(Reuters) – ON THIS DAY – APRIL 15
April 15, 1996
SOCCER – Arsenal’s David Platt clears the ball in acrobatic fashion during a 0-0 draw against bitter north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Platt, playing in his first season for Arsenal following his move from Sampdoria, scored six league goals and helped the club secure European football with a fifth-placed finish.
The Englishman lasted two more seasons at Arsenal and left in 1999 to join Nottingham Forest as a player-manager.
April 15, 2001
BOXING – World heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis pays homage to the 43 people crushed to death at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park Stadium four days earlier — considered the worst sporting accident in South African history.
The tragedy occurred during a soccer game between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates when thousands of fans forced their way into the stadium, which was filled to capacity, and caused a stampede.
Lewis was in South Africa to defend his title against Hasim Rahman, who was a 20-1 underdog heading into the fight. Rahman went toe-to-toe with Lewis for the first four rounds before knocking out the champion with a strong right hand in the fifth.
April 15, 2001
FORMULA ONE — Williams driver Ralf Schumacher celebrates after winning the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola.
The German started from the second row on the grid but was quick off the blocks and passed David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen’s McLarens to take the lead into the first corner.
Ralf – the younger brother of Formula One great Michael — maintained his pace over the rest of the race to seal his first Grand Prix win.
April 15, 2001
CYCLING – Servais Knaven of the Netherlands en route to winning the Paris-Roubaix in wet and muddy conditions.
Knaven launched an attack with 10km to go and pulled away from the rest of the pack to cross the line in first place followed by team mates Johan Museeuw and Romans Vainsteins.
Knaven shares the record for most finishes at the Paris-Roubaix (16) with Raymond Impanis, Mathew Hayman and Bernhard Eisel.
April 15, 2006
CRICKET – India celebrate after winning the seven-match one-day international series against England with a seven-wicket victory in the final game in Indore.
India, who led 4-1 coming into the game, restricted England to 288 thanks to S. Sreesanth’s career-best figures of 6-55.
India’s top four batsmen — Robin Uthappa, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh — all scored half-centuries to seal India’s 16th successive win while chasing.
April 15, 2007
SOCCER – Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack celebrates with his team mate Frank Lampard after scoring in a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers in an FA Cup semi-final at Old Trafford.
Lampard’s opener was cancelled out by Jason Roberts before Ballack’s strike in extra time sent Chelsea into the final, where they defeated Manchester United 1-0 to lift their fourth title.
Ballack spent three more seasons at Chelsea and won the Premier League and two FA Cup trophies before returning to Bayer Leverkusen in 2010 on a two-year deal.
April 15, 2012
MARATHON – Ethiopia’s Haile Gebrselassie celebrates after winning the novel half marathon against Paula Radcliffe during the Vienna City Marathon in Vienna.
Radcliffe had a head start of seven minutes and 52 seconds — the difference between their personal best times in a half marathon — but was quickly caught by Gebrselassie and overtaken after 16km.
Gebrselassie finished the race in one hour and 52 seconds, while Radcliffe, who was hoping to use this event as preparation for the London Olympics later that year, crossed the line almost 12 minutes later — the first time she had taken more than 70 minutes to run a half marathon.
April 15, 2013
AMERICAN FOOTBALL – United States President Barack Obama holds up a University of Alabama Crimson Tide jersey as he hosts the 2012 BCS National Champions on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.
The Crimson Tide beat Notre Dame Fighting Irish 42-14 in the final to win their third championship during Obama’s presidency.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban presented Obama with a team jersey and the president honoured them saying: “The Crimson Tide kept on rising to the occasion and they never let up.”
April 15, 2013
MARATHON – Competitors run towards the finish line of the Boston Marathon amid an explosion in the background in Boston, Massachusetts.
Two pressure cooker bombs detonated near the finish line of the event, killing three people and injuring over 250.
The men’s and women’s races were won by Lelisa Desisa Benti and Rita Jeptoo and more than 5,000 participants who could not finish the race after it was suspended were awarded medals.
April 15, 2018
SOCCER – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho looks on as midfielder Paul Pogba leaves the pitch after being substituted in their shock Premier League defeat by West Bromwich Albion.
A week after an inspiring comeback victory over Manchester City, United fell to a 1-0 loss at Old Trafford, handing their local rivals the title. United eventually finished second, 19 points behind City.
United’s record signing Pogba endured a turbulent time at the club under Mourinho and fell out with the Portuguese, who was sacked in December after a poor start to the next season.
(Compiled by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
