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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka closed in on a series whitewash against South Africa on Sunday, leaving the visitors five down and with a mountain to climb after the third day of the second Test.By stumps the spinners had ripped their way through the Proteas batsmen yet again to leave them reeling on 139 for 5 in pursuit of an impossible-looking 490 victory target in Colombo. Against batsmen who clearly decided that attack was the best form of defence, off-spinner Akila Dananjaya and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath took two wickets apiece, with off-spinner Dilruwan Perera also dismissing Dean Elgar.The wickets fell despite repeated errors from Sri Lanka, who dropped two catches and could have had Elgar out twice beforehand had Perera not overstepped when bowling the delivery that dismissed him. But this will likely have only delayed the South Africans’ first series defeat by Sri Lanka since 2006. There are only three recognised batsmen remaining and two full days left to survive.By stumps, number three batsman Theunis de Bruyn, who survived two very close lbw shouts early in his innings, was 45 not out, with a chance of recording his team’s first half-century of the series.Sri Lanka first innings:South Africa first innings: 124Sri Lanka second innings (overnight 151-3)D. Gunathilaka c Elgar b Maharaj 61D. Karunaratne c de Kock b Ngidi 85D. De Silva lbw Maharaj 0K. Mendis run out (Markram) 18A. Mathews c du Plessis b Maharaj 71R. Silva not out 32N. Dickwella not out 7Extras: (1 nb) 1Total: (5 wickets declared, 81 overs) 275DNB: D. Perera, A. Dananjaya, S. Lakmal, R. HerathFall: 1-91 (Gunathilaka), 2-102 (de Silva), 3-136 (Mendis), 4-199 (Karunaratne), 5-263 (Mathews)Bowling: Maharaj 40-4-154-3, Rabada 8-0-42-0, Markram 7-1-18-0, de Bruyn 5-0-20-0, Steyn 11-2-30-0, Ngidi 9-5-9-1, Elgar 1-0-2-0South Africa 2nd innings:D. Elgar lbw Perera 37A. Markram lbw Herath 14T. de Bruyn not out 35H. Amla b Herath 6F. du Plessis c Mathews b Dananjaya 7K. Maharaj lbw Dananjaya 0T. Bavuma not out 14Extras: (8b, 4lb, 4nb) 16Total: (5 wickets, 41 overs) 139To bat: Q. de Kock, K. Rabada, D. Steyn, L. NgidiFall: 1-23 (Markram), 2-80 (Elgar), 3-100 (Amla), 4-113 (du Plessis), 5-113 (Maharaj)Bowlers: Herath 15-1-54-2, Perera 16-4-38-1 (3nb), Dananjaya 10-2-35-2 (1nb)Toss: Sri Lanka Umpires: Nigel Llong (ENG), Rod Tucker (AUS)TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS) Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS).

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PALEMBANG, Indonesia: Irate Indonesian football fans ripped plastic seats from the stands and hurled them onto the pitch at a stadium scheduled to host the Asian Games next month, an official said Sunday.A league match between Sriwijaya FC and Arema FC ended in chaos Saturday afternoon when the fans tore up seats at the Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium in Palembang on the island of Sumatra.Pictures showed multi-coloured chairs strewn across the outer edges of the ground, which is bordered by an athletics track.“We are very upset with the supporters who ruined the seats in Gelora Sriwijaya during the game,” Rusli Nawi, the stadium’s security supervisor, told AFP. “I’ve been here for nearly 10 years... there has never been damage to the seats like yesterday.”The stadium had been renovated for the Games, which are being held in Palembang and the capital Jakarta from August 18-September 2.Indonesia has been scrambling to prepare venues, finish building work, widen roads and ease traffic congestion.Some 335 seats were damaged, about half of which will have to be replaced with seats ordered from outside Indonesia, Nawi said.Police have arrested four people over the rampage, which was started by Sriwijaya fans upset at their team’s 3-0 home loss, Nawi said.No one was injured.About 11,000 athletes and 5,000 officials from 45 Asian countries will compete in the Games, the world’s biggest multi-sports event after the Olympics.

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SINGAPORE: Taiwanese badminton star Chou Tien-chen stormed to a 21-13, 21-13 win over compatriot Hsu Jen-hao to clinch the Singapore Open men’s singles title on Sunday.Serving deep, cross-court smashes at high speeds, the world number seven easily claimed the first game. Hsu initially looked stronger in the second game, taking an 8-4 lead, but Chou bounced back impressively by winning seven consecutive points.The 28-year-old went on to win easily at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, sealing victory in 43 minutes.“I felt like I had good control at the start,” Chou, the top seed in the tournament, said after the match.“There were several times that Hsu took the lead, but I managed to fight back and I knew when and how to take charge of the game.”The win follows his German Open triumph in May and serves as a confidence boost for the upcoming World Championships in Nanjing.Chou acknowledged that he will face stiff competition from top players, such as Danish world number one Viktor Axelsen and rising Japanese star Kento Momota, who both gave the Singapore tournament a miss.“They are amazing players with great skills. I need to find a way to beat them,” he said.In the women’s singles, fifth seed Sayaka Takahashi of Japan overcame a slow start to pick up her third title of the year, beating China’s Gao Fangjie 25-23, 21-14.The 25-year-old won the Swiss Open in February and the New Zealand Open in May.Japan won another title with women’s doubles pair Ayako Sakuramoto and Yukiko Takahata beating compatriots Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida 16-21, 24-22, 21-13.In men’s doubles, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan of Indonesia cruised to a 21-13, 21-19 win over China’s Ou Xuanyi and Ren Xiangyu.In mixed doubles, Malaysian duo Goh Soon Huat and Shevon Jemie Lai fended off strong competition from Olympic champions Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir, defeating the Indonesians 21-19, 21-18.

