Page 515 - Sports
Kane holds key to Spurs' European ambitions
Harry Kane insists Tottenham will shake off their Premier League collapse as the England star looks to fire his team into the Champions League quarter-finals against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. In the space of seven days, Tottenham's hopes of winning the Premier League have been shattered by defeats at Burnley and Chelsea and Saturday's north London derby draw against Arsenal. It was just the latest Tottenham failure when the stakes have been at their highest since Mauricio Pochettino took charge five years ago. Only a last-minute Hugo Lloris penalty save from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang prevented Arsenal inflicting Tottenham's third successive loss. But Kane is convinced Tottenham are capable of recovering from a painful week and he challenged his team to use their Champions League last-16 second leg in Dortmund as fuel to speed up their revival. "Two disappointing results in a week, this was the perfect game, a north London derby to show passion and show fans we are ready to fight ..
Defensive woes consume Dortmund ahead of Spurs return
Borussia Dortmund must remedy glaring defensive errors to have any chance of overturning a 3-0 first leg deficit when they host Tottenham in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday. "This is a phase we need to stabilise quickly or things will get very tight," said Dortmund captain Marco Reus after Friday's shock 2-1 defeat at Augsburg left them with one win in seven games. On Friday, Dortmund's youthful back four of Abdou Diallo, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Manuel Akanji and Achraf Hakimi, all under 23, failed to cope with an Augsburg side fighting relegation. Hakimi, whose blunder contributed to the heavy defeat at Wembley when he failed to mark Jan Vertonghen for Spurs' second goal, was again found wanting. The right-back's lazy pass was pounced on by Ji Dong-won for Augsburg's stunning second goal after a slip by centre-back Zagadou had led to Ji netting the first. "We practically scored their goals ourselves due to two individual mistakes," added Reus, who will lead Dortmund's attack
Crunch time for Solari as Madrid left relying on Europe again
Santiago Solari's future is likely to hinge on Real Madrid again winning the Champions League but two defeats by Barcelona in four days have brought old problems back to the surface. After being knocked out of the Copa del Rey and effectively deemed irrelevant in the title race, a third loss in as many games could see Madrid's season wiped out in a week. "We have to react," said defender Dani Carvajal. "It's probably been one of the toughest weeks in my time here." Ajax deserved more from the 2-1 loss in Amsterdam that, in theory, puts their opponents firmly in charge ahead of the second leg on Tuesday. But three consecutive defeats at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first time in 15 years means Madrid will be feeling the heat. Solari too, the coach that was handed a contract until 2021 when appointed only five months ago but who might not last the season should Ajax do the unthinkable and reach the quarter-finals. Jose Mourinho's criticism as a pundit for bEIN Sports on the latest ...
No concerns regarding World Cup, says Usman Khawaja
Return of the suspended duo of David Warner and Steve Smith could have other batsmen in Australia's squad worried for their spots, but the opener Usman Khawaja has said that he is just concerned about winning games for Australia."I worked really hard to get back into the one-day team and I am just enjoying the ride, doing the best I can for the team," cricket.com.au quoted Khawaja as saying."Doing my best to win cricket games, that is the most important thing.""That is all I can really focus on."Khawaja made his ODI return in the home series against India earlier this year and in his four innings back in the team he has put together a combined total of 164 runs.There are still 24 days left until the suspensions of Warner and Smith conclude, the other batsman in the team would be looking to cement their place by recording good performances."They are world-class players and they have been amazing for the one-day team for Australia for a long time,"."I am sure when they do come back they
I-League 2018-19: East Bengal keeps title hopes alive
East Bengal were able to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Miverva Punjab on Sunday at Tau Devi Lal stadium to keep their title hopes alive this season.The first half of the match went goalless, but it was Enrique Esqueda who was able to score the only goal of the match for East Bengal in the 75th minute to give them much needed three points.Alejandro Menendez, manager of East Bengal made two changes for the match as he brought in Salam Ranjan Singh and Toni Dovale in place of suspended Borja Gomez and Brandon Vanlalremdika.Sachin Badhade, coach of Minerva Punjab made three changes to his side from the previous clash against NEROCA. Arashpreet Singh returned to the side whereas Sreyas V.G. and Moinuddin Khan replaced Makan Chothe and Prabjot Singh respectively.East Bengal started the match on an aggressive note as they kept on piling the pressure on Minerva with constant attacks putting them in a defensive state of mine throughout the first half.Minerva Punjab could have scored in
Quetta Gladiators have a never say die attitude, says mentor Vivian Richards
Vivian Richards, the Mentor Of Pakistan's Super League side Quetta Gladiators has hailed the team spirit that exists among the players and has said that the guys have a never say die attitude which makes them all the more special."To be fair it is the camaraderie and the spirit in which we play, we have a motto in the Gladiators that we believe in ourselves, have a never say die attitude while also competing as hard as we can," Express Tribune quoted Richards as saying."I am happy that we have started the tournament so well. It is good to be with such a talented bunch of individuals. I have been with the squad for the past four years and I am absolutely proud of them."The legend of the game said that he does not intend on leaving the franchise soon and hopes to have a pretty long association with the team."This is my fourth year and I am looking forward to it as each and every year goes by, this is such a great environment and I am so happy to be a part of it."The 66-year-old praised .
