Page 1518 - Sports
Mujeeb set to use Ashwin-taught mystery ball against India
Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Zadran says tricks of the trade learnt from Ravichandran Ashwin in the IPL will come in handy during his team's inaugural Test against India, beginning in Bengaluru from Thursday. Having made his domestic debut only in August last year, the 17-year-old spin sensation has risen rapidly to become a key member of the national team alongside lead spinner Rashid Khan. Ashwin taught him a mystery ball in the Kings XI Punjab nets during the IPL and Mujeeb said he is going use that against India. "I spent a lot of time with Ashwin at the nets and it was really helpful. He told me spots where to bowl. He has also taught me a new ball and I am trying to learn it. It is a carrom ball with an off-spin action," Mujeeb, who forms a potent spin attack with Rashid, told PTI in an interview. He has not played a First-Class game yet but Mujeeb's successful stints in the IPL, U-19 World Cup and with the national team in shorter formats have made him "fearless". "I have
Stuttgart extend coach Korkut's contract to 2020
German top-division football club VfB Stuttgart and head coach Tayfun Korkut have agreed on a contract extension until June 2020 ahead of schedule.
'No chance!' says Troussier as Japan play Russian
Crisis-hit Japan would struggle to avoid an early World Cup exit even under Jose Mourinho -- that's the stinging assessment of former coach Philippe Troussier. The Blue Samurai controversially axed Vahid Halilhodzic in April and replaced him with former Japan Football Association (JFA) technical director Akira Nishino -- a high-risk move that had a feel of Russian roulette about it. But Troussier told AFP that a Japan side bereft of confidence had "no chance" of reaching the knockout stage in Russia, where they face Colombia, Senegal and Poland. "Even if they play with Mourinho or Arsene Wenger, it would be so difficult for Japan to get to the last 16," said the Frenchman, who steered the former Asian champions to the second round as co-hosts of the 2002 World Cup. "If Poland was the first match it would be different. But the fact that Colombia is the first match and Senegal the second -- for me, on paper at least they have no chance, no chance." Nishino has long coveted the Japan job
Tennis important but not everything, says Nadal
After lifting his record-extending 11th title the French Open, Spanish great Rafael Nadal stayed positive about his future, insisting that tennis is undoubtedly an important part of his life but not everything.
Colombia call up defender Diaz to World Cup squad
Club Olimpia defender Farid Diaz has been drafted into Colombia's World Cup squad following a knee injury to Frank Fabra, the Colombian Football Federation said.
Uruguay striker Suarez seeking redemption
Uruguay's priority will be keeping Luiz Suarez tamed at this World Cup. After the striker was expelled from the 2014 tournament in disgrace for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini, Uruguay was eliminated by Colombia in the round of 16. Suarez promises he is a reformed character and will be better behaved in Russia than in Brazil, where he scored twice before being banned. "It was my mistake," Suarez said. "So I have a debt to repay to myself and Uruguay, to try to show a good image." Things were already starting to look brighter for two-time World Cup champion Uruguay, based on qualifying at least. After enduring four consecutive World Cup playoffs and only reaching three of the tournaments, Uruguay secured an automatic place in Russia by finishing second behind Brazil in qualifying. Here's a closer look at the Uruguay team: COACH Oscar Tabarez will lead Uruguay into his fourth World Cup after a first trip in 1990 followed by 2010 and 2014. A Tabarez team has always made it out ..
Football referees watching slow motion videos flash more red cards: Study
Football referees penalise players more severely when watching the action in slow motion compared to real time, according to a study. This is the first time that the impact of slow motion video on decision making has been studied in sports referees and it is timely given the current debate on video assistant refereeing (VAR), which will be used in the World Cup in Russia. Researchers from the University of Leuven in Belgium studied the response of 88 elite football referees to video clips of a foul warranting a yellow card. They found no significant difference in the accuracy of a referee's decision about whether a foul had occurred or not, with slow-motion videos (63 per cent accurate) compared to the real-time videos (61 per cent accurate). However, the judgement of intention or force behind a foul differed. More red cards were given by referees watching in slow motion compared to those watching real time video playbacks. "Our results suggest that slow motion can increase the ...
