Page 1607 - Sports
Monchengladbach sign England U-21 midfielder Bennetts
Borussia Monchengladbach have signed midfielder Keanan Bennetts from English Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur, both sides have confirmed.
Afghanistan explosions kill 8, injures 43
At least eight people were killed and 43 wounded in three consecutive explosions during a cricket match in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, media reported on Saturday.
Atletico chief hopes to celebrate Champions League title in 2019
Atletico Madrid look forward to vying for the Champions League title in 2019, club president Enrique Cerezo said during a visit to city hall with his players to celebrate winning the Europa League earlier this week.
Flamengo suspends Guerrero's contract after CAS ruling
Flamengo has suspended Paolo Guerrero's contract after the Court of Arbitration for Sport this week extended the Peruvian striker's doping ban to 14 months, sources with the Brazilian football club said.
Uphill task for Indian shuttlers at Thomas and Uber Cup Finals
A depleted but young team, led by Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy, will face the ardous task of punching above their weight when they compete in the Thomas and Uber Cup Final starting here tomorrow. With senior shuttlers such as world no 3 P V Sindhu and world no 4 Kidambi Srikanth being rested, Saina and Prannoy will be the only star attraction at the world team championships, where the women's team won two bronze medals in the last two editions, while their men counterparts failed to make it to the knockout stage in last eight years. Besides world No 9 Prannoy, the men's team boasts of Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth, Swiss Open winner Sameer Verma and world No 10 (junior rankings) Lakshay Sen in the singles. National champion pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy and the young combo of Arjun MR and Shlok Ramachandran will have to handle the responsibility in doubles. India have been clubbed with France, Australia and formidable China in Group A of Thomas Cup and Prannoy and Co .
MI eye win against DD to seal play-off berth
Back in their element at the business end of the tournament, defending champions Mumbai Indians will be firing on all cylinders against wooden spooners Delhi Daredevils in their bid to clinch a play-off berth in a must-win IPL encounter, here tomorrow. The cash-rich league is still alive and kicking with only Sunrisers Hyderabad (18 from 13 games) and Chennai Super Kings (16 from 13 games) having clinched play-off spots. Statistically, five teams save Daredevils are still contention, with two play-off spots still up for grabs. In the mid-table clutter, Mumbai Indians are among the four teams who are at 12 points and fighting for a spot in the play-off. Mumbai Indians (NRR +0.384) will be praying for a favourable result for Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last home match against KKR (14 points and NRR -0.091). A KKR win will mean that only one slot will be left during the final two encounter with an eye on run-rate. While Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore will face off in ..
8 dead, 45 wounded in Jalalabad blasts
At least eight persons were killed and 45 others were wounded in three back to back explosions at a cricket stadium in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad of Nangarhar province, confirmed the Afghan officials on Saturday.The blasts exploded in the jam-packed stadium at around 11pm (1830 GMT) on Friday evening as the spectators had gathered to watch the local "Ramadan Cup", the provincial governor's office said, according to Geo TV.The match was part of a cricket tournament held between local teams to mark Ramadan, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.No group has claimed the responsibility for the Jalalabad blasts.This comes less than a week after at least six people were killed and nearly 20 others were wounded in a suicide attack in Jalalabad city near the gate of the finance department.An eyewitness had then said that four explosions have been heard in the area, according to the reports.
Barcelona honour Andres Iniesta
FC Barcelona bid their official farewell to long-time captain Andres Iniesta with an event at Camp Nou that highlighted the legendary midfielder's role in the team's tremendous success over the past decade.
Sluggish KXIP need big win over CSK to make play-off
Kings XI Punjab will face the uphill task of not only pulling the rug from under the feet of formidable Chennai Super Kings but also boosting their net run rate in the last IPL round-robin match to salvage any hopes of sneaking into the play-offs. Punjab had started the season with a string of wins before going off the boil. Currently placed at the seventh position with 12 points, Kings XI still have a slender chance of making it to the play-off. Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore are also at 12 points with one match to go but Punjab will have the advantage of knowing exactly what they need to do to make a last-ditch effort to steal a play-off berth. It has been a story of individual brilliance for Punjab who have failed to click as a team. Only KL Rahul (652 runs) has been scoring runs in a heap but none of the other batsmen have played to their potential on a consistent basis. Kings XI had come agonisingly close in securing a win against Mumbai Indians .
