East Rutherford: Lionel Messi sensationally announced his retirement from international football on Sunday after Argentina crashed to an upset defeat against Chile in the final of the Copa America.

The heartbroken Barcelona superstar was distraught after missing a spot-kick as Chile snatched victory in a penalty shoot-out — Messi’s fourth straight defeat in a major final while representing Argentina.

“For me the national team is over,” the crestfallen 29-year-old told reporters.

“I’ve done all I can, I’ve been in four finals and it hurts not to be a champion.

“It’s a hard moment for me and the team, and it’s difficult to say, but it’s over with the Argentina team.”

Messi’s dramatic announcement followed Argentina’s third loss in a major final since 2014.

They were beaten 1-0 by Germany in the final of the World Cup in 2014 and lost on penalties, also to Chile, in the final of the 2015 Copa America.

Messi also tasted defeat with Argentina in the final of the 2007 Copa America.

Despite a glittering career that has seen him be named FIFA World Player of the Year on no fewer than five occasions, Messi has often faced baffling criticism from Argentina fans.

Although universally regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever, he has regularly been criticised for his failure to land a major title in the colours of Argentina.

Messi’s failure to match the achievements in the Argentina jersey of Diego Maradona, who single-handedly carried the team to victory in the 1986 World Cup, has often been held against him.

Maradona himself has often taken potshots at Messi, criticizing him on the eve of the tournament for a perceived “lack of personality.”

“He’s a really good person, but he has no personality,” Maradona said in Paris shortly before the start of Euro 2016.

“He lacks the character to be a leader.”

Messi’s bombshell decision comes after a gruelling season which was disrupted by injury last year.

He recovered to help Barcelona win the Spanish title once more and was relishing the prospect of leading Argentina to glory in the Copa America Centenario.

His commitment to playing for Argentina was reflected in his decision to fly from Spain to Argentina for a low-key friendly against Honduras shortly before the tournament, where he suffered a back injury.

He then returned to Spain to give evidence at his trial for tax fraud before jetting off to the United States to join up with his Argentina team-mates.

Although he was injured for his team’s opening group game against Chile, he came on as a substitute in a 5-0 hammering of Panama to score a hat-trick in 19 minutes.

He then equalled Argentina’s international goalscoring record of 54, held by Gabriel Batistuta, in the quarter-finals before setting a new mark with his 55th international goal in the semi-final win over the United States.

(Agencies)

Kolkata: Former leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who was appointed the India cricket team’s head coach, said it was a nerve wracking experience giving the interview for the job before his former team-mates.

Kumble was interviewed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) cricket advisory committee comprising Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly at a five-star hotel here on Tuesday.

“Sachin was on teleconference, but of course there was Dada (Ganguly) and Laxman on the other side of the table, so it was nerve-racking but it was great to present a plan,” Kumble was quoted as saying by bcci.tv.

Speaking about his appointment, the 45-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2008, said, “It will be wonderful to get into the Indian dressing room as the coach. I am really looking forward to the challenge and the huge responsibility. I know there will be a lot of expectations and that is something which I am looking forward to.”

Kumble also said that he will work behind the scenes, much like former India coaches John Wright and Gary Kirsten, who helped Indian cricket scale new heights.

“I played a lot under John Wright, he’s been a great influence on how I’ll go about the job, in terms of being in the background. When I became a mentor for Mumbai Indians, I brought John in because he understood a lot about Indian culture and then the way coaches work,” he said.

“I was involved with Gary Kirsten only for the Test matches, a very short period. He was, again, someone who worked in the background and didn’t make himself visible. Exactly how I’d like to work as well. Not in the front, but behind the scenes.”

The former tweaker, who once bowled with a broken jaw, also said he would try and build leaders from the present team and try to share the burden of the captain.

“Important as a coach to take some burden off the captain,” he said. “Captain has a lot of things on his head, all cricketing decisions and non-cricketing as well.

“Having been with the Indian team for such a long time and having had various experiences of not just conditions, but outside the cricket field, when you’re a coach, you’re not just coach on the field but also off it. You’re trying to build personalities, trying to build leaders. That’s how I’d like to look at this team,” he remarked.

Kumble also said that he has talked to Test captain Virat Kohli and will look to iron out their strategies just before the Test tour to the West Indies.

“We have the West Indies Test series coming up, so that’s something our focus will be on,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to Virat (Kohli) and MS (Dhoni), must be on the flight back from Zimbabwe. It’s nice to have a camp here in Bengaluru before we go into the tour. We’ll sit down and iron out and get ready for the West Indies tour.

