Sports

MNA Sports Desk: Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will return to play for the national team for love of his country, despite earlier vowing to retire in frustration, he said on Friday. The 29-year-old Barcelona megastar sensationally announced his retirement from international football on June 26 after Argentina crashed to defeat against Chile in the Copa America Centenario final. “A lot of things went through my mind on the night of the final and I gave serious thought to quitting, but my love for my country and this shirt is too great,” he said in a statement. Argentina’s new coach was ...

MNA Sports Desk: The Olympic football team of Argentina made a quick exit from Brazil after being held to a 1-1 draw against Honduras on Wednesday. After starting their campaign with defeat to Portugal, Julio Olarticoechea’s men bounced back in the second match by beating Algeria 2-1. Argentina missed the chance to open the scoring when Angel Correa scuffed his spot kick wide nine minutes into the second half. Antony Lozano converted the second of two penalties for Honduras in the 75th minute and they held on to their advantage until the third minute of stoppage time when Mauricio Martinez ...

MNA Sports Desk: Michael Phelps gained his second gold medal and the 21st of his career as the US (United States) won the men’s 4×200 meters Olympic freestyle relay on Tuesday. It was the fourth successive US Olympic victory in the event. The most successful Olympian of all time swam the final leg to extend his career tally to a total of 26 medals, also including two silvers and two bronze. Earlier, he had won gold number 20 with victory in the 200m butterfly. In the 200-metre event he clocked 1:53.36, while in the relay, the team finished at 7:00.66. ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladeshi star Shakib Al Hasan bagged a brace as his team Jamaica Tallawahs became the first team to clinch the second CPL (Caribbean Premier League) tittle as they cantered to an easy nine-wicket victory over Guyana Amazon Warriors. Winning the toss, Tallawahs captain Chris Gayle opted to field first and his bowlers soon vindicated his decision, at the Warner Park in St Kitts on Sunday. An all-round effort from the bowlers led by Imad Wasim (3 for 21) meant Amazon Warriors were shot down for just 93 in 16.1 overs. In reply, Chris Gayle hammered a 27-ball ...

MNA Sports Desk: The opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games officially took place with a long and tremendous celebration of Brazilian culture in the Maracana Stadium. The leading images from the four-hour opening ceremony will be supermodel Giselle Bundchen’s catwalk across the pitch to ‘The Girl From Ipanema’, the joyous arrival of Brazil’s team and former marathon star Vanderlei de Lima lighting an Olympic cauldron. Rio 2016 has had a hard background with fears about the country’s capacity to afford it; Rio’s arrangements and sport’s authority in the face of a divisive doping crisis, but South America’s ...

MNA Sports Desk: Argentina named the new coach Edgardo Bauza to run the national team, as the nation seeks to regain its football prowess and persuade superstar Lionel Messi to return from early retirement. Bauza, 58-year-old, takes on the job after a solid season at Brazilian club Sao Paulo, which he coached to the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores. “We hope he will have the success we all need. We were in talks with a lot of people, and it seems Mr. Bauza is the best.” said Armando Perez, the president of Argentine Football Association (AFA). He told to a ...

MNA Sports Desk: Novak Djokovic beat Kei Nishikori and continued his supremacy with a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Sunday. After settling his 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, Djokovic directly started to turn his consideration to something more indefinable, an Olympic gold medal. In his first event since an upset third round loss to American Sam Querrey on the grass of Wimbledon four weeks ago, Djokovic paid back to his winning ways and became the first four-time champion of the Rogers Cup. Djokovic was boosted by a strong service show ...

MNA Sports Desk: Gabriel Barbosa scored an excellent individual goal as Neymar pay back to lead Brazil to a relaxed 2-0 victory over Japan in an Olympic warm-up game on Saturday. Santos striker, 19-year-old, who has been connected to European clubs including Juventus, gave Brazil a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute after an enthralling slalom through the Japan defence. The shot by the forward known to fans as “Gabigol” took a big glance on its way into the Japanese net but there was no denying the exciting burst of skill which shaped the opener. Neymar desperate to lead Brazil ...

