FIFA denies foul play in Messi winning World Player award
Zurich: Global governing body of football FIFA has denied claims that their World Player of the Year vote was rigged to make sure Lionel Messi won the award. Nicaragua captain Juan Barrera called for an investigation into the integrity of the vote after he insisted that he did not vote for Messi, according to a report in www.metro.co.uk. FIFA looked into Barrera’s allegations and released a statement to ESPN, which read: “We have checked the voting documents submitted by the Nicaraguan FA and all documents are signed and confirmed with the official stamp of the Nicaraguan FA. “Having compared with the vote sheets submitted by the federation and the ones we have published on FIFA.com, we confirm that we have the right votes signed by the player. We are asking the Nicaraguan Football Federations to inquire on this matter.” Messi won the award earlier in the week ahead of Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk who helped the Reds win the Champions League. Juventus and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was also in contention. (IANS)
Shuttler Kashyap storms into Korea Open semifinals
Incheon: Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap progressed to the men’s singles semi-finals of the Korea Open World Tour Super 500 with a straight-game win over former world no 2 Denmark’s Jan O Jorgensen here on Friday. In a clinical display, the 33-year-old from Hyderabad, who is the lone Indian left in fray, outsmarted Jorgensen 24-22 21-8 in 37 minutes to make it to his second semifinal of the season. He had reached the last four at the India Open Super 500 tournament. The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold-medallist will now face world no 1 and two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan on Saturday. A former World No 6, Kashyap, who was promoted from the qualifying round, had last played Jorgensen five years ago at the Denmark Open. The Indian entered the match with a 2-4 record against Jorgensen, a 2015 World Championship bronze medallist. After the interval, Kashyap garnered a few quick points to turn the tables on his rival, reaching 14-12. (PTI)
Deepak takes top rank from Bajrang Punia
New Delhi: World Championship silver medallist wrestler Deepak Punia has jumped to world number one position in 86kg but Bajrang Punia lost the top rank in the 65kg category in the latest rankings issued by the international federation (UWW). Competing in his maiden senior World Championship, Deepak settled for a silver after an ankle injury forced him to pull out of the final against Iranian great Hasan Yazdani. The 20-year-old now has 82 points, four more than World Champion Yazdani. This year, Deepak had won a silver Yasar Dogu and bronze medals at Asian Championship and at Sassari tournaments. He has been rewarded for his consistent show. However, Bajrang, who went into the World Championship as world number one, dropped to number two spot after managing a bronze. The 25-year-old now has 63 points while Russia’s Gadzhimurad Rashidov, who won gold in Nur Sultan, is the new world number one in 65kg. In 57kg, world bronze medallist Ravi Dahiya has entered the top-five bracket. He is ranked exactly five with 39 points while Rahul Aware’s bronze medal has pushed him to world number two. (PTI)
Bengaluru Bulls beat U Mumba
Jaipur: Pawan Sehrawat shone again as Bengaluru Bulls defeated U Mumbai 35-33 in a VIVO Pro Kabaddi League match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Friday. Sehrawat scored 10 raid points for the Bulls as they produced a clinical performance to clinch the fourth place in the points table and improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. U Mumba did have their moments in the match where they looked capable of staging a comeback but fell short by two points in a tightly contested affair. (PTI)