Argentina Football president sets sights on FIFA World Cup semis
Argentine Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia has said that making it to the semi-finals of the upcoming FIFA World Cup remains their primary goal heading into the showpiece event.With just a few days to go to the World Cup, Argentina are not considered as favourites as they struggled through qualifying for the prestigious tournament.However, Tapia believes reaching the semi-finals is a good target for the country, who are set to lock horns with Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria in Group D."Being in the top four is a positive goal," goal.com quoted the AFA president, as saying.Star striker Lionel Messi, who has already guided Barcelona to La Liga and Copa del Rey title this season, will once again lead Argentina.Despite Messi is yet to clinch a World Cup trophy for the nation, Tapia dubbed the forward as the world's best."He gives a lot to Argentine soccer, let's face it.The growth we have in the AFA is because we have the best player in the world," he said.Argentina will ...
Intercontinental Cup victory a win for Indian football: Constantine
After India lifted the Intercontinental Cup following a splendid performance by skipper Sunil Chhetri, Indian men's football team head coach Stephen Constantine touted the victory as a "win for Indian football.""We really deserved to win this Cup and the players showed amazing character on the pitch in the final. This is a win for Indian Football. The work rate of the players was phenomenal and we showed how tough we are," the coach said.The Intercontinental Cup was memorable for skipper Sunil Chhetri as he not only earned his 100th international cap and scored seven goals in four matches, thus equalling Argentinean Lionel Messi's record of 64 goals in international football."The boys wanted to win the tournament and we did it. It is a very important win for us and Indian Football in general.Kenya were trying to pressure us is in the second half but we showed phenomenal character to play as a team and thwart them away," Chhetri stated.The skipper, meanwhile, has already turned his ...
Football referees watching slow motion videos flash more red cards
Given the current debate on video assistant refereeing (VAR), which will be used in this year's World Cup matches in Russia, a new study warns that football referees penalise situations more severely when watching them in slow motion compared to real time.
Team India showed character and resilience: Constantine
The Indian football team showed a lot of character and resilience in its title-winning Intercontinental Cup campaign and the attitude would be crucial to ensuring that the country doesn't just make up the numbers in next year's AFC Asian Cup, feels national coach Stephane Constantine. "We know we have a huge task going to the Asian Cup. (We are) not going to make up the numbers, we believe that if we do the right things between now and then, we believe that we have a chance to qualify from the group and that will be our target," Constantine said after India beat Kenya 2-0 in the final last night. The Asian Cup will be played in the UAE, next January. India are clubbed with UAE, Bahrain and Thailand. "This tournament gave us the opportunity to prepare as we would prepare in the Asian Cup. (If) we make it to the last 16 of the Asia Cup, these are the kind of games that we expect. The character and resilience of the team is what impressed me the most (in the final)," he added. Lavishing .
Pele may not attend Russia World Cup opening ceremony
Brazilian soccer icon Pele's presence at the inaugural World Cup match on June 14 remains a suspense as his scheduled trip to Russia has been cancelled due to ill health.
Brazil touch down in Russia ahead of World Cup
A confident Brazil squad arrived in Russia in the early hours of Monday morning as they set their sights on winning the World Cup for the sixth time. Neymar and the rest of the team touched down in Sochi, the Black Sea resort city where they will be based during the tournament, just before 3am local time (0000 GMT) on a flight from Vienna. They left the Austrian capital on Sunday evening after beating their hosts 3-0 in their final friendly ahead of the World Cup, with Neymar among the scorers. The world's most expensive player netted on what was his first start since undergoing surgery on a fractured foot in early March, while Gabriel Jesus and Philippe Coutinho scored the other goals against an Austrian side who failed to qualify for the World Cup. Brazil begin their campaign next Sunday, June 17, when they face Switzerland in Rostov-on-Don. They will also come up against Costa Rica and Serbia in Group E.
