I Dig Sports
by Ian Marshall, Editor
Overall, in addition to four practice partners from the local association, a total of 10 boys and 10 girls, born in 2007 and 2008 attended; the premises proving ideal for a high level training camp.
Notably 14 national associations were represented. In addition to Thailand players and coaches from India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Syria attended.
“Before the final tournament we organised a six day training camp where the players worked very hard. The main target of this camp was for the players to understand the importance of the different types of rotation on the ball; we set exercises and games for changing spin and speed.” Jose Urh
A detailed plan was put in place in order to realise the goals set; predominantly during the second session play each day, the focus was directed towards the coaches working on individual practices with their players. The end result both Beh Lee Fong and Jose Urh were pleased with the outcome.
The targets set during the training sessions reached; the aim for the players in the tournament was to secure one of the three places available for boys and three for girls allocated to Asia for the World Hopes Week and Challenge in July in Oman.
In each of the boys’ singles and girls’ singles events the first stage of the Challenge tournament comprised two groups, each with five players; the players finishing in first and second positions in each group advancing to compete for the top four places.
Kazakhstan’s Alan Kurmangaliyev emerged the boys’ singles winner beating India’s Oishik Ghosh in a full distance five games final; third position and thus qualification for the World Hopes Week and Challenge was secured by the host nation’s Pheempope Pheempope, he finished ahead of Singapore’s Nicholas Tan.
“The final match was on very high level considering the players were only 12 years old.” Jose Urh
Meanwhile, India won the girls’ singles event, Sayani Panda beating Fathimath Dheema from the Maldives in the final. Next in line was Malaysia’s Gan Ai Lis, she overcame Iran’s Tara Souri to gain third position.
“Both players in the girls’ final showed good technical skills; all the matches were very even and very interesting, Sayani Panda proving the slightly stronger. All the players were very motivated, it was good to be in the hall watching these matches.” Jose Urh
Matters concluded with a well-organized award ceremony; present for the occasion was Kevin Koh, the SSIB Chief Executive Officer alongside Piradej Pruttipruk, President of the Table Tennis Association of Thailand and Afshin Badie, the Development Manager for the Asian Table Tennis Union.
Contrasting form, can Croatians make impact on home soil?
Gone are the days of Tan Ruiwu and Roko Tosic at international level, their performance seven years ago being the only occasion when two Croatians have faced each other in a men’s singles final at an open international tournament since the ITTF World Tour began in Kettering on Wednesday 3rd April 1996.
Now very much the mantle rests on the shoulders of Andrej Gacina, Frane Kojic, Tomislav Pucar and Wei Shihao.
Unquestionably the man in form is Wei Shihao, having one day ago won the men’s singles title in Slovenia; for Andrej Gacina, problems with injuries, it is the very opposite. He needs to find the form that took him to no.18 on the world rankings in February 2016.
Currently he appears at no.95 in the order of merit, having not had the best of starts to the year. On the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour, he departed in the third preliminary round in Hungary, followed by opening round exits in Qatar and at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships. However, to his defence, in the three tournaments, he has suffered at the hands of most worthy players, in respective order, Slovakia’s Wang Yang, Japan’s Jun Mizutani and Germany’s Timo Boll.
Two ends of the scale, somewhere in the middle we find Tomislav Pucar and Frane Kojic.
In March, Tomislav Pucar excelled to reach the semi-final stage of the men’s singles event in Oman; in April he shone again, he progressed to the fourth round in Budapest at the Liehberr 2019 World Championships. However, in May there have been earlier than anticipated exits. The no.2 seed at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Serbia Open, he departed in round three; last week in Slovenia, the no.8 seed, he bid farewell in the same round.
Can Tomislav Pucar rekindle the form of late April in Budapest? Equally can Frane Kojic find Belgrade form? Recently in Slovenia, he fell at the first hurdle but in Serbia, the previous week, he was the most successful Croatian. He reached the quarter-final.
At the Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Croatia Open, Tomislav Pucar leads the Croatia line, he is the no.9 seed, Andrej Gacina is the no.16 seed, Frane Kojic the no.27 seed and for man in form, there is no spot amongst the elite names.
Wei Shihao starts his journey in the qualification tournament, just as in Slovenia; qualifiers have won in the past but never in consecutive tournaments; a first or may his colleagues have other ideas?
