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Nicol David looks to lift Malaysian spirits at women’s squash worlds BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sports - New 2 Borneo

Nicol David looks to lift Malaysian spirits at women’s squash worlds

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 05:57 PM PDT

Malaysia's world number one Nicol David warned competition was now tougher than ever as she sets out to defend her title at the world women's championships on her home island of Penang.

The peerless David, who has won a record seven world titles and has held the top ranking since 2006, is the hot favourite to lift the trophy for the eighth time.

The 30-year-old can help boost Malaysian spirits after the disappearance of flight Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 with 239 passengers on board nine days ago caused widespread shock.

David has made a turbo-charged start to the year, winning back-to-back titles at the Tournament of Champions and Cleveland Classic in January and February.

But despite being the overwhelming favourite in Penang, she said it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep her challengers at bay.

"There is not much separating the top 10 players and the gap is certainly getting closer," David said.

"Anyone in the top 10 is capable of ousting each other, so I have to be on top of my game as everyone will be out to get me."

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the Asian Games in South Korea and the world team championships are also on David's 2014 schedule in what is shaping up as a busy year.

"I am 30 now and the sport is very demanding," she said. "I have to pay extra attention to my preparation and recovery for each match and I can?t push my body too much compared to when I was younger.

"Having said that, I still aim to compete at the highest level for at the least the next five years."

The top seed and defending champion will open her account against England's Emma Beddoes in a draw which appears to have given her a favourable route to the final.

Should she make the title match on Saturday, her biggest rival Laura Massaro of England, the second seed, will hope to lie in wait.

Massaro's main obstacle in the bottom half of the draw looks to be third seed Raneem El Weleily of Egypt. David?s last world title win came at the expense of Massaro back in 2012.

The pocket-sized champion will be joined by compatriots Low Wee Wern and wildcard entry Vanessa Raj in the main draw. -AFP

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Crocs seek opportunities amidst challenges

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 12:01 PM PDT

by Matthew Umpang, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on March 18, 2014, Tuesday

KUCHING: The emphatic 3-1 win over Lions XII has opened up exciting tactical options for head coach Robert Alberts as Sarawak continue the journey in the Super League.

Ironically, this situation came about after the team was forced into a crisis of limited options.

Fitness, injury and performance crisis have hit the strikers. Milorad Janjus and Muamer Salibasic are out injured.

Alireza Abbasfard has proven ineffective. And Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli has yet to reach full match fitness.

That left the Crocs opting to play without a hitman against Lions XII.

For the match, both team captain Joseph Kalang and Mohd Rashid Aya played the advanced attacking roles with support from wingers Chanturu Suppiah and Ashri Chuchu.

The "new" tactical approach worked mainly because the players who took to the field had the mentality to score for the team whenever the opportunity arose.

"We don't expect to play with no real strikers all the time but what we saw just now (last Saturday) was a true testimony of good team work. It comes to show that everyone in the team is fighting hard for a win every time we play," Alberts said on Saturday after the match.

"What matters most is that everyone works hard to ensure a win."

The lack of a strike force is expected to be alleviated to some extent when the Crocs take on Selangor in the next home match on March 25.

By then, fans can look forward to the debut of newly signed Australian striker Ryan Griffiths.

Meanwhile, however, Sarawak have to face last year's Malaysia Cup champions Pahang this Saturday (March 22) at the Darul Makmur Stadium.

After playing seven games in the Super League so far, the team has collected 12 points and is currently third in the league standings just behind Terengganu and Kelantan.

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Alberts hails Crocs for rising to the occasion

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:57 AM PDT

by Geryl Ogilvy Ruekeith, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on March 18, 2014, Tuesday

KUCHING: In the absence of key import strikers, Robert Alberts has reiterated the need for the Crocs to step up and contribute to the scoring department so that the team can keep pace in the Malaysia Super League.

Many observers and fans have remarked on Sarawak's ability to beat Singapore 3-1 last Saturday and be counted among the top three teams in the league despite missing a recognised striker.

Speaking to reporters after the match last Saturday, head coach Robert Alberts was full of praise for his players who rose to the occasion to shoulder responsibility.

The two names that came immediately to mind were winger Chanturu Suppiah who scored a brace in only his second start for the Crocs and attacking midfielder Mohamad Rashid Aya who scored the third.

Both registered their first league goal of the season.

"I am happy that players like Chanturu and Rashid Aya, who had yet to score, had stood up. This would ease the pressure from those who usually score. After tonight's (Saturday) match, there are only positive things to bring out of the team," he said.

