The first ISSF Junior Cup of the year saw over 500 young athletes coming from all over the world competing in Rifle, Pistol and Shotgun events in Suhl, Germany.
Running from June 25th until today, the the 2015 ISSF Junior Cup has just closed in Suhl, Germany.
During the one-week competition, 572 athletes from 44 nations engaged in rifle, pistol, shotgun, and mixed events, adding up to 948 starts.
The Junior Cup, which Cup had debuted last year in the same location, allows athletes that are up to 20 years of age to compete in dedicated events, including both Olympic and Youth Olympic events.
Three young shooters stood out at the competition, securing more than one medal: Russia’s Evgeniy Ishchenko, Switzerland’s Vanessa Hofstetter, and India’s Shivam Suhkla. Ishchenko won the gold at the men’s 50m Rifle Prone, and then collected silver at the 10m Air Rifle. Hofstetter came in third in the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions, adding then a silver medal won on the lines of the 10m Air Rifle final. India’s Shukla, on his side, pocketed two Gold medals back to back, at the 25m Pistol Men and at the 25m Standard Pistol Men events.
At the end of the competition, it was the Russian Federation that finished atop of the medals’ standings, pocketing an outstanding total of 22 awards, including 13 Gold, 4 Silver and 5 Bronze medals. Switzerland followed in second place, with 10 medals (5 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze), while the junior shotgun team pushed Italy up to the third place, with 3 Gold, 7 Silver and 5 Bronze medals.
Franz Schreiber, the ISSF Secretary General, commented at the end of the event: “I feel very happy, the competition was excellently prepared, and excellently conducted.”
“It’s really a nice atmosphere in Suhl here at the Junior Cup.” He added, saying that he liked the “great mood” of everybody at the competition — juniors, officials, spectators.
“The future are our juniors,” Mr. Franz Schreiber continued. “The youth is creating our sport, and you can see here very well that juniors have their own ideas of how a final should be conducted.”
“If you go here in a final, there’s no silence. There’s a lot of noise, there’s clapping. There’s even horns, trumpets, and everything. And the noise is tremendous, but that’s the way they like it.”
“We should watch them very carefully, and make them the best possible way for the future. The juniors are the ones who create the sport for the future.”
“There are several challenges that we have to fulfill,” The Secretary General said. “But if i look here at the Junior Cup, I don’t have fear of the future because the sport is really growing. The future is, as far as we can see, very bright.”
The Junior Cup will be back in two months — a Junior Shotung Cup will take place from August 21 to August 30 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Its Day two of the Transfer window and players are on the move as expected, of course the rumours keep spreading, the fans are expectant and the managers are dealing, agents are scheming but our man Paul Ayorinde has got all the top stories for right here.
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Done Deals:
– Everton have completed the signing of David Henen from Olympiakos on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee
– Hoffenheim have completed the signing of striker Mark Uth from Heerenveen
– QPR have announced the signing of Sebastian Polter from Mainz 05
– AC Milan have agreed a deal with Sevilla for Carlos Bacca, subject to medical.
– Marseille have completed the signing of Lucas Ocampos from Monaco
– Lyon have announced the signing of Claudio Beauvue from Guingamp on a four-year deal
– UAE side Al-Ain have completed the signing of former Ajax forward Ryan Babel.
– Cameroonian international Stephane M’Bia has signed for Turkish club Trabzonspor on a three-year deal after leaving Sevilla on a free.
– Olympique Marseille have announced the signing of Karim Rekik from Manchester city
– Real Madrid have announce they have taken up the option to re-sign Lucas Vazquez from Espanyol on a five-year deal
– Nantes have completed the signing of Kolbeinn Sigthorsson from Ajax on a five-year deal for €3million
– AC Milan have completed the signing of Luiz Adriano from Shakhtar Donetsk on a five-year contract
– Torino have announced the signing of Joel Obi from Inter Milan on a four-year contract
– Inter Milan have announced the signing of Geoffrey Kondogbia from Monaco
– Eintracht Frankfurt have completed the signing of defender David Abraham from Hoffenheim on a three-year deal
– Lille have announced the signing of attacker Sehrou Guirassy from Stade Lavallois on a four-year contract
– Watford sign defender Jose Holebas from Roma on a three-year deal.
