India’s Saina Nehwal has won her third Super Series title of the year by beating Shixian Wang in Wanchai on Sunday, December 12, 2010.
Nehwal won a hard fought game 15-21 21-16 21-17.
Prior to this, Nehwal had also won the Singapore Super Series and Indonesian Super Series.
Final score and result-India vs Pakistan- Asian Games Hockey 2010.
India beat Pakistan in a Group B game at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou thanks to a brace from ace drag flicker Sandeep Singh. Singh’s double allowed India to pick up their third straight win in Group B.
Dharamvir Singh scored the other goal for India, while Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi were on target for Pakistan.
Final score- India 3-2 Pakistan ( Sandeep Singh 3′, 48′, Dharamvir Singh 16’/ Rehan Butt 4′, Shakeel Abbasi)
Hosts India will meet arch rivals Pakistan at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Delhi today ( February 28, 2010) in the 2010 Hockey World Cup. This page will be updated with the final score and result of the India vs Pakistan game. Game kicks off at 20.35 IST
Full time score score :- India 4-1 Pakistan ( Shivendra Singh, Sandeep Singh*2, Prabhjot Singh/ Sohail Abbas)
HT score:- India 2-0 Pakistan
First Half :-
Both of India’s goals came from penalty corners. Sandeep’s shot was blocked by Pakistan keeper Salman Akbar, but Shivendra managed to slot in the rebound to give India the lead. Sandeep then directly converted a penalty corner in first half extra time to put India 2-0 ahead.
Salman Akbar produced two good saves in the first half to prevent India from scoring, while ace drag flicker Sohail Abbas rattled the woodwork in Pakistan’s only penalty corner of the game.
Second half :-
India opened the second half just as they had closed the second half- with a goal. That put them 3-0 up and Sandeep converted another penalty corner to make it 4-0. Sohail Abbas was again denied by the woodwork, but he managed to get a powerful shot in to reduce the arrears.
Game : India v Malaysia
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009 Final
Date : April 12, 2009
Final score : India 3-1 Malaysia ( Result- India win)
Goal scorers : Arjun Halappa 8′, Prabhjot Singh 20′, Shivendra Singh 41’/ Azlan Misrom 11′
India scored three against Malaysia for the second time in the tournament as they beat the hosts in the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup today.
India, who had beaten the hosts 3-0 in the earlier group game, took the lead through Arjun Halappa in the 8th minute. Malaysia replied through Azlan Misrom, but Prabhjot Singh restored India’s lead in the 20th minute.
Shivendra Singh added a third for India in the 41st minute, and as the final whistle blew, coach Harendra Singh and his boys celebrated their fourth Azlan Shah Cup title.
India had previously won the tournament in 1985, 1991 and 1995. This was the second time they were playing Malaysia for the title- the two teams had battled for the crown in 1985 too.
India had finished second in last year’s Azlan Shah Cup. They lost to Argentina in the final then.
In the third fourth place playoff, New Zealand beat Pakistan 2-1.
Game : New Zealand v Pakistan
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009 Bronze medal play off
Date : April 12, 2009
Final score : New Zealand 2-1 Pakistan
Goal scorers : Blair Hopping 12′, Joel Baker 13’/ Shakeel Abbasi 35′
New Zealand have claimed the bronze medal by beating Pakistan in the third fourth place in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia today.
Skipper Blair Hopping gave the Black Sticks the lead, and Joel Baker added another one minute later as New Zealand dealt twin blows early in the match.
Shakeel Abbasi did pull one back for Pakistan, but unfortunately for them, they could manage to score another goal.
Final standings from the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup ( As on April 11, 2009 after the final round of games were played)
Team GP Won Lost Draw Points
India 4 2 0 2 8
Malaysia 4 2 1 1 7
New Zealand 4 1 0 3 6
Pakistan 4 1 3 0 3
Egypt 4 0 2 2 2
Final standings from the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup ( As on April 11, 2009 after the final round of games were played)
Team GP Won Lost Draw Points
India 4 2 0 2 8
Malaysia 4 2 1 1 7
New Zealand 4 1 0 3 6
Pakistan 4 1 3 0 3
Egypt 4 0 2 2 2
Third placed playoff
( Click for Match report)
India v Malaysia ( Final) ( Click for Match Report)
Final Standings:-
1.) India
2.) Malaysia
3.) New Zealand
4.) Pakistan
5.) Egypt
Final Standings:-
1.) India
2.) Malaysia
3.) New Zealand
4.) Pakistan
5.) Egypt
Game : Malaysia v New Zealand
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 11, 2009
Final score : Malaysia 1-1 New Zealand
Goal scorers : Chua Boon Huat 48’/ Nicholas Wilson 49′
Hosts Malaysia entered their third Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final after drawing 1-1 against New Zealand today.
