Page 245 - Sports
Favre disappointed after Dortmund finishes second in Bundesliga
Despite registering a 2-0 win over Monchengladbach on Saturday, Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre is disappointed as his team fell two points short from Bayern Munich, who clinched the Bundesliga title for the seventh consecutive time."It is a disappointment. Sure, we did not give up hope. At one stage it was 1-1 between Bayern and Eintracht Frankfurt, then Bayern immediately scored to make it 2-1. We still believed in it, but most of all we focused on our game, on our task. We did not look much at the other teams' results," Goal.com quoted Favre, as saying.Favre still feels happy with his club's season as he stated that they surpassed expectations by achieving 76 points."In the end, it is clear that we are a little disappointed by the result of the championship, but we won our game. There was little missing to the title, but we are still very happy with our season," he said."Nobody would have thought that we would get 76 points," Favre added.Favre is of the opinion that they ...
Captain Kompany to leave Man City
Club captain Vincent Kompany announced Sunday that he is to leave Manchester City after 11 trophy-laden years. The 33-year-old Belgian defender joined the club in the summer of 2008 and has made 360 appearances, winning four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and two Community Shields. He signed off with victory in the FA Cup final on Saturday, where City thrashed Watford 6-0 to complete a domestic treble. "As overwhelming as it is, the time has come for me to go. And what a season to bow out," said Kompany, who joined City from Hamburg. "I feel nothing but gratefulness. I am grateful to all those who supported me on a special journey, at a very special club." Kompany added: "I will never forget how all Man City supporters remained loyal to me in good times and especially bad times. Against the odds you have always backed me and inspired me to never give up. "(Club owner) Sheikh Mansour changed my life and that of all the City fans around the world, for that I am ...
India go into World Cup as the best bowling side, says Rajput
Former India opener Lalchand Rajput believes the Virat Kohli-led side has the best bowling attack among the 10 teams to take part in the upcoming World Cup, making it one of the favourites for the 50-over showpiece event. "I think India has got best bowling attack and we have got a very well balanced team. We have got very good all-rounders and if we look at any other team, India is best equipped for that," Rajput, who is also the mentor of Triumph Knights Mumbai North East, said here on Sunday. ".And if it is a good day our team, it is very difficult to beat them. And Hardik (Pandya) is a great X-factor in the team and (Ravindra) Jadeja who can get going at the lower order, so overall I think we have got a very good chance and I think we should be in the top four," added Rajput, who is now Zimbabwe's coach. India begin their campaign against South Africa at Southampton on June 5. Rajput, who was the team's cricket-manager when India lifted the inaugural T20 held in South Africa in ...
I'm more aggressive now: Thapa
World championship bronze medallist pugilist Shiva Thapa said he is more aggressive in his approach and hungrier for success as he gears up for the India Open boxing tournament beginning here Monday. The 25-year-old from Assam became the first Indian male boxer to claim four consecutive Asian medals with a 60kg category bronze in last month's Asian Championship in Bangkok. He had won a gold in 2013, a bronze in 2015, followed by a silver in 2017 at the same tournament. "You saw in the last Asian Championships too that I play much more freely now. Even more than that, I can readily impress the judges now. I am being more aggressive now," the 25-year-old said at the pre-tournament news conference here. Armed with a record fourth Asian Championship medal, local favourite Thapa will be fighting it out in the 60kg category in the India Open before switching to 63kg keeping in mind the approved weight categories for Tokyo Olympic qualification. "The more punches I can give, the more chances
Kompany parts ways with Manchester City after 11 yrs
Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany announced on Sunday that he was leaving the Premier League outfit after 11 years at the club in which the Belgium international won 10 trophies.
Yuvraj mulls retirement, may seek BCCI nod to compete in private T20 leagues
Yuvraj Singh, one of India's greatest limited overs cricketers, is seriously contemplating retirement from international cricket and pursue a freelance career in ICC approved foreign Twenty20 leagues. The Punjab left-hander would make a final decision only if he gets permission from the BCCI. It has been learnt that Yuvraj has come to terms with the fact that he is unlikely to play for India. "Yuvraj is thinking of calling it quits from international and first class cricket. He would like to speak to the BCCI and get more clarity on plying his trade in tournaments like GT20 (Canada), Euro T20 Slam in Ireland and Holland as he has offers," a BCCI source privy to the development, told PTI on Sunday. Recently, Irfan Pathan put his name in the draft for the Caribbean Premier League but Pathan junior is an active first class player, who didn't seek permission from the BCCI. "Irfan was told to withdraw his name from the draft. As far as Yuvraj is concerned, we need to check the rules. Even
Hockey India names 32 players for senior men's national camp
Hockey India on Sunday named a list of 32 players for the senior men's national camp, beginning May 20 at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, to prepare for the upcoming FIH Men's Series Finals 2019, starting June 6.Hockey India has retained all the 18 players that took part in the recently concluded Australian tour where the team won two matches against WA Thundersticks and Australia A respectively, drew another match against Australia A and lost the last two matches against the world number two Australia.The list for the national camp includes goalkeepers PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera, and Krishan Bahadur Pathak, while defenders Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Varun Kumar, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurinder Singh, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jarmanpreet Singh, have all been called up.Manpreet Singh, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Jaskaran Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Ashis Kumar Topno, and Sayyad Niyaz Rahim, Rajkumar Pal are the midfielders .
