Kade Ruotolo to face Nicolas Vigna in lightweight bout at ONE 171: Qatar

Kade Ruotolo to face Nicolas Vigna in lightweight bout at ONE 171: Qatar
Kade Ruotolo and Nicolas Vigna will face off at ONE 171: Qatar on Feb. 20. (Supplied)
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Updated 30 January 2025
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Kade Ruotolo to face Nicolas Vigna in lightweight bout at ONE 171: Qatar

Kade Ruotolo to face Nicolas Vigna in lightweight bout at ONE 171: Qatar
  • Former 2-division ONE world champion Aung La N Sang in rematch against undefeated contender Shamil Erdogan

DOHA: Four matchups have been added to ONE 171: Qatar, presented by Visit Qatar, at Lusail Sports Arena on Thursday, Feb. 20.

ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Champion Kade Ruotolo will put his unblemished professional MMA record on the line as he squares off against unbeaten debutant Nicolas Vigna.

Undefeated middleweight MMA contender Shamil Erdogan will face former ONE Light Heavyweight and Middleweight MMA World Champion Aung La N Sang in a highly anticipated rematch.

Several regional stars will take to the Circle for the first time.

Abdullo Khodzhaev and Wilian Poles will square off in a lightweight MMA bout, and IBJJF World Champion Zayed Alkatheeri will take on Jarrah Al-Hazza in a flyweight submission grappling match.

Full list of ONE 171: Qatar matches:

ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship: (C) Jonathan Haggerty vs. (1) Wei Rui

ONE Strawweight MMA World Championship: (C) Joshua Pacio vs. (IC) Jarred Brooks

Welterweight MMA: Roberto Soldic vs. Dagi Arslanaliev

Middleweight MMA: Shamil Erdogan vs. Aung La N Sang

Bantamweight MMA: Bibiano Fernandes vs. Kevin Belingon

Featherweight MMA: (3) Shamil Gasanov vs. (4) Martin Nguyen

Lightweight MMA: Kade Ruotolo vs. Nicolas Vigna

Heavyweight MMA: Mauro Cerilli vs. Kirill Grishenko

Bantamweight Muay Thai: Jake Peacock vs. Shinji Suzuki

Bantamweight Kickboxing: (2) Ilias Ennahachi vs. (3) Petchtanong Petchfergus

Atomweight MMA: (5) Ayaka Miura vs. Ritu Phogat

Flyweight Submission Grappling: Zayed Alkatheeri vs. Jarrah Al Hazza

Lightweight MMA: Abdullo Khodzhaev vs. Wilian Poles


Dominant Raducanu advances to second round of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Updated 32 sec ago
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Dominant Raducanu advances to second round of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

Dominant Raducanu advances to second round of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
  • Wildcard Briton completes hat-trick of wins over Greece’s Maria Sakkari
  • Two-time Dubai champion Elina Svitolina eases past 2024 finalist Anna Kalinskaya, while Bencic, Vondrousova, and Badosa all progress

DUBAI: Emma Raducanu got her maiden Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign off to the perfect start on Sunday night, defeating former World No. 3 Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 6-2 under the lights on Centre Court.

Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, is a high-profile wildcard this week as Dubai’s women’s tournament celebrates its landmark 25th anniversary. Making her first appearance in the tournament, she broke her opponent at the first opportunity to take an early lead at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium. Yet Sakkari, ranked 29th in the world and 31 places above her opponent, battled back to level the set in the sixth.

Raducanu arrived in Dubai on a run of four consecutive defeats and three first-round exits. So it was much to her credit that she maintained composure to immediately regain the lead, breaking back without dropping a point.

“I just tried to stay focused on what was in front of me,” Raducanu said. “There was some momentum shared throughout the match and I think when I was broken in the first set, I regrouped really well to break back and was really pleased with how I performed.”

The second set was initially similar to the first as the British No. 2 immediately broke Sakkari’s serve before letting her lead slip once more, this time in the fourth game. But she kept her composure and regained the lead — this time turning the screw to break again and capitalise on Sakkari’s errors to take a 5-2 lead. Serving for the match, she drew cheers from the crowd with a powerful ace down the middle.

“I’m very happy to get through to the next round,” she said. “The support has been great tonight. It’s my first time spending a little bit of time here (in Dubai) and I’ve really enjoyed it. What I love most is that everything is open late and I’m a big night owl, so I can go out and go for my walks at, like, 11pm.” 

The two players had only ever met previously at Grand Slams, with Raducanu coming out on top both in the semi-final of her historic 2021 US Open campaign and in the Round of 32 at Wimbledon last year. With her Dubai victory making it a hat-trick of wins over the same opponent — all without dropping a set — Raducanu was asked on court what it is about Sakkari’s game she most enjoys playing against.