The Kiwis, wh0 needed a win to reach the finals, fell behind in the 48th minute when the experienced Chua Boon Huat scored for the firsts. They however recovered the very next minute, as Nicholas Wilson scored from open play.
However New Zealand could not get a second goal, and Malaysia will now play India, who beat Pakistan in the other match of the day, in the final on Sunday.
Game : India v Pakistan
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 11, 2009
Final score : India 2-1 Pakistan
Goal scorers : Sandeep Singh 29′, 61′ , Mohammad Saqlain 50′
Last year’s runners up India booked their spot in the final of this edition’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup after a hard fought 2-1 victory over Pakistan. Indian skipper Sandeep Singh was the hero for the winning side, scoring both goals.
India will take on hosts Malaysia, who drew with New Zealand in the other game.
Singh gave India the lead through a penalty stroke in the 29th minute which was awarded after Fareed Ahmed had come in the way of his penalty corner.
Mohammad Saqlain equalised for Pakistan in the 50th minute, deflecting Ehsan Ullah’s free hit.
However Singh scored from another penalty corner in the 61st minute to seal victory for the Indians. Pakistan pressed hard for an equaliser, but India’s defence, which has been guilty of giving away late goals in many recent games, somehow held on till the final whistle.
India will play their fifth Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final on Sunday against Malaysia.
Game : Egypt v Pakistan
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 9, 2009
Final score : Egypt 0-4 Pakistan
Goal scorers : Muhammad Imran 13′, Fareed Ahmad 18′,
Shakeel Abbasi 43′, 67′
Pakistan crushed any chances that debutants Egypt might have had of reaching the final as they routed them 4-0 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia today.
Muhammad Imran gave Pakistan the lead in the 13th minute, and Fareed Ahmad doubled it in the 18th minute. Shakeel Abbasi struck twice in the second half to give Pakistan a comfortable 4-0 win.
Pakistan next play India.
Game : New Zealand vs India
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 9, 2009
Final score : New Zealand 2-2 India
Goal scorers : Richard Petherick 8′, Joseph Holomew Barth 64’/
Sandeep Singh 27′, 48′
Indian skipper Sandeep Singh scored a brace, but it was not enough to get his side a win against New Zealand in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup today in Malaysia.
New Zealand opened the scoring through Richard Petherick’s penalty corner, but Singh equalised before half time from a PC and then put India ahead with his fourth goal of the tournament in the 48th minute.
The Kiwis were determined not to give up, and Joseph Barth got a 64th minute equaliser.
India play Pakistan next, while New Zealand face hosts Malaysia.
Azlan Shah Tables can be seen here.
All results from the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
April 5, 2009, Sunday
India 2-2 Egypt ( 17.00) ( Click for match report)
Pakistan 2-3 Malaysia (19.00) ( Click for match report)
April 6, 2009, Monday
New Zealand 3-2 Pakistan (17.00) ( Click for Match Report)
Malaysia 4-1 Egypt (19.00) ( Click for Match report)
April 7, 2009, Rest Day
April 8, Wednesday
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tables can be viewed here.
New Zealand v Egypt (17.00) ( Click for Match Report)
India v Malaysia (19.00) ( Click for Match Report
April 9, Thursday
New Zealand v India ( Click for Match report)
Egypt 0-4 Pakistan ( Click for Match Report)
April 11, Saturday
India 2-1 Pakistan ( Click for Match Report)
Malaysia 1-1 New Zealand ( Click for Match Report)
April 12, Saturday
Third placed playoff
( Click for Match report)
India v Malaysia ( Final) ( Click for Match Report)
Game : Egypt v New Zealand
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 8, 2009
Final score : Egypt 1-1 New Zealand
Goal scorers : Ahmad Abd El Hakeim 38′, Steven Edwards 51′
Egypt got their second draw in three games as they shared points with New Zealand in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup today.
The Kiwis had beaten Pakistan 3-2 in their last game, while the Egyptians had been hammered 4-1 by hosts Malaysia. However it was Egypt who took the lead early into the second half through Ahmad Abd El Hakeim.
Steven Edwards cancelled out El Hakeim’s strike in the 51st minute. Egypt had plenty of opportunities to close the game out, but failed to take their chances.
