Page 468 - Sports
India eye gold in Azlan Shah Cup hockey
Ahead of the Indian mens hockey teams departure for the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia, skipper Manpreet Singh and his troops expressed their eagerness to compete in the first marquee event of the year.
IPL: Dhawan wants Indian batsmen to fire for Delhi
India opener Shikhar Dhawan, who has joined the rest of the Delhi Capitals squad after the ODI series against Australia, on Monday said he was looking to help younger players get used to the pressure of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Indian men's hockey team eyes strong start to season at Azlan Shah Cup
The Indian men's hockey captain Manpreet Singh feels the team has learnt its lessons from the World Cup debacle last year and is geared up for a positive start to the season at the Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia. Speaking to the media before leaving for Ipoh on Sunday night, Manpreet said the side has prepared itself for the hot and humid weather in Ipoh by having noon practice sessions at the national camp here. "...we are quite eager to make a positive start as it will give us the right momentum ahead of the FIH Men's Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019. We have worked really hard in the camp, often training at noon to get used to playing in the hot and humid weather conditions," Manpreet. India begin their campaign against Japan on March 23 and will be looking to continue their winning form against the side, who they last met during the Hero Asian Champions Trophy last year. "We will be playing the Asian Games Champions Japan in the opening match and we will have to be at our ..
U19 Cricket World Cup Africa Qualifier underway
In the ongoing ICC U19 Cricket World Africa Qualifier tournament in Namibia there are several dark horses to consider.Nigeria is one side which can spring a surprise, especially considering the depth of its attack. Young Peter Aho from the Nigerian team stood out for his astounding ball display in the Division Two tournament in Potchefstroom last August.His game would have only improved in the past few months and he has the happy knack of always taking wickets. Nigeria is also a side that is not afraid of going at it with the bat and is a cricketing nation on the rise.Another team that shows great promise is Sierra Leone. Again this is another young cricketing nation that is punching above its weight. With a significant improvement in its all-round skills, Sierra Leone is one of the richest fielding units in African junior cricket.But there is more to them than just fielding. As a 13-year-old last year, Haroun Kamara stood out for them. He displays a measure of maturity far beyond his
We wanted to win this title badly: Chhetri
An elated Bengaluru FC skipper Sunil Chhetri termed his team's maiden Indian Super League victory against FC Goa as a "sweet one" especially after his side had faltered in the summit clash last season against Chennaiyin FC. Courtesy Rahul Bheke's championship-winning header in the second extra time, Bengaluru defeated FC Goa 1-0 in an edge of a seat thriller last night here to win their maiden ISL title. Bengaluru had last year lost last year's final to Chennaiyin FC "Last year after the final, I said next year we'll come back. Right from the ball boy to Carles (Cuadrat the coach), everyone wanted this. We wanted to win it (the title) badly. When you lose the way we did last year, it's sweet to win this one. Asia, we are back," Chhetri said at the post match media conference late Sunday night. Now by winning the ISL, Bengaluru FC will play in the AFC Asian Cup next year. Chhetri also said it was "commendable" that a player like Ferran Corominas, who bagged the Golden Boot award, did .
BCCI agrees to work with NADA for 6 months
The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) met ICC chairman Shashank Manohar in Mumbai on Monday and decided that the Indian board will work with the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for the next six months on a trial basis.
Milner's penalty puts Liverpool in EPL's top spot
James Milner's late penalty kick secured a hard-fought 2-1 win for Liverpool over host Fulham in English Premier League match and temporarily put the club in first place in the standings.
Thiem stuns Federer, wins Indian Wells
Austrian Dominic Thiem won the biggest title of his career by beating Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3 and 7-5 in two hours and three minutes in the final at Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 of the season.
Rahane's tactical acumen makes him special: RR coach
They have been an integral part of India's journey to the top of the ladder in Test cricket, but the next two months will see Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli fight it out as both teams look to win the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
UEFA set to meet clubs, leagues on Euro competitions future
The future of the Champions League will be shaped in the coming weeks as UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin hosts talks with representatives of clubs and leagues. UEFA, European soccer's governing body, is gathering views ahead of a meeting of its executive committee in May when the 2021-24 cycle for the European club competitions will be discussed. The distribution of finances is yet to be decided but UEFA has repeatedly ruled out the imminent prospect of Champions League games moving to weekends, beyond the existing final slot, despite interest from clubs. The European Club Association (ECA) leadership is due at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Tuesday. A meeting with European Leagues organization was also planned for next week but it has been postponed because of the unavailability of a key official. Details of the meetings were confirmed Sunday to The Associated Press by a person with knowledge of the situation who said there was no specific agenda. The person spoke on ...
