Page 769 - Sports
Medina turning attention to Tokyo Olympics
Gabriel Medina said he will turn his focus to qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after securing his second world surfing title.
If you want to kill I-League, kill it in style: clubs lash out after telecast row
The move to telecast live only select 30 matches in the second half of I-League has attracted widespread condemnation from club owners, who said a "concerted effort is on to kill" the league. The decision means that the number of games of the ongoing I-League to be broadcast live now will be 80 out of a total of 110 games. However, before the start of the season, Star Sports said they will telecast live all the 110 matches. A total of 61 matches still remain from December 29 till the end of the league in March. Reigning champions Minerva Punjab FC, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Real Kasmir FC and Chennai City FC are some of the clubs to have raised concerns over live coverage of the games. As per the list of games to be telecast live in the second half of the league, Minerva Punjab FC are the worst affected. While Star Sports is the telecast partners of I-League, the production rights are with FSDL (Football Sports Development Limited), one of the wings of IMG-Reliance, the commercial ...
League leading Barça cruise past Celta
FC Barcelona will head into the new year three points clear of their nearest La Liga rivals after a 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo, a match in which most of the excitement occurred in the first 45 minutes.
Juve beat Roma to stay undefeated in Serie A
Serie A leading Juventus earned a 1-0 home victory over AS Roma thanks to a first-half goal from Mario Mandzukic, a result that stretched the club's advantage over second-placed Napoli to eight points.
Real Madrid rout Al-Ain to win record 4th Club World Cup title
Real Madrid clobbered Emirati side Al-Ain 4-1 to clinch a record fourth Club World Cup title.
Felt like my finger was going to explode: Aaron Finch
Australia opener Aaron Finch, who has a battered right index finger, said as the pain intensified, he felt like his finger was going to explode. However, he has almost recovered, ahead of the third Test against India of the Border-Gavaskar series."It was a bit of a shock, just the initial pain was the thing that got me. It felt like it was going to explode, which was quite funny," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted the 32-year-old, as saying.Batting on day four of Perth test, Finch's finger was jammed by a Mohammed Shami short ball. Eventually, he retired hurt and on returning to bat, still in some pain, the next day was caught behind the first ball."I think just being hit a few times in the last month, a couple times by Starcy (Mitchell Starc) at training then (Mohammed) Shami out in the game, but it is also an old break. I broke the same finger in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago, so I have got to start either catching them or use my bat instead of my gloves," he added.Finch,
Disappointed that Perth wicket was rated "average" by ICC: Starc
Australian pacer Mitchell Starc expressed his disappointment at ICC rating the Optus Stadium pitch was as "average" after Australia beat India in the second Test by 146 runs. A few batsmen were hit in Perth, particularly during the second innings, and Starc said that it was just good aggressive Test cricket and such ratings make it the batters' game completely. "Just as a cricketing fan, it was a bit disappointing to see Perth pitch being rated average. I thought it was a fantastic battle between bat and ball, which is what you want in Test cricket," Starc said ahead of the Boxing Day Test. "For example, playing in MCG last year was pretty docile and the pitch didn't do anything. You want a contest between bat and ball so that's going to keep Test cricket alive and get people into the game like in Perth. It was a fantastic battle there and I thought it was a great pitch," Starc said on Sunday. Starc agreed that cracks opened up on the last two days but flat tracks which increasingly ..
Lot of positives to take out of B'desh series, says Windies skipper
Delighted with West Indies' batting returns in the T20 format, skipper Carlos Brathwaite on Saturday laid out a few areas of improvement, stating they have "a lot of positives" to take from the series against Bangladesh."I am very happy. We wanted to be aggressive and we wanted to be positive. In all the three matches, we have batted really well. We made 80 odd in two T20 matches in the Powerplay. So, if we show intent, we can get a very good start more often than not," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Brathwaite, as saying.The Caribbean side clinched the three-match T20I series as they sealed a 50-run victory over Bangladesh in the decider in Dhaka.Heaping praise on fellow teammate Keemo Paul for his five-wicket haul, Brathwaite said: "Keemo is a very very talented cricketer, he is probably one of the most skilled cricketers across the world despite his young age.""As a bowling unit, we were not happy with the way we bowled in the second match. And we had a serious ...