“It’s a difficult one … In a way, we play quite similar, she’s very athletic,” Raducanu said. “I’m not necessarily going to give all my tactics away; it’s just a very difficult match every time we play, so I’m happy to have won on these occasions — and all big tournaments.”

Raducanu will now meet 14th seed Karolina Muchova in the second round on Tuesday after the Czech overcame Suzan Lamens 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1.

Earlier in the evening, two-time champion Elina Svitolina made light work of last year’s surprise finalist Anna Kalinskaya, defeating the World No. 18 6-1, 6-2 in a little more than an hour. Thirty-year-old Svitolina is making her 10th appearance in the emirate and wasted no time dispatching No. 15 seed Kalinskaya, who made history in the event last year to become the first qualifier to reach the final of the WTA 1000 event.

World No. 22 Svitolina, a back-to-back winner here in 2017 and 2018, will now face either Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova or Clara Tauson of Denmark.

Meanwhile, World No. 34 Marketa Vondrousova advanced to the second round after beating French wildcard Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1. The Czech will now face either Elina Avanesyan or Mirra Andreeva, who meet on Monday in the final match on Centre Court. Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic also advanced with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Japan’s Aoi Ito, while American wildcard Sofia Kenin despatched Donna Vekic 7-5, 6-3. There was no surprise in the first match of the day as World No. 10 Paula Badosa beat New Zealand’s Lulu Sun 6-3, 6-4.

The 25th edition of the annual WTA 1000 event runs until Feb. 22, before the 33rd staging of Dubai’s ATP Tour 500 tournament takes place from Feb. 24 to March 1.

 


A three-decade wait is about to end for Pakistan’s passionate cricket fans

A three-decade wait is about to end for Pakistan’s passionate cricket fans
Updated 3 min 51 sec ago
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A three-decade wait is about to end for Pakistan’s passionate cricket fans

A three-decade wait is about to end for Pakistan’s passionate cricket fans
  • International teams avoided Pakistan after 2009 terror attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore
  • Plenty of stars will be missing in action including India’s Jasprit Bumrah and Aussie pacer Pat Cummins

ISLAMABAD: A three-decade wait finally ends for Pakistan on Wednesday when it stages its first major International Cricket Council tournament since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup with Sri Lanka and India.

A 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lanka playing squad at Lahore resulted in international teams avoiding tours to Pakistan for almost a decade because of security concerns. The Sri Lankan test team returned in 2019 as international cricket made slow inroads back.

Since then, there’s been progress on bringing bigger, multinational events to Pakistan, where cricket — by a long margin — is the most popular sport.

But it doesn’t come without complications. Long-standing geo-political tensions mean India won’t send a team to Pakistan. So instead, India, which just about bankrolls the sport globally, will play its matches in the United Arab Emirates.

Why the hybrid hosting model?

India’s top team hasn’t played in Pakistan since 2008, and the two countries have tended to only compete against each other in major tournaments, including World Cups.

Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup in 2023. But India’s reluctance to return the favor put this Champions Trophy tournament in doubt before the sport’s international governing body and both countries agreed on a solution. It’s similar to when Pakistan hosted the 2023 Asian Cup but India played its tournament games in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan was subsequently awarded the 2028 Women’s T20 World Cup and the International Cricket Council agreed in principle that Pakistan will also play its games at a neutral venue when India hosts ICC tournaments until 2027.

When the archrivals do meet each other in ICC tournaments, it tends to catch the attention of more than a billion cricket-mad fans.

The group game on Feb. 23 in Dubai will certainly fit into that category. Pakistan will host 10 games, including one semifinal. The final will be played at Lahore on March 9 if India doesn’t qualify. Dubai is scheduled to host all three of India’s group matches and a semifinal.

What is the Champions Trophy?

The eight-nation, limited-overs tournament hasn’t been contested since 2017, when Pakistan beat India in the final in England.

The Champions Trophy was launched in 1998 and initially held every two years but later moved to a four-year cycle in between World Cups — the pinnacle in cricket’s one-day format.

 International cricket has three main formats: test matches, which can last up to five days; one-dayers (or ODIs), where both teams are allocated 50 overs to bat and matches take up to 8 hours; and Twenty20s (or T20s), where both innings comprise 20 overs and games last just a few hours.

Pakistan was awarded the 2008 Champions Trophy, but due to security concerns the tournament was shifted to South Africa in 2009.

India was due to host the Champions Trophy in 2021, but it was replaced with the T20 World Cup and was played in the UAE.

The eight participating teams this time were based on rankings after the 2023 World Cup in India, with Pakistan qualifying automatically as host. India, New Zealand and Bangladesh are in Group A with host Pakistan. England, South Africa, Australia and Afghanistan are in Group B.