Chelsea 'mentality' concerns Sarri after Everton defeat
Maurizio Sarri admitted he is worried about his Chelsea team's "mentality" after they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Everton that severely damages their hopes of a top-four finish in the Premier League. Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson, converting his own saved penalty, scored the second-half goals at Goodison Park on Sunday that halted Chelsea's recent league improvements and marked Everton's first win over 'Big Six' opposition in 26 games, a run dating back to January 2017. But the goals followed a first half of utter Chelsea domination in which they somehow failed to beat Everton's England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and the subsequent collapse has clearly concerned the London club's manager. "I'm worried about our mentality," said Sarri. "I think the situation is clear. "We played probably the best 45 minutes of the season then, suddenly, at the beginning of the second half, we stopped playing. I don't know why." The Italian added: "We played really very well until the last minute of the .
Greek derby called off due to fan violence
Violence in the stands and two pitch invasions forced the abandonment of Sunday's Greek Super League derby between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos at the Athens Olympic Stadium. German referee Marco Fritz called off the match in the 69th minute with Olympiakos leading 1-0 and with chaotic scenes unfolding inside and outside the ground. Riot-trained police used tear gas to bring order and to chase away dozens of hooligans who had darted on to the field. The match was interrupted first in the fifth minute of play when a few fans entered the pitch and police managed to usher them back into the stands. Fritz then waited a few minutes before play resumed. But in the 69th minute and with clashes already occurring between fans and police in the stands, security personnel were overwhelmed by dozens of hooligans, forcing Fritz to order the players off the pitch and into the dressing rooms. Fritz had called for the stadium of about 25,000 spectators to be evacuated in order for the match to ...
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva eyeing football history
Bernardo Silva has said he wants to "make history" at Manchester City after helping the Premier League leaders move a step closer to an unprecedented quadruple. Silva played a key role in keeping City's four-pronged pursuit of honours on track by sparking a thrilling fightback as Pep Guardiola's side overcome a two-goal deficit to beat Swansea City 3-2 in their FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday. Not only did Silva score City's first goal at Swansea's Liberty Stadium but he also set up Sergio Aguero's late winner in south Wales to keep alive hopes of adding the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League titles this season to the League Cup that is already in their trophy cabinet. "All the players feel that this season can be special," said Silva. "Last season was special in the way we won the Premier League; this season can be special because we've already won one competition, we're still playing for three," the 24-year-old added. "We can win three or lose all of them as well, so it ...
Napoli keeper Ospina in hospital after collapsing in game
Napoli goalkeeper David Ospina was hospitalized after he played on despite a head injury during a Serie A match on Sunday and then collapsed. Ospina injured his head in a collision with Udinese forward Ignacio Pussetto during the opening minutes of the game but insisted he was fine to continue. However, the Colombia international fell to the ground around 40 minutes later, seemingly unconscious. Ospina was conscious when he was taken off the field and transported to the nearby San Paolo hospital. Napoli says a CT scan was clear but the 30-year-old Ospina will be transferred shortly to the Pineta Grande clinic and kept under observation for 24 hours. Napoli had wasted a 2-0 lead in the match but went on to beat Udinese 4-2.
Suarez suffers badly sprained ankle: Valverde
Luis Suarez suffered a "bad sprain" to his right ankle during Barcelona's win over Real Betis on Sunday, coach Ernesto Valverde confirmed. Suarez was taken off for Philippe Coutinho in the 89th minute of the 4-1 victory, in which he scored one goal and set up the second of a Lionel Messi hat-trick. "He has a bad sprain," Valverde said afterwards. "We'll see what the doctors say but this is the feeling we have." Suarez looks unlikely now to feature over the international break, with Uruguay playing Uzbekistan in the China Cup on Friday. He will hope to recover in time for Barca's La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid on April 6 and has just under four weeks to be ready for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United.
