Nadal up against Spanish teenager Alcarez at Madrid Open
Madrid, May 4: Rafael Nadal is scheduled to face Carlos Alcaraz in the second round of the Madrid Open. The 17-year-old Alcaraz defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-4 6-0 on Monday to set up the “dream” matchup against the 20-time grand slam championon Wednesday. Alcaraz, who is competing in Madrid on a wild card, turned pro in 2018 and has been considered by many as Spain’s successor to 34-year-old Nadal. In other early round matches, Daniel Evans defeated Jeremy Chardy 7-6 (6) 6-7 (7) 6-2, and Danis Shapovalov got past Dusan Lajovic 6-1 6-3. Fabio Fognini, who was disqualified from the Barcelona Open because of foul language, defeated Spanish qualifier Carlos Taberner 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-3 to set up an all-Italian clash against Matteo Berrettini in the second round. John Isner defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4 7-6 (6), while fellow American Reilly Opelka lost to Dominik Koepfer 6-4 6-4. Other US players who won were Marcos Giron and Tommy Paul. In the women’s draw, top-ranked Ashleigh Barty defeated French Open champion Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-4 in a round-of-16 match, while Spaniard Paula Badosa got past Anastasija Sevastova 6-7 (0) 7-6 (3) 6-0. Petra Kvitova defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 4-6 6-4, while eighth-seeded Belinda Bencic advanced after Ons Jabeur retired. (AP)
South Korea says North Koreans will pull out of WC qualifiers
Seoul, May 4: South Korean officials say North Korea has told soccer’s Asian governing body it will not participate in World Cup qualifiers next month because of coronavirus concerns. Kim Min-soo, an official from the Seoul-based Korean Football Association, on Tuesday said the Asian Football Confederation has asked North Korea to reconsider its decision. He said the North notified the AFC last week of its intent to drop out of the matches. South Korea is scheduled to host North Korea, Turkmenistan, Lebanon and Sri Lanka in Group H qualifying matches from May 31 to June 15. North Korea’s Olympic committee also said last month it decided to drop out of the Tokyo Olympics to protect its athletes from coronavirus infections. “We will wait until the AFC completes its internal discussions and notifies our government of the final result,” said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing to reporters. (AP)
India’s FIH Hockey Pro League matches in Europe postponed
Lausanne, May 4: India’s upcoming FIH Hockey Pro League away fixtures against Spain and Germany later this month have been postponed due to the international travel restrictions imposed in the wake of surging COVID-19 cases in the Asian country, the world body (FIH) informed on Tuesday. The Indian men’s hockey team was scheduled to play against Spain on May 15 and 16, followed by the two-leg tie in Germany on May 23 and 24. “FIH, Hockey India as well as the Hockey National Associations of Germany, Spain and Great Britain since the matches initially planned in London on 8-9 May were also postponed – are currently looking at all potential options to rearrange these matches at a later date,” the International Hockey Federation (FIH) said in a statement. (PTI)
Indian eves to compete in AFC Women’s Club C’ship
New Delhi, May 4: An Indian side will feature in the prestigious AFC Women’s Club Championship 2021 to be held later this year, the national federation said on Tuesday. The Indian Women’s League champions will represent the country in the eight-team pilot tournament of the Asian Football Confederation, to be played between October 30 and November 14 this year. Group A (East) will consist of clubs from Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, while Group B (West) will have teams from India, Iran, Jordan and Uzbekistan. All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das said, “We already have two International events – the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup lined up in 2022. As a prelude to that, Indian representation in the Club Championship will further redefine women’s football in India.” The tournament, envisaged to become the AFC Women’s Champions League in 2013, began in 2019 with four champion teams from Australia, China, Japan and South Korea taking part in it. (PTI)