Page 780 - Sports
Injured Mooy included in Socceroos squad for Asian Cup defence
Aaron Mooy was Thursday included in the Socceroos squad to defend their Asian Cup title, despite Huddersfield ruling him out of the tournament, but the experienced Tomi Juric was axed. Midfielder Mooy has been in fine form in the English Premier League this season, but suffered a tear to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee earlier this month. Huddersfield announced he would be sidelined until February, but Australian medical staff are en route to Britain to get a second opinion and Socceroos' coach Graham Arnold said midfielder Mooy, a key cog in the team, was desperate to play. "He wants to play the Asian Cup. He will be looked at tomorrow (Friday) and then we will make the next decision from there," he said. "He believes that he will be ready, and so do we, and there's a process we have to go through and we'll do that." Australia are already missing Celtic striker Daniel Arzani, who was ruled for the rest of the season last month after surgery on a knee injury. Celtic ..
Tottenham's Dele Alli hit by bottle in derby win at Arsenal
Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli was struck on the head by a bottle at Arsenal while helping his team seal a place in the League Cup semifinals with a 2-0 victory in the north London derby on Wednesday. The plastic bottle was hurled from the stands at the Emirates Stadium about 12 minutes after Alli scored the second goal as Tottenham won at its rival for the first time since 2010. Alli responded by goading the Arsenal fans, holding up two fingers to signal Tottenham's 2-0 lead in the quarterfinal. Police in helmets were also brought into the stands at the Emirates Stadium to provide a larger barrier between Tottenham and Arsenal fans. Alli audaciously lifted the ball over Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech in the 59th minute after helping to set up Son Heung-Min's goal in the first half. Chelsea also advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday with Eden Hazard clinching a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth. Holder Manchester City and third-tier side Burton are also in the last four.
ECB suspends 3 UAE players for violating 'players' code of conduct'
The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has handed over an eight-week suspension from international cricket to three UAE players, who were a part of the 2018 Emerging Teams Asia Cup, for violating the 'Player's Code of Conduct' and requirements for the use of social media.The three players, Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza and Rameez Shahzad, had criticised the ground facilities in Karachi during the tournament on their respective Twitter handles. The tweets, however, were later deleted, ESPNcricinfo reported."Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has today confirmed it has completed a disciplinary investigation relating to an alleged violation of its Player's Code of Conduct, and use of Social Media following a recent incident during the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Emerging Teams Asia Cup," an official ECB statement said."ECB concluded that 3 players; Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza and Rameez Shahzad, had violated its Code of Conduct and requirements for the use of Social Media. As a result, each of the players
Captain Cool, Anup Kumar retires from Kabaddi
Legendary Kabaddi player, Anup Kumar has announced his retirement.The iconic player concluded a historic 15-year career, where he has led several teams to victory and grown the sport in the country.An Arjuna Awardee, Kumar began his international career in 2006 at the South Asian Games in Sri Lanka. He was part of the Indian National Kabaddi team that won gold medals in 2010 and 2014. Thereafter, he captained the Indian National team in 2014 and it was during his tenure that the team won two gold medals at Asian Games in 2014 and the Kabaddi World Cup in 2016. In season 2 of the Pro Kabaddi League, Anup captained U Mumba and led the team to victory.Announcing his retirement, he said, "When I started playing kabaddi, I was invested in the sport because I liked it and it was a great hobby, over the years a hobby became the most important part of my life. The day I took to playing kabaddi professionally, I had one dream, to represent my country and bring a gold medal. Today, with the Pro
Baitha prevails over Kumar to qualify for main draw
Rahul Baitha of Maharashtra trounced Andhra Pradesh's Ch Arun Kumar 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 to qualify for the men's main draw of the 75th CCI Western India Open squash championship on Wednesday. In another final qualification match, which was an all-Maharashtra affair, Rushabh Vora managed to beat back a spirited fight from Ness Billimoria before pulling through 11-5, 12-10, 11-9 to also make the tournament proper. Meanwhile, services player Vaibhav Chauhan scored a comfortable 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 win against Delhi's Shaurya Verma in a boys under-19 first round encounter in the 10th Indian Junior Open, which is being conducted concurrently. In another match in the boys' section, top seed Tushar Shahani overcame Rithik J of Delhi 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 to also progress to the second round. Results: Boys Under-19 (Round 1): 1-Tushar Shahani (MH) beat Rithik J. (DL) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6; Karata Dasmahapatra (DL) beat Tarun Gusain (SE) 11-2, 11-4, 11-2; Vaibhav Chauhan (SE) beat Shaurya Verma .
