Category: SPORTS

Voters in Japan’s capital are electing the Tokyo city assembly amid worries about health risks during the Olympics, opening in three weeks, as coronavirus cases continue to rise. In Sunday’s balloting, 271 candidates are vying for 127 seats. Eligible voters total 9.8 million people in the megacity with a population of nearly 14 million. Public opinion surveys show most people want the Games cancelled or postponed again. Behind the fears is the lagging vaccination rollout, with only about 10 per cent of the population fully vaccinated. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike…

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Lionel Messi scored his 76th international goal and is now only one shy of Pele for the South American record as Argentina beat Ecuador 3-0 to progress to the semifinals of the Copa America. Messi scored from a late freekick on Saturday and earlier laid on two assists as Argentina eventually subdued Ecuador and kept the superstar’s dream of winning his first major international title alive. Argentina’s rival at the Man Garrincha Stadium on Tuesday will be Colombia, which earlier overcame Uruguay on penalties. The other semifinal will feature defending…

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England Test skipper Joe Root says it’s time that they set aside the much-debated rotation policy to field the strongest possible teams against India and later in the Ashes so that they can compete for the WTC title instead of watching the marquee contest on TV. England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) rotation policy became a hot topic in world cricket when they did not travel to India with their full strength squad earlier this year and lost the series 1-2 to got out of the WTC final race. The…

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Matteo Pessina’s goal-scoring celebration diving face-first on the turf with his arms nearly flat by his side has become quite a sensation back home in Italy. Rightfully so. The 24-year-old midfielder, who only joined his national team for the European Championship after another player was injured, scored what turned out to be the winning goal in extra time against Austria in the round of 16. It was the most spontaneous thing in the world. It didn’t seem real to me that it had really happened and I did the stupidest…

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Cristiano Ronaldo certainly attracts most of the attention, just not all of the attention. Ronaldo is on the verge of becoming the all-time leading scorer in international soccer. He can set the record on Sunday when Portugal faces Belgium in the round at 16 of the European Championship. But the Belgians won’t be focused only on Ronaldo. “If you see a Portugal shirt on the street, it’s 99% a Ronaldo shirt,” Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen, who plays for Portuguese club Benfica, said Saturday. “He’s the biggest player in the history…

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New Zealand pacer Tim Southee says the World Test Championship triumph over the mighty Indian team will take at least a couple of weeks to sink in. New Zealand defeated world number one India by eight wickets in the final here on Wednesday. For Southee, it wasn’t just about 15 players in the current squad. “It is amazing to be part of this team. We have been working for this (WTC final win) for the last two years. Not only the 15 players but others probably in the last 5-6…

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Pacer Tim Southee says wriggling out a tough situation to eventually take a lead was a commendable effort by New Zealand and the action in the first session on Wednesday would determine the fate of the World Test Championship Final. India are leading by 32 runs with eight wickets in hand, going into the final day of the title clash. New Zealand were languishing at 162 for six but were eventually scored 249 runs to take a 32-run first innings lead, thanks to valuable knocks by the tail-enders including Southee,…

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 Former captain Younis Khan on Tuesday stepped down as Pakistan’s batting coach in a surprise decision which the cricket board said was agreed upon “reluctantly but amicably” even though no reasons were specified for it. The Pakistan team is due to start a tour of the UK from June 25 to July 20 for three ODIs and three T20Is. The team will next go to the West Indies from July 21 to August 24 to feature in five T20Is and two Tests. “Pakistan men’s national cricket team will travel to…

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Ace golfer and late Milkha Singh’s son Jeev Milkha Singh on Monday paid tribute to the sprint legend, who died of COVID-19 complications last week, saying he would need a lifetime of resilience to deal with the loss of his best friend, guide, and mentor. Milkha, one of independent India’s biggest sporting icons, died here on Friday after battling the infection for a month. The 49-year-old Jeev said Father’s Day on Sunday was “another sad reminder of what I’ve lost”. “Dad was much more than my father – he was…

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Shafali Verma’s spectacular debut has caught the imagination of the Indian women’s team Test skipper Mithali Raj, who feels the teenager would be a key member of the side in all the formats of the game in future. The 17-year-old, who had smashed a stroke-filled 96 in the first innings, made 63 in the second innings, to become the youngest woman and fourth overall to score twin half-centuries in her debut Test and was rightfully adjudged player-of-the-match. “She will be very, very important to the Indian batting unit in all…

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