Fitness under scanner: Jadeja carrying shoulder stiffness from India, indicates Shastri
India coach Ravi Shastri Sunday revealed that senior spinner Ravindra Jadeja had been suffering from stiff shoulder from the time he was playing Ranji Trophy and was given injections four days after landing in Australia. Jadeja's fitness issue came up as a surprise as he was included in the 13-man squad for the second Test in Perth. And he fielded for a major part of the two Australian innings as well, thus posing questions about Indian team's injury management programme. "Problem with Jadeja was that he had taken an injection four days after coming to Australia because of some stiffness in his shoulder," Shastri said during a media conference. "It has taken a while for that injection to settle down. He had some stiffness when he was in India as well but he did play domestic cricket after that. Then he felt the same on coming here to Australia and he was injected," Shastri replied but it did raise questions if the player travelled Down Under without being hundred percent fit. Shastri
Ashwin remains doubtful for Melbourne Test: Ravi Shastri
Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri on Sunday stated that spinner Ravichandran Ashwin remains doubtful for the third Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).Ashwin, who missed the second Test at Perth with an abdominal strain, will be assessed over the next couple of days.Furthermore, Shastri said 'Hitman' Rohit Sharma has made an improvement and gave a clear thumbs up for Hardik Pandya."As far as Ashwin is concerned, we are going to take a look and evaluate over the next 48 hours. Rohit Sharma looks good, he has made a very good improvement. But then again, we have to see how he pulls up tomorrow. He looks good as of today. Pandya is fit," International Cricket Council quoted the coach, as saying.Pandya, who sustained an acute lower back injury during the Asia Cup fixture against Pakistan in September, was a notable absentee from the first and second Test. The all-rounder's presence will likely boost the bowling department, where the pacers have been ...
Real Madrid beats Al Ain 4-1 to win Club World Cup again
Luka Modric scored one goal and set up another in leading Real Madrid to the Club World Cup title by easing past host side Al Ain 4-1 on Saturday. Ballon d'Or winner Modric struck from long range in the 14th minute after a promising start by the underdog Al Ain. He then placed a corner kick for Sergio Ramos to put the result beyond doubt at 3-0 in the 79th. Midfielder Marcos Llorente also scored from outside the area for Madrid's second goal to help the European champions claim a record-extending seventh world title. Losing 3-0, Al Ain defender Tsukasa Shiotani headed in a consolation goal, then teammate Yahia Nader scored an own goal in stoppage time. Madrid, which has won the last three Champions Leagues, has also won the last three Club World Cups. It has three more world titles than the next best, AC Milan. "It's been an unforgettable year for me," said Modric, who led Croatia to the World Cup final in July. "It's been perfect. We won the Champions League, I had a spectacular ...
Solskjaer makes instant impact as Man Utd thrash Cardiff
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made an instant impact as Manchester United caretaker manager with Paul Pogba to the fore in a transformed performance from the final days of Jose Mourinho's reign in a 5-1 thumping of Cardiff on Saturday. Solskjaer has been put in charge until the end of the season after Mourinho was sacked on Tuesday and could not have asked for a better start in the Welsh capital thanks to Marcus Rashford's third-minute free-kick. The visitors also had a slice of fortune when Ander Herrera's strike deflected in to double their advantage. But United shrugged off Victor Camarasa's penalty, awarded for a dubious handball call on Rashford, with the sort of free-flowing play that appeared so scarcely under Mourinho as Anthony Martial started and finished a fine move also including Pogba and Jesse Lingard. And Lingard struck twice more in the second half to secure United's biggest win of the season so far. As well as getting Solskjaer off to a flying start, victory also sees United ..
Solskjaer praises buccaneering Man Utd players after stylish win
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised his Manchester United players after they gave him the perfect start to his reign with a 5-1 victory at Cardiff just days after Jose Mourinho was sacked. Former United striker Solskjaer had just two days to prepare his players for his first match as caretaker manager. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring in the third minute and a goal from Ander Herrera just before the half-hour gave them a 2-0 lead. Cardiff pulled a goal back through a Victor Camarasa penalty in the 38th minute but Anthony Martial restored the two-goal margin minutes later and two goals from Jesse Lingard in the second half added gloss to the scoreline. United scored five goals in a Premier League game for the first time since Alex Ferguson's final game in May 2013. "Football is easy if you've got good players," the Norwegian interim manager told BT Sport. "They are a great bunch of players and their quality is unbelievable. I arrived on Wednesday night and only had Thursday and Friday with .
