Author: SpogoNews Team

Rafael Nadal’s cousin and one of Toni Nadal’s three children, Joan Nadal Vives made his professional debut in a tournament ITF held in Manacor, to become the newest and youngest addition to the Nadal dynasty. He (Joan) was defeated by Turkey’s Kuzey Cekirge 6-1, 6-3 in the first round at the Rafa Nadal Academy facility, which was reminiscent of Rafael Nadal losing in straight sets to Guillermo Platel on his professional debut. One of two sons of Toni Nadal (Rafael Nadal’s former coach and uncle) the 16 year old previously featured at the J3 Manacor junior event, losing in the…

It was the first matchup between last year’s East finalists that ended in a nail biting finish, with Payton Pritchard’s putback two tenths of a second left sealing the win for Boston Celtics. Jayson Tayton scored 27 points and Jaylen Brown had 21 points in a matchup that saw Celtics wastefully let go of an early 17 point lead and a 10 point lead until the final minute, to eventually get the edge over Miami Heat. For Miami, Jimmy Butler had 26 points, Duncan Robinson got 16, Bam Adebayo with 15 and 14 from Goran Dragic. Miami Heat made an…

Dhaka, Jan 6 (PTI) Bangladesh has appointed Jon Lewis as batting coach for the upcoming two bilateral series against the West Indies and New Zealand, the country's cricket board said on Wednesday. The 50-year-old Englishman, who had served as batting coach of Sri Lanka cricket team, will step in the shoes of Neil McKenzie, who stepped down last August citing family reasons. "He (Lewis) is coming in a day or two, after which we will speak in person. We had three or four coaches in our shortlist but we considered his experience," BCB's cricket operations chairman Akram Khan was quoted…

Aizawl, Jan 6 (PTI) Mizoram boxer Lalrinsanga will fight for the WBC super feather title here in March, boxing coach and promoter Mujtaba Kamal said on Wednesday. The event will be organised by Grassroot Boxing Promotional in association with Mizoram-based Sete Boxing Academy. Mizoram has a lot of talented boxers, who can bring fame to not only Mizoram but also India. Our main goal is to promote professional boxing in the state and assist the local boxers to take part at international level, Grassroot Boxing Promotional chief Kamal told reporters. He said Lalrinsanga fighting for the WBC super feather title…

Bambolim, Jan 6 (PTI) Struggling Kerala Blasters would fancy their chances against bottom-placed Odisha FC when they chase their second win of the season in the Indian Super League, here on Thursday. Odisha are yet to win a game and it could be Kerala’s best chance to get three points for the second time this season. Kerala are on ninth spot with six points while Odisha are at the bottom with just two points from eight matches. Kerala coach Kibu Vicuna need to find out how his team scores more goals. Kerala have scored just three goals from open play…

New Delhi, Jan 3 (PTI) The Indian women’s hockey team, led by Rani Rampal, on Sunday left the country for the tour of Argentina, looking to gain international match exposure after nearly a break of one year due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian team was forced to train at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bengaluru for several months as international competition came to a halt due to the pandemic. The Indian team is scheduled to play four matches against the world number two Argentina side (January 26, 28, 30, 31). Before that, it will play two matches each…

Sydney, Jan 5 (PTI) The series is level for now but Australia coach Justin Langer on Tuesday said India have been distinctly well-planned and disciplined, especially in bowling, so far even as his side races to address its batting woes ahead of the third Test starting here on Thursday. Asked about Australia’s low-scoring in the current series and if that is a concern, Langer cited various factors, the biggest being India’s lethal accuracy with the ball. “…their greatest strength over the last couple of series has been their discipline. They (India) have been so well disciplined…I have loved the last…

Esports has been named a full medal sport for the 2022 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China. The inclusion of esports was announced at the Olympic Council of Asia’s general assembly in Muscat. In a statement released on Friday, the OCA’s Asian Games director, Haider Farman said: “I hope that electronic sports will add value to the Asian Games – and I am sure it will in the future, during the Asian Games 2022 and even beyond that.” The inclusion of esports as a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games means that all medals that are won under the…

Football is competitive business, both on and off the pitch. The sport is constantly evolving to find newer ways to gain an edge over other teams, and bring in the silverware, glory and jubilation for the fans. A trend we have seen emerging is the use of data analytics that has helped the German National team gain key insights that has helped them dominate the game. The German Football Association teamed up with SAP to use data analytics and improve the Die Mannschaft’s in game strategy. This led to the development of two new groundbreaking technologies, SAP Challenger Insights and…

New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The entire Indian badminton contingent cleared the COVID-19 test on Wednesday and is set to begin training ahead of the Yonex Thailand Open, starting next week. The Indian team, part of the Green Zone, consisting of players and all stakeholders such as umpires, line judges, personnel from BWF, Badminton Association of Thailand, medical staff, and TV production crew, were tested after arrival in Bangkok. The Asia leg in Bangkok consists of two Super 1000 events — Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17) and Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) followed by the USD 1,500,000 HSBC BWF World…