Germany, France tackle in Rio, mingle in City

July 4, 2014

Franco-GermanyBangalore, Jul 4: The edgy Franco-German FIFA World Cup quarter-final may just be hours away from a gala kick-off. But the power-packed European football rivalry has taken a friendly twist in Namma Bengaluru: Revving up the football spirit manifold, the city’s German and French Consulates have teamed up to show the match in double big screen glory. Entry is restricted.

Bangalore’s German and French expats couldn’t have asked for more: An evening peppered with the best of football action, cheering fans glued to every move of the likes of Karim Benzema and Thomas Mueller, and an atmosphere electric enough to mimic Rio!

German passion

Spirited and passionate, a predominantly German crowd had egged on every pass, every goal, at the June 16 Germany-Portugal match screening at the same hotel. Germany had won handsomely, thumping their rivals 4-0 as fans in team jerseys waved their tricolour.

But the organisers, the German Consulate, couldn’t stop the occasional applause for the Portuguese. Amused, they looked around. And found scores of Indians, French, Spanish and East Asians clapping in unison.

Tackling an Indian invitee midfield, Jorn Rohde, the German Consul General had shot a query in lighter vein: “Who do you root for, Germany or Portugal? If Germany, stay. If Portugal, out you go!” Tongue-in-cheek, the poser floored the guest. Evading the red card, he shouted “Germany,” and stayed safe!

But that encounter might just have triggered this thought in Rohde’s mind:?Why not call the French, and ensure a fuller house, a louder cheer? The French Consul General in Bangalore, Eric Lavertu was game, and so were the French fans, hundreds of them.

Beckoning the fans, the Consul Generals shot off invitations galore: “Warm up from 8:30 pm. Kick-off at 9:30 pm. Casual or team jersey, be there to cheer!”

Over 400 turned up for the June 16 screening. Friday’s fanfare could beat that figure hands down. For, the French would not want a repeat of their 1986 heartbreak. In that Mexican city of Guadalajara, the Germans had beaten them 2-0. But the Germans could not carry that semi-final victory march beyond Maradona and his Argentine team in solid defence.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Potchefstroom, Feb 10: India's under-19 cricket team manager Anil Patel says the ICC has taken a serious view of the aggressive celebrations by Bangladesh players after their World Cup triumph and will be reviewing the footage of the final game's "last few minutes".

Some Bangladeshi players got carried away while celebrating their historic three-wicket win over India in the final on Sunday. While their captain Akbar Ali apologised for the "unfortunate incident", his Indian counterpart Priyam Garg said their reaction was "dirty".

"We don't know what actually happened," Patel told 'ESPNCricinfo' on Sunday.

"Everybody was in a shock, absolutely, but we don't know what happened exactly. The ICC officials are going to watch the footage of the last few minutes and they are going to let us know," he said.

Even when the match was on, the Bangladesh players were overly aggressive while fielding and their lead pacer Shoriful Islam sledged the Indian batsmen after every delivery.

As soon as the match ended, it became tense with Bangladeshi players rushing to the ground and displaying aggressive body language. The two teams nearly came to blows before the situation was defused by the coaching staff and on-field officials.

Patel claimed that match referee Graeme Labrooy met him and expressed regret at what transpired on the field.

"The referee came to me. He was sorry about the incident. He clarified the ICC is going to take very seriously what has happened during the match and the last session. They are going to witness the footage and they will tell us in the morning (Monday)."

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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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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