Page 1545 - Sports
Toure says Guardiola has problem with African players
Midfielder Yaya Toure accused Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola of having "problems with Africans" in an interview to be published on Tuesday by France Football magazine. "He insists he has no problems with black players, because he is too intelligent to be caught out," Toure said. "But when you realise that he has problems with Africans, wherever he goes, I ask myself questions." The 35-year-old Ivorian played just 17 matches this season for City, who romped to the Premier League title, and he confessed to wondering if his limited playing time "was not because of my colour." "I think I was dealing with someone who just wanted to take revenge on me, who was jealous of me, who took me for his rival. I felt humiliated," said Toure, who is leaving City at the end of June. Toure joined City after three seasons at Barcelona where he had fallen out of favour after Guardiola took over as manager. "There had already been some tensions," said Toure, who added that he was now taking ...
Kasatkina moving on at Roland Garros -- and moving out
Daria Kasatkina admitted Monday that reaching her first Slam quarter-final was such a shock that she almost left herself homeless in Paris. The 21-year-old Russian stunned world number two and Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. However, despite being assured of 380,000 euros (USD 445,000) by reaching the last-eight at the French Open, the world number 14 had only booked accommodation until Tuesday. "My house which I rent expired today, and I have to change to the hotel," she revealed after reeling off three straight games in just 17 minutes to finish her tie against Wozniacki which was suspended at 3-3 in the second set overnight because of darkness. "I was renting it until June 5 and today we decided to move so not to do it on a match day. We are moving to the hotel. It is what it is." She added: "I booked it through Airbnb. So you have to pay in advance. And you never know what is going to happen and if you are in the middle of the second week it's fine to ..
'I don't feel old': Nadal celebrates 32nd birthday by reaching last eight
Rafael Nadal said he doesn't "feel old", after moving a step closer to an incredible 11th French Open title on Monday by beating German Maximilian Marterer to reach the quarter-finals the day after his 32nd birthday. The world number one's 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) victory over the world number 70 saw him equal the record of 12 last-eight appearances at Roland Garros, which was set by Novak Djokovic the day before. Top seed Nadal, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday, is now on his own in third on the all-time list for most match wins at Grand Slam events with 234 victories after passing Jimmy Connors. "I don't feel old. But I am 32, and I have been here since 2003, so it's a long way, a lot of years," he said. "I started very young. That's a real thing. But, no, I feel happy to be here. Being honest, I am enjoying the day by day on the tour and I hope to keep doing this for a while." Nadal powered 39 winners past Marterer, who pushed the Spaniard as hard as he could without ever ...
In-form Anderson can make it hard for Kohli: McGrath
Virat Kohli is a far more experienced player than what he was during his nightmarish tour of England in 2014 but Aussie great Glenn McGrath cautioned that an in-form Jimmy Anderson could make things tougher for the Indian captain this time too. "Kohli is a more experienced player now. Quality player, no doubt about that. But English conditions are very tough. When you have got a bowler like Jimmy Anderson, who is bowling well now, it is going to be hard work. You got to be prepared to work hard. Kohli is a quality player so I am looking forward to that contest," McGrath told mediapersons during an interaction. McGrath made it clear it will be foolhardy only depend on Kohli and in case he fails, it will give other players to raise their hands up. "You always want your best batsman performing. However, it also gives another batsmen a chance to put his hand up and there are still some quality batsmen there, some quality players there. If India are really depending on one player, they ...
Liquor to be served for select guests in 2018 Hockey WC
Liquor would be served at the Kalinga Stadium for select guests during this year's Hockey World Cup, to be held in Bhunabeswar from November 28 to December 16, a move that raised a few eyebrows. Vishal Dev, the commissioner-cum-secretary of the Government of Odisha, which is hosting the prestigious event, had written a letter dated June 3 to the Commissioner of Excise, Odisha for issuance of license to serve liquor at the stadium during the tournament. The copy of the letter, which is in possession of PTI, states: "Liquor/Beer will be served in the VIP Lounge for the officials/delegates of International Hockey Federation (FIH) and Hockey Federations of the participating nations at Kalinga Stadium. It is requested that Liquor license may be issued in favour of Department of Sports and YS from November 27 till December 16 over the premises at the Kalinga Stadium." When contacted, Dev told PTI that serving liquor in big international events is not a new phenomenon. He also clarified that
Marquez crashes in Italian GP podium battle, Pedrosa out on first lap
Championship leader Marc Marquez, representing Repsol Honda Team, crashed before finishing 16th at the Italian Grand Prix here. Dani Pedrosa, the other racer in the Honda team, finished 26th. Marquez got off well from the second row, completed the first lap in third position, and moved up to second two laps later. But, while chasing eventual race winner Jorge Lorenzo on lap 5, the leader lost the front in turn 10, and although he almost saved it, he ultimately slid into the gravel and fell off. He rejoined the race in penultimate position and finished in 16th place. Pedrosa was aiming to obtain the best-possible result after starting from near the back of the grid, but he crashed on the first lap, taking down fellow Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami. Marquez said, "We've been struggling the whole weekend to be perfectly comfortable with these particular spec tyres, but I wasn't suffering that much in the race today. "Instead, the front folded quite unexpectedly, as I wasn't pushing that ...
