Falcao-Ronaldo duel subplot to Madrid derby

November 30, 2012

ronaldo

Paris, November 30: Saturday's Madrid derby represents an opportunity for Atletico to upstage their city rivals and defending champions, Real, but the showdown also provides a chance for Radamel Falcao to outshine Cristiano Ronaldo.

The record goalscoring feats of Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi have largely overshadowed Falcao's prolific 15 months at the Vicente Calderon, but the Colombian will take centre stage alongside Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.

Despite Barcelona's remarkable start to the season, Atletico are just three points adrift of the Catalan giants after 13 matches, thanks in no small part to Falcao.

Not short on confidence, he admitted only victory would suffice on Saturday.

"We're not thinking about whether a draw would be a good result. We always want to win and deal with the challenges we encounter. It's a certain desire to win and beat your rivals," he said.

Falcao's irresistible form has drawn strong interest from Premier League giants Manchester City and Chelsea, with the latter discovering first-hand how lethal he can be following his treble against the European champions in August's UEFA Super Cup.

While Falcao's return of 24 league goals a year ago -- his first season in La Liga since leaving Porto -- paled in comparison to Ronaldo's haul of 46, the Colombian talisman has closed the gap considerably this season.

His 11 goals are just one goal shy of Ronaldo's tally, and Falcao further underlined his credentials by scoring in 11 straight matches between August and October.

Falcao has also transferred his remarkable form onto the international stage, netting five times in six World Cup qualifying matches for Colombia to put his country in a strong position to qualify for their first finals since 1998.

Akin to Ronaldo, "El Tigre" (The Tiger) is equally adept with either foot and a considerable presence in the air, despite his relative lack of size.

Similarly to the Portuguese star, who won the Champions League with Manchester United in 2008, Falcao is also no stranger to European success, having helped Porto lift the Europa League in 2011 -- two years after his move from River Plate -- scoring a record 17 goals in the competition.

Falcao ultimately appears destined for a big-money transfer in the not-so-distant future, much like Ronaldo, who swapped Manchester for Madrid three years ago in a world record 80 million pound move.



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News Network
July 21,2020

Jul 21: The tickets sold for the now-postponed ICC T20 World Cup will remain valid if Australia hosts the edition in 2021 instead of India.

In case the event is shifted to 2022, all ticket-holders will be entitled to a full refund, the ICC stated on its website on Monday night after postponing the mega-event this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The tournament was to be held in October-November but will now be conducted later because of the pandemic.

The ICC has not yet announced which country will host which edition as there are operational issues that both the Indian and Australian cricket Boards need to sort out.

The world body had opened ticket booking through its ticketing partners and a significant number was already sold.

"Ticket holders are welcome to retain their tickets, noting, if Australia hosts in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates.

"If Australia hosts in 2022, for tickets already bought a full refund will be processed automatically," ICC stated in a series of FAQs.

Fans can retain their tickets until a date is confirmed for the event.

Refund requests can be made until December 15 and they will be processed within 30 days after an online submission.

The hospitality package will also remain valid for the 2021 fixtures.

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News Network
March 29,2020

New Delhi, Mar 29: Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer on Sunday picked his all-time IPL team and appointed wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni as its captain.

Jaffer's team's feature opener Rohit Sharma, current Indian skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, spinner R Ashwin, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah as seven domestic players.
While the foreign players spot have been occupied by West Indies' swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle, all-rounder Andre Russell, Afghanistan's spinner Rashid Khan, and Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga.
Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been picked as 12th man by Jaffer.

Earlier this month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to postpone the IPL to April 15, 2020, as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
The board also assured that it will work in unison with the Sports Ministry and will adhere to the guidelines issued.

The 13th edition of IPL was scheduled to commence from March 29. 

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News Network
July 16,2020

Bhubaneswar: Jul 16: The Department of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Odisha on Thursday revealed that ace sprinter Dutee Chand has been given Rs 4.09 crore since 2015 and also appointed as Group-A officer in the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) currently drawing a gross salary of Rs 84,604 per month.

On Wednesday, Dutee clarified that she wants to sell her luxury car because she is unable to bear its maintenance cost and it will also aid her training for Tokyo Olympics.

The 24-year-old believes after selling her car she can use that money for training amid the shortage of money due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"Rs 3 crore as financial incentive for medals won at Asian Games 2018. Rs 30 Lakhs for training and financial support during 2015-19. Rs 50 Lakhs for training support for Tokyo Olympics (Released In two instalments on 02/08/2019 and 27/12/2019," the statement read.

"The State government appointed Dutee Chand as Group-A level officer in Odisha Mining Corporation (A Gold Category PSU). She is currently drawing Gross salary of Rs 84,604 (June 2020 Salary) per month. She is not required to come to office so that she is able to concentrate full-time on training. Accordingly, since her appointment in OMC, no official work has been allotted to Chand," it added.

The state government further provided details of the financial support provided by the OMC for her training.

"OMC provided Rs 29 Lakhs to Dutee Chand for Training and financial incentives. The total financial support provided to Dutee Chand from State government/OMC is 4.09 crores(after 2015)," the statement read.

"The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS), Government of India may also be providing adequate support for the athlete based on performance," it added.

Earlier, Dutee said she is facing a shortage of funds due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to the next year and is planning to sell her car to meet the expense of her training.

"Training is going quite good so far, I have been training here in Bhuvneshwar. Earlier, there was no problem related to funds for training as Tokyo Olympics were coming up and our state government conferred me, but because of coronavirus the Olympics were postponed and I had spent the money which was given to me by the sponsors. Now, I need money for training, I need new sponsors but because of coronavirus I am finding it difficult to find them. Now I have decided to sell my car to arrange funds," Dutee had said.

Dutee, who has been recently nominated for the Arjuna Award 2020, said COVID-19 had impacted heavily on sports and sponsors are not willing to support her at this time.

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