director for the German football federation, DFB said on Wednesday that his country's upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup match against Sweden looks to be a tough game.
Om shoots double gold at KSS Memorial championship
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Om Prakash Mitharwal, representing the Army, edged 2010 CWG gold medallist Omkar Singh by just one point to clinch the gold in the 50 metre Free Pistol category of the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting Championship, here on Wednesday.
Denmark, Australia face-off in crunch Group C clash (Preview)
Denmark and Australia will lock horns in a crunch Group C contest in which the European side will aim to register their second consecutive win and seal a knockout berth, while the other team will eye survival on Thursday.
FIFA WC: Ronaldo's header secures crucial win for Portugal
Star striker Cristiano Ronaldo's goal in the early minutes of the match was enough to hand fourth-ranked Portugal a narrow 1-0 win over 41st ranked Morocco in their second game in Group B of the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup here at the Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday.Heading into the match, all eyes were on Ronaldo, who notched up a hat-trick in the opening match to help his side not only settle with a 3-3 draw but also hand them an unexpected point.And the Real Madrid forward did not disappoint his fans as he struck a header just four minutes into the match to give Portugal an early lead, something which later proved to be a winning goal for the side.With his 85th international goal, Ronaldo became Europe's all-time leading international scorer. He is now just behind Ali Daei of Iran, in the global all-time scoring charts with 109 goals.Ronaldo also got a chance to double his side's lead when he brought the ball on the right-hand side of the box and managed a shot which ..
Ronaldo fires Portugal to 1-0 victory over Morocco
Cristiano Ronaldo became Europe's all-time leading scorer as Portugal beat Morocco 1-0 in their FIFA World Cup Group B match here at the Luzhniki Stadium here on Wednesday.
Muller says Germany must win remaining group matches
Germany forward Thomas Muller, whose national team was on the wrong side of a surprise 0-1 defeat to Mexico in its 2018 FIFA World Cup debut in Russia, said on Wednesday that the team must win its next two matches against Sweden and South Korea.
Thakur backs India to put do or die show in Kabaddi Masters Dubai
Back at the helm to captain India, star raider Ajay Thakur today said they would go all out against Pakistan in the tournament opener of the six-nation 'Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018' from June 22 to 30. India took on their arch-rivals the last time in their triumphant campaign of the Asian Championship Iran in 2017 when they defeated Pakistan 36-22 in the final. "We all are very excited to take on Pakistan after a long time. The feeling is always different when you face Pakistan. We will put up a do-or-die show," Thakur, who is known as 'Do-or-Die' specialist raider, told PTI in an interview from Dubai. Being the first game of the tournament, the 32-year-old said they would be under a "bit of pressure". "There's a bit of pressure obviously when you take on Pakistan in the first match. Pressure will be on both sides," he said. "There's an outpouring of responses from several quarters after we are drawn against Pakistan in the 'Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018' opener. Everybody is sending us ..
Portugal can still improve, says match-winner Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo said Portugal must strive to improve at the World Cup after today's 1-0 win over Group B rivals Morocco left them within sight of the knockout rounds. The Real Madrid forward scored his fourth goal in two games in Russia as the European champions moved top of their group ahead of Spain's match against Iran. "I'm very happy. The most important thing was to win the game and to get the three points," Ronaldo said after his fourth-minute strike in Moscow decided a hard-fought contest. "We knew if we lost we could be out. We knew Morocco would be giving their all. It was a surprise at the start because they were so strong. "I managed to score a goal, it was great for me." Portugal face Iran in their final group game on June 25 in Saransk. "Our expectation is to continue our work and try to improve in the group phase," Ronaldo said. "We're almost there (knockout stages) and then we'll see. We'll take things match after match. We will try to come first in the group.
Om Prakash bags 2 golds; Vijay Kumar, Abhidnya win double gold at KSS Memorial Shooting C'ship
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Om Prakash Mitharwal edged 2010 CWG gold medallist Omkar Singh by just one point to clinch the gold medal in the 50m free pistol category at the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting Championship here today. London Olympic gold medallist Vijay Kumar also displayed his class as he bagged two gold medals for Haryana in the 25m center fire pistol individual and team event respectively. Army man Om Prakash, who won the World Cup mixed team gold medal in the 10m air pistol category, scored 560 and took the first spot on the podium. Omkar, serving in the Navy, stayed hot on Om Prakash's heels to score 559 but the army man stayed calm when it mattered most to grab the gold medal. Another Army man Gurpal Singh, was also not far behind as he bagged the bronze with a score of 553. The Army marksmanship unit comprising of Om Prakash, Gurpal Singh and Jain Singh were in red hot form as they topped the charts with 1654 and annexed the gold in the 50m free pistol team ...
Desailly slams Neymar's 'individual play'
Former France captain and 1998 FIFA World Cup winner Marcel Desailly has accused Brazil star Neymar of playing for himself to the detriment of his team.
Vani, Gaurika to play in Ladies Thai golf
Vani Kapoor and Gaurika Bishnoi will tee up at the Ladies European Thailand Championship at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club here tomorrow. Vani has been trying to divide her time between Ladies European Tour and the LET Access Tours. She has played three times on the Access Tours and her best result came in the form of T-9 at the Czech Ladies Challenge last week. Gaurika, who did so well in the first two rounds at the 2017 Hero Womens Indian Open before finishing T-44 will also be in the field. Beth Allen from the United States will make her debut in the Ladies European Thailand Championship. Allen, the winner of the 2016 Ladies European Tour order of merit and three titles on the circuit, is no stranger to Asia but this is her first time in Thailand. Allen enjoyed a whirlwind welcome to colourful Pattaya. Nine holes, happy hour, really good Thai food and a foot massage, so it was a productive day yesterday. I played in the Pro-Am today, so I've had a good taste of Thailand ...