– Edin Dzeko has reportedly agreed a four-year contract with Roma, but Manchester City remains to be convinced.
– Reports suggest Inter are moving closer to signing Ivan Perisic, with Wolfsburg open to selling.
– Arda Turan’s agent has poured cold water on reports claiming he is on his way to Barcelona.
– According to reports, Real Madrid have denied suggestions that coach Rafa Benitez has requested the signing of Fernando Llorente
– QPR are reportedly close to signing Ravel Morrison from Lazio
– According to reports, Aston Villa are eyeing up a move for young Everton full-back Luke Garbutt this summer
– According to reports, Real Madrid youngster Martin Odegaard could be loaned out to Getafe
– Sunderland are reportedly in talks to sign Zenit defender Nicolas Lombaerts and Jeremain Lens of Dynamo Kiev
Pep Guardiola
– Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola said Thursday that Bastian Schweinsteiger holds his future in his own hands. “I have already said, read and heard a lot of things about Basti, but his future depends on him, i think he will stay, but only he can decide. If he stays, that would be the perfect decision for me. He is a top player.” Guardiola said
– West Ham are in talks to resign defender Carl Jenkinson from Arsenal on a permanent deal. says co-chairman David Gold.
– According to reports,Tottenham are to hold talks with Atletico Madrid over a move for Toby Alderweireld
– Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta denies Real Madrid have bid for Arturo Vidal, or Sevilla for Fernando Llorente.
– According to French newspaper L’Equipe, PSG are ready to pay €60million for Manchester United winger Angel Di Maria
– Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc says that the club are yet to receive any offers for Ciro Immobile.
– Nicolas Otamendi’s agent says that the 27-year-old defender will not be leaving Valencia for Real Madrid.
– According to reports, Chelsea will sell Oscar if they receive a bid of £25million.
– Stoke City are reportedly in talks to sign Real Madrid defensive midfielder Sergio Molina
– Wolfsburg and Chelsea are interested in signing Antonio Rudiger, the Stuttgart centre-back’s agent has claimed
– According to reports in France, Manchester United are keen on signing PSG defender Gregory van der Wiel
– According to reports, Lyon’s centre back Bakary Koné is close to a move to Turkish side Besiktas.
– Tom Ince is reportedly close to joining Derby County
– Norwich City forward Ricky van Wolfswinkel is been linked with a return to Sporting Lisbon
– According to Sky Sports, Manchester United have had a £28.6million bid for Sergio Ramos rejected.
– New Netherlands coach Danny Blind said he turned down a “fantastic offer” to be part of Louis van Gaal’s backroom staff at Manchester United last year. “There were talks about United and Van Gaal a couple of times last year. But I rejected that. If you have ambition what is more beautiful than becoming manager of your country?” Blind said
– Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez ruled out for up to four weeks with a broken collarbone.
– The United States has asked Switzerland to extradite seven FIFA officials arrested on corruption charges in May, the Swiss authorities say.
– The mother of Laura Bassett has insisted that her daughter will “bounce back” after scoring the injury-time own goal that cost England a place in the World Cup final. “She will come through it, she will come through it. She’s had big moments in her footballing career before and with her family and the footballing colleagues she’s got round her, she will get through it and bounce back.” She said
Nigerian referee, Saidu Musa is savouring his experience at the ongoing Wimbledon Open Champions in England and is now eyeing an elevation by the International Tennis Federation.
Musa, who is the highest ranked ITF official in West Africa–with bronze badge-is one of the few African officials at the SW19 and says he looked forward to more duties after taking charge of his first match on Wednesday.
“It’s a privilege to be among the few African referees here (at Wimbledon),” he said.
“I have been involved in one match here and hopefully, I will take charge of one or two other games because it’s a dream for any referee to be on duty at the Wimbledon which most people considered as the most glamorous of all the four Grand Slams in tennis,” he added.
This is the second time that the Niger state-born Musa will be officiating at the All England Club after his first experience in 2012.
Musa who became a bronze badge referee in 2009 has also officiated at the Olympics and the All African Games.
Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa said Musa being one of the few African officials at the tournament speaks volume of the quality of Nigerian tennis officials.
“This is just a testimony by the ITF that Nigerian referees are as good as those from any part of the world. Arinola Issa is another of our referees that is moving up steadily and very soon we hope he will graduate to the bronze badge” he declared.
