SPORTS 15
Friday, 7 April, 2017
Pacquiao looks for quick win in fight against amir khan
m
ANNY Pacquiao's camp said Thursday it was keen for a quick win over Australian Jeff Horn in July to set up a higherprofile title fight with British boxer Amir Khan. The world champion, 38, will face the undefeated Horn, 29, in Brisbane on July 2, the Filipino's advisor told AFP in Manila on Wednesday.
The announcement ended months of speculation on who the fighter -- dubbed "Pac-Man" -- would face next as he seeks to prolong a stellar career that saw him win world titles in eight different weight classes. It is the second time the Horn bout has been touted, after Pacquiao earlier this year instead decided to pursue a big money fight with Khan in the United Arab Emirates. But the deal fell through.
"We're not able to fight Amir Khan because of Ramadan, so we decided to take this fight in the interim," Pacquiao's advisor Michael Koncz told Fox Sports in Australia. Koncz said Pacquiao's fans preferred him to fight the Briton, with that prospect now on the table for October or November. "We signed it, so yeah, we're excited about it. But again, my preference was to fight Amir Khan," Koncz said. "That didn't work out. We had this on the table so we decided to take it. "Manny will train and do the best he can and hopefully we get the fight over with very quickly, we get out of there, we say hi to the Australian fans and media and come home," he added. "Frankly and honestly, and nothing against Jeff Horn -- I've never met the kid, I don't know him personally -but the name recognition is I guess why the fans picked Amir Khan." Koncz said Pacquiao would be staking his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown against the Australian. The Filipino, who has been hailed as a virtual national hero in his home country, briefly retired early last year and then ran and won a seat in the Philippine senate. But the retirement was short-lived as Pacquiao, who said he missed the ring, made a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas in November. agencies
Art of deception to help spinners thrive in IPL NEW DELHI agencies
Contrary to popular belief, Twenty20 cricket rewards brains as well as brawn with the smartest spinners able to find a way to nullify the most explosive batsmen, according to wily Indian Premier League (IPL) veteran Amit Mishra. Mishra´s 124 wickets rank second only to Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga´s 143 in the history of lucrative tournament and the Delhi Daredevils player said spinners were not merely cannon-fodder in the shortest form of the sport. "You must have variation if you are to succeed at this level," Mishra told reporters on Wednesday, the opening day of the new IPL season, joined on stage by his Delhi spin colleagues Jayant Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem and Murugan Ashwin. "When to bowl slow, when to go faster, it´s important to get the maximum out of your variations. Sometimes it may not work, but if you are a quality bowler, you have more chances to succeed," added the 34-year-old, who has 22 test caps for India. In a format dismissed by the purists as mindless slogging, Mishra explained the futility of merely trying to contain and stressed on the need to relentlessly pressure the batsmen. "The spinner´s role is very crucial in the first 10 overs. My effort has always been to take a wicket or two, while stopping the boundaries," said Mishra, whose three hat-
tricks are the most by an IPL bowler. Off-spinner Jayant concurred, saying slow bowlers would have to think on their feet to prevail in the battle of wits against the big hitters. "To stop power-hitting, you have to be really aware of everything -- the batsman, the conditions and the situation in the game," he said. "You have to read it really fast. Every ball in Twenty20 can win you a match. You just have to be aware of the situation and what the batsman is trying to do to outthink and outsmart him." Left-arm spinner Nadeem said he would put his trust in flighted deliveries. "Spinners must find the right line and length and deceive the batsmen in air," the
27-year-old said. "Normally, batsmen try to score against you, so if you can deceive him in the air, you always have a chance to get him out," he added. "If the batsmen have come up with new shots in the tournament, spinners have responded with new deliveries. "You see the carrom ball and then so many are bowling the doosra, which has been around for a while. "If the batsmen have innovated, the spinners too have worked really hard on their craft." Champions Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 35 runs in the first match of this year´s tournament on Wednesday. Delhi start their campaign in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Morata helps Madrid keep Messi-inspired Barca in check MADRID agencies
