Savita to lead in Malaysia tour
New Delhi: Goalkeeper Savita will captain an 18-strong Indian women's hockey team for the five-match series against Malaysia starting April 4, Hockey India announced on Wednesday. Savita will stand in for regular skipper Rani Rampal, who is nursing an injury. The eight-day tour to Kuala Lumpur will have defender Deep Grace Ekka as Savita's deputy. Speaking about the tour ahead of 2020 Olympic Qualifying events, chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said: "One of the things we wanted to improve after the Spain Tour was our One Vs One defending and create more opportunities after we intercept the ball." "These are the two key areas we want to focus on in Malaysia and we keep working on individual consistency of players." In the absence of Rani, the experienced Namita Toppo and dragflicker Gurjit Kaur, Marijne said, it would be an opportunity for the youngsters to strengthen their future prospects. "Young players get to show their best performance on international level and it's important for us in case of creating depth in the selection," he said.
Martino's Mexico down Paraguay
Santa Clara: Mexico made it two wins in two matches under coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino on Tuesday with a 4-2 victory over Paraguay in a friendly international at Levi's Stadium. Jonathan dos Santos' long wait for a first international goal ended as he opened the scoring in the sixth minute of his 40th appearance for Mexico. A Gustavo Gomez own goal in the ninth and Javier Hernandez's strike in the 24th extended Mexico's lead, and Luis Montes added a fourth in injury time — after Paraguay had second-half goals from Hernan Perez and Derlis Gonzalez. The victory followed a 3-1 win over South American champions Chile in a friendly last week — an encouraging start for Argentina's Martino, who was presented as manager in January saying he was taking on the quest to end Mexico's "quarter-finals curse" that has dogged the team for the past seven World Cups and will do all he can to steer them to the long-sought fifth match in Qatar in 2022.
Rohit extends p’ship with adidas
New Delhi: Sportswear giant Adidas has announced to extend its partnership with Indian cricketer and Mumbai Indians' skipper Rohit Sharma. Rohit has been associated with Adidas since 2013 and has since been the face of the brand in India. Commenting on the development, Rohit said: "I feel Adidas is the best brand for athletes - I truly believe in their products and the comfort and benefit they offer me in my sport. Further, they have continuously stepped in to provide customized solutions to athletes, including me, thereby helping us overcome many injuries. "It is the leading sports brand and has played a key role in promoting sports at grassroots, which includes providing world-class platforms and experiences accessible to amateurs and pro-athletes," he added. In India, Rohit is joined by Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hima Das, Manpreet Singh, Dipika Pallikal, Zeel Desai, Nikhat Zareen, Siddhanth Banthia, Manjot Kalra and the recently signed Swapna Barman.
Ole boosted by Mourinho's work
Manchester: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's success at Manchester United is partly due to the work of his predecessor Jose Mourinho, according to former Old Trafford chief Louis Van Gaal. Solskjaer has made a remarkable impact since arriving as United's interim boss in December following Mourinho's sacking. But Van Gaal, who spent two seasons at United before being replaced by Mourinho in 2016, insists the Portuguese coach's tactics have laid the foundations for Solskjaer to build on. The Dutchman also suggested United played more exciting football in his time at the helm than they do now. "The way Manchester United are playing now is not the way Ferguson played," Van Gaal said on Tuesday. "It is defensive, counter-attacking football. If you like it, you like it. If you think it is more exciting than my boring attacking, OK. But it is not my truth.