Brady selected to Pro Bowl for record 14th time
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been selected for the National Football League's end of season honours event the Pro Bowl for the 14th time, equalling a NFL record.
River Plate to start Libertadores title defence vs Alianza Lima
Argentine club River Plate, the reigning Copa Libertadores champion, will start their title defence with a group stage match at Peruvian club Alianza Lima on March 6, the South American Soccer Confederation (Conmebol) said.
'I have a future without Manchester United,' says Mourinho
Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday he has a "future without Manchester United", speaking for the first time since he was sacked by the Premier League club. The Old Trafford hierarchy sacked Mourinho in the aftermath of Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Anfield that left the 20-times champions an embarrassing 19 points behind league leaders Liverpool after just 17 matches. But the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss refused to go into details about his departure. "I don't change. And what I did when I left Chelsea, for example, is the same as that I'm going to do now," Mourinho told Sky Sports News. "I keep the good things and I don't speak about anything that happened in the club. "We could speak about so many good things. It's finished" he added. "Manchester United has a future without me and I have a future without Manchester United, so why should I now be sharing with you or even with the supporters, any of my feelings? "It's over. That's me and that's the way I've always been and I
PKL: Patna play thrilling tie against Bengaluru Bulls
Patna Pirates pulled off a miraculous 40-40 tie against Bengaluru Bulls in a thrilling Pro Kabaddi League match here on Wednesday.
Patna Pirates play out a thrilling tie against Bengaluru Bulls
Patna Pirates scored three points in less than 20 seconds to pull off a 40-40 tie against Bengaluru Bulls in a thrilling Pro Kabaddi League match here on Wednesday. Vikas Jaglan was the hero for Patna as he got one tackle and two raid points to save the Pirates from a certain defeat. Pardeep Narwal was the top scorer for Patna Pirates with 17 points. For Bengaluru Bulls, Rohit Kumar scored 16 points while Mahender got a high five in defence. Patna Pirates are still in contention of a place in the playoffs while Bengaluru Bulls have already qualified. Both teams got a couple of raid points in the first two minutes to be level at 2-2. Pardeep and Pawan Sehrawat picked up a few more raid points for their teams with Patna leading 5-4 after five minutes. It did look like Patna Pirates would steal a lead as Pardeep made a two-point raid in the sixth minute to led 8-5. A super tackle in the seventh minute turned the tide completely in Bengaluru Bulls' favour. Rohit mad a successful raid in ..
Atletico Madrid get ready for La Liga clash vs Espanyol
Atletico Madrid held a training session on Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming home La Liga game against Espanyol.
I-League: Top scorers face-off as Churchill host East Bengal (Preview)
In what will be a battle pitting the I-Leagues top goal scorers Willis Plaza and Jobby Justin against each other, Churchill Brothers FC take on Kolkatas East Bengal here on Thursday.
Marin wants to win one more Olympic gold, two more world
She is the reigning Olympic and World Champion in women's singles, but Spain's badminton star Carolina Marin says she has to achieve much more to be termed as the best-ever. Elaborating, Marin said Wednesday said she has to win one more Olympic title and at least two more World Championships to be considered the best ever shuttler in history. "I want to be the best player in history, and for that I have to win one more Olympic (title), and minimum two more World Championships. It's easy to say, I know it's going to be really difficult. But this is what (I will say) to keep myself motivated," she said. "This is why I had a period of one and a half years which were not very good. I didn't have any motivation to tell myself to keep practising hard. "It was really difficult, not just for myself but also my team, to keep motivating ourselves," Marin said when asked what keeps her going despite achieving everything. The 25-year-old shuttler, who will be part of Pune7Aces in ..