“Bowling, getting 20 wickets in Test cricket will win you matches. That’s the focus and we’ll take it from there. Batting, we have some great talent there. I believe this team has the potential. It’s a young team and driven by young leaders,” he added.

“Looking forward to working with Virat and MS. Long-term, we have lots of Tests coming up in India, that’ll be our focus.”

The 45-year-old added that he will aim to be an enabler and not an imposer.

“They are already playing a good brand of cricket,” he said.

“I will bring my characteristics as well but won’t impose them on the players. My job is to convince players to buy into what I believe in and what they believe in. At the end of it, they need to own it. If the team doesn’t own what we agree on, then it’s not going to work. I’m only an enabler. I work as an enabler to make sure things happen,” Kumble added.

(IANS)

London: India reached the final of the Hockey Champions Trophy for the first time after Britain and Belgium played a dramatic 3-3 draw to finish below the Asian Games champions at the completion of the round-robin stage here.

In the summit clash on Friday, India will meet world champions Australia, who defeated them 4-2 in their last league match of the six-nation tournament on Thursday.

India got seven points with two wins, two losses and a draw. Germany and Britain ended with six points each and will clash for the bronze medal. Belgium had five points while South Korea bagged three points. Australia totalled 13 points with four wins and a draw.

India had won only one medal in the 36 editions of the Champions Trophy – a bronze in 1982.

But they are set to better that record, thanks to Belgium and Britain, who played out a dramatic 3-3 draw in the final match of the pool phase, a result which helped neither team.

Belgium took less than 40 seconds to take the lead against the home favourites, with Thomas Briels guiding a cross into the roof of George Pinner’s net.

The home team captain Barry Middleton levelled with a penalty corner deflection five minutes before half time.

Belgium’s Loick Luypaert gave his side a 3-1 lead with a brace of penalty corner drag-flicks either side of the break, putting the Red Lions within one goal of sealing their own place in the competition final.

However, Britain’s decision to replace their goalkeeper with an outfield player with six minutes remaining proved significant, with David Ames and veteran Middleton tying the match as the Belgians lost their discipline.

In the Australia-India clash, much of the match was closely contested although it were the Australians who went into half time with a 2-0 lead thanks to strikes from Trent Mitton and the day’s captain, Aran Zalewski.

The Kookaburras added a third through Flynn Ogilvie before India captain V.R. Raghunath pulled a goal back with a trademark penalty corner.

Australia restored the two goal advantage seconds later when Tristan White continued his remarkable tournament by scoring his third goal in three games.

A Mandeep Singh strike early in the fourth quarter gave India genuine hope. And they could have rescued the game were it not for Australian shot-stopper Tyler Lovell who made numerous saves.

In the other match match, Constantin Staib and Oskar Deecke scored twice each as Olympic champions Germany produced superb play to overpower South Korea 7-0.

The result was the title holders Germany’s biggest ever victory at a Champions Trophy, surpassing their 6-1 win over Spain in Karachi way back in 1981.

Staib started and finished the scoring with field goals. Tom Grambusch, Deecke (2), Timm Herzbruch and Marco Miltkau all scored in between as Die Honamas produced their best performance of the competition.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: Veteran Leander Paes today got the nod for his seventh Olympic appearance after the All India Tennis Association (AITA) paired him with Rohan Bopanna for the men’s doubles competition despite the latter’s desire to team up with Saketh Myneni.

Announcing the squad for the Olympics, beginning August 5, AITA chief Anil Khanna said Bopanna will be pairing up with Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles event as had been demanded by the World No.1 in women’s doubles.

Sania will be teaming up with Prarthana Thombare in the women’s doubles event.As was expected, the AITA rejected Bopanna’s request for Myneni as his partner, saying that India’s best chance for a medal at Rio lay in him teaming up with Paes, who won the French Open mixed doubles title earlier this month.

“He (Bopanna) has given reasons to selection committee on why he feels Saketh could be a better doubles partner. But he has also made it clear that he wants to represent the nation. It was a well-meaning letter (which Bopanna wrote yesterday to AITA). Leander and Rohan have played four times in Davis Cup, they have a 2-2 record,” Khanna said.

“Committee decided that the best bet for Indian tennis to win a medal at the Olympics would be Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna,” he added.

Khanna then named Bopanna and Sania as the best medal hopes in the mixed doubles category.

“The committee has decided to nominate Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza in the mixed doubles competition,” he said.

(Agencies)