Page 689 - Sports

West Ham United upsets Arsenal 1-0 in Premier League

West Ham United shocked visiting Arsenal 1-0 in a Premier League London derby contest held at the London stadium.

Federer says rivals will need to play well to beat him at Australian Open

Defending champion Roger Federer on Sunday said his opponents will need to play well to beat him during the upcoming Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year.

Real Madrid coach declines to advise Isco on his current situation

Real Madrid's Argentine coach Santiago Solari has said Spain midfielder Fransico Alarcon, best known as Isco, is wise enough to figure out on his own how to deal with his current situation.

Rajasthan Royals rope in Upton as coach

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals have roped in experienced coach Paddy Upton for the forthcoming season of the lucrative Twenty20 tournament.

Batting at No 5 for India A has helped my game: Vijay Shankar

Vijay Shankar was mercilessly roasted by fans when he failed to pick Mustafizur Rahaman's variations during the Nidahas T20 final but Rahul Dravid's confidence in his "finishing abilities" has made him more confident for his upcoming second stint with the Indian team. The 27-year-old Tamil Nadu all-rounder will be joining the team in Australia and New Zealand as a replacement of Hardik Pandya, who has been suspended by the BCCI for his controversial comments on a TV show. In February last year, Shankar's big match temperament was put to test against a quality Bangladesh attack but the Tamil Nadu captain has come a long way since then. "I think I have become mentally stronger now and I have full confidence that I can finish close matches. The India A tour of New Zealand has helped me understand my game much better," Shankar told PTI during an interaction. He believes that A team coach Dravid's decision to send him to bat at No 5 in New Zealand helped him immensely. "Rahul sir told me

Will be back, there is a lot more to offer to Indian cricket: Veda Krishnamurthy

New Delhi [India], Jan 13 (ANI): Veda Krishnamurthy, who has been left out of the Indian women's cricket team for the New Zealand tour, takes the responsibility of not doing well in the last season but is determined to improve her performance so that the selectors pick her for the squad at the earliest.As the selection panel announced both the limited-overs squads to visit New Zealand, the 26-year-old could not find her spot. At the back of her mind, the middle-order batter knew that there were hardly a few games left at the domestic to make an impact.In an exclusive interview, Veda on Sunday told ANI: "I was pretty upset but at the end of the day it is part of the sport... You really can't keep dwelling over something which you can't control. When I couldn't find my name in the team, the immediate thing I had in my mind was that there are a few games left at the Senior Women's One-Day League. Then I had Challenger Trophy. So as far I was getting to play more matches, I knew I had to .

Duanne Olivier sets aside Steyn's injury concern

Hinting at the injury concern, South Africa pacer Dale Steyn walked off the field on Day Two of the ongoing third Test against Pakistan but his teammate Duanne Olivier brushed off the concerns saying that "he is perfectly fine"."He went off to get a bit of treatment and he's perfectly fine," ICC quoted Olivier, as saying.Steyn struggled with a series of injuries for nearly two years which raised several doubts on his comeback. The pacer, however, revived strongly and made a promising comeback.Olivier has scalped a total of 16 wickets in the Test series and is the leading wicket-taker of South Africa in the ongoing series, so far. The right-arm pacer said that he is enjoying the moment and is focused on performing with full commitment."I just try to enjoy every moment, commit every ball and just have fun. To be leading wicket-taker, I'm very happy about that. It's awesome to bowl at the Wanderers. Any fast bowler would be happy to bowl here," he said.South Africa are leading the ...

Seventh heaven beckons for Federer, Djokovic at Open as Murray bows out

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are both gunning for a record seventh Australian Open crown from Monday, but Andy Murray will make his last appearance in Melbourne as the era of the "Big Four" draws to a close. Number one Djokovic and third seed Federer face a stern challenge from the likes of youthful force Alexander Zverev, seeded four, who is still looking for a first major to cement his place as torch-bearer for the next generation. But Murray dropped a pre-Grand Slam bombshell, breaking down during a tear-filled press conference as he revealed chronic hip pain means he will retire after Wimbledon -- if he can carry on that long. And question marks remain over the fitness of world number two Rafael Nadal who pulled out of his Brisbane warm-up but arrived in Melbourne professing he was "fully fit" and promising to unleash a remodelled serve. It all means the era of the "Big Four" is almost over after a season in which Federer -- who opens his title defence against Denis Istomin on

