Page 226 - Sports
Nadal 'doesn't care' if he's French Open favourite
Rafael Nadal said on Friday that he "doesn't care" if he is the red-hot favourite to lift a record-extending 12th French Open title at Roland Garros, insisting that there are a host of players in contention for the trophy. The world number two holds an incredible French Open win-loss record of 86-2, and hit top form by winning his ninth Italian Open last week with a final victory over old rival Novak Djokovic. Nadal could move to within two titles of Roger Federer's all-time men's record of 20 Grand Slam trophies if he lifts the Coupe des Mousquetaires on June 9. "I don't care if I'm the favourite," he said. "I care about feeling well and playing well. "I appreciate that you (the media) see me like that, but (Dominic) Thiem, Novak (Djokovic), Federer, Tsitsipas who has been playing well, (Juan Martin) del Potro, (Kei) Nishikori -- all those that are the best in the world will be favourites. "The only thing that worries me is being well and being competitive. "The only favourite that ..
Laver Cup becomes part of ATP Tour
The Laver Cup team event, in which Europe takes on the rest of the world, has become an official part of the annual ATP Tour calendar, the governing body of men's tennis confirmed on Friday.The event, approaching in its third edition will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from September 20 to 22 this year.World number one 1 Novak Djokovic, who played the second Laver Cup last year in Chicago, in a statement said, "The Laver Cup is a true celebration of tennis that is loved by the fans and embraced by the players.""I experienced it first hand as a player, and as President of the ATP Player Council I'm proud to support this collaboration," Djokovic said.World number three Roger Federer said he was delighted with the news."As I come closer to the end of my playing career, it's wonderful to know that the Laver Cup will be part of the tour that I've dedicated more than 20 years of my life to. This partnership is a wonderful example of how the tennis family can unite to promote and grow the ...
Mark Waugh picks top three batsmen for World Cup
Former Australia batsman Mark Waugh, on Friday picked Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, and David Warner as his top three batsmen for the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup."Definitely Virat Kohli. He's No.1," cricket.com.au quoted Waugh as saying.Kohli is widely regarded as the greatest ODI player of all time, with 41 centuries at an average of 59.57. The Indian skipper is currently ranked at number one position in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings.Moving over to England's wicket-keeper batsman Buttler, Waugh said he would have the player at number two in his top three."Jos Buttler, I'd have him at No.2 in the top three," Waugh said.Buttler has been in exceptional form of late, smashing a 50-ball century in the recently concluded ODI series against Pakistan. He even scored a knock of 150 runs off just 77 balls against West Indies earlier this year.At last, Waugh picked his fellow Australian Warner to round off his top three."Aaron Finch at his best is right up there, so is David Warner. I'll go
Shubhankar fires 5 birdies in last six holes; Chawrasia makes cut
India's Shubhankar Sharma made a brilliant fight back on his second nine in difficult conditions to make the cut along side compatriot SSP Chawrasia at the Made in Denmark golf tournament presented by FREJA here Friday. Shubhankar holed five birdies in his last six holes to ensure weekend action. Shubhankar, who shot one-over 72 in the first round at the Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, added 70 to it to get to even par 142 for two rounds and make the cut whi is set at one-over. Chawrasia, who had 70 in his first round, shot even par 71 in the second round that included two birdies and two bogeys in cold and windy conditions. At one-under, Chawrasia was placed tied 34th, while Shubhankar was tied 48th. Gaganjeet Bhullar, who carded 70 on first day, was yet to start his second round. Many players were still on the course and some are yet to begin. Meanwhile, Matthias Schwab mastered the early difficult conditions to card a brilliant bogey free 66 and set the clubhouse target. He shot .
