Djokovic, playing his first match since winning a record seventh Australian Open title in January, was less than sharp in conceding an early break to his 128th-ranked rival.

He broke back as Fratangelo served for the set to knot it at 5-5, and then raced to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker.

Djokovic had to dig deep, however, when Fratangelo battled back to lead the tiebreaker 5-4.

After a double fault and a forehand error from the 25-year-old American, Djokovic suddenly had a set point, and once he’d pocketed the set, the second went all his way.

“To be honest, I was a bit nervous in the beginning,” admitted Djokovic, who is going for a record sixth Indian Wells title.

Djokovic, currently tied with Roger Federer on five wins in the California desert, can also tie world number two Rafael Nadal’s record of 33 Masters 1000 titles.

“I didn’t play my best. Credit to Bjorn for coming out firing from every corner.

“I was lucky to get the first set. After that, things went better for me,” said Djokovic, who loped over to share a word with US great Pete Sampras in the stands after wrapping up the victory in one hour and 29 minutes.

Djokovic next faces German Philipp Kohlschreiber, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Australian Nick Kyrgios.

Kyrgios, seeded 31st, was coming off a scintillating run to the Mexico Open title in Acapulco, where he defeated Nadal, ninth-ranked John Isner and, in the final, third-ranked German Alexander Zverev.

Kyrgios said it wasn’t a matter of an emotional let-down in the wake of his first title in over a year.

“I didn’t really have a problem getting up. I just didn’t play well today,” he said.

“He’s an incredible competitor,” Kyrgios said. “He knows how to win tennis matches.”

As men’s seeds swung into action after first-round byes, third-seeded Zverev advanced when Slovakian foe Martin Klizan retired with an ankle injury with the German leading 6-3, 2-0.

– ‘Unbelievable’ Augur-Aliassime –

Action opened on stadium court with 18-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime powering past Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4, 6-2, for his first win over a top-10 player.

In a battle of two ATP young guns, 58th-ranked Auger-Aliassime came out firing, and his aggression paid off with a victory over 20-year-old Tsitsipas, who shot to prominence with a victory over Federer at the Australian Open.

He moved into the top 10 for the first time with his runner-up finish to Federer in Dubai, where the Swiss great claimed a remarkable 100th career title.

But Tsitsipas could find no answer to Auger-Aliassime, who broke early in the first to gain the upper hand and seized a 2-1 lead with the first of two breaks in the second.

Auger-Aliassime saved all seven break points he faced — six of them in the first set.

“It’s unbelievable,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I never expected to play that well today, to get my first top-10 win is special, against Stefanos who has been playing so well.”

Auger-Aliassime, who next faces Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, is one of four teens in the draw, along with countryman Denis Shapovalov, Alexei Popyrin and lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic.

Kecmanovic gained entry into the second round in place of injured fifth-seed Kevin Anderson.

He made the most of his chance, beating Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, 6-3, 6-2, to reach the third round.

At the other end of the age spectrum, 40-year-old Ivo Karlovic advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over 11th-seeded Croatian Borna Coric.

In a battle of the tour’s young guns, 58th-ranked Auger-Aliassime came out firing, and the 18-year-old’s aggression paid off with a victory over 20-year-old Tsitsipas, who shot to prominence in January with a victory over Roger Federer at the Australian Open.

Tsitsipas was coming off a runner-up finish to Federer in Dubai, where the Swiss great claimed a remarkable 100th career title.

Tsitsipas’s Dubai run, which included an epic semi-final victory over Gael Monfils, saw him enter the world top 10 for the first time.

But he could find no answer to Auger-Aliassime, who broke early in the first to gain the upper hand and seized a 2-1 lead with the first of two breaks in the second.

After fighting off six break points in the opening frame, Auger-Aliassime saved another to seize a 4-2 lead in the second. He then broke Tsitsipas at love to give himself a chance to serve for the match and put it away with a service winner.

“It’s unbelievable,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I never expected to play that well today, to get my first top-10 win is special, against Stefanos who has been playing so well.”

Tsitsipas admitted he was feeling the effects of his recent deep tournament runs.

“My mind at the moment is not very fresh,” he said, but added that Auger-Aliassime “deserves every single piece of that victory.

