Euro 2020 | Defensively solid England takes on a resilient Denmark
The Hindu
Former looking to reach final after 1966, latter hoping to emulate 1992 exploits
England has the chance to reach a first major final since its 1966 World Cup triumph when it takes on Denmark in Wednesday’s Euro 2020 semifinal, but it will need to banish a history of stumbling at this stage. Coach Gareth Southgate has been keen to keep the burden of history out of his team’s thinking, though he does not have to look back far for a warning against complacency. An England side containing 10 of the current squad faced Denmark in October in a Nations League match and lost 1-0 to a Christian Eriksen penalty.He has worn India’s blues, albeit in an Under-19 World Cup, with K.L. Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat as his teammates. He has proudly adorned the Lion’s Crest — the famed Mumbai cricket logo — in all three formats. He has played with Yuvraj Singh, against Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid and has the likes of Rahul and Joe Root in his illustrious list of dismissals. He is also a software developer for an IT giant, based in California. Virtually every middle-class Indian over the last three decades at some stage dreams of being either a cricketer or an IT professional. Saurabh Netravalkar has been combining two dreams, even after relocating to USA to pursue academics at the prestigious Cornell University in 2015.
Unlike most of the Olympic-bound athletes, who opt to train abroad before the big event, boxer Amit Panghal prefers training in home conditions prior to Paris 2024. A former World championships silver medallist and a World No. 1, Panghal won the 51kg quota place in the only chance he got. He wants to follow his own plans to script success in Paris.