Category: SPORTS

There will be perfectly-timed put downs, gushing photo spreads, tired tabloid moans about the grunts and a stream of questions about Serena Williams.It can only mean one thing: Maria Sharapova is back at Wimbledon. Three years after her last appearance at the All England Club, and 14 years since the Russian won the title, launching the giggling teenager into the financial and media stratosphere, Sharapova’s career is at a crossroads. Now 31, Sharapova missed 2016 Wimbledon as she sat out a doping ban while injury scuppered her plans to play…

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Kazan (Russia), Jun 26 (DIN NEWS) Marco Reus has no intention of allowing South Korea to get in the way of Germany progressing to the last 16 tomorrow now that the World Cup holders have already saved their skins once. Reus was a substitute in the 1-0 defeat to Mexico, but given a starting role against Sweden he bundled in a 48th-minute leveller to drag Germany back into the game. With seconds on the clock in Sochi, Germany secured a vital 2-1 win thanks to Toni Kroos’s superb curling shot,…

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London, Jun 26 (DIN NEWS) Having seen longtime rival Rafael Nadal tighten his iron-grip on Roland Garros, Roger Federer aims to extend his personal dominance of Wimbledon by claiming a ninth title at the All England Club. Despite his 37th birthday fast approaching, and having been stunned by Borna Coric in the Halle grasscourt final last weekend, Federer will still start Wimbledon as the overwhelming favourite to clinch a 21st major. Federer set new records 12 months ago when he defeated a hobbling Marin Cilic in the final, becoming both…

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Saransk, Jun 25 (DIN NEWS) Hundreds of Iranian fans spent several overnight hours surrounding the hotel where Portugal’s national team is based, making loud noises in an attempt to disrupt their opponents’ sleep before a decisive World Cup match later today. Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was filmed by Portuguese TV RTP late at night by the window using gestures to ask the Iranian fans to be silent, but this morning there were still a few dozen of them playing loud music near the hotel in the Saransk city center. Iran can…

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Salt Lake City (USA), Jun 25 (DIN NEWS) Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumar shrugged off her poor run of form by clinching gold medal in the women’s recurve event at the World Cup (Stage III) after a gap of six years beating Germany’s Michelle Kroppen 7-3 to qualify for the circuit Final, later this year. Deepika, a four-time World Cup final silver medallist (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015), automatically qualified for the Archery World Cup Final in Samsun, Turkey, which will be her seventh appearance at the season-ending event. Finally!…

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Novak Djokovic admits his first final in a year will be a “special moment” as the former world number one prepares to face Marin Cilic in the Queen’s Club title match. Djokovic has endured a barren 12 months due to a combination of a nagging elbow injury last year and poor form in 2018.The 12-time Grand Slam champion is more accustomed to fighting for the sport’s biggest prizes.But, in a sign of how far he has fallen, Djokovic claimed reaching the final of the Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen’s is…

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A tough tour of England four years ago made Virat Kohli panicky while preparing for the upcoming series but former India captain Sourav Ganguly is happy that the star cricketer did not end up playing county cricket in his eagerness to be well-prepared.Kohli is a fantastic player. He will do well this time. I am happy that he did not play county cricket before the England series. I think he was eager to play county (ahead of the series) because he was panicky after not having a good tour last…

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New Delhi, Jun 23 (DIN NEWS) World silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) and Mandeep Jangra were among the five Indian boxers to enter the finals, while four others, including Shiva Thapa (60kg), signed off with bronze medals in the Ulaanbaatar Cup in Mongolia on Saturday. Those who made the final along with Sonia and Mandeep were Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), a gold-medallist at the India Open earlier this year, Himanshu Sharma (49kg), and Muhammed Etash Khan (56kg). Ending with bronze medals were Shiva, debutant Vanhmlimpuia (75kg), Ashish (64kg), and Bina Devi Koijam…

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Breda (Netherlands), Jun 23 (DIN NEWS) India blanked arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 to open its campaign on a rousing note in the final edition of the Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament, here today. India scored four field goals with comeback man Ramandeep Singh opening the account in the 26th minute. Young Dilpreet Singh (54th), Mandeep Singh (57th) and Lalit Upadhyay (60th) also scored a goal apiece. While the Indian strikers were on target, the defenders also produced a superlative show to keeping Pakistan forward line at bay. India, eyeing its maiden Champions…

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New Delhi, Jun 22 (DIN NEWS) Concerned by a spate of run fests recently, Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has criticised the use of two new balls in ODIs, saying it is “a perfect recipe for disaster”, a view endorsed by none other than current India captain Virat Kohli. Mostly a reticent commentator, Tendulkar shared his point of view after watching England batsmen go on a rampage against Australia in the last two ODIs. “Having 2 new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each…

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