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Just days after the conclusion of the first tournament in the Qatar International Table Tennis Series, the WTT Star Contender Doha 2026 Championship kicked off with a bang yesterday. The WTT Star Contender Doha 2026, the second tournament in the 31st edition of the Qatar International Table Tennis Series, began at the Lusail Sports Hall. The Star Contender tournament is being held from January 13-18 with 170 players from around the world competing for a prize purse of $300,000. This tournament is part of a comprehensive series being hosted by Doha until the end of the month. It will be followed by the Junior Contender tournament from January 19-22, then the Junior Star Contender tournament from January 23-25 and will conclude with the Federer tournament from January 27-31. The preliminary rounds of the tournament witnessed fierce competition from the very first day, as players vied for a place in the main draw amidst a highly competitive atmosphere. In the men’s singles competition, Saudi Arabia’s Ali al-Khadrawi lost to South Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon 3-1 in a fierce battle match that went to extra time before the Korean player ultimately prevailed.In another match, Iran’s Navid Shams secured a thrilling 3-2 victory over Norway’s Borgar Haug after a five-game marathon. Romania’s Rares Sipos also triumphed, defeating Qatar’s Nawaf al-Malki in straight sets. Egypt’s Mohamed El Beiali achieved a significant 3-2 win against Abdullah Abdulwahab, despite a strong performance from the Qatari against a formidable and experienced opponent.In other matches, Czech Republic’s Lubomir Jancarik defeated Hong Kong’s Lam Siu-hang 3-1, and China’s Yuan Licen overcame Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit 3-2 in a marathon fourth set that ended 18-16. China’s Xu Yingbin continued his impressive run with a decisive 3-0 victory over France’s Florian Bourrassaud, while India’s Ankur Bhattacharjee secured a comfortable 3-0 win against Singapore’s Pang Yew En Koen. Qatar’s Yousif Abdalla suffered a 3-0 defeat to China’s Hsu Hsien-Chia. In a thrilling encounter, Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Bushlaibi lost to India’s Akash Pal 3-2, while the USA’s Jinbao Ma triumphed over Lebanon’s Michel Abi Nader 3-0. In the women’s singles, Qatar’s promising young player, Alia al-Baz, was defeated 3-0 by India’s Swastika Ghosh, while India’s Yashaswini Ghorpade secured a 3-0 victory over Hong Kong’s Lee Hui Man. The Star Contender tournament features a large number of top-tier players who shone in the Champions tournament, most notably Taiwan’s Lin Yun-ju, the defending men’s singles champion, along with world number one Lin Shidong, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Brazil’s Hugo Calderano. In the women’s singles draw, Zhu Yuling, who had a phenomenal WTT Champions Doha that culminated in her lifting the title, steps in as the event’s No 2 seed. A lot has been said of Zhu’s success over the last year, but adding a WTT Star Contender title to a trophy cabinet that already boasts one from the United States Smash and WTT Champions Doha 2026 would be something else. Also hanging around in Doha from last week are defending champion and Top Seed Kuai Man, Korea Republic’s Shin Yubin and Adriana Diaz. One player inside the Top 10, Chen Yi, is set to make her 2026 Doha debut.What makes the Star Contender event different to Champions is the Men’s, Women’s and Mixed Doubles events. The Women’s discipline is headed by another pair from Korea Republic in Ryu Hanna and Kim Nayeong. Their toughest challengers will come in the form of defending champions Satsuki Odo and Sakura Yokoi. Source link
The draw for the preliminary round of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers was held today in Rabat, on the sidelines of the ongoing AFCON in Morocco.The draw for the tournament, which its finals will be held in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in 2027, pitted Seychelles against Lesotho, Djibouti against South Sudan. Chad will play Burundi, Somalia will meet Mauritius, Eritrea will take on Eswatini, and Sao Tome and Principe will play Ethiopia. The preliminary round matches will be played during the upcoming international break, between March 25 and 31. Source link
