Greece hand Klopp first defeat as Germany manager

Jurgen Klopp tasted defeat for the first time as Germany manager as his side lost 1-0 to Greece in Augsburg on Sunday, with Dimitrios Kourbelis scoring the only goal.

In his first game on home soil, Klopp's side offered little in attack and lacked the energy they had displayed on the former Liverpool coach's debut in a 1-1 away draw with the Netherlands on Thursday.

The Germans had struggled to find a way through the Greek defence for the opening hour before the visitors broke through on the counter, with Kourbelis scoring in the 74th minute.

It was Greece's first ever win against Germany.

"Personally, I'm completely unbothered by it. I've lost far more matches in my life than I would have liked," Klopp told ARD.

"But as long as you draw the right conclusions, a loss is ultimately just a piece of information -- no different from a win.

"We absolutely need these kinds of matches -- they are exactly the games we wanted to have."

Germany captain Joshua Kimmich added: "He's been very clear about what he wants -- as players, we need to implement it."

Several regulars missed out with Klopp trying to get a better idea of the talent at his disposal, but the defeat illustrated the scale of his task in reviving the flagging giants.

The 59-year-old took over Germany in July after the four-time World Cup winners were eliminated at the last-32 stage of the global showpiece in North America, their third consecutive early exit from the tournament.

"I think the important thing is that we stand together and that won't change," said Germany centre-back Jonathan Tah.

"Of course, with the enthusiasm surrounding the new coach, things can get very hyped up from the outside, but ultimately, it comes down to what we do on the pitch and how we perform."

Klopp had included 16 uncapped players in his 44-man squad as he warned that he would be using the competition to have a look at the players at his disposal.

Among the five alterations to his starting XI was Hoffenheim forward Bambase Conte, a shock call-up after playing just four top-flight matches.

Conte looked sharp and shot just wide with two minutes gone.

Barcelona forward Karim Adeyemi had the best chance of the opening half when he stormed past the Greek defence on the counter, but sprayed his shot just over the crossbar.

Conte was again dangerous after the break, forcing a low fingertip save from Greek goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis.

With Germany dominating possession but offering little in attack, the visitors grew bolder and more incisive on the counter and should have taken the lead when Fotis Ioannidis blasted wide of the goal with just Alexander Nuebel to beat.

Greece broke through moments later, however, when Kourbelis's low shot took a wicked deflection off Joshua Kimmich and rolled into the bottom left corner.

Greece then held firm for a breakthrough win over Germany, after seven defeats and three draws dating back to 1960. xsportfeed.quest

Four-time champions Cricket Club of India (CCI) revived their Dr HD Kanga Cricket League Division ‘A’ title hopes with an innings-and-42-run win over National Cricket Club at the Brabourne Stadium on Sunday.

CCI, who had managed just six points from four games, earned six vital points from this outright win to join Parsee Gymkhana at the top with 12 points each. Islam Gymkhana is also in the race, having secured 11 points after five games.

Put into bat, National were bowled out for 66 in 22 overs, with left-arm spinner Dhrumil Matkar claiming 6-32 and pacer Sarthak Bhide taking 3-19.

CCI then replied strongly, with Suved Parkar smashing a 40-ball 72 (5x4, 7x6). Skipper Akash Anand scored 39 off 40 balls, while Chinmay Sutar remained unbeaten on 30 off 17 balls as CCI declared at 161-4.

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In the second innings, National folded for just 53. Matkar finished with match haul of 11 wickets (6-32 and 5-17), while pacer Akash Parkar and left-arm spinner Kartik Mishra took two wickets each.

Matkar, 30, who has represented Mumbai in four first-class games, said: “Winning an outright match with one bonus point is a big plus and the most pleasing thing is that my performance is helping the team stay in the race for the top spot. Suved also played a top-class knock on this challenging wicket.”

Parkar said: “It was a typical Kanga League wicket where spinners were getting good turn and there was some help for the pacers as well. But when I was batting with Akash Anand, we decided to score runs as fast as we could.”

Another Division ‘A’ game between Parsee Gymkhana and Shivaji Park Youngsters ended in a draw. Parsee Gymkhana declared at 172-7, with Saqib Mulani scoring 37. SPY reached 137-8 at stumps, with opener Swaraj Parulkar making 40.

In another draw, PJ Hindu Gymkhana were bowled out for 243 against Islam Gymkhana, with Uday Gaikar scoring 60. Left-arm spinner Vinayak Bhoir took 5-60. Islam Gymkhana were 112-3 at stumps.

In Division ‘B’, Police Gymkhana declared at 242-7 against Muslim United SC, with Tanish Meher unbeaten on 155. Muslim United were 67-4 at stumps.

New Delhi [India], September 28 (ANI): Indian kabaddi star Pawan Sehrawat hailed the team’s successful title defence at the ongoing Asian Games, saying that no team will be able to stop India’s dominance in the sport for years to come and will need a lot of preparation to do that.

India’s gold medal-winning kabaddi teams in men’s and women’s events arrived back home at Delhi airport on Sunday. Both Indian teams outclassed Iran in their respective gold medal matches.

Speaking to ANI about the gold medal win, Indian kabaddi star Pawan said to ANI that the match against Iran felt one-sided and that they need a lot of preparation to beat India. He also urged the central government to honour the kabaddi coach Randhir Sehrawat, a famed Indian kabaddi coach who is associated with Gujarat Giants in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), with the prestigious Dronacharya Award.

Pawan represents Tamil Thalaivas in PKL and is a big name in the competition. He was also the male flag-bearer for India at the Asian Games opening ceremony.

“I want to thank the entire nation for supporting kabaddi. I got goosebumps hearing the national anthem play. The match against Iran felt like a one-sided affair. There was a bit of competitiveness in the half-time, but other than that, it was one-sided. No one will be able to defeat us in the coming years; Iran will need time to prepare. I urge the government to confer the Dronacharya Award upon my coach, Randhir Sehrawat," he said.

The men’s team produced a 40-34 victory, while the women’s side edged past Iran 37-34 to successfully defend their title.

This campaign makes the Indian kabaddi team one of the finest teams ever to have played in the Asian Games.

Since the debut of the sport in men’s team competition at the 1990 Asian Games, India has won gold at nine out of ten editions, except for a bronze medal finish in the 2018 edition in Australia. Women’s kabaddi was introduced in the 2010 edition, and since then, India has been among the medalists there too, having won four gold medals and a silver.

Overall, with 13 golds, a silver and a bronze each (total 15), India is the most successful team in kabaddi at the Asian Games, with Iran (two golds, six silvers and two bronzes, a total of ten medals) being the second-best side. (ANI)

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