Cristiano Ronaldo inspires everyone, he is on another level: Virat Kohli

Agencies
August 2, 2019

Zurich, Aug 2: An avid football fan, India cricket captain Virat Kohli says he draws inspiration from Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo as he successfully took up more challenges than his iconic Argentine contemporary Lionel Messi with an "unmatched" work ethic.

Ronaldo and Kohli have defied fitness scales to not just set new standards for themselves but also set benchmarks for those around.

"For me, Cristiano is above everyone else. His commitment and work ethic is unmatched. He wants it that bad - you can see it every game. I support every club at which he plays. He inspires me," Kohli, who is currently in Florida for a T20I series against the West Indies, told 'FIFA.com'.

Joining the never-ending Messi vs Ronaldo debate, Kohli said for him, the Portuguese captain has had a better career than the Barcelona talisman.

"In my opinion Ronaldo has taken on more challenges and succeeded at all of them. He's the most complete player I have seen and his work ethic is unmatched. He inspires people. I don't think many people do that. He's also a leader and I love that. Absolutely love it. He has amazing belief too," he reasoned.

The India captain further divulged that growing up, he enjoyed watching Brazilian greats Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, former German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, Messi, Croatia skipper Luka Modric and the Spanish World Cup winning duo of Andres Iniesta, and Xavi.

The 30-year-old revealed that his favourite football memories include watching the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

"Brazil was amazing to watch in 1998 and 2002. I saw Ronaldo - 'The Phenomenon', play and was totally blown away by his skill and ability on the ball. One of the greatest ever.

"I like watching Portugal play now because they are maximising their resources along with having a legend in their team. They play with passion and belief, so I like watching them. Otherwise, in terms of pure ability and impact, France are very, very strong."

Lauding the efforts of Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri, Kohli said he was very optimistic about India's chances of qualifying for the football World Cup.

"We are not far off. We have improved drastically in our football over the last three-four years. With new talent coming in to make the difference, and our skipper Sunil Chhetri leading the team with amazing composure and inspiration.

"If anyone deserves it (to play in the World Cup), it's him. And the team should rally behind that motivation and qualify, and dedicate it to him. He's an absolute champion and an inspirational human being," Kohli said.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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News Network
January 23,2020

Dhaka, Jan 23: Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, who is part of the Bangladesh squad traveling to Pakistan, posted a cryptic tweet before team's departure which raised a few eyebrows.

On Wednesday evening, Rahman took to Twitter to post a selfie along with his teammates before the team's departure and asked his followers to pray for them, writing: "Heading to Pakistan. Remember us in your prayers."

Bangladesh were earlier reluctant to travel to Pakistan. However, the officials of both the teams met in Dubai and it was after many deliberations, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) agreed to send their team for a cricket series.

Bangladesh will be playing three T20Is, two Tests and an ODI in Pakistan between January and April. The T20I series will be played from January 24-27 in Lahore, followed by the first Test from February 7 to 11.

Bangladesh will then return to Pakistan in April for the one-off ODI which will be played on April 3 and the second Test from April 5-9.

Senior players like Mushfiqur Rahim decided against traveling to Pakistan citing personal reasons. After that, five members of the Bangladesh coaching staff also pulled out of the tour.

Pakistan have also recalled the experienced duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik, along with pacer Shaheen Afridi for the T20I series.

Squads:

Bangladesh: Mahmudullah (Captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Naim Sheikh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Kumer Das, MD Mithun, Afif Hossain Dhrubo, Mahedi Hasan, Aminul Islam Biplob, Mustafizur Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Al-Amin Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Hasan Mahmud.

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir.

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Agencies
March 25,2020

Lausanne, Mar 25: The World Archery has hailed as a 'brave decision' the International Olympic Committee (IOC) move to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics until next year due to coronavirus pandemic.

"We commend the conscientious and brave decision taken by Tokyo 2020 and the International Olympic Committee to delay this summer's Games in the face of an unprecedented challenge to humanity," Ugur Erdener, the World Archery president, said in an official statement.

The decision to postpone the Summer Olympics was confirmed by the IOC, on Tuesday, after the organising body for the event and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to reschedule the quadrennial event in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is not an easy situation, especially for the athletes who had been training hard for Tokyo 2020. I hope that everyone understands why this decision has been made and I urge archers around the world to retain hope and reset for this new timetable," he added.

The IOC has, however, said that the original name of Tokyo 2020 will remain intact irrespective of the fact that it will take place next year.

The Tokyo Olympic Games were slated to be held from July 24 to August 9.

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