Top-tier debut for Sandhu
New Delhi: National football team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu has achieved a historic feat as he became the first Indian to feature in a top-tier league match in Europe by turning out for his Norwegian side Stabaek FC. The 24-year-old Indian kept a clean sheet in his first Tippeligaen (Norwegian Premier League) start for Stabaek FC, helping them claim a dominant 5-0 triumph over IK Start in an away match on Sunday.
India squad
New Delhi: India will be without some of their key players when they take on Laos in the 2019 Asian Cup qualifier at Laos on Thursday. Midfielder Vinit Rai, who suffered an ankle injury, was dropped from the team.
The squad: Subrata Paul, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Amrinder Singh; Rino Anto, Keegan Pereira, Pritam Kotal, Arnab Mondal, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglensana Singh, Fulganco Cardozo and Narayan Das; Udanta Singh, Halicharan Narzary, Seityasen Singh, Md. Rafique, Eugenson Lyngdoh, Jackiechand Singh and Alwyn George; Sumeet Passi, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sunil Chetri.
Boban role
Zurich: Former Croatia captain Zvonimir Boban was given a high-ranking role at Fifa on Monday when soccer’s global ruling body named him as one of its two new deputy secretary generals.
Alan rescued
Mexico City: Mexican soccer player Alan Pulido has been rescued a day after the striker for the Greek soccer team Olympiakos was kidnapped in the restive northeastern state of Tamaulipas, the state government said early on Monday. The 25-year-old Mexico national team player disappeared in his hometown of Ciudad Victoria on Saturday night, when he was intercepted by armed people after leaving a party.
Yusa in NUFC
New Delhi: NorthEast United Football Club has signed Mohun Bagan midfielder Katsumi Yusa for the upcoming edition of the Indian Super League.
Sushil case
New Delhi: The court battle between Sushil Kumar and the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) over the selection in the Olympic squad remained undecided on Monday. The Delhi High Court, which heard all the parties, said it would continue to hear the arguments on Wednesday.
Hari wins
Shamkir: Grandmaster P. Harikrishna bounced back with an attacking victory over Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine in the fifth round of Shamkir Chess tournament here. With four rounds still to come, Fabiano Caruana of Italy is sitting pretty with 4.5 points enjoying a half point lead over Anish Giri.
Bhakti show
Tashkent: WGM Bhakti Kulkarni of India defeated Nguyen Thi Mai Hung of Vietnam to emerge as the sole leader in the Asian continental women’s chess championship here. Bhakti took her tally to an impressive 4.5 points out of a possible five.
