Page 99 - Sports

36 years of India's maiden World Cup title

On this day in the year 1983, India lifted their first ever cricket World Cup title, defeating West Indies by 43 runs at Lord's. It is now 36 years to India's triumphant in the World Cup.Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a picture of Kapil Dev receiving the World Cup trophy on Twitter and wrote, "On this day in 1983 - India won the World Cup and held the trophy high at Lord's - Memories to last a lifetime."The World Cup winning team was led by all-rounder Kapil Dev. India's World Cup final playing XI include Sunil Gavaskar, K Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, SM Patil, Kapil Dev (c), Kirti Azad, Roger Binny, Madan Lal, Syed Kirmani, Balwinder Sandhu.India were the regular participant of the World Cup from its beginning to the current edition. The first edition was played in the year 1975 and repeats itself in four years.West Indies won the first two World Cup title (1975,1979) and were the runner-up of 1983.India won the title for the two times, first in .

Belletti feels it's time for Neymar to decide his future

Amid all the speculations regarding Paris Saint-Germain player Neymar's transfer, former Barcelona defender Juliano Belletti feels that it is the moment for the 27-year-old to decide his future."A lot has been said about Neymar. I know hardly anything about this. For him, it is the moment to decide. He has to be very calm with his family to take the best decision," Goal.com quoted Belletti as saying.Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain back in 2017 from Barcelona and after two seasons with the club, he failed to change fortunes of the club. However, the club managed to win the Ligue 1 title after they finished the tournament with 91 points, 16 points ahead of the second-positioned LOSC.Currently, the Brazilian international is recovering from an ankle injury which he picked during Brazil's friendly match against Qatar.Moreover, due to the injury, Neymar was ruled out of the ongoing Copa America.

Qatar future bright after tough Copa America debut

Qatar may have fallen at the first hurdle in their South American adventure but the 2022 World Cup hosts showed enough in Brazil to suggest the future is bright for the Maroons. They arrived at the Copa America as an unknown quantity as far as the locals were concerned but despite losing two of their three matches, Qatar proved competitive enough to ensure they won't be a surprise package next year when making their second appearance in the South American showpiece. "There were times that we played well. We have to keep working hard," said Qatar's Spanish coach Felix Sanchez. "It's a young team looking at the next three years. We need to work hard to be strong when we get there." Qatar have never qualified for the World Cup and will take part for the first time as hosts in 2022. Despite their modest history and tiny indigenous population, the gas-rich Gulf state has lofty ambitions and took a pair of important steps this year. In February in the United Arab Emirates, they overcame a ..

Canada's injured Andreescu out of Wimbledon

Rising Canadian talent Bianca Andreescu will miss Wimbledon as she continues to recover from the shoulder injury that forced her out of the French Open, Tennis Canada said Monday. "Unfortunately, due to ongoing shoulder rehab and recovery, Bianca Andreescu has withdrawn from Wimbledon," the federation said in a tweet. Andreescu, who turned 19 on June 16, withdrew from the French Open after beating Marie Bouzkova in three sets in the first round, handing American Sofia Kenin a walkover into the third round. At Roland Garros, she was playing her first tournament since retiring from her round of 16 match at Miami in March with a right shoulder injury. A week earlier, Andreescu had toppled Angelique Kerber in the final at Indian Wells to become the first wild card to win the WTA title in the California desert. Ranked 60th going into Indian Wells, she rose to 24th and was ranked 25th on Monday.

Heartache for Japan, Ecuador as draw sends Paraguay into Copa quarters

Japan and Ecuador were left heartbroken as their 1-1 draw in Belo Horizonte on Monday saw them miss out on the Copa America quarter-finals, with Paraguay qualifying instead. Uruguay, meanwhile, topped Group C as Edinson Cavani's goal eight minutes from time gave them a 1-0 win over champions Chile, who also qualify, at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium. Japan and Ecuador faced a must win match in their bid to reach the knock-out stages as one of the two best third-placed finishers. Peru had already secured their spot from Group A while Paraguay, in Group B, were left sweating on Monday's result having finished their campaign on Sunday with two points from three games. Shoya Nakajima gave Japan the lead on 15 minutes with a goal validated by VAR, but 10 minutes from half time, Angel Mena equalized for Ecuador. Japan substitute Daizen Maeda was put clean through late on but saw his effort saved by goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez. Deep into stoppage time teenage sensation Takefusa Kubo ...

