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Colombia seal World Cup berth with fightback

October 12, 2013

Colombia_World_CupMontevideo, Oct 12: Colombia pulled off an amazing fightback to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998 on Friday, rallying from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw against 10-man Chile in a six-goal thriller.

Monaco striker Radamel Falcao was the hero for the home side, keeping his cool to convert two late penalties as Colombia grabbed the point they needed to be certain of qualifying for next year's finals in Brazil.

Brazil qualify automatically for the tournament as hosts, while Argentina had already confirmed their qualification last month.

Falcao's 84th-minute leveller capped an extraordinary turnaround for Jose Pekerman's Colombia, who had looked dead and buried inside the opening half hour after Chile raced to a 3-0 lead.

However the sending off of Chile's Carlos Carmona for two bookable offences midway through the second half was to be the catalyst for a remarkable comeback.

Teofilo Gutierrez pulled a goal back on 69 minutes to make it 3-1 before Falcao's late show gave Colombia a share of the points.

Chile had earlier looked certain to be heading for a win which would have seen them guarantee their ninth World Cup finals appearance after a flying start at a ground where Colombia had won their five previous matches.

Juventus star Arturo Vidal fired Chile into the lead on 19 minutes, sending Colombia keeper David Ospina the wrong way with a perfectly placed spot-kick to silence the home crowd.

Barcelona winger Alexis Sanchez then doubled the Chileans' lead three minutes later before adding a close-range second to make it 3-0 on 29 minutes.

Despite the disappointment of failing to wrap up qualification, Chile remain firmly on course for Brazil after results elsewhere worked in their favour.

Ecuador's 1-0 win over Uruguay in Quito means that Chile need only a point from their final game, against Ecuador in Santiago next Tuesday, to qualify.

Ecuador, too, will guarantee their place with a draw against the Chileans, making it highly likely that Uruguay will now have to settle for fifth and a play-off against Asian minnows Jordan to reach the World Cup.

Ecuador stayed on course for their first appearance at the World Cup since the 2006 finals in Germany with a hard-fought win over the Uruguayans.

The game's decisive goal came in the 30th minute, when Jefferson Montero tapped in from close-range after a surging run and low cross from the right flank by Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia.

Ecuador's margin of victory should have been more comfortable but for a dreadful refereeing decision which denied them a clear a second goal through substitute Joao Rojas on 74 minutes.

Rojas rounded Fernando Muslera and tucked away a cool finish after following up a long-range effort only to be ruled offside. Replays subsequently showed two Uruguayan defenders were playing Rojas onside however by several yards.

Uruguay's defeat means that the 2010 World Cup semi-finalists must beat already qualified Argentina in Montevideo to have any chance of pipping Ecuador or Chile for an automatic qualifying place.

But even a win against Argentina will be academic if Chile and Ecuador combine for a mutually beneficial draw which will guarantee their qualification.

Argentina meanwhile warmed up for their showdown with rivals Uruguay with another comfortable victory.

Despite the absence through injury of captain Lionel Messi, Argentina notched a 3-1 win over Peru in Buenos Aires.

Peru took the lead through Claudio Pizarro but Argentina hit back with a brace from Ezequiel Lavezzi and a Rodrigo Palacio effort.

In the other South American qualifying game on Friday, Venezuela wrapped up their campaign with a 1-1 draw against eliminated Paraguay. Luis Seijas equalized for Venezuela after Edgar Benitez had given Paraguay a first-half lead.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Kuala Lampur, Jan 9: Saina Nehwal and reigning world champion P V Sindhu produced dominating performances to progress to the women's singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Sixth seed Sindhu notched up a commanding 21-10 21-15 victory over Japan's Aya Ohori in a pre-quarterfinal match lasting just 34 minutes. It was Sindhu's ninth successive win over Ohori.

The 24-year-old Indian, who won the World Championships in Basel last year, will take on world number 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals after the Chinese Taipei shuttler got the better of South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun 21-18 16-21 21-10.