Ronaldo rested as Juventus lose, Inter go third with Milan derby win
Cristiano Ronaldo was rested and Juventus crashed to their first Serie A defeat of the season at Genoa on Sunday following their Champions League heroics, as Inter won a fiery Milan derby clash 3-2 to move into third ahead of city rivals AC Milan. Ronaldo had fired Juventus into the European quarter-finals with a comeback victory over Atletico Madrid last Tuesday. Without him the team slumped to a 2-0 defeat but still remain comfortably on track for an eighth consecutive league title. Juventus's lead was cut to 15 points by Napoli who got back winning, prevailing 4-2 against Udinese after goalkeeper David Ospina collapsed on the pitch after suffering a head injury. The on-loan Arsenal goalkeeper was later given the all clear following a CT scan at a Naples hospital. Juventus had won 24 of their 27 previous matches in Serie A this season with three draws, including a 1-1 stalemate against Genoa in Turin. "It's not a tragedy, but I'm sorry because we wanted to remain unbeaten," said ...
Rodriguez bags hat-trick as Bayern exorcise Liverpool frustrations
Bayern Munich took out their Champions League frustrations on Mainz as James Rodriguez claimed his first Bundesliga hat-trick on Sunday in a 6-0 romp to fire the Bavarians back to the top of the table. After Wednesday's Champions League exit, following a 3-1 home defeat by Liverpool in the last 16, Mainz bore the brunt of the backlash at Munich's Allianz Arena. "We showed the disappointment of the Liverpool defeat is behind us, it was important to react," said Bayern coach Niko Kovac. Rodriguez, on loan until the end of the season from Real Madrid, came off to a standing ovation with 20 minutes left after arguably his best display in the famous red shirt. "I am pleased for him, he deserved the applause," added Kovac, who declined to comment on whether Rodriguez's loan deal will be extended. Canadian wunderkind Alphonso Davies, 18, scored his first Bayern goal on only his fifth appearance after coming off the bench. The thumping win saw Bayern reclaim top spot in the Bundesliga from ...
Messi hat-trick blows away Betis
Even the Real Betis fans were applauding by the end as Lionel Messi scored another spectacular hat-trick to fire Barcelona to a 4-1 victory on Sunday and leave them with one hand on the La Liga trophy. Messi's treble, his second in a month in Seville, fourth of the season and 51st of his career, moves Barca 10 points clear of Atletico Madrid with 10 games left to play, a gap surely too big to close. Luis Suarez, whose superb flick set up Messi's second, scored his own brilliant goal after a scintillating solo run but it was ultimately reduced to a footnote, in what became another night all about his Argentinian partner. The only blot on the night was the sight of Suarez limping off late on, although he was able to walk after the final whistle. Messi now has 29 league goals this season, 39 in all competitions, and together with Suarez's 18 their joint-total of 47 is more than all but two of the other teams in the division. A simple finish from Suarez's exquisite assist came between a ..
Thiem rallies to deny Federer sixth ATP Indian Wells Masters title
Dominic Thiem denied Roger Federer a record sixth Indian Wells title, beating the Swiss great 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday to claim his first ATP Masters 1000 crown. The 25-year-old Austrian, ranked eighth in the world, had fallen in two prior Masters finals, both in Madrid. But he rallied for a third career win over Federer in five meetings, his first over the Swiss on hard courts. "It feels just unreal what happened in this 10 days," Thiem said. "I came from a really bad form in all categories, and now I'm the champion of Indian Wells. "It feels not real at all," added Thiem, the first Austrian to win a masters 1000 title since Thomas Muster at Miami in 1997. Thiem earned the crucial break in the 11th game of the final set, connecting on two sharply angled passing winners off of Federer drop shots to give himself a break point which he converted with a stinging forehand winner. "He stayed cool under pressure there," Federer said. "When he got up to the ball, stayed calm, made the ...
Canadian teen Andreescu topples Kerber to win Indian Wells
Canadian sensation Bianca Andreescu became the first wild card to win the WTA title at Indian Wells on Sunday with a gritty 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber. Andreescu, 18, shook off fatigue to topple the eighth-ranked German, who hasn't won a title since she beat Serena Williams in last year's Wimbledon final for her third Grand Slam crown. Ranked 60th coming into the tournament, Andreescu will rise to 24th in the world with her first WTA title.