Real Madrid would be top if everyone was like me, rages Cristiano Ronaldo

February 28, 2016

Madrid, Feb 28: Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the Spanish giants would be top of La Liga rather than nine points behind Barcelona if his team-mates matched his standards.

ronaldo Ronaldo had a day to forget in front of goal as Real waved goodbye to any lasting hope of mounting a title challenge in a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday with even coach Zinedine Zidane admitting their challenge was over.

"If everyone was at my level, we would be top," said Ronaldo.

"Every year according to the press it seems I am rubbish, but the numbers and statistics don`t lie."

Madrid have endured a season from hell as Zidane replaced the sacked Rafael Benitez in January, whilst the club has suffered a series of institutional embarrassments, including being eliminated from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.

The final whistle was met by a chorus of discontent from the home fans as they called for president Florentino Perez to resign.

A mounting injury list has also taken its toll as they were without Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Pepe, and Karim Benzema had to be replaced by 18-year-old Borja Mayoral at half-time.

And Ronaldo claimed that, despite Perez`s multi-million euro investment, Madrid don`t have a good enough squad to compete at the top level.

"I don`t want to undervalue any of my teammates, but when the best aren`t there it is difficult to win."

"I like to play with Pepe, Karim, Bale, Marcelo. I don`t want to say that Jese (Rodriguez), Lucas (Vazquez), (Mateo) Kovavic are not good players, they are very good, but to win a competition you need the best."Defeat was Zidane`s first in nine games since taking charge last month and he admitted that he had been shocked by his side`s poor display.

"Today is a big blow. To lose at home to Atletico is difficult to take," said the Frenchman. "I didn`t expect the game we saw today.

"The league is over. It was already difficult and I said yesterday if you drop more points it is even more so.

"We`re not just going to throw the league away because whatever happens we have goals, games to play and things to win. That is the idea we have to have going forward."

Victory meant Atletico became the first visiting side ever to win three consecutive league games at the Bernabeu and solidified their position in second, four points ahead of Real.

"Today we were Atletico Madrid. There is no better example of what we are than what we showed today," said coach Diego Simeone.

"Once again the fans of Atletico Madrid can feel immensely proud of their players."

Simeone`s men trail Barcelona by five points, but the European champions can regain their eight-point advantage when they host Sevilla on Sunday.

"Barcelona are very good, it is difficult to see them losing three games," added Simeone.

"We have to focus on our own objective which was to finish in the top three, but everyone wants to finish as high as possible."

Atletico`s title bid has been hampered by a lack of goals in recent games, but Antoine Griezmann ended a five-game drought to slot home his 20th of the season early in the second half.

"I`m happy on a personal level and also for the team," said Griezmann.

"We played a great game, we very solid at the back and, although we didn`t have many chances, one of them went in."

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Looking forward to playing with Virat, want to know what makes him tick: Kane Richardson

Agencies

August 5,2020

New Delhi, Aug 5: "Want to know what makes him tick," said Australian pacer Kane Richardson will talking about playing alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19-November 10 and the tournament will run for 53 days.

In the players' auction which was conducted in December 2019, RCB managed to bag key players like Richardson, Chris Morris, Aaron Finch, Dale Steyn, Joshua Philippe, and Isuru Udana.

In an interaction with news agency, Richardson talked about playing alongside Kohli and the learning curve which is in store for him by being in the same squad as Proteas great Dale Steyn.
"Huge. These guys (Virat, AB de Villiers) are the absolute legends of the game. Anything I can learn from them will be a bonus, that's for sure.

I am really looking forward to playing with Virat, there are few more competitive players in the world. I am really looking forward to seeing what makes him tick," Richardson said.

The 29-year-old pacer also said that he would want to learn from Steyn as to how to be consistent in all formats of the game over a long period of time.

"There are loads I can learn from Dale. He has been amongst the best at the highest level for so long. His control and ability to swing the ball without losing his pace is really impressive.

I look forward to getting in his ear about how he performs so consistently over a long period, in all forms," said Richardson who has 39 ODI wickets to his credit.

Richardson has so far played 14 games in his IPL career so far and has picked up 18 wickets. The bowler played for Pune Warriors India in 2013, Rajasthan Royals in 2014, and RCB in 2016.

