Mikel Arteta confident of new Arsenal deal on return from injury
London: The 33-year-old is recovering from an ankle problem but manager Arsene Wenger is keen to hold on to the Spaniard by offering him a 12-month extension. However, the former Everton playmaker, who will miss Saturday`s FA Cup semi-final against Reading, wants to get fully fit before signing a new deal at the Emirates. “My only aim is to get back fit and try to perform on the pitch,” he told Sky Sports. “As long as I do that I am sure that I will continue with this club, with the relationship I have with the club and the respect I have from everybody here. “In May, when everything is fine, we will sit down and talk and it will take five minutes,” said Arteta who signed for the Gunners on transfer deadline day in August 2011. Arteta, who had ankle surgery in January, has not played since November`s Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund when he suffered a calf injury.He plans to step up his rehabilitation next week and could return for the Premier League clash with Chelsea on April 26. “I am not far. I have done five or six sessions with the first team and I am feeling good,” Arteta added. (Reuters)
Bolt warns rivals ahead of Rio Olympics
Rio de Janeiro: Sprint great Usain Bolt gave a warning to his rivals ahead of next year’s Rio Olympics by declaring he can beat anybody, irrespective of their form. Here for Sunday’s Mano a Mano challenge, Bolt was asked about the threat posed by in-form US sprinter Justin Gatlin, reports Xinhua. “They are all top-level athletes and I respect them all, but I don’t think about their times because I know that when I’m in top form, I’m difficult to beat,” Bolt said on Friday. The 28-year-old said he was in better shape now than at the same time last year. But he stopped short of saying he could break his own world record of 9.58 seconds at the Brazilian Jockey Club. “I’m feeling good, better than I did last year, but I’m not focused on times at the moment. I can only say that I will try to run (100m) in less than 10 seconds,” he said. On Thursday, Bolt revealed he was aiming for a landmark ‘triple-triple’ by winning three more golds in Rio next year. The Jamaican is two-thirds of the way towards his goal, having triumphed in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Games. He also revealed a desire to break the 200m world record. A friend of Brazil football captain Neymar, Bolt was asked about Brazil’s 1-7 World Cup semi-final defeat to Germany last July. “I know Neymar is a fan of mine and I am a fan of his too, and yes I did see the 7-1. I didn’t want to talk about this but now you have asked me… it was a shock. Not only for me or for Brazil but for the whole sporting world,” he said. (IANS)
We complement each other well: McCullum on Dwayne Smith
Mumbai: Chennai Super Kings explosive batsman Brendon McCullum said on Saturday that contrary to popular belief, he complements his opening partner Dwayne Smith rather than competing against the West Indian. Chasing a stiff target of 184, the duo built a 109-run opening stand to set the foundation for the thumping six-wicket win on Friday night over the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium here. “Some people say we compete against each other but we complement each other really well. We (have) got a good relationship on the field and also off it, get on really well and both our games support one another really well. So I enjoy batting with Smithy,” McCullum was quoted as saying by iplt20.com. Luding the Caribbean batsman, the New Zealand skipper said Smith was “sublime” in the contest. “Dwayne Smith today was sublime all the way. He managed to hurt (the opposition) from the beginning. While chasing a big score like 180, we knew that the wicket was good but we had to play pretty well as well. The way Dwayne started, we could give ourselves a good foundation and then the class players came in towards the end,” said the 33-year-old. (IANS)
India goes down 0-3 to USA in the classification match
New Delhi: India women hockey team conceded two goals in the first quarter as they lost 0-3 to the USA in the classification match of the Hawke’s Bay Cup. Kathleen Sharkey opened the scoring for the USA when she converted a penalty corner in the 10th minute. Four minutes later Katie O’Donnell scored through a smart field goal to double her side’s lead The second quarter was a session where both teams increased their tempo of attack. India tried to hard but the scoreline did not change The third quarter was almost the same story as the second quarter where both the teams were seen on their business sides of the field. Just two minutes left into the quarter India had a go at the penalty corner but they missed as the variation did not go in their favour. India continued their attack in the opponents D and just seconds left into the session USA counter attacked and a long pass to Katie O’Donnell resulted in her entering the D, beating one Indian defender and goalies to score the third goal for her team Realising that it being the last session for them to score, India maintained good ball possession and attack on the opponent’s semi-circle. But unable to score, India ended up on the wrong side of the result. (PTI)
Lumbatngen win
Shillong: Lumbatngen defeated Boys of Gorkha 43 runs via D/L method in the Second Division Knock Out Cricket Tournament 2015 organised by the Shillong Cricket Association at the SCA Cricket Ground, in Polo, on Saturday.Electing to bat first Lumbatngen scored 139 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 15 overs. L.K Kohnanrhiing scored 37 runs off 28 balls and Jaydeep Ghosh scored 24 runs off 19 balls. Summit Thapa took 4 wickets for 21 runs and Sameer Ali took 1 wicket for 7 runs for Boys of Gorkha.
In reply, Boys of Gorkha scored 77 runs losing 7 wickets in 13 overs when rain interrupted the match. Sameer Ali scored 24 runs off 19 balls and Wasim Siddique scored 17 runs off 15 balls. Roshan Joshi took 4 wickets for 19 runs and Jitendra Rai took 1 wicket for 11 runs for Lumbatngen.
