Page 1600 - Sports
Iniesta ends Barca career with 1-0 win over Real Sociedad
Andres Iniesta ended his career in Spanish First Division football -- and with FC Barcelona -- with a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad at Camp Nou here.
Milos Raonic pulls out of French Open
Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic, who is currently battling with a knee injury, has withdrawn from the second major of the season--the French Open.Confirming the news, Raonic took to his Twitter handle and said that though he has many great memories at Roland Garros, he is looking forward to be absolute fit before stepping out on the court."It is with a heavy heart that I am withdrawing from @rolandgarros.I have many great memories there, but I know I need to continue working hard to put myself in the best position when I step out on the court," he tweeted."Thank you all for your support and see you soon on the grass," Cilic added.The 27-year-old, who made it to the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2014 besides being a Wimbledon runner-up in 2016, had earlier pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters ahead of the third round with knee injury.Currently ranked 22nd in the world, Raonic though made a return to the court at the Madrid Masters, only to see himself losing to compatriot ...
Nadal wrestles back to top spot post Rome triumph
Spanish tennis maestro Rafael Nadal returned to his lost number one spot in the latest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings released on Monday.Having started the season at the numero-uno rank, Nadal lost his top spot to his long-term rival Roger Federer twice--first on April 2 and then on May 14 after the Spanish tennis star knocked out of the Madrid Masters in the quarter-finals.However, Nadal is now back at number one in the ATP rankings after lifting his record eighth Rome Masters title in Italy.The 31-year-old, who recently also clinched his 11th Barcelona and 11th Monte Carlo Masters titles, struggled past Germany's Alexander Zverev for the fifth time in their ATP Head-to-Head series (5-0) to lift the trophy.After comfortably winning the opening set, Nadal went down in the second before he rebounded strongly following the two rain stoppages and won last five games against Zverev to secure his 32nd Masters title.Nadal will now begin his 174th week at the top spot ...
Exciting CSK-SRH battle on cards for spot in IPL final
An intriguing and no-holds-barred battle between two former champions is on the cards when table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad clash with second-placed Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League Qualifier 1 here tomorrow. A slight net run-rate difference separated the two teams which finished the league stage on 18 points. The riveting contest at the Wankhede Stadium will spell out who goes directly to the May 27 final, also scheduled at this venue, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the summit clash and the loser left to play Qualifier 2 in Kolkata on May 25. The raucous Mumbai fans, thus, could expect a rip-roaring contest. Super Kings seem to hold a slight edge going into the match as they have not only got the better of their southern rivals twice in the league stage of the competition but also have the winning momentum going into the match on what promises to be a bouncy track. While Super Kings stopped the aspirations of Kings XI Punjab by overcoming a difficult start last
Man City chairman expects more under 'relentless' Guardiola
The chairman of English Premier League champions Manchester City is confident the club will reach even greater heights under the "relentless" Pep Guardiola despite having just completed a record-breaking season. City became the first Premier League champions to post 100 points and won the title by a huge 19 points from second-placed Manchester United. And with Guardiola having signed a new contract, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak expects further progress under the Catalan manager. "My expectation and the management expectation, certainly Pep's expectation, is that this team will continue to improve," Al Mubarak told City TV on Sunday. "We have a coach, or a manager, in Pep that is relentless. There is not going to be any relaxation. That I can assure you. "I have no doubt that this summer we're going to come back and we're going to be hungry and we're going to be more aggressive and we're going to continue to go and improve." City have won three Premier League titles since the Abu .
Relaxed Tuchel embraces PSG challenge
Paris Saint-Germain did not waste time turning the page on Unai Emery's time in charge, and the arrival of the fresh-faced Thomas Tuchel marks the start of a new era. Less than 24 hours after Emery bowed out as the Ligue 1 champions played out a soporific goalless draw in Caen without a host of their biggest names, Tuchel appeared at the Parc des Princes for the first time. The German looked confident and relaxed as he was unveiled to the French media and then photographed on the pitch on a perfect Parisian spring evening. After a year out following his departure from Borussia Dortmund, where he won the 2017 German Cup, the 44-year-old was linked to the Premier League. But he was clearly seduced by the French capital. "This is Paris, it's magnificent, the city of love, the city of light. It is a romantic city and a city for adventure," he said. "I would love our supporters to fall in love with the team and that the brightest players play here." Tuchel spoke mainly in excellent ...
