Page 238 - Sports

FC Goa rope in Seiminlen Doungel on free transfer

FC Goa on Tuesday completed the signing of Seiminlen Doungel on a free transfer from Kerala Blasters.

Pain-free Murray optimistic about return to tennis

Andy Murray is confident he can return to competitive tennis and has hinted at a doubles spot at Wimbledon, inspired by American doubles great Bob Bryan's return from hip surgery. The two-time Wimbledon champion, 32, in January announced plans to retire after this year's Wimbledon due to injury, expressing doubt as to whether he would even make it to the All England Club. The Scot has all but ruled out an appearance in the singles draw, nearly four months after surgery on a career-threatening hip problem, but he could return by playing in the men's doubles. The former world number one told Tuesday Times there was "very little chance" he would play singles during the grass-court season. "Potentially doubles, but I'm not trying to get ready for singles just now," he said. "The thing I said before was that, if I wasn't feeling good, there was more chance that I would play and then stop after Wimbledon. "Whereas if it's feeling good, it makes a bit more sense to give it time to make sure .

Lauda 'irreplaceable', says Mercedes chief Wolff

Formula One legend Niki Lauda is "irreplaceable", Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said in reaction to the death of the Austrian three-time world champion at the age of 70. Lauda -- whose death comes eight months after he underwent a lung transplant -- had been non-executive chairman of Mercedes since 2012 and was instrumental in persuading Lewis Hamilton to move to them for the 2013 campaign from McLaren. The English pilot has since gone on to win four drivers championships and the team has won five successive constructors titles. "Our Mercedes team has also lost a guiding light," said Wolff in a team statement. "As a team-mate over the past six and a half years, Niki was always brutally honest -- and utterly loyal. "It was a privilege to count him among our team and moving to witness just how much it meant to him to be part of the team's success. "Whenever he delivered one of his famous motivational speeches, he brought an energy that nobody else could replicate. "Niki, you are ...

Five leg spinners to watch out for at World Cup

Just like old times, it could well boil down to captains falling back on leg-spinners to keep the run-flow in check during the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales which has been predicted to be a run fest.

Archer in England's World Cup squad as Willey and Denly miss out

Jofra Archer's late bid for an World Cup place was rewarded when the Sussex fast bowler was named in hosts England's 15-man squad for the tournament announced Tuesday. Barbados-born Archer only became qualified for England in March and has played just three one-day internationals. He edged out left-arm quick David Willey, a veteran of 46 ODIs, after both pacemen featured during England's 4-0 series win at home to Pakistan which concluded Sunday. There was no place also in a squad, again captained by Eoin Morgan, for back-up spinner and batsman Joe Denly, with Hampshire slow left-armer Liam Dawson -- who did not feature against Pakistan -- recalled as cover for Adil Rashid, who is nursing a shoulder problem. Both Denly and Willey were named in England's provisional squad, as was opener Alex Hales. James Vince came in after England decided against selecting Hales following the Nottinghamshire batsman's ban for recreational drug use. England reduced their qualification period from seven .

Australia look to put tough years behind in WC (SWOT)

Australia were without captain Michael Clarke when they took on England in their first match of the 2015 World Cup. And yet, it was no surprise when they strolled to a 111-run win in that match. When Clarke made his return from a hamstring injury, the team was so well built that the only man who could make way for him was stand-in skipper George Bailey, who was Australia's highest run scorer in ODI cricket for the past three years.

Andy Murray hints at playing doubles at Wimbledon

Former world number one Andy Murray, who underwent a hip-resurfacing surgery, has all but ruled out the possibility of competing in singles at Wimbledon this year and would be looking to play in the doubles.

Willey makes place for Archer in England WC squad

England have included right-arm pacer Jofra Archer in the 15-member squad for the upcoming World Cup beginning May 30.