USA and Sweden reach quarter-finals as women's World Cup heats up

Megan Rapinoe scored two penalties as defending champions the United States beat Spain on Monday to set up a mouthwatering quarter-final against hosts France at the women's World Cup, with Sweden joining them in the last eight. On another day in the limelight for VAR, Sweden's goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl made a brilliant second-half penalty save as her country edged out Canada 1-0 in Paris, meaning they advance to a similarly enticing tie against Germany. The showdown between the holders and the hosts had seemed inevitable from the moment the draw was made back in December, but after France laboured to beat Brazil in extra time on Sunday, the USA did not find the going easy against Spain in Reims. Rapinoe's first penalty gave Jill Ellis's team an early lead after Tobin Heath was brought down in the box by Maria Leon. However, Jennifer Hermoso pounced to equalise moments later after Becky Sauerbrunn had been caught in possession, and Spain held their own after that against the World Cup .

'It's been lack of execution': David Miller on his WC performance

South Africa batsman David Miller did some self-evaluation regarding his performance in the World Cup as he said there had been lack of execution due to which he failed to give out big performances."I don't feel like my confidence is low. For me, personally, it's been lack of execution," Sport24.co.za quoted Miller as saying.Miller also expressed his disappointment over the fact that despite scoring 30-plus runs four times, he failed to convert them into big performances."I've scored four 30s. Two of them have been at the back end, trying to go for it and the other two, I feel like I could have put in two big performances there. On self-reflection, it has been quite disappointing," he said.South Africa have won only one match and sits on the second last position on the points table. Moreover, the Proteas have already been knocked out from the premier tournament's semi-finals race.Apart from his own performance, Miller also opined over the whole Proteas' batting line-up and said: "As a

New Delhi: Triumphant Indian women's hockey team returns after winning FIH finals

A triumphant Indian women's hockey team landed in New Delhi on Tuesday after winning the FIH Women's Series Finals in Japan against the host country."Our experience there was really good, we went there with a target and achieved it which has made us really happy. We achieved our goal of winning there, winning against Japan in the finals was good but ranks really don't matter today," team goalkeeper Savita Punia told ANI here.Coach Sjoerd Marijne also expressed joy at the team's win and said: "We played really well. We controlled the match really well. I am pretty happy with our defending in the finals and I can say we kept on improving with every match."The team had defeated the tournament hosts Japan 3-1 at the Hiroshima Hockey Stadium on Sunday.Skipper Rani Rampal, the best player of the tournament, netted a goal in the third minute but India conceded an equalizer in the 11th minute as Japan's Kanon Mori scored. However, a brace from Gurjit Kaur, the top scorer of the tournament, ...

CWC'19: Shakib keeps Bangladesh's semis hopes alive, Tigers beat Afghanistan by 62 runs

Shakib Al Hasan's all-round performance helped Bangladesh to keep their semi-finals dream alive as the team defeated Afghanistan by 62 runs in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup at the Rose Bowl on Monday.Afghanistan made a good start to their 263 run-chase. The side reached 48 for no loss after 10 overs. However, Bangladesh got a breakthrough as Shakib Al Hasan ended Rahmat Shah's innings for 24. The right-hander was caught by Tamim Iqbal at mid-on.The confident pair of Hashmatullah Shahidi and Gulbadin Naib inched closer to take Afghanistan to 100 runs, Mushtiqur Rahim stumped Hashmatullah for 11, ending a brief 30-run stand for the second wicket.Soon after, Gulbadin fell to Shakib as the Afghanistan skipper (47) played a drive and was caught by Liton Das at mid-off. In the same over, Mohammad Nabi, the lone warrior from the previous match, was dismissed for a duck, leaving Afghanistan at 104/4 after 28.3 overs.Shakib returned and got rid of Asghar Afghan for 20. Samiullah Shinwari and

Sensational Shakib keeps Bangladesh in semifinal contention

Shakib Al Hasan came up with a special all-round performance, steering Bangladesh to a 62-run win over Afghanistan here on Monday and keeping their semifinal hopes alive in the World Cup. Mushfiqur Rahim (83 off 87 balls) and Shakib (51 off 69) showed their class on a difficult surface to help Bangladesh post a competitive 262 for seven after Afghanistan opted to field at the Hampshire Bowl. Shakib, who also became the tournament's leading run getter on way to his half-century, was also exceptional with the ball. The left-arm spinner ended with figures of five for 29 for in 10 overs, his best in ODI cricket. With this incredible effort, Shakib also became only the second cricketer after India's Yuvraj Singh to score a fifty and take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup match. Chasing 263 was always going to be tough for a fragile Afghanistan batting line-up but 48 for no loss in 10 overs raised hopes that the Gulbadin Naib-led side might just get its first win of the tournament after six