Game : Malaysia v India
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 8, 2009
Final score : Malaysia 0-3 India
Goal scorers : Arjun Halappa 20′, Sandeep Singh 32′, Gurvinder Chandi 61′
India stopped Malaysia from winning three games in a row as they beat the hosts 3-0 today in the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Striker Arjun Halappa gave India the lead in the 20th minute, and Sandeep Singh doubled the scores from a penalty corner in the 32nd minute. Gurvinder Chandi added a field goal nine minutes from time as India ran out 3-0 winners.
Game : New Zealand vs Pakistan
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 6, 2009
Final score : New Zealand 3-2 Pakistan
Goal scorers : Priyesh Bhana 6′, Nicolas Haig 43′, Dean Couzins 68’/ Mohamed Imran 8′, 22′
Favourites New Zealand started their 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup campaign with a 3-2 win over Pakistan. The loss was Pakistan’s second in the tournament, and leaves them in a difficult position to qualify for the finals for the tournament.
Priyesh Bhana opened the scoring for the Kiwis in the 6th minute, but Pakistan hit back through Mohamed Imran in the 8th minute. Imran then again scored from a penalty corner in the 22nd minute to give Pakistan the lead.
Nicolas Haig levelled scores eight minutes into the second half, and Dean Couzins slammed home the winner from a penalty corner minutes before the final whistle.
Game : Malaysia v Egypt
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Date : April 6, 2009
Final score : Malaysia 4-1 Egypt
Goal scorers 😦 Ismail Abu 26′, Abd Malek Engku 39′, Chua Boon Huat 65′, Mohd Amin Rahim 68’/ Ahmed Abd El Maksowd 45′)
Malaysia recorded their second win in as many games when they beat debutants Egypt 4-1 in the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Malaysia, who had stunned Pakistan 3-2 in their first game, opened the scoring through Ismail Abu in the 26th minute. Abd Malek Engku doubled their lead in the 39th minute. Egypt, who held India to a draw yesterday, pulled one back through Ahmed Abd El Maksowd.
However unlike yesterday, there was no fairytale ending for the Egyptians. Instead Malaysia added two late goals to complete a comprehensive victory.
Game : Malaysia v Pakistan
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Time : 19.00 Malaysia time
Final score and result : Malaysia 3-2 Pakistan ( Malaysia win)
Goal scorers:- Mohd Amin Rahim 9′, Mohd Shahrun Nabil Abdullah 29′, Azlan Misrom 48’/ Shakeel Abbasi 10′, Abbas Haider 68′
Malaysia beat Pakistan 3-2 in their opening game of the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. It was Malaysia’s first ever win over Pakistan in seven years, with their last win against Shahid Ali Khan’s men coming in the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
Pakistan, who are fielding a team of youngsters in this tournament, fell behind in the eighth minute when Mohd Amin Rahim scored, but were back on level terms a minute later as Shakeel Abbasi scored.
Malaysia however regained their lead before half time thanks to Mohd Shahrun Nabil Abdullah and Malaysian keeper S.Kumar was the hero for his side in the first half, keeping the Pakistan attackers at bay.
Azlan Misrom added a third midway through the second half, and although Pakistan pressed for an equaliser after Abbas Haider had pulled one back in the 68th minute, Malaysia hung on for a 3-2 win.
Malaysia now lead the standings, and will play New Zealand in their next game.
Game : India v Egypt
Competition : Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Day 1
Time : 17.00 Malaysian time
Final score result : India 2-2 Egypt
Goal scorers:- (Sandeep Singh 15′, Shivendra Singh 49’/Mohamed Hassan 8′, Mohamed El Saied 70′)
India drew 2-2 with Egypt in the opening match of the five nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.
The debutants took the lead in the 8th minute through Mohamed Hassan’ penalty corner.
Indian skipper Sandeep Singh brought the scores on level terms as he fired home in the 15th minute from a penalty corner.
Shivendra Singh gave India the lead in the 49th minute as last year’s runners up piled up the pressure on Jerzy Wybieralski’s side.
However Egypt broke Indian hearts with a 70th minute penalty corner strike from Mohamed El Saied. The Indian defence has gone to sleep on many crucial occasions in the past ( remember the time they lead 3-0 against the Netherlands in the Champions Trophy with ten minutes left, and somehow ended up losing the game 4-3), and it was a similar lapse in concentration that lead to India conceding the penalty corner.
Here are the schedules and fixtures for the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup starting on April 5, 2009, Sunday. ( All timings are in local Malaysian time. To see the time for your country, please use the timeanddate.com site.
Azlan Shah Tables can be seen here.
