The Bangladesh Today (21-01-2018)

SPORTS
9
SUNDAy, JANUARy 21, 2018
Pele resting at home as hospital reports are denied by spokesperson.
Photo: BBC
Arena says US 'bad eggs'
cracked under pressure
LOS ANGELES: Bruce Arena says he
accepted blame for American's
World Cup failure by resigning
quickly, but added there were also
had a "few bad eggs" on the roster
who helped spoil the team
chemistry, reports BSS.
Three months after the US's failure
to qualify for the 2018 World Cup,
the former head coach opened up
about the team's shortcomings
Friday at a soccer coaches forum
Friday in Philadelphia.
"It wasn't the same team with the
right chemistry. It just didn't seem
like everyone was on the same page
with the right mentality," Arena said
Friday.
"It wasn't the character you see out
of a US team. And the second part,
realistically, was that we didn't have
the most talented players and when
Osaka ousts
Aussie hope
Barty at
Open
MELBOURNE : Unseeded
Naomi Osaka downed local
Australian Open hope Ashleigh
Barty with a comprehensive 6-
4, 6-2 win Saturday to reach
the last 16 of a Grand Slam for
the first time. Ranked 72, her
reward is a clash with top seed
Simona Halep for a place in the
quarter-finals.
The powerful Japanese
20-year-old took the first set
against the 18th seed in 38
minutes before racing to a 4-
0 lead in the second on the
back of an impressive serve.
Barty finally got on the
board in her third service
game but it was too little too
late to the dismay of the
raucous band of "Ash's
Army" supporters on
Margaret Court Arena.
Osaka, who beat this year's
fourth seed Elina Svitolina
in Melbourne as an 18-yearold
two years ago, served out
calmly-smacking down her
12th ace on match point
we had injuries, it hurt us."
Arena also levelled his guns at
armchair critics who second guessed
the team's coaching staff.
"You got some answers for me the
day before the game? During the
game? I'm listening. Everyone the
day after, you're a bunch of phonies.
I don't want to hear about it the day
after. We're all the best coaches the
day after," he said.
The USA hopes were dashed with a
2-1 qualifying round defeat to last
place Trinidad and Tobago, ending a
seven straight appearance streak for
the US on soccer's biggest stage.
All the US needed to advance was a
tie against Trinidad.
"We laid an egg," Arena said.
"Top players respond to big games
.... I told (the players) we've got to be
ready. I think our players
understood that.
"A lot of pressure built up,
especially after we conceded the first
goal. We seemed to get ourselves
settled in after that and conceded
another goal, and some people
cracked."
Arena, who also coached the team
between 1998 and 2006, said
injuries and a lack of depth
contributed to their demise.
Then there were others in the
lineup who lacked the character to
overcome the adversity, he said.
"We had a couple of bad eggs .... we
were all well aware and the players
were aware (of who they were).
"Mexico and Costa Rica were
better teams. But we should've been
the third one. I accept that
responsibility. That's why I resigned
so quickly."
Hollywood's Will
Smith hooked after
Kyrgios classic
MELBOURNE : Hollywood heavyweight
Will Smith says he's now hooked on
tennis after being courtside at the
Australian Open to see Nick Kyrgios
topple Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a Grand
Slam classic, reports BSS.
The "Men in Black" star was on the
edge of his seat as Australian hope
Kyrgios beat the former finalist 7-6
(7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5) in a
spectacular night match on Friday.
"This match last night was CRAZY!!
@klnkyrg1os vs @tsongaofficiel ...
WOW! I haven't been to many Tennis
matches. But, Now... I'm pretty sure I'm
hooked!" he said on Instagram
Saturday.
Smith has 5.4 million Instagram
followers and his post had got
227,000 likes in barely two hours.
Kyrgios is huge fan of the actor,
producer and comedian and admitted
after the match he was a bit starstruck
when he realised he was
watching.
"No joke, he's like my favourite actor.
I get asked if one person were acting
your life, I'd always pick him," said the
22-year-old, seeded 17 at Melbourne
Park.
"It was surreal seeing him. You know,
I was talking to him in the third set. I
kept looking at him. I was like, 'I got to
break the ice, I got to say something'."
