KHARKIV (Ukraine): Denmark pulled off the first big surprise of the European Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands on Saturday in Group B.

Michael Krohn-Dehli provided the finishing touch that the Dutch inexplicably lacked. He scored against the run of play when he picked up a loose ball close to the penalty area in the 24th minute, left two defenders standing and shot through the legs of Maarten Stekelenburg from a tight angle.

It was something Premier League top scorer Robin van Persie never got close to as he came to symbolize Dutch futility with a couple of bad mistakes. Denmark goalkeeper Stephan Andersen made several clutch saves to secure the most important Danish victory over the Netherlands since the Euro 1992 semifinals.

”It was the only dangerous action of Denmark,” Dutch captain Mark van Bommel complained. ”I’m speechless, because these three points are very important.”

The Dutch had their best chance of the match when Andersen gave away the ball to Arjen Robben just outside the area in the 36th minute, but the Bayern Munich winger curled his left-footer onto the far post and out of danger.

”Five of us had chances, once we hit the post, so many good opportunities,” said Van Bommel.

The frustration came to symbolize the sticky night in eastern Ukraine and leaves the World Cup runners-up with two clutch games against top-10 ranked teams, Germany and Portugal.

Late in the match, a penalty appeal for handball was denied when the Dutch were running out of time. Lars Jacobsen appeared to touch the ball with his upper arm in the box.

Denmark, seen as outsider in the toughest group of the championship, can already take a huge step to the quarterfinals by beating Portugal in their second game.

”We know the Dutch, they can be very dominating. If you get scared of them, they play really good football. I think we played them in the right way,” Denmark coach Morten Olsen said.

From the start, the tactics of the match were laid out for all 35,932 fans at the Metalist Stadium.

The Dutch started with furious attacking and the Danes counted on a solid attack and a dose of luck to keep out of danger.

The creative skills of Robben, Van Persie and Ibrahim Afellay created plenty of chances, but finishing was off and Andersen would not budge.

With one counter, Krohn-Dehli showed some of Europe’s best players how it should be done with his well-taken strike.

The Netherlands came into the tournament without key defender Joris Mathijsen and a questionable left defensive flank.

Ron Vlaar and Jetro Willems confirmed the concerns as the back line did not look at ease when the Danes came pushing forward around the half-hour mark.

Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk even had to come to the sideline to shout and wave his players forward. And on a difficult day, luck was not with the Dutch either, when Robben’s shot bounced free.

Van Marwijk’s decision to pick Van Persie over Bundesliga top scorer Klaas-Jan Huntelaar came into sharp focus. Two minutes from halftime, Wesley Sneijder set up the Arsenal striker in the center with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Uncharacteristically, Van Persie had a bad first touch and was forced too wide and shot at the goalkeeper instead of scoring an easy goal.

Early in the second half, too, he made a miss step on another great chance for goal as the Dutch pushed forward from the second half whistle. They forced Andersen into two fine saves on a half dozen occasions.

The thousands of orange-clad fans filled the air with shouts of ”Holland, Holland,” but to no avail.

The Danes didn’t fully lock themselves up but showed poise by patiently pushing forward again.

Still, the Dutch kept piling up the misses and Van Marwijk brought in both Huntelaar and attacking midfielder Rafael van der Vaart for defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong with 20 minutes to go. (Agencies)

WROCLAW: Russia will not get carried away after their 4-1 demolition of the Czech Republic with perfectionist coach Dick Advocaat managing to pick holes in a near flawless performance.

Co-hosts Poland await on Tuesday in their second Group A match and with Germany, Netherlands or Portugal probably lined up in the last eight, the Russians cannot rest on their laurels despite Alan Dzagoyev scoring twice and Andrei Arshavin looking back to his best.

“At 2-1 it could have been 2-2. There were moments when we could have been sharper,” the ultra critical Advocaat told reporters.

“We weren’t really in the game the first 13 minutes. We weren’t very sharp. From that moment on we kind of controlled the game,” he said of Dzagoyev’s 15th-minute opener.

If Advocaat was really looking for problems to address, Alexander Kerzhakov’s wastefulness in front of goal was a thorn in his own side before rival forward Roman Pavyluchenko scored a fourth when he came on as substitute.