O Captain, My Captain: Maximum City's Maximum Love for Chhetri
Bhaichung Bhutia and I M Vijayan were there, the fans too were there, and the magnet that drew them all into the Mumbai Football Arena for India's Intercontinental Cup game against Kenya here tonight was Sunil Chhetri. Captain Chhetri got, deservingly so, the audience he sought after his impassioned plea struck a chord with fans, who turned up in droves for India's second game. Chhetri, playing in his 100th international game, was felicitated by former skippers Bhutia and Vijayan. He was also given a guard of honour by his team-mates as his wife and parents watched from the stands. "I never thought this would become so big. When you are representing the national team, you deserve an audience," Chhetri said before the start of the game. Long queues of fans were seen in front of the stadium for tickets to watch the game and the crowd started trickling in from early evening. The 33-year-old Chhetri made an emotional appeal to football lovers to come and support the Indian team, which is
Neymar did not join PSG for money: Suarez
FC Barcelona forward Luis Suarez feels that former teammate and Brazil star Neymar's move to Paris Saint-Germain was not driven by money.
South Koreans arrive at training camp in Austria
The South Korean men's national football team have arrived at their training camp here to gear up for the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Injured Salah included in Egypt's squad for FIFA World Cup
Egypt head coach Hector Cuper on Monday announced the final squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, with Liverpool injured forward Mohamed Salah included.
Serena withdraws injured from French Open before Sharapova clash
Serena Williams announced her shock withdrawal from the French Open on Monday with injury just minutes before her scheduled fourth-round clash against long-time rival Maria Sharapova. The 36-year-old said she had suffered a pectoral muscle injury in her third-round win over Julia Goerges and "can't serve at all". The 23-time Grand Slam champion added that she would stay in Paris for scans on the injury to find out how long she will be out of action.
Haris Sohail replaces injured Babar for Scotland T20Is
Left-handed batting all-rounder Haris Sohail has replaced injured Babar Azam in the Pakistan squad for the upcoming two-match T20I series against Scotland, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Monday.
Neuer in, Sane out for Germany's World Cup squad
Germany head coach Joachim Loew announced on Monday his final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, including Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but opting not to use Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.
Kompany, Januzaj make Belgium's 2018 World Cup squad
Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez announced Monday the final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup including Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and Real Sociedad midfielder Adnan Januzaj, who replaced Roma's Radja Nainggolan.
Morocco drop defender and add attacker for World Cup
Coach Herve Renard made one switch to his provisional squad today when he brought Malaga striker Youssef En-Nesyri into Morocco's final World Cup 23. The 21-year-old Malaga forward was a backup on the original list but he has taken the place of Badr Benoun, a 24-year-old defender with Raja de Casablanca. Renard dropped another backup, Noussair Mazraoui of Ajax, but kept Oualid El Hajjam, a defender with Amiens in France, as a reserve, leaving him a squad of 24. The list only contains two players from Morocco's domestic league. The Atlas Lions are led by Mehdi Benatia, the Juventus defender involved in a controversial penalty incident as the Turin club lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League in April. Morocco, who have been training at Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps, have one more warmup game against Estonia in Talinn. In their first World Cup in 20 years, Morocco are in Group B at the World and kick off against Iran in Saint Petersburg in June 15 before facing Portugal and ...