Mary Kom and Co. aim to pack a punch in India Open
All eyes will be on six-time world champion Mary Kom as 72 Indian boxers vie for honours against 200 pugilists from 16 nations in the second edition of India Open beginning here Monday. Asian Games champion Amit Panghal and World Championship bronze medallist Shiva Thapa will be among the other top Indian boxers in the tournament which will serve as a preparatory meet for the World Championships (an Olympic qualification event) from September 7-21 in Yekaterinburg (men's) and from October 3-13 in Ulan Ude (women's), both in Russia. Having opted out of the Asian Championships last month in order to prepare for the World Championships, 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist Mary Kom will make her competitive debut at home in 51kg in the USD 70,000 five-day meet at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium here. "Yes, of course, there are expectations from me. I feel more confident in 51kg after the last few months of rigorous training. It feels like a homecoming to come here ...
Ethiopia's Belihu wins TCS World 10K run, Kenya's Tirop defends women's title
Ethiopia's Andamlak Belihu Sunday won the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2019 title by crossing the tape in IAAF Gold Label Road Race in 27:56, just eight seconds outside his personal best and 12 seconds off the course record. "I expected to run a fast time as there were so many good runners in this race, but I also expected to run even faster than this," Belihu told reporters after the race. The 20-year-old triumphed in difficult conditions as there was high humidity and temperatures touched 26 degrees celsius. Right from the gun, Belihu was prominent at the front of the leading pack, often forcing the pace. Eight men went through the 5km mark in 14:11 before Uganda's Mande Bushendich made an audacious early move just after the halfway point. Bushendich, who finished second in 28:03, went through the gears so rapidly that the leading group was quickly fractured and by the 7km mark only Belihu was left to challenge him. It initially looked as though Belihu was also going to be dropped as he
Need to score consistently under tight marking: Graham Reid
India need to consistently score goals under tight marking to narrow the gap with top teams like Australia, said coach Graham Reid after his first major assignment with the national hockey team. On their tour of Australia that concluded on Friday, India lost both the games against the hosts after beating the A team. Speaking about the tour comprising five matches, Reid, who was appointed as India coach last month, said that the assignment in his home country was an opportunity for him to understand his team better. "It was good to get a view of where the team (India are raked five) is at, compared to the World Number 2 side (Australia). They have been playing against world class oppositions on a regular basis in the FIH Pro-League since the World Cup last year, and this showed up in our two matches against them," he said. "For me, those matches provided a good bench-mark as to the level we have to be at as we move towards the Olympic qualification. So, in terms of preparation for our .
USA Women seal place at global qualifiers
A superb team performance led by skipper Sindhu Sriharsha and a four-wicket haul from Uzma Iftikhar guided USA Women seal qualification as the Road to Australia 2020 and New Zealand 2021 for them continues.With the ICC Women's Qualifier Americas acting as a dual qualifier between USA and Canada, USA have booked their spot in both the ICC Women's T20 World Cup Qualifier - taking place in Scotland between August 31 and September 7 this year, where USA will join Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, PNG, Thailand and Zimbabwe and the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier 2020.Canada showed early promise in the 114 run-chase as the game was right in the balance at 49 for the loss of four at the half-way stage. But a spell from Uzma and miserly brilliance from Claudine Beckford who bowled three overs for just one run helped the USA close out the game and spark wild celebrations.Earlier, Canada made an early breakthrough with the dismissal of Rendler after sending the USA into bat. But a wonderful ...
Vincent Kompany confirms exit from Manchester City
Belgian defender Vincent Kompany on Sunday confirmed his departure from English football club Manchester City after 11 seasons."The time has come for me to go now. As overwhelming as it is, I feel nothing but gratefulness. I am grateful to all those who supported me on a special journey, at a very special club. I remember the first day, as clear as I see the last. I remember the boundless kindness I received from the people of Manchester," Kompany wrote in an open letter to his supporters on Facebook."I will never forget how all Man City supporters remained loyal to me in good times and especially bad times. Against the odds, you have always backed me and inspired me to never give up. A special word also to Pep and the backroom staff: you've been superb. You've followed me through so much hardship. You made me come back stronger every time. Thank you so much," he added.Kompany played 360 matches for Manchester City, and has scored 20 goals for the club.The 33-year-old defender had ...
Indian stars endorse Airbadminton, a new version of outdoor badminton
India's top shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal, have endorsed sport's new format - AirBadminton, saying it has the potential to provide an alternate career to retired professionals. Outdoor badminton is one of India's favourite recreational sports and there are places in the country where it is a money-making option too. Airbadminton was globally launched at Guangzhou last week by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) with new dimensions of the court and an innovative shuttlecock called Airshuttle. Airshuttle, the most important component of the format, has been designed to have similar trajectory, acoustics and feel to that of a traditional indoor shuttle. It would have minimal impact from side and axial wind and limited influence from humidity variations. Olympic bronze medallist and former world number one Saina said Airbadminton will further promote the sport, taking it to different corners of the world. "In India we mostly get introduced to this sport as an outdoor game only. We ...