Aditi set to miss cut at Pure Silk Championships
Aditi Ashok's search for form continued after she opened with a disappointing three-over 74 that saw the Indian placed a dismal tied 116th after opening day at the Pure Silk Championship at the windy Kingsmill Resort. Aditi started from the tenth and bogeyed the Par-4 10th and Par-4 14th to turn in two-over. Her lone birdie of the day came on the Par-5 third, but she gave away more shots on the eighth and ninth and ended at three-over 74. It has been a tough season for Aditi, who has missed her first five cuts and in the last three events she has made the weekend. Bronte Law held the lead with a 6-under 65 and it included a chip-in for an eagle on the par-5 third hole. She shares the lead with Anna Nordqvist and Jennifer Song. Law eagled the third and added a birdie on the par-4 seventh and had three more on 14th, 17th and 18th in a bogey-free round. Song birdied all three par 5s in her bogey-free round in the final event. Swede Nordqvist rallied after bogeying No 3. She birdied ...
Team saved their best for Pak T20I series-decider, says SA Women coach
South Africa head coach Hilton Moreeng, on Friday, expressed delight at how all the departments clicked at the right time in the fifth T20I against Pakistan to clinch the series 3-2.Throughout the campaign, Moreeng asked for more consistency from his squad in all three disciplines and in the series-decider, his wish was fulfilled.He was pleased to see how the players got through tough moments in the match, considering the added pressure in the final two games."It's been frustrating because if the batting has been firing, the bowling and fielding departments have been letting us down. So, to see everything come together today, we've left our perfect game for the last game of the series, which is very special. It shows the character and the quality we have in these young ladies.""It's been very entertaining for those watching from the side, a couple of close games but those kinds of nerves, you have to experience as a player to know what happens going forward. Some of them are going to .
Working with ISL & I-League clubs will be key: Stimac
India's newly appointed men's football coach Igor Stimac on Friday said finding a balance between I-League clubs and Indian Super League franchises and using the resources both sides possess will be key to furthering football in the country. "We need to work together," said Stimac in his first interaction with the media since his appointment.
Osaka sets sights on 'cool' Grand Slam sweep
Naomi Osaka said Friday it would be "cool" to complete a Grand Slam sweep in 2019 even if her meteoric rise to fame has left her feeling as if she's 35 rather than 21. The world number one won her first major at the US Open last year and then backed it up with the Australian Open in January. Now she is top seed at a major for the first time at Roland Garros and sees no reason why she cannot take Paris, Wimbledon and finish the year with a successful defence of her title in New York. "Roland Garros, that's what I'm dreaming about right now," said Osaka, the top seed when the French Open starts on Sunday. "If you're talking about longer goals, of course I haven't won Wimbledon yet and it would be really cool to win everything in one year." Germany's Steffi Graf was the last woman to win a calendar Grand Slam in 1988. Before her, it is a feat only achieved by Margaret Court in 1970 and Maureen Connolly in 1953. Despite Osaka having yet to get past the third round in Paris, she insists ..
Real Madrid reject Pochettino's claim Tottenham asked to sleep at club's training ground
Real Madrid have reacted angrily to Mauricio Pochettino suggesting they turned down a request from Tottenham to stay at their training ground next week ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool. Spurs will train at Valdebebas on Thursday and Friday before the game on Saturday and Pochettino, in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, said the club had asked Madrid if they could also sleep on the site. In a light-hearted part of the interview, Pochettino was asked if Tottenham's players would also stay at Valdedebas. Pochettino replied: "No we will stay in an hotel near there. We have asked eh? We have asked but Florentino (Perez) didn't want to allow us." A laughing Pochettino then added: "He would say, 'the day you coach Madrid is when you can sleep there'. This is the subliminal message no?" Real Madrid released a statement on Friday, insisting they had received no such request from Tottenham. The statement read: "Real Madrid is surprised by the suggestions .
South Africa's World Cup woes no worry for Du Plessis
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis says the team's record of repeated World Cup heartbreak will have no bearing on a largely youthful squad at the 2019 tournament. Since making their World Cup debut in 1992 after decades of apartheid-enforced isolation, South Africa have won just one of seven knockout matches -- a quarter-final against Sri Lanka in Sydney four years ago. They have reached the semi-finals four times but have yet to make a final, with a match-winning innings from South Africa-born all-rounder Grant Elliott seeing them beaten by New Zealand in 2015. And when the World Cup was last staged in England 20 years ago, a dramatic semi-final tie with Australia saw South Africa bow out on net run-rate. But Du Plessis said that even though he and fellow senior players such as Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn had endured their fair share of World Cup pain, it would not be an issue this time around. "You can't control history -- I am a firm believer in that," Du Plessis said at a World ..
