Smg_asia

Rafael Nadal beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 6-3 in the Brisbane International first round on Tuesday to make a successful return to action following two-and-a-half months out due to injury.The Spanish former world number one, seeded fifth, made a sluggish start and fell 3-1 down in the first set against his Ukrainian opponent. But Nadal, 30, won four successive games to clinch the opening set and the 14-times grand slam winner broke twice in the second to see off 2012 Brisbane finalist Dolgopolov in one hour 15 minutes. He will next play Germany's Mischa Zverev. In the women's draw, Spanish fourth seed Garbine Muguruza saved a match point before beating 19-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina 7-5 3-6 7-6(7) to reach the last eight where she will face Destanee Aiava or twice grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Australian 16-year-old Aiava upset American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 2-6 6-3 6-4 to become the first player born after the year 2000 to win a WTA main draw match. World number six … [Read more...] about Nadal beats Dolgopolov on return to action in Brisbane

NOIDA: Afghanistan Under-19 head coach Andrew Moles has advised his wards to concentrate on 50-over cricket instead of Twenty20 as the team prepares for the upcoming Asia Cup in Bangladesh. The Afghan Under-19 side is currently training in Noida ahead of the U-19 Asia Cup to be held next month in Bangladesh. Besides Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, the UAE, Hong Kong and hosts Bangladesh will compete in the tournament. Moles said he wants Afghan youngsters to focus on playing the longer format for the country at the moment and not get lured by cash-rich T20 tournaments like the Indian Premier League (IPL) or the Big Bash League of Australia. There is an apparent popularity of the 20-over format among the youngsters in Afghanistan, especially after the phenomenal success of Rashid Khan, who has represented the country in all three formats of the game. Rashid's spin bowling and aggressive batting in the Twent20 games have earned him praise from India's cricket icon … [Read more...] about Focus on 50-over game, not T20: Coach Andrew Moles to Afghan U-19 team

Improvement in human development measures has slowed down in the past few years, according to the 2014 Human Development Report (HDR) released on 24 July in Tokyo. The human development index (HDI), a measure derived from life expectancy, education levels and incomes, barely grew from 0.700 in 2012 to 0.702 in 2013. Even that small improvement could be at risk of getting reversed given the bleak picture of the vulnerabilities facing people across the world. About 1.5 billion people are afflicted with 'multi-dimensional poverty', that is, they suffer from overlapping deprivations in education, health and living standards. A further 800 million are at the brink of falling back into poverty. Nearly 80% of the global population lacks comprehensive social protection. About half of all workers — more than 1.5 billion — work in "informal or precarious" employment. This slowdown in human development is a result of the lingering global economic crisis that has caused a dip in … [Read more...] about India ranks 135 in human development index: UNDP

NEW DELHI: India climbed one spot to 130 among 189 countries in the latest human development index released Friday by the United Nations Development Programme. Within South Asia, India's human development index (HDI) value is above the average of 0.638 for the region, with Bangladesh and Pakistan, countries with similar population size, being ranked 136 and 150 respectively. In 2016, India's HDI value of 0.624 put it at 131 rank. The HDI is a summary measure for assessing long-term progress in three basic dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and a decent standard of living. India's HDI value for 2017 is 0.640, which put the country in the medium human development category, according to the Human Development Report (HDR) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Between 1990 and 2017, India's HDI value increased from 0.427 to 0.640, an increase of nearly 50 per cent and an indicator of the country's remarkable achievement … [Read more...] about India ranks 130 in UN’s human development index

Video PlayerClose MELBOURNE, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese junior golfers Jin Bo and Xu Andi enjoyed closely fought wins in their singles matches in the Junior Presidents Cup on Monday, which reinforced their belief that they can reach for the stars. Both Jin and Xu are members of the International Team, which lost 11-13 to the U.S. Team in the two-day competition, which is a prelude for the Presidents Cup scheduled to start in the Royal Melbourne Golf Club on Thursday. Jin secured his second win in the tournament by closing out Benjamin James 3 and 2 in a match he never trailed. Xu, who lost his first two matches on Sunday, bounced back to edge Maxwell Moldovon, the 2019 Rolex Junior Player of the Year, one point up. "It's really special to play in an event which mirrors the Presidents Cup. This is the best event by far that I've played in and it's something I'll never forget," the 17-year-old Xu said. "The first day was pretty tough as our long game wasn't good and we struggled. It's … [Read more...] about Chinese junior golfers dare to dream despite loss in Junior Presidents Cup