Berlin (Germany), July 3 (IANS) Self-confidence has grown to new heights for Germany before they face Spain in the UEFA Euro 2024 quarterfinal, former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos said at a press conference at the team’s base camp in Herzogenaurach.

“Faith has grown extremely within this team. We have learned we can survive tight situations; we believe in our quality much more than we did in recent months,” the 34-year-old said ahead of the match this Friday evening in Stuttgart.

After 10 years in the shirt of Real Madrid, he said that winning Euro 2024 on home soil was the driving force behind his return to the German team, after his initial retirement from international football in 2021. “I wouldn’t have returned if this idea hadn’t been in my head and was part of the talks I had with [head coach] Julian Nagelsmann,” the 113-cap midfielder said.

A European Championship title is still missing in his career record, despite having won 34 trophies for club and country since he started his career in 2007, reports Xinhua. “You are telling me that (Spain winger) Lamine Yamal was born that year makes me feel older right now. He is a great, great player and was assumedly the best performer for Barcelona last season,” the midfielder added.

Having announced his retirement from football after the tournament, Kroos said he is sure that crossing swords with Spain will not be his last game, despite Spain striker Joselu having announced to “hopes to retire him” by beating the tournament hosts. “That’s nice of him to have that idea, but mine is different,” Kroos answered.

The Germany midfielder said he is aware “I will stop playing football in some weeks, but I am not nostalgic about it. This day comes for everyone, and I am happy to have decided on my own.”

There will be days “I will miss football in the future,” he said. “There won’t be anything I can do as good as football. But I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life.”

The duel against Spain is decided by the team that dominates midfield. “The one taking the lead in the center is likely to win the game. We are aware of that, and we have set up solutions for all possible situations,” the 2014 World Cup winner said.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved tennis ace Rohan Bopanna’s request for assistance for him and his men’s doubles partner Sriram Balaji to compete in two ATP Tour events ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji will head to Hamburg and Umaag, along with their coach and physiotherapist, to compete in the ATP 500 events before they head to Paris, the Ministry informed in a release on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Bopanna, ranked fourth in the World in men’s doubles rankings, has got a direct entry into the Paris Olympics and has chosen to partner the 34-year-old Balaji in the Paris Olympics.

The MOC also approved requests of shooters Rhythm Sangwan, Sarabjot Singh, Vijayveer, and Anish Bhanwala for assistance towards expenses of personal coaches or trainers during the Olympic Training Camp in Volmerange and the Paris Olympic Games 2024 at Chateauroux.

The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) will cover the cost of their flight, board and lodging, visa, and local transport.

Skeet shooters Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka’s requests for assistance to train with personal coaches Riccardo Fillipelli in Arrezo, Italy, and Ennio Falco at the Tiro A Volo Falco range in Capua, Italy respectively were also approved by MOC.

During the meeting, the MOC also decided to extend assistance to Steeplechasers Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary as well as their coach Scott Simmons for training in St. Moritz, Switzerland, for 24 days before the Olympic Games.

The Women’s Relay 4x400m team’s request for assistance to procure equipment and table tennis player Harmeet Desai’s request to support training in Biberach, Germany, and the purchase of various consumables as well fee for support staff were also approved by the MOC.

The MOC inducted 400m Sprinter Kiran Pahal, High Jumper Sarvesh Anil Kushare, and Shot Putter Abha Khatua in the TOPS Core group for the Paris Olympics Cycle.

–IANS

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Monaco, July 3 (IANS) Just three weeks ahead of the upcoming Paris Olympic Games, World Athletics has ratified the women’s marathon world record set by Peres Jepchirchir earlier this year. Kenya’s Jepchirchir rewrote the record book as she ran 2:16:16 to improve the women-only world marathon record by 45 seconds at the TCS London Marathon.

The field for the World Athletics Platinum Label race on April 21 was widely regarded as one of the deepest and highest-quality women’s fields ever assembled and no secret had been made of the fact that breaking Mary Keitany’s women-only world record of 2:17:01 was the big target.

Ultimately, Jepchirchir was the one to achieve it. Seven women had remained in the pack as they reached the halfway point in 1:07:04 – the second-fastest half-way split ever recorded in London and a mark that put them on schedule to smash the record by almost three minutes.

Jepchirchir went on to win in 2:16:16, finishing seven seconds ahead of Tigist Assefa. Joyciline Jepkosgei was third (2:16:24) and Megertu Alemu fourth (2:16:34), making it the first marathon in which four women finished inside 2:17.