April 5, 2009, Sunday
India 2-2 Egypt ( 17.00) ( Click for match report)
Pakistan 2-3 Malaysia (19.00) ( Click for match report)
April 6, 2009, Monday
New Zealand 3-2 Pakistan (17.00) ( Click for Match Report)
Malaysia 4-1 Egypt (19.00) ( Click for Match report)
April 7, 2009, Rest Day
April 8, Wednesday
New Zealand v Egypt (17.00) ( Click for Match Report)
India v Malaysia (19.00) ( Click for Match Report
April 9, Thursday
New Zealand v India 17.00( Click for Match report)
Egypt 0-4 Pakistan ( Click for Match Report)
April 10: Rest Day
April 11, Saturday
India v Pakistan ( 17.00)
Malaysia v New Zealand (19.00)
Click here for the results of the above games- Full Azlan Shah Cup results
April 12
New Zealand 2-1 Pakistan ( Click for Match Report- Third placed playoff)
India v Malaysia ( Final) ( Click for Match Report)
Zeeshan Ashraf will captain the 18 member Pakistan squad for the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament to be held in Malaysia from April 5, 2009.
Zeeshan Ali and Sibtain Raza are the two new faces in the team, which also consists of old war horses like Shakeel Abbasi, Mohammad Saqlain and co.
Nasir Ahmad, Muhammad Imran, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ehsan Ullah, Zeeshan Ali, Sibtain Raza, Muhammad Saqlain, Rana Asif, Fareed Ahmad, Sajjad Anwar, Dilawar Bhatti, Waqas Sharif, Shakeel Abbasi, Shabir Khan, Abbas Haider, Tariq Aziz, Shafqat Rasool and Akhtar Ali.
Pakistan results Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Pakistan 2-3 Malaysia ( Click for match report)
The Indian team for the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Malaysia from April 5, 2009 has been announced. Drag flick specialist Sandeep Singh will captain the Indian team in the five nation tournament that also features hosts Malaysia, Pakistan, New Zealand and Egypt.
Indian team for Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009
Sandeep Singh (cap), Baljeet Singh, Adrian D’souza (both goalkeepers), Dilip Tirkey, Raghunath, Gurbaj Singh, Sardar Singh, Prabodh Tirkey, Vikram Pillai, I Tignesh, Ajitesh Roy, Tushar Khandekar, Prabhjot Singh, HV Sunil, Bharat Chhikara, GS Chandi, Shivendra Singh and Arjun Halappa.
Please use the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tag on this blog to find out the other team members, schedules, match reports ( of previous events as well as this one)
India Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2009- Results
India 2-2 Egypt ( April 5, 2009)
India have won the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Click here for match report- India 3-1 Malaysia final.
Please check India’s results at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup results page.
Several members of the Sri Lankan cricket team were injured when masked gunmen attacked the bus they were travelling in en route to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore.
Five Pakistani policemen were killed in the attack. Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera were taken to hospital after suffering minor injuries. Other injured players included star batsman Kumar Sangakarra, Chaminda Vaas and Ajantha Mendis. Fourth umpire Raza was also hurt in the attack ( he reportedly took a bullet to the stomach)
This is a big blow for cricket in Pakistan. Sri Lanka were touring the country because India cancelled their tour because of security concerns.
The terrorists reportedly tried to hurl a grenade under the bus. Should they have been successful, we would have had a monumental disaster on our hands.
The Sri Lankan board has asked its team to come home by the next flight from Lahore.
Was this a security leak? Or did the terrorists penetrate the security cordon? The buses were also not bullet proof, which adds to the long list of questions that are facing Pakistan at this moment.
Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher will miss Scotland’s international friendly against Argentina on Wednesday after suffering a knee injury in the club’s 5-0 win over Hull City on Saturday.
Fletcher, a regular in Scotland’s midfield, will therefore miss Diego Maradona’s first game in charge of the Albinocelestes.
Scotland however do have Barry Ferguson back in the squad, but the Rangers medio may not play the full ninety minutes.
As the 3rd test between India and Australia meandered towards a draw, journalists who were almost done filing their copy were given a rude shock when Indian skipper Anil Kumble announced that this would be his final test match. As people slowly started to absorb the news, one wonders whether Kumble made this decision in order to go out on his terms. This Cricinfo report, for example, that former Indian chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar thought that Kumble had to go.
Forget Liverpool vs Portsmouth, Hull vs Chelsea and Manchester United vs West Ham. This was THE game of the night. An incredible eight goal thriller at the Emirates in Harry Redknapp’s first North London derby, with Spurs producing an unbelievable late comeback to snatch a draw. And this performance would not have escaped the attention of Liverpool and Rafa Benitez, who will surely treat their opponents with a little more respect when the two meet at White Hart Lane this weekend.