Ribery double fires Bayern up to second in Bundesliga
The evergreen Franck Ribery scored for the third time in four days as reigning champions Bayern Munich moved up to second in the Bundesliga table on Saturday with a 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt, leaving them six points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund. After more than a decade at Bayern, Ribery, 35, made another strong argument for an extension to his contract, which expires in June, with a double in Frankfurt having also scored in Wednesday's 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig in Munich. Ahead of the four-week winter break, Rafinha scored a late third as Bayern trimmed the gap to Dortmund, who beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 on Friday. It was also a winning return to Frankfurt for Bayern coach Niko Kovac, who masterminded Eintracht's shock 3-1 defeat of Munich in the German Cup final last May in his last match before taking charge of the Bavarian giants. Both goalkeepers were kept busy in an intense clash in Frankfurt before Ribery struck first. Eintracht forwards Danny da Costa, ...
Napoli keep pressure on Juventus, AC Milan out of top four
Defender Raul Albiol scored the only goal as Napoli kept the pressure on leaders Juventus with a 1-0 win over SPAL in Serie A on Saturday, while AC Milan dropped out of the top four following defeat to Fiorentina and bottom club Chievo snatched an injury time leveller to hold Inter Milan to an unlikely 1-1 draw. Albiol got his head to a Dries Mertens corner to score his first goal this season just before the break with goalkeeper Alex Meret ensuring the hosts kept all three points by denying SPAL's Alberto Paloschi and Mohamed Fares late on. Carlo Ancelotti's side move to within five points of champions Juventus, who will look to maintain their unbeaten run against ninth-placed Roma in Turin later on Saturday. "Thinking of Juventus is likely to demotivate us," said Ancelotti. "We have to think about ourselves because this team can do more, we have room for improvement and I say it after today's match, which was not amazing." The pressure is on Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso after ...
Messi, Dembele keep Barca three points clear in La Liga
Barcelona held off Atletico Madrid to ensure they will be three points clear at the top of La liga going into the winter break after beating a spirited Espanyol 2-0 at the Camp Nou on Saturday. First-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi were enough to move Ernesto Valverde's side up to 37 points and keep them one step ahead of Atletico, who earlier drew level with Barca with a 1-0 win over Espanyol thanks to an Antoine Griezmann penalty. Dembele put the hosts into the lead after just nine minutes when he lashed home on the rebound after Messi's first-time shot was pushed into his path by Celta keeper Ruben Blanco. Messi doubled his side's advantage just before half-time, bursting through competely unmarked to meet the excellent Jordi Alba's through ball and wrong-foot Blanco as he slotted in his 15th league goal of the season. Luis Suarez missed a great opportunity to put the result beyond any doubt on the hour mark when he flashed wide after being found by Alba with ...
EPL: Manchester United beat Cardiff City 5-1
Manchester United has defeated hosts Cardiff City 5-1 in caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first game in the English Premier League.
Don't compare me with Neymar: Rodrygo
Brazilian teenage sensation Rodrygo has described comparisons between him and Neymar as "stupid", insisting that his compatriot is one of a kind.
Bayern crush Frankfurt 3-0 in German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich has overpowered Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 after Franck Ribery scored twice at the 17th round of Bundesliga.
Railways to improve quality of train journeys
Indian Railways is putting in efforts to improve the quality of train journeys for the passengers without any jerks.After receiving feedback from passengers about the amount of discomfort due to jerks in Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) Coach Trains like Rajdhani Express Trains, Railways has examined the issue put forth by the expert committee of Railways.An action plan was also formulated to give attention on longitudinal jerks in Centre Buffer Couple (CBC). The committee has also advised to replace the single pack of draft gear and floating plate draft gears CBC with balanced draft gear CBCs.The Coaching Depot of Bhubaneswar has replaced the earlier old-age single plate or floating plate design by a balanced draft gear with 'High Tensile Tight Lock Centre Buffer Coupler' in all the Rajdhani Express Coaches to provide a jerk-free journey to the passengers.Bhubaneswar Coaching Depot has received as many as 93 sets of new designed Balanced Draft Gear Coupler where 42 coaches consisting 84 ...