QPlay: India Settle For Silver, Spain in Knockouts & Ind-ZIM T20

More: Olympics’ host city Rio has declared a financial emergency & Russia’s track & field team banned from Olympics.

1. India Settle for Silver Medal in Champions Trophy

India muffed three tries in the title-deciding shootout to settle for a silver medal in the 36th Hero Champions Trophy as they lost the final 1-3 against World Champions Australia.

Only Harmanpreet Singh was able to score in the shootout, while SK Uthappa, SV Sunil and Surender Kumar all shot wide off the target. Just four attempts were required from the two teams as Australia had gained a winning 3-1 lead.

Aran Zalewski, Daniel Beale and Simon Orchard scored for Australia, while Trent Mitton’s try was blocked by goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh.

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2. First India-Zimbabwe T20 Today in Harare

The ODI series proving to be a stroll in the park, Mahendra Singh Dhoni would look to finish his current season with another dominant performance when he leads India in the three-match Twenty20 series against a hapless Zimbabwe.

Riding high after inflicting a 3-0 whitewash on the hosts, Dhoni and his boys will try do an encore in the shortest version as well. The likes of Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, who toured here last time, will do well to remember that the T20 series in 2015 ended in 1-1 draw after the Ajinkya Rahane-led side lost the second game.

With the gulf between the two teams being so huge, Dhoni would ideally like to shuffle his batting order a bit and also try out some of the benchwarmers like Mandeep Singh, Jayant Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, who will also be itching to get a game under their belt.

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3. Late Eder Goal Sends Italy Through to Last 16

Italy moved into the knockout stages of Euro 2016 after Eder scored two minutes from full time to secure a 1-0 win over Sweden in Toulouse on Friday.

Eder ended a great run by firing home in the 88th minute to move Italy clear at the top of Group E on six points after two matches following their 2-0 victory over Belgium in their opening encounter. The result left Sweden in an uncomfortable position with one point after two games ahead of their final group clash against Belgium next week.

4. Morata Double Leads Spain to Easy Win Over Turkey

Striker Alvaro Morata scored twice to lead Spain to an emphatic 3-0 win over Turkey on Friday that sent the holders into the second round of the European Championship.

Morata opened the scoring in a one-sided Group D match after 34 minutes, climbing to head home Nolito’s cross from the left.

Three minutes later Turkey defender Mehmet Topal headed a lofted pass by Cesc Fabregas straight into the path of Nolito who neatly tucked the ball home from close range. Spain struck again three minutes into the second half when Andres Iniesta’s delightful through pass picked out Jordi Alba and he unselfishly squared the ball for Morata to tap in.

Spain top the group with six points from two games, two ahead of Croatia. Czech Republic have one point and Turkey none.

5. Manoj Enters Second Round of AIBA World Olympic Qualifiers

Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (64kg) clinched a hard-fought opening win but two other Indian boxers bowed out after losing in the first round of the AIBA World Olympic Qualification event.

Manoj defeated Puerto Rico’s Danielito Zorrila de la Rosa in the opening light welterweight (64kg) 2-1 to enter the second round where he will be up against second seed Mohamed Eslam Ahmed Aly of Egypt on Sunday.

However, Gaurav Bidhuri (52kg) lost 0-3 to American Antonio Vargas in his opening bout to bow out of contention along with Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) who lost 1-2 to Spaniard Youba Sissokho Ndiaye in a hard-fought contest.

Both boxers however can still have a shot at Olympic qualification by competing in the final qualifying tournament for professional boxers scheduled to be held in Venezuela next month.

Rio Declares Financial Emergency, Requests Funding for Olympics

The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro declared a state of financial emergency on Friday, requesting federal funds to help the state fulfill its obligations for public services during the Olympics which start Aug. 5.

The announcement, as Rio reels from a fall in oil revenue, was made in the state’s Official Gazette. Interim President Michel Temer, who visited Rio this week, has said the federal government would ensure all obligations were met.

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