Page 1568 - Sports
Spain's national team relaxed, upbeat in pre-World Cup training
Spain's national team looked relaxed and in good spirits during a training session at Las Rozas soccer city sports facility just north of the capital Madrid on Tuesday.
Huesca pick Leo Franco to guide them into unknown Spanish La Liga territory
Huesca football club on Tuesday appointed Leo Franco to be its new head coach as the tiny team from northeastern Spain prepares for life in the country's top flight, to which it was promoted for the first time in the club's history after an emphatic season in the second division.
NBA's women camp: Nagpur's Siya Deodhar named Most Improved Player award
The first-ever NBA Academy Women's camp concluded on Tuesday with a championship game played between Team Liberty and Team Sparks at The NBA Academy India in Greater Noida.Team Sparks eventually came out victorious with an 18-8 win over Team Liberty.Sanjana Ramesh from Bengaluru and Vaishnavi Yadav from Allahabad were announced as the Co-MVP for their exceptional skills exhibited during the three days of camp, as well in the championship game.Meanwhile, Siya Deodhar from Nagpur was awarded the Most Improved Player.Reflecting on her experience in the first-ever NBA women's camp, Co-MVP Sanjana Ramesh said, "These three days have been the best of my life. Honestly, every player here is an MVP. We all have improved and I am really grateful to win this award. The camp has taught us so much about team spirit and unity and that's something that I am going to take back from here."Meanwhile, Co-MVP Vaishnavi Yadav echoed similar views. She said, "It's a dream come true to win this award, ...
Four spinners in Afghanistan squad for inaugural Test
Teen sensation Rashid Khan and fellow spinners Mujeeb ur Rahman, Zahir Khan and Hamza Hotak have been named in the 16-member Afghanistan squad for the inaugural one-off Test match against India, beginning June 14 in Bengaluru.Rashid had a successful stint in the recently-concluded 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he finished with a total of 21 wickets for runner-ups Sunrisers Hyderabad.While Rahman is also coming off from his successful stint in the cash-rich league where he bagged 14 scalps for Kings XI Punjab, left-arm wrist spinner Zahir has been called in after recovering fully from a finger injury.Left-arm off-spinner Hamza, on the other hand, seems to have got the nod in the wake of his impressive performance in the domestic First Class Tournament.Eighteen-year-old pacer Wafadar Momand along with Syed Sherzad and Yamin Ahmadzai will form Afghanistan's fast bowling attack for the historic Test at the Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.In addition to Mohammad
Figo parts ways with Premier Futsal
Portugal football legend Luis Figo has terminated his collaboration with Premier Futsal, asserting that the domestic five-a-side tournament has turned out to be a complete failure.
PKL Auction: 422 players to go under hammer
A total of 422 players will be going under the hammer when the two-day auctions for the sixth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) gets underway here on Wednesday.
Teenager Shapovalov eases to victory on Roland Garros debut
Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov eased to a 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Australian John Millman in his first ever main-draw French Open match on Tuesday. The 19-year-old, who lost in Roland Garros qualifying last year but is now the 24th seed, was erratic at times but always had too much power for his opponent. He will next take on German world number 70 Maximilian Marterer for a place in the last 32. "The last couple of weeks I've been playing unbelievable on this surface," said Shapovalov. "For now, every win here is a bonus, but in the future, winning Roland Garros would be a dream come true for me." Shapovalov fell a break down in each of the first two sets, but his fearsome groundstrokes helped him fight back both times to take control of the match after a rain delay. The world number 25 quickly moved 3-1 ahead in the third set and wrapped up victory with a rapid service hold to love. It is the first time Shapovalov has been seeded at a Grand Slam tournament, after his run to ...
PKL season 6: 422 players to part of auction starting tomorrow
A total of 422 players will go under the hammer during a two-day-auction for the sixth season of the Pro Kabaddi League, which begins here tomorrow. Of the 422 players, 87 players are from the Future Kabaddi Heroes (FKH) programme while there are 58 foreign players from 14 countries including Iran, Bangladesh, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, a media release issued here said. Out of the 12 franchises, nine have already picked 21 players as Elite Retained Players. The remaining three franchises UP Yodha, U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers will build their team from the scratch. The total salary purse available for each franchise is Rs four crore and a franchise may choose between 18-25 players to form a team, the release stated.
