I Dig Sports
Sources: Giannis gets precautionary MRI on knee
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is getting a precautionary MRI on his left knee, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday.
The NBA's reigning MVP landed hard on the floor and tweaked the knee in the second half of the Bucks' loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, but he stayed in the game.
After the fall, Antetokounmpo remained on the court for some time while teammates surrounded him. He wore a compression sleeve on the knee after the game and was seen limping in the locker room.
In addition, Antetokounmpo required three stitches to his lip, which had been split open during the 113-103 loss.
Warriors' Curry (illness) ruled out against 76ers
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will not play against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, two days after he returned from a 58-game absence.
The Warriors listed Curry as out with a "general/illness" designation.
On Friday, coach Steve Kerr had said Curry was a "good sore" after playing 27 minutes in Thursday's loss to the Toronto Raptors and participating in Friday's workout with the Warriors. Curry scored 23 points in his first game since October, when he broke his left hand and needed multiple surgeries.
Forward Draymond Green was also ruled out for the fifth straight game with a sore left knee.
Betts out until at least Weds. with stomach issue
A stomach issue that prevented Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts from playing Friday is expected to keep him out of spring training games until at least Wednesday, manager Dave Roberts told reporters Saturday.
The problem first popped up Friday night, when Betts was scratched from playing against the Seattle Mariners about an hour before the game.
Roberts told reporters that the team believed it was related to something Betts ate.
Betts, who joined the Dodgers via trade from the Boston Red Sox last month, is making $27 million in 2020 before becoming an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The 27-year-old is 5-for-19 with one double and one RBI in seven spring training games.
BRADENTON, Fla. -- New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez was scratched from batting practice Saturday due to a sore back, although manager Aaron Boone said he doesn't think the problem is serious.
Boone said he thought the soreness stemmed from Sanchez playing back-to-back games for the first time in spring training. Boone said he expected Sanchez would be shut down on Sunday, but didn't rule out a return to game action in a few days.
"His back was a little sore this morning," Boone said. "Nothing I'm too concerned about. I think that's kind of normal wear and tear [after] first back-to-backs kind of thing. I don't think it will be much of an issue."
Sanchez joins a growing list of Yankees' regulars impacted by injuries.
The team announced Friday that slugger Aaron Judge has a broken rib. It's not clear whether he will need surgery, leaving doubt as to when he'll be back in the lineup.
Judge will rest two weeks while recovering from the stress fracture to his first right rib. He hasn't played in any spring training games while dealing with soreness in his right pectoral muscle and shoulder.
Two other Yankees outfielders also are out. Giancarlo Stanton strained his right calf on Feb. 26 during defensive drills and will miss opening day on March 26. Center fielder Aaron Hicks had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow on Oct. 31 and is not expected back until summer.
Boone said Stanton played catch, and hit off a tee and took soft toss Saturday in an indoor cage.
New York will also start the season without three of its top five starting pitchers: Right-hander Luis Severino will miss the season following Tommy John surgery on Feb. 27; left-hander James Paxton is likely out until late May or June after surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back and to remove a cyst; right-hander Domingo German must serve the final 63 games of an 81-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy.
Severino said Saturday that he's feeling pretty good but frustrated about getting hurt for the second straight year.
Severino said one of the first things he did after finding out that he needed Tommy John surgery was to check the internet to find pitchers that have had success after the procedure.
Two names that immediately popped up were two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom and 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg.
"A lot of good pitchers came back from that. so I think that gives me more confidence," Severino said. "These guys did it; I can do it, too. It's going to be a long recovery, but at least I'm sure that I'll be good for next year."
The Yankees had Severino go to New York twice over the winter for MRIs and a CT scan looking for the cause of occasional discomfort, but the tests were all negative.
The discovery of a partial UCL tear last month at least provided some answers.
"Definitely," Severino said. "In your mind you're thinking about a 100 things that can happen. Now, it's good to know what I have. It's good to know one part; it's not good to know the other part."
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Baltimore outfielder/first baseman Trey Mancini has left the Orioles to undergo what the team is calling "a non-baseball-related medical procedure."
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, who made the announcement after a game at Tampa Bay on Saturday, said Mancini "is going to miss some time" but didn't say how much.
The 27-year-old Mancini, who hit .291 with 35 home runs and 97 RBI in 2019, has played only five games this spring after earlier dealing with flu-like symptoms.
Mancini last played on March 2, but left the game after two at-bats.
"We love Trey, and we're going to respect his privacy in this thing, and we'll have more information as we know more," Hyde said.
"I think, like anybody else would, that he's going to go have further tests done. All I can say is we're thinking about him. We're just going to respect his privacy in this whole thing. We hate to see Trey miss time, but hopefully it's not too long."
