Atletico de Kolkata unveiled
Kolkata: The Kolkata franchise of the much-anticipated Indian Super league was on Wednesday christened Atletico de Kolkata, taking a cue from their Spanish co-owners and UEFA Champions league finalist Atletico de Madrid. Owner and CEO of the Champions league finalist Miguel Angel Gil Marin along with his city based co-owners former India captain Sourav Ganguly, industrialists Harsh Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and Utsav Parekh unveiled the team but said they were yet to finalise the jersey as it has to get an approval of the ISl. There's also a proposal to get the Atletico Madrid squad to play a friendly match here once the city team is formed. "We are also looking for a pre-season training in Madrid for the Kolkata franchise," Neotia said. Also unveiling the name of the consortium as the Kolkata Games and Sports Private limited, the five parnters pledged to take Indian football to the next level.
Sharmada ousted from ITF
Hyderabad: Fifth seed Sharmada Balu was the only casualty as all other seeded players sailed into the singles quarterfinals of the Pooja Ventures ITF USD 10,000 women's tennis tournament, here on Wednesday. Balu, who lost to Amrita Mukhejee, was cruising in the second round contest as she didn't let her rival win a single game in the opening set but eventually she ran out of steam and lost 6-0 4-6 2-6. Amrita will now clash with top seed Prarthana Thombare, who fought off the challenge from Damini Sharma 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-0 in her second round match at the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy, which is hosting an ITF tournament for the first time. The other seeded players, setting up the quarterfinals against each other were Natasha Palha and Eetee Mehta. Third seed Natasha downed Sharon Sanchana Paul 6-1 6-4 while seventh seed Eetee blasted past Rishika Ravindran 6-0 6-2. In the bottom-half of the draw, second seed Shweta Rana defeated Arthi Munian 6-2 6-3 to set her last-eight stage contest against sixth seed Nidhi Chilumula, who blanked wild card D Venugopal Tatachar 6-0 6-0. The final quarter-final will be between fourth seed Rishika Sunkara and eighth seed Bhuvana Kalva.
Manchester United beat Hull 3-1
Manchester: Manchester United unearthed a potential star of the future and perhaps had one last glimpse of a great of its recent past in a 3-1 win over Hull on Tuesday that kept alive the team's chances of European football next season. Highly rated striker James Wilson, 18, marked his senior debut for United with predatory strikes in either half, setting the deposed champions on their way to a victory in their final home game of a forgettable Premier league campaign. Ryan Giggs - at the other end of the age spectrum at 40 - came on for his 963rd, and possibly final, appearance for United in the second half and set up fellow substitute Robin van Persie for the clinching third goal in the 86th.
Brazil's Wc squad annoucned
Sao Paulo: Brazil coach luiz Felipe Scolari announced his World Cup squad on Wednesday without any major surprises, choosing most of the players who won last year's Confederations Cup. Scolari's 23-name list includes 16 players who were in the team that won last year's warm-up tournament by beating world champion Spain in the final. The team will mix talented young stars such as Neymar and Oscar with more experienced players such as Dani Alves, David luiz, Thiago Silva and Hulk. Past stars such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho were left off the squad as expected. Squad: Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar, Jefferson, Victor. Defenders: David luiz, Dante, Thiago Silva, Henrique, Maicon, Dani Alves, Marcelo, Maxwell. Midfielders: luiz Gustavo, Paulinho, Fernandinho, Ramires, Oscar, Willian, Hernanes. Strikers: Hulk, Bernard, Neymar, Jo, Fred.
Villarreal fined
Madrid: The Spanish league's disciplinary committee has fined Villarreal 12,000 euros ($16,000) for a fan racially taunting Dani Alves by throwing a banana at him. The incident happened during Barcelona's 3-2 win at Villarreal on April 27th when Alves, who is black, picked up the banana thrown by 26-year-old David Campayo lleo, bit off a piece and then discarded it. Alves' actions led to social media support from fellow players, celebrities and politicians who posed for photos with bananas.
Xabi alonso ban appeal rejected
Nyon: UEFA has dismissed a protest lodged by Real Madrid over midfielder Xabi Alonso's suspension for the Champions league final. UEFA disciplinary rules do not allow appeals against automatic one-match bans. Xabi Alonso was shown a yellow card for fouling Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger in the semifinal, second-leg match last week. His third booking of the competition triggered a one-match suspension.