'You've got to be prepared for anything': Ross Taylor

New Zealand middle-order batsman Ross Taylor on Tuesday said that the team needs to be prepared for all type of conditions in the upcoming World Cup and the team should possess the skills to adapt accordingly.The player also cited the Champions Trophy 2017, saying that there were not many big scores in that tournament, adding that it is the mindset that actually matters in the big tournaments."You don't have to go too far back to the Champions Trophy in 2017, when a lot of people talked about big scores and there weren't a lot at that tournament. You've just got to be flexible, there will be times when the bowlers dominate and the batters will dominate as well. You've got to be prepared for anything and adapt accordingly," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Taylor as saying.The 35-year-old highlighted the importance of warm-up matches before the World Cup and he even praised the format of this year's World Cup, saying it will be more exciting playing the tournament in this ...

FC Goa signs Seiminlen Doungel from Kerela Blasters

Indian Super League (ISL) side FC Goa on Monday signed Seiminlen Doungel on a free transfer basis from Kerela Blasters FC.The 25-year-old still had two years left on his contract with Kerela but he will now represent FC Goa till the summer of 2021, according to a statement released by FC Goa."Goa, as a team, have been consistently improving every season and playing a very good brand of football. I am looking forward to playing at Fatorda in front of the Goan faithful and I wish to win the Hero ISL with the Gaurs," FC Goa posted Doungel's statement on Twitter.The 25-year-old Doungel is an experienced ISL campaigner and has 50 caps under his belt. He has scored seven goals and provided five assists in his ISL career so far.Indian forward, Doungel had regularly featured for Indian Arrows in the I-League when he started his professional career as a footballer and then he played for various clubs, including ISL teams NorthEast United and Delhi Dynamos.The Manipur-based footballer had a ...

Indian shuttlers suffer 2-3 loss to Malaysia in Sudirman Cup

Sameer Verma suffered a shocking straight-game loss in men's singles on Tuesday as India were stunned 2-3 by a young Malaysia in a group 1D match to jeopardise their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Sudirman Cup mixed team championship here. Mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa produced a brilliant performance to outdo Malaysia's Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie 16-21 21-17 24-22 in an hour and 10-minute opening match to give India a 1-0 lead. But India's decision to field world no 13 Sameer instead of Kidambi Srikanth in men's singles backfired as the former couldn't get going against Lee Zii Jia, losing 13-21 15-21 in 48 minutes to allow Malaysia level the scores 1-1. Olympic and world championship silver medallist P V Sindhu then steamrolled Goh Jin Wei 21-12 21-8 in 35 minutes to bring India back on track but doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy lost narrowly 20-22 19-21 to Aaron Chia and Teo Ee Yi. With India and Malaysia level

Dhoni will be India's trump card in World Cup: Zaheer Abbas

"Brain" of his cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be India's trump card at the World Cup because of his vast experience, reckons former Pakistan skipper Zaheer Abbas. India grabbed the Twenty20 World Cup under Dhoni's leadership in 2007 apart from winning the ODI World Cup in 2011. The team also won the Asia Cup twice (2010 and 2016) under Dhoni and the Champions Trophy in 2013. His lightening skills behind the stumps are still intact but his image of world' best finisher took a hit, recently. However, Abbas said at a big event like World Cup, Dhoni's experience will count a lot. "India has a genius called Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the team. He is the brain of cricket in the team. He understands the game so well and has experience of leading India in two WC wins. His experience will be vital for captain and coach and he can be their trump card," Abbas told PTI Bhasha.. "Also, it is the first WC under Virat Kohli's captaincy and he would be eager to prove his mettle as a captain," ..

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka far from sub-continent force this World Cup

From leadership crisis to infighting in team to poor results to administrative mess, Sri Lanka cricket has endured all in run up to the World Cup and the former champions require no less than a miracle to emerge a worthy challenger this time. Always a dark horse in this showpiece event, Sri Lanka have an impressive World Cup record with one title, two runner-up finish and one semifinal appearance but this time they will start as the weakest opponent. With selectors axing some big names including Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella, it will be Dimuth Karunaratne, who last played an ODI in the 2015 World Cup, will lead the side. Chandimal and Dickwella both led the side in different formats till early this year before handing the baton to Lasith Malinga under whom they lost 12 games on the trot. That Sri Lanka have seen nine captains in two years across the formats, speaks volumes about the leadership crisis that has struck them. There are also cracks within the team with Angelo ...

