IOA, KSLTA mourn the loss of 1972 Olympic medallist Vece Paes

Jeddah, Jan 8 (IANS) FC Barcelona cruised into the final of the Spanish Super Cup with a comfortable 5-0 win over Athletic Club in a game that was effectively over by halftime.

It will be Barca’s fourth consecutive Super Cup final and the 28th overall, figures that further underline their dominance in the competition that they have won more than any other club (15).

Athletic captain Inaki Williams had criticised the decision to play the Super Cup in Saudi Arabia in the run-up to the game, and after a bright opening 10 minutes, his side seemed to lose focus, putting up very little resistance to Barcelona’s flowing attacking football.

Unai Simon had already saved from Fermin Lopez when Ferran Torres scored the opener with a bouncing shot from inside the area, reports Xinhua.

Athletic had a reasonable claim that the opening goal came after a foul against them when winger Alex Berenguer had cleanly won the ball, but they had no answer to Barcelona’s avalanche of goals that followed.

Fermin Lopez doubled Barcelona’s lead after slotting home following an excellent cross from Raphinha in the 30th minute, and two minutes later he set up Roony Bardghji to make it 3-0 with another fine assist.

Roony then set up Raphinha to score his first of the night with a powerful shot in the 38th minute, and the pair combined for Barcelona’s fifth seven minutes after the break.

Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde had made his five changes before the hour mark, with Hansi Flick bringing on Marcus Rashford, Marc Bernal, Gerard Martin and Lamine Yamal for Barcelona.

The urgency had gone out of the game by then, with Unai Gomez missing a good chance for Athletic, but by then Barcelona was already thinking about Sunday’s final against either Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, who play in the second semifinal on Thursday.

–IANS

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Colombo, Feb 9 (IANS) As co-hosts Sri Lanka wrapped up an impressive win against Ireland in their T20 World Cup campaign opener; have a look at the number game from the Group B game.

Spin twins Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga picked three wickets apiece as Sri Lanka defeated Ireland by 20 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

11 deliveries bowled by Barry McCarthy in the 19th over is the joint-most number of balls in an over in T20 World Cups, alongside five others.

Ireland lost their last 8 wickets for 38 runs (105-2 to 143), which was the second-worst collapse in the T20 World Cup.

In the match 25 overs were bowled by both teams’ spinners. In the T20 World Cup it was the 4th instance when spinners bowled 25 or more overs in a completed match.

Number of wickets (40) claimed by Wanindu Hasaranga. After Shakib Al Hasan (50), he is now the 2nd most successful bowler in the World Cup.

Kusal Mendis (56*) scored his 18th half-century in his 101st match.

Batting first, Sri Lanka were struggling at 87/4, including not hitting a single boundary in the middle overs, before Kamindu Mendis’s blazing 44 off just 19 balls and Kusal Mendis’s unbeaten 56 off 43 lifted them to an above-par 163/6.

Chasing 164, Ireland looked well placed at 105/2, with Harry Tector set for the final assault alongside a struggling Lorcan Tucker. But both fell in quick succession, and the chase unravelled from there, as Ireland were eventually bowled out for 143 in 19.5 overs.

–IANS

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Visakhapatnam, Sept 3 (IANS) Haryana Steelers clinched their first win of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 12 against U Mumba in a thrilling encounter that went to the tie-breaker — the third one in 12 games — at the Vishwanadh Sports Club on Wednesday.

Ajit Chouhan’s Super 10 and Naveen Kumar’s game-changing Super Raid headlined a clash that swung wildly before Shivam Patare’s stunning strike in the tie-breaker sealed it for the Steelers.

U Mumba got off to a flying start against the defending champions, with Ajit Chouhan opening the account through a successful raid. A couple of strong tackles followed, and U Mumba quickly raced to a 5-0 lead. The pressure mounted on the Steelers, and within just over six minutes, they were handed an ALL OUT, leaving them trailing 2-12. This was the fastest All-Out by any team in the ongoing edition.

Ajit Chouhan continued to shine, adding valuable raid points and keeping Haryana under pressure. However, the defending champions began to make a comeback. By the 10th minute, they reduced the deficit to 8-14. Soon after, Shivam tackled Ajit to remove U Mumba’s key raider, and the Steelers capitalised by enforcing an ALL OUT of their own, narrowing the margin to 12-16.

The momentum shifted further in the closing stages of the half. A brilliant raid by Vinay brought the Steelers closer, and a superb tackle on Ajit in the final three minutes made it 19-20. Vinay then levelled the scores at 20-20 with a successful raid. But U Mumba responded immediately, holding their nerves. Thanks to that resurgence, they reduced the deficit to just three points, as U Mumba went into the break with a slender 23-20 lead.

U Mumba quickly regained control, extending their lead to 24-21 within the first two minutes. A calm finish from Sandeep in a Do-or-Die raid pushed the advantage further to 26-21. But just when it looked like U Mumba would pull away, Naveen Kumar stepped up in the 15th minute with two crucial raid points, cutting the deficit to 23-26. Ajit Chouhan soon completed his Super 10, helping U Mumba push ahead once again at 31-25 early in the final quarter.

But the Steelers weren’t done. Naveen continued to lead their charge, reducing the gap to 27-31 in the 7th minute of the half. Then came the game-changing moment; in the final three minutes, Naveen Kumar produced a stunning raid, inflicting an ALL OUT to put Haryana Steelers ahead for the first time in the match.

With the scores tied at 34-34 after U Mumba managed a bonus point, the drama only intensified. Shivam Patare gave the Steelers the lead again with a successful raid, but Ajit Chouhan quickly struck back to level things up. Naveen then faltered in a crucial raid, handing the advantage back to U Mumba. In the dying seconds, Ajit Chouhan went in for a Do-or-Die raid but was caught, allowing Haryana Steelers to snatch a point and force a 36-36 tie, sending the contest into a tie-breaker.

This was U Mumba’s second tiebreaker of the season, but it was Haryana Steelers who struck first. The tiebreaker was a rollercoaster, with both teams trading blows in quick succession.

U Mumba struck first through Sunil Kumar and Sandeep, while Ajit Chouhan added to his tally with yet another raid. The Steelers, however, responded with resilience – Jaya Soorya and Vinay chipped in with crucial points before Shivam Patare produced the moment of the contest, a stunning Super Raid that wiped out Rohit Raghav, Sandeep, and Rinku in one go.

That decisive strike swung the momentum firmly in Haryana’s favour, and despite Mumbai’s attempts to claw back, the Steelers held their nerve to edge ahead in the final exchanges and clinch a thrilling tie-breaker victory.

–IANS

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