Baltimore opens the season on March 26 against the New York Yankees.
Charlotte Dannatt and Mahamed Mahamed claim Inter-Counties crowns
British Athletics Cross Challenge series reached its climax at Prestwold Hall on Saturday with Dannatt and Mahamed taking senior titles
Charlotte Dannatt was supposed to race in the World Universities Cross Country Championships in Morocco this weekend but after it was called off due to the coronavirus outbreak she made a late decision to run the Inter-Counties instead at Prestwold Hall near Loughborough. It proved a good move, too, as she won an unexpected gold in the senior women’s race ahead of Jess Gibbon and Phillipa Williams.
Racing on a grey but dry day in the East Midlands on a course that was drier than expected but with plenty of sections of sticky mud to test the stamina, Dannatt (pictured above) took the Inter-Counties title although the overall Cross Challenge series victory went to fifth-placed Kate Avery.
“I don’t win many things so I don’t even know how to break the tape or anything like that,” said a delighted Dannatt.
“I was disappointed to miss the World Universities event as it would have been a GB vest,” she added. “I just missed the European Champs team before Christmas, so I’ve been trying to prove to people that I’m good enough to earn a GB vest.”
A final year biomedical sciences student at Oxford University, Dannatt has her work cut out with assignments and upcoming exams. But the Surrey runner was keen to make her mark on Saturday at Prestwold Hall, although she did not expect to win. “I thought if I had a stellar run I might make the podium,” she said.
Inter-Counties winner Charlotte Dannatt tells @Jason_AW she only ran at Prestwold Hall after the World Universities XC Champs in Morocco was cancelled due to coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/iz7CxCnqde
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 7, 2020
Dannatt almost didn’t make the start either after getting lost on what turned out to be a 10km shake-out run on the morning of the race on the outskirts of Loughborough. It resulted in her having to rush her breakfast although didn’t seem to affect her in the race as she won by six seconds from South of England champion Gibbon.
Mahamed Mahamed also impressed as he struck gold for Hampshire in the senior men’s race and, in doing so, captured the overall Cross Challenge series prize for the third time on the trot. The 22-year-old shared the lead with Adam Hickey, the defending champion, for the first half of the race before pulling clear during the final lap to win by 15 seconds.
Runner-up Hickey was clear for silver as Tom Evans, who specialises in ultra-distance races, took his first podium place in this event. Welsh champion James Hunt was fourth and English champion Calum Johnson fifth as he led North East Counties to a team victory over Yorkshire.
Mahamed, whose younger brother Zak was 18th, will now turn his attentions to the track season, whereas Hickey is due to run the Virgin Money London Marathon if it takes place due to coronavirus fears.
Mahamed Mahamed chats to @Jason_AW about his senior men’s Inter-Counties title at Prestwold Hall. ##InterCounties pic.twitter.com/wpr9z5RS41
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 7, 2020
Megan Keith was one of the most emphatic winners of the day as the Scotland North athlete took the under-20 women’s title by more than half a minute from Imogen Wood of Cornwall.
For under-20 men’s winner Matt Stonier it was the Kent athlete’s first big British or national title as he drove away in the cloying mud from rivals Josh Cowperthwaite and Henry McLuckie.
Also impressive was Bea Wood as the Wiltshire athlete beat Beth Cook, Maya Todd McIntyre and Anna Hedley in a quality under-17 women’s event.
Will Barnicoat, meanwhile, won the under-17 men’s title for Surrey as he broke away from Devon runner Oliver Smart and Kent’s Hamish Reilly. Lewis Sullivan of Suffolk took the under-15 boys race in commanding fashion as well as he broke away from Christopher Perkins in the closing stages.
Zoe Gilbody won the under-13 girls’ race minus her right shoe. The Shropshire runner’s spike was sucked off in the mud halfway through her race but she somehow built up a 26-second winning margin over Shakira King and Maisey Bellwood.
Zoe Gilbody tells @Jason_AW about winning Inter-Counties U13 gold minus a shoe. pic.twitter.com/5Xssq1GTGQ
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) March 7, 2020
Kiya Dee made no such mistake in the under-15 girls race as the Gloucestershire athlete won by 10 seconds and was wincing in mild pain after the race due to her spikes being too tight.
Dee’s Gloucestershire team-mate Henry Sheffield also took gold as he won the under-13 boys’ race and, like many young athletes at Prestwold Hall, they are likely to race again next Saturday at the New Balance English Schools Cross Country Championships in Liverpool.
Liam Pitchford roars into Qatar Open semi-finals
It has been yet another most exceptional campaign, the no.15 seed, Liam Pitchford has most certainly outperformed expectations.