“It seemed like he was really pumped and really energized today,” Tsitsipas said. “He has kind of a strange tempo in his game, and you always feel like he’s going to hit very hard, but then you don’t really know what to expect, how hard he’s going to hit the ball. So you’re always caught out of position.”

Auger-Aliassime, who will next play either Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka or Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, is one of four teens in the draw, along with countryman Denis Shapovalov, Alexei Popyrin and lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic.

Kecmanovic gained entry into the second round in place of injured fifth-seed Kevin Anderson.

He made the most of his chance, beating Germany’s Maximilian Marterer 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round.

Later Saturday, world number one Novak Djokovic opens his campaign for a record sixth Indian Wells title against US qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo.

Djokovic, playing his first tournament since lifting his seventh Australian Open trophy in January, is hoping to pick up where he left off in Melbourne.

Last year, Djokovic was still feeling his way back in the wake of elbow surgery when he lost his Indian Wells opener to 109th-ranked qualifier Taro Daniel.

He returns back atop the world rankings after having won the last three Grand Slams.

Third-seeded German Alexander Zverev is also in action, kicking off his bid for a fourth Masters 1000 title against Slovakian Martin Klizan.

Sarit Suwannarut 

The 34-year-old who won the inaugural edition when he was still just an amateur 20 years ago relied on his impressive putts to knock down five birdies and will head into the final round as the lone leader on 12 under-par-204 in the All Thailand Golf Tour event.

“I’ve been happy with my drivers, irons and putts over the last three days,” said Prom from Hua Hin. “You need to be very careful playing on this course which sets up pretty difficult. If you hit to the roughs, you’ll be in big trouble,” added the two-time Asian Tour winner and four-time ATGT winner.

Prom will try to bank on the good memory at this course when he, as a 14-year-old, upset local top players like Prayad Marksaeng, Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant to lift up the trophy.

“That memory still lingers in my mind. I will try to recall that moment going into the final round and hope to keep up with the good form,” said Prom, looking to end his long drought of title since winning the Yeander Tournament Players Championship in Taiwan in 2014

“In fact I have been coming close in several tournaments recently. But in golf it takes so many factors to win. Besides, the young players are really good these days. Sarit is a big hitter and is talented. He will put up a fight on Sunday,” added Prom.

Sarit, 21 from Bangkok, had four birdies, one eagle and a bogey for a round of 67 and a total 11 under-par-205. In fact he just picked up the golf clubs five days ahead of the tournament after taking a three-week break due to a cut on his left little toe.

“I tried to move an old closet and its door fell on my little toe. I couldn’t practise for three weeks,” said the one-time ATGT winner in the 2016 Singha Pattaya Open.

“So I really have no expectations coming here. Being among the lead is beyond my expectations. It will be tough to win this tournaments as only star players have won so far,” Sarit said.

South Korean Dongkyu Jang, with a 68, was at third on 10 under-par-206.

Co-halfway leaders Udorn Duangdecha shot an even par to follow two strokes behind on 208 while  Sattaya Supupramai stumbled to a 76 which saw slip to joint 12^th on 212.

The 28-year-old Pannakorn had a terrible start as he dropped a shot on the second hole, which distanced him and the overnight leader, Poom Pattaropong of Thailand, to six shots. However, the bogey sharpened Pannakorn’s resolve and he began to attack the pin at the Palm Resort Golf and Country Club.

The strategy worked, as he shot an eagle and five birdies before signing for a 20-under-par 268 total to win the tournament by two shots.

Poom was not able to get his final round going. The three birdies he made were negated by the equal number of bogeys. He had to contend with a tied-second finish along with Japan’s Kazuki Higa.

Higa, on the other hand, was making a charge at the leaders. The one-time ADT winner shot eight birdies and did not drop a single shot on his first 16 holes. However, his tournament unravelled after making a bogey on the 17th.

Malaysia’s Daeng Rahman was also making a sprint to the finish. He traded an eagle and five birdies against a lone bogey to a card six-under-par 30 on his back-nine, which helped him climb from tied-ninth to tied-fourth.

On the victory, Pannakorn said: “The birdie on eight was significant. I missed the green at the par-three hole by about 30 yards, but I managed to chip it in. After that, I was feeling even more confident.”

“I was only focussing on my game. I played very well in the first two rounds and I know that my game is in a good place,” he said, on playing with his friend Poom, who had a four-shot lead at the start of the day.