However, Dutchman Advocaat backed his starter.

“I would choose Kerzhakov once again. You make certain choices and you have to back them. The only thing he didn’t do was score,” the coach added.

The Czechs must go back to the drawing board after goalkeeper Petr Cech, whose last competitive game was as a hero in the Champions League final for Chelsea, was left a mere bystander by Russia’s attacking flair.

Playmaker Tomas Rosicky was also outshone by Arshavin despite having enjoyed a recent renaissance at Arsenal while his former Russian team mate was forced to seek solace on loan at Zenit St Petersburg after losing his club form. (Reuters)

GNIEWINO (Poland): Spain will go into Sunday’s Group C opener against old foes Italy with a swagger that was missing from past encounters after a pivotal moment in their rivalry four years ago.

It is widely accepted that the moment the Spanish turned from underachievers into an all-conquering outfit was when Cesc Fabregas stroked in the decisive penalty in the quarter-final shootout against the Italians at Euro 2008.

Italy had been something of a bogey team for spain until then but, four years later and with continental and world titles under their belts, Vicente del Bosque’s side now hold the upper hand.

‘I think it changed the mentality of the national team,’ central defender Gerard Pique, who was watching Euro 2008 on holiday in Majorca, told a news conference at Spain’s training base in Gniewino, Poland on Friday.

‘Before Spain played to avoid losing but afterwards they played to win,’ the 25-year-old said.

Striker Fernando Llorente, who also watched the match in Vienna on television from Spain, added: ‘It was a turning point.

‘Beating Italy and getting to the semi-finals made us believe in ourselves. After that, we knew we could win and do something historic.’

Neither side has had the ideal preparation for the 2012 edition co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine but it would still be a major surprise if either failed to get through a group that also features Croatia and Ireland.

Bidding to become the first nation to win back-to-back continental titles with a World Cup in between, Spain have lost record scorer David Villa and inspirational centre back Carlos Puyol to injury.

Villa’s likely replacement at centre forward, Fernando Torres, is still recovering from a spectacular loss of form over the past 18 months, while the central defensive pairing of Pique and Sergio Ramos is relatively untested.

Italy, meanwhile, are mired in yet another domestic match fixing scandal that has deprived them of Domenico Criscito after the defender was placed under investigation by police.

The disruption appeared to have affected their form on the pitch as they slipped to a 3-0 reverse against Russia in their final warm-up game on June 1, a third straight friendly defeat under coach Cesare Prandelli.

‘It’s normal to be worried,’ midfielder Thiago Motta told reporters on Thursday at Italy’s training base in Krakow.

‘Three defeats, even in friendlies, is not normal for a team like us,’ added the former Barcelona player.

However, Pique dismissed suggestions that Spain will have an easy ride against Italy because of their off-field woes.

‘We will have to be at 100 percent with all five senses focused on the game as we are talking about one of the greats in Europe and the world.’ (Reuters)

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal continued to gain in confidence ahead of Olympics as the top-seeded Indian entered the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold final after outlasting local favourite Porntip Buranaprasertsuk with a straight-game win in Bangkok on Saturday.

Saina won 24-22 21-11 to keep her unbeaten record against third seed Buranaprasertsuk intact, extending it to 4-0 overall.

The Indian will be up against another Thai, second seed Ratchanok Inthanon, in the summit clash after the home player defeated China’s Lin Wang 21-13 21-19 in her semifinal match.

Going into the match, Saina had the psychological edge having beaten Buranaprasertsuk in their three previous encounters, the most recent being last year’s Denmark Open.

But Buranaprasertsuk seemed determined to turn the tables this time and she matched world number five Saina shot for shot in the first game.

The world number 17 Thai had in fact better statistics to show in terms of smash winners and net play in the opening game.

Saina quelled the challenge by getting it right in terms of more consecutive points won which ultimately proved decisive and gave her the opening game.

The Thai seemed to have given it her all in the opening game itself and Saina took advantage of the fatigue factor by outwitting the local favourite with her deft net play to seal the match.

Saina had defended her title at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold in March in Basel, Switzerland early this year. (PTI)

PARIS: The picture she posed for at the beginning foreshadowed a mismatch in the making — 6-foot-2 Maria Sharapova standing at the net, towering over an opponent nearly 10 inches smaller than her.

