Page 1488 - Sports
Get Alli! Tunisia coach singles out Dele the dangerman
Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul has singled out England's Dele Alli as his side's most dangerous opponent as he prepared for their World Cup Group G opener at the Volgograd Arena tomorrow. The confident coach, in his second spell as national team boss, said his side could beat England and open the door to progressing from the group stages and to the quarter-finals. "Why not?" he told reporters ahead of his side's final training session in Volgograd on Sunday. "Our team is ready," he added, referring to recent warm-up results where they drew with Portugal and lost narrowly to Spain. "We played well in friendlies. We did well and we expect to do the same here." But he stressed that to do well against England, Tunisia had to keep Alli quiet, and confessed he was an admirer of the 22-year-old Tottenham midfielder. "He is a great player," said Maaloul. "He is a midfielder who can play anywhere: centre, forward or deep midfield, up front on his own or wide on the left. "We know how easily Alli .
No problems against Egypt if we 'play at our level': Russia
Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Russian Football Union executive committee member Vitaly Mutko said on Sunday that the national team should not have any difficulties with Egypt in the upcoming Group A if the team plays at its level.
Race claims and 'spying' dominate Korea, Sweden build-up
South Korea's coach Shin Tae-yong said today he deliberately made his team wear different numbered shirts in recent friendlies to confuse World Cup opponents who cannot tell his players apart. He said all but star player Son Heung-min and captain Ki Sung-yueng were given different shirts in games against Bolivia and Senegal in Austria earlier this month to outwit anyone checking up on his team. The astonishing claim came just 24 hours before his side open their World Cup campaign against Sweden, a seemingly tame encounter which has been spiced up by claims of spying as well as the Korean coach's shirt subterfuge. In his press conference, Swedish coach Janne Andersson was forced to apologise after it was claimed one of his scouts had been caught spying on Monday's opponents at a closed training session in Austria. But the claim by his Korean opposite number added an extra layer of intrigue to the Group F clash. "All of the others played in numbers a little bit confusing, that's why we .
Fluminense coach Braga quits
Brazilian football giants Fluminense on Sunday said Abel Braga has resigned as head coach.
Aussie denies Evans first title since return from drugs ban
Briton Dan Evans' hopes of a first title since returning from a drugs ban came to nothing on Sunday as he was beaten 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 by in-form Australian Alex de Minaur in the Nottingham Challenge Final. Evans, who made his comeback in April after being banned for a year for testing positive for cocaine, will now head to his first ATP Tour event at Queen's Club, for which he was given a wild card, since returning. The 28-year-old Briton -- who has suffered just four defeats in his 20 competitive matches since coming back onto the circuit and will see his world ranking rise from a lowly 530 -- will play Adrian Mannarino in the first round at Queen's. De Minaur, who will also rise up the rankings having broken into the top 100 on the back of his success at Surbiton last weekend, fought back from 4-2 down in the first set. Some of his play was outstanding and Evans sportingly called out 'too good' when the 19-year-old's sublime lob clinched the first set. Evans showed character in ...
Jedinak admits VAR 'frustration' but Australia have moved on
Australia captain Mile Jedinak put on a brave face but admitted the frustration was palpable a day after the Socceroos' World Cup campaign was compounded by a historic but controversial VAR decision. Making its World Cup debut at Russia 2018, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is the latest technological measure introduced into the 'beautiful game' in a bid to eliminate the grey areas surrounding key refereeing decisions. But Australia were beaten 2-1 by France after finding themselves on the wrong end of Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha's decision to award the French a penalty just before the hour mark. Cunha appeared to wave play on after a tackle by Australia defender Josh Risdon brought down Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann early in the second half. After being informed by the assistant referee that the incident merited a review, he consulted video footage of the incident before pointing to the penalty spot. Griezmann went on to score the first VAR-assisted goal in World Cup ...
Return to the top may be slow progress: Murray
Andy Murray insists he can still win Grand Slams after almost a year on the sidelines with a hip injury, but the Scot doesn't expect to add another Wimbledon title to his collection this season. Murray will play his first competitive match since Wimbledon last year when he faces Australia's Nick Kyrgios in the Queen's Club first round next week. The former world number one is finally ready to return to action after hip surgery in January. Murray's ranking has dipped to 157 during his enforced lay-off and the three-time major winner concedes it will be hard to make a flying start to his comeback. For starters, Murray will be unseeded as he makes his way back up the rankings. "I don't think you miss a year of playing and then come back and start winning Grand Slams. That isn't how this works," Murray told the BBC. "It's maybe different if you've had four months of hard training and preparation to get ready for that. But with the situation I'm in, that hasn't been the case. "It's been ..
World Cup: Serbia edge out Costa Rica in Group E opener
Aleksandar Kolarov curled in a superb freekick as Serbia beat Costa Rica 1-0 in a rather listless Group E match of the FIFA World Cup here on Sunday.
Sri Lanka skipper Chandimal charged with ball tampering
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal has been charged with "changing the condition of the ball", by the International Cricket Council (ICC), during the second Test against West Indies here.
Shooter Adarsh bags two more gold medals
Haryanas Adarsh Singh claimed two more gold medals as he emerged triumphant in the 25m Standard Pistol senior and junior men's category at the KSS Memorial Shooting Championship here on Sunday evening.
