Spain, Croatia face off in Davis Cup finals
Madrid: Rafael Nadal's Spain will host defending champions Croatia in the Davis Cup finals with the 17-time major winner set to be the only member of the sport's big four taking part in the controversially rebooted tournament. He will likely face Marin Cilic, Croatia's top player who won both his singles in the 2018 Davis Cup final victory over France. Russia, the two-time champions, make up Group B. Ten-time champions France, 2010 winners Serbia and Japan contest Group A while 2016 victors Argentina, Germany and Chile are in Group C. Group D sees Belgium and Colombia pooled with 28-time champions Australia while Britain, who have been champions on 10 occasions, Kazakhstan and Netherlands make up Group E. Group F sees record 32-time winners United States clash with Italy and Canada.
Simeone signs new Atletico contract
Madrid: Diego Simeone has extended his contract as coach of Atletico Madrid until 2022, the club announced on Thursday. Simeone has been in charge of Atletico since 2011 and has turned them into one of the most feared teams in Europe. Under him, they won the Europa League last season and La Liga in 2014, as well as twice reaching the final of the Champions League. "The future that lies ahead of us until 2022 is very exciting but it will also be full of challenges," Simeone said in an announcement made by the club. "I've decided to renew my contract once again with Atletico Madrid because I have high hopes for the future." Simeone's success, built on a defensive style, has come despite Atleti earning half as much revenue and spending half as much on wages as Real and Barca.
Ashish to compete at Doha World Cup
Guwahati: Asian Games Bronze medallist gymnast Ashish Kumar will be competing at the Doha World Cup but is set to miss the Baku World Cup after failing to send his entry on time. Ashish, the first Indian gymnast to win medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, had sent his request to participate at the Baku World Cup to Gymnastic Federation of India (GFI) after the deadline set by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). The 29-year-old from Allahabad, who had won a Bronze medal in the floor exercise and later a Silver medal on vault at the 2010 CWG, said the competition will be tough at the Doha event and he would look to qualify for the 2020 Olympics at the World Championship in Stuttgart to be held from October 4 to October 13.
Valverde extends Barcelona stay
Barcelona: Spanish champions Barcelona on Friday announced that they have extended the contract of coach Ernesto Valverde for another season with the option of one more. Valverde, who took over at the Camp Nou in 2017 after joining from Athletic Bilbao, won the league and cup double last season. "FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde, the first team coach, have reached an agreement to extend the contract between the two parties for another season (2019/20) with the option for one more (2020/21)," the club said in a statement. Valverde's previous contract would have expired at the end of this season. He came within a whisker of leading Barca to an undefeated 2017/2018 season when only a defeat late in the season at Levante prevented the team from making history.
Sonia, Lovlina enter strandja quarters
New Delhi: Former world Silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) was among the three Indian women boxers who advanced to the quarterfinals but the men were off to a disappointing start at the 70th Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria. World championships Bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pwilao Basumatari (64kg) also made the quarters of the prestigious European event on Thursday night. However, there was disappointment for the country's men with former Commonwealth Games Silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) and rookie Harsh Lakra (81kg) bowing out following opening round losses. Jangra lost 0-5 to Ukraine's Viktor Petrov, while Lakra was beaten by Azerbaijan's Rauf Rahimov.