Trendsetter, Chuang Chih-Yuan leads the Zagreb list`
The difference is that when Chuang Chih-Yuan arrived on the scene, the leading names in the Chinese men’s team, in the guise of Chiang Peng-Lung and Chang Yen-Shu were pen-holders in traditional Asian style, powerful, using one side of the racket only.
Chuang Chih-Yuan, much more European, set the trend for those who followed; now every member of national team future generations has been a shake hands grip top spin attacking player, all a joy to watch when embroiled in rallies.
Without doubt, Chuang Chih-Yuan is the most experienced player on duty in Zagreb but in 2019, he has not found the form of some 17 years ago; a second round exit at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships, a quarter-final finish at the Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open, his best to date.
In Zagreb, it is very much the same situation for his major challengers; creditable performance but perhaps not headline news.
During the first week in February, Sweden’s Kristian Karlsson, the no.2 seed, reached the quarter-final round at the CCB 2019 Europe Top 16 Cup; across the Atlantic Ocean, at the Universal 2019 Pan American Cup, the next in line gained podium places. Kanak Jha of the United States was the silver medallist, Brazil’s Gustavo Tsuboi, the bronze medal winner.
Notably, for Gustavo Tsuboi, a confidence boosting win would do him no harm at all; at the recent Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Slovenia Open, the no.3 seed, he departed in round two. However, there was a degree of consolation; he partnered Eric Jouti the men’s doubles gold.
At the Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Croatia Open, they are the no.2 seeds; the Belgium partnership of Martin Allegro and Florent Lambiet, quarter-finalists recently in Serbia, occupy the top seeded spot.
Contenders for honours, for Kanak Jha it is the same in the under 21 men’s singles event but to claim gold he may well have to cause a more than one upset; he is the no.9 seed; India’s Manav Vikash Thakkar is the name at the top of the list followed by Japan’s Yukiya Uda, Aliaksandr Khanin of Belarus and Russia’s Denis Ivonin.
Saki Shibata defends title, Honoka Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato in sight of history
The quiet but most determined 21 year old is one of four former winners of the Zagreb title on duty; when a member of the ITTF World Tour, Monaco’s Yang Xiaoxin won in 2014, more recently Hitomi Sato succeeded in 2016. Success for Hitomi Sato sparked a run of success for Japan; in 2017 when the Challenge Series became a separate entity, the title was won by Honoka Hashimoto.
Furthermore, in the two most recent editions of the tournament, the players who finished in runners up spots are also in action this year; beaten by Honoka Hashimoto two years ago, the name of Austria’s Sofia Polcanova appears on the entry list as does that of last year’s silver medallist, Romania’s Elizabeta Samara.
Seeding based on the April world rankings, Hitomi Sato is the top seed followed by Saki Shibata, Sofia Polcanova and Elizabeta Samara; Honoka Hashimoto is the no.6 seed on a list that witnesses five of the top eight places reserved by Japan. Miyu Kato is the no.5 seed, Miyu Nagasaki, the no.8 seed; the one further interloper is Puerto Rico’s Adriana Diaz, she is the no.7 seed. Yang Xiaoxin is listed further down the order, she is the no.20 seed.
Title defended in the women’s singles event, it is the same in the women’s doubles, an event where history could well be written. Honoka Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato won in both 2017 and 2018; if they can repeat the feat they will become the first pair at either an ITTF Challenge Series tournament or on the ITTF World Tour, to win the women’s doubles title at the same tournament in three consecutive years.
Three at the same tournament has been realised, all by Chinese pairs at the China Open. Guo Yan and Guo Yue achieved the feat (2005, 2007, 2011), as in more recent times the combination of Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen (2009, 2014, 2017), as well as that of Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling (2012, 2013, 2016). However, none succeeded never in successive years.
Honoka Hashimoto and Hitomi Sato start as favourites to complete the task but if the party is to be spoiled; it could well be by their colleagues. Satsuki Odo and Saki Shibata, the winners earlier in the year in Oman occupy the no.2 seed position; the pair against whom they suffered defeat in last week’s Slovenia final, Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki reserve the no.7 seeded spot.
Japan very much in line for honours; it is the same in the under 21 women’s singles; Yumeno Soma heads the seeding ahead of Adriana Diaz, India’s Archana Girish Kamath and Daria Trigolos of Belarus.