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LAHORE: Some hope for the sports horizon rose higher in January this year at a detailed press conference. The Pakistan Olympic Association said that coaches would accompany teams going to the Asian Games being held in August this year.“The federations will send the CVs of the coaches to ascertain their eligibility. This is to eliminate the practice of favouritism and jeopardising the rights of those who work with the athletes throughout the training but at the end are dropped,” POA Secretary Haji Khalid Mehmood told pressmen at the time. His comments followed a meeting between POA Chief (Retd) Lt. Gen. Arif Hasan and the president and secretaries of the national sports federation.At around the same time the POA, with the federations, had, following the Olympic Agenda 2020, initiated a programme to safeguard athletes from harassment and abuse in sports. This of course is particularly important in Pakistan where there have been periodical allegations, notably involving female cricketers in 2013 and hockey players in late 2017. While the online courses on awareness were completed by at least some federations, the issue of dispatching coaches alongside teams remains something all federations simply do not recognize as important. The tradition of sending ‘favourites’ on tours is of course a long established one.The Pakistan Athletics Federation will be dispatching an experienced coach and an official of the federation Asghar Ali Gill along with his squad to Jakarta. Gill has in the past coached Pakistan’s top athletes including Naseem Hameed, the girl from Lyari who stunned the world by winning the 100m gold at the 2010 South Asian Games in Dhaka. She says ‘coaches are vital to the success of any athlete and at meets they can encourage and support.’The Pakistan Swimming Federation does not appear to have made up its mind however on how important good coach is for a national squad. Other federations may too opt to set out without a qualified coach. This is a matter which needs to be discussed at the upcoming meetings between the POA, PSF and federations. According to available reports, the officials included in the swimming contingent do not include a coach who has, as POA suggest, worked with national level players over a period of time and owns the requisite qualifications.Commenting on this to The News, John Leonard, Executive Director of the American Swim Coaches Association, said ““NO successful sporting nation would send a team of athletes ANYWHERE without a swimming coach. This is simple fact demonstrated on deck by every team with an athlete on the Podium.”Backing Leonard’s opinion, FINA coach Miguel Lopez, who heads the FINA excellence programme in Phuket told this publication in Thanyapura “The support of a coach is extremely important. Without the coach going to a meet there is much higher chance of failure, disappointment and even swimmers abandoning the sport.” He added “not sending a coach to a major meet is, simply put, nonsense”.The football and baseball federations seem set to dispatch coaches as would be the case with most other team sports. The boxing federation, also running an individual sport, will also be dispatching a coach according to reports available to this newspaper so far as will weightlifting and wrestling – though names and qualifications are still to be confirmed.A former Pakistani athlete who ran 400m at international events for his country prior to 2000 told The News “it is hard for anyone involved in competitive sport to even imagine managing without a coach. This is especially difficult for inexperienced Pakistani athletes.”While the Pakistan Olympic Association, the PSB and the federations will no doubt be sorting out the problem, there are also bigger problems. Sports is not a priority in Pakistan. Financial constraints could force a cut in the size of the contingent which currently stands at 397 members, with unaffiliated federations paying for themselves. It is hoped that in the cuts coaches and naturally athletes will be put in first place behind officials who often treat even the most important international meets only as pleasure ride.

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DAEJEON, South Korea: South Korea’s Jang Woo-jin won the men’s singles and doubles titles at the Korea Open Sunday, the first player in the history of the ITTF World Tour event to secure three golds in the same tournamentThe previous day he had won the mixed doubles by pairing with North Korea’s Cha Hyo Sim.On Sunday he partnered Lim Jong-hoon to success in the men’s doubles. The number 6 seeds beat the top seeds Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting 11-8, 19-17, 9-11, 11-9.Jang closed the curtain by overcoming China’s Liang Jinkun 11-8, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 in the men’s singles final.“This is beyond my expectations. I’m very happy. This would have been impossible without support from fans,” he said. Liang said his strategy had been faulty but acknowledged that Jang had “played very well”.China’s Zhu Yuling beat compatriot Chen Meng in five games 11-4, 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-9 to win the women’s singles title.China’s Cheng Meng and Ding Ning won the women’s doubles title by beating compatriots Wang Manyu and Zhu Yuling 14-12, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11.The tournament featured four unified teams from North and South Korea -- in the men’s and women’s doubles and two mixed doubles teams. The unified Korea team won the mixed doubles and took a bronze in the men’s doubles.It was the first gold medal won by an joint Korean sports team in nearly three decades. A women’s joint table tennis team scored a shock victory over reigning champion China in the world championship in Japan in 1991.

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DHAKA: Bangladesh plans to crack down on players who use “pretexts” to avoid playing domestic first-class cricket in an effort to boost its woeful Test squad, an official said Sunday.Bangladesh have won just 10 out of 108 games since getting Test status in 2000, losing six of their last seven, including a thrashing by the West Indies this month. They failed to score 200 runs in any of their last six innings and were bowled out for 43, their lowest-ever total, in the Caribbean in the first Test.According to Bangladesh Cricket Board officials, a major reason for the crisis is players’ lack of interest in playing Test and first-class cricket. “We have got a long-standing policy that the players will not be considered for the national team unless they play domestic first-class cricket. But whenever it comes to playing National Cricket League or other first-class matches our players show family reason or other pretexts to avoid it,” said BCB spokesman Jalal Yunus.Jalal’s comments came two days after BCB president Nazmul Hassan revealed that star players Shakib Al Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain were reluctant to play Test cricket.

