Zlatan nets 500th goal
Los angeles: Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic made history, scoring his 500th career goal in stunning fashion but it wasn't enough to lift the Los Angeles Galaxy to a win over Toronto FC. The 36-year-old Ibrahimovic as always had a flair for the dramatic and he did just that Saturday in becoming the third active footballer to reach the milestone, joining Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The six-foot-five (1.95 metre) Ibrahimovic released a perfectly-timed roundhouse kick in the 43th minute that fooled goalkeeper Alex Bono for his 17th goal of the season. The goal cut the deficit to 3-1 and sparked a three-goal Galaxy rally but the defending MLS champions would go on to win 5-3 in front of a crowd of 30,700 at BMO Field in Toronto. "I am happy for Toronto because they will be remembered as my 500th victim," said Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic scored 62 of his goals for Sweden with the rest coming while playing for Malmo FF, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and now the Galaxy.
24 named for junior national camp
new delhi: Hockey India on Sunday named a 24 member core probables for a junior men's national coaching camp, to be held in Bengaluru from September 17, ahead of the Sultan of Johor Cup. The players will train under coach Jude Felix till October 4, as they prepare for the upcoming 8th Sultan of Johor Cup, slated to begin from October 6-13 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Eight members from the Indian junior men's team that won the Bronze medal at the last edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup including Pankaj Rajak, Suman Beck, Harmanjit Singh, Mandeep Mor have been selected for the camp. The camp also includes several new faces who have received their first call-up to the junior national camp. Coach Jude Felix has watched all the 24 players closely before giving them a call-up to the camp and the former Indian captain believes that it is crucial to train the upcoming crop of players well. The coach also said special emphasis was given on improving skills, fitness and speed along with mental conditioning.
Pujara, Jadeja in Saurashtra squad
rajkot: Team India players Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja have been included in the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. The SCA announced their inclusion in the team on Sunday. The Vijay Hazare Trophy will be played in New Delhi where last year's runners-up Saurashtra will play their first match against Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) on September 19, the SCA said in a media release. Saurashtra will play eight matches in the tournament. However, Pujara, a Test specialist, and Jadeja, an all-rounder, may miss the fifth match, to be played on September 30, and the remaining matches, if they are selected in the national side for the next month's Test series at home against the West Indies. "Pujara and Jadeja have been included in the squad. The duo will play first half of the tournament as West Indies will start their India tour by playing the first Test at the SCA stadium at Khandheri here on October 4," SCA media manager said. Pujara and Jadeja have been the star performers for Saurashtra in domestic cricket matches.
Eliud sets new marathon world record
berlin: Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge set a new marathon world record in Berlin on Sunday, smashing the previous best as he clocked 2hr 1min 40sec. The 33-year-old Olympic champion, aided by a string of pacemakers through to 25km of the 42.195km race, took 1min 17sec off the previous best set four years ago by Dennis Kimetto. It was the largest single improvement on the marathon world record since Derek Clayton improved the mark by 2:23 in 1967. "My only words are 'Thank you!'," said Kipchoge. Acclaimed as the greatest marathon runner of the modern era, Kipchoge has dominated marathon racing since making his debut in Hamburg in 2013 after a successful track career that saw him win world Gold and Silver (2003, 2007) in the 5000m and Olympic Silver and Bronze (2008, 2004) over the same distance. He has notched up 10 wins from the 11 marathons he has raced, winning three times not only in Berlin but also London, with victories in Rio for Gold as well as in Hamburg, Rotterdam and Chicago.