Arguably a surprise feature in the quarter-finals, Chuang Chih-Yuan, required to qualify, beat Japanese teenager Tokomazu Harimoto and Yukiya Uda on his way to the last eight. Most notably, Tomokazu Harimoto had won in Budapest!
In their previous encounter at the 2019 Bulgaria Open it was Chuang who struck victory in a seven-game thriller, but this time the scores were much more decisive and in Pitchford’s favour.
An edgy first game which saw both players presented with chances to claim the early momentum, Pitchford secured success and never looked back. Finding the angles and showing a great level of consistency Pitchford capitalised on his early confidence boost to deliver a crushing win.
The result means Pitchford becomes the first English player to reach the men’s singles semi-finals at an ITTF World Tour Platinum event. It’s also his third semi-final on the World Tour having reached the last four at the 2018 Czech Open and 2018 Austrian Open.
Pitchford’s straight games victory over Chuang comes off the back of two excellent performances from the Englishman in his opening two fixtures, taking down Spain’s Alvaro Robles (11-6, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9) and Belarusian legend Vladimir Samsonov (11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 8-11, 18-16).
Mighty challenge
A fine display in Doha so far, Pitchford is now looking to make a career-first ITTF World Tour men’s singles final but first must overcome a mighty challenge. Placed in the lower half of the draw, Pitchford’s next opponent is none other than World no.1, Xu Xin!
Having met in singles action on only two previous occasions, the head-to-head favours Xu with the penhold grip master yet to drop a game to the Englishman. But this is a very much a different Pitchford we are seeing in Doha and is more than capable of causing an upset.
Not just impressing on the singles front, Pitchford has also enjoyed a fantastic men’s doubles campaign alongside fellow countryman Paul Drinkhall with the two set to compete for the title against Ma Long and Xu Xin on Saturday afternoon.
Glancing at his outings in Budapest and Doha it’s fair to say Pitchford has enjoyed a successful start to 2020 and is starting to show his true potential on the international stage.
Mima Ito stuns Ding Ning, simply breathtaking
Moreover, she prevailed in four straight games, underlining the much heralded theory that if you win a close game confidence blossoms; she secured a close second game and then in the next did not surrender a single point (11-6, 14-12, 11-0, 11-5)!
The Liu Shiwen effect struck!
Just under one year ago at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships in Budapest, en route to the women’s singles title, in the fifth game of her semi-final duel against Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen had won 11-0, before in the final doing exactly the same in the same game when confronting Chen Meng.
Whenever did an Olympic champion lose two games without winning a point in the space of 11 months! The answer is simple, work it out for yourself.
Past Problems
Success for Mima Ito who was the no.3 seed as opposed the Ding Ning, the no.6 seed but even though status suggested it was an expected win; surely it was the reverse situation?
Ding Ning has in the past experienced problems against the quick-fire attacking style of Mima Ito; most memorably at the 2018 ITTF World Tour Swedish Open in Stockholm, after Liu Shiwen had suffered in the quarter-finals, Ding Ning experienced a semi-final defeat.
One round later Mima Ito, as in Doha with a head of steam, she blitzed her way to the title by overcoming Zhu Yuling.
Turned the tables
However, on the two most recent occasions, Ding Ning has prevailed, on the ITTF World Tour last year in Austria, she beat Mima Ito in the semi-finals; more pertinently just over a month ago she prevailed in their quarter-final duel in Germany. The two wins came after Ding Ning had lost to Mima Ito at the quarter-final stage of the women’s singles event on home soil in China.
Notably, that was the only defeat Ding Ning suffered against Mima Ito in 2019; on the one other occasion when they met Ding Ning prevailed in four straight games (12-10, 12-10, 11-4, 11-8).
The occasion? The quarter-final stage of the women’s singles event at the ITTF World Tour Platinum Qatar Open!
One year later the tables were turned.
Scintillating end to day, Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito crowned mixed doubles champions
Success as status advised but make no mistake, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, winners of the mixed team event at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, provided most formidable opposition. In fact if a survey had been taken before the match, as to which partnership was the favourite, I suspect opinions would have been totally divided.
Required to qualify, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha had clearly underlined their credentials; in the opening round they had beaten Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Doo Hoi Kem, the no.2 seeds (11-9, 14-12, 11-7), prior to ousting Hungary’s Adam Szudi and Szandra Pergel (11-5, 11-5, 11-5) to book their place in the penultimate round where the good form continued.
They accounted for Spain’s Alvaro Robles and Maria Xiao (11-6, 11-4, 11-5); they had reached the final without surrendering a single game.