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ISLAMABAD: The South Asian Olympic Committee (SAOC) has added cricket and paragliding for men and women to the 13th South Asian Games’ disciplines.The South Asian Games will be held in Kathmandu (Nepal) from March 9-18.The decision was taken in the SAOC meeting held in Kathmandu on Saturday.Talking to ‘The News’ from Kathmandu, Pakistan Olympic Association Secretary Mohammad Khalid Mehmood said two sports were added to the total disciplines.“Now cricket and paragliding will also be a part of the South Asian Games programme,” he said. “The committee also approved amendments to the SAOC constitution.”The committee further decided to hold its next meeting during the course of the Asian Games in Jakarta and approve the amendments to the constitution and other modalities of the South Asian Games. The POA delegation included Khalid Mehmood and Mohammad Shafique.

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SEOUL: A joint table tennis team from the two Koreas on Saturday won the final in mixed doubles at the Korea Open, claiming the first gold in the latest instalment of sporting diplomacy on the peninsula.Jang Woo-jin, a male player from the South, and Cha Hyo Sim, a female player from the North, defeated China 3-1 at the mixed doubles final at the international tournament held in the South’s city of Daejeon.It was the first gold medal won by an inter-Korea sports team in nearly three decades after a women’s joint table tennis team scored a shock victory over reigning champion China in the world championship in Japan in 1991.The Chinese pair of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yinsha won the first set 11-5 before the Korean team thrashed them 11-3, 11-4 and 11-8 in consecutive sets as some South Korean fans chanted in unison “We are one!”“I really wanted to win this game... and the cheers from the crowd gave me goosebumps,” Jang told reporters after the game.“I saw Hyo Sim crying during the ceremony and it broke my heart that we have to say goodbye soon,” he said.All civilian communication between the two countries — which remain technicallyat war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty — is banned.But North Korea’s decision to participate in the Winter Olympics in the South last February triggered an ongoing rapprochement between the two nations.Athletes from the two Koreas marched together behind a unification flag at the Games’ opening ceremony, while the South’s President Moon Jae-in seized the opportunity to broker talks between Pyongyang and Washington.Moon also held a summit with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un in April, during which the two men vowed to strengthen cooperation in sports.The two Koreas have often used sports to break ice on the volatile inter-Korea relations — by forming joint teams for international competitions from soccer to ice hockey.Eight female and eight male table tennis players from the North, including Kim Song I — a bronze medallist at women’s singles at the 2016 Rio Summer Games — competed in the Korea Open, some jointly with Seoul’s players.Four joint teams — men’s and women’s doubles as well as two mixed doubles — were formed. The men’s doubles team won bronze on Friday.The two Koreas also recently announced they would field joint teams in three sports — canoeing, rowing and women’s basketball — at next month’s Asian Games to be held in Indonesia.

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MONTE CARLO: Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech obliterated the world record in the women’s 3,000 metres steeplechase by more than eight seconds in a stunning Monaco Diamond League athletics meeting on Friday.Six other season leading performances were set or tied in the meet.Already the fastest in the world this year, Chepkoech, 27, won in a time of eight minutes 44.32 seconds to break the previous record mark of 8 minutes 52.78 set by Bahrain’s Ruth Jebet in 2016.Chepkoech, whose previous best time was 8:59.36 in Paris last month, finished fourth in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2017 London World Championships.American world silver medallist Courtney Frerichs took second in a North American record of 9:00.85.American Noah Lyles, meanwhile, added a personal best in the 200m, running 19.65 seconds for another season-leading performance.In other world leading runs for 2018, Bahamian Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo ran a lifetime best 48.97 seconds, Botswana’s Nijel Amos won the 800m in 1:42.14 and Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot clocked 3:28.41 in the 1,500m.Moroccan world silver medallist Soufiane El Bakkali took the men’s steeplechase in 7:58.15 and Russia’s Danil Lysenko equalled the season’s best in the high jump with a leap of 2.40 metres.Olympic and world champion Caster Semenya continued her dominance of the women’s 800m, winning her 26th consecutive final in 1:54.60. The South African has not lost over the distance since 2015.

