Ramos double puts Realwithin sight of the semi-finals
Madrid: Sergio Ramos scored twice to put Real Madrid on the brink of the Copa del Rey semi-finals as they came from behind to beat Girona 4-2 in a thrilling first leg.Ramos’ chipped penalty gave Madrid a 2-1 half-time lead at the Santiago Bernabeu after Lucas Vazquez had cancelled out Anthony Lozano’s early strike on Thursday. Girona, however, came again, Alex Granell scoring from the spot, only for Ramos to head home with 13 minutes left before Benzema added a fourth to extend the advantage ahead of next week’s second leg. Ramos now has nine goals in all competitions this season and these two were key as Madrid maintained what it is beginning to look like a second revival under coach Santiago Solari. After a blistering start, Solari oversaw a dip at the turn of the year but his team have now won four out of their last five, the only slip coming in a second leg defeat to Leganes when progress was already all-but secured. “Football never lets up, now comes Espanyol on Sunday and we want to win to get closer to the top,” Solari said. “When hard work is rewarded by results, the feeling is contagious.” (AFP)
I am not thinking about revenge, says Mohun Bagan coach Jamil
Kolkata: Revenge will not be on Khalid Jamil’s mind when his team Mohun Bagan locks horns with his former employers East Bengal in the hugely anticipated derby at the Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Sunday. Jamil, who was in charge of East Bengal last season, fell out of favour after a fourth-place finish in the I-League and a Super Cup final loss to Bengaluru FC. Not attached to any club since then, the I-League winning coach was roped in by Mohun Bagan after Sankarlal Chakraborty tendered his resignation following a spate of disappointing performances. Since taking charge of the green and maroon brigade, Jamil has overseen two victories on the trot. “I am not thinking about revenge. It’s a big match. This is not about personal, individual players. It’s about the teams. I have come here to help Mohun Bagan,” Jamil said two days ahead of the all-important derby. (IANS)
Sarita stuns Dhanda to keep UP Dangal in hunt for semis
Greater Noida: Sarita shocked World Championships bronze medallist and favourite Pooja Dhanda in a close bout to keep UP Dangal alive in the semifinal race of the Pro Wrestling League (PWL) with convincing win over MP Yodha, here Friday. It was Georgi Sakandelidze of Qatar who put the UP team 3-2 ahead in the tie with a dominating 16-1 win over the young Akash Antil in the 125kg super heavy weight category. After that Sarita, who has shown mark improvement with every bout in the league this season, did not let Pooja make another of her famous comebacks to win the women’s 57kg bout 6-5 and seal the tie. Jitender put the icing on the cake for UP Dangal by completely dominating Vasil Mikhailov in the inconsequential men’s 74kg bout 7-2. Earlier, European champion Haji Aliyev came back from a two-point deficit early in the first round to beat UP Dangal’s Pankaj Rana by a huge 18-2 margin to give the debutants a head start. In the next bout, UP Dangal’s Epp Mae of Estonia defeated Colombian Andrea Olaya by a pin fall. Sandeep Tomar made it 2-0 for MP Yodha winning the next bout with a takedown on the counter attack against Rahul 5-1 after an intense tussle in the men’s 57kg category. After encountering a reverse against Pinki in an earlier round, world and European champion Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of UP kept her guard intact in this one and defeated Ritu Phogat 8-3. (PTI)
‘Operation Olympics’ commences in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: ‘Operation Olympics’, an expert programme to train atheletes in 11 disciplines has commenced in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. The Kerala sports department and the state sports council are preparing the 123 athletes, who are participating in the programme, for the Olympics, Vijayan said in a Facebook post. The objective of ‘Operation Olympics is to provide international standard training with the help of eminent trainers from both India and abroad, he said. The programme includes expert training in athletics, boxing, cycling, swimming, shooting, wrestling, badminton, fencing, rowing and archery. At present training in wrestling, cycling, swimming and boxing are being conducted at various stadiums in Thiruvananthapuram district, while training sessions in other streams are going in Kollam, Ernakulam, Alapuzha and Kannur districts, he said. (PTI)