“It was a good fight with Poom today. I’m sure he will be a champion in the near future.”

With this win, Pannakorn is now aiming to win the ADT Order of Merit for the second time. Previously, he won topped the money list in 2017.

The merit champion, as well as the leading six players on the final ADT Order of Merit will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2020 season.

All ADT events offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The winner will receive a minimum of six OWGR points while the top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.

For more information, visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com

Leading final round scores:

268 – Pannakorn Uthaipas 63 67 72 66

270 – Kazuki Higa 68 69 68 65, Poom Pattaropong 64 67 67 72

272 – Daeng Rahman 68 72 67 65, Joohyung Kim 64 72 70 66

273 – Lloyd Jefferson Go 66 66 71 70

274 – Trevor Simsby 68 67 71 68, Genki Okada 67 69 68 70

275 – Miguel Carballo 70 68 71 66, Ryuichi Oiwa 69 71 67 68

277 – Danny Chia 67 69 75 66, Johnson Poh 67 72 71 67

Jazz, who currently leads the Asian Tour Order of Merit, started his season in brilliant fashion by defeating an elite field at the Asian Tour’s season-opener in Singapore in January.

That victory also saw him break into the top-100 of the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for the first time in his career.

The Thai has never finished outside the top-10 since he lifted his third Asian Tour title in Singapore and is determined to keep that momentum going at the Maybank Championship, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

Like in Singapore, Jazz will also be up against a stellar field that includes England’s Lee Westwood, four-time Major Champion Ernie Els of South Africa and 2020 European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington.

The 23-year-old is however unfazed by their star power and believes he can be equal to the task again.

“The Maybank Championship is the biggest tournament on the Asian Tour and it is an important event for everyone. I am just going to go there and play my best, and try my best to win it.

“The goal for me this year is to become a multiple winner on Tour. It was my goal even before I won in Singapore. Now that I have won once, I just need one more win. Hopefully it’s Maybank,” said Jazz.

Defending champion Shubhankar Sharma of India has also confirmed his entry for Malaysia’s premier golf tournament together with home favourite Gavin Green, who was Asia’s number one in 2017.

Other notable players expected to contend for the Maybank Championship include Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, a proven three-time Asian Tour winner, Australia’s Zach Murray, who is the third fastest Qualifying School graduate to win on the Asian Tour after his victory in New Zealand last week and American John Catlin, who became the 10th golfer in the Asian Tour’s history to win three times in a single season last year.

As part of Maybank’s commitment and efforts to bolster regional talent and provide a platform for players to take their game further, the ASEAN category will also feature Singapore’s Johnson Poh and Jesse Yap, Myanmar’s Ye Thet Aung, Indonesia’s Danny Masrin and Philippines’ Angelo Que, who are part of the five-player ASEAN line-up.

“I’m really happy to be able to tee up at the Maybank championship and I hope to play to my true potential against the biggest stars of the game there,” said Poh.

It’s almost time for the 2019 season to begin and as it does, millions of fans around the world will be watching as broadcasters beam MotoGP™ worldwide. They reach more than 400 million people across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Oceania, making MotoGP™ a truly global sport. Live and on demand ways to watch have never been better – with Dorna now providing broadcasters with even more ways to enhance their enjoyment of the sport such as 360 live on-board video and multiscreen options to get the best of the action from every angle.

In addition, MotoGP™’s social media reach and following is also continuing to grow organically and consolidate the sport’s position as the biggest social media presence in motorsport. More than 13 million people keep up to date on Facebook, MotoGP™’s Instagram account has 6.7 million followers and Twitter nearly 2.5 million. Well over a billion video views on all digital platforms – in addition to nearly two million subscribers to MotoGP™’s YouTube channel – also show the incredible online presence of the Championship and its content.

Some of the biggest changes for this season are in Europe. In France, MotoGP™ hits a new high as the sport welcomes Canal+ to the family. One of the points of reference in the TV sport industry and the country for high-quality and award-winning sports broadcasting, this new addition will ensure world-leading coverage for MotoGP™ in an important European market – as well as providing coverage across Francophone Africa. Circuit-focused in-depth reporting with a high calibre team, Canal+ aims to get to the heart of every event.

