Marco Reus to leave Dortmund at end of season after 12 years
Dortmund, May 3: Marco Reus will leave Borussia Dortmund this summer after both sides announced Friday that they’ve agreed to part ways, ending the midfielder’s 12-year run with the German team. The 34-year-old Reus’ contract expires at the end of the season, but unlike one year ago when they extended the deal, they’ll now move on. Reus joined Dortmund when he was 6 years old and spent nearly a decade in its youth system. He rejoined Dortmund from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012. (AP)
Courtois set to play 1st game of season for Real Madrid
Madrid, May 3: Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is ready to play his first game of the season against Cadiz in the Spanish league on Saturday after recovering from a long injury layoff, coach Carlo Ancelotti said Friday. The 31-year-old Belgian has not played since tearing the ACL in his left knee in August, two days before Madrid’s first game of the season. He then also ruptured the meniscus in his right knee in March when he was preparing to come back. “Courtois is fine. Tomorrow he will play after a very long time,” Ancelotti said about the veteran keeper who helped Madrid win the 2022 Champions League. (AP)
Maradona’s kin want to transfer his body from cemetery to mausoleum
Buenos Aires, May 3: Children of the late footballer star Diego Maradona have asked a court in Argentina to authorize the transfer of his body from the private cemetery where he is buried to a mausoleum under construction in Buenos Aires to allow fans from around the world to pay tribute to him. They made the request to a court in San Isidro in a letter quoted on Thursday by local media in which they indicated that it comes from “all the heirs” of the football star, who died in 2020. The mausoleum called “Memorial del Diez” under construction in the capital’s neighbourhood of Puerto Madero is “a much safer place than the current one … so that all the Argentine people and citizens of the world can pay tribute to who was the greatest Argentine idol,” read the letter. (AP)
Man City’s Foden and Shaw win Footballer of the Year awards
London, May 3: Manchester City forward Phil Foden has been voted Footballer of the Year in England. Foden’s award comes after an outstanding season with 16 Premier League goals so far for the defending champion. He has also provided 10 assists in all competitions for City. And, City made it a double for individual prizes with Khadija “Bunny” Shaw taking the women’s award. Foden received 42% of the votes to beat second-place Declan Rice from Arsenal and City teammate Rodri in third. The award, which is run by the Football Writers’ Association, has been won by City players in three of the last four years, with Erling Haaland taking it last year and Ruben Diaz in 2021. It was first won by England great Stanley Matthews in 1948. Shaw is the second City player to win the women’s award, which also went to Nikita Parris in 2019. It is the second time in five years that City has done the double, with Raheem Sterling also taking the prize in 2019. (AP)
MOC approves Yarraji and Shaili’s proposals for foreign competitions
New Delhi, May 3: Asian Games medallist sprinter Jyothi Yarraji and long jump athlete Shaili Singh’s proposals to compete in multiple competitions in their quest for qualifying for the Paris Olympics were cleared by the government on Friday. The decision was taken during Sports Ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC)’s 134th meeting here. The Indian track and field athletes have sent in their request for financial assistance towards various competitions across Europe for the coming month, where they will try to either breach the qualification mark or gather crucial ranking points for the Olympics. While Yarraji has proposed to compete in six international events in Europe, Shaili is planning to take part in four events in the month of May and June. (PTI)
Indian athletes hope to make impact in World Relays
Nassau (Bahamas), May 3: A 15-member strong Indian athletics contingent will look to make an impact in scenic Nassau and hope to qualify for the Paris Olympics in three events when the two-day World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24 commences here on Saturday. The Indian men’s 4×400 relay team has been making waves of late, coming up with impressive performances at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo and following it up by challenging the USA’s aura of invincibility at the World Championships in Budapest last August. The team then lived up to the billing by clinching gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games with a tremendous run of 3:01.58. (PTI)