Egypt comfortably through to final as hosts Malaysia made to work by Hong Kong
By KNG ZHENG GUAN, HOWARD HARDING and ALEX WAN – Squash Mad International Correspondents

It’s the top two seeds to contest the CIMB Foundation WSF World Junior Team Squash Championships final as Malaysia survived a nervy test against Hong Kong to set up a date with favourites Egypt.

The host nation, seeded second, got through after beating Hong Kong 2-0 in the semi-finals at the National Squash Centre, Bukit Jalil. It was however, far from a walk in the park as Hong Kong took the fight to Malaysia, especially in the first string match between Aifa Azman and Chan Sin Yuk.

Playing in front of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, the King of Malaysia, second string Chan Yiwen delivered the lead for the home team with a commanding performance in beating Kirstie Wong 11-2, 11-3, 11-0.

Then, despite a strong start, it was almost deja vu for Aifa against Sin Yuk as she let slip a healthy lead before squeezing through 11-2, 6-11, 14-12, 13-15, 11-9.

The pressure and nerves were apparent from the second game as she gave out eight errors to allow Sin Yuk a lifeline.

Then from a 9-2 lead in the fourth, Aifa somehow managed to squander four match ball opportunities, an eerily close reminder of how she lost in the individual semi-finals to Jana Shiha, to allow her opponent to force a deciding rubber.

Aifa nearly blew it again in the fifth as she allowed the Hong Kong player to catch up from a 9-4 lead before taking the win, much to the relief of the home crowd.

“This totally felt like the match against Jana. I was 9-2 up in the fourth and then 9-4 up in the fifth and all the thoughts of injuries clouded my focus since I took a few falls,” admitted Aifa.

“But I managed to overcome my fear in the end and I think I did well to finish it up.

“It was definitely a tough game as Sin Yuk is a player who doesn’t give up easily. It’s not so much about the pressure but more of my focus when I was just two points away from winning.

“But I’m just relieved to lead the team through and I believe I won’t be so scared or nervous in the final since I will be the underdog. The plan is to give more than 100 percent for the team tomorrow,” added Aifa.

The win means Malaysia qualify for the final for the second straight edition since finishing second in 2017 and national assistant head coach Andrew Cross, who looked decidedly edgy at one point, believed the nervy win served as a good experience for his girls.

“It’s all credits to Sin Yuk. She never gave up and kept coming back. She’s had a good week but it’s also a good experience for the players – to never give up,” said Cross.

“It got a little edgy when Sin Yuk came back in the fourth and then in the fifth when Aifa tensed up a little and lost her focus. But it’s a lesson to her and we’ll take it on and regroup for the final.

“Additionally, it’s really good that we’re back in the final again. It shows good continuation for us in development to be constantly there every two years and not disappear after a good year.”
Meanwhile top seeds and defending champions Egypt showed their quality with a convincing 3-0 win over England.

Jana got the eight-time champions off to a brilliant start by beating Alice Green 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 before recently crowned world junior champion Hania El Hammamy powered past Elise Lazarus 11-2, 11-5, 11-5. Farida Mohamed completed the win by beating Evie Coxon 11-7, 11-5 in the dead rubber.

“I think physically and mentally, we’re all a bit tired and feeling a sore. I love to go home now but the team is important for the country and we’ll do everything we can to finish strongly,” said Jana Shiha.

Added Hania, “I think I performed well today and I’m happy with my performance. I think the final against Malaysia will be the toughest match, especially from a mental perspective.

“I think this is because I’m the only one in this team who played in the last team event two years ago. So hopefully, the rest of the team can be prepared mentally. We’re all pushing each other because we really hope to win tomorrow.”

Egypt will be gunning for the seventh straight title while Malaysia, in the final for only the fourth time, will looking to finally land the coveted title.

Meanwhile in the 5th-8th playoff, India downed Australia 2-0 and will meet USA, who defeated Switzerland 3-0, for fifth placing.

In the 9th-12th playoffs, Canada are looking good to finish in ninth after recording two wins so far and they just need to finish strongly against France.

In the 13th-18th playoff, Sweden downed Ireland and will face Japan for the 13th spot.
 