Driver, legend, businessman: Niki Lauda's career

The life and times of Niki Lauda, who has died at the age of 70. 1949: Andreas Nikolaus Lauda born on February 22 in Vienna, Austria 1968: Without telling his parents, who disapprove of motor racing, Lauda wins his first race in a Mini 1971: Takes out a loan to buy a seat in the new March team in Formula Two 1971: Promoted to March Formula One team. Makes grand prix debut in Austria on August 15 1973: Takes another loan to buy his way into BRM team 1974: Gets a huge break when former BRM teammate Clay Regazzoni recommends him to Ferrari. Lauda finishes second in Argentina on Ferrari debut 1974: Enjoys his first grand prix victory in Spain on April 28 in his fourth race for Ferrari 1975: Emerges as Formula One's star driver as he becomes world champion for the first time, winning five of 14 grands prix and taking nine pole positions 1976: Suffers horrific burns and lung damage in a fiery crash at the Nuerburgring and is read the last rites in hospital. Miraculously misses only two ...

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri inducted into Italian Football Hall of Fame

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame on Monday (local time).The 51-year-old received the award from Italian and Juventus legend Marcello Lippi in Florence.The Italian Football Federation recognised Allegri following five successive Scudetto triumphs and six in total. The manager will leave the Serie A champions following their Sunday's, May 26 match against Sampdoria."Allegri is the only Italian coach to have won five Scudetti in a row. In total, he has six league titles, plus four Italian Cups and three Italian Super Cups," the Italian Football Federation said in an official statement."He has already entered history as one of the most decorated coaches, and only at the age of 51. But Allegri will leave a mark because he is a winner who has not lost the sense of the game. He is rational and who accepts the irrational, and trains to enjoy the game that, as he says, was and will remain simple," the statement added.Allegri had led ..

2 new balls, flat English decks make 350 look ordinary

After England had scored a record breaking 481 against Australia last year, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar had lashed out at ICC's decision to use two new balls in ODIs.

Treat Smith and Warner decently, Moeen Ali requests WC fans

English all-rounder Moeen Ali has urged fans attending the upcoming World Cup to treat Australian duo of Steve Smith and David Warner with respect and abstain from making personal remarks. Both Smith and Warner will be returning to high-intensity action at the showpiece event after serving one-year bans for their respective roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year. "I really hope they don't get too much stick. I want them to enjoy the series. If you have to, keep it funny, not personal," Ali told 'The Guardian'. "We all make mistakes. We are human beings and we have feelings. I know deep down they are probably really good people. I just hope they get treated decently. I just want the cricket to be spoken about," he added. Ali's comments comes shortly after Australia coach Justin Langer had said Smith and Warner would require sensitive monitoring to ensure that the duo remain comfortable over the coming months. "What we've got to understand is that they're human ...

Italy's head coach Roberto Mancini takes a dig at 'Brexit'

Italy's head coach Roberto Mancini has taken a dig at 'Brexit' saying that Premier League teams from England are dominating in Europe, despite the country voting to leave the European Union."What does it mean? They want to leave Europe and they are playing the European finals," Goal.com quoted Mancini as saying."English teams are strong, they have a lot of economic incomes, much more than Italian teams. They can invest a lot. Obviously, they have great squads with great players. This is one of the reasons," he added.The finals of this year Champions League will be played between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs on June 1 (local time) in Madrid whereas Arsenal and Chelsea face each other in the Europa League showpiece on May 29 (local time) in Baku.This is the first time in history that all four clubs in the Champions League/European Cup and Europa League/UEFA Cup finals will be representatives from the same nation."Teams eliminated from the Champions League perhaps were technically ...

Don't get personal with Smith, Warner: Moeen urges fans

All-rounder Moeen Ali has urged fans, who will be coming to England to watch the upcoming World Cup, not to make personal barbs at tainted Australian duo of Steve Smith and David Warner during the showpiece event beginning May 30.

Diego Maradona to undergo shoulder surgery

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona will travel to Buenos Aires for surgery on his left shoulder.