Lloris announces retirement from international football
PARIS, Jan 10:France captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has announced his retirement from international football three weeks after the 2022 World Cup loss to Argentina.Lloris made his international debut as a 21-year-old in a friendly against Uruguay in November 2008. The goalkeeper captained the French side on record 121 occasions since 2010. He also has a record of 145 appearances for France in 14 years of his career.“I’ve decided to stop my international career, with the feeling that I have given everything,” Lloris told France’s Sports daily L’Equipe. “I think it is important to announce this now, two-and-a-half months before the start of Euro qualifying.”The 2018 World champion played his last match on December 18, during the final of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar which France lost against Argentina (3-3, 2-4) on penalties (IANS)
Manika, Sreeja reach pre-quarters
DOHA, Jan 10: Indian paddlers Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula entered the pre-quarterfinals of the Asia Continental Stage of 2023 WTTC Finals but the country’s three other women in the fray lost their respective matches here on Tuesday.Asian Cup bronze medallist Batra progressed with a 4-0 sweep of Hong Kong’s Zhu Chengzhu.Akula advanced to the next stage of the tournament with a 4-3 win over Chen Szu-Yu of Chinese Taipei.However, Chitale Diya Parag lost 1-4 to Hirano Miu of Japan, Swastika Ghosh was blanked 4-0 by Korea’s Jeon Jihee, and Reeth Tennison also suffered a 0-4 defeat by Hayata Hina of Japan.In the men’s section, Harmeet Desai was thrashed 4-0 by China’s Fan Zhendong. (PTI)
Albania hires Brazilian Sylvinho as coach
TIRANA, Jan 10:The Albanian soccer federation hired Sylvinho as coach of the national team with the goal of qualifying for the 2024 European Championship.The 48-year-old Brazilian signed a contract that will take him through the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany.“Football needs your soul and heart in there. That is why we are here,” Sylvinho said at a news conference after signing the 18-month contract.Sylvinho replaces Italian Edoardo Reja, who led Albanians for three and a half years and 30 matches, winning half of them (AP)
Treesa-Gayatri duo advance; Srikanth, Saina bow out
KUALA LAMPUR, Jan 10:Rising Indian women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand on Tuesday sailed into the Round-of-16 of the Malaysia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament while ace shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal suffered first-round exit on Tuesday.World championships silver medallist Srikanth, failed to register a win in the year’s first tournament and lost 19-21, 14-21 to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan. On the other hand, Nehwal went down fighting 12-21, 21-17, 12-21 to Han Yue of China.(IANS)
AIFF announces first batch of professional match officials
NEW DELHI, Jan 10:In a first for Indian Football, the first batch of elite match officials have been inducted into the system with full-time contracts. A joint investment of the AIFF and the FSDL, ERDP, in keeping with the outlines of ‘Vision 2047’, aims to make refereeing a viable career Indian Football. The first batch appointed consists of eight referees and eight assistant referees. First batch of elite match officials on full-time contracts: Referees:R Venkatesh, M Pratik, P Aditya, Crystal John, Rahul Gupta, M Jamal, N Senthil and Harish Kundu.Assistant Referees-J Tony, Sumanta Dutta, Samar Pal, Ujjal Halder, Kennedy Sapam, B Nagoorkani, P Vairamuthu and Abhishek Dey. (PTI)