FC Pune City set to release their entire squad
FC Pune City's management has taken a mind-boggling decision of releasing their entire squad, comprising of both foreigners and Indian players due to financial reasons.Goal.com confirmed that a club official communicated to the players and staff on Sunday about the team management's decision to let the players go.Financial trouble has mounted this much for the club, that they have not been able to pay the salaries of the players and staff members for the past two months.The Indian Super League(ISL) club entertained the idea of skipping the Super Cup but after finding out that as an ISL Cup, they need to play Super cup, the club has finally decided to start playing with their academy players in the upcoming knockout competition.The players and staff were also made aware that the club is looking for a potential new investor to raise funds.FC Pune has had a below-par season finishing at the seventh position in the league with 22 points.They had star overseas players like Marcelinho, Iain
ISL: ATK grab late winner vs Delhi
ATK had to fight hard for a 2-1 win over Delhi Dynamos FC in the concluding league clash of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, here on Sunday.
Dhoni joins Sachin, Sourav, Dravid in elite group
Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become only the fourth Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket. Dhoni has amassed 13,054 runs in 412 List A matches at an average of 50.79.
Johannesburg, Mar 3 (AFP) Scoreboard of the first one-day international between South Africa and Sri Lanka at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.
Scoreboard of the first one-day international between South Africa and Sri Lanka at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday. Sri Lanka: N Dickwella c and b Ngidi 8 U Tharanga b Ngidi 9 K Perera c De Kock b Imran Tahir 33 O Fernando run out (Miller) 49 K Mendis c Van der Dussen b Imran Tahir 60 D de Silva st De Kock b Imran Tahir 39 T Perera c Miller b Rabada 7 A Dananjaya run out (Van der Dussen) 0 L Malinga c Imran Tahir b Ngidi 15 L Sandakan c De Kock b Nortje 3 V Fernando not out 1 Extras: (W-7) 7 Total: (all out in 47 overs) 231 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-23, 3-99, 4-101, 5-195, 6-210, 7-211, 8-213, 9-219, 10-231 Bowling: Rabada 9-0-48-1, Ngidi 10-0-60-3, Nortje 7-1-33-1, Pretorius 7-0-44-0, Imran Tahir 10-1-26-3, Mulder 4-0-20-0 South Africa: Q de Kock lbw b Dananjaya 81 R Hendricks c Dickwella b V Fernando 1 F du Plessis not out 112 H van der Dussen not out 32 Extras" (LB-1, W-5) 6 Total: (for 2 wkts in 38.5 overs) 232 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-150 Bowling: Malinga 7-0-37-0, V Fernando ...
ATK win against Delhi to bow out on high
Two-time former champions ATK finally gave their despondent fans something to cheer about as they bowed out with a 2-1 win over Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League here Sunday. Edu Garcia was the star for ATK as he scored once and set up super sub Ankit Mukherjee for the winning goal following a drab goalless stalemate in the first half. ATK drew first blood in the 63rd minute when Garcia put it past the outstretched arms of Francisco Dorronsoro with a stunning header. A cross from Pritam Kotal on the right side of midfield was put to precision and the Spaniard rose to the occasion at the Salt Lake Stadium. But their lead lasted less than 10 minutes with the Lions striking back through super sub Nandhakumar Sekar. Having replaced Romeo Fernandes in the 67th minute, Nandhakumar made his presence felt within five minutes when he fired in a Lallianzuala Chhangte cross. Chhangte's initial cross was blocked but the ball came back to to him luckily as he put another low pass to an ...
South Africa beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in first ODI
South African captain Faf du Plessis hit an unbeaten century as South Africa cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening one-day international in Johannesburg. The hosts won the toss at the Wanderers Stadium, asked Sri Lanka to bat and bowled them out for 231, a total South Africa overtook with more than 11 overs to spare. Du Plessis made 112 not out as South Africa cruised to victory and then praised veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir for ensuring South Africa chased a modest total. Tahir took three for 26 in ten overs as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 231 after being sent in on a good batting pitch. He twice broke partnerships that threatened to take Sri Lanka to a challenging total. "He is probably my biggest weapon as a captain over the years," Du Plessis said of Tahir. But the captain added that early strikes by Lungi Ngidi, playing in his first international match since suffering a knee injury in November, had also been important. "Imran bowled brilliantly in ..