Former India skipper Anup Kumar retires from Kabaddi
India's former World Cup winning captain Anup Kumar on Wednesday announced his retirement from Kabaddi, ending a 15-year iconic career.
Legendary kabaddi player Anup Kumar announces retirement
Anup Kumar, one of the most impactful kabaddi players the country has seen, on Wednesday announced his retirement with immediate effect, drawing curtains to an illustrious 15-year career. A veteran in the sport, Arjuna awardee Anup began his international career in 2006 at the South Asian Games in Sri Lanka. He led India to gold medal at the Asian Games and was also part of the team which repeated the feat in the 2014 edition. The 35-year-old had also led India to memorable Kabaddi World Cup title triumph in 2016. In season 2 of the Pro Kabaddi League, Anup captained U Mumba and led the team to victory. "When I started playing kabaddi, it was a great hobby and over the years a hobby became the most important part of my life. The day I took to playing kabaddi professionally, I had one dream, to represent my country and bring back a gold medal," Anup said. "I am one of the few lucky people who had the opportunity to accomplish the most important dream of my life. Today, with the Pro ...
Marathon champ Kirui undecided on world title defence
Former marathon world champion Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya said that he will wait until April to decide whether he will feature at the 2019 World Championships.
TNTA likely to host WTA event in Chennai early in 2020
: The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) is likely to host a WTA event in Chennai early in 2020, its president and former India Davis Cupper Vijay Amritraj said Wednesday. "In the early part of 2020, we will try to do a WTA event in Chennai. I have already made the request. We are looking to do a similar kind of event that we did for the men (the ATP 250)," he told reporters here. "I have already spoken to the WTA, they are very keen to come on board. In terms of money, to conduct the event, it will probably end up costing about half of the ATP event (the Chennai Open)... about Rs six-seven crore. Talks have also been initiated with the state government," he added. Amritraj, who led India to two Davis Cup finals, said he was trying his best to get a world-class event to fill the void created by the ATP tournament being moved out of the city. Amritraj also said there were plans to host a Legends event next year some time after the US Open, adding he wanted to rope in ..
Ecuador forward Martinez joins Barcelona SC
Ecuador international forward Fidel Martinez has joined local first division side Barcelona Sporting Club after parting ways with Uruguay's Penarol.
Three things Man United need to fix as Solskjaer takes temporary charge
Manchester United's decision to sack Jose Mourinho brought an abrupt end to his troubled reign but the fallout at Old Trafford will linger for months to come. United have appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as caretaker manager to see them through to the end of the season before hiring a long-term successor to Mourinho. Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is the bookmakers' favourite for the permanent role, with former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane also tipped for the job. But Solskjaer -- and whoever eventually fills Mourinho's shoes -- has an enormous task to restore the club to its former glories. AFP Sports looks at three issues that need to be fixed: Mend broken relationships ========================= Questioned about Paul Pogba's influential role in France's World Cup triumph earlier this year, Mourinho's sharp response that he needed to try harder for United set in motion a chain of events that contributed to his downfall. Mourinho was already frustrated by Pogba's apparent ...
German football boss blasts Infantino over lack of transparency
German Football Federation president Reinhard Grindel has launched a withering attack on FIFA president Gianni Infantino over a lack of transparency on proposals for new competitions in an interview with Sportbuzzer.de published on Wednesday. "With this lack of transparency on these questions he is reinforcing the prejudices against FIFA," said Grindel. "It is why I am insisting with my UEFA colleagues in the FIFA Council on the creation of a task force where all the information can be laid out on the table and we can determine with honesty if we need other competitions and if so what format they should take." Infantino has long envisaged the creation of an international nations league and a Club World Cup expanded to 24 teams. In November he told AFP that it was the best way to fight the possibility of a breakaway Super League. The vague proposal to sell FIFA rights for $25 billion over 12 years to finance the club tournament also concerns Grindel. "I would be satisfied if FIFA ...