09-02-2022

WeDNeSDAY, FebruArY 9, 2022
9
paris Saint-Germain have been knocked out of the Coupe de France at the last-16 stage after
Nice won on penalties following a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes at the parc des princes. photo: Ap
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Australian Open
champion Barty
extends lead in
rankings
SportS DeSk
Ashleigh
Barty's
achievement in becoming
the first Australian woman
in 44 years to win the
Australian Open title has
seen her consolidate her
place atop the WTA
rankings.
The 25-year-old has
increased her lead over
Aryna Sabalenka of Belaruswho
exited in the fourth
round of the Australian
Open-to over 2,600 points.
Danielle Collins's
consolation for losing to
Barty in Saturday's final is
the highest ever ranking for
the 28-year-old American as
she soars 20 places to 10th.
Poland's Iga Swiatek-who
Collins beat in the Australian
Open semi-finals-has also
risen to her highest ever
ranking, moving up five
spots to fourth.
The Czech Republic's
French Open champion
Barbora Krejcikova moves
up one place to third.
There are differing
fortunes for two second
round losers in Melbourne.
Spain's Garbine Muguruza
drops four places to seventh
whereas Britain's US Open
champion Emma Raducanu
rises five to her best ever
ranking of 13th.
Under-19 World Cup wrap: Pakistan
through to fifth place play-off
SportS DeSk
Despite Ariful Islam's 119-ball 100,
Bangladesh Under-19 slipped to a six-wicket
loss against Pakistan Under-19 in the Super
League Play-Off semi-final in the Under-19
World Cup. Pakistan will now take on Sri
Lanka in the fifth place play-off game,
reports AP.
Bangladesh, who opted to bat, were in early
trouble at 23 for 3. At that stage, Iftakher
Hossain and Ariful joined hands to share a
timely stand of 50 before the former was run
out. Despite not getting much support from
the other end, Ariful continued to play with
freedom and was only the ninth man
dismissed. The significance of his knock can
be further illustrated by the point that only
two batters crossed the 20-run mark.
Eventually, Bangladesh were bowled out for
175 in the final over. For Pakistan, Mehran
Mumtaz and Awais Ali shared three scalps
each. Top order batter Haseebullah then
followed it up with a 107-ball 79 to anchor
Pakistan's chase. Muhammad Shehzad, his
opening partner, also made a useful 36.
Despite losing three wickets in quick
succession after the 35-over mark, Pakistan
comfortably overhauled the target with more
than three overs to spare. Brief scores:
Bangladesh Under-19 175 in 49.2 overs (Ariful
Islam 100; Mehran Mumtaz 3-16) lost to
Pakistan Under-19 176/4 in 46.3 overs
(Haseebullah Khan 79) by six wickets.
Punya Mehra (48*) and Kai Smith (49)
made useful contributions while the bowlers
shared wickets between them as UAE Under-
19 registered a comfortable eight-wicket win
over Ireland Under-19 in the Plate final. UAE's
batters took just 26 overs to take their side
past the modest total of 122.
For Ireland, Jack Dickson, batting at the top
of the order, top-scored with 40 while Jash
Giyanani and Dhruv Parashar returned
impressive figures of 2 for 12 and 2 for 15
respectively. In pursuit of the paltry target,
Smith and Mehra shared a stand of 59 for the
second wicket to put UAE on course. After
Smith was dismissed, Mehra took the side
home in the company of Nilansh Keswani.
Brief scores: Ireland Under-19 122 in 45.3
overs (Jack Dickson 40; Jash Giyanani 2-12)
lost to UAE Under-19 128/2 in 26 overs (Kai
Smith 49, Punya Mehra 48*) by eight wicket.
Teddy Bishop (112 not out) and Kevin
Wickham (104) essayed brisk hundreds to
ensure West Indies Under-19 would overhaul
the competitive target of 257 set by Zimbabwe
Under-19 in the final over and with eight
wickets left in the shed in their 11th place playoff
game.
Gm (22) (43)
GD-232/22 (7x4)
GD-227/22 (7x4)
Djokovic remains
number one
despite Australian
Open absence
SportS DeSk
Rafael Nadal's recordbreaking
21st Grand Slam
singles title in winning an epic
Australian Open final
frustrated Novak Djokovic's
hopes of being the first to do
so, but the Serb remains
world number one in the
rankings released Monday,
reports BSS.
The 34-year-old was unable
to play in the first Grand Slam
of the year after being
deported from Australia over
Covid-19 vaccination issues
but he extended his recordbreaking
run as number one
to 358 weeks.
Nadal's beaten opponent in
the Melbourne final, Daniil
Medvedev, stays second but
the Russian moves to within
1,000 points of Djokovic.
Djokovic will keep the
points he earned from
winning his ninth Australian
Open title last year till
February 21 as last year's
tournament was played at the
later dates of February 8-21.
Nadal remains fifth in the
rankings despite his recordbreaking
title and the only
movement in the top 10 sees
Italy's Matteo Berrettini-who
lost to the Spaniard in the
semi-finals in Australia-rise
one place to sixth.
