KUALA LUMPUR: Nour El Sherbini stormed back from a two-game deficit to defeat top seed Laura Massaro and become the youngest-ever women’s squash world champion on Saturday.
The 20-year-old Egyptian’s victory at the PSA World Women’s Championship in Malaysia also vaults her past Massaro into the sport’s No.1 ranking.
“I’m dreaming right now, I didn’t imagine I could win this match,” said El Sherbini.
She had looked like a champion all week.
In the quarterfinals she crushed Nicol David — the defending world champ who had dominated the sport over the past decade — ending the Malaysian’s bid for a ninth world title.
She then swatted aside her compatriot Nouran Gohar in the semifinals to set up a rematch of the 2013 final that was won by Massaro.
Massaro seemed headed for her second world championship as El Sherbini, appearing rattled, committed several unforced errors and questioned the officials’ decisions in dropping the first two games 6-11 and 4-11.
But she recovered in the third with a series of devastating volleys and held Massaro off 11-3, 11-5, 11-8 in the last three games.
“Me and Laura’s games have always finished in five games. This time was going to be my turn and I was confident knowing that I was playing good,” El Sherbini said.
Massaro paid credit to El Sherbini after the match.
“It’s amazing for her to have come back from two games down. I will take this defeat on the chin and return stronger,” she said.
El Sherbini’s defeat of David earlier in the week left the Malaysian’s hometown fans stunned and provided further evidence that her decade-long dominance of the game may be over.
The Malaysian has a record eight world championships but has suffered a dip in form over the past year. In September she surrendered her phenomenal nine-year stranglehold on the world’s No.1 ranking.
But David expressed confidence that she could stay among the sport’s elite despite falling to a previously unthinkable world No.5, and she shot down speculation that she may consider retiring soon.
“Disappointed — but not even close to retirement,” she tweeted late Thursday after her loss.
No world championship was held in 2015 after the event was suddenly called off in December amid controversy, with its previous promoter claiming security concerns in Malaysia prevented it being staged.
Malaysian officials denied any security threat and accused the promoters of a ploy to secure more financial support.
El Sherbini is world squash champion
El Sherbini is world squash champion
Japan beats Uzbekistan in stoppage time in U23 Asian Cup final
- Substitute Fuki Yamada broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time
AL-RAYYAN, Qatar: Japan left it late to win its second Under-23 Asian Cup after beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in the final on Friday.
Substitute Fuki Yamada broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Japan goalkeeper Leo Kokubo saved a penalty to preserve the lead.
Uzbekistan, the 2018 champion, almost took an incredible lead just before halftime. Ruslanbek Jiyanov, just inside the Japanese half, tried to send a long cross into the area but, instead, the flight of the ball deceived Kokubo and bounced off the crossbar.
For the goal, Ryotaro Araki backheeled the ball to Yamada just outside the area, and he fired low into the left corner.
Just five minutes later, Uzbekistan was awarded a penalty after a VAR review when Hiroki Sekine handled in the area. Kokubo made a diving save to his right to push out Umarali Rakhmonaliev’s powerful shot.
Both finalists and third-placed Iran also qualified for Paris Olympics men’s football. Fourth-placed Indonesia has one more chance to make it to a first Olympics since 1956 with a playoff against Guinea next Thursday.
Munoz leads LIV Golf Singapore, Fireballs and Smash share team lead
- Colombian’s 6-under 65 at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course gives him a 1-shot advantage over a group of 6 players
SINGAPORE: After suffering a “little low point” a week ago in Australia, Torque GC’s Sebastian Munoz produced his best round of the 2024 season on Friday to take the first-round lead at LIV Golf Singapore.
Munoz’s 6-under 65 at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course gives him a one-shot advantage over a group of six players: Smash GC captain Brooks Koepka, Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, Iron Heads GC captain Kevin Na, RangeGoats GC’s Thomas Pieters, HyFlyers GC’s Cameron Tringale and Fireballs GC’s Abraham Ancer.
Another eight players are two shots back, including Munoz’s captain Joaquin Niemann, the current Individual points leader.
The team leaderboard is just as crowded. Fireballs and Smash share the lead at 11 under, with three teams just one shot back: Cleeks, RangeGoats and Stinger GC.
