Getafe fire coach Míchel González after winless start
MADRID, Oct 5: Getafe fired coach Míchel González on Monday after their winless start in the Spanish league. The club made the announcement a day after drawing with Real Sociedad 1-1 that earned its first point of the season. Getafe lost its first seven matches for its worst ever start in the league. It was outscored 12-2 in that run. It hadn’t lost seven in a row since 2016. Getafe sits last in the 20-team Spanish league standings. Míchel had been at the helm of Getafe since May. His replacement wasn’t immediately announced. (AP)
Ranieri returns to Premier League at age 69 as Watford manager
WATFORD, Oct 5: Claudio Ranieri is back in the English Premier League after being hired as Watford manager on Monday. The 69-year-old Italian replaced Xisco Munoz, who was fired on Sunday, and has signed a two-year deal at a club which has a recent history of getting rid of managers after only brief spells in charge. Ranieri is most famous for leading Leicester to the Premier League title in 2016 at preseason odds of 5,000-1, making it one of the most unlikely triumphs in sports history. He also coached Chelsea and Fulham in England’s top flight. (AP)
Park appeals to Man Utd fans to stop singing offensive song
MANCHESTER, Oct 5: Former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung appealed to the club’s fans to stop singing a song that contains a racial stereotype about his native South Korea. United fans chanted a song about Park during his time at the club, from 2005-12, which included a disparaging line about Koreans eating dog meat. The song is still heard at Old Trafford and the now-retired Park said he wants to educate supporters about why the words are hurtful to him and people from South Korea. (AP)
Athletic Bilbao left back Yuri signs 2-year contract extension
Madrid, Oct 5: Athletic Club Bilbao on Tuesday confirmed that left back Yuri Berchiche has signed a new contract until the end of June 2024. The new deal ends worries that the 31-year-old, who joined Athletic from Paris Saint Germain in the summer of 2018, could leave the club at the end of the current season when his previous deal was due to expire. The defender’s new contract does not include a release clause, which means that any club wishing to buy him would have to negotiate with Athletic. (UNI)
Lovlina gets direct qualification for world championships
New Delhi, Oct 5: The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has decided to give Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) direct qualification for the women’s world championships in Istanbul in December. However, the rest of the boxers will have to go through the trials. “The gold-medallists in each weight category will represent India in the AIBA women’s world championship except 69kg (as) Tokyo Olympics bronze-medalist Lovlina Borgohain will see direct qualification for the world championships,” the BFI wrote on its Twitter handle. (IANS)
Pro Kabaddi League season 8 to begin on Dec 22
Mumbai, Oct 5: Season eight of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) will begin on December 22 in Bengaluru and will be held sans spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Player Auctions for the season were conducted on August 29-31 in Mumbai. Mashal Sports, orgainsers of the event, said that keeping the health and safety of the players and all stakeholders in mind, this year the league will be held without spectators at a single venue in Bengaluru, moving away from the traditional caravan format. (PTI)
Toto Japan Classic no longer part of the LPGA Tour
Daytona Beach (US), Oct 5: The Toto Japan Classic is no longer part of the LPGA Tour schedule because of pandemic, leaving only one tournament as part of the tour’s Asian swing in the fall. The Toto Japan Classic is scheduled for November 4-7. The LPGA Tour now has only four tournaments left in the season, starting this week at the Cognizant Founders Cup in New Jersey. The BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea will be October 21-24. (AP)
Ghana to host first-ever African Paralympic Games in 2023
Accra, Oct 5: Ghana will host the first-ever African Paralympic Games in 2023, the President of National Paralympic Committee of Ghana (NPC-Ghana) Samson Deen said on Tuesday. According to Deen, about 50 African countries were expected to participate in the continental showpiece. He said Ghana had begun preparations for the Games with support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports. (UNI)
Clijsters set to make comeback at Indian Wells
Indian Wells, Oct 5: Three-time US Open champion and two-time winner at Indian Wells, Belgium’s former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters, will be making her first appearance at the BNP Paribas Open in a decade, and will meet Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic in the opening-round at Indian Wells. According to the draw revealed on Tuesday, Grand Slam champions Simona Halep and Emma Raducanu of Great Britain could face off in the third round. (IANS)