The pictures that were snapped at the end told a different story — Sharapova down on her knees after a tougher-than-expected win, head buried in her hands, celebrating after completing a comeback three years in the making and cementing her name among the greatest in tennis.

The Russian star won the French Open on Saturday, defeating her tiny Italian opponent, Sara Errani, 6-3, 6-2 in the final at Roland Garros to complete the career Grand Slam.

”It’s been such a journey for me to get to this stage,” Sharapova said. ”There are so many people to thank, but most importantly, it’s my wonderful team that keeps me together.”

Second-seeded Sharapova, who was guaranteed of moving to No. 1 in the world regardless of the result, jumped to a quick 4-0 lead against the 21st-seeded Errani, who was in her first Grand Slam final.

But Errani battled back on a cool, blustery day in Paris, turning what had the makings of a blowout into an 89-minute endurance contest, filled with long rallies that forced Sharapova to reach back and find another gear.

Eventually, Sharapova’s bigger serve and bigger groundstrokes wore down Errani, who at 5-foot-4 1/2 stands 9 1/2 inches shorter than her opponent.

Despite spinning serves in at 70-80 mph, while Sharapova was topping out in the 115 mph range, Errani played Sharapova toe-to-toe for the better part of the hour and a half, especially after she overcame the jitters in the shaky opening games.

Eventually, Sharapova’s power game won out but Errani fought to the bitter end – showing the savvy to hit two drop shots that won points in the final game, each of them sending Sharapova scrambling toward the net, only to arrive a split second late.

Still, Sharapova finished the match with 25 winners from the baseline compared to four for Errani, while committing 29 unforced errors to 11 for her opponent.

Sharapova also led in aces, 6-0, including one that set up the third and final match point.

When Errani netted a short backhand on the third match point, Sharapova dropped gingerly to her knees and put her head in her hands, then reached back and looked heavenward – a long, hard road back to the top finally capped with the only major title that had eluded her.

Sharapova won the trophy on the red clay of Roland Garros, about three years after dropping as low as 126th in the rankings after shoulder surgery that threatened her career. She rededicated herself to the game and made a special effort to improve on clay, the surface on which she moved to 18-1 in matches this year.

She added this year’s French Open title to championships at Wimbledon in 2004, the US Open in 2006 and the Australian Open in 2008 to become only the 10th woman to win all four major tournaments, joining players such as Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Serena Williams and Billie Jean King.

It was Sharapova’s 27th overall career title. She’ll be back at No. 1 in the WTA rankings on Monday for the first time since June 2008, though this win reminded her of a scene a few years before that.

Back in 2004, Sharapova was 17, just becoming a name on the tennis scene when she swept into Roland Garros and made a surprise trip to the quarterfinals. A preview of things to come: A month later, she won Wimbledon and everyone knew her name. (AP)

PARIS: Novak Djokovic has won 27 matches in a row at Grand Slam tournaments. If he can make that 28 by beating Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s French Open final, Djokovic will earn a fourth consecutive major title, something no man has accomplished since 1969.

Tough to imagine someone so close to such a historic achievement being an underdog, yet that’s exactly the case for Djokovic.

Even the 25-year-old Serb says so.

”You can say that he’s a favorite, definitely,” Djokovic conceded.

Really? Even though Djokovic beat Nadal in each of the past three Grand Slam finals?

Well, yes. Because as good as Djokovic is on all surfaces and in all settings at the moment, no one ever has been as good as Nadal is on the red clay of Roland Garros. Set aside that Nadal owns 10 Grand Slam titles overall, twice as many as Djokovic, and simply consider the 26-year-old Spaniard’s superb French Open bona fides.

While Djokovic hopes to complete a ‘Novak Slam’ – only two other men in the century-plus annals of tennis have been the reigning champion at all four Grand Slam tournaments simultaneously – Nadal seeks his record seventh trophy at the French Open. Only Nadal and Bjorn Borg have won the title six times.

Nadal is 51-1 at his favorite tournament, including 3-0 against Djokovic, who’s never before reached the final in Paris.

”He has lost, what, two matches in his career here?” Djokovic asked during a news conference after eliminating 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the semifinals.

