Page 652 - Sports
Boateng to seize his chance after shock Barcelona move
Ghanaian forward Kevin-Prince Boateng has vowed to make the most of his shock arrival at Barcelona, after a loan move for the journeyman from Italian side Sassuolo was sealed. The leaders of La Liga said in a statement on Monday they had agreed a deal to take Boateng on loan until the end of the season, with an option to make the move permanent in the summer. "The agreement includes an eight-million-euro (USD 9 million) purchase option," the club said. The arrival of Boateng, 31, will provide much-needed cover for Luis Suarez up front in Ernesto Valverde's squad following the departure of Munir El Haddadi to Sevilla. The fiery forward has been a successful stopgap many times before, which Barca boss Ernesto Valverde valued in his decision to bring him in. "He doesn't seem to need much time to adapt, he knows his stuff and can start playing straight away," Valverde. "He's comfortable in many positions, as a central striker or playing off another striker, and even deeper too," Valverde .
Another late penalty rescues UAE at Asian Cup as Ryan saves Aussies
Hosts United Arab Emirates ended Kyrgyzstan's fairytale with a controversial extra-time penalty to reach the Asian Cup quarter-finals as holders Australia and Japan also advanced. A knee-wobbling, chest-thumping Mathew Ryan saved two spot kicks as the Socceroos beat Uzbekistan's White Wolves in a shootout, while the Blue Samurai bundled out Saudi Arabia on Monday. Substitute Ahmed Khalil was UAE's hero on an angst-ridden Abu Dhabi night as he converted another late penalty after a refereeing decision that could charitably be described as "soft". "I don't want to talk about the referee," growled Kyrgyzstan coach Aleksandr Krestinin. "We leave the tournament with a lot of regrets -- we deserved more. It's our first Asian Cup but I'm absolutely sure it won't be our last and we will come back stronger." Kyrgyz substitute Tursunali Rustamov had stunned the Emirates when he snatched a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser at the end of a nail-biting contest that began so poorly for the former ..
Rashford comes in from the cold at Man United
Marcus Rashford was in danger of seeing his dream of becoming Manchester United's star striker turn to dust but the England forward is flourishing again after escaping Jose Mourinho's shackles. Three years after exploding onto the Premier League scene, Rashford marked his 150th United appearance on Saturday with a memorable goal that underlined his vast potential. Smoothly turning away from Brighton's Pascal Gross, Rashford curled a fine shot into the top corner as United sealed a seventh successive win since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as interim manager. Solskjaer's arrival in December to replace the sacked Mourinho has proved a catalyst for United's surge, and Rashford has been at the heart of their success. Rashford has scored five times in six league matches following the Norwegian's appointment, earning comparisons from his manager with former United stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. "Definitely he can be absolutely top-class. He is only 21 but the maturity he is ...
Russia waits on WADA missed doping deadline verdict
Russia will discover Tuesday whether they are to face fresh sanctions over December's missed deadline to allow WADA investigators access to the Moscow laboratory at the epicentre of the state-sponsored doping scandal. The World Anti-Doping Agency meets via conference call at 1300 GMT to discuss recommendations on the compliance of the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA). This is the latest chapter in an affair that surfaced with Richard McLaren's July 2016 report detailing doping in Russia from 2011 to 2015 involving more than 1,000 athletes across more than 30 sports. The Canadian lawyer's damning revelations led to Russia's athletics team being barred from the 2016 Rio Olympics and Russian competitors exiled from the 2018 Winter Olympics. WADA had conditionally lifted a ban on RUSADA in September, with one of the conditions being the granting of access to thousands of samples at the tainted Moscow lab by the end of 2018. But when a WADA team arrived last month, Russian authorities ..