Asked what he said, he replied: "I
said, I watched a load of your movies a
bunch of times. It was pretty cringe, but
it broke the ice."
The pair met afterwards and had their
picture taken, and Kyrgios was
impressed.
"He was really nice. I met him after
the match. He was really genuine," he
said.
Smooth
Keys glides
into last 16
at Open
MELBOURNE: US Open
finalist Madison Keys
continued her serene
progress through the
Australian Open draw with
a 6-3, 6-4 win over
unseeded Ana Bogdan on
Saturday, reports BSS.
The 17th seed, who made
the semis at Melbourne
Park in 2015, has not
dropped a set and breezed
past the plucky Romanian,
ranked 104, in 73 minutes
in their third-round match
on Margaret Court Arena.
"I'm really excited. I
definitely feel I'm playing
well," said Keys, who was
one of only three Americans
to make the round of 32.
She had only dropped
seven games going into this
match, taking just 41
minutes to get past Russia's
Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-0,
6-1 in the second round and
must now be rated one of
the favourites going into the
second week.
"Ana played great today
and made me play my best
tennis," Keys added.
The American, coached
by former great Lindsay
Davenport, next faces either
French eighth seed Caroline
Garcia or Belarussian
Alaksandra Sasnovich in
the last 16. "Lindsay is
amazing. We've had three
years together and she has
taught me how to handle
big moments like this," said
Keys.
Annual sports
of SK Govt Girls
High School in
Manikganj held
MANIKGANJ: The annual
sports of SK Government
Girls High School was held
on the school premises in
the district yesterday,
reports BSS.
State Minister for Health
and Family Welfare Zahid
Malek inaugurated the
competition as the chief
guest.
Deputy Commissioner of
Manikganj Md Nazmus
Sadat Salim was present as
the special guest with
headmaster of the school
Rebeka Jahan in the chair.
Speaking on the occasion,
the state minister for health
and family welfare said the
present government under
the dynamic leadership of
Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina ensured equal
facilities for the girls and
boys in every sector.
Later, the state minister
attended as the chief guest
in the annual sports of
Manikganj Government
High School and founding
ceremony of Joynagar High
School under sadar upazila
of the district.
Sri Lanka takes on
Zimbabwe in crucial
match today
DHAKA: It will be an acid Test for Sri
Lanka as they face Zimbabwe in their
third crucial match of triangular series
scheduled to be held tomorrow at Shere-Bangla
National Cricket Stadium at
Mirpur in the city, reports BSS.
The day/night match kicks off at 12
pm. Sri Lanka must have to win their
third match against Zimbabwe as If
they lose this next game, they will have
exit from the championship race
following their two consecutive defeats
- the first by 12 runs against the same
opponents and the second by 163 runs
against the hosts.
Expectations of this Sri Lanka team
were not high. They had spent much of
losing lavishly in all corners of the
world last year and even by those
standards, the situation is worse in the
New Year as they are yet to win a match
in a tri-series featuring the sixth and
tenth-ranked sides.
Incredibly - and unthinkably only
eight months ago - it is Zimbabwe who
are the more highly-favoured side. This
is the same Zimbabwe who had lost a
series at home to Afghanistan last year.
The same Zimbabwe who, have not
played ODIs since last July, of the six
most recent matches between these
teams, Zimbabwe have won four - three
of those victories having come in Sri
Lanka.
With Brendan Taylor back in their
ranks, and Sikandar Raza consistently
producing high-impact performances,
source cricinfo.
However, as the square in Mirpur
wears down, it is perhaps on the spin
front that this match will be won or
lost. Sri Lanka are blooding Akila
Dananjaya, who has had steady
performances so far, but is yet to
develop into a consistent matchwinner.
For Zimbabwe, the likes of Graeme
Cremer and Raza have been more
reliably penetrative. Having just been
bowled out for 157 by the Bangladesh
attack, Sri Lanka's top order have some
serious rebounding to do.
Squads: Sri Lanka: 1 Kusal Perera, 2
Upul Tharanga, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4
Niroshan Dickwella (wicket keeper), 5
Dinesh Chandimal (captain.) 6 Asela
Gunaratne, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Akila
Dananjaya, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10
Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Nuwan Pradeep.