Notable coach
Furthermore, in the final they had a formidable advisor sitting courtside, Ma Lin, including Grand Finals, a career total of 42 ITTF World Tour men’s doubles titles.
Moreover, he had also proved himself in the art of mixed doubles; in 1999 in Eindhoven he was crowned world champion partnering Zhang Yingying, four years later he succeeded in Paris in harness with Wang Nan.
Clinical style
Similarly, Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito had progressed to the final without surrendering a single game.
Different in style, Jun Mizutani with his top spin technique, preferring to play a step back from the table; Mima Ito very different, she excels close to the table with her fast attacking style. The play on different horizontal lines
Imposingly in the opening round they had beaten Serbia’s Marko Jevtovic (11-5, 11-5, 11-7), followed by success against Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs (11-8, 12-10, 11-6), to reserve their place in the semi-finals, where once again they showed no charity. They accounted for Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Lee Ho Ching, the no.4 seeds, in clinical style (11-7, 11-6, 11-5).
The evidence was clear, whatever seeding may have suggested, the best pairs had reached the final.
The final
In the final with Jun Mizutani playing towards Sun Yingsha, the Japanese duo made the better start; they won the first five points. The Chinese pair responded, they reduced the margin to one point at 9-8; the next two points went to Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito, a crucial opening game had been won.
Order changing, Wang Chuqin playing towards Mima Ito, the Chinese pair won the second game to level matters, before in the third game, with Jun Mizutani directing his attacking strokes in the direction of Sun Yingsha, the Japanese duo established a 2-1 lead in games.
Now, in the fourth the task for Jun Mizutani was to prevent Wang Chuqin playing strongly towards Mima Ito who, to be fair proved more than a match for her more powerful male adversary.
Tense finish
At 6-5, Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito held a one point lead, Ma Lin called “time out”; the break did not work immediately, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha lost the next point but at 10-8 held two game points. Both were saved; they had a further opportunity at 11-10, before on their overall second match point Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito celebrated.
One wonders what riches may await on home soil later in the year, can they repeat the success enjoyed in Doha, is gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games more than a possibility?
Covid-19 continues to hit as major events in Asia postponed indefinitely
Asian Team Championships and Asian Junior Championships halted but World Juniors set to run
By ALEX WAN – Squash Mad Asian Bureau Editor
Asian squash continues to be hit by the Covid-19 coronavirus situation. Two major regional events, the Asian Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur and the Asian Junior Championships in Qingdao, China, have both been postponed indefinitely.
The Asian Team Championships, which were due to be held at the end of the month from 25-29 March, was initially set to go ahead despite the virus. However, a discussion between hosts Malaysia and the Asian Squash Federation a week ago concluded that the event should be postponed in light of the new developments of the virus.
Squash Rackets Association of Malaysia (SRAM) Director, Major (Rtd) S. Maniam told the News Straits Times of Malaysia:
“It is unfortunate, but we do not have a choice as we are bound by the effects of the virus with several other events also getting called off.
“We are however still keen to host the event this year and the next possible window of opportunity for it would probably be in June or July when the PSA Tour is on its summer break.”
In addition to postponing the Asian Team Championships, Malaysian professionals has also been hit by a travel advise from the National Sports Council to have players pulled out from two PSA events in April – CAS International in Pakistan and SRFI Indian Tour in India.
It is no surprise that the Asian Junior Championships was called off though, with it being held in China, where the Covid-19 coronavirus first surfaced. The Asian Squash Federation do still intend to run it at a later date, pending the situation on the Covid-19.
The World Junior Championships, however, is set to take place after hosts Australia issued a statement earlier in the week welcoming 24 participating nations. A quick check with Chris Yeend, the PR and Communications Coordinator for Australia Squash confirms this and he added:
“Our team is in regular contact with those responsible for making decisions and providing advice on appropriate actions to take. If there is anything that changes, we’ve got the right info coming to us at all times.”
Amongst the teams who will be participating in the world meet is Republic of Korea, the worst hit nation outside China with over 7,000 confirmed cases as of press time. At this current time, anyone traveling into Australia from the Republic of Korea is required to isolate themselves for 14 days.
Over in Japan, they have had to call off their National Junior Championship which was due to happen from 27-29 March 2020. The National Training Spring Camp, scheduled to run right after the junior event, has also been called off.
On the popular Jumbo Doubles circuit in South East Asia, another event has also been hit – the 83rd Chiengmai Cup in Bangkok slated for 30 April – 3 May. After having the President’s Cup at the Tanglin Club, Singapore, postponed earlier, this is a double blow for the Jumbo Doubles enthusiasts.
Picture courtesy of ASF
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