Wenger started with Walcott and Nasri on the wings and Denilson and Fabregas in the middle, keeping Eboue, Song and Diaby on the bench. Kolo Toure was also on the bench, as Silvestre and Gallas retained their spots in defence.
Redknapp opted to start with Roman Pavyluchenko as his sole striker, with Luka Modric just behind him. With Ledley King and Michael Dawson not available, Assou Ekotto, Jonathan Woodgate, Vedran Corluka and Alan Hutton formed the four man defence. Huddlestone and Jenas were in central midfield.
Arsenal formation against Spurs
———————-Almunia————————————————-
Sagna————Gallas————Silvestre—————————–Clichy
Walcott———–Fabregas———-Denilson————————–Nasri
—————–Adebayor———Van Persie——————————-
Tottenham formation against Arsenal
———————–Gomes———————————————–
Hutton——–Corluka———–Woodgate—————————–Assou Ekotto
Bentley———Huddlestone——–Jenas—————————–Bale
——————————Modric——————————
—————————-Pavyluchenko—————————–
As expected, Arsenal fans booed David Bentley whenever he touched the football, but it was the former Blackburn winger who silenced the home crowd with a fabulous 40 yard volley 12 minutes into the game. Bentley expertly controlled skipper Jenas’ header and fired home a shot that Manuel Almunia could not stop from going in. The goal will probably go down as one of the best, if not the best of the 2008-09 Premiership season. Bentley immediately ran to the away section to celebrate with the Spurs fans, thereby antagonising the Arsenal fans even more.
Arsenal controlled possession and did much of the running in the first half. Theo Walcott was his energetic self, running across the pitch, darting and weaving his way into the Spurs box. Robin Van Persie tested Gomes with a well taken freekick and William Gallas fired his shot over as Arsenal threatened to restore parity. Cesc Fabregas then robbed the ball off David Bentley even as it seemed that the latter had been fouled, and his resulting effort was put away for a corner. Van Persie took it, and Gomes put on his eccentricity cap once again. In an attempt to clear the ball, he only managed to punch Jermaine Jenas in the face. Mikael Silvestre rose ahead of Hutton and headed into an empty net. 1-1.
Just after half time, Tom Huddlestone conceded a free kick on the right ( unjust if I may add), and not for the first time this season, Spurs were got napping from the set piece as William Gallas headed home. Now, how many times have you seen BOTH Arsenal central defenders score in a game ? You need to take the clock back some time for that.
Arsenal doubled their lead when Robin Van Persie’s delightful long ball found Samir Nasri in the area. The former Marseille man lifted the ball over Gomes, and even as Alan Hutton raced back to clear off his line, Emmanuel Adebayor was there to poke it in. 3-1 to Arsenal.
Roman Pavyluchenko’s quite evening was complete when he was replaced by Darren Bent, and the latter scored just as he came on. Almunia spilled Huddlestone’s effort, and Bent gleefully stroked the rebound in. 3-2 to Spurs.
But Arsenal were not done yet. If Spurs thought they had a way back at 3-2, they were dealt a severe jolt seconds later. A horrendous pass from Hutton was picked up by Adebayor, and he unselfishly squared it up for Robin Van Persie. 4-2 to Arsenal.
Van Persie was replaced by Diaby after 80 minutes, and the former Feyenoord hitman left to a thunderous applause. Youth, exciting thing that it is, can also serve to assist in self suicide when naiviety and immaturity sets in. And that is what happened to Arsene Wenger’s boys. Their carefree style allowed Spurs a way back into the game when the door should have been bolted for eternity.
Gael Clichy slipped and Jermaine Jenas took advantage of it to run 30 yards and curl a left footed shot past Almunia. And in an appropriate ending to a enthralling game, Luka Modric hit the post in extra time, and Aaron Lennon was on hand to pounce on it, just as Darren Bent had done some half an hour ago.
Anybody who had predicted that the game would end in 4-4 prior to the start, or had put his money on Spurs scoring four would have been termed as retarded.
Oh, it is a wonderful, wonderful game….the beautiful game.
A wonderful 25 yard strike from Samuel Di Carmine helped 10 man Queens Park Rangers beat Birmingham City in their Championship game on Tuesday night. The result means that Wolverhampton Wanderers, who beat Swansea 2-1, regain their position as Championship leaders.
Gareth Ainsworth started off on a good note against Reading, making the Hoops the first team to come out of the Madjeski with points this season. And despite having Mikele Leigertwood sent off for studs up challenge on Lee Carsley, Di Carmine’s second half goal ensured that QPR condemned Birmingham to their first away defeat of the season.