Midfielder Anirudh Thapa wants to utilise opportunity with national side
Central Midfielder Anirudh Thapa was labelled as the next big thing in Indian football since his U-16 days.An AIFF Academy cadet then, there was always the danger of him losing focus as he stayed in the spotlight from that age. But then, he has always been a bit different from others.Currently in the national team camp under national coach Stephen Constantine for the upcoming Intercontinental Cup, Thapa's eyes lit up the moment one mentioned AIFF Academy to him."We can't thank AIFF enough for whatever they have done. There has been a significant difference between me before joining the AIFF Academy and now. I will stay indebted to AIFF throughout for finding the footballer within me. My sole aim is now to utilise this opportunity and represent my country regularly at the topmost level," Thapa said.And it isn't him alone - his U-16 batchmate Jerry Lalrinzuala is also with him in the national camp and a certain Dheeraj Singh is presently in Scotland on trials for Motherwell.Although he .
Amir proves his fitness as Pakistan draw final warm-up match
Mohammad Amir appeared to prove his fitness as Pakistan drew their final warm-up match ahead of the start of their two-Test series against England. A two-day game against Leicestershire was always likely to end in a draw and that was the case as the Midlands county finished on 226 for six in reply to Pakistan's first innings 321 for nine declared. Amir was one of several first-choice players rested from this match ahead of the first Test at Lord's starting Thursday after suffering a recurrence of a longstanding knee problem during Pakistan's preceding five-wicket victory over Test debutants Ireland in Malahide, Dublin completed on Tuesday. The left-arm quick did however bowl at a lively pace on the side of the square during the lunch break and is understood not to have suffered any adverse reaction. Amir, now 26, saw his cricket career almost ended for good after he was caught up in a spot-fixing scandal during a 2010 Test against England at Lord's. He was given a jail sentence by an .
Peru fans literally praying for Guerrero deliverance
Hundreds of Peruvian fans joined full-back Luis Advincula in prayer on Sunday, hoping divine intervention will deliver skipper Paolo Guerrero to the World Cup despite a doping ban. The 34-year old Peru captain already has the backing of Peru's President Martin Vizcarra and now Advincula wants God on his side too. The right-back gave a press conference in Lima when he led hundreds of fans in the "Our Father". "If there's a sliver of hope, we're all going to cling to it," Advincula said. Guerrero was slapped with a 14-month ban last Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland over a positive cocaine test and will miss the June 14-July 15 World Cup in Russia. Vizcarra said Wednesday that Guerrero would file an appeal with the Swiss Federal Court to fight the ban. Guerrero and the president of the Peruvian Football Federation, Edwin Oviedo, were to travel to Zurich on Sunday for a meeting on Tuesday with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. "I hope God wants this meeting
Team Wellington qualify for Club World Cup
Team Wellington, an amateur side from New Zealand's capital, have qualified for FIFA's Club World Cup for the first time after winning the Oceania Champions League. Wellington sealed a 10-3 aggregate win over Fiji's Lautoka with a 4-3 victory in the second leg of the final on Sunday. It puts them through to the Club World Cup, which this year is being played in the United Arab Emirates in December. The tournament features football's six continental champions plus UAE champions Al Ain, meaning Wellington could face the winner's of next weekend's UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. Wellington reached the Oceania final by ending Auckland City's seven-year reign as OFC champions in the competition's semi-finals. "I'm delighted," coach Jose Figueira said after the win over Lautoka in Fiji. "We're still absorbing everything but after a season of tremendous hard work, to finally clinch the big one is a tremendous feeling." The Club World Cup is played annually, ...
Inter Milan snatch Champions League spot from Lazio
Inter Milan snatched the final Champions League berth with a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 win over direct European rivals Lazio on the final day of the season at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday. Inter had to win in order to take third place from Lazio who had a superior head-to-head record and needed just to draw. Late goals from captain Mauro Icardi and Matias Vecino ensured Inter return to Europe for the first time since the 2011-2012 season, along with Juventus, Napoli and Roma. "The target was the Champions League. The finish line," said Argentine striker Icardi. "The game wasn't going the right way, but we showed strength to get it back on track." Lazio had led 2-1 with a quarter of an hour to go in Rome after Ivan Perisic turned the ball into his own net and Brazilian Anderson got a second four minutes before the break. But Danilo D'Ambrosio got one back after 29 minutes with Icardi slotting in a penalty after 78 minutes following a Stefan De Vrij foul to join Lazio's Ciro ...