Ramiz Raja questions Azhar Ali's place in Pak team

Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja has put a question mark on right-hand batsman Azhar Ali's place in the squad."There is a big question mark over Azhar [Ali]'s place in the team. Apart from that first innings during the first Test where he scored 30 odd runs, he just never looked in control, to be honest," The Express Tribune quoted Raza, as saying."He can neither play the short ball nor did he look comfortable against the deliveries which are moving," The Express Tribune further quoted Raza, as saying on Saturday.Ali is having a disappointing run in the ongoing three-match Test series against South Africa where he has scoring figures of 36, 0, 2, 6 and 0 in the last five innings.Raja said that the batsman hardly looked in control during the Test series and is holding a position in the team only because he has got an experience of 70 Test matches."With such performances in the series, he is only holding his place in the playing eleven because he has the experience of playing 70 odd

Lahiri drops to Tied-63rd as Kuchar maintains lead at Sony Open

Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri ended with a one-over 71 in the third round that saw him drop to three-under 207 for a Tied-63rd spot at the Sony Open here. The lead stayed with Matt Kuchar, who kept another clean card and shot a 4-under 66 to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Sony Open as he goes for his second victory this season on the PGA TOUR. Kuchar ended a three-year drought by winning the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico last fall. In his third round, Lahiri found seven of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation but left no misses on putts within 10 feet. Lahiri bogeyed the 460-yard par-4 sixth, getting on the green in 2 and three putting, moving him to one-over for the round. At the 477-yard par-4 13th, Lahiri's tee shot went 269 yards to the right rough, his second shot went 180 yards to the right front greenside bunker, and his sand shot went 29 yards to the green where he had a two-putt for a bogey. His only birdie of the day came on ninth, when he landed his ..

Court says nerves could jinx Serena's record Slam bid

Australian great Margaret Court has predicted nerves could undermine Serena Williams' bid to match her record 24 singles majors at Melbourne Park, clearing the way for an outsider to snatch the title. She disputed the bookies' assessment that Serena is red-hot favourite to lift the Australian Open trophy for an eighth time, taking her overall Grand Slam tally to 24 and equalling Court's mark. "I think it's possible for Serena to equal me, if anybody's gonna do it, it's Serena, but I don't think there's a clear-cut favourite," Court told Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper Sunday. "I think it's a pretty open tournament and I think an outsider can win it." Williams, 37, has won 23 singles Grand Slams since 1999 -- seven Australian Opens, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons and six US Opens. Court, now 76, won 24 singles Grand Slams from 1960-73 -- 11 Australian Opens, five French Opens, three Wimbledons and five US Opens. However, 13 of Court's titles came before 1968, when the women's ...

Murray can be 'incredibly proud' of his achievements, says Federer

Former world number one Andy Murray shocked the tennis world, this week, with a sudden announcement of his retirement but twenty times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer stated that he could totally understand the decision.While hoping that Murray would continue playing after the 2019 Australian Open, Federer said that the Briton could be "incredibly proud of everything he has achieved"."I guess everybody can understand where he comes from. At some point, when you feel like you're never going to get back to 100 per cent, you've had the success that Andy has had, you can only understand the decision," ATP quoted Federer, as saying."Of course, I hope that he can play a good Australian Open and he can keep playing beyond that, really finish the way he wants to at Wimbledon. That's what I hope for him. It's a tough one, but one down the road he can look back on and be incredibly proud of everything he has achieved," he added.Federer admitted that he was "disappointed" and "shocked" at the .

Shubham Gill, Vijay Shankar to replace Pandya and Rahul

Domestic cricket stars Shubham Gill and Vijay Shankar have replaced KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya in the Indian ODI team.While Shankar will join the Indian squad ahead of their second ODI of the ongoing three-match series against Australia in Adelaide, Gill has been picked for the ODI and T20I series against New Zealand beginning January 23.The development came after Pandya and Rahul were asked to return from Australia after being suspended for an indefinite period following their controversial remarks against women on a celebrity chat show.For 19-year-old Gill, it is a maiden Indian call-up coming in the backdrop of his impressive performance in the domestic circuit. The right-hand batsman had had a smashing season in Ranji trophy where he scored 790 runs with an average of 98.75.Shankar, on the other hand, has been called up for the second time in the national squad. He had made his T20I debut In the Nidahas Trophy which was held in March 2018. The all-rounder finished as the highest ..

Maradona undergoes successful surgery for stomach bleeding

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona underwent successful surgery for minor stomach bleeding at a clinic outside Buenos Aires.

