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Club Championship competition intensifies as new trio enters EWC race

Club Championship competition intensifies as new trio enters EWC race
The Esports World Cup is set to enter week 5. (Supplied)
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Updated 30 July 2024
Arab News
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Club Championship competition intensifies as new trio enters EWC race

Club Championship competition intensifies as new trio enters EWC race
  • Week 4 concluded with Smart Omega Empress winning Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational 2024, Alpha7 Esports taking the PUBG Mobile World Cup, and Crazy Raccoon the Overwatch
Updated 30 July 2024
Arab News
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RIYADH: The fans in attendance and the millions more who tuned in around the world witnessed some epic moments as the fourth week of the Esports World Cup drew to a close.

The summer-long celebration of elite competition and esports fandom has reached the halfway stage at Boulevard Riyadh City, with new EWC champions crowned across three action-packed tournaments.

Saturday saw Smart Omega Empress etch their names in the esports history books as they whitewashed Team Vitality 3-0 to win the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational 2024. Hot on the heels of a flawless 3-0 semi-final win against Victory Song Gamers, the Filipino club delivered another dominant performance on the grandest stage esports to claim the $180,000 first prize — the highest-ever for a professional women’s event.

Another club successful in its bid for glory was Alpha7 Esports. Following 18 exhilarating rounds, the Brazilian team topped the main tournament standings to win the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2024 on Sunday. They finished on 153 points, 29 clear of joint second-placed REJECT and Tianba. The victory meant Alpha7 scooped 1,000 EWC Club Championship points alongside the $467,312 first prize, capping off their sensational Riyadh campaign.

Elsewhere on an unforgettable Sunday, week four of the EWC came to a close with the latter stages of Overwatch 2.

Crazy Raccoon, a Japanese esports organization with players from the Republic of Korea, overcame hometown heroes Team Falcons 4-1 in the first semi-final, while Toronto Ultra of Canada defeated ZETA DIVISION in a seven-game epic, prevailing 4-3.

The Grand Final finished in the early hours of Monday with Crazy Raccoon sealing back-to-back 4-1 victories to take the title, the $400,000 first prize, and 1,000 Club Championship points.

The Esports World Cup, the pinnacle of professional esports, runs until Aug. 25 and features 22 tournaments across 21 titles. Week 5 begins on July 31 with three tournaments taking place up to Aug. 4 — Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, and the Honor of Kings Mid-Season Invitational 2024.

Topics: Club Championship

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Defending champion Gauff aces Gracheva test at US Open

Defending champion Gauff aces Gracheva test at US Open
Updated 27 August 2024
AFP
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Defending champion Gauff aces Gracheva test at US Open

Defending champion Gauff aces Gracheva test at US Open
Updated 27 August 2024
AFP

NEW YORK: Coco Gauff launched her US Open title defense with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Varvara Gracheva on Monday, firing 10 aces and saving eight break points to advance.

The 20-year-old American worked through some tight moments early on to polish off the victory in 66 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she captured her first Grand Slam title last year.

She was breezing through the second set when France’s Gracheva, ranked 66th in the world, mustered a pair of break points in the final game.

Gauff saved both with aces as she booked a second-round meeting with Tatjana Maria of Germany, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Argentina’s Solana Sierra.

“I served well,” Gauff said. “Can’t ask for a better start into this tournament, so hoping to continue to get better as the week, two weeks go by.”

Gauff’s build-up to the final Grand Slam of the season has been less than ideal. She fell in the third round at Toronto and lost her first match as the defending champion in Cincinnati.

But she said taking the long view was helping her stay steady as she tries for the first time to defend a major title.

“The last couple of weeks were tough, and I was, like, ‘I have to do this and do that.’

“But I don’t have to prove anything to anyone except myself,” she said.

“Just learning and just realizing that I have a lot left to give this game, and whether that’s going to happen this year or in the future, I have many more years coming back here,” she said. “And I’m not going to win every year.”

She said that perspective, “and just having the belief that I can but not the expectation that I should” win had tamped down the pressure.

So did the confidence in her game that had built practice, despite her disappointing recent results.

“I wasn’t surprised about my level because I was practicing really well this week,” she said.

“It was a really good practice week. So honestly, I was just telling myself that I’m ready, I had a great practice week, I feel like I’m finding my game, whereas the other two tournaments that I played at, even the practice sessions I was doing, I just felt off.