Wedding belle Serena sounds French Open alarm for rivals
Fresh from attending the Royal wedding, Serena Williams will take aim at the upstarts who have been honeymooning at the majors in her absence when she makes her long-awaited Grand Slam return at Roland Garros. The 36-year-old American, who first played the French Open in 1998, has been the champion in Paris three times. Should she win a fourth Roland Garros, it will take her level with Margaret Court's all-time Grand Slam record of 24 majors. But there are question marks over her fitness and readiness for the 2018 tournament which starts on Sunday. She has played just four matches on the WTA Tour all year, the last of which was a first round loss in Miami at the end of March. Her last appearance at a Slam was at the 2017 Australian Open which she won while pregnant. Having then missed the rest of the season as she gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia in September, Williams' world ranking has slumped to 454 from its dizzy heights of undisputed number one. "I'm not just coming back to .
Iniesta and Torres depart Barcelona and Atletico in style
Two Spanish giants bid farewell to their boyhood clubs on Sunday as Andres Iniesta waved goodbye to Barcelona and Fernando Torres went out with a bang at Aletico Madrid. Torres scored twice on his final appearance for Atletico, even if a Lucas Hernandez red card helped Eibar claim a 2-2 draw on the last day of the La Liga season. Iniesta's 22-year association with Barcelona, meanwhile, ended with a victory as the player marked out as the Spaniard's successor, Philippe Coutinho, proved the difference in a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad. With a tear in his eye, Iniesta walked off to a standing ovation from the Camp Nou in the second half, having unfastened his captain's armband and handed it to Lionel Messi. He hugged the Argentinian and then embraced the rest of his colleagues. The 34-year-old clapped the crowd, blew them a kiss, before exhaling and ducking into the dug-out. An extravagent post-match ceremony followed, celebratng both Iniesta and the winning of La Liga and the Copa del ...
Lionel Messi wins 5th Golden Shoe
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has won his fifth European Golden Shoe after his team beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in its final La Liga Santander match of the season.
Nadal defeats Zverev to win 8th Italian Open title
Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal has won his eighth Italian Open title, dethroning Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in an epic final that was halted twice due to rain.
Chennai Super Kings beat KXIP by 5 wickets
In the final league game of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) made light work of the 154 run target set by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Sunday to bring an end to the latter's 2018 IPL campaign.Punjab had a mountain to climb to ensure qualification to the knockout round as they had to register a 53 run win over the two-time champions in order to usurp Rajasthan Royal's (RR) place in the fourth spot.Having been put to bat first, the Punjab outfit managed a meager total of 153 runs, making their task even steeper as they would now have to restrict CSK to within 100 runs.22-year-old South African seamer Lungi Ndidi, who came to prominence in the test series in India's tour of South Africa in January, finished his brilliant four-over spell with figures of 4-10. Useful contributions from D. J. Bravo (2-39) and S. N. Thakur (2-33), also helped maintain pressure on the Punjab batting order.Although CSK had a fluttering start themselves, having been reduced to
IPL 2018: Chennai outplay Punjab by five wickets
Chennai Super Kings knocked out Kings XI Punjab from the play-offs race of the Indian Premier League (IPL), outplaying them in the last league match by five wickets here on Sunday.
CSK's five-wicket win eliminates Punjab, sends Royals into Play-offs
Young paceman Lungi Ngidi conceded only 10 runs and took four wickets before Suresh Raina hit a measured 61 as Chennai Super Kings eliminated Kings XI Punjab from the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a five-wicket win, a result which sealed Rajasthan Royals' place in the Play-offs, here tonight. Delhi Daredevils had done a favour to Punjab by knocking out Mumbai Indians with an 11-run win in the first match of the day as it kept Punjab in the hunt to take the last-available spot in the Play-offs. When Punjab batsmen needed to fire in unison, only Karun Nair (54) showed stomach for fight with his 26-ball knock, which was laced with three fours and five sixes. Nair's half-century helped Kings XI Punjab recover from a poor start and post 153 in 19.4 overs but they needed to win by at least 53 runs to qualify for the Play-offs. It was South African paceman Ngidi who triggered a top-order collapse as he swung the ball both ways to confound the Punjab batsmen. He conceded only 10 runs in ..
IPL: Ponting praises Iyer's captaincy
Delhi Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting on Sunday praised Shreyas Iyer for the way he led the team during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) after Gautam Gambhir stepped down from the captaincy earlier in the season.
IPL: Nair's quickfire half-century lifts Punjab to 153 vs Chennai
A quickfire lower order cameo by Karun Nair helped Kings XI Punjab post a modest 153 against Chennai Super Kings in the last league encounter of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Sunday.