"With more players contributing the goals, others would be more relaxed. This is what we hoped to achieve after this match."

Alberts also mentioned the performance of midfielder Mohd Lot Abu Hassan who "worked his socks off" to complement Junior Eldstal who was nursing a back injury.

He hoped other players will respond similarly to help fire the team in coming matches before reinforcement arrives during the transfer window which opens March 22.

Sarawak will face Pahang at Stadium Darul Makmur this Saturday and Selangor at home on March 25. The much anticipated clash with star-studded outfit Johor Darul Ta'zim will take place on March 29 away before the Crocs complete their first round fixtures at home against current league leaders Terengganu on April 5.

Looking forward to fresh legs joining the team during the transfer window, Alberts stated his intent to sign another offensive player.

Touching on new signing Australian striker Ryan Griffiths, he mentioned that the Australian hitman has shown good quality in training.

"If we can get another attacking striker, I can only see positive things for this team with the additional strength," he said.

Team officials are also closely monitoring the status of injured star striker Muamer Salibasic during the one-month transfer window.

Alberts said Salibasic is one of the better foreign import players in the Super League. The team would not want to lose him but the Bosnian has been out of action for too long.

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United job harder than I thought — Moyes

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:56 AM PDT

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Manchester United manager David Moyes conceded that he was finding his job harder than he could have ever envisaged after a chastening 3-0 home defeat by bitter rivals Liverpool.

The loss on Sunday was United's ninth of the Premier League campaign — five of which have come at home — and carried echoes of the 4-1 humiliation at Manchester City in September that foreshadowed the club's current struggles.

The defending champions mustered just one shot on target in the entire game, while Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claimed with some justification that his side "could have scored five or six".

In the end the visitors had to content themselves with a brace of Steven Gerrard penalties and a late Luis Suarez strike.

Gerrard squandered a chance to complete a rare hat-trick of penalties when he sent a third spot-kick against the post, but the scoreline was still enough for United striker Wayne Rooney to brand it "one of the worst days I've ever had in football".

With United 12 points below the Champions League places, having played two more games than fourth-placed City, their hopes of reserving a berth in Europe's premier club competition via the league have been all but dashed.

They also trail Greek champions Olympiakos 2-0 ahead of the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday, making their chances of qualifying by winning the tournament appear almost equally remote.

It is only 10 months since Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager after overseeing the club's 20th league title triumph, and Moyes admits that the pace of United's decline has taken him by surprise.

"The job was always going to be hard," he said. "Is it harder than I thought it would be? Yeah, I would say so."

United have beaten only one of the teams currently in the Premier League's top nine — Arsenal, in November — but despite the damning statistical evidence, Moyes played down suggestions of a malaise.

"That tells you we're not doing as well as we should be," he said. — AFP

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Djokovic beats Federer for Indian Wells crown

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:54 AM PDT

INDIAN WELLS, United States: World number two Novak Djokovic rallied to beat Roger Federer in a three-set thriller on Sunday to win his first title of 2014 at the Indian Wells ATP Masters.

Djokovic defeated Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to add a third title in the California desert to those he captured in 2008 and 2011.

"I'm just very happy and thrilled to be able to win the first title in this season," Djokovic said. "I played, three, four matches in three sets, a couple of matches had to come from a set down. Mentally this definitely helps my confidence."

Having gained an early break for a 2-1 lead in the third, Djokovic served for the match at 5-4 but was broken.

From there they went to a tiebreaker that Djokovic dominated.

"You always have to dig deep against Roger," said Djokovic, who put every first serve in play in that ninth game and still dropped his serve.

"When I served for the match, he played a fantastic game. I couldn't do much about it. I managed to regroup and get into the tiebreak.

"That was absolutely great for me, I mean, from the first to the last point."

Federer sent a backhand long on the first point of the breaker, and Djokovic seized a quick 3-0 lead with an overhead smash off a lackluster Federer lob and another errant backhand from the Swiss.

"I think I played a good game to break back," Federer said. "Got the first serve returns back, and then played well from the baseline."

He said playing into the wind likely made it harder for Djokovic to serve it out, but then the Serb had the wind with him for the first six points of the tiebreaker.

"He took advantage of that," Federer said. "So it was an interesting end to the match, no doubt … I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered."

Federer saved one match point with an ace, but Djokovic ended it on his first opportunity on his own serve when a Federer backhand found the net.