“I knew based off how I was practicing I can find my game regardless of the scoreline. Then it’s just about executing.”

Topics: Coco Gauff US Open 2024

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Villarreal strike late to take La Liga lead off Celta Vigo

Villarreal strike late to take La Liga lead off Celta Vigo
Updated 27 August 2024
AFP
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Villarreal strike late to take La Liga lead off Celta Vigo

Villarreal strike late to take La Liga lead off Celta Vigo
Updated 27 August 2024
AFP

MADRID: Dani Parejo scored from a penalty rebound in the 10th minute of added time on Monday as Villarreal wrested top spot in La Liga from Celta Vigo with a 4-3 home victory.

Celta opened the third round of the Liga season top of the table on goal difference from Real Madrid after winning their opening two games.

Borja Iglesias, making his Celta debut, gave the visitors the lead when he pounced on a loose ball and tucked it into an empty net after 12 minutes.

Sergi Cardona, unmarked at the far post, levelled from a 26th-minute corner.

Oscar Mingueza smashed Celta back ahead before half-time.

Villarreal substitute Thierno Barry, who had been on the field for a minute, headed an equalizer on the hour.

Four minutes later, Celta defender Jailson turned a cross from Nicolas Pepe into his own net to put Villarreal ahead.

Swedish center-back Carl Starfelt headed Celta level in the 80th minute.

Deep into stoppage time Celta’s Hugo Alvarez, a second-half substitute, pulled down Barry to concede a penalty.

Goalkeeper Ivan Villar saved Parejo’s spot kick but the midfielder scored from the rebound.

The victory took Villarreal to seven points and they took over top spot.
 

Topics: villarreal La Liga

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Indonesia’s top Paralympic powerlifter pushes for more medal glory

Indonesia’s top Paralympic powerlifter pushes for more medal glory
Updated 26 August 2024
AFP
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Indonesia’s top Paralympic powerlifter pushes for more medal glory

Indonesia’s top Paralympic powerlifter pushes for more medal glory
Updated 26 August 2024
AFP

SUKATA, Indonesia: Indonesia’s most decorated para powerlifter Ni Nengah Widiasih shouts as she bench presses a heavy weight at her training gym, pushing through a shoulder injury to prepare for her next challenge: winning a third Paralympic medal.

The three-time Paralympian, diagnosed with polio as a child and unable to use her legs, began powerlifting in elementary school — training with her brother in exchange for ice cream.

The Balinese para athlete went on to win bronze at Rio 2016, silver at Tokyo 2020, and even a Toyota sponsorship, and she will bid for gold in the women’s 41kg category at the Paris Games that begin this week.

“Powerlifting has changed my life a lot,” the 31-year-old told AFP at the national training center in Indonesia’s Surakarta city.

“Maybe if I didn’t do powerlifting, I don’t know, I have no idea what I would do.”

Widiasih says wanting to make her family and country proud was a driving force for another shot at a Paralympic medal.

“It’s a personal target. Paris is not easy for me (because of the injury), but I will try as hard as I can,” she said.

“I will do my best for Indonesia, for my family.”

While men dominate Indonesia’s overall Paralympic medal haul, women have always led the way in its para powerlifting representation.

No Indonesian man has ever qualified for the Paralympics in the sport.

Widiasih trains with two other women para powerlifters with their own medal hopes, who will be a part of Indonesia’s largest-ever contingent of Paralympic athletes in Paris.

She will be joined by Siti Mahmudah, in the 79kg category, and Sriyanti, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, in the +86kg class.

Siti, who lost her left leg to amputation, will compete at her second Paralympics.

Sriyanti, who also had polio as a child, has gone from a chicken noodle seller to a Paralympian and silver medallist at the Asian Games in 2022.

Widiasih said the Indonesian women’s feat was all the more impressive because of challenges that men would never encounter, recalling a recent competition day when her menstrual cycle began.

She experienced extreme pains in her stomach but still had to lift tens of kilograms of weight to compete.

“Thank God I could handle it. It was quite disturbing. This won’t be experienced by male athletes,” she said.

Indonesian para powerlifting coach Eko Supriyanto said he is “more than amazed” by the all-woman trio.

But after Widiasih lifted 98kg to take silver in Tokyo, he is managing expectations this time around because of her injury.

