Fury 9th round knock down

Alex Eala reacts during her match against Israel’s Shavit Kimchi in the first round of their junior girls’ singles match at the 2020 Australian Open. Photo taken from Rafa Nadal Academy Facebook Filipino rising star Alex Eala is off to a great start in her campaign in the junior girls’ singles of the 2020 Australian Open. Eala, a promising scholar at Rafael Nadal Academy, got things going with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 win over Shavit Kimchi of Israel on Sunday at Melbourne Park. The 14-year-old Eala advanced to the second round and will face Julia Belgraver of France. Belgraver fashioned out a comeback victory over hometown bet Mia Repac, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4, in her opening round assignment. Eala and Indonesia’s Priska Madelyn Nugroho will make their debut in the junior girls’ doubles against the duo of Russia’s Elina Avanesyan and Ukraine’s Liubov Kostenko on Monday. ... » Learn More about Alex Eala enters 2nd round of junior Australian Open

PETALING JAYA: Second seed Lee Zii Jia made it safely through the opening round of the Swiss Open in Basel on Wednesday (March 3), defeating Russia's Sergey Sirant 21-12,21-14. The world No. 11 took 37 minutes to get past the 2017 Russian Open champion and will face Denmark's Victor Svendsen for a place in the quarter-finals later Thursday (March 4). Zii Jia should overcome world No. 65 comfortably to set up a potential last eight clash with 2019 World Championships bronze medallist B. Sai Praneeth of India. In the men's doubles, top seeds Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik were among four Malaysian pairs checking into the last 16. Aaron-Wooi Yik powered past unheralded New Zealanders Oliver Leydon-Davis Manota 21-13,21-15 and will play Jeppe Bay-Lasse Molhede of Denmark next. Rio Olympics silver medallists Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong were also in their element to defeat another young Dane pair, Daniel Lundgaard-Mathias Thyrri, 21-17,21-11, while Hang Yee-Eng Cheong were made to work hard ... » Learn More about Badminton: Zii Jia makes it safely into second round of Swiss Open

Filipina tennis wonder Alex Eala exited the W25 Manacor tournament after losing a highly-competitive match to Croatian Jana Fett, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7 in the second round late Thursday at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain. After winning the first set, Eala, 15, struggled to sustain her momentum as Fett, 24, tied the count at 1-all and even took a 5-3 lead in the third set. Eala bounced back with back-to-back wins to even the count at 5-5, but Fett, the number 3 seed in the tourney and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) number 210 player, proved to be steadier down the stretch to claim victory and enter the quarterfinal round. In the first round on Wednesday, Eala, ranked 763rd in the WTA Tour, beat Swiss Simona Waltert, 6-1, 6-4. This is the first time that Eala did not make the quarterfinals in the five professional tournaments she has joined so far in 2021. Eala reached the quarterfinals of the first four, and even ruled the W15 Manacor tournament first leg in January, which is ... » Learn More about Eala bows out in 2nd round

Less than two years after being dethroned as World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimumweight (105 lbs.) champion, “Vicious” Vic Saludar is back on the saddle after recently beating countryman Robert Paradero for the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) version of the belt. Saludar went through the grinder against the stubborn Paradero but held on to hammer out a split-decision victory. Saludar is back as world champion but the WBA title he currently holds, compared to the WBO crown he previously held, is half-baked. The Polomolok, South Cotabato native only won the “regular” version of the WBA minimumweight crown, a secondary belt as there exists in the same weight class and organization a “super” champion who has a better claim. Unbeaten Thai champion Knockout CP Freshmart (real name: Thammanoon Niyomtrong) is the generally-recognized champion in the WBA’s minimumweight division. Freshmart, 21-0 with 7 knockouts, earned recognition as the WBA’s regular champion in 2016 and has ... » Learn More about Fresh start for Saludar, but he needs Freshmart

MIAMI: Collin Morikawa fired a three-under-par 69 to clinch a three-shot victory at the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship in Florida on Sunday (Monday in Manila). The 24-year-old PGA Championship winner — who led by two after third round — relied on accurate iron play and nerveless putting to close out victory at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton. Morikawa’s final round saw him finish on 18 under with a 72-hole aggregate 270, three shots clear of Viktor Hovland, Brooks Koepka and Billy Horschel on 15 under. After an early stumble when he bogeyed the par-four second, Morikawa recovered his composure to play flawlessly thereafter. A 195-yard second shot on the fifth hole left him with a seven-foot birdie putt, which he duly rolled in to return to even for the round. A deft bunker shot on the seventh set up another birdie chance which he converted and he made the turn at two under after making an 11-foot birdie putt on the ninth. Another birdie putt on the ... » Learn More about Morikawa cruises to WGC victory, pays tribute to Woods

