Iran eased the pressure on their under-fire coach Afshin Ghotbi by qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup finals after beating Singapore 3-1 yesterday.
On a humid night in the city state, Ghotbi, dressed in a suit jacket, anxiously prowled his technical area throughout despite 11th and 12th minute goals from Hadi Aghily and Mehrzad Madanchi setting Iran on their way.
Ghotbi had been under pressure from Iranian fans and media after a humiliating loss to Jordan in November and supporters handed out posters of the coach with his face crossed out before kick-off.
Singapore captain Mohamed Alam Shah pulled a goal back for the home side before half-time but substitute Gholamreza Rezaei broke away to seal the win in the 63rd minute for Iran with a delightful chip.
The result meant the three-time Asian Champions finished top of Group E with a game to spare on 10 points from five matches.
Perennial underachievers China secured their berth with a hard-fought goalless draw in Zhejiang against Syria in Group D.
But Gao Hongbo’s team had to wait an agonizing 40 minutes to hear the result from Beirut, where minnows Lebanon held Vietnam to a 1-1 draw which sent the Chinese through.
It was sweet revenge for China who lost 3-2 to Syria at the start of the qualifying campaign almost a year ago under caretaker coach Yin Tiesheng, but since then have recorded three straight wins before yesterday’s draw.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Steve Smith yesterday announced his retirement from one-day international (ODI) cricket after captaining Australia to a semi-final exit at the ICC Champions Trophy, bringing down the curtain on a career in the format that included two ICC World Cup wins. The 35-year-old batsman, who was his team’s top scorer with 73 as Australia lost to India by four wickets in Dubai on Tuesday, said he would still be available for selection for T20 internationals and Test matches. “It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia statement. “There have been so