Langer compares Smith to Tendulkar
Australia head coach Justin Langer likened Steven Smith to master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar after watching the Sydney-born playing an "unbelievable shot" in Brisbane."Last week in Brisbane, (Smith) batted beautifully, he played an unbelievable shot off Nathan Coulter-Nile there - it was like watching Sachin bat. He's in pretty good shape I think," cricket.com.au quoted Langer, as saying."(I) watched Steve Smith batting against New Zealand in those three practice games, he's literally a master of the game, so it's nice to have him back. He loves batting - he's shadow batting on the sand, he's shadow batting in the shower - I'm not joking," he added.Delighted with Smith's progress going into the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019, the head coach called him Australia's success at the tournament. The 29-year-old scored unbeaten 89 and 91 in the warm-up games against New Zealand XI in Brisbane last week.As the upcoming 50-over tournament is expected to be a high-scoring, Langer said ...
Pak U-19 to play 5 ODIs against Sri Lanka
Pakistan Under-19 are set to play five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against Sri Lanka, beginning May 26 in Hambantota.The tour was originally planned from May 6 to 20, comprising two four-day matches and three 50-over matches. However, the series was postponed on April 27 by Sri Lanka Cricket following April 21 terror attacks in Colombo.Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director - International Cricket, Zakir Khan, said: "I am pleased to confirm the Pakistan U19 cricket team's tour to Sri Lanka is now back on track following April 21 tragic events. Pakistan have themselves been a victim of terrorism. In the past decade, we have suffered massively, both financially and in terms of growing and developing cricket in our country, following international teams' refusals to visit Pakistan.""When the offer for a revised schedule came on the table, the PCB management team unanimously agreed they will not allow any cricket playing country to go through the same difficulties and challenges as ...
The way Binny ran, I knew I won't play a game: Sunil Valson
Sunil Valson was the only squad member not to play a game in India's historic World Cup triumph in 1983 but a strong sense of belonging is definitely there. He is a rare former cricketer, who is not stuck in a time-warp and is always ready to crack a joke or two at his own expense. No wonder when he received a call just 12 days before the World Cup opener in England, he knew the reason. "I know every four years, I get these calls," there was no sarcasm or malice but pure humour as Valson was ready to take yet another trip Down Memory lane on his finest hour of glory, 1983 Prudential World Cup. So does it hurt that you were the only player among 14, who was not played in that World Cup? "Absolutely not. It didn't hurt then when I was a youngster and it doesn't hurt now that I am almost a senior citizen. There are 14 guys who won that World Cup and I was among the 14. No one can take that away from me," said the former left-arm pacer, who perhaps was one of the quickest Indian bowlers ..
'Chokers' label for South Africa exaggeration: Upton
South Africa need to embrace the 'chokers' tag rather than run away from it at the upcoming World Cup that will be held in England and Wales, according to the Proteas' former Performance Director Paddy Upton.
Djokovic beats Schwartzman to reach Italian Open final
Serbian world No.1 Novak Djokovic got a stern test from Argentina's Diego Schwartzman but he pulled out a 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 victory to advance to the Italian Open final.
Windies batting legend Nurse laid to rest
Seymour Nurse was carried to the Kensington Oval for one final inning as family, friends, and well-wishers came to pay their final respects to the departed soul.Former West Indies batting legend's twin daughters Roseanne and Cherylanne led mourners at the ground for the funeral of Nurse, who passed away on May 6 at the age of 85 following an illness.Barbados Governor-General Dame Sandra Mason, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, past and present Barbados and West Indies players including Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Wes Hall, and Sir Charlie Griffith, and Cricket West Indies (CWI) represented by board director Enoch Lewis and Roland Holder were among the notable attendees.In a tribute, Sir Wes said only Sir Garfield and Guyanese Rohan Kanhai batted better than Nurse in the 1960s. He also added Nurse knew that failure on the field would impede his success and worked extremely hard to develop his elegant and stylish stroke-play."Seymour was called 'Castle' by all members of the team after a ...
A sixth triumph looks realistic for Australia
Synonymous with World Cup success, Australia will enter the showpiece with realistic hopes of widening the gulf between them and the rest, having tenaciously rallied from the ball-tampering saga that prompted radical changes in their cricketing culture. The five-time winners have showed exemplary resilience in navigating the tempestuous phase that nearly broke their back and spirit, and the recent away series victories against India and Pakistan are proof of their never-say-die attitude. The much-awaited return of David Warner and Steve Smith from their one-year bans has bolstered the team and boosted the morale of those, who will wear the yellow jersey in the United Kingdom. The squad has completed its World Cup preparatory camp in Brisbane and headed to the the United Kingdom via a stopover in the Gallipoli peninsula. Located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, Gallipoli peninsula holds great significance in Australia's history as this was the place ...