On Wednesday, the new World Record in Women’s world indoor 60m hurdles by Devynne Charlton.

In Glasgow on March 3, Bahamian hurdler Charlton lowered the 60m hurdles world record to 7.65 as she secured her first global title at the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

Charlton had previously shared the world record of 7.67 with Tia Jones of the United States. Charlton achieved that mark in New York on 11 February before Jones matched it in Albuquerque just five days later.

–IANS

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Berlin, July 3 (IANS) Ronald Koeman seemed in doubt about what gives him more happiness: the letter he received from his grandson or the Netherlands’ clean 3-0 win over Romania in the last 16 of Euro 2024. The 61-year-old Netherlands coach praised his grandson’s colourful drawings and his prediction of a 3-1 win.

Both his grandson’s prediction and his national team’s performance came near Koeman’s ideal, with Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo stepping into the limelight. Koeman called Gakpo “so far the most important player in our squad” and praised him for having scored his third goal at the tournament, reports Xinhua. “He is at a top level at Euro 2024. I hope all others get to his level soon,” the coach said.

The former midfielder and Euro 1988 winner said his team “can reach the final if we continue.”

Optimism seems back for the Netherlands following a bumpy group stage performance. Dreams are growing of a repeat of the Netherlands’ triumph at Euro 1988 in Germany, with iconic striker Marco van Basten the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, including an iconic volley in the final against the USSR.

Around 36 years later, many see the circle close as Gakpo seems to push the “Oranje” to new heights, again on German soil.

“There is more to come, and I see us at a promising starting point,” the striker mentioned. His goal opened the doors to an undisputed victory over Romania taking the Netherlands into the quarterfinals, where they will face Turkey in Berlin on Saturday.

Having joined Premier League outfit Liverpool in January 2023, Gakpo initially struggled to meet his and his clubs’ expectations. “I am happy about the support I enjoyed in Liverpool. I took that good feeling to the Euros,” he said.

“There is nothing about him one doesn’t like. He is a fantastic footballer and a great human,” gushed departing Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp.

Just like Klopp, Koeman seems to have fallen in love with his game-changing forward. While following a rather unobtrusive playing style, the attacker can unleash surprising speed and dynamic power, sneaking into narrow spaces.

Additionally, he seems able to slip into the role of a reliable supplier of goals for the Netherlands.

Keeping his level, Gakpo remains the driving source for Koeman’s team. “We are Dutch and must play enchanting football. That’s the expectation. But we haven’t reached our limits yet and haven’t achieved what is in our minds,” the attacker said.

–IANS

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London, July 3 (IANS) Second seed and the 2023 U.S Open winner, Coco Gauff advanced into the women’s singles third round of the Wimbledon 2024 Championships, with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni here on Wednesday. The 20-year-old American dropped just three games as she became the first woman to the third round.

Gauff needed just 1 hour and 6 minutes to defeat Todoni, who beat Olga Danilovic in the first round after qualifying for her Grand Slam debut, under the roof on No.1 Court, as rain delayed the start of play on the outside courts by nearly two hours.

Todoni, the rookie, was competitive with the US Open champion in the first four games of the match. But she failed to convert the only two breakpoints she had in the match, in the fourth game of the second set, which proved costly for the Romanian. In all, Gauff broke serve five times in nine chances, and her serve was never otherwise under threat.

Gauff was born five months before Todoni in 2003 but entered the match as the much more experienced player. The World No.141 was contesting her first career Grand Slam tournament, and second WTA tour-level main draw after debuting in February at Cluj-Napoca.

Ranked No.592 at this time last year, Todoni entered Wimbledon ranked a near career-best No.141, was 4-1 against Top 100 players in 2024 entering her match against Gauff, and also beat a player ranked ahead of her, No.116 Olga Danilovic, in the opening round.

But Gauff represented a step up in quality and experience that the Romanian had trouble matching. She hit 23 unforced errors in defeat to just seven winners.

The American, meanwhile, hit 13 winners to 16 unforced and won 85% of her first serve points — though she only landed 43% of them.

Since losing in the first round of Wimbledon 12 months ago, Gauff is now 19-2 at Grand Slam tournaments. And largely, she’s cruised in those victories — particularly in the first week. Gauff did not lose a set in either the Australian Open or French Open in her first four matches and has only lost six games through two rounds at Wimbledon.

But the grass-court Grand Slam is the only event at which Gauff hasn’t made the quarterfinals, having lost in the Round of 16 in both 2019 and 2021.

–IANS

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