Spain's Pablo Carreno and
Taylor Fritz of the United
States enter the top 20 in 17th
and 20th respectively.
SportS DeSk
A fine all-round effort helped pakistan post a comfortable six-wicket
win.
photo: Ap
Eriksen signs for Brentford months
after cardiac arrest at Euro 2020
SportS DeSk
Defending Olympic women's halfpipe
champion Chloe Kim, one of the
standout stars of the last Winter
Olympics, travels to Beijing with a new
perspective and triumphs in all five
events since ending a layoff of nearly
two years, reports BSS.
The 21-year-old American
snowboarder of South Korean heritage
has been stunning since returning last
January after interrupting her career
when she broke her right ankle and also
attended Princeton University.
In a rich vein of form, she says she is
raring to defend her title in China.
"I have a very clear picture what I
need to do as an athlete and going into
the Olympics I'm very well prepared,"
Kim told the Olympic Channel.
"I'm going to go in with the same
mindset as the last one, just no pressure.
I'm going to do the best I can and we'll
see what happens." Kim extended her
win streak at last month's event in
Copper Mountain, Colorado. After
Christian Eriksen on Monday completed a
remarkable return to the Premier League,
signing for Brentford just seven months after
suffering a cardiac arrest at last year's
European Championship, reports BSS.
The Denmark international left Inter
Milan in December by mutual consent as the
implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or
ICD, he had fitted meant he was not allowed
to play in Italian football. But the Premier
League does not have the same rule and
Brentford issued a statement on Monday
confirming they had signed the former
Tottenham playmaker until the end of the
season, subject to international clearance.
Eriksen, 29, who has been training with
young players at another of his former clubs,
Ajax, said he was raring to go in a short video
on Brentford's Twitter feed. "Hi everyone, it's
Christian Eriksen," he said. "I'm happy to
announce that I've signed for Brentford
Football Club and I can't wait to get started
and hopefully I'll see you all very soon."
Brentford manager Thomas Frank, who
worked with Eriksen while in charge of
Denmark's Under-17s squad early in his
coaching career, welcomed his compatriot,
falling in her first two runs, she
unleashed two of her trademark threerotation
1080 spins to win the title.
"With the Olympics right around the
corner, this is a great way to start the
season," Kim said.
"I'm so happy to have landed it. I don't
want to leave myself in that position
again. It was horrible." Kim, whose
parents are from South Korea, became
the first woman to land a 1080 in
halfpipe competition in 2016 as a 15-
year-old. She won halfpipe and
slopestyle gold at the 2016 Winter
Youth Olympic Games.
At the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter
Olympics, she captured halfpipe gold at
age 17, becoming the youngest woman
to win an Olympic snowboard title.
Kim won world halfpipe titles in 2019
and 2021 and owns six Winter X Games
SuperPipe crowns, the most recent
coming last year in Aspen.
But Kim's life out of the competitive
arena has proven more challenging.
In a recent interview she revealed how
she had struggled to relax during the
saying it was an "unbelievable opportunity"
to bring a world-class player to the club.
"He is fit but we will need to get him
match-fit and I am looking forward to seeing
him work with the players and staff to get
back towards his highest level," he said.
"At his best, Christian has the ability to
dictate games of football. He can find the
right passes and is a goal threat.... I expect
him to have an impact in the dressing room
and at the training ground."
Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in
Denmark's opening game at Euro 2020
against Finland in Copenhagen on June 12
and had to be resuscitated on the pitch.
Denmark then rode a wave of emotion at
the delayed tournament, reaching the semifinals,
where they were knocked out by
England. The midfielder spent several days
in hospital and had the ICD implanted to
regulate his heartbeat.
Brentford's director of football, Phil Giles,
said that although the club would not divulge
any of Eriksen's private medical information,
"Brentford fans can rest assured that we
have undertaken significant due diligence to
ensure that Christian is in the best possible
shape to return to competitive football."
US halfpipe star Kim seeks golden repeat at Beijing
Covid-19 pandemic.
"My boyfriend had to make me stop
watching the news, because I would
literally sit in front of the TV and cry,"
Kim told the New York Times. "I didn't
really know what the symptoms of
depression were-I just thought it meant
you were sad, which is not the case.
"But I had other symptoms. I was
really tired all the time. I slept a lot. I
wasn't motivated to do anything. It was
hard for me to get out of bed and go take
care of myself." It didn't help that Kim
received an Instagram message from a
top snowboarder meant for someone
else, a text calling her an obscene name.
"I just felt like everyone is out to get
me or something," Kim told the Times.
"So I was like, OK, if I'm going to be the
villain in the story, then I don't know if I
want to do it. It's just not fun.
"It's definitely one of those things that
I wish I didn't see, but I'm also grateful.
If I didn't see it, I would have been, like,
'Oh, cool, we're still all good.' It's helpful
for me to know. It definitely made me
put my guard up a little more."