SPORTS CAFE
football coach Stimac's contract extended
NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Technical Committee on Friday decided to extend National Team head coach Igor Stimac's contract till September 2021. Henry Menezes, Deputy Chairman, Technical Committee of AIFF chaired a meeting via video conferencing on Friday.
Shooting coaches to stay during Olympics NEW DELHI: Rifle coach Oleg Mikhailov and pistol coach Pavel Smirnov will be the only instructors staying with Indian shooters for the entire duration of Tokyo Olympics, with the others serving the team in turns as per a ruling necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A source in the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) on Friday said that the coaching staff will constitute only 30 per cent of the whole squad in the upcoming sporting extravaganza, scheduled to be held in the Japanese capital from July 23 to August 8. Gangjee opens with 69 in Mizuno Open
OKAYAMA: India's Rahil Gangjee holed two late birdies for a solid 3-under 69 start and a tied 27th position in the first round of the 'Gateway to The Open' Mizuno Open on the Japan Tour here. The 42-year-old one-time winner on the Japan Tour had six birdies against three bogeys at the JFE Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama Prefecture. Gokulam extend Afghan Sharif's contract
KOZHOKODE: Gokulam Kerala FC have extended the contract of their midfielder from Afghanistan, Sharif Mukhammad, for the upcoming I-League season, the club announced on Friday. The midfielder played a pivotal role in his team clinching its maiden I-League title last season. The defensive midfielder scored four goals in the 14 matches. He was also the anchor in Italian coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese's attacking style with a whopping 799 passes, said the club in a statement. Juventus sack coach Pirlo
TURIN: Serie A club Juventus on Friday sacked manager Andrea Pirlo af ter just one season as head coach. The Italian club in August last year had appointed Pirlo as the head coach of the side. The season was not smooth sailing for Juventus and Pirlo as the side was knocked out of the Champions League 2020-21 pretty early on and they also failed to win the Serie A. Netherlands goalkeeper tests positive THE HAGUE: Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen will not travel with the national team to a pre-European Championship training camp in Portugal af ter testing positive for COVID-19, the Dutch soccer association said Friday. The Valencia goalkeeper is symptom-free and medical staff are closely monitoring his condition. Nike parts ways with Neymar: Report
OREGON: Brazilian striker Neymar Jr. and sportswear giant Nike ended their partnership because the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star "refused to cooperate" in an investigation into sexual assault allegations leveled against him by an employee. In 2020, Neymar's 15-year-long association with Nike came to an end. The company had signed on with the Brazilian striker when he was just 13-years-old. Judge issues travel ban on suspects
BUENOS AIRES: An Argentine judge imposed an international travel ban on seven health professionals who cared for Diego Maradona in the days before his death. Maradona died of a heart attack aged 60 last November, less than a month af ter undergoing surger y to remove a blood clot in his brain. Djokovic survives qualifer’s scare
BELGRADE: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was stretched to three sets by Slovakian qualifier Andrej Martin in the semi-finals before the Serbian made it to the Belgrade Open final here on Friday. The 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 win helped Djokovic secure his maiden entr y into the ATP Tour final on home soil since 2011.