MNA Sports Desk: Switzerland’s 17-time grand slam winner Roger Federer has declared to call an end to the existing season as he announced on Tuesday that he will miss the rest of the 2016 season including the forthcoming Olympic Games to be held here next month. “I’m extremely disappointed to announce that I will not be able to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games in Rio and that I will also miss the remainder of the season,” said the 34-year-old in a Facebook post. “Considering all options after consulting with my doctors and my team, I have made the very ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladeshi superstar and Sussex pace-man Mustafizur Rahman missed Sunday’s Royal London One Day Cup match against Gloucestershire due to a shoulder injury. The fast bowler was feeling pain during the last match, his second in the Natwest T20 Blast, which prompted his club to rest him for today’s game. “The previous shoulder pain has returned. I have met a physician here.” Mustafiz told to media over phone from England on Sunday. The Satkhira lad is scheduled to undergo a scan on his shoulder today or tomorrow. His teams and the fans need to wait till then. He ...

MNA Sports Desk: Usain Bolt delivered on his top billing by winning the 200 meters at the London Diamond League on Friday. Bolt, running his first 200 meters contest for a year in his last outing on the track before the Olympics, struggled for his normal rhythm as he labored to victory in 19.89 seconds. But the Jamaican was upstaged for once as American sprint hurdler Kendra Harrison broke one of the oldest world records in the book. She earned some consolation – as well as a $50,000 bonus – on Friday with a fabulous world record. After bringing a ...

MNA Sports Desk: Bangladeshi superstar Mustafizur Rahman failed to repeat his first match sparkling form on Friday as his team Sussex Sharks conceded a six-wicket defeat against Surrey. The youngster gave away 31 runs in 3.2 overs without any scalps to show and Chris Morris made things worse by hitting a six off a Mustafiz delivery to bring the victory. Batting first, Sussex could only manage 153 for 6 as Surrey bowlers, led by Morris and Jade Dernbach who bagged two wickets each, and Tom Curran, ran the rule. Craig Cachopa was the highest scorer with 45 while opener Chris ...

MNA Sports Desk: Diego Maradona wants to coach the national team of Argentina again for free of charge. Argentina has been without a coach since Gerardo Martino stepped down following last month’s loss to Chile in the final of the Copa America. Maradona previously coached Argentina from 2008 through to the 2010. World Cup, where the team reached the quarterfinals before losing 4-0 to Germany – a defeat that eventually cost him his job. He said that “If they said I could fix the team, I’d grab it and do it for nothing.” However, Maradona has not been stated in ...

MNA Sports Desk: Brazil’s intelligence agency, ABIN said on Tuesday that it was investigating all threats to next month’s Rio Olympics after a supposed Brazilian Islamist group promised loyalty to Islamic State (IS) less than three weeks before the Games. The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, and commonly known as Rio 2016, is a major international multi-sport event in the tradition of the Olympic Games due to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. The SITE Intelligence Group that observes the internet stated that a group calling ...

MNA Sports Desk: La Liga players lead this year’s Best Player in Europe shortlist, declared by the continent’s governing body UEFA on Monday, with seven of the top 10 candidates for the significant award presently plying their trade in Spain. European champions Real Madrid are represented by four players, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, while last year’s winner Lionel Messi and Barcelona team mate Luis Suarez, along with Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, are on the list. Italy’s veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon will be joined by Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer of Bayern Munich on the list, which features no ...

MNA Sports Desk: Pakistan beat England by 75 runs on the fourth day of their series opener after 20 years at Lord’s on Sunday. Pakistan prepared for Lord’s like they have never prepared before – and came away with one of the most famous wins in their history. Misbah-ul-Haq captained a disciplined Pakistan to one of their most famous ever wins at Lord’s. Pak seam bowler Mohammad Amir celebrates after bowling Stuart Broad during day four of the 1st Investec Test match between England and Pakistan. For the quietly determined Misbah, hard work has always been a non-negotiable. And, while ...

MNA Sports Desk: The Brazilian football legend Pele has produced a song celebrating the imminent Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, for the first Olympics ever in South America in 2016. The enormously famous star tweeted to social media earlier in the week to tease the Friday release on download sites. He posted a photo of himself with a laughing face before a microphone, saying that he was keen to release a song he had written called ‘Esperanca’ or ‘Hope.’ The lyrics of the attractive tune, on which Pele is escorted by a children’s chorus, promise a “Brazilian festival” that ...

MNA Sports Desk: Six years later, Mohammad Amir returned to the scene of the offense. The Pakistan pacer, Mohammad Amir, had purposely bowled no balls through the team’s tour of England in 2010. Soon after, he was banned and in 2011, had a criminal conviction to his name. On his return to Test cricket, he bowled 18 overs at Lord’s on Friday. In his first spell, Amir bowled eight overs, conceding 35 runs. His length was mostly short and England batsmen Alastair Cook and Joe Root enjoyed being on the receiving end. Amir failed to bring the ball back into ...