Laver Cup becomes official ATP event
The Laver Cup would become a part of the ATP tour, the governing body of men's tennis said on Friday. The annual men's team event, in which teams representing Europe and the rest of the world play each other, has attracted sell-out crowds in its first two editions held in Prague and Chicago.
Lahiri makes solid start with two-under, lies 13th in Texas
Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri had an eventful second nine after a solid first nine at the Charles Schwab Challenge as he carded two-under 68 to be placed tied 13th at the end of the first round here. Lahiri was four shots behind leader Tony Finau, who did not find many fairways, but found a lot of greens as he carded six-under 64. Lahiri was among those playing in the morning when the conditions were better than afternoon as temperatures reached 90 and the wind was a steady 20 miles per hour. Of the 12 players atop the leaderboard, 11 played in the morning. Jordan Spieth and Roger Sloan were tied for second spot at five-under and Lahiri's playing partner, Peter Uihlein, J J Henry, Scott Brown, Chesson Hadley, Jonas Blixt, Nick Watney, Trey Mullinax, Jimmy Walker, and Jason Dufner were bunched together at fourth position at three-under. Lahiri found only six of the 14 fairways but hit 12 of the 18 greens and then putted way better than he has in recent weeks. His iron play was what ...
England skipper Morgan injures finger druing practice
England limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan on Friday injured his left index finger during training practice in Southampton.Morgan will undergo an X-ray in hospital, ESPN Cricinfo reported.The skipper, widely regarded as England's finest limited-overs skipper, took a blow to his finger while preparing for England's warm-up match against Australia on Saturday.Early indications from England camp highlight that the scan is purely precautionary. If Morgan ends up missing few matches of the World Cup, it can be considered as a big blow to the team's hopes of lifting the World Cup trophy for the very first time.The 32-year-old has been exceptional in changing the team's fortunes in the ODI format. He along with coach Trevor Bayliss, changed the team's attitude in the white-ball format, taking them to number one position in the ODI format.Joe Denly, who was omitted from England's final 15-man squad last week, is the standby batsman if an injury replacement is required.Morgan at the time of ...
No current international player under corruption cloud: ICC ACU Manager
None of the current crop of international cricketers, set to compete in the upcoming ICC World Cup, is under scanner claimed governing body's top Anti-Corruption official Alex Marshall, who expects the "safest" tournament in the history of the global meet. For the first time ever, all 10 teams competing over the next six weeks in England and Wales will have their own dedicated anti-corruption manager, travelling with them. "Over the last 18 months, we have charged 14 or 15 people. None of those are current players. The people we have charged are administrators, senior administrators, board members, coaches, ex-players and an analyst. These are people on the edge of the squad, not people currently among the player group," confirmed ICC GM (ACU) Marshall during a media conference on Friday. "In addition to the people we have charged, we have also disrupted more than 30 corruptors who are outside our code, but we nevertheless pursued them wherever they are in the world to make it hard ...
Indian football a 'sleeping giant': Coach Igor Stimac
The newly appointed Indian football coach Igor Stimac on Friday said football in the country is a 'sleeping giant' and he sees many good opportunities for the team coming up looking at the youngsters the team has in their ranks."Indian football is a sleeping giant and I see many good opportunities here with the youth coming up. The youngsters in the setup here are knocking on the doors of the senior national team and I am happy with the technical quality of the players. We can do great things and I am expecting a good future with the senior national team and the U-23 team," All India Football Federation (AIFF) quoted Stimac as saying."I have read about Indian football a lot and I have a feeling that I have been here for 5 years already. I am overwhelmed by the chance given to me by the technical committee and we can improve, develop and get results with the young players that are knocking on the door," he added.The Croatian said that his main job is to improve the state of football in
World Cup 2019: Batsman sculpture to be erected in Bristol
To celebrate the 2019 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, a giant 4-metre hand-painted statue of a batsman, representing each of the ten competing nations, will be erected in the Millennium Square for the duration of the matches in Bristol.The sculpture will be unveiled just in time for Bristol's first match on June 1 as Afghanistan go head-to-head with Australia. The Square will also play host to a day of live match screenings and interactive cricket activities, creating a fun, family-friendly event to celebrate the coming of the World Cup to Bristol.The local Bristol community has been invited to take part in the giant art. Bristol County Ground, home of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, will host three fixtures of the World Cup, doubling the number of games the ground has held following one in 1983 and two in 1999.A three-day long public painting event will take place from May 25 to 27 and will see local groups, scenic artists, city dignitaries and members of the community ...