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The fifteenth of July, 2018, was an eventful day in the history of Football World Cup, when France and Croatia locked their horns for the 21st FIFA World Cup’s glittering, 18 carat gold trophy.The tension was very much visible on the faces of players, coaches and fans before the kickoff, as the two captains shook hands and the experienced match referee Nestor Pitana from Argentina tossed the coin for selection of sides.Billions were glued to their TV screens to witness one of the greatest sport shows on earth. The presidents of two great sporting nations, President Emmanuel Macron from France and Kolinda Kitarovic of Croatia, witnessed the match along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin.It was no less than a clash of the Titans, as both France and Croatia had ample of football geniuses at their sides, masterminded by great leaders and coaches like Didier Claude Deschamps of France and Zalatko Dalic of Croatia.The Croatians played their hearts out and like their popular president won the hearts of every one. France managed their first goal through a free kick taken in the 17th minute of the game when Mario Mandzukic of Croatia headed the ball in his own goalpost. This was the twelfth own goal of the tournament and the first ever scored in any final of World Cup history.The Croatians fought back bravely. Displaying excellent ball control and short passes, they kept the possession of the ball most of the time. Playing set-piece game, the Croatian control over the game was admirable.The Croatian resolve was revived when Ivan Perisic scored the equaliser in the 28th minute.The French mounted a counter attack in the 37th minute which resulted in a corner in favour of France. As a result of this corner kick, France claimed a handball, the fate of which was decided by Pitana through Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for the first time in a World Cup final. Antoine Griezmann of France had successfully parked the ball in the right corner of the Croatian goal, making it 2-1.The second half was even more exciting. The Croatians mounted multiple attacks on the French goalpost. Luka Modric, the outstanding Croatian midfielder, masterminded many astounding maneuvers but the French defence was no less than the famous Maginot lines.In the 59th minute, Paul Pogba scored an iconic goal when he netted the ball in the right corner of the Croatian goal with a strong left kick. Only an extraordinary effort could have saved the game for Croatia at that stage. The momentum was with France and the decisive counter attacks by the Frenchmen left the resolute Croatians frail and fragile as steam ran out of the Croatian defenders who gave the great French striker Mbappe an opportunity to shoot the ball from the top of the circle in the 66th minute to score the fourth French goal.Croatia showed a brave face and Mario Mandzukic took advantage of a mistake by the French goalkeeper, scoring a consolation goal in the 69th minute.The final was a masterpiece, made so by such crafty footballers as Griezmann, Mbappe, Mandzukic, Modric and Perisic.But the real game at strategic level was fought between Didier Deschamps of France and Zalatko Dalic of Croatia.In a battle, it’s not the gun but the man behind the gun that matters. It stands good for sports too.Croatia under its coach Zlatko had the great power of coming back from behind and surprising the opponents.Zlatko Dalic, born in Bosnia, aged 51 years, was a defensive midfielder. He started his coaching career from Varteks in 2000.Didier Claude Deschamps, aged 49, was also a defensive midfielder. He played for such clubs as Chelsea and Marseille.Zlatko’s strategy revolved around set piece game and maximum possession of ball. Didier played a packed French defense with windows of opportunities for explosive counter attacks, converting limited attacking opportunities into brilliant goal finishes.Didier became only the third man in football history, after Brazilian Mario Zagallo and German Beckenbauer, to win the World Cup both as player and manager.The two great sports nations showed great spirit of the game. Not just the players and the fans were exceptional in conduct, the leaders of both countries were also unparalleled in their demeanor.The Croatian President despite defeat in the final was all smiles, hugging each Croatian player.At the end of the great game the Croatian President greeted the French President and gave him a symbolic kiss, to showcase a message of peace, goodwill and harmony through the power of football.sdfsports@gmail.com

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LONDON: As the dust settles at Wimbledon, the real tennis action is under way: the world’s best players of the original sport are duelling it out at the game’s spiritual home.Real tennis, the historic forerunner of the modern sport, is still played on a few dozen courts across the globe, including at Hampton Court Palace in London.On a court originally built in 1530 for King Henry VIII, the top players are laying chases and hitting boomerangs, giraffes and railroads — some of the sport’s quirky moves.“It’s the best game, ever. Simple,” said world champion Rob Fahey, considered the sport’s all-time greatest player. “It’s the beginning of everything,” the 50-year-old Australian told AFP in the palace grounds.“The most important thing is to realise it isn’t tennis,” he explained. “It looks a lot like tennis but a lot of games have derived from this so we’ve got elements of squash and any other racquet sport you can think of. You’ve got to be a master of all trades.”The Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace was built by kings, for kings to play on.It is the real tennis equivalent of Wimbledon’s Centre Court: the spiritual home of the game.The Champions Trophy, disputed on the historic court and featuring the world’s top players, runs until Sunday.It is one of the sport’s 10 tournaments earning ranking points.Real tennis survives on fewer than 50 courts worldwide: around half are in Britain, with others in the United States and a few in Australia and France.The Royal Tennis Court is the busiest in the world, in constant use 364 days a year.Clubs need to make their own balls, which are hard and solid, unlike lawn tennis balls.Weighing 81 to 88 grammes, they are comprised of crumbled wine corks, tightly wrapped in cling film and tied in twine, bound in cotton tape, then stitched into yellow felt.“A well-made ball has to survive quite a robust game,” said Nick Wood, the head professional at the Royal Tennis Court, as he finished making a ball.The marker, a fellow pro who officiates over a match, needs quick reactions, ducking out of the way of shots.“There is a certain amount of bravery,” Wood said. “The ball comes off the racquet at up to 100 miles (160 kilometres) per hour. It’s like an Exocet missile coming straight at you. It will break bones.”The sport still uses wooden racquets with a small, angled head.Lawn tennis-style graphite racquets were tried but they were judged too powerfuland “destroyed the grace and skill of the game”, said Wood.The sport evolved as a street game played in medieval European courtyards, hence its asymmetrical layout, with what looks like a row of small shops along two sides whose windows and roofs are part of the court.Its French name, jeu de paume, refers to the time before racquets when it was played with the open palm.There were once 250 courts in Paris alone; there are now two in France. Rather than play in the dirty streets, the nobility had their own courts built.Real tennis claims several common phrases originate from the game: cut to the chase, off the wall, in the nick of time, from pillar to post and impress the gallery.The sport declined in the 20th century as lawn tennis took over, but since the 1970s, new courts have been built and the game is growing.Real tennis historian Lesley Ronaldson said lawn tennis was a simplified and therefore less complex sport.“Real tennis has so much to offer,” said the four-time British Open champion. “Having to be fit, the mental game like chess and having to learn the techniques makes it altogether a fascinating game.”Fahey won the biennial world championship — played over 13 sets across three days — unbroken from 1994 to 2014. He won the title back from 31-year-old US rival Camden Riviere in April.“We’re very passionate,” the Tasmanian said, of the sport’s 100-odd professionals and 10,000 or so enthusiasts worldwide.“A game like this could fall off a cliff and potentially disappear, which would be heartbreaking because it’s the original sport. “We’ve got to work hard to keep it alive.”