Gareth Bale models Real's 2018/19 kit despite rumours over exit
The doubts over Wales winger Gareth Bale's future at Real Madrid vanished when he scored a brace of stunning goals to secure the Spanish powerhouse's record 13th Champions League title, and on Tuesday the football club chose him to model next season's kit.
India is somewhere between sleeping giant and rising competitor: NZ coach
New Zealand football coach Fritz Schmid today dubbed India lying somewhere between "a sleeping giant and a rising competitor". Schmid is here with his team to take part in the Hero Intercontinental Cup, starting June 2. "I appreciate the opportunity to play in the hero Intercontinental Cup as for countries like us it provides an excellent option to play against three potential strong opponents and have a look at players who will take us forward for the future," he said. Asked what impression he has about football in India, he sounded optimistic. "India is somewhere between a sleeping giant and a rising competitor. It's a big country and from my activity back in the Asian Football Confederation I realised there was a lot of activity at the top level with their professional league. "At the same time, they were trying to put things together for grassroots and development aspects. I followed very closely their activities around the FIFA U-17 World Cup. "There are a lot of efforts going on
Passenger's body found in train's toilet, over two days after his death
In a tragic incident, the body of a passenger was recovered from a toilet of a train, more than two days after he had passed away, officials said today. Sanjay Agarwal was travelling from Kanpur to Tundla in the Patna-Kota Express on May 24. Soon after boarding the train, he had called his wife from the toilet and told her that he was feeling uneasy, after which she couldn't reach him. "She called the railway personnel and we started looking for him everywhere. The train had reached Kota and started the return journey to Patna after a gap of 40 minutes. "The body was finally recovered on May 27 from coach number S1 in Patna," a railway official said. Agarwal's wife had given the wrong train number, officials said, adding that instead of 13239, she had said the train number was 13237, which caused the delay in finding Agarwal's body. "She had also said her husband was in an air-conditioned coach, while he was travelling in a sleeper coach," a railway official said.
Playing for Spain was never something I considered, says Messi
Argentina skipper Lionel Messi said not for a minute did he ever think of playing for the Spanish national football team, despite having been tempted at times, and added that to be champion of the 2018 Russia World Cup playing for his native country would be a unique experience.
ISL: FC Goa rope in winger Imran Khan
Indian Super League (ISL) franchise FC Goa on Tuesday announced the signing of 23-year-old Manipuri winger Imran Khan from Fateh Hyderabad FC.
Anand draws with Aronian in Norway opener
World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand was caught off-guard by Levon Aronian of Armenia as he conceded an easy draw in the first round of Altibox Norway chess tournament here. Coming to the first round after a fine performance in the preceding blitz tournament where he tied for second spot, Anand could do little as Aronian came up with an unusual move order in the Anti-Berlin as black and the game ended without any drama. It was on the eighth move that Anand was caught unaware. Aronian was following an earlier game by countryman Hrant Melkumyan and as Anand confided to him after the game, he had not paid enough attention to this move order. I was just telling Levon that even though I was aware of this idea I wasn't able to spend a lot of time on it, since there isn't a sub-system in the Anti-Berlin that Levon doesn't play. So I spread myself too thin, said Anand in the post-game chat. The day witnessed four draws out of five games and the lone winner was World champion and local ...
Injured Mustafizur Rahman ruled out of Afghanistan T20Is
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has been ruled out of next month's T20I series against Afghanistan due to a toe injury.Confirming the news, Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) senior physician Dr Debashis Chowdhury said that a scan revealed that Mustafizur would take up to three weeks to recover fully from the injury."An x-ray followed by a CT scan have confirmed a hairline fracture on the big toe. It takes around three to four weeks to recover from such injuries and therefore he (Mustafiz) can't play against Afghanistan. We expect him to start rehab in two weeks after which we will continue to monitor and assess him," Chowdhury said.The 22-year-old bowler joined the national team's training camp last week after making a return from India, where he had appeared for Mumbai Indians in the recently-concluded 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), but complained of pain.Mustafizur was Bangladesh's best bowler during the Nidahas Trophy T20s Tri-series, also featuring Sri ...