TOLEDO, Ohio – Sixteen drivers have earned their first ARCA Menards Series victory at the series’ home track, Toledo Speedway.
Of those, three of them earned their way into victory lane in their series debut, including current NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series championship contender and recent ARCA winner at Talladega Superspeedway Todd Gilliland.
Hailie Deegan, from Temecula, Calif., will be making her series debut May 19 in the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 looking to become the fourth driver to win at Toledo in their first series start. Should she do it, she’d also become the first female to win an ARCA Menards Series race in the series’ 67-year history.
Deegan is the daughter of X Games star Brian Deegan. That alone is enough to generate buzz and excitement wherever she goes. Deegan is also the first female driver to win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in more than 30 years. Deegan earned her first win last year at Meridian Speedway in Idaho and backed it up with her second victory in February at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Just like virtually every other second-generation athlete, Deegan is happy to have had doors opened by a recognizable last name but also wants to build a name of her own. While she enjoys many of the same activities that made her father an X Games superstar, she’s also happy to have found success in a field that’s completely different than freestyle motocross.
“My Dad has definitely taught me a lot when it comes to my training and my determination towards my goals,” said Deegan. “He’s always reminding me how hard you have to work in order to be successful and he’s right there by my side at the gym, at the race track, at test sessions and I know I’ll be leaning on him a lot as I start this next chapter of my racing career.”
With two K&N Pro Series wins on her resume, Deegan is on the radar screen of virtually every race team and sponsor in NASCAR’s national touring series. Her future is seemingly wide open, but the next step on the ladder is a partial schedule in the ARCA Menards Series.
A part of the Toyota Racing Development driver development program, Deegan has aligned with Venturini Motorsports for six starts in the ARCA Menards Series in 2019. The team started the season with three consecutive wins, at Daytona with Harrison Burton, and at Five Flags and Salem with Michael Self. Signing with one of the most successful teams in the series, with 53 wins since 1983, is reason enough to be excited but Deegan stands to benefit from the organization’s long record of success developing young drivers as well.
Current NASCAR drivers Alex Bowman, who replaced Dale Earnhardt, Jr. when he retired in 2018, and Erik Jones, who won his first Cup Series race at Daytona last July, got their start with Venturini Motorsports. Others like defending Cup Series champion Joey Logano and William Byron, ran limited schedules with the team but had success before moving on.
Developing young drivers and then seeing them go on to success in their career is a skill that team co-owner Billy Venturini takes tremendous pride in.
“Working alongside a group like TRD on driver development is incredible,” said Venturini. “Our team has had the opportunity to work with so many talented young drivers over the years, but to now be a part of the system to evaluate drivers in the TRD system as they move up the ranks is a great privilege for our whole team. Hailie has shown a lot of success thus far in her career and more importantly, she shows the determination and willingness to work hard that it takes to succeed in motorsports.”
Perhaps success at the ARCA level will allow Deegan to follow in the footsteps of others who have gone on to NASCAR success, like Bowman, Jones, Logano, and previous ARCA champions Chris Buescher and Ty Dillon, all of whom race on Sundays in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
But Deegan wants to blaze her own trail.
Fernando Alonso has never been satisfied with being known as one of the best drivers in Formula One. The Spanish racer has always wanted to be considered one of the best drivers in history.
That was evident early in his career when he became the youngest driver at that time to win the Formula One title. He was 24 years, 59 days old in 2005 and that broke Emerson Fittipaldi’s record as the youngest F-1 champion.
Alonso won his second F-1 crown the following year.
Alonso has enjoyed celebrity status all over the world. With 32 wins and 97 podiums, he is one of the most accomplished drivers in F-1 history
But that isn’t enough to satisfy Alonso. He wants to be one of the best drivers in the history of auto racing.
That is why he came to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in 2017. He wanted to join the ranks of Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Mario Andretti and Nigel Mansell — Formula One champions who tackled the most intimidating race in the world.
Alonso quickly adapted to the McLaren Honda that was prepared in an alliance with Andretti Autosport. He called the high-speed pack running “the most fun he’s ever had” behind the wheel of a race car.
Alonso started fifth, led 27 laps and was a contender to win before his Honda engine blew 21 laps from the checkered flag. He finished 24th but vowed to return.
He skipped last year’s Indy 500 to concentrate on McLaren’s F-1 team and compete in the Grand Prix of Monaco.