Zimbabwe: 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2
Solomon Mire, 3 Craig Ervine, 4
Brendon Taylor (wicket keeper), 5
Sikander Raza, 6 Malcolm Waller 7 PJ
Moor, 8 Graeme Cremer (captain.), 9
Kyle Jarvis, 10 Tendai Chatara, 11
Blessing Muzarabani.
Australia v England: Tourists hold nerve to take 2-0 series lead.
NEW YORK: Los Angeles Kings forward
Dustin Brown escaped a suspension Friday
but was slapped with a $10,000 fine by the
NHL's disciplinary officials for
crosschecking Pittsburgh's Justin Schultz
into the sideboards, reports BSS.
Brown was ejected from Thursday's game
between the Kings and the Penguins and
given a major penalty for the hit at 6:36 of
the third period.
Brown's penalty proved costly for the
Kings as it resulted in a power play for
Pittsburgh, which used the man advantage to
score a goal and go on to win the contest 3-1.
Schultz, of Canada, was on his knees with
his back to Brown when the Kings forward
raised his stick and slammed Schultz facefirst
into the side boards. Schultz went to
the locker room to receive medical attention
but was not seriously hurt.
"We're really thrilled that Schultzy, it
Photo: BBC.
Kings' Brown escapes suspension
for illegal hit
seems like he's going to be OK," said
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan.
Many felt Brown's hit was worthy of a
suspension because of his reputation of being
a dirty player and for being a repeat offender.
At the 2008 World Championships, Brown, of
the US, delivered a controversial hit to the
head of Finland's Jussi Jokinen.
He was suspended for two games in 2013
for an elbow to the head of Minnesota Wild
forward Jason Pominville.
One of his most infamous hits took place
in the 2012 NHL playoffs when he
blindsided Phoenix Coyotes Michal
Rozsival with a knee-on-knee hit just inside
the Kings' blue line.
The NHL's only other fine announced
Friday also involved Brown. Penguins star
Evgeni Malkin was fined $5,000 for
spearing Brown in the first period of the
same contest.
Davis Cup culture a calming
influence on Kyrgios
MELBOURNE: Nick Kyrgios
believes the inclusive culture of the
Davis Cup team has steeled his
game as he zeroes in on a deep run
at the Australian Open, reports
BSS.
The normally combustible
Australian has found a new sense
of inner calm as he prepares for a
fourth round showdown with
world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov on
Sunday.
The 22-year-old won one of the
big matches of his stormy career
when he closed out three
tiebreakers over four sets to beat
childhood idol and former finalist
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Friday's
third round.
With changing public
perceptions of one of the favourite
whipping boys of Australian sport,
Kyrgios has shown signs of greater
composure in his matches in
Melbourne this week.
He puts it largely down to the allembracing
culture of playing for
Australia's Davis Cup team under
captain Lleyton Hewitt.
"Last year after the Australian
Open I was really struggling
mentally," Kyrgios said after
Friday's victory.
"He (Hewitt) called me up and
said, 'we would love to have you in
Davis Cup'. Ever since then, the
culture has been amazing. It's been
huge for me."
Kyrgios said he was now ready
physically and mentally to deal
with the pressure matches at the
Australian Open.
"I made the quarter-finals here
three years ago. I feel like I'm
making improvements," he said.
"The last couple years I feel like I
haven't been physically ready to
play these long matches and back
it up.
"I did a really good off-season
this year. I trained with Lleyton
and the guys in Melbourne for two
weeks.
"Physically, I feel really good.
Just gives me confidence in my
game. I know mentally I'm a lot
better, as well."
Ranked 17 and likely to go higher
after this Grand Slam, he showed
the benefits when he won his first
home ATP Tour title at the lead-up
Brisbane International this
month-beating Dimitrov along the
way.
Kyrgios, who has been a
polarising figure in a nation where
tennis greats are revered, said he
hasn't changed his ways despite
the shifting public perceptions
about him.
"It doesn't worry me at all. It's
not something I wake up and I'm
like, 'Look, today I'm going to try
to change the perception'," he said.
"I've always played the same
way. Nothing has changed. I've
always been emotional. I showed
emotion out there tonight.
Australian Open: Novak Djokovic progresses to round four despite injury scare.
Photo: BBC.