For Munoz, Friday’s round was a welcome relief after his struggles in the first round in Adelaide. He suffered five bogeys, including three straight, in his final 10 holes to shoot a one-over 72. It was his fourth over-par score in five rounds to that point.
“(It) kind of hit me hard,” Munoz recalled. But his Torque teammates gathered together after the round to offer support. “We kind of had a deep talk,” he said. “Just having good, solid teammates can help you a lot.”
Munoz bounced back with two solid rounds to finish up in Adelaide, then fed off that momentum on Friday in Singapore, setting the tone with birdies on two of his first three holes.
Munoz added: “(I’m) really happy where the game is right now and kind of trending.”
Koepka, who was celebrating his 34th birthday on Friday, found his putting stroke that had been mostly absent this season. He opened with five birdies in his first seven holes, and then saved par with a 12-footer after his birdie attempt had rolled off the green. A three-putt on the par-4 16th was his only blemish.
“I thought I putted OK,” Koepka said. “Speed was off, but the ones that I needed to make, I felt like I made.”
Pieters has found his form recently with a tie for ninth in Miami and a tie for 14th in Adelaide. His bogey-free 66, including an eagle at the par-5 18th, was his sixth consecutive sub-par round.
He said: “I’ve been putting a lot of work into it over the last few months. I just had a rough time last year personally, and I finally found the time and the focus to kind of refocus on my game. I’ve been working on every aspect, and it’s kind of showing now.”
Ancer also continued his hot stretch that included his first LIV Golf individual win two months ago in Hong Kong. He suffered an early bogey, but then found his rhythm the rest of the way, including a stretch of three consecutive birdies to finish up his first nine holes.
After finishing 47th out of 48 players in Singapore last year, Ancer was happy with the strong start to this week.
He said: “I was not in the same spot with my swing last year. (I was) not playing confident at the time. I feel a lot better today. Big difference.”
Kaymer was coming off his best LIV round, an 8-under 64 on Sunday in Adelaide, and continued to show positive signs with his 66. Na, like Munoz, played well in the last two rounds in Adelaide after a tough start and was bogey-free for his first 15 holes on Friday.
Standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round of the team competition at LIV Golf Singapore. The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
T1. FIREBALLS GC -11 (Ancer 66, Chacarra 67, Garcia 69)
T1. SMASH GC -11 (Koepka 66, Gooch 68, McDowell 68)
T3. RANGEGOATS GC -10 (Pieters 66, Wolff 68, Uihlein 69)
T3. CLEEKS GC -10 (Kaymer 66, Meronk 67, Bland 70)
T3. STINGER GC -10 (Burmester 67, Oosthuizen 67, Grace 69)
6. TORQUE GC -9 (Muñoz 65, Niemann 67, Ortiz 72)
T7. RIPPER GC -8 (Herbert 67, Leishman 67, Smith 71)
T7. LEGION XIII -8 (Hatton 68, Vincent 68, Rahm 69)
9. HYFLYERS GC -7 (Tringale 66, Steele 68, Mickelson 72)
10. IRON HEADS GC -5 (Na 66, Vincent 70, Lee 72)
11. 4ACES GC -4 (Johnson 67, Reed 71, Varner III 71)
T12. CRUSHERS GC -1 (Casey 69, Lahiri 70, DeChambeau 73)
T12. MAJESTICKS GC -1 (Poulter 70, Horsfield 71, Westwood 71)
Luton gains valuable point from home draw with Everton
- Luton remained third to last
LUTON, England: Luton got a valuable point in its fight to avoid relegation after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with visiting Everton in the English Premier League on Friday.
Luton remained third to last, below 17th-placed Nottingham Forest only on goal difference. Luton has two games left. Everton has already guaranteed its survival.
Everton took the initiative when Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored from the penalty spot after 24 minutes.
A video review ruled Teden Mengi held Jarrad Branthwaite, and Calvert-Lewin notched his fourth goal in his last five appearances.
Luton bounced back quickly thanks to Elijan Adebayo. The striker scored five in five games before he was injured in February, and almost three months out did not seem to have affected his eye for goal. In his first start since returning, Adebayo collected his 10th goal of the season.
Luton substitute Andros Townsend saw his shot blocked on the line in the dying seconds.
Mitchell Starc shows class as Kolkata Knight Riders notch IPL win in Mumbai
- Kolkata's first win at the Wankhede ground in 12 years and seventh from 10 games this season
MUMBAI: Mitchell Starc picked up four wickets as a disciplined bowling performance helped Kolkata Knight Riders seal a 24-run victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League on Friday.
