Dortmund: A rampant Borussia Dortmund are by no means favourites to reach the Champions League final despite their crushing 4-1 win against nine-times winners Real Madrid, coach Juergen Klopp said on Wednesday. Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final as the Germans produced a stunning display of attacking football in the home first leg. Klopp played down his team's performance, saying...
08:54 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Dortmund: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho could not understand how his well-drilled side let Robert Lewandowski score four goals in Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 win on Wednesday but vowed that his team could still reach the Champions League final. The nine-times European champions have a huge task on their hands in Tuesday's home second leg after Mourinho acknowledged they had been outplayed in the semi-final first leg in Germany. "I saw...
08:51 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Dortmund: Robert Lewandowski scored four goals as Borussia Dortmund romped to a convincing 4-1 victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday and took a huge step toward the Champions League final. Dortmund's triumph in the first leg of the semi-final also lined up the prospect of an all-German final at Wembley Stadium on May 25, following Bayern Munich's 4-0 rout of Barcelona on Tuesday. The second leg matches will be played...
02:45 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Johannesburg: Cricket South Africa says JP Duminy is on course to be fit for the Champions Trophy after his six-month rehabilitation for a ruptured left Achilles tendon he sustained during a warm-down session last year. CSA says allrounder Duminy should return to full fitness by the end of May, just in time for the June 6-23 limited overs tournament in England and Wales. Duminy was injured on South Africa's test...
12:49 AM, Apr 25, 2013
Madrid: No team has ever advanced after losing the first leg of a European Cup tie by four goals. To Lionel Messi, that doesn't mean it can't be done. After he and Barcelona were mauled 4-0 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday, Messi said they must not give up hope for the return leg at the Camp Nou next week. That, he said, will be "a...
11:23 PM, Apr 24, 2013
London: England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy in June after a slower-than-expected recovery from a knee injury. However, England expects Pietersen to be back in full training by the "middle of June," making him available for the Ashes series against Australia that starts on July 10. The England and Wales Cricket Board says a repeat MRI scan on Pietersen's injured right knee "has shown...
10:41 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Karachi: Pakistani pacer Wahab Riaz believes the national team will not be haunted by the spot-fixing scandal when they go to England for the ICC Champions Trophy in June. Wahab was part of the Pakistan squad that was hit by the spot-fixing scandal in 2010 after the fourth Test at Lords, which led to the suspension of captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, followed by...
09:34 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Seoul: Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar will be making his 100th start on the Asian Tour when he tees off at the Ballantine's Championship, starting here Thursday. One of the growing stars of Asian golf, the 24-year-old has come a long way from the time he had made his debut on the Tour in 2007. Six years on, the four time Asian Tour winner is now getting ready for the Euro...
07:01 PM, Apr 24, 2013
You aren't a journalist if you don't speculate. So what if the speculation is about the world coming to an end after watching the world's best football club capitulate in a manner that might even shame the German defeat at Stalingrad? As sports fans and observers, we are often prone to hyperbole, but that may be excused if the matter up for debate is whether modern football's most decorated and...
04:53 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Madrid: Even Lionel Messi, so often Barcelona's saviour, was at a loss to explain how the La Liga leaders could come back from their Champions League semi-final mauling in Munich. Barca were thumped 4-0 away by an impressive Bayern Munich in their first leg on Tuesday, putting in one of their most toothless displays in recent memory. On Wednesday, they were greeted with newspaper headlines such as 'Historic beating' in...
04:11 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Charlotte: Tiger Woods is sticking to his long break after the Masters, meaning he will miss the Wells Fargo Championship next week. Asked about Woods not playing Quail Hollow this year, agent Mark Steinberg replied in an email, "Accurate." Woods typically takes three weeks off after the year's first major. Because of a change in scheduling this year, the Wells Fargo Championship is only two weeks after the Masters. Woods...
02:28 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Bayern Munich's 4-0 rout of Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday was partly down to two goals that should have been chalked off, said assistant coach Jordi Roura. Mario Gomez looked marginally offside when he turned in Thomas Mueller's header from close range for the second goal in the 49th minute. The two-goal Mueller also appeared to obstruct Jordi Alba when the full back attempted...
09:35 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. "They gave us a thrashing," he said. "We will try to turn it around in the return leg (on May 1) and put in a good performance for the fans. "They were better and faster than...
09:16 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Thomas Muller scored two goals as Bayern Munich dominated Barcelona on Tuesday to take a commanding 4-0 lead after the first leg of their highly anticipated Champions League semi-final. Muller scored in the first half and added another after Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben had also scored in the second half. It was Barcelona's biggest loss in the Champions League since 1997, and a humbling defeat for the team...
02:19 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has been given the all-clear to play in their Champions League semi-final first leg at Bayern Munich later on Tuesday after recovering from a hamstring strain, the La Liga club said. "The Argentine player has the green light from the doctors to take part in the crucial match against the German side," Barca said in a statement on their website (www.fcbarcelona.es). Messi, who sustained the...
11:02 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund's preparations for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final match against Real Madrid have been hit by news that their player is transferring to Bayern Munich at the end of the season. On the eve of what it calls "the most spectacular home game in Borussia Dortmund's history," the first leg has been overshadowed by Mario Goetze's decision to join Bayern on July 1. Bayern, which are triggering Goetze's reported...
05:03 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Berlin: An injury scare to Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski is unlikely to derail unbeaten Borussia Dortmund's focus ahead of their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid on Wednesday as they bid for their first final spot since 1997. Poland international Lewandowski, who scored for a 12th consecutive league game in their 2-0 win against Mainz 05 on Saturday, picked up a knock on his thigh but said...
02:46 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Young swimmer Bobby Rana returned home with two bronze medals (50m and 100m butterfly) in his bag, which he won at the World Schools Swimming Cup Championship under-18 (boys and girls) held in Herzilya (Israel). ...
12:05 PM, Apr 23, 2013
Munich: Mario Gomez has been waiting patiently for his opportunity. It may come in one of the biggest games of the season. Gomez is expected to return to Bayern Munich's starting lineup against Barcelona for the first leg of Champions League semifinals on Tuesday after spending most of the season playing as back-up to Mario Mandzukic. Mandzukic is suspended for the game and Gomez is the logical choice to step...
12:23 AM, Apr 23, 2013
New Delhi: Amit Kumar Dhankar delivered the last hurrah for India in the Senior Asian Wrestling Championship by clinching a gold, as the hosts finished with their best ever showing in the continental event on Monday. India emerged on top in freestyle category with two gold and as many bronze medals. Overall, India finished the championships with nine medals -- 2 gold, one silver and 6 bronze, their best ever...
10:04 PM, Apr 22, 2013