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The fifteenth of July, 2018, was an eventful day in the history of Football World Cup, when France and Croatia locked their horns for the 21st FIFA World Cup’s glittering, 18 carat gold trophy.The tension was very much visible on the faces of players, coaches and fans before the kickoff, as the two captains shook hands and the experienced match referee Nestor Pitana from Argentina tossed the coin for selection of sides.Billions were glued to their TV screens to witness one of the greatest sport shows on earth. The presidents of two great sporting nations, President Emmanuel Macron from France and Kolinda Kitarovic of Croatia, witnessed the match along with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin.It was no less than a clash of the Titans, as both France and Croatia had ample of football geniuses at their sides, masterminded by great leaders and coaches like Didier Claude Deschamps of France and Zalatko Dalic of Croatia.The Croatians played their hearts out and like their popular president won the hearts of every one. France managed their first goal through a free kick taken in the 17th minute of the game when Mario Mandzukic of Croatia headed the ball in his own goalpost. This was the twelfth own goal of the tournament and the first ever scored in any final of World Cup history.The Croatians fought back bravely. Displaying excellent ball control and short passes, they kept the possession of the ball most of the time. Playing set-piece game, the Croatian control over the game was admirable.The Croatian resolve was revived when Ivan Perisic scored the equaliser in the 28th minute.The French mounted a counter attack in the 37th minute which resulted in a corner in favour of France. As a result of this corner kick, France claimed a handball, the fate of which was decided by Pitana through Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for the first time in a World Cup final. Antoine Griezmann of France had successfully parked the ball in the right corner of the Croatian goal, making it 2-1.The second half was even more exciting. The Croatians mounted multiple attacks on the French goalpost. Luka Modric, the outstanding Croatian midfielder, masterminded many astounding maneuvers but the French defence was no less than the famous Maginot lines.In the 59th minute, Paul Pogba scored an iconic goal when he netted the ball in the right corner of the Croatian goal with a strong left kick. Only an extraordinary effort could have saved the game for Croatia at that stage. The momentum was with France and the decisive counter attacks by the Frenchmen left the resolute Croatians frail and fragile as steam ran out of the Croatian defenders who gave the great French striker Mbappe an opportunity to shoot the ball from the top of the circle in the 66th minute to score the fourth French goal.Croatia showed a brave face and Mario Mandzukic took advantage of a mistake by the French goalkeeper, scoring a consolation goal in the 69th minute.The final was a masterpiece, made so by such crafty footballers as Griezmann, Mbappe, Mandzukic, Modric and Perisic.But the real game at strategic level was fought between Didier Deschamps of France and Zalatko Dalic of Croatia.In a battle, it’s not the gun but the man behind the gun that matters. It stands good for sports too.Croatia under its coach Zlatko had the great power of coming back from behind and surprising the opponents.Zlatko Dalic, born in Bosnia, aged 51 years, was a defensive midfielder. He started his coaching career from Varteks in 2000.Didier Claude Deschamps, aged 49, was also a defensive midfielder. He played for such clubs as Chelsea and Marseille.Zlatko’s strategy revolved around set piece game and maximum possession of ball. Didier played a packed French defense with windows of opportunities for explosive counter attacks, converting limited attacking opportunities into brilliant goal finishes.Didier became only the third man in football history, after Brazilian Mario Zagallo and German Beckenbauer, to win the World Cup both as player and manager.The two great sports nations showed great spirit of the game. Not just the players and the fans were exceptional in conduct, the leaders of both countries were also unparalleled in their demeanor.The Croatian President despite defeat in the final was all smiles, hugging each Croatian player.At the end of the great game the Croatian President greeted the French President and gave him a symbolic kiss, to showcase a message of peace, goodwill and harmony through the power of football.sdfsports@gmail.com

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LONDON: As the dust settles at Wimbledon, the real tennis action is under way: the world’s best players of the original sport are duelling it out at the game’s spiritual home.Real tennis, the historic forerunner of the modern sport, is still played on a few dozen courts across the globe, including at Hampton Court Palace in London.On a court originally built in 1530 for King Henry VIII, the top players are laying chases and hitting boomerangs, giraffes and railroads — some of the sport’s quirky moves.“It’s the best game, ever. Simple,” said world champion Rob Fahey, considered the sport’s all-time greatest player. “It’s the beginning of everything,” the 50-year-old Australian told AFP in the palace grounds.“The most important thing is to realise it isn’t tennis,” he explained. “It looks a lot like tennis but a lot of games have derived from this so we’ve got elements of squash and any other racquet sport you can think of. You’ve got to be a master of all trades.”The Royal Tennis Court at Hampton Court Palace was built by kings, for kings to play on.It is the real tennis equivalent of Wimbledon’s Centre Court: the spiritual home of the game.The Champions Trophy, disputed on the historic court and featuring the world’s top players, runs until Sunday.It is one of the sport’s 10 tournaments earning ranking points.Real tennis survives on fewer than 50 courts worldwide: around half are in Britain, with others in the United States and a few in Australia and France.The Royal Tennis Court is the busiest in the world, in constant use 364 days a year.Clubs need to make their own balls, which are hard and solid, unlike lawn tennis balls.Weighing 81 to 88 grammes, they are comprised of crumbled wine corks, tightly wrapped in cling film and tied in twine, bound in cotton tape, then stitched into yellow felt.“A well-made ball has to survive quite a robust game,” said Nick Wood, the head professional at the Royal Tennis Court, as he finished making a ball.The marker, a fellow pro who officiates over a match, needs quick reactions, ducking out of the way of shots.“There is a certain amount of bravery,” Wood said. “The ball comes off the racquet at up to 100 miles (160 kilometres) per hour. It’s like an Exocet missile coming straight at you. It will break bones.”The sport still uses wooden racquets with a small, angled head.Lawn tennis-style graphite racquets were tried but they were judged too powerfuland “destroyed the grace and skill of the game”, said Wood.The sport evolved as a street game played in medieval European courtyards, hence its asymmetrical layout, with what looks like a row of small shops along two sides whose windows and roofs are part of the court.Its French name, jeu de paume, refers to the time before racquets when it was played with the open palm.There were once 250 courts in Paris alone; there are now two in France. Rather than play in the dirty streets, the nobility had their own courts built.Real tennis claims several common phrases originate from the game: cut to the chase, off the wall, in the nick of time, from pillar to post and impress the gallery.The sport declined in the 20th century as lawn tennis took over, but since the 1970s, new courts have been built and the game is growing.Real tennis historian Lesley Ronaldson said lawn tennis was a simplified and therefore less complex sport.“Real tennis has so much to offer,” said the four-time British Open champion. “Having to be fit, the mental game like chess and having to learn the techniques makes it altogether a fascinating game.”Fahey won the biennial world championship — played over 13 sets across three days — unbroken from 1994 to 2014. He won the title back from 31-year-old US rival Camden Riviere in April.“We’re very passionate,” the Tasmanian said, of the sport’s 100-odd professionals and 10,000 or so enthusiasts worldwide.“A game like this could fall off a cliff and potentially disappear, which would be heartbreaking because it’s the original sport.“We’ve got to work hard to keep it alive.”