In Spain, the arrival of DAZN – the world’s premier OTT sports streaming provider – revolutionises the way viewers can consume the sport. The live and on demand service broadens horizons for MotoGP™ and supports the strategy to enlarge audiences at only €4.99 a month in one of the sport’s biggest and most successful markets, bringing a new vision to sports broadcasting. That’s in addition to a bolstered free-to-air presence in Spain, with a 60-minute highlights show just hours after the end of the race as well as two Grands Prix shown live on Telecinco/Be Mad and TV3: Argentina and Valencia.

2019 also marks a change in other key European markets as ServusTV expand their top quality coverage from Austria to include Germany, as well as amplifying their presence on site. Across the rest of the continent, in-depth coverage of MotoGP™ continues from Albania to Switzerland, from Finland to Portugal, and from the Czech Republic to the UK – with partners ranging from Eurosport, BT Sport, Viasat and SKY Italy to Cytavision and SPORTV.

Down Under, a renewal with Fox Sports Australia and Network 10 means fans can continue to enjoy their top-quality coverage for three more years from 2019, and SKY and TV3 remain partners in New Zealand. Further north, Fox Sports broadcast across the region of South East Asia and Trans7 continue their coverage in the key market of Indonesia. In Thailand, the home of the newest GP on the calendar, Fox Sports’ incredible in-depth coverage is also complimented by free-to-air PPTV.

In China, Tencent and GuangdongTV bring MotoGP™ to the most populous country in the world, and in Japan,  G+, NTV, Hulu.com – direct to viewer, multiscreen coverage – and Nittele broadcast MotoGP™ in the land of the rising sun.  Sony continues to bring the Championship to fans in India and the subcontinent.

For 2019 it’s all change in Russia as the Motorsports TV group take the helm from 2019, with their coverage set to span all nine time zones in the world’s biggest country, and Saran remain a partner of MotoGP™ in Turkey after renewing their contract. In Africa, partner SuperSport will show all races and qualifying sessions live all season – and that’s in addition to Canal+ as co-exclusive broadcaster in the French language across the continent.

In North America, a one-year contract extension sees BeIn Sport continue their coverage of the world’s fastest motorcycle racing Championship in the USA and Canada, and there’s exciting news for further south too: a renewal with ESPN means ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+ will continue to cover MotoGP™ across much of Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina. Brazil can keep up with MotoGP™ on Globosat and Sport TV. In addition, Televicentro come on board in Honduras and Canal 4 will show MotoGP™ in El Salvador, enhancing coverage in Central America.

“We’re delighted to have this incredible depth and quality of broadcasters around the world,” begins Manel Arroyo, Managing Director of Dorna Sports. “We capture every facet of this sport we can and our partners allow us to bring the best of MotoGP to millions of people worldwide. Dorna has managed the television rights of the MotoGP World Championship for 28 years and we continue growing and pushing boundaries – just as the racing does on track. This level of sport and competition deserves the best coverage possible and we constantly push to innovate, from graphics and new cameras to new ways to provide a top level product to our millions of fans – including new formats and ways to consume.”

Wherever you are, get in gear for the season opener in Qatar and enjoy the ride as another incredible year of MotoGP™ begins.

After a long winter break, we look upon testing as the first answers to the questions raised by rider moves, current form and potential that begins to brim in the final races of the season before. But really, it’s more a teaser that whets our appetite ahead of the first Grand Prix of the season and even then, it’s when the lights go out for racing that we really get some answers. So Day 1 in the desert kept us guessing in tantalising style with records broken, mysteries solved and ups and downs for many on the grid – a perfect storm of unpredictability and fierce competition for the VisitQatar Grand Prix.

Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was undoubtedly the headliner of Act 1, however. The now seven-time World Champion’s new lap record – nearly half a second clear at the top – laid down an early benchmark that puts him squarely in the driving seat but it’s not one-lap pace that’s been in doubt for the Spaniard. Coming back from surgery to his shoulder, longevity and consistency is the question on everyone’s lips. And behind Marquez’ eyebrow-raiser of a 1’53.380, the riders were packed together down the timesheets.

The first of those was Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). After a more difficult season at times in 2018, consistency is also a key word for him and the Iwata marque so topping testing and showing some solid pace on Day 1 is a good start. He did have some close company in the form of Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) though – top Independent Team rider on Friday and fastest Ducati – as the Australian ended Friday just 0.054 off the Spaniard.

