Page 1609 - Sports
Tennis: Svitolina dominates Kerber, reaches Italian Open semis
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina on Friday continued her reign over Angelique Kerber, as she defeated the German 6-4, 6-4 to book a place in the semi-finals of the Italian Open, a WTA clay court event held in Rome.
Neuer in Bayern's cup final squad after eight months out
Manuel Neuer's World Cup hopes received a boost on Friday when Bayern Munich announced he is in their squad for the German Cup final after eight months on the sidelines. The 32-year-old Germany captain and goalkeeper has not played since fracturing his foot last September, but has made the squad for tomorrow's final against Eintracht Frankfurt. Neuer is expected to start on the bench at Berlin's Olympic Stadium with Sven Ulreich in goal for Bayern. Bayern captain Thomas Mueller has recovered from gastroenteritis to make the flight to Berlin, but Arjen Robben is out with a groin strain. Making the cup final squad is a significant boost to Neuer's hopes of being fit for Germany's opening World Cup match on June 17 against Mexico in Moscow. Neuer has been included in the extended Germany squad for Russia 2018, but will need to prove his fitness at a fortnight-long training camp which starts on Tuesday in north Italy. Germany plays friendlies away to Austria in Klagenfurt on June 2 and ...
England's Hart broken over World Cup snub
Former England first choice goalkeeper Joe Hart admitted he is finding it hard to accept being omitted from the England World Cup squad by Gareth Southgate. The 31-year-old -- England's number one goalkeeper at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cup finals -- has suffered a dramatic fall from grace since Pep Guardiola sent him out on loan once he became Manchester City manager in 2016. Hart's case for selection amongst the three goalkeepers to go to Russia had not been enhanced by inconsistent form at Premier League strugglers West Ham, whom he joined after a season in Serie A with Torino. The 75-times capped stopper -- only Peter Shilton with 125 has won more caps in goal for England -- lost out to uncapped Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, Everton's Jordan Pickford and relegated Stoke City's Jack Butland. "Not going to lie, I'm gutted," Hart wrote on Instagram alongside an image of the England crest. "After 2 years of trying to make the most of a really tough situation, this is hard to take."
Gilchrist selects Mitchell Marsh for Test vice-captain role
Former wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist has picked all-rounder Mitchell Marsh as an appropriate candidate for the role of vice-captain of the Australian cricket team.In the aftermath of the massive ball-tampering scandal that sent shock waves through the cricket world, Tim Paine was named Test captain before he and Aaron Finch were named as Australia's new ODI and T20I captain, respectively for the upcoming tours to England and Zimbabwe in the absence of banned former skipper Steve Smith.While Finch has also been confirmed as Paine's deputy for the five-match ODI series in the United Kingdom, wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey has been promoted as the vice-captain for a one-off T20I in England and a T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe.With only vice-captaincy role in the Test side left vacant, Gilchrist suggested that Mitchell Marsh could be really strong appointment as Paine's deputy."I think a guy like Mitch Marsh could be a really strong appointment as Paine's deputy. Again, provided he ...
Asiad boxing squad to be out next month, trials only if needed: Nieva
The Indian boxing team's selection for this year's Asian Games will be completed by the end of next month after an assessment of the pugilists' international performance and trials would be held only if it is too close to call in any weight category, High Performance Director Santiago Nieva revealed today. "The selection committee will meet on June 26 to discuss and finalise the squad. However, in case of weight categories which are too close to call, trials would be held, for women on June 28 and men on June 29," Nieva told PTI after a meeting with the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) here today. Different Indian boxing teams would be travelling to Ireland, Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia starting this week and the trips would include both training and competitions. The performances of the boxers in these sojourns combined with their effort at the training camps would make for their assessment when the teams are finalised for the Games to be held in August-September in the ...
Neuer returns to Bayern Munich after 8 months out
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer on Friday prepared for a match after missing eight months due to a foot injury that took him much longer to recover from than expected.