Two former Champions Trophy winners — Sri Lanka and the West Indies — didn’t qualify for the ninth edition, which include 15 games across 19 days.

Boycott threat against Afghanistan

Politicians in England and South Africa urged their cricket authorities to boycott Champions Trophy group games against Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s ban on women’s sport and general erosion of women’s rights.

South Africa’s Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie last month said if the ultimate decision was his, then a South Africa vs. Afghanistan match “certainly would not happen.”

In a similar move, more than 160 politicians in Britain urged the England and Wales Cricket Board to take a stand and boycott the Feb. 26 game against Afghanistan at Lahore.

However, despite describing the “appalling oppression” of women in Afghanistan as “gender apartheid,” English cricket administrators confirmed that the game will go ahead.

Stars missing

Australia will be without its World Cup-winning pace trio with Mitchell Starc joining injured Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on the sidelines. With Marcus Stoinis’ surprisingly retired from ODI cricket late last month and allrounder Mitchell Marsh out injured, Australia will look to its bench strength to win the only missing ICC trophy from its cabinet.

Jasprit Bumrah, the key cog in India’s bowling armory, was ruled out of the tournament because of a back problem he sustained during the test series against Australia in January.

Also sidelined with injuries are England’s Jacob Bethell and Afghanistan spinner AM Ghazanfar. New Zealand is still sweating on the fitness of fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who picked up hamstring injury during a recent T20 league series.

Stadiums upgrades

With work around the clock over the last four months and millions of dollars invested, Pakistan organizers finished upgrading the three stadiums at Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Described as “miracle” by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium has gone through a massive overhaul with all the stands being reconstructed in 117 days. Karachi’s National Bank Stadium and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi are the two other venues where major works were carried out. Karachi is hosting the tournament opener Wednesday between Pakistan and New Zealand.


Cristiano Ronaldo to stream Riyadh Season Premier Padel P1 finals live on his YouTube channel

Cristiano Ronaldo to stream Riyadh Season Premier Padel P1 finals live on his YouTube channel
Updated 5 min 17 sec ago
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Cristiano Ronaldo to stream Riyadh Season Premier Padel P1 finals live on his YouTube channel

Cristiano Ronaldo to stream Riyadh Season Premier Padel P1 finals live on his YouTube channel
  • World first for the sport as Premier Padel and Al-Nassr star collaborate to promote players globally

RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo will be streaming the finals of the Riyadh Season Premier Padel P1 on his YouTube channel, as a part of his continued backing of the sport’s leading professional tour.

Ronaldo’s channel has over 74 million followers with access available in over 130 countries worldwide.

This initiative marks another significant step in Ronaldo’s commitment to growing the sport following his high-profile appearances during the Riyadh Season Premier Padel P1 tournament.

Coverage starts at 6 p.m. Saudi Arabia time on Monday.


Five potential breakout stars to watch at Champions Trophy

Five potential breakout stars to watch at Champions Trophy
Updated 17 February 2025
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Five potential breakout stars to watch at Champions Trophy

Five potential breakout stars to watch at Champions Trophy
  • Indian spinner Varun Chakravarthy took 14 wickets in India’s 4-1 T20I triumph over England this month 
  • Middle-order batter Tayyab Tahir was Pakistan’s breakout star in the 2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup

DUBAI: The Champions Trophy starts on Wednesday in Pakistan and Dubai. AFP Sport highlights five less heralded players looking to make a name for themselves at the 50-over tournament:

A late entry into the Indian squad for the tournament, wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy adds value to the bowling line-up on expected slow pitches in Dubai.

The 33-year-old only made his ODI debut in this month’s England series after claiming 14 wickets in India’s 4-1 T20 triumph.

He has been a standout in the Indian Premier League 20-over tournament and played a key role with 21 wickets in Kolkata Knight Riders’ title triumph last year.

Chakravarthy is part of a formidable Indian spin attack, and coach Gautam Gambhir said he could offer the “X-factor.”

Middle-order batsman Tayyab Tahir was a breakout star for Pakistan in the 2023 Emerging Teams Asia Cup when his sparkling century led the team to victory in the final against arch-rivals India.

Tahir, 31, enjoyed a good run in the domestic circuit and a few T20 outings for Pakistan before making his ODI debut last year.

His scores in white-ball internationals have been moderate, with his highest 39 not out in a T20 game.

But Tayyab has had praise from pundits, with fast bowling great Wasim Akram calling him a “very exciting talent” after his batting blitz in the Pakistan Super League.

Somerset batsman Tom Banton joined England in India for the final ODI of this month’s series and showed glimpses of his talent in a 38-run knock for a losing cause.

The 26-year-old, who took guard at number three in Ahmedabad, came in as cover for injured Jacob Bethell and replaced him in England’s Champions Trophy squad.