Tiger, Tiger, burning bright In the forests of the Premiership.
If you were a Hull City fan, this is probably what you’d be singing currently. Phil Brown’s promoted boys are third in the Premiership currently, and have won their last four games in the league. Hull have beaten Arsenal, Spurs, Fulham and West Ham- all London clubs, and as they welcome another London club to the KC Stadium, the players are optimistic that they can produce another upset. Forward Geovanni has gone so far as to warn Luis Felipe Scolari of another defeat. Now I’m not sure how kindly big Phil will take to that comment, but it certainly adds some more fun, excitement and tension to this game.
Mexican international Nery Castillo will not be joining Guadaljara on loan for their Copa Sudamericana campaign, according to reports in the press. Castillo, who moved to Manchester City on loan from Ukranian side Shakhtar in December 2007 by paying a sizable amount of the loan fee himself, does not appear to be in Mark Hughes’ scheme of things, and has not played a single game for the Citizens this season.
India could probably have not asked for a better test win against Australia. Not only did they record their biggest test win ( in terms of runs), but with Sachin Tendulkar becoming test cricket’s highest run getter, Saurav Ganguly scoring a century and Amit Mishra grabbing five on debut, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men had it all going their way.
Once Zaheer Khan had removed Brad Haddin, Shane Watson and Brett Lee in a space of four deliveries, any slim hopes that Australia would have harboured of saving the test were destroyed. Although Michael Clarke hung in with a defiant 69, even he could not stop the inevitable as India romped home by 320 runs. Read the rest of this entry »
Pasquale Marino’s Udinese will look to heap more misery on Tottenham Hotspur when they host Juande Ramos’ side in a Group D UEFA Cup fixture on Thursday night. Udinese, who are currently second in the Serie A, and have never lost at home in the Italian league this season, beat Borussia Dortmund on penalties to get to the group stages.
In their weekend fixture, Udinese bounced back with second half goals from Alexis Sanchez and Gaetano D’Agostino to draw 2-2 with Lecce. The result put Udinese temporarily on top of the Serie A, but Inter reclaimed their first spot by demolishing Roma 4-0.
According to news reports, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea are all reportedly interested in signing Inter Milan teenage wonderkid Mario Balotelli. Balotelli, the son of Ghanian immigrants, is contracted to Inter till 30 August 2011.
Former Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest striker Stan Collymore has been awarded nearly £1.5m in damages by a British High Court. Mrs Justice Gloster ruled that Collymore, who had been told by his financial adviser to cash in his insurance policies and set up funds that later ended up as failures, had been given negligent advice.
A resolute display from Mohammedan Sporting saw them hold Kolkata giants East Bengal to a 1-1 draw in their I-League match at the Salt Lake stadium.
Gautam Thakur gave Mohammedan the lead in the third minute, created by a brilliant run from Theodore Sunday.
Egytian giants Al Ahly became only the third team to reach four successive Champions League finals when they beat Nigeria’s Enyimba 1-0 in Cairo. As the score had ended 0-0 in the first leg in Nigeria, Flavio’s goal was enough for Al Ahly to progress to the final, where they will meet Cameroon’s Coton Sport.
The five time champions had a perfectly legitimate Mohammed Barakat goal disallowed for offside in the fourteenth minute, but took the lead twelve minutes later as Flavio headed home from Gilberto’s corner.
Mohamed Aboutreika and Ahmed Sayed wasted opportunities to put the match beyond Enyimba’s reach, but Flavio’s goal was enough to see Al Ahly through.
When England tour India this winter, there is one face that we will not see- former skipper Michael Vaughan. The Yorkshire batsman has not been included in the 15 member squad. Owais Shah, who scored 88 in Mumbai four years ago, gets the nod ahead of Ravi Bopara.
Many remember Vaughan for that match saving hundred against the Lankans in Kandy. Heat and spin will be the two most difficult factors for England’s batsmen in the subcontinent.
Squad- Kevin Pietersen , Tim Ambrose , James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell , Stuart Broad , Paul Collingwood , Alistair Cook , Andrew Flintoff, Steve Harmison , Monty Panesar , Matt Prior, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom , Andrew Strauss , Graeme Swann
18 months ago, England visited the Olympic stadium to play Andorra in a Euro 2008 qualifier- March 2007 to be precise.
England struggled to break Andorra down. 0-0 at the break. Jeers at half time.
3 goals scored in the second half.
Saturday’s World Cup qualifier had a similar story line, but instead of McLaren, we had Fabio Capello, and the hero of the night was Chelsea winger Joe Cole.