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah will lead the Dakar Rally into its second and final week after winning the sixth stage in the Saudi Arabian desert yesterday to take over at the top from South African rival Henk Lategan.Al-Attiyah, a five times Dakar winner now competing for the Dacia Sandriders, had been second overnight but turned a deficit of more than three minutes into a six-minute-and-10-second advantage over the 326km timed stage between Hail and Riyadh.Today is a rest day before the rally resumes in Riyadh tomorrow with seven more stages to the finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast on January 17. Al-Attiyah won yesterday’s stage by two minutes and 58 seconds from teammate and nine times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb, Dacia’s first Dakar one-two, with Toyota’s American Seth Quintero third. Overall, three different manufacturers filled the podium positions with Toyota’s Lategan second and Ford’s Nani Roma third 0û his first time on the virtual podium since 2019.Al-Attiyah, 55, has now completed 19 successive Dakars with at least one stage win every time. Yesterday was his career 49th stage win in the car category – one off the record held jointly by Ari Vatanen and ‘Mr Dakar’ Stephane Peterhansel.“I worked a lot today. The first five days were not always easy but today we tried to push. The car is working very, very well and I’m really happy,’ said al-Attiyah. “It’s fantastic to have the lead at the rest day. We need to follow this strategy for next week also. The first week was not easy, but we always tried to manage to not have any problems, we just had a few punctures. The last three days and the marathon stage were not easy. We tried to open on the second day of the marathon, but we are quite happy”.Spaniard Carlos Sainz, father of the Formula One driver and a four times Dakar winner still racing hard at the age of 63, was in fourth place for Ford with teammate Mattias Ekstrom fifth and Loeb sixth. American Mitch Guthrie, stage winner on Thursday for Ford, dropped to seventh from sixth.In the motorcycle category there was no change at the top, although leader and defending champion Daniel Sanders was handed a six-minute penalty for riding at 98kph in a zone limited to 50kph.KTM rider Sanders now leads Honda’s American Ricky Brabec, the stage winner after the Australian’s penalty, by 45 seconds with Argentine rider Luciano Benavides more than 10 minutes behind in third.”It was an emotional rollercoaster all day. Unfortunately, I got a speeding penalty, so that will set me back a bit,” said Sanders. “I just pushed as much as I could today but it’s hard to do good in the sand, especially opening. I did the best I could and I’ve got to stop making silly mistakes. I haven’t pieced this first week together so well.” Source link
New Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa insisted Tuesday he would be himself at the helm of the Spanish giants rather than trying to imitate Jose Mourinho.Arbeloa, who in his playing days at Madrid was an ally of his then coach Mourinho, has drawn comparisons to the Portuguese veteran for his approach to management.The 42-year-old former defender was appointed to replace Xabi Alonso on Monday after Real Madrid lost the Spanish Super Cup final against rivals Barcelona on Sunday.”I have not spoken to Jose yet. For me it was a privilege and an honour to be coached by Jose Mourinho,” Arbeloa told a news conference.”I have a great relationship with him… and obviously he was someone who influenced me a lot, I carry him within me.”(However) I am going to be Alvaro Arbeloa, because while it’s true I am not afraid of failing, and have never been, I’m sure that if I tried to be Jose Mourinho, I would fail spectacularly.”Mourinho, currently coaching Benfica, led Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning one La Liga title.During that era he battled against Pep Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona when the fierce rivalry between the Catalans and Real Madrid was at its most bitter.Barca currently lead Madrid by four points at the top of La Liga and Arbeloa’s job is to revert the situation, although his first match in charge is at Albacete in the Copa del Rey last 16 on Wednesday.Arbeloa, who was coaching Madrid’s reserve side and previously working with the club’s youth teams before he was promoted, said success is the most important thing for the record 15-time European champions.”This club is winning, winning, and winning again. That demand on ourselves, showing the DNA of what brought us here, that has filled our trophy cabinets (is what I want),” continued Arbeloa.”When I was a player I received those values from the players in the dressing room, and for me that is the most important thing… to be able to excite the fans we have all over the world and try to leave those cabinets even more full.”That is my work, that is my obsession and what I will be living every day.”Madrid did not announce how long Arbeloa’s contract as first-team coach would be.”What