Chasing a below-par 170, Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 145 off 18.5 overs at the Wankhede Stadium.
Suryakumar Yadav raised hopes with a 35-ball 56 but his dismissal in the 16th over tilted the scales in favour of Kolkata.
This was Kolkata's first win at the Wankhede ground in 12 years and seventh from 10 games this season.
Mumbai slumped to ninth position in the 10-team competition after their eighth loss in 11 games.
Kolkata are placed second and well poised to make it to the play-offs.
"Obviously we couldn't form partnerships and kept losing wickets," said Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya.
"There are a lot of questions that will take time to answer. But for now, not much to say."
Mumbai were off to a shaky start, with Starc flattening the leg-stump of Ishan Kishan (13) and Varun Chakravarthy sending back Naman Dhir (11).
The home team got another big jolt when Rohit Sharma, who came in as an impact sub, miscued a shot to be caught off Sunil Narine for 11.
Pandya's poor run of form continued as he was out for one, much to the disappointment of the strong home crowd.
Yadav hit his third half-century of the season and Tim David chipped in with 24 but Kolkata did well to rein in the five-time champions.
Earlier, Kolkata lost five quick wickets including that of the prolific Phil Salt (five) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (six) after being put in to bat.
Tottering at 57-5, Venkatesh Iyer (70) and impact sub Manish Pandey (42) steadied Kolkata with an 83-run stand and ensured a respectable total on the board.
Iyer, who hit a century at the same ground last season, hit three sixes and six fours in his fighting 52-ball knock.
"It's an extremely good feeling, because we haven't won at Wankhede for 12 years," said Kolkata's Varun Chakravarthy.
"This is a very special win because we were down and out in the first innings. The way Venkatesh and Manish pulled it back was great."
Jasprit Bumrah and Sri Lanka's Nuwan Thushara were the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets each and troubling the batsmen with their line and length on a lively wicket.
Saudi table tennis players ‘happy’ to compete against world’s best
- Fast-rising stars speak ahead of Saudi Smash 2024, the Kingdom’s first professional table tennis event
- Competition will feature a 64-player men’s and women’s singles main draw alongside a 24-pair main draw for men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s table tennis stars of the future, Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi and Ali Alkhadrawi, have voiced their appreciation after being given a platform to showcase their talent and compete against the best in the world.
The two spoke on Friday at a press conference ahead of Saudi Smash 2024, the Kingdom’s first professional table tennis event.
Hassan Hayyan, a board member of the Saudi Table Tennis Federation, and head of the competitions and referees committee, attended the conference along with Bu Shulaybi and Alkhadrawi.
Bu Shulaybi said: “It’s a great feeling that a major table tennis event is happening in Saudi Arabia. I have been to many tournaments around the world, but this one really has impressed me — the level of organization is unbelievable, and thanks must go to everyone who has worked hard to make it happen.
“With 20 of the greatest players in the world all involved, going head-to-head with them is an opportunity to compete with the best, learn from them, and ultimately improve.”
Alkhadrawi said: “It’s a dream for any Saudi player to play this tournament. We were very happy to be chosen for this opportunity and to compete against very high-level players.”
“We have received great support,” he said. “We’re very lucky to have the Saudi Table Tennis Federation supporting us.”
He had inspirational words of encouragement for the Kingdom’s emerging talent.
“My message to the next generation of professional Saudi players is that the possibilities are endless. So long as they are disciplined, dedicated, and listen to their coaches, the opportunity and potential are there to reach new heights and make it far in this sport.”
Hayyan said: “Hosting such a major international table tennis event is a testament to the unwavering support we’ve received from the Kingdom’s leadership.”
He said that Saudi Smash “represents the latest chapter in Saudi Arabia’s sports evolution, and we’re sure it will be remembered for many years to come.”
Following three days of qualifying matches from Wednesday to Friday, the main competitions get underway on Saturday, with eight days of world-class table tennis action in store for spectators.
The event consists of a 64-player men’s and women’s singles main draw alongside a 24-pair main draw for men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles.
A series of thrilling showdowns are locked in across each competition after Thursday’s draw, with some of Saudi Arabia’s fastest-rising table tennis stars in action.