Don't read much into indifferent Australia series: Chahal
Australian batsmen pushed them out of their comfort zones, handing a rude reality check, but Yuzvendra Chahal is confident that one indifferent series will not affect his and Kuldeep Yadav's performance at the World Cup. Despite his good show in New Zealand, Chahal played only one game against Australia, where he was a touch unlucky due to shoddy fielding before Ashton Turner took him to cleaners. "I don't think we need to worry too much about the Australia series. We have played enough matches against them. Obviously, you can't win every game that you play. The manner in which Australian batsmen played us, they deserved to win. We should laud their effort and try to do better when we face them next time," Chahal told PTI during an interview before leaving for England. In the 2-3 defeat, what was worrying was how Kuldeep and Chahal were being easily read and no longer was the team management playing both in tandem. It was Ravindra Jadeja who was favoured ahead of Chahal. Asked if the .
Kiwi all-rounder Leigh Kasperek to represent Wellington Blaze
New Zealand all-rounder Leigh Kasperek will represent the Wellington Blaze in the upcoming 2019-20 domestic season.The 27-year-old has re-joined the Blaze after being with the Otago Sparks for six years where she developed the reputation as a dangerous off-spinner, earning her New Zealand debut in 2015.Blaze successfully defended their national T20 title by winning the inaugural women's T20 Super Smash last summer and will be out to complete a T20 three-peat, as well as claim their first Women's One-Day competition since 2003.Kasperek is currently overseas playing in the UK and will make the move to Wellington in September. Ranked as the fourth best T20 bowler in the world, she has represented New Zealand 64 times and has played at three World Cups, including the 2018 ICC Women's World T20 in the West Indies."I really enjoyed my time with the Sparks and will look back fondly at many great years of cricket. However, I am excited for the new challenge that awaits in Wellington and look .
Reduced costs for 2026 Olympic candidates Milan and Stockholm
The two candidates to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, Stockholm/Are and Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo, have "fully embraced" the cost-cutting Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, according to the IOC. The IOC published the report by its evaluation commission Friday, one month ahead of the June 24 vote in Lausanne on which city will host the 2026 Games. Ex-Romanian rugby player Octavian Morariu, the commission head, said: "Both projects prioritise legacy and sustainability by capitalising on winter sports tradition and experience, with first-rate, established World Cup venues, knowledgeable and passionate fans, volunteers and event organisers. "They have fully embedded the Olympic Agenda 2020 philosophy, and have athletes at the centre of their plans." He added: "The two candidates have aligned their concepts with their context and local long-term goals. All of this led to massive cost savings and a more sustainable hosting model that is the new reality for the Games." According to the IOC, the two ..
'Japanese Messi' Kubo named in Copa America squad
Teenage sensation Takefusa Kubo won his first senior Japan call-up Friday when he was named in coach Hajime Moriyasu's squad for next month's Copa America in Brazil. The FC Tokyo midfielder, who was invited to Barcelona's youth academy as a pint-sized nine-year-old where he earned the nickname the "Japanese Messi", is one of no fewer than 17 uncapped players as Japan look to build for next year's Tokyo Olympics. Kubo, 17, will also be available for Japan's home warm-up games against Trinidad and Tobago on June 5 and El Salvador on June 9, Japanese officials said. "Teams like the hosts Brazil will definitely be serious about winning," Kubo told local media. "But even though we are playing as guests we will have to match the desire of our opponents when we get on the pitch." Moriyasu left big-name players such as Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Shinji Okazaki out of his Asian Cup squad earlier this year when the Blue Samurai were beaten 3-1 in the final by Qatar in Abu Dhabi. "We are ..