Eriksen to lead Denmark upon return to Parken Stadium
Copenhagen, March 29: Christian Eriksen will captain Denmark in a friendly match against Serbia on Tuesday when he plays at Parken Stadium for the first time since suffering cardiac arrest there during the European Championship. Kasper Schmeichel, who has been the stand-in captain in the absence of the injured Simon Kjær, made the suggestion to hand the armband to Eriksen, Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said Monday. Eriksen had collapsed on the field at the stadium in Copenhagen during the June 12 match against Finland and was later told he was “gone from this world for five minutes.” Eriksen has resumed playing at Brentford in the Premier League. (AP)
Belgian club goalkeeper Van Damme passes away at 28
Brussels, March 29: Cercle Brugge goalkeeper Miguel Van Damme has died following a long fight against leukemia, his club said on Tuesday. He was 28. Van Damme started in the Belgian first division in 2014 but played less than 50 games as his career was disrupted by the disease. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016. He recovered but relapsed and announced in September 2020 that his treatment was no longer effective. “Words are not enough to describe what we feel, even though we knew that things had not gone well for a while,” Cercle Brugge said in a statement. Van Damme is survived by his wife Kyana and his daughter Camille. (AP)
Brazil boss Tito brushed off speculation of Arsenal move
Rio de Janeiro, March 29: Brazil manager Tite on Monday denied speculation linking him with a move to English Premier League club Arsenal. According to Brazil’s TV Globo, the 60-year-old has been approached by Gunners representatives about the possibility of replacing Mikel Arteta after this year’s World Cup. “My feeling is of sadness. I feel sad because the information given to the public is a lie,” Tite told a virtual news conference. Tite has overseen 53 wins, 13 draws and just five losses since taking charge of the five-time world champions in August 2016. (IANS)
India-England women’s Pro League games postponed
New Delhi, March 29: The upcoming FIH Pro League double-header between the women hockey teams of India and England was postponed on Tuesday due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the British camp. The matches were scheduled to be played on April 2 and 3 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. While the women’s matches were deferred, the men’s fixtures between India and England will be played as planned this weekend. The Indian women’s team is currently third in the league standing, having won three games, drawn two and lost one. (PTI)
Prannoy climbs three spots to 23rd in latest BWF ranking
New Delhi, March 29: Riding on his runner-up finish at the Swiss Open, India’s HS Prannoy jumped three places to number 23 in the latest BWF rankings, released on Tuesday. Prannoy now has 52875 points. Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu, remained at number seven. Lakshya Sen is also inside the top 10 along with the men’s duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwisairaj Rankireddy. Sen is ninth, while Chirag and Satwik are placed at number seven. (PTI)