Brentford reportedly offer Eriksen 6-month contractHerning (Denmark), Jan 18: Reports in England suggest that Christian Eriksen has been offered a route back into top flight football – with English Premier League side Brentford offering the Dane a six month contract. Eriksen collapsed during the European Championship with cardiac issues and due to a pacemaker, and Serie A rules, left his club at the time Inter Milan. However he has stated he wants to play in the upcoming World Cup – and a starring role for Brentford to prove his fitness may be an attractive proposition for a player who already played in the English capital during his time at Tottenham. (AP)
Satwiksairaj, Chirag climb to eighth in BWF rankings
New Delhi, Jan 18: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and former world number one Kidambi Srikanth remained static in the latest badminton world rankings but the men’s doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved two places up to eighth after their triumph in the Indian Open. Former world champion Sindhu maintained her seventh position with 90994 in the women’s rankings while Srikanth remained in the 10th place with 69158 points in the men’s chart. Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu leads the women’s rankings with 108800 points while reigning Olympic champion Victor Axelsen heads the men’s list with 116779 points. (PTI)
Burnley-Watford match deferred a second time
LONDON, Jan 18: Burnley’s English Premier League match against Watford has been postponed for a second time, leaving the last-placed team having played five fewer games than some others. It was a coronavirus outbreak in the Watford squad that led to the game being called off initially in December. Now it’s a shortage of players at Burnley that has seen the league agree to postpone their attempt to play on Tuesday. It is the 22nd time a Premier League game has been postponed since December linked to the coronavirus. The league also took into account Burnley’s injuries and Maxwel Cornet being with Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations in accepting that the club lacked 13 outfield players to contest the fixture. (AP)
Madrid great Francisco ‘Paco’ Gento, passes away aged 88
MADRID, Jan 18: Francisco “Paco” Gento, a former Real Madrid great who is the only soccer player to win six European Cup titles, has died. He was 88. Madrid announced Gento’s passing on Tuesday but did not give a cause of death. Gento played with Madrid for 18 seasons, from 1953-71, and his 23 titles with the club in official competitions is a record he shares with Brazilian defender Marcelo, who tied him on Sunday by winning the Spanish Super Cup. Gento also helped Madrid win 12 Spanish league titles. He played 600 games with the club, scoring 182 goals. Gento also made 43 appearances with the Spanish national team. (AP)