CIMB Foundation WSF Women’s World Junior Team Squash Championship, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Semi-Finals

[1] EGYPT bt [4] ENGLAND 3/0
Jana Shiha bt Alice Green 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 (17m)
Hania El Hammamy bt Elize Lazarus 11-2, 11-5, 11-5 (20m)
Farida Mohamed bt Evie Coxon 11-7, 11-5 (14m)
[2] MALAYSIA bt [3] HONG KONG CHINA 2/0
Chan Yiwen bt Kirstie Wong 11-2, 11-3, 11-0 (15m)
Aifa Azman bt Chan Sin Yuk 11-2, 6-11, 14-12, 13-15, 11-9 (44m)
Ainaa Ampandi v Lee Sum Yuet (not played)

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Pictures courtesy of #WSFWorldJuniors2019 and Regina Ho

Players at the 2023 Rugby World Cup would not be able to tackle above the waist if a trial of new laws, aimed at making the sport safer, is successful.

World Rugby will limit tackling to the waist and empower referees to warn players over their tackle technique in selected domestic tournaments.

The laws aim to reduce concussion, the most common injury in Premiership Rugby and a major concern in the game.

If successful, they would be tested globally before France 2023.

"World Rugby is unwavering in its commitment to ensuring rugby is as simple and safe to play as possible for all," said chairman and former England captain Bill Beaumont.

"While injury incidence in the sport is not increasing and concussion incidence is decreasing, we can and must do more to reduce injuries at all levels."

World Rugby's research of more than 1,500 elite-level matches showed that 76% of head injuries occur in the tackle, with the risk of injury more than quadrupling in a "high-contact" tackle compared to a "low-contact" tackle.

However, an experiment that lowered the tackle height from shoulder height to the level of the tackled player's armpit in the second-tier Championship Cup last season had to be abandoned after concussions increased rather than dropped.

While the number of concussions from upright tackles fell, there was a dramatic increase in the number of players suffering concussions in tackles close to the breakdown.

Federations in Australia, France, Georgia, Fiji, Romania and South Africa and have shown interested in implementing some of the experimental laws package in their domestic tournaments, along with the Americas Rugby Championship, a tournament that features the likes of Canada and the United States.

What else is in the laws trials?

KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Kyle Larson was among the notable names who struggled during the opening night of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals on Wednesday.

BRANDT Qualifying Night appeared to get off to a solid start for Larson and his Paul Silva-led No. 57 team, as they went ninth-quick, but a seventh-place starting position in his heat with the top eight cars inverted, was too much to overcome for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular.

Larson finished seventh in his heat race, which relegated him to the Last Chance Showdown with one more shot to move into the 25-lap preliminary night feature.

Starting seventh again, Larson was unable to get to the top four in the 12-lap B-main, leaving him out in the cold for the night after podium runs in the Saturday finale each of the last two years.

“We were a field filler tonight,” Larson wrote on social media after the feature, won by Trey Starks, had concluded. “You’ll have that sometimes. Paul Silva is still the best, though.”

Larson capped his note with the hashtag, “WoO Tour 2031 Champions.”

Silva expounded on his driver’s remarks, noting that Wednesday night’s misfortune was, to the best of his recollection, the first time in their history together that they weren’t in the A-main at a race track they were competing at.

“Auto racing is one of the most humbling sports there is,” said Silva. “I believe that last night was the first show that (Kyle and I) have ever missed together. The cool thing about racing with him, though, is that we say our piece, usually laugh about it and then move on. There was no laughing last night, though.”

Larson’s tough night — which resulted in only the 21st-highest points total, 406, in the 53-driver field — leaves him with a difficult decision to make and even tougher logistics if he wants to qualify for this year’s Knoxville Nationals championship A-main on Saturday night.

His NASCAR duties for Chip Ganassi Racing put him at the two-mile Michigan Int’l Speedway on Friday for practice and qualifying. Busch Pole Qualifying for the Consumers Energy 400 kicks off at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. in Knoxville, which is on Central time), and the Friday night Hard Knox program sees hot laps beginning at 7:15 p.m. Knoxville time, leaving a very tight window of travel and arrival.

Factoring in around a two-hour flight from Michigan to Iowa, it would seem tough at best that Larson would be able to make it back to Knoxville in time to compete on Friday night for one of the four spots on offer in the Hard Knox program — however at Knoxville, it’s the car which qualifies, not the driver.

That could open up the possibility of someone else trying to lock the Silva Motorsports No. 57 in on Friday and then Larson running the car in the feature Saturday night, if Larson were unable to make the trip to Knoxville to try and race his way in due to sponsor commitments or

In a reversal of that scenario, Chip Ganassi Racing could also put someone else in Larson’s Cup Series car for practice and qualifying on Friday, and have Larson start from the rear of the field on Sunday – if, of course, he’s able to make the Friday trip in the first place.