For this year's IPL, RCB has also bagged Australia's limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch, and Richardson thinks having a familiar face in the camp would help him to settle better in the franchise.

"Finchey is an awesome player and a fantastic leader. I am sure it will help to have two Aussies in the side along with Josh who is playing his first tournament after a massive summer in the BBL. We are all professionals, I'm sure it won't take long for us to gel as a side," Richardson said.

However, before the IPL starts, Australia is expected to tour England for a limited-overs series, comprising of three ODIs and as many T20Is.

The side was last seen in action in March this year as they played one ODI against New Zealand in Sydney. After the first match, the remaining two ODIs were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking about the series against England, Kane replied: "We will be fresh, that's one thing, while the England players have been in a bubble for some time now. As long as we get enough practice in before and possibly some centre wicket it should not be an issue."

"They are World Cup holders and the number one ranked side for a very good reason. It will be a tough series also given they will have played a fair bit of cricket together by then. We know we need to work hard on our one-day game which will be a priority over the next period," he added.

The pacer also talked about how the lockdown was like for him, and Richardson feels that everyone would come back strong as a result of this break.

"The break from playing has been refreshing, to be honest. We have come back strong and are well into pre-season training with our states. As a bowler, our loads are not at their peak but we are working towards getting ready for a tour of the UK in a few weeks," Richardson said.

The Australian quick has so far played 25 ODIs and 18 T20Is, managing to take 39 and 19 wickets respectively.

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Virat Kohli only Indian again in Forbes' list of highest-paid athletes

News Network

May 30,2020

New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.

Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.

With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.

Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.

Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.

The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).

The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.

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Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good.

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Veda Krishnamurthy: Destiny in India’s favour at World T20

News Network

March 6,2020

Melbourne, Mar 6: Experienced middle-order batter Veda Krishnamurthy believes that "destiny" is in favour of first-time finalist India to win their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup title provided they get a grip on their nerves in the summit clash against Australia on Sunday.

India will have a psychological advantage going into the final as they had stunned the defending champions by 17 runs in the tournament opener.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India reached the final on the basis of their unbeaten record in the tournament after their semifinal against England was washed out on Thursday.

Krishnamurthy, who was a part of the Indian team that finished runner-up to England in the 2017 Women's ODI World Cup, knows the pain of missing out on a world title.

"It's all about destiny, and I'm a big believer in destiny. I feel like this is the way it was meant to be. There is a joke going around that this World Cup is made in such a way that it's helping us, starting from the wickets to everything else," she was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website.

"Being in the final is just reward for the way we played in the group stages. There was an advantage to having won all our games with the weather not in our hands."

The team's first target of reaching the final having achieved, the 27-year-old player said the Indians now need to hold their nerves and remain focussed leading up to the big day on Sunday.

"We said the first aim was to get to the final and take it from there. We've crossed the first stage. We need to make sure we hold our nerves and we do what we need to do on the final day," she said.

India's recent rivalry with Australia has taken fascinating twists and turns, with Kaur's outfit chasing down 173 in their recent tri-series, then getting home by 17 runs in the T20 World Cup opener.

But all is not hunky-dory for Krishnamurthy on the personal front. Considered a great finisher, she has recovered from a series of single-digit scores in the tri-series to score 20 from 11 balls in a finishing role against Bangladesh.

Having amassed just 35 runs from four matches in the tournament so far, the Karnataka batter knows her role in the team.

"As an individual, the role given to me is very consistent in the last year. They've put the effort in the last year to keep me there and I've been supported by every individual, not just one or two. The entire team, with all the support staff, have shown faith in me," she said.

"I know coming into the World Cup, I would play a crucial role to finish the innings well, which I felt I was unable to do in the last World Cup in the West Indies," she added.

Krishnamurthy said specific roles have been set for every player of the squad and they all are trying to contribute as much as they can to help the team achieve its goal.

"I was very motivated to do my role and I've been working on that. It's not just me, all 15 players involved know what their role is," she said.

"I'm happy we're all putting in efforts and executing our role properly. Even if it's a smallish contribution of saving a couple of runs, it's all panned out really well."

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