ISL: Mumbai City FC sign defender Mourtada Fall
Mumbai: Mumbai City FC on Sunday announced the signing of defender Mourtada Fall ahead of the seventh edition of the ISL. The Senegalese defender will represent the Islanders after signing a two-year contract with the club. The 32-year-old centre-half started his playing career with Moghreb Tetouan, featuring for the Moroccan club over three spells, during which he also won the Botola Pro 1 in 2011-12. In the second of his three stints with Moghreb in 2014-15, Fall featured under then coach Sergio Lobera. Ahead of the 2018-19 season, Fall linked up with his former coach Lobera and made the switch to the Indian Super League with FC Goa. Since then, Fall has proven to be one of the top defenders in the division, winning the 2019 Super Cup and the 2019/20 ISL League Shield. Fall has also scored 9 goals and provided 3 assists in 43 appearances over two seasons, earning the tag of a goal-scoring defender. (IANS)
All 12 wrestlers at natl camp test negative: Coach Malik
New Delhi: All 12 women wrestlers who had assembled at SAI centre in Lucknow, including Olympic qualifier Vinesh Phogat, have tested negative for coronavirus, clearing the decks for the resumption of training from Monday. Olympic medallist Sakshi Malik (62kg), Seema (50kg), Lalita (53kg) and Nisha (68kg) will join the camp from October 25, according to national coach Kuldeep Malik. “All the wrestlers have tested negative. We will begin with light training from tomorrow. The focus will be on general fitness, gym training, running and exercise. The mat training will only start from next week (starting October 26),” Malik said. Vinesh Phogat, the only woman wrestler to have qualified for next year’s Tokyo Olympics, had tested positive for COVID-19 just before the virtual national awards ceremony where she was to receive the prestigious ‘Khel Ratna’. She later recovered and joined the national camp. (PTI)
PCB ‘disturbed’ as nine players breach bio-secure protocols
Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been left “disturbed and disappointed” after 12 persons, including nine players and three officials of the ongoing National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi, breached the bio-secure protocols in place for the Covid-19 pandemic. Though the PCB did not disclose the identity of the cricketers and officials who breached the protocols, Pakistani newspaper ‘Dawn’ said that the guilty included senior players like Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah, Khurram Manzoor, Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali, Imam-ul-Haq plus officials Abdul Razzaq, Basit Ali and Rashid Khan. (IANS)