Saina wins but Kashyap out of Hong Kong
Hong Kong: Saina Nehwal advanced to the second round with an easy win but it turned out to be a disappointing day for the Indians overall as Parupalli Kashyap and PV Sindhu failed to cross the first hurdle in the Hong Kong Super Series here on Wednesday. Looking for her first title of the season, world number seven Saina didn’t break much sweat as she outplayed Indonesia’s Bellaetrix Manuputty 21-14, 21-16 in a 34-minute women’s singles match. The 23-year-old Indian will next take on Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk on Thursday. However, it was curtains for Sindhu and Kashyap in the opening round of the event, the last Super Series of the season. World number 10 Sindhu lost 16-21, 17-21 to second seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in another women’s singles match, while Kashyap suffered a 14-21, 10-21 defeat at the hands of China’s Zhengming Wang in men’s singles competition. Rising shuttler K Srikanth also crashed out in the opening round of men’s singles after going down 18-21, 14-21 to world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. India’s men’s doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar, too, suffered a similar fate as the duo lost 18-21, 19-21 to top seeded Indonesian combo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. Another Indian pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy B were also send packing 9-21 15-21 by Russian pair of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov in a 26-minute match. (PTI)
Yuki reaches QF of Aus Open play-offs
Shenzhen (China): Yuki Bhambri cleared the first hurdle in his quest to get a wild card for the 2014 Australian Open by beating Michael Venus 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in his opening round of the play-off tournament, here on Wednesday. The second seed Indian, ranked 204, had beaten the New Zealander last month en route to his Challenger title win in Traralgon. In Traralgon also Yuki had come from behind to beat Venus, who is ranked 388. Yuki lost the first set as he failed to cash in on two breakpoints and lost his serve twice at the Luohu Tennis Club. However, he came back well in the second as he did not face any break chance and broke his rival twice. In the deciding third set, Yuki saved both the breakpoints he faced and converted two of the four chances he got on Venus’ serve to move to the next stage. He awaits winner of the match between qualifier Zhicheng Zhu and wild card Mao-Xin Gong. (PTI)
Ferrari predicts emotional Massa farewell
Sao Paulo: Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has urged Felipe Massa to find a “little bit extra” in a bid to win Sunday’s season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix in front of his home fans. The race at Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit will also be Massa’s final appearance for the Italian team before his move to Williams next year. “I am certain that Felipe will give his all to finish his time with Ferrari in the best way possible,” Domenicali said on Tuesday. “He is going to find that little extra to improve his performance.” Massa is currently eighth in the drivers’ championship standings with 106 points, 266 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel. The 32-year-old’s last Grand Prix victory was in the corresponding race in 2008. “He has always done well on this track, where the warmth of the fans are going to provide him with even more motivation,” Domenicali said. “It is going to be an emotional weekend for everybody.” (IANS)
Valdes adds to Barcelona’s injury woes
BARCELONA: The sight of Victor Valdes limping off during Spain’s surprise defeat by South Africa on Tuesday is another headache for Barcelona as injuries threaten to hamper the Catalan side’s impressive start to the season. The early signs are that the keeper, who is set to leave after this campaign when his contract ends, will miss Saturday’s La Liga visit of Granada and he could be out for up to six weeks if a calf tear is confirmed when he arrives back at the club. Andres Iniesta was one of the few Spanish players to come out of the game with any credit in a team missing a string of other Barcelona men. Lionel Messi and midfielders Xavi Hernandez and Cesc Fabregas were unavailable, while in defence Gerard Pique was missing along with Jordi Alba. (Reuters)