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BULAWAYO: After sleepwalking to a series win, Pakistan blew life into a dull series courtesy Fakhar Zaman’s record-breaking double-century.This sparked tremendous interest momentarily on Friday afternoon in Pakistan. There’s little to suggest the joyride won’t continue on Sunday, but only a performance of Fakhar’s kind again can elicit the same level of interest.Zimbabwe have shown no fight whatsoever. If 67 all out wasn’t the nadir, they were blown away in the fourth ODI by 244 runs - Pakistan’s second-biggest ODI win in terms of runs. The batsmen have shown little resolve, and the bowlers have lacked consistency or potency. About the fielding? Less said, the better. Whatever can go wrong, has.As such international fixtures are few and far between for Zimbabwe. Finances don’t allow them the luxury of staging multiple home series. That said, this year has been a bumper one, but even so, the hope with which they began the World Cup Qualifiers has long dissipated. The walloping in the T20I tri-series against Australia and Pakistan has spilled over, and there’s a pall of gloom around the state of cricket, as it has been for a better part of the last decade and a half. On Sunday, they can’t erase the pain of the home summer, but at least try and put up a fight and give the 500-odd faithful that turn up every match day whether or not there’s something to cheer about.Usman Khan went onto to play the entire tri-nation series and all four straight ODIs without aggravating any injury. This has been a longest streak for him in international cricket since he made his debut in 2013. He had been battling against injury, but every time he bounced back, some part of his body broke down again.He is back to full fitness now, and looks stronger than ever. He is the joint leading wicket taker with 9 at a strike rate of 16 in four games so far. He has made the most of his opportunities while Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali are being rested, and will have an eye on nailing down a World Cup spot as soon as possible.Tarisai Musakanda was tipped to be captain for the tri-series and this bilateral contest against Pakistan. While in the end the job went to the vastly more experienced Hamilton Masakadza, Musakanda has shown glimpses of what he could offer Zimbabwe in the long term. Frustratingly for Zimbabwe, most of his contributions have been in the form of cameos; he has reached double figures in all but one of the last eight innings, but only once crossed 40. You could chalk it down to inexperience, but Zimbabwe desperately need a standout performance to have a chance of pushing Pakistan in this final game, and have something positive to take away from a nightmare series.Zimbabwe don’t have too many options on the bench that are likely to make a difference, or they’d have tried them out by now. They have lost with each combination they tried, evry game more convincingly than the last. They may make one or two changes, but a change in the result would be one of the upsets of the year.Pakistan played two combinations across four games, and have played nearly every batting reserve on the bench other than Mohammad Hafeez and Haris Sohail - who had to return home after his daughter’s illness. Mohammad Nawaz is the only bowler unused throughout the ODIs. There is a chance Hafeez and Nawaz could be given a chance, but Pakistan are doing so well anything they do looks like it might come offTeams: Pakistan (possible): Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik/Mohammad Hafeez, Asif Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Yasir Shah, Junaid Khan/Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan.Zimbabwe (possible): Hamilton Masakadza (capt), Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Tarisai Musakanda, Ryan Murray (wk), Peter Moor, Elton Chigumbura, Donald Tiripano, Liam Roche, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarbani, Tendai Chisoro.