But he accomplished another one of his dreams last year by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
After sharing the winning Toyota at Le Mans, it created an even stronger desire for Alonso to return to the Indianapolis 500. It’s the only jewel missing from racing’s Triple Crown — victories at Monaco, Le Mans and Indianapolis. Hill is the only driver to win all three. The British driver won the Formula One race at Monaco in 1963, the 1966 Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972.
Alonso won at Monaco in 2006 and ’07 and won in his Le Mans debut last June.
“The aim is to do something unprecedented in motorsports,” Alonso said. “I realized I could have different things in my life.”
Alonso’s full focus is on the 103rd Indianapolis 500.
“I think it’s a race that we consider one of the three biggest in motorsports,” Alonso said. “The way of driving those cars, the way of anticipating the tows, the overtaking maneuvers, everything is quite different to what we have in Formula One. Going out of that comfort zone, and to start from zero, it was quite fascinating. And I liked that feeling.
“I’ve made clear for some time my desire to achieve the Triple Crown,” Alonso said. “I had an incredible experience at Indianapolis in 2017 and I knew in my heart of hearts I had to go back if the opportunity was there.”
INDIANAPOLIS – Jon Schaffer has joined Tasca Racing and will share tuning duties with Eric Lane of Bob Tasca III’s Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang Funny Car beginning at the Virginia NHRA Nationals this weekend.
Schaffer moves from John Force Racing in a trade for Mike Green, who joined Tasca Racing at the end of last year.
At 31, Schaffer, the youngest professional full-time crew chief in NHRA, brings energy, a wealth of Funny Car experience and a hard-working attitude to Tasca’s operation.
“I’ve known Jon and raced against Jon for many years, and I’ve always looked at him as an up-and-coming talent, no different than I feel about Eric,” Tasca said. “I’m optimistic that the two of them working together will be a powerful combination.
“Part of putting this program together in conjunction with Ford was to win races. We committed to that from the beginning and I’ve been working to create the best team I can that’s capable of producing the best results. I have very high expectations for our program. The only thing that is acceptable to me is for this team to win races and compete for a championship this year.
“It may take us a few runs, or a few races to get exactly where we want to be, but these changes are being based on the long-term goal, and that goal is to win races and win the championship with this Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang. I didn’t feel like the set-up that I had was capable of doing that at any point this season, and just like the leader of any company, I wanted to set our team up for success in the near term to meet the long-term goals.”
Schaffer, who now lives in the Indianapolis area, grew up through the kart and open wheel ranks before trying stock car racing. Ultimately, his friendship with longtime NHRA Top Fuel driver Dave Baca, who was based in Schaffer’s hometown of Discovery Bay, Calif., brought him to the NHRA.
Expecting to stay only a short while, Schaffer was drawn in by the extraordinary power of the Top Fuel and Funny Car engines and decided to make a career of tuning them.
“Bob has a great organization that has been well-established, so there’s already a team, the parts, everything’s already here to succeed,” said Schaffer, who took his first NHRA job in the early 2000s. “I’m just bringing the knowledge I’ve gained over the last few years. I’m looking forward to working with Eric Lane to see if we can get this thing a little quicker and consistent and start winning some races.
“I’m looking forward to working with the Tasca family. I appreciate them giving me a chance and I’m excited for what the future will bring for Tasca Racing.”
BARCELONA, Spain – While Sunday’s Formula One Emirates Spanish Grand Prix did feature a clash between Haas F1 Team stablemates Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, it wasn’t all bad for the American squad.
The fifth race of the season marked Haas F1’s first double points finish of 2019, with Magnussen and Grosjean both finishing inside the top 10 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Magnussen crossed the line seventh, best among the duo, after passing his teammate when they came together at turn one following a restart with 14 laps left on Sunday at the 2.892-mile, 16-turn course.
“We had a brilliant second pit stop from the team when the safety car came out that let us jump Kvyat. I had good temperature in my tires on the restart and I got past Romain,” Magnussen recalled. “There was contact between me and Romain, which isn’t what you want to see but it was nothing intentional.
“It is not what you want, contact between teammates, but there was no intention from me or Romain; I’m sure.”
As Magnussen got away over the closing laps, Grosjean slipped behind McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat, but was able to fend off Kvyat’s teammate Alexander Albon to remain in the points.