As reporters began to correct Djokovic’s count, he continued: ”One? That says enough, I mean, about his quality on this court. … I haven’t won a set against him in this court. All the facts are on his side.”

Nadal’s only loss came against Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009. And, amazingly, Nadal might be better than ever. He has won every set he’s played over the past two weeks, losing a total of only 35 games through six matches, the lowest total for a player getting to the final at any major tournament since Borg’s 31 at the 1980 French Open. Nadal has won 71 of 72 service games, saving 18 of 19 break points.

Djokovic, it must be said, keeps getting better, too.

It’s been more than a year since he lost a Grand Slam match against anyone, anywhere: June 3, 2011, in the French Open semifinals, when Federer snapped Djokovic’s 41-0 start to last season.

Since then, Djokovic has gone 7 for 7 on the grass courts at Wimbledon in late June and July, then 7 for 7 on the hard courts at the US Open in late August and September, then 7 for 7 on another type of hard courts at the Australian Open in January, and 6 for 6 so far on the clay courts at the French Open in late May and June.

That sort of consistency and versatility is rather rare.

Only Don Budge in 1938, and Rod Laver in 1962 and 1969, have won four Grand Slam tournaments in succession. (AP)

Pallekele: Tillakaratne Dilshan batted through the innings with a century to take Sri Lanka to 280. Azhar Ali looked set to match Dilshan’s feat and nearly reached his maiden ODI ton.

Ultimately though, it was Thisara Perera’s six-wicket haul, aided by his own brilliant fielding, which helped Sri Lanka level the series after a disappointing showing on Thursday.

Pakistan gambled with their line-up by playing only five specialist batsmen in both games. In their chase of 281, their over-reliance on Azhar bit them. As the required rate increased, Azhar’s own strike-rate dipped. None of the others passed 50, the next highest being 27.

The Sri Lankans, on the hand, didn’t gamble with theirs. Thursday’s batting meltdown necessitated a reshuffle and the change gave the hosts a greater sense of security. It led to an efficient batting effort, led by Dilshan, who dropped anchor and batted with the intention of playing 50 overs. The foundation he provided allowed the likes of Mahela Jayawardene, dropping to No.5, the freedom to innovate in the slog overs.

Dilshan shared stands of 37 with Tharanga and 47 with Kumar Sangakkara.

Afridi trapped Chandimal lbw but there was no respite for Pakistan as what followed was Sri Lanka’s most productive partnership, of 86 between Dilshan and Jayawardene.

Though Dilshan slowed down after getting his century, it didn’t cause a slowdown as Perera tonked two fours and two sixes in a 14-ball 24 to lift Sri Lanka to a challenging score.

Sri Lanka’s seamers may have failed to make early inroads but Perera more than made up for that. He sent back Mohammad Hafeez off his first ball, flinging himself in the opposite direction of his follow through to pull off a return catch. He then had Younis Khan nicking to the wicketkeeper and later sparked Pakistan’s slide by trapping Misbah-ul-Haq lbw.

The boundaries dried up for Pakistan after the 20th over. Misbah’s departure left the inexperienced Azhar marshaling the unpredictable Umar Akmal and Afridi both of whom failed to turn the game around.

Sri Lanka’s emphatic comeback has set the series up nicely for the last three games in Colombo. (Agencies)

Greater Noida: Buddh International Circuit (BIC) owner Jaypee Sports International on Saturday confirmed that the race track will be hosting a round of Superbike World Championship (WSBK) in March 2013.

Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) and Infront Motor Sports (IMS), the promoters of WSBK, have inked an agreement to hold the race at BIC March 9-10.

WSBK, a top notch motorcycle racing series, comes to India in the wake of a successful organisation of the maiden Formula One Grand Prix last october. The grand finale of FIA GT1 Championship will also be held at BIC in December.

“We are extremely happy to announce that besides F1 and GT1, we will also hold a thrilling motorcycle race. There are many who are passionate about bikes here. I am sure they would love to watch the best bike drivers in the business compete against each other,” said Jaypee Sports International managing director Sameer Gaur in a statement.

Teams of bike manufacturers such as Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Aprilia, and BMW are part of the series regulated by the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), the international governing body of the sport.

On WSBK coming to India, IMS chairman Maurizio Flammini said: “After meeting with the promoters (Jaypee), I got the feeling that I was dealing with highly professional people even though the circuit was under construction.