Ndanusa promised that the NTF will provide more support for the nation’s officials to rise to the highest level.
FISA, the World Rowing Federation, is delighted to announce that Slovenia’s Iztok Cop is the 2015 recipient of rowing’s most prestigious award; the Thomas Keller Medal.
The medal signifies an outstanding career in rowing and Cop was selected ahead of an impressive list of finalists that included Rossano Galtarossa (ITA), Rob Waddell (NZL), Greg Searle (GBR), Caryn Davies (USA) and Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell (NZL).
Slovenia’s Iztok Cop wins Keller Award
Cop spent more than two decades at the top of rowing and in that time became Slovenia’s most medalled rower. His remarkable career began when he became a junior World Champion, racing as part of the Yugoslavian rowing team. By the age of 19, Cop had already made the senior national team and raced to a silver medal at the 1991 World Rowing Championships in the men’s pair. This was a special moment for Cop as although he rowed for Yugoslavia, Slovenia had recently gained independence and hence Slovenia recognised this medal as their first World Championship medal.
Cop then went on to compete as part of Slovenia’s Olympic Team at the 1992 Olympic Games. Cop’s bronze medal in the men’s pair at these Games was the first ever Olympic medal for Slovenia. This propelled Cop into the limelight and helped encourage rowing in his country.
In 1995 Cop became a World Champion which was not only his first at a senior level but also a first for Slovenia – a world title in an Olympic sport. This time Cop did it in the men’s single sculls indicating his ease of switching boat classes. Cop then went through what he called a difficult period. He finished fourth three times. Cop, however, found his way back to the medals podium and in 1999, along with Luka Spik in the men’s double sculls, they took the World Championship title.
At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Cop and Spik became Olympic Champions. Once again this was a first for his country. Over the next few years of Cop’s career he moved between the single and the double winning World Championship medals and then taking silver in the double at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
At the 2005 World Rowing Championships Cop raced to silver in both the men’s double and men’s quadruple sculls. This achievement was recognised with Cop and Spik receiving the 2005 World Rowing Male Crew of the Year. Cop continued to compete through to London 2012 at the age of 40. At the London Olympics, Cop and Spik won bronze, capping off a fantastic career.
Thomas Keller Medal
Cop’s friend and competitor, Olympic Champion Olaf Tufte of Norway stated this about Cop, “Iztok is maybe the best rower and sculler I have ever met. He is not the biggest, or strongest, but he has the feeling of how to move the boat. He has a very hard fighting head.”
The Thomas Keller Medal will be presented to Cop on Saturday, 11 July 2015 during the World Rowing Cup finals in Lucerne, Switzerland. He will receive the medal from Dominik Keller, son of the late Thomas Keller, FISA’s former President, at a gala dinner
The Nigeria Basketball Federation has selected William B. Voigt ahead of others to lead its campaign at the 2015 Aftobasket Men’s Tournament in Tunisia. Coach Voigt was the Head Coach/General Manager of the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League from August 2009 to July 2014 during which period he won more games than any other Coach in the D-League and helped his team to be regular Season Champions in 2012-2013.
William B. Voigt
Coach Voigt was offered a short term contract until September to win the Afrobasket and qualify Nigeria for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. If he succeeds, he will be the Coach to lead the team to the Olympics. He is to be assisted by a team of Assistant Coaches and Video analyst. Coaches Ayinla Johnson and Abdulrahaman Mohammed as well as the team doctor and physiotherapist will keep their positions from the 2013 coaching staff.
The new Coach will not be new to the National team and Nigerian Basketball environment as he has previously coached two of the team’s standouts, Alade Aminu and Ike Diogu in the NBA D-League and has also volunteered in Summer Basketball Camps organised by Masai Ujiri in Zaria and Lagos between 2004 and 2008.
The National team training camp is expected to open in Abuja on 15th July with both home and foreign based players.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has pledged to throw its weight behind the organizers of the Nigerian Sports Award in its quest to inspire outstanding performances in Nigerian sportsmen and women through recognition and reward. The Director General, National Sport Commission, Al-Hassan Yakmut made this known in Abuja recently when he received members of the Award Panel who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
Addressing the members of the Award Panel during the courtesy visit, Yakmut commended the effort of the organizers for remaining steadfast and committed towards the objectives of the Award, which is to reward excellence performance among Nigerian athletes.