England begin crucial year with tour to unfancied Windies
England are solid favourites although history is on the side of the underdog West Indies ahead of the first Test of the three-match series starting Wednesday at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Riding a wave of five consecutive victories - eight in nine matches going back to the last English summer - which includes series wins over top-ranked India and an historic sweep in Sri Lanka, the tourists appear supremely confident of overturning the disappointments of their last two Caribbean campaigns. England have only won one Test series in the West Indies in the past 50 years, a 3-0 triumph in 2004, and failed to live up to expectations in 2009, when they lost 1-0, and again in 2015 when a five-wicket triumph inside three days by the unfancied hosts at the same Kensington Oval venue resulted in a shared series. While the weight of expectation will be on the visitors' shoulders, West Indies face a daunting task to halt a run of four consecutive defeats, all within three days, on a disastrous
Steely Serena in 'different space', ready for record Slam win - coach
Serena Williams is emotionally and physically ready to win another Grand Slam, unlike during her famous meltdown in the final of the US Open last year, according to coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The 37-year-old American stormed past top seed Simona Halep to reach the quarter-finals at the Australian Open on Monday, with the Romanian saying it felt like being "hit by a train". Long-time coach Mouratoglou said Williams was in a different space to the one she occupied at Flushing Meadows, when she controversially lost the decider to Naomi Osaka during her comeback from having a baby. In that match, Williams lost the plot, receiving a code violation for coaching, a penalty point for racquet abuse and a game penalty for calling the umpire a "liar" and a "thief". Mouratoglou admitted "I don't think she was ready" to win a final back then. "There is a big difference between reaching a final and winning it," he added. But four months on from that chapter of her life that Williams now refuses to
Ronaldo misses penalty but Juventus ease past Chievo
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty but Italian league leaders Juventus eased past bottom club Chievo 3-0 to pull nine points clear on top of Serie A as AC Milan returned to the Champions League berths with a 2-0 win in Genoa. Portuguese superstar Ronaldo had sealed Juventus's first title of the season -- a record eighth Italian Super Cup trophy against AC Milan last Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. But the 33-year-old was off-form in the first league game after a three-week winter break and on the eve of his return to Madrid where he will appear in court for tax fraud charges dating back to his time with Real Madrid. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner missed numerous chances with Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino denying Ronaldo, who has scored 14 times in the league, a first goal from the spot this season. But Juventus were never worried by Chievo with Douglas Costa and Emre Can scoring in the first half and Daniele Rugani heading in a third six minutes from time. "I don't think it's the
'What's going on?': In-form Wade blasts CA over Test snub
In-form wicketkeeper Matthew Wade has blasted Cricket Australia after he was overlooked for a recall to the Test side to face Sri Lanka, saying he and other players were unclear about the criteria for national selection. Wade, who whacked an unbeaten 84 from 49 balls for the Twenty20 Big Bash League's Hobart Hurricanes on Monday night, has scored over 1,000 runs across all formats this summer. The 31-year-old has also been the leading run scorer in the domestic Sheffield Shield with Tasmania. Despite his performances, selectors opted to add Kurtis Patterson to the squad for the first Test starting Thursday, with national selector Trevor Hohns hailing his back-to-back centuries for a Cricket Australia XI in Hobart last week. "I get told one thing, then I see the comments in the paper the next day about Kurtis piling runs on and getting picked," Wade said after the BBL game, cricket.com.au reported. "I'm not sure what's going on. It's just a little bit frustrating that on one hand you ..
UP Dangal record maiden win of PWL 4
Epp Mae and Sarita helped UP Dangal beat Mumbai Maharathi 4-3 for their first win in the Pro Wrestling League season four here on Monday. Epp Mae held on to a late onslaught by 2017 world championships silver medallist Zseneth Nemeth to score a heart-stopping 5-3 win in the 76kg category. Asian championships silver medallist Georgi Sakandelidze put UP Dangal 3-2 ahead beating European champion Baitseev Vladislav of Mumbai 2-1 in the 125kg superheavyweight bout. After that it was left to Mae to consolidate the lead and she did it in style defeating the more experienced Zseneth in a closely fought encounter. National champion Harphool won the last bout of the day defeating Pankaj Rana 15-6 in an intensely fought men's 65kg category bout, reducing UP's victory margin to 4-3. Earlier, the current national championships gold medallist Jitender gave UP Dangal a head start beating Mumbai Maharathi's junior national champion Sachin Rathi 14-0 in an intense 74kg bout which was completely ...
