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Ronaldo scores record hat-trick in La Liga Madrid, Oct 6 (Agencies): Cristiano Ronaldo’s record-equalling 22nd La Liga hat-trick helped Real Madrid crush Athletic Bilbao and close to within four points of Barcelona. Ronaldo’s third treble in four league games drew him level with the tallies of Real legend Alfredo Di Stefano and ex-Athletic striker Telmo Zarra. Headers from Ronaldo and Karim Benzema put Real 2-0 up at half-time. Ronaldo tapped in his second and set up Benzema for Real’s fourth before deflecting Pepe’s shot into the corner. The ball appeared to come off Ronaldo’s arm but the referee awarded the goal to complete an emphatic win. It was the World Player of the Year’s 13th goal in six league games and his 17th of the season in all competitions. Ronaldo’s extraordinary goalscoring form has been central to Real Madrid’s recovery from two defeats in their first three league games. Since a 2-1 home reverse by city rivals Atletico
Madrid on 13 September, Real have won six games in a row and scored 27 goals in the process. They now sit fourth in the league table, one point above Atletico and four behind leaders Barca. Their latest procession began as early as the second minute when Gareth Bale pinged a cross from the right to the far post and Ronaldo headed past Gorka Iraizoz from close range. Athletic, who have now secured only one point in their last five league games and are 18th in the table, looked a shadow of the side that finished fourth last season as they wilted under relentless Real pressure. With half-time approaching, Luka Modric floated a corner to the edge of the sixyard box where Benzema rose highest to double the home side’s lead. Slick interplay between Benzema and Bale teed up Ronaldo to slot in the third before the Portuguese raced on to Modric’s incisive pass and squared for Benzema to tap in. Ronaldo missed several chances to complete his
Nagaland Post, Dimapur tuesDAY, October 7, 2014
Nagaland eves face Assam in U-17 Subroto semifinals
N e w D e lh i , O c t 6 (Agencies): Nagaland’s Charity School and Kiyang Kasiya Memorial Tribal School from Assam set up a semi-final date with each other after winning their respective last-eight matches of the Under-17 girls category of the 55th Subroto Cup International Football Tournament here Monday. The Nagaland team shot out Tripura Sports Hostel 3-0 via penalties, after the match ending goalless, at the Ambedkar Stadium. The Tripura girls missed their first three penalties with Babita, Shibani and Rubina failing to hit the target. Nagaland’s Netchutvo U., Nhashknovo and Vizovonvo cleanly converted from
the spot to bring joy to their team. The Assam outfit won 3-0 against Telangana State Sports Hostel at the NWC ground. Takshi (2) and Panchami scored for the Assam school. The semi-final will be held Oct 8. Earlier, on October 2, Charity School, Nagaland, annihilated Uttarakhand’s Gayatri Vidyapeet Shantikunj 23-0 to win their Group G match. The goal-glut that began in the fifth minute of the first session through Akhala continued till the 61st minute. Striker Neithutuo found the target nine times with Akhala (3), Khrolo (2), Berila (3), Chokrino (1), Mhaikhono (3) and Vizouonuo
(2) also scoring. The 55th Subroto Cup school football tournament also witnessed a record 94 teams competing across three categories under-14 (boys), under-17 (boys and girls) with the highlight being the Brazilian outfit ColegioEstadul Santo Antonio. Ahead of the Fifa Under17 World Cup, tournaments like Subroto Cup can be an ideal platform for the selectors to spot the budding talent and groom them for the mega event. The country’s only school tournament is organised by the Subroto Mugger Sports Education Society and Indian Air Force since 1961.
Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo, right, celebrates his third goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Sunday. (AP/PTI)
hat-trick, only to get there in the 88th minute via a stroke of luck. Pepe’s scuffed effort struck Ronaldo’s arm and flew past Iraizoz to round off another glorious night for the Real number seven, but a chastening one for the Basques.