Warne accuses present Australian team of too much whingeing
Spin legend Shane Warne has urged the current Australian cricket team to stop "whingeing" and get on with the game. Warne, who was part of the commentary team in South Africa when the ball-tampering scandal happened, said he sensed a problem in the Australia camp when they started complaining about the opposition after things didn't go their way. "I'm not sure there were team culture problems but I have noticed there is a lot of whingeing coming out of the Australian camp in recent times, about the opposition and things like that," Warne was quoted as saying by News Corporation. "I think that's un-Australian, I have never really heard any Australian sides do that," added the leg-spin great, who took 708 wickets in 145 Tests. The ball-tampering scandal cost heavily for three Australian players, including now banned captain Steve Smith, his deputy David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. While Smith and Warner were banned for one year by Cricket Australia for their involvement in the scandal,
Injured Payet misses out on France's World Cup squad
Marseille playmaker Dimitri Payet was not included in France's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup named by head coach Didier Deschamps.
Jones wants Rahane, Gambhir to take cues from Williamson
Kane Williamson has shown that classically elegant batsmen, too, could prosper big time in the slam-bang world of IPL cricket and former Australia batsman Dean Jones wants struggling Indians, Ajinkya Rahane and Gautam Gambhir, to take cues from the New Zealand captain. "I did expect Williamson to do well. (David) Warner (Australia) not playing here has helped him enormously," Jones told PTI here during an interaction. "Given the opportunity you take it and he has picked it with both hands and reminded everyone in the world, because it is the best T20 League in the world, how good he is," he said. Jones, whose most famous Test innings was a double century he struck in stifling heat and humidity in the tied Test against India at Chennai in 1986, noted that Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Williamson has played with far more freedom and gets into a classical position before he hits the ball. "Because of that he has built confidence. And now Sunrisers have put a lot of pressure ..
'Saving Grace' sparkles in Ooty races
'Saving Grace' won "The Nilgiris 1000 Guineas, the main event of the races here today. The winner, owned by Aditya Thackersey, was ridden by jockey R Vaibhav and trained by B Suresh. B Suresh trained three winners while jockey Akshay rode two winners. Four favourites obliged in a card of eight races.
Week-long training course for football coaches, referees ends
The week-long Premier Skills Initiative, run by the Premier League and the British Council and jointly organised in India in association with the Indian Super League, concluded yesterday with intensive training for 48 grassroots football coaches and 30 referees. The project was led by Premier League Coach Educator Jeremy Weeks and supported by UK club coaches Rashid Abba from West Ham United, Sam Hoare from Manchester City and Jill Stacey from Newcastle United, a media release said today. The 48 football coaches were given training in teaching practical aspects of the game including a module on passing, dribbling, attacking and defending. They were also trained on the developmental and socially inclusive aspects of the game and encouraging inclusive sessions for both disabled participants and women. Building on the success of last years Level 2 Referee Development training programmes with the ISL, this years training programme was delivered by Gary Willard and supported .
Aguero reveals he had a tough time under Guardiola
Manchester City and Argentina striker Sergio Aguero admitted on Friday that he found the going difficult under club coach Pep Guardiola when the former Barcelona coach first arrived at the club.
Got to learn new things everyday in Mumbai Indians: Hardik
When a squad is full of legends, a young cricketer can learn a thing or two everyday, says Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya. "There are so many legends in the team and every day, we get to learn a new thing. So, it is a dream come true for me to play for Mumbai Indians," Pandya said at a promotional event when asked about his association with MI. Mumbai Indians are the the defending champions and they have won the IPL title three times. They are pitted against Delhi Daredevils in their last match here on Sunday, which will decide whether they qualify for the the play-offs or not. The Rohit Sharma-led side is coached by former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene. Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond is their bowling coach while ex-India batsman Robin Singh is their batting coach. Hardik's Mumbai Indians team-mates Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan were also present at the event held at the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion at the Taiwan Expo here. The trio visited the pavilion ..