MIAMI: Nelly Korda produced a flawless final round to claim a three-shot victory at the Gainbridge LPGA tournament in Florida on Sunday (Monday in Manila). Korda — whose elder sister Jessica won the LPGA Tour’s previous event, the season-opening Tournament of Champions in January — fired a three-under-par 69 to finish on 16 under. The 22-year-old, whose father is former Czech tennis star Petr Korda, had opened up a one-shot lead on Saturday with a four-under-par 68. On Sunday (Monday in Manila) at Orlando’s Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, she picked up where she left off in the third round. Three birdies in her opening six holes gave her a healthy cushion at the top of the leaderboard, leaving her five shots clear at one stage. She then reeled off 12 consecutive pars to remain in control and close out the fourth LPGA Tour victory of her career with her parents and sister Jessica rushing to congratulate her on the 18th green.“Honestly I did not play very good golf today,” ... » Learn More about Sister act as Korda romps to Gainbridge LPGA win

FUKUSHIMA: Tepco, the operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima atomic plant, said it had successfully removed spent uranium fuel from a damaged reactor building in a key step in its cleanup of the site after a nuclear disaster a decade ago. Formally known as Tokyo Electric Power, Tepco said it had transferred around 170 tons of spent uranium fuel from high up in the building to a safer location — the second successful operation of its kind and the first to be carried out by remote control, because of the high radiation in the reactor building. It comes as Japan prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters. It will provide Tepco with important experience and data for the much tougher and time-consuming task of extracting melted reactor cores and debris in the coming decades. At 1:59 PM on Sunday the last six of 566 used fuel assemblies were removed from the spent fuel pool by a crane operated by a team located about 500 meters away, ... » Learn More about Japan removes 170 tons of nuke waste

A left foot placed toward a sandbag followed by a double-punch from left and right fists, 8-year-old Manus Boonjamnong stood before the mid-sized leather sandbag practicing. Not knowing that one day he would be an Olympic legend. Manus Boonjamnong was introduced to boxing as a sparring partner for his friend, he was hooked. Little Manus would slip away from his parents for practice every day with his neighborhood coach, and his younger brother, Manon, later joined the activity. Manus Boonjamnong was Ratchaburi province’s representative for the National Youth Games when he was 14 years old. Despite having little interest in the games due to a lack of local support, his father pushed him forward and encouraged him to run every day. Manus Boonjamnong’s  Rollercoaster life After more than 10 hours on the train to Songkhla, a far southern province of Thailand, Manus became laser-focused on one goal: a gold medal. Achieving this, he was also the games’ “best boxer” and ... » Learn More about The Rollercoaster Life of Thailand’s Olympic Boxing Legend Manus

Fans of the Beauty Pageant Miss Samila 2020 in Southern Thailand have expressed outrage after judges called for a a stalemate. The judges decided to end end the Miss Samila 2020 contest and give all 10 finalists a fair share of the prize money. The decision drew strong criticism from pageant followers. “The contest was famous, but nobody will join it from now,” one person wrote on the contest’s Facebook account. “Judges should be ashamed of themselves. The contest has become infamous,” another added. “If it ended this way, don’t have the event next time. The image of Samila has been damaged,” was another comment. The Miss Samila 2020 contest was a highlight of the annual Food from Two Seas fair held near Samila beach in Muang district of Songkhla. It offered a winner’s purse of 200,000 baht. Oraphan Na Chiang Mai demanded to see scores The pageant drew 49 entrants this year, and there was supposed to be only one winner. But the local contest came under the national ... » Learn More about Southern Thailand’s Miss Samila 2020 Beauty Pageant Ends in Chaos

Thai-British driver Alex Albon thanked Red Bull for their faith in him after he took his first Formula One podium finish at the Tuscan Grand Prix. The 24-year-old British-born Formula one driver finished third behind the Mercedes drivers at the Ferrari-owned circuit. He became the first Thai on the podium since the championship started in 1950. Albon’s seat has been the subject of some speculation after he traded places with Pierre Gasly last year. With the French driver demoted back to Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri). Gasly won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week ago in a shock result and his form since being demoted. Coupled with Albon having a tough time alongside Max Verstappen, had added to the pressure. “Thanks for sticking with me,” Albon said over the team radio after a race that saw Verstappen retire on the opening lap. “The team has supported me since Day One. It’s really good to get a podium, just to show that I can do it,” he added to Sky Sports television. Lewis ... » Learn More about Thai-British Driver Alex Albon Wins 3rd at Formula One Tuscan Grand Prix