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MUMBAI: Indian nationals Manesh Jain and Imran Muskan Shimji were named in South African court papers relating to former cricketer Gulam Bodi’s appearance on nine counts of corruption in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court just over a week ago.The state did not oppose Bodi’s bail (set at R3000) but prosecutor Willem van Zyl set certain pre-conditions for the former professional cricketer: his passport was confiscated and he was prevented from contacting any of the players he recruited.In January 2016, Bodi was suspended for 20 years by Cricket South Africa (CSA) for his role as a recruiting agent who linked Indian betting syndicates with South African domestic cricketers playing in the RAM SLAM T20 the previous December.It appears as though Jain and Shimji played the role of intermediaries, reaching out to Bodi and introducing him to India-based illegal betting syndicates. Bodi visited India in August 2015 - a couple of months before the South African season was due to begin - to meet with Jain, Shimji and syndicate members.While in India he was told that players participating in spot-fixing could expect to earn between R600000 - R700000 (~ 44000 - 52000 USD) per match. They were also promised luxury watches. Bodi himself was offered R150000 (~ 11000 USD) per match.When he returned from India, Bodi busied himself recruiting. He’d played his last first-class cricket for the Lions towards the end of the 2014/15 season and still had friends in the Lions dressing-room. It emerged later that five of the six other players implicated in the spot-fixing scams and subsequent subterfuge were Lions. The other, Ethy Mbhalati, was nearing the end of a long and loyal career at the Titans.Bodi used August and September to meet with players he thought would be pre-disposed to his overtures. He met some off them in car-parks, some in Portuguese-themed grilled chicken outlets and some in strip clubs in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg. During the Africa T20, a pre-season tournament played by semi-professional South African teams at a variety of smaller venues, he approached Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Craig Alexander.Both were playing for KwaZulu-Natal Inland at the time, and, in approaching them, Bodi made the first of several mistakes. Van Jaarsveld reported the overtures to Cricket South Africa’s anti-corruption unit. The unit was therefore alerted and they prepared themselves for the start of the RAM SLAM T20 due to take place later that year.Two early matches in the tournament - the Lions away to the Dolphins at Kingsmead, and the Lions at home in Potch to the Titans - have since been identified as problematic. An unnamed spectator with a real-time betting platform on his mobile phone was escorted out of the ground in Potch, with a player’s father capturing the incident on his cell phone camera.The match was low-scoring, the Lions only managing 115 batting first, with Thami Tsolekile scoring 58 of them. In reply, the Titans stumbled to 117 for six, winning by four wickets. “Something about that match just didn’t feel right from the beginning,” commented a Titans player afterwards.

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LAHORE: Opener Fakhar Zaman will be looking to yet another record when Pakistan will take on Zimbabwe in the last match of the five-match series at Bulawayo on Sunday (today).The match will begin at 12:15pm. The visitors lead the five-match series 4-0.Fakhar Zaman, who became the first Pakistani batsman to score a double century in ODIs, requires just 20 runs to become the fastest batsman to reach 1,000 runs in one-day cricket.Pakistan won the first game of the series by 201 runs and went on to take a 2-0 lead by beating Zimbabwe by nine wickets.The green shirts clinched the series after they won the third ODI by nine wickets. They went on to win the fourth ODI by 244 runs thanks to a record opening partnership of 304 runs by Fakhar Zaman and Imamul Haq.

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MENDE, France: Spaniard Omar Fraile ended Belgian hopes of a Tour de France victory on their national holiday with a gutsy, maiden victory on the race on the 14th stage Saturday.Britain’s Geraint Thomas, of Team Sky, retained the race leader’s yellow jersey after crossing the line with teammate Chris Froome and Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) just over 18 minutes in arrears.With four days of climbing in the Pyrenees yet to decide the outcome of the yellow jersey, the main peloton and all the race favourites were happy to allow an early breakaway escape in the opening kilometres.Intentions seemed clear on Belgium’s national holiday after seven Belgians got in among a group of 32 frontrunners including Philippe Gilbert and yellow jersey holder Greg Van Avermaet. But Astana rider Fraile, who claimed his maiden Giro d’Italia stage last year following a long breakaway, was desperate for a repeat.“It was one of the stages I had marked and when I saw the breakaway go, I told myself that I had to get in it,” he said.“It’s a dream. Soloing over the finish line was incredible.“I think when a cyclist wins on the Tour de France it’s fabulous. It’s the most important race in the world.“I dedicate this victory to my girlfriend, to my family and to all those who have supported me.”When Jasper Stuyven (Trek) capitalised on a mid-race spat between Gilbert and Fraile to break away on his own with over 30km to race, it looked like Belgium would have an extra reason to celebrate.But Stuyven, a one-day classics specialist who finished in the top ten of Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders earlier this season, fell victim to his lack of climbing prowess.He held a 1min 40sec lead on a group of chasers with 10km to race, with the main peloton and Thomas at over 20 minutes in arrears.But on the final, 3km climb leading to the flat finish at Mende Fraile launched an audacious counter-attack.The Spaniard dug deep on the climb, whose average gradient is a punishing 10.1 %, and soon had Stuyven in his sights.When he overtook Stuyven with two kilometres to race, Fraile did not look back.He came over the finish line with room to spare, finishing six seconds ahead of Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Quick Step), with Stuyven in third place.

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DARWIN, Australia: Banished opening batsman David Warner says he is looking to be part of Australia’s World Cup defence in England next year after his first hit-out at home on Saturday.The pugnacious Warner smacked 36 runs off 32 balls in the Northern Territory Strike League in Darwin as he searches for match practice to gear for his return to top-level cricket early next year.Warner, 31, was handed a one-year ban from international and state cricket by Cricket Australia for his role in helping to devise a plan to rub sandpaper on the ball during a Test match against South Africa in March.He had pledged to play in the cricket outpost while he was involved in community coaching work earlier this year as part of the terms of his ban, and made good his offer in his side City Cyclones’ comfortable win against Northern Tide in a 50-over fixture.“I’m pretty good when I’m fresh,” Warner told reporters.“If you look at the last 12 months, I played basically every game (for Australia) and didn’t get a rest.“I had a five-day turnaround before the first Test in South Africa and I led the team in (the T20 tri-series in Australia and) New Zealand when some of the other guys had a rest.“So I know that the breaks do me (good), and you don’t lose form overnight.”

