Double Delight For Cristiano Ronaldo As Portuguese Star Welcomes Twins

Agencies
June 30, 2017

Jun 30: Portugal's superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo revealed on Thursday he will not play in the FIFA Confederations Cup third-place match this weekend so he can finally meet his newborn twins.Rdino1

Hours after Wednesday's 3-0 semi-final defeat to Chile in a penalty shoot-out in Kazan, Ronaldo said he had been given permission to miss Sunday's play-off in Moscow, against either Germany or Mexico, and jetted off to meet his new arrivals. On Thursday, Ronaldo posted a picture on both Instagram and Facebook of him with a baby on each arm.

"So happy to be able to hold the two new loves of my life," he wrote.

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Ronaldo, 32, is believed to have fathered the twins with a surrogate mother in the United States.

He already has a seven-year-old son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jnr, who was also born using a surrogate mother.

According to the Portuguese press, the twins, Mateo and Eva, were born on June 8 and their mother, who lives on the west coast of the United States, received 200,000 euros ($228,610).

The four-time Ballon d'Or winner usually goes to great lengths to guard his privacy, but revealed he has become a father for the second time.

The Real Madrid forward says he gave his "body and soul" for his country in the semi-final, which finished goalless after extra time, "even though my two children were born".

"The President of the Portuguese Football Federation and the national coach have an attitude that has touched me and I will not forget," Ronaldo wrote on his official Facebook page.

"I'm very happy to finally be with my children for the first time."

At the same time, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said in a statement that Ronaldo had been excused from playing the third-place play-off in Moscow.

FPF president Fernando Gomes and Portugal's head coach Fernando Santos decided to "free the player so that he can finally get to know his children".

According to the press in Portugal, Ronaldo could be set to expand his brood further in the coming months as his Spanish girlfriend, Georgina Rodriguez, 22, is reportedly pregnant.

As well as meeting his newborn babies, Ronaldo faces an uncertain future having threatened to leave Spain as he faces allegations of tax evasion, totalling 14.7 million euros, in a court in Madrid next month.

Ronaldo made himself unavailable to the press at the Confed Cup while his team-mates and Santos regularly fielded questions from journalists about their superstar.

The answer was always the same: "Ronaldo is a true professional and focused on helping Portugal at the tournament", which he did with two goals and an assist.

Having won man-of-the-match awards in each of their three Confed Cup group stage games, Ronaldo did not have his best match against Chile, whose defence managed to subdue the Real star.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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Agencies
June 23,2020

Belgrade, June 23: Novak Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus on Tuesday after taking part in a tennis exhibition series he organized in Serbia and Croatia.

The top-ranked Serb is the fourth player to test positive for the virus after first playing in Belgrade and then again last weekend in Zadar, Croatia.

His wife also tested positive. “The moment we arrived in Belgrade we went to be tested. My result is positive, just as Jelena's, while the results of our children are negative," Djokovic said in a statement.

Djokovic has been criticized for organizing the tournament and bringing in players from other countries amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Viktor Troicki said Tuesday that he and his pregnant wife have both been diagnosed with the virus, while Grigor Dimitrov, a three-time Grand Slam semifinalist from Bulgaria, said Sunday he tested positive.

Borna Coric played Dimitrov on Saturday in Zadar and said Monday he has also tested positive. There were no social distancing measures observed at the matches in either country and Djokovic and other players were seen hugging each other and partying in night clubs and restaurants after the matches.

 “Everything we did in the past month, we did with a pure heart and sincere intentions,” Djokovic said.

“Our tournament meant to unite and share a message of solidarity and compassion throughout the region.” Djokovic, who has previously said he was against taking a vaccine for the virus even if it became mandatory to travel, was the face behind the Adria Tour, a series of exhibition events that started in the Serbian capital and then moved to Zadar.

He left Croatia after the final was canceled and was tested in Belgrade. The statement said Djokovic was showing no symptoms.

Despite the positive test, Djokovic defended the exhibition series. “It was all born with a philanthropic idea, to direct all raised funds towards people in need and it warmed my heart to see how everybody strongly responded to this,” Djokovic said.

"We organized the tournament at the moment when the virus has weakened, believing that the conditions for hosting the Tour had been met. “Unfortunately, this virus is still present, and it is a new reality that we are still learning to cope and live with.”

Djokovic said he will remain in self-isolation for 14 days and also apologized to anyone who became infected as a result of the series. Organizers of the Adria Tour said the third stage of the event, scheduled to held next week in Bosnia, has been cancelled.

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Agencies
March 14,2020

Sydney, Mar 14: New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson has been placed under 24-hour isolation amid the fears of coronavirus after he reported a sore throat following the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series against Australia in Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) which the hosts won by 71 runs.

"In accordance with recommended health protocols, Lockie Ferguson has been placed in isolation at the team hotel for the next 24 hours after reporting a sore throat at the end of the first ODI," said New Zealand Cricket in a statement.

"Once the test results are received and diagnosed, his return to the team can be determined," it added.

The first ODI of the Chappell-Hadlee series was played in front of empty stands as the spectators were not allowed to be at SCG as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, Australian fast bowler, Kane Richardson was also tested for the coronavirus, after suffering from a sore throat on Thursday. That saw him left out of the squad for Friday's game but the test was negative.

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