Ronaldo hits third hat-trick in five games Most La Liga hat-tricks
Player Cristiano Ronaldo Alfredo Di Stefano Telmo Zarra Edmundo Suarez Lionel Messi
Hat-tricks 22 22 22 19 19
Dhoni becomes ISL team Formula One faces new safety Chennaiyin FC’s co-owner scrutiny after Bianchi crash
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Chennai, Oct 6 (PTI/ agencies): After the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the latest cricketer to own a football team in the high-profile Indian Super League, investing in the Chennaiyin FC ahead of the event starting October 12. Dhoni, the current Indian cricket captain, has pencilled a deal to be a co-owner of Chennaiyin FC along with Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan. “Dhoni has signed a deal to become a co-owner of Chennaiyin FC,” a source from IMG-Reliance, the organisers of the much-anticipated league told PTI. Last month, Dhoni’s deputy in the Indian cricket team was announced as coowner of ISL team FC Goa. Tendulkar is a co-owner of Kerala Blasters while excricket captain Sourav Gan-
guly is a co-owner of Atletico de Kolkata. The ISL kicks off on October 12 in Kolkata while the final will be held on December 20. It must be noted that Dhoni was appointed as the ambassador for the English Premier Leaggue (EPL) by Star Sports last year to promote the world’s most popular league in India. “Soccer is extremely exciting and very close to my heart. I was a goal keeper during my school days. Even today, I play soccer as a warm up game ahead of key cricket matches. I feel that Indian sports fans should consume different types of sports. I want them to be passionate about cricket as they are, but at the same time one needs to give healthy respect to other disciplines as well. “It is critical to spread the message of overall sports development and promotion in the country,” Dhoni was quoted saying last year. Dhoni is an ardent fan of Premier League giants, Manchester United and visited the Old Trafford back in August this year. Dhoni’s love for football is well known and it was football, and no cricket which was his first love as a youngster. “When I was 12 or 13 there used to be a camp for football and I was quite inclined towards football, so I started going there and practised for a couple of years.
LONDON, Oct 6 (AFP): Twenty years after the death of Ayrton Senna, Formula One awoke Monday from a sleepless night in Suzuka to face a barrage of questions on Grand Prix safety. In the wake of Jules Bianchi’s life-threatening accident in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, it was the most intense scrutiny the sport has faced since 1994 when Austrian Roland Ratzenberger and Brazilian Senna lost their lives on successive days at the San Marino Grand Prix. The questions were clear: why was a motorised safety crane deployed in a dangerous position in torrential rain while the cars continued racing? Why was the race not red-flagged and halted immediately after Adrian Sutil’s initial crash at the place where Bianchi also aquaplaned off the circuit? And, given the advance forecasts of dreadful weather arriving with Typhoon Phanfone, why was the race schedule not advanced to avoid the storms that made the track so treacherous? The answers were reluctant and unclear, as drivers, experienced observers and paddock pundits avoided placing the blame exclusively at the door or the organisers. Jackie Stewart and Niki Lauda, both three-time champions and men who survived huge accidents, and Max Mosley, former president of the International Motoring Federa-
Medics rush to the aid of French driver Jules Bianchi after an accident during the Japanese Grand Prix - his Marussia car spun off the track and hit a recovery vehicle.
tion (FIA), said the ruling body and race organisers had done all they could and should not be blamed. Mosley described Bianchi’s crash as a “freak accident” and told Sky Sports News that he “cannot fault any of the people involved.” He explained that advancing the race start was not a solution because it was unclear precisely when bad weather would arrive. Heavy rain, however, has been a feature of many Japanese races since 1976, when Lauda famously retired after two laps and gifted James Hunt the championship, saying “my life is more important than the title.” On Sunday, the race promoters chose to ignore calls to change their schedule and the race finished in a downpour and near-darkness. Many drivers felt an earlier start was
the wisest option. “What’s done is done, but they have to analyse it, look back and if they could have or should have done something then they will know for next time,” said Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull. Williams driver Valtteri Bottas joined the call for an explanation of why a recovery vehicle was on circuit in a dangerous place. “It’s easy to say afterwards, but it’s worth a good look to see if we can learn from it.” Another question must be asked: why do F1 cars not have cockpits to protect drivers from head injuries? Senna, the last driver to be killed at a Grand Prix, died from head injuries and since then fellow-Brazilian Felipe Massa, Spanish test driver Maria de Villota and on Sunday Bianchi have suffered severe head injuries.
NSF Martyrs’ memorial trophy results Orion FC Kohima beat 4th NAP Thizama 4-3, vie tiebreak after both teams were locked to goalless draw. Tiema-Khe Kidima defeated Strivers 6-0 (Mhasil Thol scored the 3rd hat-trick of the tournament). Freeman FC Chozuba beat Asian Mission College 2-0. Tsosinyu United FC beat Oriental College Kohima 4-3 via tie-break. TUESDAY’S MATCHES United Tribes Club, Kohima Vs LN United, 9 am Maple FC Vs Modern College Kohima, 11 am IGAR North Vs Venns United Kohima, 12 pm Meriema Students’ Union Vs FC Lenlem, 2 pm
NFA, 442 meeting rescheduled DIMAPUR, OCT 6 (NPN): Meeting of Nagaland Football Association and 442 Management on October 10 at Ura Hotel, near Indoor Stadium, Kohima at 1.p.m. has been rescheduled on October 10 due to some unavoidable circumstances. Time and venue will remain the same, informed NFA secretary K. Neibou Sekhose.
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