Shadab glad to see leg-spinners starring at World Cup

Pakistan's Shadab Khan is glad he and his fellow leg-spinners from other teams are all making their presence felt at the World Cup. Shadab himself starred in Pakistan's morale-boosting win over South Africa at Lord's on Sunday that revived their flagging hopes of reaching the semi-finals. The 20-year-old took 3-50 as Pakistan -- who made an impressive 308-7 -- restricted South Africa to 259-9 for their second win in six matches. For South Africa Imran Tahir, also a leg-spinner, took 2-41 in his 10 overs -- a performance which Shadab said underlined the impact of leg-spinners at the World Cup. "Imran bowled well in our innings so I thought that I will also get some help and grip and it turned out to be like that," said Shadab. The fast-rising star was rated as Pakistan's trump card by none other than World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan, now the country's prime minister. When Shadab dismissed South African opener Quinton de Kock it meant he had reach the landmark of 50 wickets in his ..

Milan-Cortina to host Winter Olympics 2026

Italian cities Milan and Cortina will host the Olympic Winter Games 2026.International Olympic Committee on Monday elected the Italian cities at the 134th IOC Session, taking place from June 24 to 26, in Lausanne.During the voting between candidate cities Milan-Cortina and Stockholm-Are, the Italian cities received 47 votes while the Swedish cities got 34 votes. The total number of voting cards distributed was 82, out of which 81 were considered as valid.In a Tweet, IOC in a video revealed the result, saying, Milano-Cortina elected as Host City for the Winter Olympic Games 2026.Italy will be hosting the Olympic Winter Games for the second time in 20 years. The country last hosted the event in 2006 at Turin. The city Cortina previously hosted the event in 1956.

I-League clubs issue joint statement, threaten to move court against AIFF

Seven I-League clubs on Monday issued a joint statement, threatening to move court against the All India Football Federation (AIFF) if they announce Indian Super League (ISL) as the top tier of Indian domestic club football system.The seven clubs include East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers, Minerva Punjab, Aizawl FC, NEROCA and Gokulam Kerala, Goal.com reported.There have been wide media speculations that the executive committee of AIFF will meet in July to declare the ISL as India's top league."We, the United I-League clubs met today in New Delhi to discuss our future course of action in light of the latest developments in Indian football. With media report indicating that the ISL being announced as the top division league post an Executive Committee meeting scheduled for July 3 2019, the I-League clubs are standing united stronger than ever," the joint statement of the seven clubs said."Quess East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers, Minerva Punjab, Aizawl FC, NEROCA ...

I-League to approach court if ISL is made top league, AIFF calls it premature and unfair

The I-League clubs Monday said they will approach "appropriate courts for relief" if the ISL is made the country's top league, even as the All India Football Federation called it "premature and unfair". Miffed at AIFF general secretary Kushal Das's public acknowledgement of Indian Super League as the country's main league, representatives of Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Churchill Brothers, Minerva Punjab FC and Gokulam Kerala FC, among others, held a meeting in the capital, where they decided to move courts. The clubs feel Das' acknowledgement will be rubber-stamped in the AIFF's executive committee meeting on July 3. "With media reports indicating that the ISL being announced as the top division league post an Executive committee meeting scheduled for July 3rd, the I-League clubs are standing united stronger than ever," the clubs said in a joint statement. "The refusal of the President of AIFF to meet the I-League clubs in spite of several requests and the subsequent vindictive actions .

I could execute my plans because Bumrah left me 16 to defend in last over: Shami

Jasprit Bumrah's economical 49th over helped me to execute my plans in the final six balls of the innings, said India pacer Mohammad Shami after he became India's second cricketer to take a hat-trick in the World Cup. Drafted into the playing XI following a hamstring injury to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami returned with a four-wicket haul, which included a hattrick in the last over. With Afghanistan needing 21 runs in 12 balls, Bumrah had conceded just five runs in the 49th over, leaving Shami with 16 runs to defend. "I trusted you (Bumrah) that you won't give away a lot (in the 49th over). From inside, I believed 16 runs was enough for me. So, I got the opportunity to execute my plans," Shami told BCCI.tv. "If it had been anything less than that, then I would have found it difficult to execute plans." Chetan Sharma was the first Indian to take a hattrick in World Cup when he achieved the feat in the 1987 edition. "It is a very good feeling. Taking a hattrick is a big thing and doing it at

