del bosque to leave after euros
MADRID: Spain coach Vicente del Bosque says he intends to step down after the 2016 European Championship. Del Bosque tells Spanish sports daily AS “my intention is to continue until France 2016 and then leave after.” Del Bosque, under contract through 2016, led Spain to the 2010 World Cup title and helped it defend its European title two years later. But the former Real Madrid coach earned his first critics following Spain’s early exit from this year’s World Cup and its first loss in qualifying in eight years last week at Slovakia.
india lose opener to iran in U-16
DHAKA: Iran scored two late goals to script a 2-1 win over India in a high-voltage Group B encounter of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship China 2015 (Qualifiers) at the Bangabandhu Stadium here on Friday. Iranian substitute Fatemeh Hosseini turned on the heat by scoring twice to overturn India’s lead which they held on for a better part of the match courtesy a first half strike from midfielder Premi Chiru. The win has helped Iran consolidate their place at the top of the group, while India will need to pick themselves up in the next match against hosts Bangladesh.
Gatlin dumped from shortlist
MONACO: US sprinter Justin Gatlin has been ditched from the final shortlist for World Athlete of the Year, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) revealed on Friday. Gatlin, who has twice served doping bans, was a controversial inclusion on the original 10-man shortlist. The prospect of a convicted drug cheat winning the IAAF’s athlete of the year award caused outrage in some quarters. Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic 100m gold medallist and double sprint world champion in 2005, belied his 32 years during an incredible season which saw him record the three fastest times this year in the 100 metres, and the fastest times in the 100m and 200m ever by a man in his 30s. The men’s and women’s winners will be announced at the World Athletics Gala in Monaco on November 21.
ramkumar reaches indore semis
INDORE: Continuing his excellent run at the ATP Indore Open, Indian youngster Ramkumar Ramanathan toppled Chinese Taipei Davis Cupper Ti Chen in a marathon contest to reach his first-ever Challenger-level semifinal, here on Friday. After knocking out India’s number two player Yuki Bhambri, 19-year-old Ramkumar today played humdinger of a quarterfinal, which he won 6-7(6), 7-6(2), 7-5 win after battling hard for three hours and 16 minutes. He next faces compatriot Saketh Myneni, who beat his Asian Games silver medal winning partner Sanam Singh 7-6 (5) 6-3 in his quarterfinal. The other semifinal will be played between top seed Aleksandr Nedovysov from Kazakhstan and Italian eighth seed Stefano Travaglia.
chowrasia, randhawa tied fifth
HONG KONG: Indian golfer S S P Chowrasia shot a five-under 65 to move to tied fifth place at the midway stage of the Hong Kong Open on Friday. Chowrasia, whose last Asian and European Tour win came in 2011, is now tied alongside Jyoti Randhawa, the overnight leader. Randhawa, who had a 64 in first round, shot an even par 70. Both Chowrasia, who shot 69 in the first round, and Randhawa are now six-under 134 and only three off the leader, Ernie Els (65), meanwhile, celebrated his 45th birthday by going into sole lead. Shiv Kapur (68-68) and Rahil Gangjee (68-68) were the only other Indians making the cut and they were tied 27th. The big surprise was Anirban lahiri (75-68) missing the cut, which fell at one-under 139. Also missing out were Chiragh Kumar (71-71), Jeev Milkha Singh (73-71), Himmat Rai (74-70), Rashid Khan (73-73) and Sujjan Singh (75-72).