Berlin, July 6 (IANS) Mikel Merino’s 119th minute winner sent tournament host Germany packing and booked Spain a semifinal ticket at the Euro 2024 in Stuttgart’s MHP-Arena on Friday.

The two sides drew 1-1 in regular time and the match was dragged into overtime where Olmo’s pinpoint cross to the near post allowed Merino to nod home the decisive goal, reported Xinhua.

Both sides needed some time to gain a foothold into the clash, as many fouls disrupted the flow of the game.

Spain assumed control as the match progressed and created chances through long-range efforts. However, Nico Williams and Fabian Ruiz lacked in accuracy while Lamine Yamal pulled a free-kick just wide.

Germany remained on the back foot but Aymeric Laporte as well as Dani Olmo couldn’t overcome goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from the distance.

Kai Havertz produced Germany’s first clear-cut opportunity in the closing stage of the first half after forcing Spain custodian Simon Unai into action.

Spain started brightly into the second half as Alvaro Morata missed the target with a turn shot from inside the box, before Olmo eventually broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when the Leipzig player finished off Yamal’s low pass with one-timer from 14 meters into the bottom left corner.

Julian Nagelsmann’s boys tried to respond quickly but either the final pass was missing, or Spain’s defense cleared the ball in the last nick of time.

The Germans increased the pressure as Simon had defuse Robert Andrich’s shot on target before Niclas Fullkrug smacked the woodwork.

Havertz should have leveled the scores but chipped the ball over the empty target from 22 meters.

Spain couldn’t get out of their territory and was punished later on as Joshua Kimmich headed from tight angle into the path of Florian Wirtz, who slotted home the equalizer with great assistance of the inside the left post to force La Roja into the overtime.

“Congratulations to Spain for reaching the semifinals. We were better in the second half and from the 60th minute onwards, we were clearly the better team. Our late leveller was well-deserved. We conceded the winner with the last chance. It is a painful one,” said Germany coach Nagelsmann.

–IANS

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London, July 6 (IANS) American second seed Coco Gauff eased past British qualifier Sonay Kartal 6-5, 6-0 on a packed No.1 Court while former US Open winner and wild card Emma Raducanu maintained her chances by stunning ninth seed Maria Sakkari in straight sets to reach the fourth round of women’s singles at the Wimbledon here on Friday.

The World No. 298 Kartal had walked out confidently onto the court on Friday, as only the second British woman in the Open Era to reach the third after coming through Qualifying. He might have been hoping to emulate Gauff, who had at this same court caused a sensation as a 15-year-old in 2019 when she stunned five-time champion Venus Williams.

But Kartal’s journey ended in just over an hour as Gauff raced past her, losing only four games in all.

As rain pattered on the closed No.1 Court roof, Gauff emerged easy victor to reach the second week and equal what remains her best performance here to date. The US Open champion will need to get past her fast-rising compatriot Emma Navarro in the next round if she has to extend her stay here.

While Gauff was getting the better of a local star, another one rose to the occasion and defeated a seeded player to reach the fourth round. Raducanu commandingly booked British representation in the second week of Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over No.9 seed Maria Sakkari.

Under a closed roof on Centre Court, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu thrilled her home crowds by toppling ninth-ranked Sakkari in 1 hour and 32 minutes of play.

Currently ranked World No.135, Raducanu is maintaining a strong stretch of form during the grass-court swing — a portion of the year she missed in 2023 while recovering from injuries and surgeries.

Raducanu made her first semifinal of the year on the lawns of Nottingham, then backed it up by beating top-10 player Jessica Pegula to reach the Eastbourne quarterfinals.

Former World No.10 Raducanu is now into the Wimbledon second week for the first time since she reached the Round of 16 upon her main-draw debut in 2021 — the Slam preceding her historic US Open title run.

–IANS

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London, July 6 (IANS) Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz improved to a 12-1, his overall record in five-set encounters in majors as he got the better of American Frances Tiafoe in a thrilling encounter in men’s singles third round at the Wimbledon 2024 on Friday. The 21-year-old Spaniard survived a major scare as he rallied from the brink against Tiafoe to win a third-round thriller 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2.

Under the roof on Centre Court, both produced moments of magic, engaging in extended cat-and-mouse rallies throughout the match. With little to separate them, Alcaraz raised the tempo and power of his groundstrokes in the closing stages to seal victory in three hours and 51 minutes, improving to 12-1 in fifth sets at majors.

Alcaraz has won his past 10 matches at The Championships, having defeated Novak Djokovic in the final last year. However, the third seed’s title hopes hung in the balance for large periods on Friday afternoon when Tiafoe produced one of his best performances of the season to push the Spaniard to his limit.

The American arrived for Wimbledon having won consecutive matches at just two tour-level events this year — Delray Beach and Houston). However, he looked back at the level that helped him reach the semi-finals in New York in 2022 and win two tour-level titles in 2023, demonstrating great court craft to pull the World No. 3 around.

He could not quite maintain his level in the fifth set against Alcaraz, who let out a roar and raised his arms to the sky after his absorbing win. Into the fourth round at SW19 for the third consecutive year, Alcaraz will next face Frenchman Ugo Humbert or American Brandon Nakashima.

The Spaniard is chasing his third trophy of the season and fourth major title overall. Last month, he triumphed at Roland Garros to become the youngest man in history to win a major on all three surfaces.