Sunday marked Grosjean’s best finish of the season and was a sign of progress for the Swiss-Frenchman.
“It was a good weekend; we had good pace,” said Grosjean. “Before the safety car, we were running on our own, doing a good race – I was happy (with) that. The restart was a bit more complicated, and it wasn’t ideal for me, as I lost a few positions in there. Overall though, I’m happy with the way we’ve acted this weekend, and I’m happy we’ve shown that the car is fast. Now it’s onto the next one.”
With Magnussen and Grosjean’s results in Barcelona, Haas F1 jumped up to sixth in the constructor’s standings, two points behind Racing Point and two points ahead of Alfa Romeo.
That positive move forward was the focus for Haas F1 team principal Gunther Steiner, not the contact that produced a bit of a stir during and after the final laps on Sunday.
“It’s ended as being a little bit of a controversial weekend, but we’ve sorted it out – cleared the air between the drivers. That’s the most important thing after their race,” noted Steiner. “We maybe lost a couple of points, but we’re all happy to move forward from here and everything is fine.
“It’s been a good weekend points-wise, with getting two cars into the points.”
Next up for Haas F1 is an in-season test session this week at Barcelona, before the squad gears up for the Monaco Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.
“Hopefully we can learn a lot from the test here this week, so we can do the same (score double points) in Monaco and Canada,” Steiner said. “At the moment it looks like they’ll be a little bit more difficult for us, because of the track layouts, but I think we can still score points.
“The whole team did a very good job this weekend and we came away with double points – happy.”
KOSICE, Slovakia -- Dylan Larkin scored with 1:13 left in overtime and Cory Schneider stopped 24 shots, lifting the United States to a 3-2 win over Finland on Monday at the world hockey championship.
Larkin ended the 3-on-3 overtime, carrying the puck inside the right circle and scoring on a wrist shot that got past Veini Vehvilainen's blocker. The Finns complained about an open-ice hit that wasn't ruled a penalty against the U.S. shortly before Larkin scored the game-winning goal.
Brady Skjei scored in the opening minute and Johnny Gaudreau put the Americans up 2-0 midway through the third period. The Finns rallied to tie the game 2-all with Harri Pesonen's goal in the last minute of the opening period and Niko Ojamaki's goal in the final minute of the second.
The matchup in Group A featured American center Jack Hughes and Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko, who are expected to be picked No. 1 and 2 overall, respectively, in the NHL draft next month.
Russia stayed undefeated in Group B and handed the Czech Republic its first loss, winning 3-0 in Bratislava.
Sergei Andronov scored midway through the first period and Nikita Gusev gave the Russians a 2-0 lead in the middle of the second. Nikita Zaitsev added an empty-net goal late in the game and Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with a 23-save shutout.
The Russians are 3-0, outscoring opponents 13-2.
Woods, DJ, Koepka betting co-favorites for PGA Championship
Tiger Woods has some company at the top of the betting sheet heading into this week's PGA Championship.
Woods was listed as an 8/1 favorite by the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook when odds were first published following his victory at last month's Masters, and he's remained the betting favorite in the weeks since. But heading into the season's second major he is now joined at the top by world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and defending champ Brooks Koepka, with all three men sporting 10/1 odds for Bethpage.
Woods has won the PGA four times, most recently in 2007, and he won the 2002 U.S. Open on this week's venue in New York. Johnson came within a few grains of sand of winning the 2010 PGA at Whistling Straits, while Koepka held off Woods and other contenders last summer at Bellerive to win his third major title. The only other player inside 15/1 is two-time PGA champ Rory McIlroy, who is listed at 12/1.
Here's a look at other notable odds via the Westgate as players begin to arrive on Long Island to challenge for the Wanamaker Trophy:
10/1: Tiger Woods, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka
12/1: Rory McIlroy
16/1: Rickie Fowler
18/1: Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Justin Rose
20/1: Jason Day
25/1: Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele
30/1: Tony Finau, Bryson DeChambeau
40/1: Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay
50/1: Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Patrick Reed, Paul Casey, Matt Kuchar
60/1: Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Gary Woodland, Kevin Kisner, Ian Poulter
80/1: Marc Leishman, Webb Simpson
125/1: Cameron Smith, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Si Woo Kim, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Charley Hoffman, Lucas Glover, Aaron Wise, Keith Mitchell
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