Steve Smith to undergo elbow surgery, ruled out of PSL

Former Australian skipper Steve Smith will undergo a surgery to fix an elbow injury which he sustained during the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).The 29-year-old is expected to be out of action more than six weeks following the surgery, Cricket.com.au reported.Consequently, the right-hand batsman has been ruled of the upcoming Pakistan Super Leagues (PSL). He expressed disappointment over the same saying that he was looking forward to play the tournament and help his team Multan Sultans lift the trophy."I am disappointed I won't be able to play in PSL but I wish Multan Sultans all the best for this year's tournament. I was looking forward to playing the tournament and helping the team try to win the trophy. We have a talented team and I am confident that they will do very well," the Express Tribune quoted Smith as saying.The injury came as a major blow to Smith who is eying an international return as his 12 months suspension for his role in the massive ball-tampering scandal ..

Shubman, Vijay to replace Hardik, Rahul

Shubman Gill, the 2018 U-19 World Cup hero, earned his maiden India call while all-rounder Vijay Shankar was recalled to replace the suspended duo of K.L. Rahul and Hardik Pandya.

Injured James Pattinson ruled out of BBL

In a major blow to Brisbane Heats, Australian pacer James Pattinson has been ruled out of the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) due to a side strain.The 28-year-old sustained the injury during Brisbane's match against Melbourne Renegades at the Gabba on Thursday which the home side lost by eight wickets.Before the start of the BBL, the right-arm bowler had said that his aim is to be able to play in the 2019 Ashes series and join the Australian Test trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins."To not have been available to play in a Test series together so far is a bit disappointing. We always talk about how good it would be to play together, so that's another driving factor, to get up back with them," Pattinson told cricket.com.au."You hear the media talk about the 'Big Three' and you think, two years ago it was the 'Big Four'. You think about how good that bond could be if we could get it all together, and we could rotate through Test matches," he added.Pattinson played a total ..

Resurgent Man City resume title quest against in-form

Pep Guardiola's rejuvenated Manchester City face a potentially tricky challenge at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday as they continue their Premier League title defence. But the early days of 2019 suggest their uncharacteristic December collapse is firmly behind them. The final month of last year saw City lose successive league games, against relatively modest opposition in both Crystal Palace and Leicester City, following an end to their unbeaten domestic start to the campaign earlier at the beginning of December. But a victory over leaders Liverpool to kick off New Year completely rejuvenated the mood at the Etihad Stadium after City had been denied the services of injured playmaker Kevin De Bruyne for most of the first half of the campaign. And two stunning cup victories in the space of four days -- albeit against lower league clubs Rotherham and Burton Albion -- suggested the clinical, cutting edge that characterised City's play during last season's record-breaking ...

Hong Kong investors interested in Inter Milan - reports

Hong Kong investors are ready to purchase Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir's 31 percent stake in Italian club Inter Milan, according to reports in Italy on Saturday. The Chinese Suning Commerce Group purchased a controlling 68.55 percent stake in Inter in 2016. Thohir had remained as president with 31 percent, but Gazzetta Dello Sport and Sky Sports Italia are reporting that his stake is close to passing into the hands of an unnamed fund in Hong Kong. Sky Italia said the fund is close to the Suning Holdings Group of Inter Milan's majority shareholder Zhang Jindong. Negotiations are believed to be at an advanced stage and could be finalised within weeks. Gazzetta Dello Sport reported "the operation was well underway but not at the point of signatures". Inter Milan have not won a Serie A title since 2010 when Jose Mourinho coached them to an historic treble including the Champions League. The club are currently third in Serie A -- 14 points behind leaders Juventus.

Ageless Federer sounds confident warning on eve of Open defence

Ageless Roger Federer said Sunday he was in a confident mood and warned his rivals he was "playing good tennis" as he aims for a third successive Australian Open title. The Swiss master enjoyed a successful Hopman Cup warm-up in Perth and knows that at even the grand old age of 37 he has a great chance of a record seventh Melbourne crown and 21st major victory. "I'm playing good tennis. I'm confident that I think it needs a good performance by my opponent probably to beat me," said the third seed, who opens his defence against Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin in Monday's night match on Rod Laver Arena. A buoyant Federer revealed he had enjoyed a successful break coming into the 2019 season. "Throughout my career, I've been very lucky that in the off-seasons I never had any setbacks," he told reporters at Melbourne Park. "What I can say is the off-season was great for me. I think maybe it showed a little bit at the Hopman Cup already. Again, look, I'm playing tomorrow. We'll see how it's ...