I can tell you is that I’ve been here for 20 years, at home, and I will be at Real Madrid as long as they want me here,” added Arbeloa.”This is my home, that’s how I feel and that’s how it will always be.”No MbappeStriker Kylian Mbappe was absent as Arbeloa took charge of his first training session on Tuesday before the visit to face second-tier Albacete.Mbappe made his comeback from a knee sprain as a late substitute in the Spanish Super Cup final defeat by Barcelona on Sunday, but is likely to keep working on his recovery until next Tuesday’s Champions League match against his former side Monaco.A Real Madrid source told AFP it was “logical” that Mbappe was absent from training, given his knee issue.Former coach Alonso had admitted it was a calculated risk to involve Madrid’s top goalscorer in the match against Barca in Saudi Arabia.Arbeloa said he had a close relationship with Alonso, a former team-mate for Madrid and the Spanish national team.”Everyone here knows the bond that connects me to him, the friendship that connects me to him, how much I value him, how much I love him, and I know that’s mutual, has been mutual and will continue to be mutual,” said Arbeloa.Alonso, replaced after less than eight months at the helm, said on social media he was leaving the club having done the best he could.”Things didn’t go as I would have liked,” wrote the Basque coach on Instagram on Tuesday.”Coaching Real Madrid was an honour and a responsibility. I’m grateful to the club, the players and above all the fans for their confidence and support.”I leave respectfully, with gratitude, and the pride of having done the best I could.” Related Story Source link
Hyundai Card Super Match – Carlos Alcaraz v Jannik Sinner – Inspire Arena, Incheon, South Korea – January 10, 2026 Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in action during…
Spaniard Nani Roma led compatriot Carlos Sainz in a Ford one-two at the top of the Dakar Rally car standings Tuesday after a tough ninth stage in the Saudi Arabian desert for some frontrunners. Dacia’s previous leader and five times winner Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah slipped to third but still only one minute 10 seconds behind Roma, with Toyota’s South African Henk Lategan fourth – and with a further five minutes to make up. “I had three punctures today, but I think everyone had problems,” said Roma, who last led the Dakar 12 years ago when he won. “We are positive to be here.” Sainz said it had been hard to find the way at one point, with the cars taking a different route to the bikes and no longer having tracks to follow. “It was tricky navigation but what can we do? I don’t know which position we are in and how many minutes we have lost to the winner, we will see how we’ll be. It’s OK, no problem, we’ll see tomorrow. We’re absolutely ready for it,” al-Attiyah said Tuesday. Lategan described it as a “little bit of a disaster of a day” after getting lost, suffering a puncture, broken windscreen and loss of power steering. “I was driving with no power steering, extremely difficult in these cars because the wheels are so big so you have to have massive power to even turn the wheels,” he said.“And then we had some more punctures, got lost and we hit that bush in Seb (Loeb)’s dust that broke the windscreen. So we had to stop and kick the windscreen out because I couldn’t see from inside the car, put some goggles on and carry on going.” The 410km stage from Wadi Ad Dawasir to the overnight bivouac, first half of a marathon stage, was won by 21-year-old Polish non-factory Toyota driver Eryk Goczal. He finished seven minutes ahead of his uncle Michal, also with the Energylandia team, while father Marek was in 31st position. Australian Toby Price, a double Dakar winner on motorcycles, was third on the stage for Toyota. Sainz, 63, was handed a one minute 10-second penalty for speeding and finished the stage seventh but ahead of most of his rivals, including Roma in eighth. The four times Dakar winner is now 57 seconds behind Roma, who also won on a motorcycle in 2004. Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom, who had been second overall for Ford, lost a lot of time with a navigation error and dropped to fifth and 11 minutes and 19 seconds off the pace. Dacia’s nine times world rally champion Loeb was sixth. Spaniard Tosha Schareina won the stage in the motorcycle category for Honda, with KTM’s Argentine rider Luciano Benavides losing the way and his overall lead to Australia’s defending champion Daniel Sanders. Sanders, also on a KTM, led Honda’s American Ricky Brabec by six minutes and 24 seconds. The race, which ends on Saturday on the Red Sea coast, is the first round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) season. Related Story Source link