New Zealand women hammer Ireland again
New Zealand women overpowered their Irish counterparts by once more piling up a total in excess of 400 for another win by more than 300 runs in the second of three one-day internationals in Dublin on Sunday. Friday saw New Zealand post a mammoth 490 for four, a record total in both men's and women's one-day internationals, in a match they won by a colossal 346 runs. New Zealand's Sophie Devine completed a 59-ball hundred on the way to 108 on Sunday after her captain, Suzie Bates, made 151 two days earlier. On Sunday, New Zealand, long one of the leading teams in international women's cricket, posted a total of 418 and then saw minnows Ireland collapse to 112 all out as the tourists won by 306 runs.
Vettel claims 50th win and goes top in title race By Tim collings
Sebastian Vettel claimed the 50th win of his career and reclaimed the lead of this year's world championship on Sunday when he ended Lewis Hamilton's run of supremacy at the Canadian Grand Prix. The four-time champion German drove his Ferrari with near flawless aplomb to convert his 54th pole position into a triumphant afternoon ahead of Finn Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and determined Dutchman Max Verstappen, who was third for Red Bull. Vettel's third victory this season lifted him to 121 points ahead of Hamilton on 120 after seven races, ending the defending four-time champion's hopes of a record-equalling seventh win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where he won from pole for the last three years. It was Ferrari's first win in Canada since 2004 and came from their first pole there in 17 years. It was also Vettel's second win in Canada where he won in 2013 for Red Bull. Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who clocked the fastest lap at the end, managed to resist a late charge from Hamilton .
Morgan backs England to learn from Scots' shock in time for Australia
Eoin Morgan is confident England can learn the lessons of their shock six-run loss to Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday in time for a one-day international series against Australia. The 2019 World Cup hosts have just a few days to recover from a stunning one-day international defeat before they face title-holders Australia in the first of a five-match series at The Oval on Wednesday. Scotland, buoyed by Calum MacLeod's magnificent 140 not out, posted their highest-ever ODI total of 371 for five. It looked as if England, who went into the match as the number one-ranked side in ODI cricket, might chase that down while opener Jonny Bairstow was making 105 and later on during an eighth-wicket stand of 71 between Moeen Ali (46) and Liam Plunkett (47 not out). But Scotland's bowlers kept taking wickets and when paceman Safyaan Sharif had No 11 Mark Wood plumb lbw with seven balls to spare, England were 365 all out. Defeat raised fresh questions about England's ability to win one-off, ...
Mercedes needs a wake-up call, says team boss
Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes team need a 'wake-up call' after a weekend of mistakes at the Canadian Grand Prix, according to team chief Toto Wolff. The Austrian said he felt disappointed at seeing Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari winning to regain the lead of the world drivers' championship on a circuit that has in recent years been triumphant Mercedes territory. Asked after the race if he felt any consolation in seeing Hamilton's team-mate Finn Valtteri Bottas come home second, Wolff said: "No, not at all... "This is a shit result for us. I have to put it like that. It is a strong track for us, but all weekend long we have made little mistakes, from the start. "The only feeling I have is that we have to wake up. "We fell behind in every respect. This is a track where we should have maximised points - it is not about damage limitation for us." He added that there was now a need for a thorough review of the race to see what had gone wrong and if there were to be any consequences in the ...
Peru team arrives in Russia to play 1st World Cup in 36 years
The Peruvian national soccer team has arrived in Russia to compete in its first World Cup in 36 years, its last appearance was in Spain in 1982.
Vettel wins Canada GP, regains F1 leadership
Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel dominated the Canadian Grand Prix here to retake the championship lead as Lewis Hamilton could finish only fifth for Mercedes.
Intercontinental Cup final: India beat Kenya 2-0
India lifted the Intercontinental Cup on Sunday after defeating Kenya 2-0 at Mumbai Football arena under the captaincy of Sunil Chettri.India started itself on a victory note as seven minutes into the game it managed to score its first goal which was a flick from a free-kick.Though the second half of the game belonged to Kenya, Chettri steered the team to victory as he became the joint second highest goal scorer among active players along with Argentinean star player Lionel Messi. The highest active goal scorer is Cristiano Ronaldo.Chettri scored his 64th goal for the country.In a previous match of the same tournament, India had blanked Kenya by 3-0.Chettri alone had scored eight goals in four matches including a hat-trick against Chinese Taipei.