The Director General noted that the Nigerian Sports Award could be described as the outsourced aspect of the National Sports Policy, which has provision for Reward & Incentives. He added that the Commission needs to give its maximum support to the initiative especially in line with the Public-Private Partnership drive of the government.
A Member of the Award Panel,Nigerian Sports Award, Mitchel Obi, presenting an award to the Director General, National Sports Commission, Al-Hassan Yakmut in Abuja recently.
Speaking earlier on the mission of the team to the National Sports Commission, the Chairman of the Award Panel, Ikeddy Isiguzo disclosed that the Panel was in Abuja to congratulate Yakmut on his recent appointment as the Director General and also to deepen the relationship between the Commission and the Nigerian Sports Award.
Isiguzo called for more participation and involvement of the National Sport Commission in the Nigerian Sport Award by making its presence felt during the award Gala Night ceremony which he described as the celebration of the achievements of the sports Ministry.
He used the occasion to announce to the Director General that the 2015 edition of the Nigerian Sports Award would hold at a yet to be made public date in November at the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
“We want more presence from the Ministry and the reason is very obvious, whatever anybody says, the Ministry does a lot for the athletes and when we have an event of that magnitude, the presence of the Sports Ministry from the Minister of Sports to the Director General and other key office holders is very important because we are celebrating the achievement of the Ministry’’ he said.
Nigeria Sports Awards
While presenting the Nigerian Sports Award plaque to the Director General as a mark of honour, Mitchel Obi, a member of the Award Panel stated that the appointment of Yakmut is well deserved having come a long way in Nigerian sports from being a Volleyball player to an administrator.
“It is our privilege to present to you this unique award for your commitment to sports development in Nigeria and also a reflection of the vision you have for Nigerian sports and we believe that with the Nigerian Sports Award, it is a recognition for those who have excelled and those who are on the path of excellence.
…..NBBF Invites grassroots coaches to Understudy Adeka Daudu.
As part of the drive to build structure and capacity to sustain its national youth programmes, the Nigerian Basketball Federation has invited 3 of the top women grassroots coaches to the national U16 woman camp headed by coach Adeka Daudu.
The list of invited coaches include 3 time winner, and current champion of the Nestlé Milo Secondary school championship with St Jude’s Girls College. Amarata, Bayelsa State, Coach Anthony Nelson, renowned women developmental grassroots coach Wilson ldanwekhai, who currently serves as head coach of Adolescent and Health Information Program (AHIP Queens) of Kano and coach Olawale Oyekan of the Lagos State Youth Alive Basketball community programme in Lagos.
This initiative is part of its mentorship programme launched by Basketball Federation in 2014 to help build the next generation of coaches that will take over from the likes of the vastly experienced Adeka Daudu and also give room for the coaches to grow alongside the athletes, so as to form an excellent bond and foster a relationship between the coaches and players from the youth level and provide a data base for monitoring the progress of the athletes from youth, intermediate and hopefully graduating to the senior national team level.
The coaches have joined the national U16 team current camping in Abuja ahead of the FIBA Africa U16 Women Championship in Madagascar from 10th-19th July, 2015.
Coach Adeka Daudu
U16 Women basketball team shines in Abuja…,
The U16 womens’ Basketball Team of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF defeated an Abuja selected side U22 female basketball team in a friendly game on Wednesday.
Abuja selected side dominated the game, before the U16 girls turned around and pulled back from 11-28 to win the last quarter with three points.
The game ended 51-54 in favour of the U16 basketball team.
An excited Ruth Omotayo Udueyin told NBBF Media after the game that they were able to pull back after discovering their mistakes;
“We did not follow the coach’s instruction on time, so the moment we discovered our mistakes after listening to the coach again, we put it to work and we won” she said
“The spirit is high everybody wants to be in camp and make the team, nobody wants to go home but no matter what, we are going to come out victorious” she added
However, Head coach of the team, Adeka Daudu gave the girls thumbs up after the game and revealed that, some will be dropped after tomorrow’s evening practice session.
The team is preparing for the final round of FIBA Africa U16 Women Championship in Madagascar from 10th-19th July, 2015.
ICC CWC 2015 trio Afghanistan, Scotland and UAE among leading lights
Scotland will be bidding to make home advantage count when it lines out against UAE in a mouthwatering opener for the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in The Grange on Thursday, 9 July.