Saina, who had won the Indonesia Masters last year before going through a rough patch, dispatched eight seed An Se Young of South Korea 25-23 21-12 after a thrilling 39-minute contest to make the last eight.

This is Saina's first win over the South Korean, who got the better of the Indian in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year.

The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next take on Olympic champion Carolina Marin.

Saina had defeated Lianne Tan of Belgium 21-15 21-17 in the opening round on Wednesday.

In the men's singles, India's challenge ended after both Sameer Verma and HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.

While Verma lost to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 19-21 20-22, Prannoy was shown the door by top seed Kento Momota of Japan 14-21 16-21.

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News Network
March 2,2020

Christchurch, Mar 2: India captain Virat Kohli on Monday said the under-fire Rishabh Pant has got a "lot of chances" but the team is not looking to try someone else in the youngster's place just yet as one player can't be singled out in a collective failure.

Pant has been under the scanner for the past one year because of his inconsistent run. His tally of 60 runs across four innings in the 0-2 Test series loss to New Zealand, which concluded here on Monday, has only amplified the debate whether it was prudent to leave out a keeper of Wriddhiman Saha's calibre and back Pant.

"...we have given him (Pant) a lot of chances in the home season as well starting from Australia. Then he was not playing for a bit. In turn he really worked hard on himself," Kohli came to Pant's defence after the series here.

"You need to figure out when is the right time to give someone else a chance. If you push people too early, they can lose confidence," he added.

"...collectively, we didn't perform. I don't believe in singling him out. We take the hit together as a group whether it's the batting group or as a team."

When asked if he believes Pant has taken his place in the side for granted, Kohli made it clear that the culture of this team doesn't encourage anyone to think along those lines.

"I don't see anyone taking his place for granted in this team. That's the culture we have set. People are told to take responsibilities and work hard. Whether it happens or not is a different thing. Then you can have a conversation with the players," he said.

"But no one has come here thinking I am going to play every game or I am indispensable," he added in no uncertain terms.

Kohli, just like head coach Ravi Shastri, made it clear that Pant can make a difference in overseas conditions and he won't like to deviate during future tours.

"The time that he didn't play, he really worked hard on his game. So we thought this is the right time because of his game and the way he plays because he can make a difference lower down the order.

"That was our planning behind it. We can't really fluctuate when it comes to what we planned," he added.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi Jul 30: After Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal's ban was reduced to 18 months, Danish Kaneria criticised Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) policies and said that the 'zero tolerance policy' applies only to him.

"Zero Tolerance policy only apply on Danish Kaneria not on others, can anybody answer the reason why I get life ban not others, Are policy applies only on cast, colour, and powerful background. I am Hindu and proud of it that's my background and my dharma," Kaneria tweeted.

Earlier on Wednesday, Akmal's three-year suspension was reduced to 18 months by an independent adjudicator, former Pakistan Supreme Court judge, Faqir Mohammad Khokhar.

On April 27, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Panel, Justice (retd) Fazal-e-Miran Chauhan, had banned the wicketkeeper-batsman for three years after finding him guilty of breaching the PCB's Anti-Corruption Code in two separate incidents.

Akmal, on May 19, filed an appeal against the three-year ban imposed on him, seeking a reduction in the duration of the sanction. He will remain suspended effectively from February 2020 till August 2021.

The batsman said he might appeal again to get the ban "reduced further".

"I am thankful to the judge for listening to my lawyers properly. I will decide about the remaining sentence and try to get it reduced further. For now I am not satisfied and will consult my lawyers and family how to take this ahead," ESPNcricinfo had quoted Akmal as saying.

"There are many players before me who made mistakes and just look at what they got and what I got. So all I say right now is thank you very much," he had added.

On the other hand, Kaneria was found guilty of spot-fixing while playing for English club Essex and was banned from the sport.

Earlier this month, Pakistan's cricket governing body 'advised' Kaneria to approach England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) if he wants to play domestic cricket after the cricketer had appealed to the PCB, seeking permission to play domestic cricket. 

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