Wenger, still in 'shock', sets deadline for future plans
Arsene Wenger admits he is still in shock after the curtain finally came down on his 22-year-reign as Arsenal manager and told The Guardian he will decide by the start of the World Cup as to do next. The 68-year-old Frenchman -- whose trophy-laden reign at the Gunners came to an end without any silverware in his final season and failed to secure Champions League football for next term -- said he hadn't discounted taking on a different role. Wenger -- who is to attend the World Cup in Russia as a pundit for Qatari-owned TV channel Bein Sports -- stood down a year before his contract was due to end amid increasing discontent both among the fans and the board. "It's just too soon to know what I will do next," he told The Guardian in an interview conducted in Paris this week shortly after he had taken charge of his 1,235th and final match in the Arsenal dugout -- a 1-0 win at Huddersfield Town. "I haven't even emptied my desk yet and in a way I am still in a state of shock. "I am going ..
Buffon set for final Juventus bow
Italy great Gianluigi Buffon will take his final bow in goal for Juventus tomorrow at the end of a 17-year stint with the Serie A champions. The 40-year-old's 640th Serie A game will be against Verona in the Allianz Stadium before he steps aside to consider the next move in his already storied career. "Saturday will be my final match for Juventus and to end this journey with two cups... and the entire Bianconeri world by my side, will be very special," said the former Italian international. Buffon captained Juventus to a seventh straight Serie A title and fourth consecutive Italian Cup triumph this season. "Gigi has been with us all the way on this long and eventful rollercoaster ride of a journey," said club president Andrea Agnelli. "When we descended into Hell in 2006 (demoted to Serie B after a match-fixing scandal), he stayed with us and played his part in our return to Paradise. "We will be forever grateful for his loyalty." Apart from Buffon's emotional farewell, the match will
Guardiola signs contract extension with Man City
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has signed a contract extension to the end of the 2020-21 campaign, the English Premier League (EPL) champions have announced.
Gutted Hart says World Cup snub a difficult pill to swallow
Goalkeeper Joe Hart on Friday said he is gutted after being left out of England's squad for next month's World Cup in Russia, adding he knows what he brings to the team and the snub is a hard pill to swallow.
Asian Champions Trophy: Indian hockey eves ready for Korean challenge
The Indian women's hockey team will take on hosts Korea in their last round-robin clash of the 5th Women's Asian Champions Trophy here at the Sunrise Stadium on Saturday.The team, led by defender Sunita Lakra, have remained unbeaten in the tournament so far having won against Japan (4-1), China (3-1) and Malaysia (3-2).While playing the world number nine side in their home ground will be a challenging affair for the Indian team, it will serve as an ideal preparation for the final on Sunday where they will play Korea, who have won two matches (3-1 against Malaysia, 3-1 against China) and drawn one match (1-1 against Japan) in the round-robin stage."Korea is a good team, but our girls have played this tournament with a lot of confidence. We are not so bothered about this being their home ground but want to just focus on ourselves and carry forward the good momentum," stated Chief Coach Sjoerd Marijne.The team have played this tournament with aggression and have showcased impressive ...
Shane Warne blasts Australia for too much whingeing
Former leg-spinner Shane Warner has lashed out at Australia of whingeing too much in the recent times, while adding that his national side should not play like New Zealand.The spin great was a part of the commentary team in South Africa when Australia was found to be involved in ball-tampering scandal during the third Test of the four-match series between the two sides that sent shock waves through the cricketing world.The scandal saw Cricket Australia impose one-year ban each on former skipper Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner while a nine-month suspension on all-rounder Cameron Bancroft.In the wake of massive ball-tampering scandal, Cricket Australia (CA) had later appointed a panel who will draft a charter of behaviour to which the national side will adhere.The players' review will run in conjunction with the wide-range review into Cricket Australia's organizational structure.The broader review will study the relationship between player behaviour and cultural, ...
Bangalore, Rajasthan in must-win situation on Saturday (Preview)
A rejuvenated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a do-or-die Indian Premier League (IPL) game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Saturday.