A break of Djokovic's first service game in the match for a 2-0 lead was the only opening Federer needed to take the first set in 31 minutes.

He put 74 percent of his first serves in play and didn't face a break point.

The second set was tightly contested, and it wasn't until the eighth game that Djokovic mustered the first break point of the set.

Federer saved it with a service winner, but a mishit forehand on the next point cost him the break and Djokovic confidently served out the set.

"It was a very even match," said Djokovic, who denied Federer an unprecedented fifth Indian Wells title to go with those he won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2012.

"As I said before the match, very few points will decide a winner, and that's what happened."

The 32-year-old Federer was trying to become the oldest player to win a Masters title since a 34-year-old Andre Agassi won at Cincinnati 2004.

Instead, Djokovic claimed the 17th elite Masters title of his career.

In the 33rd career meeting between the tennis heavyweights, Djokovic avenged a loss to 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer in the semi-finals last month at Dubai, where Federer went on to win his first title in nin months.

The Swiss great will rise from eighth to fifth in the world on the strength of reaching the final here. — AFP

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Russia closes ‘best ever’ Games under Crimea shadow

Posted: 17 Mar 2014 09:53 AM PDT

SOCHI, Russia: Russia on Sunday laid on a glittering closing ceremony in Sochi to draw the curtain on the Winter Paralympic Games hailed as the "best ever" but held under the long shadow of the standoff over Crimea.

The ceremony took place on the same day as the controversial referendum in Crimea on the Ukrainian region — just across the Black Sea from Sochi — becoming part of Russia, underlining how the spectre of the Ukraine crisis has never been far from these Games.

The closing ceremony at the Fisht stadium in Sochi, attended by President Vladimir Putin, marked the end of Russia's Olympics which began on February 7 with the opening ceremony for the Olympic Winter Games.

The fire in the Olympic cauldron was extinguished and the flag given to the next Winter Olympic hosts PyeongChang in South Korea, bringing a close to a journey that began in 2007 when Putin won the right to host the Winter Games.

Putin, who spearheaded the bid to host both the Olympic Winter Games and the Winter Paralympic Games, was present in the VIP stands at the closing ceremony but in line with protocol did not make any comment.

The hosts basked in the glory of easily topping the medals table with 30 golds, well ahead of second placed Germany who won nine. Ukraine also performed strongly, coming fourth with five golds.

In a huge compliment to Russia, International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven closed the Games by declaring them the "best Paralympic Winter Games ever".

He said that the Paralympic spirit had "united and infected us all in Sochi" and the Games were so special that "no-one wants them to end".

But he also said that Sochi had with the Paralympics been "transformed into a barrier-free city" and had become a model for the rest of Russia.

"Do you sense a greater degree of liberation? Well I do, I can tell you," he said to cheers from the crowd.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak in his speech said that both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi "will long stay in in the hearts of people all over the planet."

"We prepared seven long years for this spectacle and all our obligations were fulfilled right on time," said Kozak.

"The time has come to say goodbye but we will meet again. Welcome in Russia!"

The closing ceremony began with a dazzling choreographed routine of wheelchairs as dancers soared on wires high above and continued with dancers defying disabilities to perform astonishing routines like Cossack dances in an out of wheelchairs. — AFP

Perhaps the biggest highlight came when star Russian Paralympian Alexei Chuvashev rose from his wheelchair to climb a pole high above the stadium's field.

Chuvashev lost both his legs during an operation against militants in Chechnya in 2008 but has now become a top Paralympic rower, winning bronze at London 2012 in adaptive rowing.

He climbed the pole using his vast upper body strength towards vast letters hung above the stadium spelling the word "impossible".

He nudged an apostrophe into position to make the world read: "I'm possible".

The eclectic closing ceremony mixed rock music, imaged inspired by artists like the Russian abstract master Wassily Kandinsky and classic tracks by the likes of Sergei Prokofiev.

Yet the Games also never escaped the shadow of the standoff in Ukraine, where pro-Russia forces seized the Crimea peninsula in defiance of the international community.

In a symbolic but low-key protest, Ukrainian athletes had throughout the Games covered their medals with the palms of their hands at award ceremonies.

Putin had earlier thanked sporting officials "for keeping the Paralympics away from politics".

Kozak declared that both Winter Games had showed off a new "modern Russia" but for many the Games will always be linked with the controversy over Russia's actions in Ukraine.- AFP

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