MNA Sports Desk: China will host a yearly international football tournament, with different national teams participating, opening from next year, entertainment and property corporation Dalian Wanda Group said Wednesday. The statement comes as Chinese Companies quick up foreign players and clubs as the country upsurges its effect on the international game. The FIFA-approved ‘China Cup’ will start in January 2017 with a four-game event containing China and three teams from Europe and the Americas, Wanda said in a statement. China presently languishes in 81st place in the FIFA world statuses, just behind Zambia and Jordan, and Wanda said that Chinese ...

MNA Sports Desk: Golfer Siddikur Rahman has become the first ever Bangladeshi to straight succeed for the Olympics Games after strengthening his status as one of the top 60 players for next month’s tournament in Rio de Janeiro. His place was ensured when he ended in 56th place in the rankings list revealed by the International Golf Federation on Monday. Bangladesh is the most crowded country never to have gained an Olympic medal and all previous applicants have had to trust on wildcards delivered by the International Olympic Committee and other global sports bodies. While numerous of the world’s top ...

MNA Sports Desk: France forward Antoine Griezmann has been declared as the Golden Boot winner of Euro 2016. He becomes the UEFA Euro 2016 Player of the Tournament, though the prize is limited solace for Les Bleus’ 1-0 final defeat by Portugal on Sunday night. Griezmann completed the event with the Golden Boot after counting six goals to support France reach the Stade de France final, having scored both goals in the in the semi-final win over Germany as well as netting twice in the comeback 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in the last 16. Griezmann was shamefaced ...

MNA Sports Desk: Andy Murray from the Great Britain wins second Wimbledon title on Sunday. As Andy Murray lead for the champion’s dinner at the Guildhall for the second time, three years after his first, he lastly had time to accurately savor the exclusive joy of owning not only the Wimbledon title, but the love of a nation, as well as his family. The glow of triumph gave him a more instant rush. He had widely beaten Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in two hours and 48 minutes, and Center Court belonged to him. The clapping that greeted ...

MNA Sports Desk: Eder’s extra-time goal saw Portugal beat host France 1-0 in Sunday’s Euro 2016 final to win their first major tournament for the journey on their road to glory. “It was not the final I wanted, but I am very happy. It is a trophy for all the Portuguese, for all immigrants, all the people who believed in us, so I am very happy and very proud.” Portuguese star Ronaldo said. “We said we would win it and we managed to do that.” He added later. Twelve years after dropping 1-0 to Greece as hosts of Euro 2004, ...

MNA Sports Desk: Portugal is prepared for ‘game of their lives’. Portugal’s players are considering Sunday’s Euro 2016 final as the game of their lives and a chance to go down in their country’s history, midfielder Joao Mario said Friday. The 23-year-old also shrugged off criticism that Portugal, who has won only one match inside 90 minutes at the tournament, had yet to sparkle. Portugal, expecting to win an international title for the first time, take on hosts France in Sunday’s final, 12 years after dropping at home to Greece in their only other major final. “I’m certain that the ...

MNA Sports Desk: Famous footballer Pele is set to marry for third time. Brazil football legend Pele is getting married on Tuesday for the third time, tying the knot with his girlfriend of six years, Marcia Cibele Aoki. Pele, 75-year-old, told O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that this time, he has found “love forever”. Pele and Aoki met in New York in the 1980s but only started seeing each other in 2010, when they crossed paths in an elevator in Sao Paulo. Aoki, a 42-year-old businesswoman, has been by the three-time world champion’s side for nearly all his public ...

MNA Sports Desk: Serena Williams touches the legend of world women’s tennis Steffi Graf with 22 major titles. Serena Williams confessed that it was a relief to finally settle a record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam title after the American star made history with her Wimbledon final victory against Angelique Kerber on Saturday. Williams had been on the edge of drawing level with Steffi Graf’s Open era record of major titles since winning Wimbledon in 2015. But her frustration was mounting after losing in the US Open semi-finals and then this year’s Australian and French Open finals. In her ninth Wimbledon final, ...

MNA Sports Desk: France faces Ronaldo in poignant Euro final. Cristiano Ronaldo’s battle-hardened Portugal, stand between hosts France and a cathartic conquest in Sunday’s Euro 2016 final at Stade de France. The sports ground was besieged by suicide bombers during France’s friendly against Germany last November in attacks across Paris that left 130 people deceased. Following a joyous semi-final victory over Germany, France aim to prevail in a third major final on home soil after the 1984 European Championship and 1998 World Cup. “There are lots of fervor and lots of joy and happiness in France,” France coach Didier Deschamps ...