“We are pushing them to be able to compete at least for bronze,” he said of the Paris Paralympics powerlifting, which begins on Sept. 4.

“What is important is that we have done our best, worked hard, and are disciplined.”

He hopes that one day a man will join the impressive Indonesian women to compete in para powerlifting.

But for now Indonesia’s top powerlifter Widiasih wants her medals to push more women to start lifting weights.

“I hope a lot of women out there are inspired by us,” she said.

“Whatever our condition, as long as we give our effort, trust ourselves, there is nothing impossible for us.”

Topics: Powerlifting Indonesia Paris Paralympics

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PCB appoints mentors for domestic cricket season

PCB appoints mentors for domestic cricket season
Updated 26 August 2024
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PCB appoints mentors for domestic cricket season

PCB appoints mentors for domestic cricket season
  • Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Misbal-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed named mentors
  • Pakistan Cricket Board says initiative will help spot new cricketing talent in the South Asian country
Updated 26 August 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Monday it had appointed five former cricketers mentors for the domestic cricket season 2024-25, following a “robust and transparent” recruitment process.
These former cricketers include Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Misbal-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed who have cumulatively played 1,621 international matches, with a total score of 32,780 runs and 1,503 wickets.
The development comes a day Pakistan’s loss to Bangladesh in the first of a two-match Test series. It followed Pakistan’s humiliating exit from the World Cup this year.
The decision to appoint mentors was aimed at precisely spotting the new cricketing talent in the South Asian country, according to the PCB.
“Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younis were today confirmed as mentors of the five Champions Cup sides on three-year contracts following a transparent and robust recruitment process,” the PCB said in a statement on Monday. “Names of their sides and squads will be confirmed in due course.”
It said the first assignment to be undertaken by the mentors would be the Champions Cup being held in the eastern Punjab province on Sep 12-29 after two years.
Of the five mentors, Sarfaraz and Shoaib are two-time ICC event winners, Misbah is the 2012 Asia Cup winning captain, while Saqlain and Waqar were part of the team that played the 1999 World Cup final that Pakistan lost to Australia.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said he was pleased to welcome five “exceptional champions” as mentors of the Champions Cup teams.
“These individuals bring a wealth of cricketing experience, knowledge and expertise, which, combined with their passion for the game we all love, will help the Pakistan Cricket Board identify, develop and nurture the next generation of cricketers across all formats,” he said, highlighting that the initiative will bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.
Naqvi said the five mentors would play a role in the progression of emerging cricketers that would aid in “strategic planning and team-building processes,” apart from providing leadership and personal development support.
“The PCB is committed to strengthening Pakistan’s cricket through a robust domestic structure that offers a clear and competitive pathway for all cricketers,” he said. “The most talented and skilled players will advance through the ranks to represent Pakistan at the highest level.”

Topics: Pakistan Cricket Board

Pakistan and Bangladesh fined for slow over rates in 1st Test

Pakistan and Bangladesh fined for slow over rates in 1st Test
Updated 26 August 2024
AFP
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Pakistan and Bangladesh fined for slow over rates in 1st Test

Pakistan and Bangladesh fined for slow over rates in 1st Test
  • Bangladesh achieved their first victory over Pakistan in 14 Tests with a thumping 10-wicket win on Sunday
  • Pakistan slumped to eighth in the nine-team WTC points table after the defeat, while Bangladesh are seventh
Updated 26 August 2024
AFP

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan and Bangladesh have been fined and docked World Test Championship points over slow over rates during the first Test in Rawalpindi, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Monday.
Bangladesh achieved their first victory over Pakistan in 14 Tests with a thumping 10-wicket win on Sunday after both teams struggled in hot conditions on a flat Rawalpindi pitch.
“Hosts Pakistan were found to be six overs short and lost six WTC points, while visitors Bangladesh were docked three points after being found three overs short of the acceptable rate,” the ICC said in a release.
Pakistan’s players were also fined 30 percent of their match fee and the Bangladeshis 15 percent, it said.
Pakistan slumped to eighth in the nine-team WTC points table after the defeat, while Bangladesh are seventh.
Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan was also fined 10 percent of his match fee and received a demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.
“Shakib threw the ball at Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan in the 33rd over of the second innings after the latter had backed away,” the ICC said.
The second and final Test will also be played in Rawalpindi from Friday.

Topics: Pakistan vs Bangladesh

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