Singles

Puel confident of keeping  Maguire

london: Leicester City head coach Claude Puel is confident his club will be able to keep hold of England central defender Harry Maguire despite interest from Manchester United. Maguire was one of England's standout players as they reached the semi-finals of this summer's World Cup and his displays are rumoured to have United willing to pay 65 million pounds ($85.5 million) for a player Leicester paid Hull City just $22 million a year ago. It would mean a major profit for Leicester, but Puel would rather keep hold of the 25-year-old. "I am confident about the presence of Harry for this season. He is a very good player for us," he said in an interview with Sky Sports News on Monday. Puel added that Maguire's displays for his club last season meant he was "not surprised" by the defender's performances in Russia. "We saw his progress during the second half of the season. He was great and played very well. It was not a surprise to see him perform," he said.

Real begin season without Ronaldo

madrid: Real Madrid chief coach Julen Lopetegui has given his first press conference of the pre-season in which he explained how he is preparing for the new campaign without the club's record goal-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo who has joined Juventus. Ronaldo joined Juventus over the summer, leaving the new coach without the club's most emblematic player and placing others such as Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema under the spotlight. "Cristiano is one of the most important players in the history of the club, but he said he wanted to leave," said Lopetegui, whose side will play Manchester United in the International Champions Cup on Wednesday. "I am certain Bale is going to do big things this season. He is an extraordinary player and we will see the best of him," he said.

‘Buying Ronaldo not smart move’

turin: Signing veteran Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo is a risk that Juventus took, Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis said, adding he would not be doing the same. The 33-year-old Portugal captain left Real Madrid to join Juventus this summer for an Italian record transfer fee of 112 million euros ($131.4 million).  The five-time World Player of the Year has signed a four-year contract with the record Italian football champions and will reportedly earn a net salary of 31 million euros ($36.38 million) per season. "Spending so much money for a player at the end of his career is dangerous," De Laurentiis was quoted as saying by Mediaset's Canale on Monday. "Let's not forget, (Ronaldo) has a certain age and in terms of the club's balance sheet, they have taken a gamble," he added.

Mane, Carballo share top honours

bengaluru: Udayan Mane and Miguel Carballo shared top honours with identical rounds of seven-under 63 in the opening round of the inaugural Louis Philippe Cup golf tournament which got underway at the Prestige Golfshire Club course here on Tuesday. In overcast and windy conditions interrupted by light drizzles, the Ahmedabad based Mane executed a stellar bogey free round sinking seven birdies on the second, fourth, seventh, ninth, 11th, 12th and 13th holes respectively.  Carballo, a former PGA tour player, sank eight birdies on the day but his sole bogey on the tricky hole 16, meant he lost the chance to take an outright lead.