Nadal, Djokovic to meet for 51st time in Rome
Novak Djokovic set up an Italian Open semi-final blockbuster against old rival Rafael Nadal after both former world number one players battled back in thrilling last-eight clashes. The Serb fought back against Kei Nishikori to earn a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win while top seed Nadal continued his clay court domination with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Italy's Fabio Fognini. On a dramatic and exhausting day in the Italian capital, there were also quarter-final wins for three-time winner Maria Sharapova and defending men's champion Alexander Zverev. Djokovic, seeded 11th after his elbow injury problems, beat Japan's top player for the 12th time in succession. "It was a fantastic match, we went toe-to-toe all the way to last shot. He started, he was flawless from both ends," said Djokovic who will face Nadal for the 51st time, holding a narrow 26-24 advantage. Nadal beat Djokovic in their last meeting in May in 2017 in a Madrid semi-final and the Serb will be out for revenge after winning seven in a ..
Flamengo suspend disgraced Peru star Guerrero
Rio de Janeiro football giants Flamengo on Friday suspended the contract of Peru captain Paolo Guerrero following a doping scandal that has ruled him out of the World Cup. "We confirm the athlete is suspended," a spokesman for the club told AFP. Guerrero's future will be determined by the club once it has studied legal arguments made by the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which earlier this week extended Guerrero's ban from six to 14 months, the spokesman said. The Peru captain is Flamengo's star but at 34 and with his contract due to run out in August, there are expectations his time at the club is all but over. Guerrero, capped 86 times by his country, was hoping to play in the World Cup for the first time. Peru had not qualified since 1982 -- two years before he was born. He had been included in the extended 25-man World Cup squad on Sunday as his initial six-month ban had expired a week earlier. But after both the World Anti-Doping Agency and Guerrero himself .
Zverev eliminates Goffin to reach semifinal against Cilic
German tennis player Alexander Zverev had to work hard to eliminate Belgian David Goffin 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open in Rome and reach the semifinal in which the Croatian Marin Cilic awaits him.
Delhi Daredevils beat CSK by 34 runs
Batsman Ambati Rayudu's quick 50 from just 28 balls went in vain after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) march to the top spot of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table was halted by bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils (DD), who clinched an easy victory by 34 runs at the Ferozshah Kotla here on Friday.Chasing 163, the second-placed CSK were off to a decent 46-run start by Rayudu and veteran Australian Shane Watson (14) before Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra applied the brakes to their partnership with the wicket of Watson in the second innings.Mishra had a chance to struck off the very next ball with the wicket of new batsman Suresh Raina (15), has wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant latched on to a simple edge.Rayudu, however, continued his pace and scored three sixes and a four to pacer Avesh Khan in the final over of the powerplay.Soon after his 50, Rayudu perished off the very next ball, after he mistimed a short pitched delivery from pacer Harshal Patel to the hands of Glenn Mawell.With the asking
CSK must improve, says Dhoni
Despondent after the loss to Delhi Daredevils in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash here on Friday, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni asserted that his team need to pick up their socks in the knockout stages.
IPL: Chennai's march to top halted by Delhi's 34-run win
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) march to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table was halted by bottom-placed Delhi Daredevils, who romped home by 34 runs at the Ferozshah Kotla here on Friday.