Kolarov scores from free kick, Serbia beat Costa Rica 1-0
Aleksandar Kolarov scored from a left-footed free kick in the 56th minute and Serbia opened their World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica here today. After David Guzman was handed a yellow card, Kolarov curled the ensuing free kick over the wall. Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas, who plays for Real Madrid, couldn't reach it. Serbia, who missed out on the 2014 tournament, had the early advantage in a tough group that includes five-time champion Brazil and Switzerland. After a scoreless first half, Navas fought off a barrage of challenges to open the second with the boisterous Costa Rican fans cheering him on at Samara Arena. The final moments of the match were marked by a squabble on the sidelines as Nemanja Matic got into a tussle with a Costa Rican coach. Players from both teams rushed toward the scrum but it was quickly diffused. The Ticos were the surprise of the last World Cup, sweeping through to the quarterfinals in Brazil before being ousted by the Netherlands on ...
Sourabh, Uttejitha emerge winners in All India Senior Ranking tournament
Former national champion Sourabh Verma and young Sai Uttejitha Rao clinched the men's singles and women's singles titles respectively at the All India senior ranking tournament here today. Sourabh, who is coming back from an injury, registered a stunning comeback victory over top seed Pratul Joshi, while Uttejitha Rao recorded a scintillating upset victory over multiple International Challenge series winner Rituparna Das in the finals. Sourabh, who won the 2016 Chinese Taipei Masters, went down 17-21 in the opening game but came back strong in the second game to win 21-14. With the match tied 1-1, Sourabh brought all his experience into play and won the decider 21-18 to seal the match in an hour and 12 minutes. Second seeded Uttejitha Rao won the opening game 21-15 but was completely outclassed in the second game, losing 7-21. But the Andhra shuttler held on to her nerves in the final game and outplayed Rituparna 21-15 to win the title. Earlier, Dhruv Kapila and Meghana Jakkampudi got
Adarsh Singh shoots fourth gold at KSS Memorial Shooting Championship
Haryana's Adarsh Singh claimed two more gold medals as he emerged triumphant in the men's 25m standard pistol senior and junior category while Mehuli Ghosh shot 632.7 to top the 10m air rifle qualification in the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting Championship here today. Adarsh, who had earlier bagged a gold in the 25m air rapid fire pistol team and individual junior category, continued his gold rush as he raced away to a score of 576 while Indian Navy's Rajat Kumar Yadav secured the silver with a score of 572. Air Force's Shivam Shukla had to settle for bronze as he fell short by just one point. Mehuli scored 632.7 to top the women's 10m air rifle qualification. Meghana Sajjanar, who clinched a gold in the mixed team event yesterday, was hot on Mehuli's heels as she finished second with a score of 628. Anjum Moudgil was right behind the Karnataka shooter with a total score of 627.2 while Gun for Glory shooter Elavenil Valaravian finished fourth with a score of 627.1. The finals will be held
Lorenzo wins 2nd consecutive MotoGP race in Barcelona
Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo of Ducati on Sunday put the hammer down for the second time in a row this season to win the Catalan motorcycle Grand Prix.
Yuki sets up clash with Raonic
India's top singles player Yuki Bhambri today qualified for the ATP 500 Fever-Tree Championships after beating America's Taylor Fritz in the second and final qualifying round in London and has been drawn to meet Stuttgart Open finalist Milos Raonic. Yuki, seeded fifth in the Qualifiers, ended the hopes of the American third seed and world number 67 with a 6-4 6-2 victory in one hour and 10 minutes. Yuki lost his serve twice but broke his rival five times. It was the second meeting between the two players with Fritz emerging winner last year at the Ilkley event. Yuki, ranked 84, will open his main draw campaign against the world number 35 Canadian, who ended runner-up to Roger Federer today in Stuttgart. It will be the first match between Yuki and Raonic.
Uruguay's Sanchez thrilled after World Cup debut
Uruguay midfielder Carlos Sanchez said on Sunday that he was living the dream after making his FIFA World Cup debut against Egypt in their opening match in Russia on Friday.
Uruguay's Varela dreams of playing with Suarez in FC Barcelona
Uruguay defender Guillermo Varela on Sunday revealed that his dream is to play for FC Barcelona alongside his compatriot Luis Suarez.
Berger paints 3 FIFA 2018 World Cup venues
Among the 12 stadiums that are holding FIFA 2018 World Cup matches in Russia, three of them got their colour from an Indian paint company. Rostov Arena, Volgograd Arena and Kaliningrad have been painted with material supplied by Berger Paints Russia, a fully-owned subsidiary of Berger Paints India headquartered in Kolkata, a company statement said here today. Kaliningrad Stadium, also called Arena Baltika, is a football stadium on Oktyabrsky Island and will host four games. The Rostov Arena is a recently opened stadium in the city of Rostov-on-Don and will host five games. The Volgograd Arena in Volgograd, Russia, will host four games of the World Cup. It took almost 20-24 months and 200 kilo-litres of Berger Paints to complete the iconic project, the company said. It involved a long thought process in the selection of the appropriate colours for painting these stadiums and finally, the creamy grey colour was used. Berger Paints Russia completed this project in ...
Colombia's Arias looking to start strong vs Japan
Colombia right back Santiago Arias on Sunday said that his team wants to start its 2018 FIFA World Cup run in an auspicious fashion when it takes on Japan, its first Group H rival.
Iran forward Jahanbakhsh calls Nike withdrawal 'disrespectful'
Iran forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh has criticized American sports apparel brand Nike which, ahead of the FIFA World Cup, refused to continue supply of boots to his team owing to US-led sanctions against the Asian country.