Preston Mommsen’s men will approach the qualification tournament for ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 in high spirits having defeated fellow co-host Ireland 2-0 in a friendly series last week and are buoyed by the inclusion of the experienced Kyle Coetzer. Much will depend on the prolific skills of all-rounder Josh Davey, while Craig Wallace has also been included in the squad along with hard-hitting George Munsey as the Scots bid to win the title for the first time.
The UAE, for its part, will be led once more by Mohammad Tauqir but will undoubtedly miss the experience of Khurram Khan who has ended his 14-year career. However this will provide ample opportunity for some of the young guns to shine, and Tauqir can also call on familiar heads such as Amjad Javed and Shaiman Anwar for the tournament while the seam attack is likely to be headed by Mohammad Naveed and left arm paceman Manjula Guruge.
The second game of the opening day’s double-header promises to a mouth-watering encounter when Afghanistan, who impressed during ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, face the Netherlands who will be gunning to qualify for next year’s competition in India. Afghanistan also has a new leader in Asghar Stanikzai who takes over from Mohammad Nabi. Afghanistan, who won the 2010 competition, will be aiming to build on the experience gained in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year and are amongst the leading contenders to claim back the title.
For the Netherlands, this competition presents an opportunity to secure a passage to India and a lot will depend on reliable skipper Peter Borren who has 45 appearances under his belt in this format. Wesley Barresi and Ben Cooper will provide a lot of experience, while medium pacer Mudassar Bukhari, on 33 wickets, is one scalp shy of becoming the leading wicket-taker in the tournament’s history. The Dutch have never won the qualifier outright but shared the 2008 crown with Ireland and will therefore be keen to go one step further this month.
Canada will face Kenya the following day (Friday, 10 July) and the north Americans, who have participated in all five competitions, will bank on the experience of all-rounder Rizwan Cheema who leads the side following its victory in the ICC Americas Division 1 T20 title. Canada includes, once more, veteran seamer Khurram Chohan and batting all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar as well as exciting youngster Nitish Kumar and will be bidding to reach the World T20 next year for the first time.
For Kenya, the challenge will be to adapt to the shortest format of the game having convincingly swept past UAE in the four-day Intercontinental Cup recently. Wicket-keeper Irfan Karim and skipper Rakep Patel offer strength in its middle order and if the batsmen click, bolstered by left-arm spinning all-rounder Shem Ngoche, it could make for some long sessions for opposing bowlers. Shem’s brother James, a right arm off spinner, has also been in good form of late in the longer format and boasts an effective economy rate. Kenya’s record in qualification matches to date stands at 11 wins in 24 games.
Oman, meanwhile, will be looking to claim some scalps in this tournament but faces a daunting task in such a strong group. Led by Sultan Ahmed, the Asians will look to left arm spinner Ajay Lalcheta and Munis Ansari to steer the bowling attack, while Jatinder Singh is a positive batsman at the top of the order. Oman opens its account against Kenya in Myreside, Edinburgh on Saturday, 11 July.
The top six sides from the 18-day tournament, during which 51 matches will be played, will join the 10 Full Members for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, which will be held from 11 March to 3 April 2016.
The two groups are:
Group A Group B
A1 – Ireland B1 – Afghanistan
A2 – Nepal B2 – UAE
A3 – Hong Kong B3 – Netherlands
A4 – PNG B4 – Scotland
A5 – Namibia B5 – Canada
A6 – USA B6 – Kenya
A7 – Jersey B7 – Oman
The Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh has been confirmed as the host for the 13th World Cadet Challenge from 23 – 31 October 2015.
This marks the second time an African country has hosted the prestigious event since its inauguration in the Hungarian city of Tiszaujvaros in 2002, where reigning Olympics Champion ZHANG Jike won the Boy’s Singles title on his debut.
Upon the announcement, ITTF Deputy CEO Glenn TEPPER stated “The World Cadet Challenge has long been a favourite due to the unique combination of development, education and competition aspects. The event has now been confirmed in Sham El-Sheikh, one of the world’s leading tourist destinations.”
“Egypt has an excellent history of organizing great events, and finally returning to Africa after they last hosted in 2007 in South Africa is a great bonus, and we look forward to an excellent event,” added Mr. Tepper.
Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Alaa MESHREF, President of the Egypt Table Tennis Federation, and Khaled EL-SALHY, President of ITTF-Africa, the tournament now returns to Africa.
The 2015 edition will consist of a three day training camp from 23-25 October, Team event from 26-27 October, following by a cultural day (28 Oct) and Singles event on 29-31 October.
Who will be the next Olympic Champion to come from the World Cadet Challenge after Zhang Jike?
As an important component of the World Cadet Challenge, the training camp allows teams to train at least once every other team, as well as hold educational sessions for coaches each evening. Attending coaches are also empowered to take on an active role in the training camp headed by World Doubles and World Team Gold Medalist, Peter KARLSSON (SWE).
Mr. Karlsson already works closely with the ITTF in the “Close to Karlsson” project as part of the ITTF’s “With the Future in Mind” scholarship program, and his inspirational style of coaching is sure to motivate a new generation of champions.
There will be eight teams vying for gold at the World Cadet Challenge in Sharm El-Sheikh: one team from each of the six continents (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, Oceania), a Hopes team (comprised of the best young talent around the world), and Egypt as the Host team, with 4 boys and 4 girls in each team.
Mr. Tepper shared, “There’s a maximum of one player per country in the continental teams event, so teams must learn to co-operate together while learning each other’s culture and language, creating a great life learning experience in addition to the obvious table tennis benefits.”
Who will be the next Olympic Champion to come from the World Cadet Challenge?
The Football Transfer Window is officially open and our Man Paul is back with a detailed round up of all the top Football transfer stories making the rounds at the moment.
Remember that you can Follow Paul on twitter @El_pauleta and also follow @Newfanzone for instant follow back, you can also like our Newfanzone Facebook page,
– Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta reveals the club rejected an €80million bid from Barcelona for Paul Pogba. “Yes, we received an offer of €80m, but I can confirm that we will not sell Pogba.” Marotta said
– Dani Osvaldo has been released by Southampton, after completing a loan at Boca Juniors.
– According to reports in Spain, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement over the sale of midfielder Arda Turan
– According to reports, Barcelona defender Martin Montoya is set to join Inter Milan on a two-year loan deal
– Besiktas are reportedly keen on signing Manchester United striker Robin van Persie
– Bastian Schweinsteiger could still leave Bayern Munich for Manchester United, admits club director Matthias Sammer. “Basically, nothing is excluded, it’s a crazy world. He has clearly expressed that he is an important part of the team, but let’s see. We’re still waiting.” He said
– Fiorentina are “optimistic” they will extend the loan deal of Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah for another season.
– AC Milan defender Adil Rami is reportedly close to joining Sevilla
– According to reports, Manchester United are set to up their offer for Sergio Ramos – but only if Real Madrid do likewise for David de Gea
– According to Sky Italia sources, Stoke have agreed a £12million fee with Inter Milan for Xherdran Shaqiri.
– Manchester United winger Nani is poised for a move to Fenerbahce after agreeing personal terms with the club.
– Aston Villa have reportedly launched a bid to sign out-of-contract Leicester midfielder Esteban Cambiasso.
– Thomas Muller says he is honoured by Manchester United’s interest in signing him, but wants to stay at Bayern Munich and win more titles.
– Brazil striker Robinho is set to sign for Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande.
– Giannelli Imbula admits Inter’s lack of Champions League football ‘influenced my decision’ to move to Porto.
– Manchester United are reportedly making enquires on Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik.
– Radamel Falcao has completed the formalities of his move to Chelsea and will link up with his new club on their pre-season tour of North America, according to the Colombian striker’s family.
– Shakhtar Donetsk Coach Mircea Lucescu reveals AC Milan ‘are in pole position’ to sign Luiz Adriano this summer.
– Sergio Ramos would only leave Real Madrid to join Manchester United, says former Real president Ramon Calderon.