Should Larson be unable to fall back on the Friday program or didn’t make it in on Friday night through one of the four Hard Knox A-main transfer spots, he would have the option of attempting to race his way in through the alphabet soup on Saturday.

However, that task could be exponentially tougher if Larson is unable to compete in the Friday-night program, as the lineups for Saturday’s E-, D-, C- and B-mains (aside from the top 10 starting spots in the B) are based off of drivers’ Friday night performances.

The fourth option? Larson withdraws from this year’s Nationals program, after finishing second and third on Saturday night, respectively, over the past two years at the black-dirt, half-mile oval.

We don’t have the answer as to what Larson will do yet, but in any case, Wednesday night’s proceedings have certainly left both he and Silva with plenty of decision-making to do in regard to the rest of their week.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Andretti Autosport and the United States Air Force announced Thursday that Conor Daly will be returning to drive the No. 25 U.S. Air Force Honda for the all-American team at the NTT IndyCar Series season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in late September.

The Indianapolis native will pilot a fifth entry for the team.

Daly made his sixth Indianapolis 500 start in the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 with Andretti Autosport, qualifying in 11th and finished 10th, his best start and finish for the famed 500-mile race.

The second-generation racer holds wins in both Indy Lights and the Pro Mazda (now Indy Pro 2000) series and claimed the 2010 Pro Mazda championship.

“I couldn’t be more excited to get back to my road course routes and take on Laguna Seca with Andretti Autosport and the United States Air Force,” said Daly.  “It’s been incredible to be a part of the team this year carrying the USAF colors and to represent them at the season finale will be very special.  I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to do with the USAF this year on and off the track and I can’t wait to get back in the No. 25 car.”

The United States Air Force served as Daly’s primary sponsor at the Indianapolis 500 and has been an associate sponsor for Andretti Autosport all season with branding featured across the team’s four full-season entries of Alexander Rossi, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti and Zach Veach.

“We are thrilled to have Conor, as well as the U.S. Air Force, join us again for the season finale in Laguna Seca,” said Michael Andretti, CEO, Andretti Autosport. “Conor was a great addition during the month of May and being able to continue this great partnership with the Air Force at the series season finale is another special opportunity to show our support and honor the brave men and women serving our Nation.”

“We were extremely proud of the effort that Conor (Daly) and the entire Andretti Autosport Team put in for the Indianapolis 500,” said Maj Ross McKnight, Chief Air Force National Events Branch. “The activation exceeded all Air Force Recruiting objectives and we are excited to continue that success at Laguna Seca and the IndyCar season finale.”

The season finale for the NTT IndyCar Series will broadcast live Sunday, September 22, on NBC with the green flag dropping at 2:30 p.m. ET.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Garrett Smithley will return to Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 with primary sponsorship from Victory Lane Quick Oil Change for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan Int’l Speedway.

Founded in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1980, Victory Lane Quick Oil Change is one of the oldest quick-lube franchises in the industry. Victory Lane’s distinctive, trademarked checkered flag logo is easily recognizable throughout the Wolverine State. With 35 locations now in operation, Victory Lane is rapidly growing in select US and Canadian markets.

Smithley’s No. 77 Chevy will also showcase sponsorship from Kendall Motor Oil, Buck’s Oil and TrueBrand.

“As an automotive preventive maintenance retailer, it just makes sense to continue our partnership in NASCAR and share our love of cars with fellow enthusiasts,” explained Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chief Executive Officer Justin Cialella. “It’s a truly engaging way to interact with our customers, franchisees, and employees to promote the Victory Lane Quick Oil Change brand.”

Smithley, a NASCAR XFINITY Series regular who currently sits 18th in points on NASCAR’s junior circuit, will also compete in Saturday’s B&L Transport 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course before making the trip north to Brooklyn, Mich.

NASCAR veteran Reed Sorenson will practice and qualify the No. 77 Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevy while Smithley attends to his duties for Johnny Davis Motorsports at Mid-Ohio.

“I always look forward to racing at Michigan,” explained the 27-year-old Peachtree City, Ga., driver who will make his fiftth start of the season in NASCAR’s premiere division. “It’s a fast, multi-groove race track that offers lots of options for drivers. Racing in Victory Lane Quick Oil Change’s backyard is always a bonus. We enjoy having them at the track to support us. Their business is one of the fastest growing quick lube’s in the country and a perfect fit in our sport. I’m excited to continue our relationship, this time behind the wheel of the No. 77 Victory Lane Quick Oil Change Chevrolet.”