DY Patil T20 Cup: Chand, Roy star in Reliance One's win
Former India Under-19 stars Unmukt Chand and Anukul Roy starred in Reliance One's thumping eight-wicket win over DY Patil 'A' on the opening day of the 15th DY Patil T20 Cup at the DY Patil Stadium here Monday. Chand slammed 51 off 45 balls with three boundaries and two sixes as Reliance One chased down DY Patil 'A's total of 153-9 with seven balls and eight wickets to spare, a media release said. Roy's all-round effort (34 not out & 2-27) was the other major starring effort alongside skipper Saurabh Tiwary's unbeaten 41 off 33 deliveries with three boundaries. For DY Patil A, former India player Robin Uthappa, who slammed 47 off 31 balls with six boundaries and one six, was the top-scorer. In the other game at the stadium in the morning, Indian Oil went down narrowly by one wicket to Western Railways. Former Mumbai captain Aditya Tare's 74 was the top effort with the bat for Indian Oil, but Western Railways held their nerve to score a narrow win. Central Railways ...
Australian Open: Djokovic battles past Medvedev to reach quarters round
World number one Novak Djokovic entered the quarter-final round of the ongoing Australian Open after edging past Daniil Medvedev of Russia in their round of 16 clash of the men's singles event here at the Rod Laver Arena on Monday.The 31-year-old defeated his Russian opponent 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 in a tight contest that lasted three hours and 15 minutes.The match saw grueling competition between both the players right from the first set. Djokovic saved one break point in the fifth game to take a 4-2 lead in the opening set as his counterpart committed three straight errors. Medvedev was under pressure but he recovered soon by reducing the points gap to 4-5. The Serbian player, however, sealed the next game with a backhand shot to clinch the first set which lasted 39 minutes.The second set proved to be physically daunting for the players. Djokovic raced ahead in the set with a 5-1 lead giving an impression of another an easy second-set victory. But Medvedev did not let go of the set ..
Star Sports unveils new campaign for India's tour of New Zealand
As a build-up to the five ODIs and three T20Is against New Zealand starting on Wednesday, India's leading sports broadcaster Star Sports has unveiled a new campaign which underlines the face-off between two of cricket's modern-day greats -- Virat Kohli and his counterpart Kane Williamson.
Japan's Tomiyasu sends Saudis spinning out of Asian Cup
Takehiro Tomiyasu's lone strike sent Saudi Arabia crashing out of the Asian Cup as Japan beat the three-time champions 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals on Monday. Tomiyasu's first-half header was enough to seal it for Japan as the last-16 game between two teams with seven titles between them failed to live up to its billing. Japan, record four-time winners of the Asian Cup, march on to a quarter-final with Southeast Asian champions Vietnam despite not yet hitting top form at the tournament. Saudi Arabia were in the ascendancy early on but it was Japan who snatched the advantage with a straightforward goal from a set piece on 20 minutes. From a corner, Belgium-based defender Tomiyasu climbed above his marker and nodded firmly into the bottom corner for his first of the tournament. The Saudis twice came close with headers as they strived for a way back, and Hatan Bahbri curled one just off-target as he went for the top corner. Yoshinori Muto's shot was blocked on the hour-mark but most ..