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BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed hailed “a great performance” after his team sealed a series win by strolling to a nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the third One-day International on Wednesday.Seamer Faheem Ashraf was the pick of a bristling Pakistani attack, taking a career-best five for 22 as the hosts were skittled for just 67.Opener Fakhar Zaman then continued his good run of form to see Pakistan home in the 10th over with an unbeaten 43.“First of all, a great performance,” said Sarfraz.“Faheem is getting better day by day. He’s an all-rounder, and we need him.”Once again Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bat first, but their slide began as early as the second over.Prince Masvaure, on his debut, was caught out by a lifter from Usman Khan and Zimbabwe were under immediate pressure at 1 for 1.The hosts were wobbling at 26 for 3 when Faheem came on as first change in the 10th over, and he quickly had Peter Moor brilliantly caught in the slips by Babar Azam before trapping Chamu Chibhabha leg before wicket with a skidding full delivery.He then had Elton Chigumbura caught behind and bowled Ryan Murray as Zimbabwe slipped to a perilous 54 for 8.Tail-enders Wellington Masakadza and Blessing Muzarabani clung on for seven overs, but leg-spinner Shadab Khan eventually removed Muzarabani with a googly and Faheem then returned to end the innings with a pinpoint yorker.That delivery clean bowled number 11 Richard Ngarava, giving Faheem his maiden international five-wicket haul.Zimbabwe’s 67 was their lowest ever total against Pakistan, and the lowest score ever recorded in 78 ODIs at Queens Sports Club.“I try to bowl in good areas and a stump to stump line,” said Faheem.“Our bowling coach [Azhar Mahmood] puts in a lot of effort. He’s really helped us to get better, and a lot of credit for my first five-for in international cricket goes to him.”In response, Pakistan lost Imam-ul-Haq to the first ball of the chase, gloving a quick bouncer from Muzarabani through to wicketkeeper Ryan Murray. Fakhar was also struck on the grille of his helmet by a short one from Ngarava, but he quickly recovered his composure and ended the match in a flurry of boundaries.He struck seven fours in the space of 10 deliveries to seal the match and give Pakistan an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. “A bit of a disaster really,” said Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza.“Today we’ve gone quite a long way backwards, but these things happen in cricket. As a batting group, we have a lot of hard questions to ask ourselves,” he said.“The main thing is to stay positive, because once you go in that direction and get down on yourself it’s very hard to come back.”The teams will play two further matches, on Friday and Sunday, at the same ground.Zimbabwe won tossZimbabweP Masvaure c Sarfraz b Usman 1C Chibhabha lbw b Faheem 16*H Masakadza c Yasir b Junaid 10T Musakanda c Sarfraz b Junaid 0P Moor c Babar b Faheem 1†R Murray b Faheem 8E Chigumbura c Sarfraz b Faheem 9T Chisoro b Yasir 0W Masakadza not out 10B Muzarabani lbw b Shadab 4R Ngarava b Faheem 1Extras (lb3, w4) 7Total (all-out, 25.1 overs) 67Fall: 1-1, 2-18, 3-25, 4-29, 5-32, 6-42, 7-43, 8-54, 9-66, 10-67Bowling: Junaid 5-1-7-2; Usman 4-0-19-1; Faheem 8.1-2-22-5; Yasir 7-2-10-1; Shadab 1-0-6-1PakistanImam-ul-Haq c Murray b Muzarabani 0Fakhar Zaman not out 43Babar Azam not out 19Extras (w7) 7Total (1 wicket, 9.5 overs) 69Did not bat: Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, *†Sarfraz Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Yasir Shah, Junaid Khan, Usman KhanFall: 1-0Bowling: Muzarabani 5-0-43-1; Ngarava 4.5-0-26-0Result: Pakistan won by 9 wicketsMan of the Match: Faheem Ashraf (Pakistan)Umpires: Jeremiah Matibiri (Zimbabwe), Ian Gould (England). TV umpire: Iknow Chabi (Zimbabwe). Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s sports minister called on the International Cricket Council to establish “simple, clear rules” Wednesday after skipper Dinesh Chandimal was punished for ball tampering.“Laws governing the offence / act of altering the condition of the ball are somewhat vague and lack clarity,” Faiszer Musthapha said in a statement.“I invite the ICC to revisit the applicable laws and ensure that a set of simple, clear and certain rules and procedures are put in place.”He did not elaborate but the statement came after Chandimal, coach Chandika Hathurusingha and manager Asanka Gurusinha were sanctioned following a tampering scandal.Chandimal refused to take the field for two hours on the third day of the second Test against the West Indies last month after he was accused of ball tampering on the previous day.Chandimal as well as Hathurusingha and Gurusinha were banned for two Tests and four one-day internationals for violating the spirit of the game by holding up the second Test against West Indies by two hours.At the start of the first Test against a touring South African team last week, Chandimal and his tourist counterpart Faf du Plessis said they wanted a list of do’s and don’ts from the ICC match referee.Although the use of saliva or sweat to shine the ball is an accepted practice, using any other substance — such as sugary residue from sweets — is prohibited. Chandimal was slapped with a 100 percent fine of his match fees and banned from the third Test against the West Indies last month after he was found guilty of tampering.Match referee Javagal Srinath said Chandimal applied saliva containing the residue of something he had in his mouth to the ball, in violation of the ICC Code of Conduct.The ICC last week unveiled tougher sanctions for ball tampering and sledging in a bid to improve on-field behaviour in the sport.The changes came in the wake of a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March that saw Steve Smith stripped of the Australian captaincy and suspended from international and domestic cricket for a year. His teammates David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were also banned.Du Plessis said tougher sanctions would make players think twice before putting something in their mouth and then using saliva to shine the ball.

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