Alvaro Morata scored twice as Real Madrid maintained a two-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga by making light of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale's absence in a 4-2 win at Leganes. Earlier, on Wednesday, Lionel Messi's double on his return from suspension and Luis Suarez's stunning overhead kick helped Barcelona sweep aside Sevilla 3-0. Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane gambled on the strength of his squad ahead of a mammoth 18 days which sees the European champions welcome Atletico Madrid and Barcelona to the Santiago Bernabeu and also meet old foes Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals. However, the Frenchman was rewarded as the likes of Marco Asensio, James Rodriguez and Morata took their chance to shine. As well as their slender lead, Real also have a game in hand over Barcelona. Asensio's storming run set up the opener for Rodriguez on 15 minutes as he weaved past three Leganes defenders before squaring for the Colombian to tap home his sixth goal of the season. Morata's looping header and then calm finish into the top corner from Mateo Kovacic's pass looked to have put Madrid out of sight inside 23 minutes. Yet, on Real's first ever La Liga visit to Butarque, the hosts had something to celebrate before halftime as Gabriel Pires and Luciano Neves took advantage of some slack Madrid defending to cut the deficit to 3-2 before half-time. The visitors quickly restored their two-goal cushion just three minutes into the second-half, though, when Leganes captain Martin Mantovani contrived to punch the ball into his own net. Messi Magic returns: At
the Camp Nou, Messi looked rested rather than rusty after being banned for his last two outings for club and country as he took his tally for the season to 43 goals in 41 games. Sevilla's visit offered boss Jorge Sampaoli a final chance to make his case for the Barca job at the end of the season. But defeat continues Sevilla's slump and a sixth straight game without a win sees them remain three points behind Atletico Madrid in the battle for third place. Messi fired an early warning as he blasted a shot off the underside of the bar from outside the area after just three minutes. Sevilla had two glorious chances to open the scoring as Steven N'Zonzi fired too close to Marc-Andre ter Stegen when clean through before Vitolo headed over when unmarked inside the area. "Barca don't need many chances to score. We had two oneon-ones and we couldn't take them," said a frustrated Sampaoli. Suarez made no such mistake as he caught Messi's deflected cross flush with an overhead kick to break the deadlock with his 31st goal of the season. "The way the ball fell I had no other option. As a striker you have a notion of where the goal is and it managed to help the team win," Suarez told BeIN Sports. Barca's star front three were all involved for their second on the counter-attack as Suarez turned Neymar's cross back into Messi's path to slot low past Sergio Rico. Messi doubled his tally for the night six minutes later when he volleyed home a loose ball inside the Sevilla area. "The first half we played at a top level," said Enrique. "We arguably even deserved to have a bigger lead." Sevilla's misery was complete when Spanish international Vitolo was sent off in stoppage time for a second yellow card after chopping down Neymar.
Desperate Djokovic seeks Davis Cup reboot Novak Djokovic spearheads Serbia's bid to reach the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2013 and reboot a career which has stalled since his history-making French Open victory. Although Djokovic is still number two in the world the 29-year-old remains a shadow of the man whose maiden Roland Garros title in June last year allowed him to boast ownership of all four majors. Shock early losses at Wimbledon, the Rio Olympics and Australian Open have been compounded by a recent elbow injury which sidelined him from the Miami Masters. Since the start of 2017 Djokovic has won just seven matches but he insists that this weekend's Davis Cup clash at home to Spain provides the perfect platform for the defence of his French Open title, the only Grand Slam still in his possession.
"I always draw very positive energy from these weeks," said Djokovic, who won the Davis Cup in 2010, as he sat alongside teammates in Belgrade where the quarter-final takes place. "I have shared some amazing moments in my career, in my life, with the people that are sitting at this table. "Playing for our country in the official team competition -– the only official team competition we have in (this) sport -– is definitely very special," added Djokovic, who is on an 11-match win streak in Davis Cup singles. Five-time champions Spain won the only previous meeting between the two countries 4-1 in 2009, with Rafael Nadal defeating Djokovic in the decisive rubber. But eight years on and Nadal has opted out of the trip to Belgrade, choosing to rest ahead of the imminent clay
court season and his prime target -- a 10th French Open title. World number 19 Pablo CarrenoBusta will instead lead Spain's assault on
CMYK
a first semi-final spot since 2012. 'Three Musketeers' missing The winners of the tie will take on either France or Great Britain for a spot
in the final. The European rivals meet on an indoor clay court at Rouen with Britain hampered by the loss of world number one Andy Murray, out with an elbow injury. World number 44 Dan Evans is Britain's top-ranked singles player despite not having played on clay for three years, while 17-ranked Lucas Pouille shoulders French hopes with leading men Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils not in contention. Nine-time winners France have gambled by handing the second singles spot to veteran Jeremy Chardy despite the world number 68 not having played in the tournament for six years. Chardy replaces Gilles Simon meaning it will be the first time since 2005 that France's self-styled "Three Musketeers" of Tsonga, Monfils and Simon have not been named in a Davis Cup line-up. agencies