Page 1483 - Sports

Spain coach confirms De Gea as goalkeeper for Iran match

Spain coach Fernando Hierro confirmed on Monday that David De Gea will continue as goalkeeper in their second 2018 FIFA World Cup match against Iran, despite failing to stop Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo from scoring a hat trick in their opening match of the tournament.

After CWG exploits, Kamal eyes medal at Asian Games

India's ace paddler Sharath Kamal says he is in the "best phase" of his career and is eyeing a medal in the upcoming Asian Games. The continental showpiece is scheduled to be held in Indonesian capital Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2. "We are in the final phase of our preparations, the last two months which will see us play a lot of matches, UTT is here, after this the Australia and Korea Open which are Super Series tournaments," Sharath told PTI. The multiple Commonwealth Games medallist added, "Preparation has been right on track, confidence is high among the squad. But our main aim at the Asian Games is to get a gold. We've always gone on to the quarterfinals but have faltered at that hurdle as it's really tough. "But this year, if we have a good draw and given our confidence, on a particular day, we can beat the best in the world," Kamal told PTI. Sharath excelled in the Commonwealth Games gone by in Gold Coast, winning a gold, silver and bronze medal. The ...

Mehuli shoots two gold medals at 18th KSS Memorial tourney

Indias prodigious shooter Mehuli Ghosh of West Bengal clinched two golds in the 10 metre Air Rifle women's Senior and Junior category at the Dr Karni Singh Range in the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting Championship here on Monday.

Nadal begins Wimbledon training on Mallorca grass courts

Spain's Rafael Nadal on Monday began training for Wimbledon by practising on the grass courts used for the WTA Mallorca Open.

Portuguese fan arrives in Russia by bicycle

Portuguese football fan Elder Batista has travelled 4,640 km by bicycle over 44 days to attend matches of the FIFA World Cup and collect money for a charity fund, he wrote on his Facebook page.

Portugal expecting stern test against Morocco, says Andre Silva

Portugal striker Andre Silva said the European champions are preparing for a tough assignment against Morocco when they meet in Group B of the World Cup here on Wednesday.

Two Koreas agree to field unified teams for Asian Games

South and North Korea agreed on Monday to field a unified team for certain sports at the Asian Games scheduled for August in Indonesia.

After 18-year wait, Uttarakhand set for Ranji Trophy debut

A team from Uttarakhand will finally feature in the Ranji Trophy, ending an 18-year wait, as the BCCI decided to form a nine-member 'consensus committee' to oversee the state's domestic debut in the upcoming season. After a meeting here today, CoA chairman Vinod Rai said that Uttarakhand will be making its Ranji debut. The nine-member consensus committee' comprises six members from different cricket associations in the state, one Uttarakhand government nominee as it currently owns the international stadium in Dehradun, and two BCCI nominees, including the recently retired Professor Ratnakar Shetty. "They (all rival associations in Uttarakhand) have swept aside their differences to ensure that a team from Uttarakhand plays Ranji Trophy and other BCCI tournaments from the upcoming season. So, by consensus, a committee has been formed with BCCI nominees in it. It will start working from next week onwards, Rai said here. CoA member Diana Edulji and BCCI CEO Rahul Johri were also part of ..

Loew defiant as Germany face World Cup crisis

Joachim Loew is facing the biggest crisis of his 12-year reign as Germany coach after the holders slipped to a shock defeat against Mexico in their World Cup opener in Russia. Germany are licking their wounds after slumping 1-0 to a Hirving Lozano strike in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium -- their first defeat in their opening game of a World Cup since 1982. "We won't fall apart," insisted Loew, but that is exactly what his defence did in the first-half. Loew is under contract with the German Football Association (DFB) until 2022, but yesterday's result tarnishes the glittering reputation of the 2014 World Cup-winning coach. "I have not seen the German team so weak at a big tournament for a long time," said West Germany's 1990 World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthaeus. "Almost everything was missing. There were concentration errors, unnecessary bad passes and also the attitude was not there." Loew has been heavily criticised in Germany for his tactics and keeping faith in under-performing .

Sochi oracle otter picks Russia as winner over Egypt

Harry, an oracle otter from Sochi, has predicted that the Russian team will win their FIFA World Cup Group A game against Egypt on Tuesday, the administration in the Russian Black Sea resort city said.

VAR penalty gives Sweden a narrow win over South Korea

A VAR-awarded penalty gave Sweden a narrow but deserved victory in their opening Group F match against a poor South Korea side here today. Veteran Swedish skipper Andreas Granqvist scored the only goal of the game from the spot after Viktor Claesson was upended by South Korean substitute Kim Min-woo Kim in the 62nd minute. Despite furious appeals, El Salvadorean referee Joel Aguilar, who had ironically been whistle-happy up until that point, intially waved away Swedish penalty claims. But after consulting the video, he pointed to the spot. It was the third VAR penalty awarded at these championships after France and Peru also benefitted from video referrals. The win was reward for Sweden's more attacking approach, but it was unsurprising the winner came from the penalty spot in a game between two sides who had only managed two goals between them in seven games heading into Russia. Sweden never really convinced that they would score prior to the penalty despite their domination and a ...