Cricket Australia set to increase female leadership
Cricket Australia is set to double the female representation by 2022 as the governing body is working through the process of filling vacancies for directors.Five of 11 members of the board's executive team include the head of community cricket and interim head of team performance Belinda Clark, head of legal Christine Harman, head of public affairs Karina Keisler, head of people Raj Tapper, and head of commercial Steph Beltrame.The nine-member board features two female directors in Jacqui Hey and Michelle Tredenick, with Hey serving as chair of the board's nominations committee for the two vacancies left by the resignation of David Peever as chairman and Mark Taylor as Board director in 2018.However, it is the composition of Cricket Australia that needs the most change while trying to keep six state associations satisfied with their appointments, meet their target of moving up to four female directors before the 2022 target date, ESPNcricinfo reported on Sunday."We do not have enough .
Austria doping probe widens to include cyclist
Austrian prosecutors said Sunday that a professional cyclist had been charged as part of a doping probe which has already brought the arrests of seen five skiers. The cyclist was arrested on Friday and released later the same day after pleading guilty to unspecified charges. Austrian and German police mounted a series of raids on Wednesday into a doping ring thought to have been based in Erfurt in Germany and led by a 40-year-old sports doctor named as 'Mark S'. "The investigations into the German sports doctor and his accomplices have now led to suspicions against a professional cyclist from the Tyrol," Hansjoerg Mayr from the Innsbruck prosecutors' office told the ORF TV station. Some of the raids earlier this week centred on the Austrian resort of Seefeld, where the Nordic skiing world championships were in progress. Five skiers were arrested: Two Austrians, Dominik Baldauf and Max Hauke, Estonians Karel Tammjaerv and Andreas Veerpalu, and Kazakh athlete Alexei Poltoranin. The ...
Shuttler Rajawat loses in Dutch Junior quarters
With Madhya Pradesh boy Priyanshu Rajawat losing his quarter-finals match, the Indian presence came to an end at the prestigious Yonex Dutch Junior International 2019 badminton tournament, here on Saturday.
Pakistan blind cricketers stranded in Lanka due to closure of Lahore airport
The Pakistan blind cricket team, which is on a tour of Sri Lanka, has been stranded in the island nation due to the closure of Lahore airport in the wake of escalating tension with India. "They have been forced to stay longer and also have to pay additional expenditure," Chaminda Pushpakumara, the manager of the local blind cricket team said. "They had already incurred personal expenditure to travel to Sri Lanka," Pushpakumara added. The official has sought the Sri Lankan government's intervention to provide the Pakistani team with assistance. After border tensions broke out between India and Pakistan last week, the Sri Lankan Airlines cancelled all its flights to Lahore. The Pakistan government then closed its airspace for domestic and international flights because of the situation, which forced the 24-member Pakistan team to postpone its departure. The Pakistan blind cricket team white washed Sri Lanka 3-0 in the ODI series.
Hope win in final ODI helps in changing momentum: Knight
England will look to take the confidence it gained from their win in the final ODI into the three-match T20 series against India starting here Monday, skipper Heather Knight said. "In the first two games we did not get going, it started slowly and to get that win in the final ODI was nice for the team and hopefully it will help in changing the momentum for the team," Knight told reporters here. "Obviously it's a new format, the girls are really excited and it gives us an opportunity to express ourselves and put in a really strong performance in the T20s." The Women's T20 World Cup is slated to be played next year and the England team would look to work on the combination in the three games against India. "Obviously T20 World Cup is close, we would be looking at what our best team is. It is another opportunity for us to play against quality opposition, we have been quite successful against India in the T20's but under the new coach (W V Raman) they are a much-improved side." England ...
Bajrang wins gold in Bulgaria and dedicates it to Abhinandan, Vinesh settles for silver
India's star wrestler Bajrang Punia has won the gold medal at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament in Ruse, Bulgaria and dedicated the victory to Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. Punia, a World Championship silver medallist, overpowered Jordan Oliver of USA 12-3 in the men's 65kg freestyle final to begin the season on a resounding note in the Bulgarian city. However, Asian Games gold medallist Vinesh Phogat lost her women's 53kg final to China's Qianyu Pang 2-9 to settle for a silver on her debut in the United World Wrestling ranking series, which is also her first tournament since moving from the 50kg category. Down 0-3 before scoring 12 straight points, Punia also secured the maximum ranking points from the tournament. "I want to dedicate my gold to Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. He has inspired me. I want to meet him one day and also shake hands with him," Punia tweeted after his victory. The IAF pilot Varthaman returned to India from captivity in
Value of Dhoni and Jadhav is there for everyone to see (Column: Just Sport)
Nobody took Indias loss of the two-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series to Australia all that seriously as the Indian selectors and the team management have been experimenting with the playing 11 in every game whatever be the format, keeping the World Cup in view.
Wrestlers Punia, Dhanda grab gold in Bulgaria
Star Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia outclassed Jordan Oliver of the US to win gold in the men's 65 kilogram freestyle category at the Dan Kolov-Nikol Petrov Ranking Series here.