– Gervinho has denied that extravagant demands of a helicopter and a private beach led to his transfer to Al-Jazira falling through. “I read of helicopters, private beaches and plane tickets. I have no idea where that information comes from, but I have never demanded such things. When I sign a contract I don’t care about those things: everything that has been said about me is false.” Gervinho said
– Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been accused of lying to Wojciech Szczesny about the Gunners signing Petr Cech. Polish goalkeeping legend Jan Tomaszewski claims that Szczesny was given false promises by Wenger about his future at the club. “In January I spoke to [Poland manager] Adam Nawalka and he said that Arsene Wenger had told him that if Szczesny worked hard in training he would play again soon,it turned out that he didn’t tell the truth. I’m sure that when Szczesny said that he was going to stay at Arsenal, he didn’t know that Cech was going to come because Wenger didn’t tell him about his plans. Szczesny should leave, because it will be waste of time for him, if he stays.” Tomaszewski said
– Sepp Blatter has challenged his critics to prove that he is corrupt, and insists that anybody who accuses him of guilt by association to the corruption scandal engulfing world football’s governing body “should go to jail.”
Jose Mourinho photo credit uefa.com
– Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has praised the contribution made by Petr Cech during his 11-year career at Stamford Bridge. “Petr has been a great servant for Chelsea for 11 years and helped this club to win almost everything there is to win,I always said I wanted him to stay but I understand Petr needed to move on to play first team football every week. Sometimes you have to respect the wishes of someone who has earned so much respect with his service and actions for your club. I support the owner’s decision to honour the player in this way.” Mourinho said
– Danny Blind has been appointed as the new Netherlands head coach.
– The England squad have received a surprise phone call from the Duke of Cambridge Prince William ahead of their Women’s World Cup semi-final with Japan.
Rowers from 45 nations are set to contest the third and final stage of the 2015 World Rowing Cup series in Lucerne, Switzerland.
This represents the highest number of national federations participating at World Cup regattas this season and is a reflection of teams moving towards finalising their line-ups for this year’s World Rowing Championships.
The lightweight men’s double sculls has the most entries at 26 with the reigning World Champions South Africa racing for the first time this season. James Thompson and John Smith will face World Cup leaders Jeremie Azou and Stany Delayre of France. The South Africans hold the World Best Time while Azou and Delayre recently set a new World Cup Best Time.
A large field has entered in the women’s single sculls and leading the way will be Australia’s Kim Crow. Crow won last month at World Rowing Cup II and this time she will race against Olympic Champion Mirka Knapkova of the Czech Republic. On the men’s single sculls side, the battle of the best will continue between Olympic Champion Mahe Drysdale from New Zealand and World Champion Ondrej Synek of the Czech Republic. Belarus’s Stanislau Shcharbachenia is also racing and after beating Synek at World Rowing Cup II, Shcharbachenia is a sculler to watch along with Croatia’s Damir Martin.
Racing for the first time internationally this season are the World and Olympic Champions of the men’s pair Eric Murray and Hamish Bond. The duo’s strongest competition is likely to come from World Cup II winners Roel Braas and Mitchel Steenman of the Netherlands and World Cup I winners Germain Chardin and Dorian Mortelette of France.
Current World Cup leaders Germany has sent one of the largest teams with 22 crews entered. This includes their World Champion women’s quadruple sculls and European Champions in the men’s double sculls Marcel Hacker and Stephan Krueger. Also entered with 22 crews is Italy. They anticipate medals in the lightweight men’s double and open men’s double sculls. Last year’s top nation New Zealand has entered 21 crews and Great Britain has entered 19.
World Rowing Cup III will be raced on Lucerne’s Rotsee regatta course from 10-12 July 2015 with 18 boat classes to be contested. Racing starts at 9:00 CET on Friday 10 July.
The official hashtag for the event is #WRCLucerne. World Rowing will provide updates and short commentary via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @WorldRowingOfficial. The official Twitter account of World Rowing is @WorldRowing.
The IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 will get underway in exactly two weeks’ time and final entry figures confirm that it will be the biggest international athletics event to be held in South America.
The Colombian city is set to welcome 1237 athletes from 153 countries between 15 and 19 July.
Previously, the largest IAAF track and field championships to be held in South America was the 2000 IAAF World Junior Championships, where 1122 athletes from 151 countries competed.
The IAAF World Youth Championships is one of the leading events in the IAAF’s global competition programme, providing a platform for the world’s leading athletes under the age of 18 to excel.
Cali is Colombia’s second-biggest city and widely considered to be the country’s sporting centre, having hosted a number of top sporting events in the past, notably the 1971 Pan American Games.
It will be the first time that there has been a South American host for the IAAF World Youth Championships, which were inaugurated in 1999.
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