Bayern to sign Zaragoza from Granada at the end of the season
MUNICH, Dec 6: Bayern Munich is signing Spain winger Bryan Zaragoza from struggling La Liga team Granada, with the deal set to go through in July.The German champion said Wednesday that the 22-year-old Zaragoza would sign a five-year contract running through 2029 when he joins Bayern at the end of the season.No fee was disclosed but German magazine Kicker reported the deal involved an initial fee of 13 million euros plus possible add-on fees.Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund praised Zaragoza as an “explosive, very quick and extremely nimble winger” and highlighted his potential to improve and his ability to play on either side of the field.Zaragoza was influential in Granada being promoted last season, with goals in each of the last three games of the campaign. He leads La Liga in dribbling this season despite Zaragoza’s lowly league position of 19th and has five goals and a couple of assists in 14 games. (PTI)
National Billiards and Snooker: Pankaj Advani begins with 4-0 win
CHENNAI, Dec 6: Ace cueist Pankaj Advani made a winning start to his 6-Red snooker campaign on Wednesday after Cyclone Michaung forced a two-day break in the ongoing 90th National Billiards & Snooker Championships.Advani (PSPB), who won a record 26th ISBF world title in Doha last month, brushed aside Sufyan Ahmed of Karnataka 4-0 as he warmed up for the challenges ahead with breaks of 41, 44 and 34 in Group A.A former champion, Advani finished runner-up to Ishpreet Singh Chadha (Maharashtra) in the previous edition and said the beauty of this format lies in its unpredictability.A total of 64 players have been divided equally into 16 groups for the main draw round-robin league, with the top two from each qualifying for the knock-outs.Among other notable matches of the day, last year’s semi-finalist Kamal Chawla (RSPB) put it past Hassan Badami (Maharashtra) 4-0 in Group B and Aditya Mehta (PSPB) beat Vijay Nichani (TN) 4-1 in Group G. (IANS)
Ter Stegen to undergo back surgery
BARCELONA, Dec 6: Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen needs back surgery and could lose his starting spot with Germany’s national team ahead of the European Championship.Barcelona said Tuesday Ter Stegen will undergo a surgical procedure to address lower back issues that have been bothering him recently. The Catalan club did not say for how long he is expected to be sidelined. The 31-year-old Ter Stegen missed Spanish league games against Rayo Vallecano and Atletico Madrid, as well as Barcelona’s Champions League match against Porto. He has played in 17 games with the club this season, with eight clean sheets and 15 goals conceded. (AP)
Kerala footballer’s appeal challenging two-year ban rejected
NEW DELHI, Dec 6: Kerala footballer M Viknesh’s appeal challenging a two-year ban, imposed on him by disciplinary committee of the NADA for failing a dope test, has been rejected by the appeal panel in a rare doping case relating to the ‘beautiful game’ in the country.Viknesh was handed a two-year ban by the NADA Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel starting from November 12, 2022 after his dope sample collected during the National Games in Gujarat in September-October 2022 was found to contain banned ‘Terbutaline’, a common substance found in cough syrup.In an order passed on December 2, the appeal panel of the NADA upheld the disciplinary committee’s decision but changed the date of its operation.The appeal panel of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) held that Viknesh’s two-year ban will start from April 5, 2023, the date of decision of the disciplinary committee as the Kerala footballer was not provisionally suspended after he failed the dope test. Very few footballers have been handed bans by the NADA panels for failing dope tests in the history of the sport in the country. East Bengal defender Arun Malhotra was found positive for a banned substance in a test conducted before the national team’s departure for the 2022 Busan Asian Games. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) slapped Malhotra a ban of 60 days. NADA was non existent then as it was established in 2009.Mumbai FC player Nishant Mehra had failed a dope test conducted after an I-League match in 2011 and was handed a two-year ban by the NADA. He was the first Indian footballer to be banned by the NADA for doping. (PTI)