FC Goa sign Imran Khan from Fateh Hyderabad FC
FC Goa have announced the signing of 23-year-old Manipuri winger, Imran Khan from Fateh Hyderabad FC.The left-sided player was named the Manipuri Player of the Year in 2015-2016 and has represented 2018 I-league runners-up Neroca FC.Imran is a pacey midfielder, capable of playing anywhere on the left side or in an attacking position in the middle. He has also represented Manipur in the annual Santosh Trophy on five occasions.The supremely-talented youngster was part of the Fateh Hyderabad team which did the double over FC Goa in the I-league Division 2 league stage. He was instrumental for his team in both victories against the Goan club.Imran will join fellow Manipuris Yasir Mohammad and Mohammad Nawaz who were both important parts of the FC Goa development team in the past season, where the team competed in the Goa Pro League and the I-League Division 2.
BBL: Pacer Hastings returns to Sydney Sixers
Former Aussie pacer John Hastings will return to his native New South Wales after signing a one-year deal with the Sydney Sixers in the upcoming season of the Big Bash League (BBL).
FC Goa sign Imran Khan from Fateh Hyderabad FC
FC Goa today announced the signing of 23-year-old Manipuri winger, Imran Khan from Fateh Hyderabad FC. The left sided player was named the Manipuri Player of the Year in 2015-2016 and has represented 2018 I-league runners-up Neroca FC. Imran is a pacey midfielder, capable of playing any where on the left side or in an attacking position in the middle. He has also represented Manipur in the annual Santosh Trophy on five occasions. The supremely talented youngster was part of the Fateh Hyderabad team which did the double over FC Goa in the I-league division 2 league stage. He was instrumental for his team in both victories against the Goan club. Imran will join fellow Manipuris Yasir Mohammad and Mohammad Nawaz who were both important parts of the FC Goa development team in the past season where the team competed in the Goa Pro League and the I-league division 2.
Rashid, Mujeeb stars in spin-heavy Afghan squad for India Test
World's premier T20 bowler Rashid Khan will headline a four-pronged spin attack in the 15-strong Afghanistan squad announced today for the historic one-off Test against India in Bengaluru, starting June 14. Apart from IPL sensations Rashid and young Mujeeb ur Rahman, the other two spinners are chinaman Zahir Khan and left-arm orthodox Amir Hamza Hotak in the Ashgar Stanikzai-led squad. Rashid and Mujeeb had made the entire world sit up and take notice of their talent in the shortest format, but the duo is set to face a different battle of attrition with the red SG Test in their hands. Between them, they have played only four first-class games (all four played by Rashid while 17-year-old Mujeeb is yet to play a longer format encounter). The batting will primarily depend on skipper Stanikzai, flamboyant opener Mohammed Shahzad and batting all-rounder Mohammed Nabi. In all, the squad has a collective experience of 205 first-class games, which makes it 13.6 four-day games per player. Only
Dean Elgar in picture for ODI return: Proteas coach
South Africa coach Ottis Gibson has hinted that Test opener Dean Elgar could make a return to the ODI squad ahead of the 2019 World Cup.Gibson insisted that the shocking retirement of AB de Villiers from international cricket had called the need for naming the replacement, adding that Elgar's experience in the England conditions could benefit the national side in the World Cup."One of the things I said earlier on was that when it comes to picking a team for a World Cup, we will pick guys that we believe can go and perform in those conditions. Dean playing county cricket now puts himself in the picture obviously," Sport24 quoted Gibson, as saying.Pointing out Elgar's record in white-ball cricket, the South Africa coach said that the opener is definitely in the picture to be included in the one-day squad and fill the void left by de Villiers."When you look at his record playing white ball cricket, he is not out of the picture. But since I've been here, we haven't looked at Dean (for the