Finch backs Australia to come good under England pressure

Australia captain Aaron Finch believes his side's proven ability to handle World Cup pressure will stand them in good stead when they face England in a crunch game on Tuesday. If World Cup holders Australia defeat their arch rivals at Lord's, it will damage hosts England's hopes of reaching the semi-finals. England may have been the pre-tournament favourites but they have never won the World Cup, whereas Australia have lifted the trophy five times. "I think that over the World Cup history, Australia have had a very good history of peaking at the right time," Finch told reporters at Lord's on Monday. "Over a lot of that history Australia have played their best cricket under the greatest pressure. "And that's a good lesson for everyone, the fact that we've got six guys in our squad who were part of the 2015 World Cup win is really valuable," the opening batsman added. "We're going in with a lot of confidence no doubt, we've been playing some really good cricket. "But it's about the team

Sweden's Bahta gets one-year backdated ban after missing tests

Sweden's Eritrean-born Meraf Bahta, European 5,000m champion in 2014, has been served a backdated one-year ban after failing to properly disclose her location for doping tests, the Swedish athletics federation announced Monday. The ban was backdated between September 1, 2018, and August 31, 2019, meaning Bahta will be able to run, if selected, at the world championships in Doha which start on September 28. Federation head Stefan Olsson said Bahta had not been found guilty of doping, but had been victim of an administrative mistake that saw her fail to give her whereabouts for tests three times within 12 months last season. Bahta, who moved to Sweden in 2008, represented Eritrea at world cross-country championships and All-Africa Games before switching allegiance and going on to also win European 5,000m silver in 2016 and 10,000m bronze in 2018 for her adopted country.

I-League clubs to approach court if ISL is made top league

Putting up a united front, seven I-League clubs Monday said they are ready to approach "appropriate courts for relief" if the All India Football Federation makes the ISL the country's top league. Miffed at AIFF general secretary Kushal Das's public acknowledgement of Indian Super League as the country's main league, representatives of Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Churchill Brothers, Minerva Punjab FC, Aizawl FC, NEROCA and Gokulam Kerala FC held a meeting in New Delhi, where they decided to move courts. Das' acknowledgement is expected to be rubber-stamped in the AIFF's executive committee meeting on July 3. "With media reports indicating that the ISL being announced as the top division league post an Executive committee meeting scheduled for July 3rd, the I-League clubs are standing united stronger than ever," the clubs said in a joint statement. "The refusal of the President of AIFF to meet the I-League clubs in spite of several requests and the subsequent vindictive actions ...

SA win not an answer to critics, says Sarfaraz

Pakistan were desperate for a positive result after enduring a "difficult" week following a below-par performance against India in the World Cup but the win over South Africa is "not an answer to the critics", says skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed. Pakistan faced severe criticism from fans and former players alike after their seventh World Cup defeat to arch-rivals India on June 16 but the team bounced back to outwit South Africa by 49 runs on Sunday, reviving their semifinal hopes. "Our win is not an answer to the critics. We are here to play cricket, and like any other side, believe we can win the World Cup," said Sarfaraz in an interview released to the Pakistani media by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The under-fire Pakistan skipper insisted that the mantra of the team was "we lose as a team and we win as a team". "This has been the mantra of the Pakistan cricket team," he said. "The win over South Africa was the result of a complete team effort. We badly needed a positive result ...

Women footballers to participate in street football world

Six women footballers from Ranchi will fly to Lyon, France to participate in 'street football world Festival19', a highlight of the FIFA Women's World Cup. The team from Yuwa, which is supported by BookASmile, have been invited as one of the 40 other delegations from across the world representing leading 'Development through Football' organisations. The festival will begin on June 29 and will continue till July 8, a press release of Yuwa said here Monday. Yuwa's Festival19 team is backed by BookASmile, the charity initiative of India's leading entertainment destination BookMyShow. Yuwa's women will be hosted by Sport dans la Ville during the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 for a festival of football, fair play and culture. The festival will feature a street soccer tournament played by 'football3 rules' designed to promote tolerance and youth leadership as well as an educational and cultural exchange programme. The festival will be organised jointly by ...