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Pan American Cup Takes Centre Stage on Road to Macao

Published in Table Tennis
Tuesday, 18 February 2025 02:49

The ITTF Pan American Cup 2025 is set to serve off today at the prestigious 888 Table Tennis Center in Burlingame, California. This premier event marks the first major Pan American tournament of the year, bringing together the continents top 32 players in a thrilling display of skill and determination.

The competition kicks off with the preliminary stage, featuring Olympians Leonardo Iizuka, Marcelo Aguirre, Zhen Zhiying, and Chelsea Edghill vying for coveted spots in the main draw. Defending champions Edward Ly and Bruna Takahashi are poised to electrify the courts when they enter the fray on Friday, 21 February.

Fans across the Americas can catch all the action live. The main draw ceremony will be streamed at 17:00 local time on Thursday, 20 February, with full match coverage beginning on Friday. US viewers can tune in via USA Table Tennis YouTube Channel, while continental audiences can access the streams through the ITTF Americas APP.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

  • Preliminary Stage: 18-19 February
  • Main Draw: 21-23 February, culminating in Sundays semifinals and finals

ITTF Americas President Juan Vila Reinoso highlighted the events significance, stating, This flagship event not only showcases our top talent but also strengthens our preparation for the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Its a celebration of diversity and unity within our table tennis family.

The 888 Table Tennis Center, recently designated as USATTs National Training Center, provides a world-class venue for this prestigious tournament. Its 30,000 square foot facility, conveniently located near San Francisco International Airport, offers an ideal setting for both competitors and spectators.

As the Pan American Cup enters its ninth year, it continues to play a crucial role in the international table tennis calendar. Players will get the chance to secure their places in the ITTF World Cup, adding an extra layer of excitement to the competition.

With World Cup spots and continental pride at stake, the ITTF Pan American Cup 2025 promises six days of unparalleled table tennis action. As the first serves are about to be delivered, all eyes turn to Burlingame for what promises to be an unforgettable tournament.

Who failed their initiation ceremony and who tapes their mouth up to sleep? Wales captain Jac Morgan took BBC Sport's quiz while at the Six Nations launch event.

WATCH MORE: Ireland team-mates quiz with Caelan Doris

Watch Wales v Ireland from 13:15 GMT on Saturday, 22 February on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

This video is available to UK users only.

Courtois: Ancelotti lost temper at times this season

Published in Soccer
Tuesday, 18 February 2025 02:34

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said that coach Carlo Ancelotti has lost his temper with the team "a few times" during their rollercoaster season so far.

Madrid are second in LaLiga -- level on points with leaders Barcelona -- and face Manchester City on Wednesday in their Champions League knockout phase playoff second leg.

However, they have struggled at times this campaign, with no wins in their last three league games, and high-profile defeats to rivals Barcelona -- 4-0 in LaLiga, and 5-2 in the Spanish Supercopa -- and in Europe to Lille, AC Milan and Liverpool.

"I had [coaches] like [Antonio] Conte that would shout like crazy," Courtois told the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. "It's personalities, you know. I think [Zinedine] Zidane was more calm ... Carlo is also calmer, unless something really happens, like this year a few times.

"But I like that, because I like the balance between being calm and on the right moment, you get mad, because then your words have impact."

Courtois also said there should be "zero tolerance" for racist abuse aimed at players, with teammate Vinícius Júnior frequently being targeted by opposition fans in recent seasons, including in one high-profile incident at Mestalla in May 2023 when the game was paused after Vinícius identified fans who had racially abused him.

"I think sometimes we could have [had] even stronger reactions on the field when stuff has happened, like in Valencia," Courtois said.

"I understand it's not a full stadium, but if as a club, suddenly you have to close part of your stadium, a full stadium, that impact is really big."

Courtois has not played for his national team, Belgium, since June 2023, after a falling out with then coach Domenico Tedesco, who was sacked last month.

"I made peace with it," Courtois said. "Obviously, I miss playing for my country... But, yeah, we'll see what happens.

"I dream to still play at the World Cup, and maybe finish on a high note with the national team. But we will see where it will go... It was just a situation that was not healthy anymore."

Slot: Rashford will show his quality at Villa

Published in Soccer
Tuesday, 18 February 2025 02:34

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has backed Marcus Rashford to turn his career around at Aston Villa and said he was "really impressed" by the forward when he faced him for the first time.

Rashford joined Villa on loan from Manchester United in January, having fallen out of favour at Old Trafford under Ruben Amorim. The 27-year-old made his Premier League debut for Unai Emery's side in a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town at the weekend and could feature when Liverpool travel to Villa Park on Wednesday night.

Asked for his opinion on the England international, Slot said: "Of course I knew Marcus Rashford from following the Premier League but the first time I faced him in real life was in the USA [preseason] tour and I was really impressed how fast he is.

