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By Aparajita Upadhyay New Delhi, May 16 (PTI) The historic Commonwealth Games performance of the Manika Batra-led Indian women paddlers created such a buzz that even traditional powerhouse China came looking for the videos of their performance in the recent World Championships, says chief national coach Massimo Costantini. India delivered its best performance in table tennis at the CWG, bagging a record haul of eight medals, including a historic gold in the women’s team and singles event in Games last month....

With only 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation and Dallas trailing Memphis by two points, everyone inside the FedEx Forum knew the ball was going to end up in the hands of Mavericks star Luka Doncic. After a Dallas timeout, Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber found Doncic with an inbound pass and let the All-Star guard do the rest. MORE: Ben Simmons makes his Defensive Player of the Year case Doncic caught the ball, took two dribbles and threw up an awkward, off-balance floater from beyond the 3-point line....

Toole, the head coach at Robert Morris, has been trying to convince both his wife and two-year-old son, Ryan, to root for his Colonials instead of the Blue Devils on Friday night. So far, that effort has been unsuccessful, he told hosts on a SiriusXM radio hit on Thursday morning — a day after Robert Morris knocked off North Florida, 81-77, in a play-in game in Dayton. MORE: North Florida coach’s hilarious interview | Live scoreboard | Why UAB wears two different shoes...

Mass influxes of migrants have been gathering along Belarus’ shared borders with European Union members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, prompting allegations that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is sending them in an attempt to destabilize the bloc. Von der Leyen said that Belarus’ alleged targeting of the EU with the migrants “is an attempt by an authoritarian regime to try to destabilize democratic neighbors. This will not succeed.” Some have accused Lukashenko of pushing migrants toward the EU as retaliation for sanctions it imposed on Belarus for its crackdown on internal opposition since the contentious 2020 election....

England created several chances in the first quarter of the game, with Raheem Sterling even hitting the post. The Manchester City star, however, was more fortunate in his second attempt as he headed in the opener from close range. The Three Lions came in for criticism following their goalless draw against Scotland some days ago. England were lively against the Czechs, though, and deserved to win the game. Saka and Grealish star against Czech Republic Gareth Southgate has often been criticised for allegedly holding his attacking talents back but his decision to name an attacking line-up paid off....

It comes as no surprise that Abraham’s tremendous form has been recognised by England boss Gareth Southgate, and the 22-year-old has been named in the Three Lions’ squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Montenegro and Kosovo after making his competitive debut from the substitutes’ bench last month against the Czech Republic. England have one of the most potent attacks in all of international football right now – 26 goals across their 6 qualifiers prior to this week’s games says all you need to know – but is there a case to be made that Abraham should start at least one of the upcoming fixtures?...

Also, given that Manchester United are very much in form right now, Arsenal’s next PL fixture, which is against United, could play a huge role in deciding their top four hopes. If they lose that game and a few more till the end of the season, they will have to rely on winning the Europa League to get into the Champions League next season. Unai Emery and his men take on Ligue 1 club, Rennes, next at the Roazhon Park....

Friday’s draw in Nyon, Switzerland, means outgoing City manager Manuel Pellegrini will have a chance to get a victory over his former team. Pellegrini coached Madrid in 2009-10. OLYMPICS: Brazil is men’s favorite | U.S. is defending women’s gold medal team The first legs of the semifinals will take place April 26 and 27, with the returns scheduled for May 3 and 4. City and Atletico will play the first legs at home....

Germans have been riveted by the spectacle of the biggest crackdown on tax evasion in their country’s history. It all began in 2006, with a constitutionally controversial cloak-and-dagger operation, in which the country’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, gave €4.2 million, plus a new name and passport, to an employee of a secretive Liechtenstein bank in exchange for a CD containing the names, accounts and financial correspondence of 1,400 wealthy foreign clients....

In case you didn’t know… The young Frenchman has been in imperious form this season and is currently the top scorer in Ligue 1. Just like Mbappe, Ronaldo and Messi are also the leading scorers in their respective leagues. The Portuguese is enjoying a good campaign with Juventus, where he has netted an impressive 19 goals in the Serie A. Messi, on the other hand, is the top scorer in LaLiga with 25 goals this season....

One of the busiest and fan-friendliest booths in the Javits Center, it gives fans of the trading card game a space to gather and talk, trade and, of course, duel. However, with the global pandemic putting a stop to mass gatherings, conventions and exhibitors have had to adjust to a virtual environment—and Konami is no exception. “While we would have loved to interact with the community in-person, due to the current pandemic, we had to do things virtually....

On the flip side, of course, Anthony has never played in an NBA Finals, let alone come close to an NBA championship. But he says that having three gold medals would top an NBA title in his eyes. PHOTOS: Thrilling images from Rio | Melo makes the difference “Absolutely,” he said. “I don’t know why people think that a gold medal is any different than winning an NBA championship. At the end of the day, you’re winning something and I think this is the pinnacle of anything you could want, to win a gold medal, be the world — this is really the world championship, to the rest of the world....

Just don’t describe the first Grand Slam of the year as “more open” than usual. “Whenever I get asked that question, it always comes across in really kind of an almost negative way instead of acknowledging how many great players we have,” Johanna Konta, who reached the semifinals of Wimbledon last year, said in her pre-tournament news conference Saturday. “The depth in women’s tennis I really do believe in the last few years has gotten so strong,” she added....

Everton come into this game on the back of a 2-0 loss to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City at Goodison Park in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Late second-half goals from German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and Belgium international Kevin De Bruyne ensured victory for Manchester City. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, beat Sam Allardyce’s West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at Selhurst Park in their most recent English Premier League game....

Northern Ireland finished third in the group with 3 points(GD 0) and must wait to see whether they qualify for the knockouts of the UEFA Euro 2016 as one of the best fourth-placed teams in the football tournament. Here are some of the talking points from the game:- #1 Thomas Muller simply can’t score One of the most frustrated men on the pitch was forward Thomas Muller, who simply couldn’t manage to find the back of the net in the first half....

Speaking to BBC after the match, Thierry Henry said that the emotion Payet displayed on Friday proved how hurt he was by the World Cup exclusion. “He thought that he was going to go the World Cup in Brazil. He was involved in every single qualification game. They didn’t pick him. You saw a man that was hurt on the pitch today,” Henry said while congratulating the 29-year-old. The French veteran also congratulated the national team and said that the team played well to ensure their victory....

Sturridge (90+2) scored the decisive goal in the final minute of the game. Earlier, Gareth Bale (42nd minute) had given minnows Wales the lead which was cancelled out by England striker Jamie Vardy (56th). The result put England at the top of the group with four points from two matches. They are now virtually assured of a spot in the quarter-finals as even a draw in their final group match against Slovakia could see them through....

Champions League semi-finalists Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund registered huge wins, hitting 10 goals between them, as they returned to Bundesliga duty in sensational style on Saturday. Having drawn Barcelona in the last four of the Champions League, German champions Bayern crushed Nuremberg 4-0 at Munich’s Allianz Arena despite resting nine of the team which won 2-0 at Juventus on Wednesday. “The game showed my players have a very professional attitude at this stage of the season,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes....

United, who overcame AC Milan 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 16, will face the Spanish club in the last eight, while the Gunners are up against the Czech outfit who saw off Leicester City and Rangers in previous rounds. Ajax play Roma, and Dinamo Zagreb have been drawn against Villarreal in the other quarter-final match-ups. What are Man Utd and Arsenal’s paths to the final? If United overcome Granada in the quarter-finals, they will play the winners of the tie between Ajax and Roma....