Japan Open: Paul stuns McDonald, Ruud loses
TOKYO, Oct 19: American tennis player Tommy Paul overcame compatriot Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 at the Japan Open ATP 500 event on Wednesday to reach his ninth quarterfinal of the season and sixth on hard courts.This was Pual’s 39th win of the season which also boosted his ATP Finals qualification hopes.The 26-year-old American was strong on serve throughout the 86-minute clash, winning 21 of 22 points behind his first delivery. The fifth seed did not face a break point and showed his athleticism by winning a series of lung-busting rallies where both pulled each other from corner to corner, ATP Tour reports.Vying for his first title of the season, Paul takes on Ben Shelton or Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals. Casper Ruud, lost on Wednesday in Japan. The Norwegian is 10th in the ATP 220 points ahead of Paul.That gap will not grow any further this week, though, after Giron defeated the second seed 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes to set a quarterfinal clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime.Giron rallied from 2-4 in the second set, rolling off the final four games to improve to 1-1 in his ATP Head-to-Head series against Ruud.Giron has earned three Top 10 wins, having defeated then-World No.6 Rune and then-World No.10 Berrettini in 2020. (IANS)
National Games kick off in Goa with badminton matches
PANAJI, Oct 19: The 37th National Games began in Goa with Badminton tournament taking place on Thursday, much before its formal inauguration.On Thursday morning, Badminton tournament kicked off in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Sports Minister Govind Gaude and others at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, here.The 37th National Games will be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 26 at 6.30 p.m. in Goa. “This is a dream we have harboured for the past 10 years and immense efforts have been placed to host the event here. This edition of the National Games will be a great success. I hope it will serve as the perfect platform for all athletes to shine in the future at the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics,” Sawant said. (IANS)
Barcelona’s Roberto sidelined with muscle injury
BARCELONA, Oct 19: FC Barcelona’s injury crisis worsened on Wednesday as club captain Sergi Roberto has suffered a muscle injury to his left calfThe injury means he will miss this weekend’s game at home to Athletic Club Bilbao, next week’s Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk and the ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid the following weekend, and is a doubt for the visit to play Real Sociedad on November 4.The injury comes at the worst possible time for Barca coach, Xavi, who already has Pedri, de Jong, Lewandowski, Raphinha and Kounde out injured, while Balde and Yamal are also slight doubts, although both participated in a part of Barca’s Wednesday training session. (IANS)
Mainz suspends player for social media post
MAINZ, Oct 19: Mainz has suspended Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi for what it called an “unacceptable” social media post about the Israel-Hamas war.The club said on its website that it has “relieved Anwar El Ghazi of his training and matchday related duties” because of a post he shared Sunday that he since deleted. It does not say what the post contained, nor whether the player will return to play for the club.Mainz spokesperson Silke Bannick declined Wednesday to give further details, saying only that El Ghazi was “released from training and matchday activities. Please understand that we will not comment further beyond the official statement.” On its website, Mainz said: “In the post, El Ghazi stated an opinion on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that was deemed unacceptable by the club. Prior to making this decision, the club and the player had engaged in an in-depth discussion.” (AP)