In other matches on Friday, 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria defeated French veteran Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 while the 12th seed Tommy Paul of the United States sent 23rd seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in another third round encounter.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Seasoned Bangladesh Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passed away in Dhaka on Friday, after suffering a heart attack while playing in the country’s national chess championship. The Bangladesh Chess Federation has confirmed his death. He was 50.

Ziaur Rahman, a 15-time Bangladesh Chess Champion, was a known figure in India as he played in numerous tournaments across the country in the last three decades.

Rahman collapsed to the ground while playing in the 12th-round game against Enamul Hossain Rajib in the Bangladesh national chess championship on Friday. He was rushed to the Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Dhaka where he was declared dead of a heart attack at 7 pm local time.

Rahman’s son Tahsin Tajwar Zia is also playing in the same tournament and was inside the hall when the incident happened.

Rahman is Bangladesh’s most decorated chess player and earned his International Master title in 1993 and his GM title in 2002. He competed 17 times for Bangladesh in the Chess Olympiad, setting a record in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022, when he and his son Tahsin Tajwar Zia became the first father-son duo to be on a national chess team.

In 2005 he achieved a rating of 2570, which is still the highest by a Bangladeshi chess player. He also made news in 2008 when he held a young Magnus Carlsen (rated 2786 at that time) to draw.

The news sent the chess community into a tizzy with many known players offering their condolences.

All-India Chess Federation (AICF) President Nitin Narang expressed his condolence on X: “Deeply saddened by the news of Bangladeshi Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman’s sudden passing during the Bangladesh National Chess Championship.

“He was a well-respected and frequent competitor in Indian tournaments. Our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and the entire chess community in Bangladesh,” he said.

Grandmaster and chess coach Srinath Narayanan also expressed his condolences. “A terrible loss to the chess community and to humanity. He was such a nice person. So young, so unexpected.” he said.

–IANS

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Chennai, July 5 (IANS) After dominating the ODI series and one-off Test, the Indian women’s cricket team went down to South Africa by 12 runs in the first T20I of the three-match series at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday. In a low-scoring encounter, South Africa rode on half-centuries by Tazmin Brits (81 off 56 balls) and Marizanne Kapp (57 off 33 balls) to post 189/4 in 20 overs. The Indian women tried to stem the run flow with twin-wicket hauls each by Pooja Vastrakar (2-23) and Radha Yadav (2-40).

However, chasing 190, the Indians fell short narrowly despite Jamimah Rodrigues hammering 53 not out off 30 balls towards the end of the innings. India Women could manage only 177/4 in 20 overs to fall short by 12 runs.

Electing to field first, the Indian team struggled for the first breakthrough as South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt (33, 22b, 4×3, 6×2) and Tazmin Brits raised 50 runs for the opening wicket partnership. Radha Yadav broke the partnership when she got a slower one through the defenses of Wolvaardt, who played across the line and had her stumps disturbed.

Brits and Kapp then came together for a 96-run partnership for the second wicket, taking the score into three figures. They were also helped by the Indians dropping a few chances.

Brits completed her half-century off 40 balls, hitting seven boundaries and one six. Kapp also followed suit soon, completing her fifty off 30 balls, studded with eight boundaries and one six.

Kapp was the next to fall, claimed by Radha Yadav when she had the former South Africa captain slicing one to Asha Sobhana at short-third. Chloe Tryon (12) and Brits added 38 runs for the third wicket as South Africa posted a challenging 189/4.

In reply, the Indians got off to a good start with the in-form Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana raising 56 runs for the first wicket in the Power-play. Shafali (18 off 14 balls) was out in the last over of the Power-play, caught by keeper Jafta off Ayabonga Khaka.

Mandhana scored 46 off 30 balls (4×7, 6×2) while skipper Harmanpreet struck 35 off 29 balls after Dayalan Hemalatha could manage only 14 off 17 balls as the Indian team struggled to keep pace with the mounting run rate. Jamimah Rodrigues blasted seven boundaries and one six as she shored up the scoring rate, completing her half-century off 29 balls.

She and Harmanpreet added 90 runs for the fourth wicket partnership, but that did not prove enough in the end. The Indians needed 38 runs from the last 12 deliveries and Jamimah struck Khaka for successive boundaries off the first two balls. She took a single off the next ball as Khaka sprays it wide and Harmanpreet also could score a single off the next delivery. A double followed by a six by Jemimah reduced the target to 21 off the last six balls, as 16 came off the penultimate over.

Harmanpreet struck a four off the first ball by Nonkululeko Mlaba but the Indians could manage only eight runs off the over as their skipper got stumped off the final delivery of the match.

Both teams combined produced 366 runs in this match, making it the highest match aggregate involving India vs South Africa women’s T20Is.

Brief scores:

South Africa Women 189/4 in 20 overs (Tazmin Brits 81, Marizanne Kapp 57, Laura Wolvaardt 33; Pooja Vastrakar 2-23, Radha Yadav 2-40) beat India Women 177/4 in 20 overs (Jamimah Rodrigues 53 not out, Smriti Mandhana 46, Harmanpreet Kaur 35; Chloe Tryon 1-32, Nonkululeko Mlaba 1-32) by 12 runs.

–IANS

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