"He has a nice height and and he's comfortable on the ball. I think he's a very good player. I hope that, for him, he is going to that Villa but not [on Wednesday]! I will be completely surprised if a player of that quality doesn't show that in the upcoming months."

Liverpool could move 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a victory over Villa, though second-place Arsenal will have a game in hand. It is a continuation of a tough run for Slot's side, who also travel to Manchester City at the weekend before hosting Newcastle United at Anfield later this month.

Reflecting on whether this spell could be season-defining for his team, Slot said: "I see it as 13 games to be played and the next game is the most important one, starting with Villa away which is, like Wolves at home, a difficult game, for us and for everyone.

"They have a great home record, maybe even more if they play in the evening, so we know that it's going to be a challenge. But we have quite an okay away record this season. So it's a game for everyone to look forward to."

Slot also confirmed that Liverpool are set to be without forward Cody Gakpo and defender Joe Gomez against Villa, with the latter set to miss a significant part of the rest of the season.

"Both will be unavailable for tomorrow," Slot said. "Cody is close to being back and Joe will take quite a long time. He will be out for a number of weeks. It is [a big blow] for him and for us."

RFEF decries online ref abuse after Bellingham red

Published in Soccer
Tuesday, 18 February 2025 02:34

Spain's football federation (RFEF) said referees are sickened by the abuse Jose Munuera Montero has received since he showed Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham a red card and the situation reflects the "hatred and verbal violence" match officials have to endure.

Montero believed the 21-year-old England midfielder had directed foul language at him during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Osasuna and showed him a straight red card. However, Bellingham and his coach Carlo Ancelotti said the official was mistaken.

"The professional referees are absolutely repulsed by the attacks and threats that our colleague Jose Luis Munuera Montero is receiving through social networks, which not only target him personally but also his family," the RFEF said in a statement late on Monday.

"These attacks add to the hatred and verbal violence through which we have to carry out our professional work every weekend, and that in the base categories becomes, even more regrettably, physical violence in many cases."

Bellingham could face a lengthy ban under guidelines for the use of "offensive terms or attitudes" towards match officials but the player said the referee had misunderstood him.

"I'm an English player ... and when I speak on the pitch it's normal that I use expressions that come naturally to me in English," he told reporters on Saturday.

"There was no insult, you can see in the video right away, it was an expression to myself, I'm not even directing myself towards the referee. But obviously there was a misunderstanding. He's believed I've said it to him."

Konstas under the microscope as Boland, Davies shine

Published in Cricket
Monday, 17 February 2025 23:56

Victoria 92 for 4 trail New South Wales 238 (Davies 89, Boland 4-56) by 146 runs

With Nic Maddinson taking 20 off the second over of the match from Fergus O'Neill, the scoreboard read a bizarre 30 for 1 after 13 deliveries. Early in the afternoon, Boland took two wickets in three balls as NSW threatened to fall away but a seventh-wicket stand of 102 between Davies and Chris Green carried them to what appeared a competitive 238 on a surface expected to get tougher for batting.

The home side were then able to take four Victoria wickets before the close with Green's late removal of an aggressive Harry Dixon, who was caught a slip, tilting the day their way.

Yet the major talking point of the day came in first 10 minutes. Konstas reverse scooped his second ball from Boland for four and thumped another boundary straight of mid-off. Then, having watched Maddinson target the short boundary with consecutive sixes, Konstas attempted to sweep Boland and was bowled.

It provided plenty of fuel to the debate about how Konstas should style his batting, but while his brazen approach against Jasprit Bumrah had some tactical nous to it this felt purely reckless.

"I knew Maddo was going to go after Fergus O'Neill, just because he's so good at controlling his length and nicking people off," Davies told ESPNcricinfo. "Maddo said, I just want to put him under the pump and get him off his game a little bit.

"So that was Maddo's plan, and I'm not sure what Sammy was doing. I didn't speak to him about his plan before [he went out], but if he thinks that's the best way he's going to score runs, then I'll back him in 100%. He has shown it before, at Test level and Shield level, that he can score hundreds and big runs. So I'm still backing him in. I hope there's a big score around the corner, hopefully second innings from here."

Normality returned to proceedings following Konstas' departure and at 70 for 1 NSW had a solid platform. However, Maddinson, who did not take another boundary off O'Neill after his early onslaught, pulled to deep square leg and the in-form Kurtis Patterson edged a flat-footed poke at Boland shortly before lunch.

On resumption, Matthew Gilkes was lbw offering no shot at O'Neill before Boland's double intervention at the ground where he claimed 10 in the match against India on his previous appearance. Josh Philippe looked less than impressed at being given caught down the leg side but there was no doubt about Will Sutherland's edge to first slip.

Davies, another batter not shy of bringing out his shots, played positively but sensibly to resurrect the innings alongside the stubborn Green. He struck 13 boundaries and also collected a six over fine leg, which was a little more top edge than middle, to take him to fifty from 62 balls.