Sweden gets benefit of video review, beats South Korea 1-0

Another video review led to a penalty at the World Cup, this time helping Sweden beat South Korea 1-0 today. Sweden captain Andreas Granqvist converted from the spot, sliding his shot into the bottom right corner in the 65th minute. Referee Joel Aguilar used the replay technology to decide whether South Korea substitute Kim Min-woo had fouled Viktor Claesson in the area after initially waving play on. Kim had tripped Claesson, though, and the converted penalty was enough to give Sweden its first World Cup victory since 2006. Before the penalty, Sweden controlled the game and showed most of the attacking intent. South Korea had a chance to level in injury time but Hwang Hee-chan put a header wide from in front of goal. Sweden will next play Germany, which lost to Mexico 1-0 in the other Group F match, on Saturday. The South Koreans face Mexico that same day.

At sixth, Australia slip to 34-year low in ICC ODI rankings

The embattled Australian team has slipped to a 34-year low in the ICC ODI rankings, dropping to sixth place following back-to-back defeats against England in the ongoing five-match series. With losses to the world no.1 ODI team in London and Cardiff, Australia have fallen to 102 rankings points to sit a fraction of a point below 2017 Champions Trophy winners Pakistan. It has been a swift fall for the defending world champions. Less than two years ago they were ranked no.1 heading into an away series against South Africa. But when an under-strength squad with a group of rookie fast bowlers was whitewashed 5-0 by the Proteas (the first time Australia had lost a bilateral series 5-0), cracks were revealed in a 50-over game plan that suddenly looked dated, 'cricket.com.au' wrote. That was particularly the case in comparison to a revamped England, who were smashing record totals and rising in the rankings as Australia's lofty status slipped. Despite home successes against New Zealand (3-0)

Sweden pip S. Korea 1-0 in Group F game

Sweden pipped South Korea 1-0 in a FIFA World Cup Group F match at the Novgogod Stadium here on Monday.

De Gea likely to continue in Spain goal despite errors

After Spain's 3-3 draw against Portugal in their FIFA World Cup Group B clash in Sochi on Friday night, the question of who should be first choice goalkeeper for the 2010 champions has become the topic of debate across the national media.

India's Srija stuns fancied Belgian Anna at women chess meet

Indian WIM Srija Seshadri bounced back to winning ways by stunning Belgian IM Anna Zozulia in a ninth round match of the SBI Life-AICF Women Grandmaster Chess Championship today. The Tamil Nadu player (ELO rating 2207), who had scored three successive wins in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds before losing the next and drawing the eighth, produced a gallant display to outwit the higher ranked Anna (ELO 2314) on the third board to grab her fourth win. Srija had earlier defeated compatriots WIM Vantika Agrawal (IND, 2279), WIM Aakanksha Hagawane (ELO 2297) and WFM Divya Deshmukh (IND, 2138). She now shares the fourth position with Uzbekistan's WGM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (ELO 2379). Meanwhile, on the sixth board, Aakansha Hagawane scored an impressive win against her Indian teammate Divya Deshmukh (IND, 2138) to jump into joint third place with WGM Thi Kim Phung Vo of Vietnam (ELO 2376), both with 5.5 points each. Top-seeded IM Munguntuul of Mongolia (ELO 2410) ...

Russia eyeing knockout berth as Salah returns for Egypt (Preview)

Hosts Russia will be eyeing to seal their berth for the knockout stage when they face Egypt, who will be bolstered by the return of star forward Mohamed Salah, in their second Group A game here on Tuesday.

'Iranian Messi' feels at home at World Cup before Spain game

It was on a cold night of November two years ago that Iran center forward Sardar Azmoun displayed his class to the world. Playing against Bayern Munich in the Champions League with his Russian Premier League club Rostov, Azmoun collected a pass from a teammate on the edge of the area. He continued his run into the box, sent defender Jerome Boateng to the ground with a fine dribble and showed the composure of a seasoned veteran to slot the ball home with a calm finish. That night, Rostov pulled off a surprise 3-2 win over Bayern, the kind of upset Iran will be looking for when they take on Spain at the Kazan Arena on Wednesday at the World Cup following a 1-0 win against Morocco in their opening game. Spain drew their opening Group B match 3-3 with Portugal last week. With his excellent dribbling skills, the 23-year-old Azmoun has all the qualities required to become a big star of the game. Already regarded as one of the best players in the Russian Premier League, Azmoun was ...

Australian starlet Arzani ready to answer World Cup call

Australia teenager Daniel Arzani is ready to go into battle for the Socceroos as they seek to rescue their World Cup campaign against Denmark. Bert van Marwijk's team are playing catch-up in Group C after defeat against France and a win for the Danes against Peru. The 19-year-old Arzani made his World Cup debut on Saturday when he came off the bench late in the 2-1 loss to France in Kazan. Australia's performance in that game helped change perceptions that the Socceroos are simply a physical side lacking technical talent and attacking ambition, said defender Trent Sainsbury. But despite the positives, Van Marwijk's men desperately need a win against Denmark in Samara on Thursday and Arzani's highly rated skills could add zest to their attack. Although not expected to start, expectations are growing that the Iranian-born teenager -- who scored his debut goal in this month's 2-1 friendly win against Hungary -- could be given a bigger chance to showcase his skills. "I feel like I'm ...

FIFA World Cup: Senegal to face confident Poland (Preview)

Senegal will aim to repeat the heroics of their 2002 team when they start their 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign against a confident Poland in a Group H match at the Spartak Stadium here on Tuesday.