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Neymar wants Messi to beat Germans in World Cup finalTeresopolis, July 11: Brazil-ian superstar Neymar said on Thursday he wants teammate Lionel Messi to lead Argenti-na to victory in the World Cup final against Germany. At an emotional press con-ference, Neymar broke down in tears as he relived the chal-lenge which broke a vertebrae in his back and left him fear-ing he would be paralysed. With Brazil’s dream of winning a sixth World Cup decimated by their 7-1 ham-

mering by Germany, Neymar said he wants Barcelona teammate Messi to claim the trophy on Sunday against the Germans. “Messi’s history in the sport is so important, he has won a lot of trophies and I will be cheering for him,” Neymar told a press conference. “He is a friend, he is my teammate and I wish him luck.” Neymar was ruled out of the World Cup in a rugged challenge by Colombia defend-

er Juan Camilo Zuniga in Bra-zil’s 2-1 quarterfinal win. The 22-year-old wiped away tears as he described his fears immediately after the knee in the back that he would be paralysed. “I was blessed in that situa-tion because it wasn’t more seri-ous. Two more centimetres up and, well, I could be in a wheel-chair. So it is really difficult. “It happened at such an important point in my career,” he said. “It was some-

thing I cannot accept. That challenge and what happened

was unacceptable,” he added. “I would not say there

was malice because I can’t speak for him, but everyone who understands football knows that challenge was not normal. “When someone comes from behind I can’t do any-thing about it. I did not have any control and I ended up being hurt.” Fifa decided not to take action against Zuniga for the challenge that will keep Neymar out of action for up to six weeks.

Neymar, though, insist-ed he held no bad feelings towards Zuniga after the Napoli defender called to apologise to him. “Of course I would forgive him. I do not feel any anger, he even called me the next day to apologise. He said he didn’t mean to hurt me and apologise.” Neymar returned to Bra-zil’s training camp in Teres-opolis for the first time since the incident on Thursday in a bid to lift his teammates’ spir-

its after their humiliation at the hands of Germany. “It is not a pleasant situ-ation, but it is good just to be back here so I can see my friends and I told them we stared together so we should finish this together regardless of the result.” And, despite not being able to take part himself, he urged the rest of the Brazil squad to at least salvage some pride against the Netherlands in their third-place playoff on Saturday. AFP

SC reinstates Sethi as PCB chiefKarachi, July 11: Najam Sethi has once again been rein-stated as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after the Supreme Court (SC) declared null and void the noti-fication issued by the government on Monday which removed Sethi from his post. The SC also set aside the appointment of Justice (R) Jamshed Ali Shah, who was given the task to conduct fresh elections to appoint a new chief of the PCB, as the acting chairman of the board for 30 days.

Gavaskar seeks payment for BCCI stintNew Delhi, July 11: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has written to the Supreme Court urging it to tell the BCCI to pay him for his stint as the interim president during the IPL earlier this year, NDTVreports. The apex court had earlier directed N Srinivasan to stand down as BCCI president during investigations into the match-fixing allegations against his son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan. The BCCI had recommended Gavaskar to replace him to handle the affairs of the IPL that took place in the UAE and India.

Serena pulls out of Swedish OpenStockholm, July 11: World number one Serena Williams has pulled out of next week’s Swedish Open after failing to recover from the illness which dramatically ended her Wimbledon campaign. The 32-year-old American star, who was the defending champion at the Bastad claycourt event, withdrew from the Wimbledon doubles event after suffering from what the WTA described as a “viral illness”.

PGTI Kashmir Masters

Chikkarangappa surges ahead Srinagar, July 11: Chikkarangappa S of Bangalore took lead in round three of the PGTI Kashmir Masters – a PGTI Super Series event – at the Royal Springs Golf Course here on Friday. Chikkarangappa fired a second straight four-under-68 on day three to move his total to 15-under-201. Delhi’s Rashid Khan, who had set the course record in round two, ended round three at second place, at 14-under-202, after shooting a one-under-71 on Friday.

Mallinson School lifts Women’s football trophy Srinagar, July 11: Mallinson Girls School on Friday lifted the Women’s football tournament trophy defeating Govern-ment Women’s College M.A Road in the final match played at Women’s College M.A Road ground, here. None of the teams were able to score in the allotted time, after which the outcome was decided through tie-breaker in which Mallinson defeated Women’s College by 2-1. For Mallinson Umihana and Shameen Basharat were the scorers while as for MA Road Hakeema scored lone successful strike.

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