Arjun shocks GM Ziatedinov at Mumbai Mayor's Cup chess
FM Arjun Erigaisi of India shocked GM Raset Ziatedinov (ELO2303) of USA in a second round match of the Rs 35 lakh prize money 10th Mumbai Mayor's Cup International Open Chess Tournament here today. Playing with black, Arjun was in a weak position but a faulty move of F4 by Raset gave him just the opening he required to stage a comeback. Arjun, a bright prospect in Indian chess, won the game in 43 moves. In another encounter, India's top ranked player GM Sandipan Chanda (ELO 2571) brushed aside both his compatriots - Manigandan S S (ELO 2216) and CM Kushagra Mohan (ELO 2308) - with ease. In the second round on table No. 2, IM Navin Kanna (ELO 2325) lost to GM Amanatov Farrukh (2605) of Tajikistan. Playing with white, Navin opted for Queen pawn opening and faced Kings Indian Defence. The position was equal till the 18th move on but the incorrect move of the rook gave a slight advantage to Farrukh, who easily converted that into a win. Top seed, GM Kravtsiv Martyn (ELO ...
Anand settles for another draw in Altibox Norway chess
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand's hunt for an elusive win continued as he was held to yet another draw by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan in the sixth round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament here. American Wesley So threw the tournament open by scoring a crushing victory over Magnus Carlsen of Norway. With his sixth draw in as many games, Anand took his tally to 2.5 points in all as the game against Ding Liren, who withdrew due to injury, was declared null and void. The Indian ace still has three more games to play in the strongest tournament of the year and technically he is just a half point behind Carlsen, who was struck by Wesley for the first time ever in a classical game. This was not only Weslay's first victory, it was also the first loss that Carlsen suffered this year after a streak of 37 undefeated classical games. The reigning world champion can still take some solace from the fact that he is still tied for first spot with Wesley but the fact remains ...
Injured Woakes ruled out of Scotland ODI
England all-rounder Chris Woakes has been ruled out of the one-off ODI against Scotland due to a thigh injury.The 29-year-old bagged four wickets before he was forced to leave the field with tightness in his right quad at the end of the Pakistan's second innings during the drawn second Test of the two-match series against England.Woakes will now be assessed this week to know the extent of his injury ahead of the five-match ODI series against Australia, beginning June 13 at The Oval.As a result, Surrey's Tom Curran has been called in the squad as a replacement for injured Woakes, ESPNcricinfo reported.With this, Woakes becomes the second player to be ruled out of the Scotland ODI after all-rounder Ben Stokes was sidelined for one-off match next weekend and the first part of the five-match series against Australia with a torn hamstring.Stokes sustained the injury while fielding during a practice session ahead if the ongoing second Test against Pakistan at Headingley. He was later ...
France confirm unchanged World Cup squad
France formally submitted their 23-man squad for the World Cup today, making no changes from the group named in mid-May. None of the original 23 have been replaced by anyone on Didier Deschamps' stand by list. Several top stars failed to make the cut at all, with Manchester United's Anthony Martial, Arsenal's Alexandre Lacazette and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema all omitted from the 23. 23-man squad Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur/ENG), Steve Mandanda (Marseille), Alphonse Areola (Paris Saint-Germain) Defenders: Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Presnel Kimpembe (Paris Saint-Germain), Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City/ENG), Benjamin Pavard (Stuttgart/GER), Adil Rami (Marseille), Djibril Sidibe (Monaco), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona/ESP), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid/ESP) Midfielders: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea/ENG), Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/ITA), Steven N'Zonzi (Sevilla/ESP), Paul Pogba (Manchester United/ENG), Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich/GER) Forwards: Ousmane Dembele ...
Croatia cuts one player as they name final World Cup squad
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, who had named one extra player for his provisional World Cup squad, today announced that defender Matej Mitovic was the man being dropped. Mitrovic had not played for Belgian champions Club Brugge since April 19 and Dalic said that was one of the reasons the defender was cut. "I've been thinking a lot about this, and since the beginning I was saying that one defender will be removed and I stuck to that," Dalic told reporters. "This is my choice and I stand by it." Croatia are appearing at the World Cup for the fifth time and have been drawn alongside two time former champions Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland in Group D. The Croatia squad is led by international stars Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic, but yesterday it lost a warmup game, 2-0, to Brazil in Liverpool. "We should remain stable and learn the lessons from this match," Dalic told state run HRT television after the defeat. "We are doing our job and nothing will unhinge us." Before flying