“This impression was confirmed from the outcome of the F1 race last year. We are sure that WSBK will add value to BIC, as well as to India.” (IANS)

By Diego Maradona

 The European Championship has gotten off

to an explosive start with striker Lewandowski scoring the first goal for Poland, only to see the Greeks battle back to a well deserved draw, and Tsar Arshavin leading Russia to a devastating 4-1 victory over the hapless Czech team. The combination of cool weather and wet perfect pitches should show us some spectacular football in the days to come.

One of the most anticipated games in Group C features World and European defending champions Spain versus the Italian ‘Azzurri’ led by the veteran genius Andrea Pirlo.

Coach Prandelli is well aware of the calibre of opposition he is facing as he takes on the Spanish world superheroes.

Italy has lost its last two friendly games to the United States and Russia, and so must modify its defense to deal with Xavi, Iniesta and friends.

The veteran Gigi Buffon will guard the Italian goalposts, but in defense Prandelli is struggling with injured Juve captain Chiellini at left back, Bonucci will be playing right back, and Roman midfielder De Rossi might actually have to play center-back. In midfield, Italy features Napoli’s Maggio on the right, Pirlo in the middle, Giaccherini on the left. Juve’s Marchisio and PSG naturalized Brasilian Thiago Motta, to pressure the opposing midfielders.

Up front Italy has bad boy Mario Balotelli of Man City and brilliant but erratic Cassano. The Italian bench is quite good as well with talented striker Di Natale available if necessary. The Italians lack consistency in the defense, and cohesion up front. Their strength is their midfield where Andrea Pirlo can create magic at any time.

To compliment Spain is obvious at this point. Their players have won everything for club and country. Coach Vicente Del Bosque has to replace captain Pujol, out with injury, and striker David Villa. He will feature Casillas in goal, Sergio Ramos in the center with Pique, and Jordi Alba at left back. The best midfield in the world will feature Xavi, Iniesta, David Silva, and Busquets. Up front Cesc Fabregas and Llorente of Bilbao will team up for devastating effect.

On the bench Spain also has the luxury of Mata, Torres, and Pedro. The Spanish dominate by playing a Brasilian style one touch football and constantly moving without the ball to create space and openings.

It’s the Barcelona style transplanted to the national team. The Italians must try to contain their ball possession with their own midfield and hope that the Pirlo-Balotelli combination will give Italy a goal at some point. The Spanish are heavily favoured, but so was Argentina when I played the Azzurri at the World Cup in 1982 and we lost, so never count the Italians out.

Ireland, led by colourful coach Trapattoni at 73 years young, will play Croatia in the other match of group C. Both teams are expected to come 3rd and 4th to Italy and Spain, but a win in this game could actually help their chances to qualify. Trappattoni knows that he has one good weapon in striker Robbie Keane now playing at LA Galaxy. He also can count on veteran goalkeeper Shay Given, and veteran defender Richard Dunne as his rocks. Trapattoni is the master of the tight defense and long counter-attack, so look for frenetic pace by the Irish combined by counter-strokes to Robbie Keane up front.

Look for the old wolf Trap to place Given in goal, O’Shea, Dunne, Ledger and Ward on the back line. In midfield, McGeady, Whelan, Andrews and quick Damien Duff. Up front, Keane and Kevin Doyle will try to win the match for the lucky Irish.

Croatia is a solid team that relies on the brilliant play of the little Mozart, Luca Modric of Tottenham Hotspurs. If he is on his game he can destroy any team like Arshavin did for Russia. Coach Slaven Bilic has been mercilessly attacked by his media, but has managed to bring the team to Euro 2012. He loses his veteran striker Olic due to injury, but can sill field Mandzukic and Jelavic up front. In midfield he will bring in Dujmovic and Vukojevic with Srna and Rakitic of Seville on the flanks.

Veteran goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa leads the defense, with solid players Corluka of Spurs on the right, Vida and Simunic in the middle and Bayerns Pranjic, on left back.

Potentially and on paper the Croatians have an edge on the Irish, but Trapattoni is a wiley coach and he might devise a way to pull off an upset in this game to get 3 points.

However, if Luca Modric is in form Croatia should take the 3 points.