Do-or-die for India in SAFF football
Kathmandu: Stunned by Pakistan in their tournament opener, India now face a must-win situation against Maldives in their final Group A league match of the SAFF U-16 football championship to be played here on Friday. A win against Maldives will keep the Indian colts’ semifinal hopes alive, and coach Thomas Joseph was hopeful of a turnaround from his boys. Joseph said poor finishing sealed India’s fate in the last match against Pakistan that they lost by a solitary goal, but hoped his wards will rectify their mistakes in the next match. “We took time to settle in the first half (against Pakistan) but once the boys read the condition, they were all over in the second half. We missed lots of chances and were unlucky to finish on the losing side,” the coach said. Praising SAFF’s effort for organising the U-16 competition, the Indian coach said, “It’s a great initiative by SAFF and a great platform for these kids.” (PTI)
Ex-Japan defender Matsuda collapses
TOKYO: Club officials say former Japan defender Naoki Matsuda collapsed during training after suffering a cardiopulmonary arrest. The 34-year-old Matsuda was unconscious when he arrived at a hospital Tuesday and has been on an artificial cardiopulmonary unit, Matsumoto Yamaga Football Club team officials say. His condition was “extremely severe,” club president Hiroshi Otsuki said, according to doctors. Matsuda collapsed after finishing a 15-minute warmup run during training, coach Yoshiyuki Kato said. Matsuda played 40 times for Japan including at the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and South Korea. Record high temperatures across Japan have caused a rise in heatstroke cases. A total of 43 people have died from heatstroke in the two months through the end of July, Kyodo reported. (Agencies)
‘Blackburn offers cheapest ticket’
LONDON: Blackburn of the Premier League offers soccer fans the lowest ticket price, while Arsenal is the highest. That’s according to a survey by the BBC released Tuesday. Blackburn offers a ticket for $16.30, the cheapest among the 20 league clubs. Arsenal fans shell out a minimum of $63 at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium. At Blackburn, throw in a pie, match program and cup of tea, and the whole day costs a league-low $28.60. An Arsenal fan will pay $76. Arsenal offers the most expensive single ticket in the Premier League at $162, followed by Chelsea at $140 and Tottenham at $130. Liverpool charges $78. Premier League winners Manchester United charge $46 as their cheapest entry fee, with the most expensive ticket selling for $90. (Agencies)
Rajesh holds top seed GM Matlakov
Chennai: India’s FIDE Master VAV Rajesh stunned top seed Russian Grandmaster Matlakov, holding him to a hard-fought draw in a first round match of the 50th World Junior Chess Championship here today. Two other Indian players, R Ashwath and young talent SL Narayanan, also hogged the limelight holding their respective Grand Master rivals to draws. Rajesh, playing white, faced the Grunfeld defence offered by the Russian Grandmaster Matlakov and enjoyed a slight edge throughout the match. Though Rajesh took a lot of time to enter the Middle game phase, he handled the position impeccably. Matlakov, who is 370 rating points ahead of Rajesh, could not find any leeway and realising that he could not force his opponent into making any mistakes, even in time trouble, offered truce on the 40th move.(PTI)