England starting lineup-
———————–James—————————————————
Johnson———–Lescott———Terry————————–A.Cole
Walcott———–Lampard——–Barry—————————J.Cole
—————-Defoe———-Rooney
And while Cole might have saved the day for Capello, he still earned the wrath of the Italian for not following instructions.
Capello also criticised David Rodrigo, the Andorran coach, for using ultra defensive tactics. The remark is probably fair, considering that the eleven Andorran players were quite content to remain in their half for most of the game. But you need to remember that Rodrigo was coaching Andorra, ranked 186th in the world. And he has said that had he swapped roles with Capello for the night, England would have won by a margin greater than two goals.
Will Joe Cole get a place in the starting XI in Zagreb ?
Probably yes, and we need to come up with something inventive when our normal game doesn’t work. Andorra’s keeper hardly had to work in the first half, and we saw the usual long ball strategy being adopted after the first few minutes failed to produce a goal. Downing was disappointing, and the same went for Lampard, Defoe and Rooney. Theo Walcott had a good fifteen odd minutes on the right.
Slaven Bilic’s Croatia will be favourites on Wednesday.
Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon, widely regarded as having the safest pair of hands in the football world, has rubbished claims of him joining Manchester City in January. Newspaper reports had stated that Buffon would be one of City’s targets, but the Italian goalkeeper has stated that the story is nothing more than a ” journalist’s fantasy “.
And if linking City with Buffon was not enough, sports journalists are having a field day. We’ve already heard rumours of earth shattering bids to be made for Fabregas and Ronaldo in January. Duncan Castles reports in the Observer that Kaka could be set for Eastlands.
Sorry if you came here expecting something else !!!
I’m no pornography enthusiast- so no nude pics of Ashley Harkleroad or Katarina Scholz.
But Matthew Syed has written an excellent article in the Times, and I thought it was worth a read.
It is titled Sex and the Olympic City.
I played my first Games in Barcelona in 1992 and got laid more often in those two and a half weeks than in the rest of my life up to that point. That is to say twice, which may not sound a lot, but for a 21-year-old undergraduate with crooked teeth, it was a minor miracle
Syed represented Britain in table tennis in 1992 and 2000. Jan Ove Waldner took the gold in Barcelona. Kong Linghui took it in 2000, with Waldner coming second.
With the Champions Trophy in Pakistan in danger of being reduced to another Asia Cup after South Africa pulled out and the other nations threatening to follow suit, the ICC today has decided to postpone the event till October 2009. The ICC had only two choices- either to change the venue or postpone it, and it has gone for the former, managing to avoid the wrath of the BCCI.
It was only a matter of time before someone officially said it. South Africa have become the first team to withdraw from September’s Champions Trophy to be held in Pakistan. England, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies could follow suit-something that the ICC cannot afford.
The ICC finds itself in a very sticky position. South Africa can justify their stand regarding the security issue- remember the bomb in Karachi when Graeme Smith’s men toured the country in October 2007 ? Should the ICC shift the venue to Sri Lanka, Pakistan stands to lose millions of dollars in revenue, and even worse the ICC could incur the wrath of the BCCI. India’s cricketing body has said that it supports Pakistan’s bid fully, although it is unclear what its stance will be should the tournament move away from Pakistan.
The ICC will hold a meeting today to talk about a possible shift in venues. Reports are also suggesting that South Africa could be a replacement venue too, but that would lead to the country hosting two consecutive money spinning events- the T20 WC and now the Champions Trophy.
An international tournament without South Africa is not quite the same- the 1992, 1999 and 2003 WC will be remembered for what South Africa could not manage to do. If the venue remains Pakistan, with the ICC dropping Rawalpindi, we may end up seeing another Asia Cup.
Third gold medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympics for Usain Bolt !!!
And guess what, another World Record was broken in the Chinese capital today evening. The Jamaican relay team, consisting of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Bolt and Asafa Powell ( they ran in that order) finished in 37.10, wiping 0.30 off the previous 37.40 mark set by the United States. Trinidad and Tobago finished nearly a second behind, with Richard Thompson bringing them in at 38.06, while Japan were surprise bronze medallists at 38.15
After cruising through the 100m, Usain Bolt powered his way through the 200m race to become the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to win the 100 200 double at the Olympics. Bolt’s time of 19.30 seconds eased .02 seconds off Michael Johnson’s 19.32 at Atalanta. Johnson’s record was considered unbreakable by many, but as Michael Phelps has already proved in the Water Cube, records are meant to be broken.
Bolt won his 100m in 9.69, and could have easily brought the world record down further had he not chosen to celebrate 20m ahead of the finish line.