Daredevils pull off surprise win over CSK
Delhi Daredevils restored some pride with an upset 34-run win over the formidable Chennai Super Kings in a dead rubber of the Indian Premier League here tonight. Vijay Shankar (36* off 29) and Harshal Patel (36* off 16) scripted Daredevils' recovery after a pedestrian performance from the top-order, helping the hosts reach 162 for five with an unbeaten 65-run stand off 32 balls. Leg-spinners Amit Mishra (2/20) and Sandeep Lamichhane (1/21) then starred in an impressive bowling effort that restricted CSK to 128 for six. All-rounder Patel chipped in with the ball as well by taking the prized wicket of Ambati Rayudu (50 off 29). It was Daredevils' fourth win of the season in 13 games. The already eliminated team has one more game to play on Sunday. The unexpected loss was CSK's fifth in 13 matches and they remain second on the points table. CSK were cautious to begin with, collecting just 22 runs off the first five overs. Rayudu cut loose in the following over, smashing pacer Avesh Khan .
Platini admits 'skulduggery' to rig 1998 World Cup draw
Disgraced Michel Platini has sensationally admitted to a "little skulduggery" in rigging the draw to ensure Brazil and France could not meet until the final of the 1998 World Cup, where he was organising committee president. "We organised the schedule so, if we finished first in our group and Brazil first in theirs, the teams could not meet before the final," France great Platini told Radio Bleu Sport in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, highlights of which the station tweeted today. The revelation comes at a time when Platini is banned from football for receiving a "disloyal payment" of two million Swiss francs (1.7 million euros, $2 million) when he was head of UEFA from disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The draw took place in Marseille on December 4, 1997 and was presided over by FIFA's then-general secretary: Blatter. "Look, we were at home, you have to make the most of things, we weren't going to go through the bother of six years organising the World Cup if we .
Germany win World Cup... according to computers
What happens when a global investment bank gets its computers to run 10,000 virtual tournaments to guesstimate who is going to bring home the World Cup? Germany win again. Switzerland's UBS has released its quadrennial report into the best bet punters can make during the most watched sports event in the world. The 29-page analysis is not kind to the hosts. Russia are given a 1.6 percent chance of winning the football extravaganza when it kicks in a month -- which puts them one spot below Mexico and Switzerland. Defending champions Germany come out tops with a 24 percent chance of claiming the trophy while Brazil and Spain round out the top three. "It is almost a given that the new champion will come from either Europe or Latin America," UBS said. "The likelihood of a champion from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, or North America is almost nil." The report is part a tongue-and-cheek look at the June 14 to July 15 competition and part a serious analysis of Russia's investment climate. It
Nadal bounces back from slow start to reach Rome semis
Rafael Nadal continued his clay domination today, rallying from a set down to reach the Italian Open semi-finals with a 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Fabio Fognini. The world number two needs to lift an eighth career title at the Foro Italico on Sunday to return to the top of the ATP rankings after losing that position to Roger Federer last week. Spaniard Nadal dropped the opening set in an hour but re-grouped effortlessly as he swept past the Italian in the one-sided second and third sets of their quarter-final tie. "I'm not used to playing so early," Nadal said of his midday start. "But I'm very happy to be in the semi-finals. "This was a very important win for me today." Nadal also beat Fognini in Rome in 2013 in their first ever meeting. This was his 11th victory in 14 meetings with the 21st-ranked Italian, and sixth in a row. He is working towards Roland Garros, where he will aim for an unprecedented 11th title. "My clay court season has been, I think, fantastic. It will be much ...
Botham backs controversial 100-ball cricket format
England great Ian Botham has backed controversial plans for a new city-based 100-ball competition despite widespread criticism from within the game. The former all-rounder believes England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Colin Graves is right to press ahead with the "Hundred" concept in the hope that it can match the global appeal of the Indian Premier League and Australia's Big Bash, both played under Twenty20 rules. But the Durham chairman's comments are in contrast to those of other current players, including his county's captain Paul Collingwood, who led England to their World Twenty20 victory in 2010 and believes a bigger effort should be made to exploit the existing competition, the T20 Blast. Botham believes the new tournament, due to start in 2020, could compete with the other popular franchise leagues. "The game has to move on," he said. "I think we're in danger of diluting the red-ball game too much and going down the one-day road, but that's what the public wants at the ...