The Bangladesh Cricket Board office building is seen inside the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. (en.prothomalo.com) Bangladesh’s cricket board said Tuesday it had repeated its refusal to travel to India for next month’s T20 World Cup during talks with the ICC governing body. With ties tense between the two countries, Bangladesh wants the International Cricket Council to shift their World Cup games from India to co-hosts Sri Lanka, citing security concerns.The World Cup begins on February 7 and Bangladesh are scheduled to play their four group matches in India. The row erupted on January 3, when India forced Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman to quit the Indian Premier League (IPL). Mustafizur, who has played in the IPL for other teams in previous editions, was snapped up at auction in December by Kolkata for more than $1mn. His sacking sparked fury in Dhaka.Tuesday, during a video conference with the ICC, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said it had “reiterated its request for the ICC to consider relocating Bangladesh’s matches outside India”. Political relations between India and Bangladesh soured after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024 toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of New Delhi. India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called “unremitting hostility against minorities” in Muslim-majority Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, has accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence. “The BCB reaffirmed its position regarding the decision not to travel to India, citing security concerns,” the BCB said in a statement. “While the ICC highlighted that the tournament itinerary has already been announced and requested the BCB to reconsider its stance, the Board’s position remains unchanged,” the statement added. The ICC have not commented. The BCB said discussions with the ICC continue to “explore possible solutions”, it added, but that it “remains committed to safeguarding the well-being of its players, officials and staff”.Bangladesh, led by Litton Das, are placed ninth in the ICC T20 rankings. They have played all the nine editions of the tournament, but have never qualified for the semi-finals. Related Story Source link
Alyssa Healy, a mainstay of Australia’s dominant women’s cricket team for 15 years and latterly its captain, has announced that she will retire from the game after the upcoming multi-format series against India. The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batter was part of two one-day international World Cup triumphs and six successful T20 World Cup campaigns before taking over as skipper after the retirement of Meg Lanning in late 2023. “It’s with mixed emotions that the upcoming India series will be my last for Australia,” she said in a statement Tuesday. “I’m still passionate about playing for Australia, but I’ve somewhat lost that competitive edge that’s kept me driven since the start, so the time feels right to call it a day.“I’ll genuinely miss my teammates, singing the team song and walking out to open the batting for Australia.” Healy made her Australia debut in 2010 and scored 3,563 runs with seven centuries in one-day internationals and 3,054 with a single hundred in Twenty20s for her country, as well as making 275 dismissals behind the stumps. As a mark of her status in Australia, Healy was never defined by her relationship with her uncle, Australia wicketkeeping great Ian, nor her husband, Test paceman Mitchell Starc. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the tributes after her announcement. “Alyssa Healy is a true legend of Australian cricket. As a batter, keeper and captain she has been one of the brightest stars in a golden era,” he said in a statement. “Yet Alyssa’s impact and example off the field has been every bit as important. She has helped drive and grow women’s cricket and inspired a new generation along the way.” Healy had already announced her retirement from T20 internationals and will play her last matches for Australia in three ODIs and a single Test against India in February and March. Women’s cricket has come on in leaps and bounds during Healy’s career but, despite having missed only two for Australia since her debut in January 2011, her final match will be only her 11th Test. Related Story Source link
