Hamilton eyes best chance in Sepang
Sepang: Lewis Hamilton on Thursday said he may have his best chance yet to finally win the Malaysian Grand Prix despite a disappointing mechanical flop in Australia which left him trailing in the standings. Hamilton said his Mercedes, which took him to pole position at the Formula One season-opener but then lasted just a few laps of the race, was the strongest he had brought to tropical Malaysia’s Sepang circuit. “I’ve had some good results here but obviously I haven’t won here. So that’s been the challenge every time I come,” said Hamilton, who was second in 2007 and finished third last year and the year before. “The goal is obviously to win, but this is perhaps the year that I’ve had the best car to be able to do so. So I’m hoping that we have a chance to capitalise on that.” The 2008 world champion was the prime performer in pre-season and he was runaway favourite to win in Australia after snatching a thrilling pole position at Melbourne’s Albert Park. But a misfiring cylinder ended Hamilton’s race within minutes as Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg flew to a commanding win 25 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger. Rosberg now finds himself in the novel position of leading the championship standings, and he said he was more than happy with F1’s new era following a raft of technical changes. “It’s changed around the pecking order which is definitely good for everybody because (with) the same guy winning last year… we needed a bit of a change to that, so that’s been good,” said the German. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who won his fourth straight world title last year at a canter, also had problems in Melbourne and retired early. (AFP)
Maradona compares Argentine FA to Pak
Berlin: Football legend Diego Maradona has slammed the Argentine Football Association (AFA) by accusing those in charge of “understanding as much about football as Pakistan does”. The 53-year-old won the 1986 World Cup with Argentina and coached the South Americans at South Africa 2010, where they crashed out with a 4-0 defeat to Germany in the quarterfinals. A footballing icon, Maradona won league titles in Spain, Italy and Argentina, but has never transferred his playing success to coaching. In the wake of the failed World Cup bid four years ago, Maradona publically fell out with AFA president Julio Grondona and the national team’s director Carlos Bilardo, accusing the pair of sacking him. Four years on, Maradona has not forgiven the AFA and hit out at his former employers, comparing them to the Pakistan Football Federation, who are ranked 158th in the world. “The AFA has played dirty tricks on me. I should have also been the Argentina coach at the World Cup (at Brazil 2014). But the current leaders of the association understand as much about football as Pakistan does,” Maradona told Sport Bild. “They don’t have a clue at all. To clarify: There are certainly many good things in Pakistan, but I have never seen them play a World Cup final. I say: The current association leaders in Argentina are the same as Pakistan.” Argentina start their World Cup campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 15 and also face Nigeria and Iran in Group F. (AFP)
Gurusaidutt, Sourabh enter Malaysian QF
Johor Bahru (MALAYSIA): India’s RMV Gurusaidutt and Sourabh Verma advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles competition of the Malaysian Grand Prix Gold at Pasir Gudang here on Thursday. However, Sai Praneeth B and seventh seed HS Prannoy bowed out of the tournament after losing their respective pre-quarterfinals matches at the Stadium Pasir Gudang. In the women’s singles, PC Thulasi progressed to last-8 as she got the better of compatriot Tanvi Lad 21-21, 7-21, 21-18 to set up a clash against Adrianti Firdasari of Indonesia on Friday. Sixth seed Gurusaidutt overcame a tough first-round fight to breeze past Indonesia’s Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo 23-21, 21-9 in a 36-minute duel. Eighth seed Sourabh, who has clinched three titles – TATA Open, Austrian International Challenge and Iran Fajr International Challenge – recently had to battle it out against Kazumasa Sakai of Japan to post a 21-15, 17-21, 21-19 victory. (PTI)