In the 200m Olympic heats, Bolt had run a 20.09.
The first gold medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympics goes to Czech shooter Katerina Emmons, wife of American shooter Matt Emmons. Emmons won the gold in the 10m air rifle event, broke local favourite Du Li’s Olympic record of 502 by scoring 503.5. Li, who was widely tipped to win this event, finished fifth with Liubov Galkina taking the silver and Snjezana Pejcic taking the bronze.
Emmons had taken the bronze in the same event at Athens four years ago.
Martin O’Neill has made his first signing of the summer- and it is Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell. Sidwell moved to Chelsea on a free transfer last summer from Reading, but failed to cement a place in the starting XI with players like Ballack, Essien and Lampard playing alongside him.
The Villains have paid 5 million pounds for Sidwell, and he has signed a three year contract at Villa Park.
Sidwell has apparently agreed to take a wage cut. His wages at Villa are reported to £45,000 a week, £15,000 lower than the £60,000 he earned at Chelsea.
However Sidwell has reportedly got a bigger signing on bonus.
Image originally taken by Mark Freeman.
Here are the results from the 2008 Champions Trophy in Rotterdam. Germany were the defending champions.
Group Stage Standings
1.) Spain- 10 pts
2.) Australia-10 pts
3.) Argentina -10 pts
4.) Netherlands-6 pts
5.) Germany-4 pts
6.) South Korea- 3 pts
Classification- 5th -6th place playoff
Germany 3-1 South Korea ( Sebastian Draguhn, Tibor Weibenborn, Florian Keller/ Yeo Woon Kon)
Classification 3rd-4th place playoff
Argentina 2-2 Netherlands ( Mario Almada, Matias Peredes/ Teun De Nooijer, Ronald Brouwer)
Argentina win 5-3 on penalties
For Argentina, Lucas Vila, Juan Ignacio Gilardi, Rodrigo Vila, Matias Vila and Matias Peredes scored.
For Holland, Brouwer, Rob Reckers and Roderick Weusthof scored, but Robert Van der Horst missed.
Final
Australia 4-1 Spain ( Desmond Abbott, Jamie Dwyer, Eddie Ockenden, Eli Matheson/ Xavier Ribas)
9th Champions Trophy for Australia- they now have the same number of trophies as Germany.
League one side Bradford City have signed Chris Brandon on a two year contract. The 32 year old was one of the eight players whose contract was not extended by Huddersfield Town manager Stan Ternent ( The others were Frank Sinclair, Lucas Atkins, Aaron Hardy, Danny Young, Danny Rocchi, Mitchell Bailey and Luke Malcher) Read the rest of this entry »
7th in 2006
5th in 2007
1st in 2008
The three lines above reflect the performance of the Argentine hockey team in the three times they have participated in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. For most fans and coach Carlos Retegui, it is the last line that they will cherish for years to come- Argentina beat India 2-1 in a keenly contested final to take home their first Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Both the Argentine goals came through Mario Almada, while Sandeep Singh netted for the Indians.
Great result for New Zealand. They had last beaten Pakistan at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and were thrashed 6-3 by the Asian team in the group game here. It was quite obvious that Pakistan were the favourites going into this game. But with them losing their last two games against Belgium and India, and New Zealand beating Belgium, the Black Sticks did have form on their side. And thanks to goals from prolific forward Simon Child and Lloyd Stephenson, New Zealand finished on the podium at the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
In a battle between two Olympic bound teams, Canada beat Belgium thanks to a golden goal from Philip Wright and finished fifth in the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh. For the Canadians, the result was a marked improvement from last year, when they lost to Malaysia, South Korea and Pakistan to finish at the bottom of Group B. Even worse, they failed to find the back of the net last time. Canada’s last group game- a draw against Argentina, would have given them confidence coming into the fifth/sixth place playoff game.
Pretty late post this one, but since I’ve covered almost all the group games, I thought I’d add the result of this one too.
New Zealand beat Belgium 3-1 in their final group game at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
For New Zealand, the scorers were Hayden Shaw and Simon Child, with the latter scoring a brace.
Argentina finished their group engagements in the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh when they drew 2-2 with Canada in Ipoh on Saturday. The result means that Argentina, who had already qualified for the final prior to this game, finish with fourteen points from six games. They drew with Pakistan and Canada, and beat India, New Zealand, Belgium and Malaysia. Argentina will face India in the final, and will be favourites to beat the team they thrashed 5-1 earlier in the tournament. However India are on a good run, and Retegui will know better than to take the South Asians lightly.
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