LIV Golf responded to Brooks Koepka’s reinstatement to the PGA Tour Tuesday with a statement that trumpeted its “unchanged” vision to grow the sport of golf. LIV’s statement also said its desire for “an open ecosystem” in the sport applied to all players, “not just a limited few.” The response came after it was revealed that the PGA Tour is opening a limited-time window for players who defected to LIV to come back, called the Returning Player Program. Only players who have won a Players Championship, Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, US Open or Open Championship between 2022-25 are eligible to return; only Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm of Spain and Cameron Smith of Australia fit those criteria. A five-time major champion, Koepka decided to leave the LIV circuit with its worldwide footprint last month, wanting to be closer to his family in the US. While CEO Brian Rolapp’s letter to players promised the PGA Tour would gather “the world’s best players to compete on the PGA Tour week in and week out,” LIV Golf attempted to hold firm. “From the outset, LIV Golf has championed an open ecosystem and freedom, for all,” the statement said. “Not just for a limited few. One that supports players’ rights to compete across various platforms, reinforcing the believe that the growth of the game is best served when the game’s best players are empowered to seek the most competitive environments around the world. “LIV Golf’s vision remained unchanged – to grow the game of golf globally – and that vision gains momentum across the broader golf landscape, the capacity to deliver on it continues to strengthen by expanding pathways and opportunity beyond any single institution or interest. “As the world’s golf league, LIV Golf continues to offer the best professional golfers the most competitive, challenging and lucrative environment in which to pursue greatness on a global scale. “Long LIV Golf”Also Tuesday, LIV Golf announced the rebranding of the Iron Heads GC franchise to “Korean Golf Club”, leaning into the symbolism and identity of South Korea. The new team logos feature a white tiger and a Rose of Sharon, prominent symbols in Korean culture. The former Iron Heads GC was captained by Kevin Na and also featured Danny Lee of New Zealand, Yubin Jang of South Korea and Jinichiro Kozuma of Japan in 2025. Na, Lee and Jang were born in South Korea. LIV Golf team rosters for 2026 have not been formally revealed. Koepka was previously the captain of Smash GC. Related Story Source link
Jonas Vingegaard, who represents Visma-Lease a Bike, Tuesday at his team’s media day in Nucia, on Spain’s Costa Blanca. (@vismaleaseabike) Danish cycling great Jonas Vingegaard will race the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia this year as he bids to become the eighth rider to win the three Grand Tours. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider unveiled his schedule Tuesday at his team’s media day in Nucia, on Spain’s Costa Blanca. The two-time Tour de France champion added the Vuelta a Espana trophy to his collection of titles last year. He will compete for the first time in the Giro from May 8-31, where he will be the overwhelming favourite in the absence of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar. Vingegaard will then race the Tour de France from July 4-26. He won the Tour in 2022 and 2023 but will start this time as an outsider against two-time defending champion Pogacar. “I have been thinking about riding the Giro for a while now,” said the 29-year-old. “It’s one of the biggest races on the calendar and it’s also one I have never done before. I really want to experience it, and now feels like the perfect moment. Winning the Vuelta last fall only gives me more motivation to go all-in for victory in Italy as well. I would love to add the pink jersey to my collection.” The Dane will begin his season on February 16 at the UAE Tour before also racing the Tour of Catalonia from March 23-29. “Over the past five years, my build-up to the Tour has been largely the same. This time we have chosen something new,” he said. “The organisation has designed a great course for the Giro. Perhaps not as demanding as in recent years, which makes combining the Giro and the Tour a favourable option for us.” Vingegaard will attempt to repeat Pogacar’s feat of 2024, when the Slovenian won both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. At the Giro, won in 2025 by his former teammate Simon Yates, who announced his retirement last week, Vingegaard will have another objective: to become just the eighth rider to have won all three Grand Tours in his career. Great rival Pogacar has won the Tour de France four times and the Giro once, but finished third during his only participation in Spain in 2019. Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome are the seven riders to have won all three Grand Tours. Related Story Source link