Playing his seventh ODI and his first since August 2020, Banton took on the Indian spinners and made a six off Washington Sundar with a spectacular switch hit over backward point.

Banton has been in top form in T20 franchise cricket and is the leading batter in the United Arab Emirates’ premier competition, amassing 493 runs including two centuries from 11 innings.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Aaron Hardie, 26, gets his chance after the sudden retirement of Marcus Stoinis ahead of the Champions Trophy.

Hardie, a right-arm pacer and powerful batter, rattled Sri Lanka with figures of 2-13 and then made 32 with the bat before Australia went down in Colombo last week.

He turned heads in 2018 when he dismissed Indian top guns Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in a tour game for Cricket Australia XI and hit 86 with the bat.

Hardie made his white-ball debut for Australia in 2023 but is still awaiting a performance that cements his place in the team.

Standing an imposing six feet, four inches (1.93 meters), the fast bowler has impressed in his nine ODI matches and is set to play in his first ICC tournament.

The 23-year-old O’Rourke made his ODI debut in 2023 but it was his opening Test at home last year that got him attention after he claimed a match haul of nine wickets against South Africa.

He recently played a starring role with figures of 4-43 for the Black Caps in their win over Pakistan in the tri-series final in Karachi — the venue for the Champions Trophy opener between the same two teams.

With tearaway quick Ben Sears ruled out and Lockie Ferguson recovering from a hamstring injury, New Zealand will depend on O’Rourke and senior quick Matt Henry to fire.
 


All set for Champions Trophy start after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls

All set for Champions Trophy start after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls
Updated 17 February 2025
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All set for Champions Trophy start after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls

All set for Champions Trophy start after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls
  • Arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who only face off in international competitions because of the politics, clash in Dubai on Feb. 23 in the group phase
  • India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh form Group A while Australia, England, Afghanistan and South Africa are in Group B

KARACHI: The Champions Trophy begins Wednesday after a turbulent buildup that saw the tournament split between Pakistan and Dubai, and with England facing calls to boycott their match against Afghanistan.

The event, regarded as second only to the World Cup in the one-day game, runs until March 9 and is the first global cricket tournament hosted by Pakistan in nearly three decades.

India’s matches will however be played in the UAE after the sport’s financial superpower refused to visit their neighbor over long-standing political tensions.

A month-long impasse ended in December when the International Cricket Council said that India would play their games in Dubai.

It raises the prospect of the final of the eight-nation showpiece taking place there, rather than in Pakistan, if India get that far — a good chance given they are favorites to lift the trophy.

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan, who only face off in international competitions because of the politics, clash in Dubai on Feb. 23 in the group phase.

England play Afghanistan three days later in Lahore in a match that has been met with a backlash in some quarters in Britain.

More than 160 British politicians called for a boycott in response to the Taliban government’s ban on women in sport.

England Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson vowed the match would go ahead, saying a “coordinated international response” by the cricket community would achieve more than unilateral action.

The Champions Trophy will be Pakistan’s first ICC event since co-hosting the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.

Karachi and Rawalpindi are the other Pakistani cities that will stage games.

Pakistan became a no-go area for foreign teams after the visiting Sri Lankan squad were attacked by gunmen in 2009, leaving eight people dead and wounding several touring players.

But with improved security across most of the country, international cricket returned to Pakistan in 2020.

India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh form Group A while Australia, England, Afghanistan and South Africa are in Group B.

Two teams from each group qualify for the semifinals in Dubai and Lahore.

Pakistan are reigning champions, having defeated India in the final in 2017 at The Oval in London.

But it is two-time winners India who are favorites, with superstar batsman Virat Kohli hoping to overcome a poor run of form by his sky-high standards.

It could be the 36-year-old’s last hurrah on the international stage, with captain Rohit Sharma also likely to retire after the tournament.

“India is playing superb all-round cricket and so are among the favorites for the Champions Trophy,” former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar told AFP.

“The other teams, in my opinion, to watch out for are defending champions Pakistan, New Zealand and South Africa.”

India will however be missing ace pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia beat hosts India to win the one-day World Cup in 2023 but they are missing several key players.

Their formidable pace attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are all out.

Coupled with the sudden retirement from ODIs of Marcus Stoinis and injury to Mitchell Marsh — both key all-rounders — and Australia suddenly look vulnerable.

They were well beaten 2-0 in Sri Lanka in a two-match series last week. Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy.

Pakistan will open the ninth edition of the Champions Trophy with a match against New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday.

The co-hosts are unpredictable, as they showed in the last edition of the tournament, losing to India by 124 runs in the opening match before winning the final against them by 180 runs.

England go into the competition under a cloud, having been outclassed by India in both a T20 and one-day series in the leadup.

With quality spinners led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan are dangerous.

They shocked England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup and reached the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup last year.