He was given a life on 61 when Tom Rogers missed a chance at first slip and was in sight of a first century for the season before edging a drive off Sutherland as NSW lost their last four wickets for 12.

Both Edwards and Jackson Bird struck early with the new ball - Edwards producing an excellent delivery that clipped Campbell Kellaway's off stump - and when Peter Handscomb fell to Hanno Jacobs, Victoria were wobbling on 25 for 3.

Dixon, who made his first-class debut in previous round, counterattacked including taking 16 off Jacobs' fourth over but he couldn't quite make it to stumps leaving a huge amount resting on Marcus Harris who was unbeaten with 33.

Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo

Jamieson, 30, has only just recovered from a back injury of his own, having spent 10 months out of the game. His hiatus from ODI cricket stretches back even longer - till September 2023. He has recent form going his way though. Jamieson proved his fitness during the Super Smash T20 competition, along with the talents that made him eye-catching in the first place, bowling full lengths and getting the ball to swing in. He picked up 14 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 5.95. Helped by that performance, his domestic team, Canterbury, made it to the final. Jamieson has also earned a PSL deal and will play for Quetta Gladiators later this year.

Western Australia 112 for 1 (Whiteman 67) trail Queensland 147 (Rocchiccioli 7-52) by 35 runs

Spinner Corey Rocchiccioli bagged his best first-class figures as Western Australia dominated Queensland on day one of their Sheffield Shield game.
Rocchiccioli snared 7 for 52 as Queensland were bowled out for 147 at the Gabba in Brisbane. WA cruised to 112 for 1 in reply, with Sam Whiteman making 67.

WA (24.91 points) are in last place, with Queensland (27.75) third on a table topped by South Australia (36.93). But with three games including this fixture remaining, Rocchiccioli's feats have given WA a superb opportunity to jump up the ladder.

The 27-year-old had never previously taken five wickets in a first-class innings but spun his way to a career-best day. He captured seven of the last nine wickets to fall as the Queensland batsmen struggled.

Ben McDermott top-scored with 37 from 112 balls. Next best were No.10 Mitchell Swepson (20 not out) and No. 8 Xavier Bartlett (20).

Matthew Renshaw, Jimmy Peirson and Michael Neser were among those to fall cheaply against Rocchiccioli and paceman Cameron Gannon.

Neser fell to a superb one-handed catch from Rocchiccioli, diving to his right from his own bowling. He also took a smart, diving return catch to dismiss Renshaw.

WA's openers Whiteman and Sam Fanning then cashed in for the visitors with their unbroken partnership. Whiteman set an aggressive tone, smacking seven fours and three sixes in his 88-ball innings before being bowled by Tom Whitney about 25 minutes before stumps. Fanning was more circumspect, striking two fours from his 107 deliveries.

Athapaththu to leave WPL early to play for Sri Lanka

Published in Cricket
Tuesday, 18 February 2025 01:57
Chamari Athapaththu is set to miss the final phase of the WPL for UP Warriorz (UPW) to join Sri Lanka on a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting March 4 in Napier. Athapaththu's departure will be the second big blow for UPW who are already without their full-time captain Alyssa Healy because of injury.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt that as of now, Athapaththu is going to be available for UPW until February 26, which is four more games for them, before she tends to national duties. After their game on February 26, against Mumbai Indians in Bengaluru, UPW will fly to Lucknow for the final league phase of the tournament where they will play three home matches. They have played just one game so far and they left Athapaththu out of the XI in that clash they lost to Gujarat Giants.

Athapaththu was named captain of Sri Lanka's 16-member side released by SLC on Monday and the squad is scheduled to leave for New Zealand on February 22 for three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Allrounder Amelia Kerr is the only New Zealand player in the WPL this season and she, unlike Athapaththu, is going to miss the bilateral series next month to play the entire WPL, including the knockouts if MI qualify for those again. If MI make it to the final, scheduled for March 15, Kerr will also miss the first two T20is slotted for March 14 and 16 in Christchurch. Last year too, Kerr had skipped the home bilateral T20Is against England to be available for the entire duration of the WPL.

In 2024, the calendar clash between the final leg of WPL and the T20I series in New Zealand had become a much bigger issue when England captain Heather Knight (RCB) and Lauren Bell (UPW) had opted out of WPL completely to represent their national team. Coincidentally, Athapaththu had replaced Bell for UPW then.

However, since then boards like the ECB have assured their players they won't schedule international games during the WPL, which is set to move from the current February-March window to January-February 2026 onwards, according to the new women's Future Tours Programme (FTP). To avoid such clashes between international series and other T20 leagues, the Hundred (August) and the WBBL (November) have also been given separate windows in the FTP that runs till 2029.

With additional reporting from Andrew Fidel Fernando

Test

Published in Table Tennis
Monday, 17 February 2025 21:23

test

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