Olympic tennis champion Monica Puig retires
San Juan (Puerto Rico), June 14: Rio Olympic Games gold medallist in tennis Monica Puig has announced her retirement from tennis, citing injuries as the main reason for her decision. Puig hit a career-high ranking at No.27 on the WTA Tour in 2016 and won her sole title on the red clay in Strasbourg in 2014. The highlight of Puig’s career came in her history-making run to Olympic gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero. At age 22, Puig became Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medallist with a stunning performance, which included wins against three major champions in Garbine Muguruza of Spain, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Angelique Kerber of Germany in the gold medal match. (IANS)
Burnley hire Kompany for his first coaching role in England
Burnley, June 14: Former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany was hired as manager of Burnley on Tuesday for his first coaching job in English football. The Belgian will take over a team that has just been relegated from the Premier League after six seasons in the top division. The 36-year-old Kompany has coached Anderlecht for the past two years. He played for City from 2008-19, winning the Premier League four times. (AP)
Chennaiyin FC appoint Thomas Brdaric as coach
Chennai, June 14: Two-time Indian Super League champions Chennaiyin FC on Tuesday roped in former German footballer Thomas Brdaric as the team’s new head coach ahead of the upcoming season. Brdaric, who has represented the German national team, winning eight caps and scoring once, also had various spells as coach in Germany’s lower leagues, including VfL Wolfsburg’s U-21 team. He replaces former India international Syed Sabir Pasha, who was the interim head coach after Bozidar Bandovic was sacked mid-season following a poor run in ISL 2021-22 season. The 47-year old Brdaric, who had turned out for various clubs across Germany, led KF Vllazania to the Albanian Cup in two successive seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22) in his most recent spell as coach. (PTI)
Lara Sharma, Muirang extend contracts with Bengaluru FC
Bengaluru, June 14: Bengaluru FC on Tuesday announced that goalkeeper Lara Sharma and defender Wungngayam Muirang have signed contract extensions, as the Blues continue a rebuild with youngsters at the helm. While Muirang signed a fresh three-year-deal that keeps him at Bengaluru till the end of the 2024-25 season, Lara added another three years to an existing contract that still has a year left. Lara had his moment toward the end of the ISL season after first-choice Gurpreet Singh missed out on the last five games with illness. Muirang started his career with the FC Pune City reserves in the I-League 2nd Division before moving to Gokulam Kerala for two seasons. The defender then joined the Blues in 2020 and made his debut against Kerala Blasters in the 2020-21 season. (PTI)
FC Goa retain Edu Bedia
Panaji, June 14: Indian Super League franchise FC Goa on Tuesday said that Spanish midfielder Edu Bedia has extended his stay with the club till the summer of 2023. Bedia has been a part of the FC Goa first team since the 2017-18 season. In nearly five years, he has made 102 appearances for FC Goa across all competitions, notching 13 goals and as many assists. Over the past four seasons, the Spaniard has been a part of many iconic moments for the ‘Gaurs’, including the first-ever goal scored by an Indian side in the group stages of the AFC Champions League. (PTI)