Stefanos Tsitsipas, a Greek tennis god in the making
Conqueror of his idol Roger Federer in the last 16 of the Australian Open, the rise of Greek youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas is one that appears destined to carry him to the top of the tennis world. He made no secret of his immense respect for the Swiss star, whose posters coated the walls of Tsitsipas' bedroom as a child, but the 20-year-old Athenian didn't allow sentiment to stand in his way. "He's a legend of our sport," Tsitsipas said ahead of his clash with the 20-time Grand Slam champion. "If I thought about it now it's insane I'm in this position where I can actually play him. It's really emotional." But Tsitsipas showed scant regard for the world number three -- the double reigning champion in Melbourne -- on Sunday, playing the brand of tennis that has propelled him to 15th in the rankings after barely two seasons on tour. He will climb yet further following his best performance to date at a Grand Slam, and the Greek intends to continue building on a breakthrough year in ...
Halep sent home, Djokovic, Williams headed to Australian Open quarters (Round Up)
It was all thrills and spills on Day 8 of the Australian Open on Monday, with some of the big names in tennis making it through to the quarterfinal stage of the tournament, while others smashed their rackets in frustration.
Drained Djokovic 'not feeling so great' after grind past Medvedev
Drained Novak Djokovic admitted he "didn't feel so great" after surviving a physical fourth-round examination against 15th seed Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open. The world number one came through an almost three-and-a-half hour, four-set grind that extended into the early hours of Tuesday morning. Djokovic dropped a set for the second match running but won 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-3 at 12:43 am to set up a quarter-final against Japan's eighth seeded Kei Nishikori on Wednesday. Serb Djokovic and Russian Medvedev both needed attention from the trainer during an exhausting encounter liberally sprinkled with punishing rallies of 30 shots or more. "I didn't feel so great, you know, in the last 20 minutes of the match," Djokovic told reporters. "So we'll see tomorrow how the body reacts, but I'm confident I can recover and I can be ready for next one," he said. "It was just, you know, a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of back. Nothing major. But there are a couple of things that ...
Boateng set for shock Barcelona move - reports
Ghanaian forward Kevin-Prince Boateng is on the verge of joining Barcelona in a shock loan move from Italian side Sassuolo, according to media reports in Spain on Monday. Catalan daily Sport reported that the leaders of La Liga had agreed a deal to take Boateng on loan until the end of the season with an option to make the move permanent in the summer. Madrid-based sports daily As claimed Barcelona would pay eight million euros (USD 9 million; 7 million) in the event of a permanent transfer. The arrival of Boateng, 31, would provide much-needed cover for Luis Suarez up front in Ernesto Valverde's squad following the departure of Munir El Haddadi to Sevilla. Born in Germany, the half-brother of Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng moved to Serie A last year after helping Eintracht Frankfurt win the German Cup. He has scored five goals in 15 games this season for Sassuolo. The former Tottenham Hotspur, AC Milan and Schalke player has previously had a spell in Spain, with Las Palmas in .
Indian women ride Dangmei's brace to put five past Hong Kong
A brace by Dangmei Grace provided a perfect start to the Indian women's team's tour of Hong Kong as the visitors registered a scintillating 5-2 victory here on Monday. Grace was the star of the show as she netted twice to give the away side early lead while Sanju, Sumithra and Ratanbala chipped in with one goal each to script a memorable win for India. The Indian team started off on the front foot, when Indumathi played Grace through on goal before the latter slotted it into the net. While Cheung Wai Ki equalised for Hong Kong in the 17th minute, it took Grace just five minutes to restore India's advantage after she combined well with Anju Tamang. At the stroke of half time, India defender Dalima Chhibber sent in a cross that was masterfully nodded past the goalline by Sanju, making the scoreline read 3-1 in India's favour. Hong Kong came out all guns blazing in the second half and managed to reduce the deficit in the 70th minute, as Chung Pui Ki scored from a corner. However, India ..
Iran's Dejagah backs coach Queiroz amid recent controversy
Iran national football team skipper, Ashkan Dejagah, said that it is the time to support Iran's football coach Carlos Queiroz.
Barça's Dembele sidelined for 2 weeks due to injury
FC Barcelona on Monday announced that its France forward Ousmane Dembele has been diagnosed with a sprained left ankle that would sideline him for about 15 days.