Next up behind Miller was another Ducati: Mission Winnow Ducati Team newcomer Danilo Petrucci, who was the top Borgo Panigale factory team rider once again – as he was in testing. Teammate and 2018 Qatar winner Andrea Dovizioso was in P6 but not far off, however, and therein came the seemingly solved mystery: the switch seen on the Ducati in testing was spotted in action on Day 1 and it appeared to fit with the rumour mill theory of a holeshot device for race starts. Will we see more on Saturday?

Splitting the two Italian factory machines was another impressive performance from Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT). The French rookie was the fastest newcomer to the class once again, and threatened the top just like in testing. So that seems one question answered: yes, he can do it again. And his teammate, Franco Morbidelli, had a solid showing on Day 1 too – slotting it just behind ‘DesmoDovi’, pushed down to P7 by just 0.019 despite a crash.

Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins, another superstar in testing, was eighth quickest on Friday by another tiny gap of less than half a tenth, just ahead of Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro. Espargaro, who was well within the top ten at the Qatar Test too, was another answer revealed on Day 1 – it’s a feat that can be repeated during the race weekend. Rookie Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) completed the top ten after shooting first in the time attack at the end of FP2, only a tenth off teammate Rins and briefly top before times tumbled.

So who’s missing in the provisional top ten of Q2 qualifiers? First is the still-recovering Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team), near the top in the morning, who just got relegated to 11th by Rins’ final fast lap at the end of FP2. And Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), the fastest man in the first session just ahead of Lorenzo, ended the day in 17th overall and was just 0.005 ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro so the two will be pushing to move forward in FP3. Will Rossi deal a faster hand when we head back out on track for more? Will the conditions allow those outside the top ten to improve? Or can those between the ‘Doctor’ and old nemesis Lorenzo – Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol), rookie Francesco Bagnaia (Alma Pramac Racing) and Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) – set us up for a Q1-shootout to remember?

Winning margins used to be minutes, then they became seconds, tenths, hundredths…now it’s thousandths that separate the laptimes for one of the strongest grids ever seen. Day 1 set the stage for a stunning Saturday at Losail International Circuit, so make sure to tune in for qualifying from 20:00 (GMT +3) local time.

 ONE: REIGN OF VALOR played host to a world-class display of martial arts action. Once again, the absolute best in local and international martial arts talent took to the ONE Championship cage to showcase their incredible skills. In the main event, Zebaztian Kadestam retained his ONE Welterweight World Title with a stunning stoppage victory over Georgiy Kichigin.

In the main event, Sweden’s Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam showed championship heart by defeating Kazakhstan’s Georgiy “Knight” Kichigin via technical knockout to retain the ONE Welterweight World Championship. For the better part of the first two rounds, Kadestam was on the wrong end of a grappling clinic from Kichigin, as he was getting taken down and controlled on the ground. In the dying minutes of the second round however, Kadestam landed a thunderous elbow in the clinch that had the challenger dazed at the end of the round. Visibly still hurt from the elbow, Kichigin was unable to answer the third round bell and the victory was awarded to Kadestam.

Myanmar’s own Phoe “Bushido” Thaw overcame a troublesome start to score an exciting technical knockout win over Indonesia’s Yohan “The Ice Man” Mulia Legowo. Phoe Thaw found himself in some precarious situations early, but managed to escape from mount and a number of submission attempts. Momentum shifted in favor of the hometown favorite, as Phoe Thaw gained dominant position and punished Legowo with thunderous punches to earn the stoppage win late in the opening round.

Former ONE World Title challenger Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli of Italy made quick work of opponentAlain “The Panther” Ngalani of Hong Kong to win via first-round technical knockout. At the sound of the opening bell, the two warriors met each other head-on at the center of the ONE cage. Cerilli quickly secured underhooks against the fence and then executed an overhead slam, sapping the energy from Ngalani. From the reverse headlock position, Cerilli then delivered a symphony of knees to force the referee to call a halt to the contest.

Filipino flyweight contender Rene “D’Challenger” Catalan smashed his way to a convincing first-round technical knockout win over former ONE Flyweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito of Japan. Catalan nullified Naito’s grappling as he stuffed the former World Champion’s relentless takedown attempts. After securing dominant position, Catalan unloaded a barrage of strikes to overwhelm Naito for the dominant stoppage victory.

Top-ranked Indian mixed martial arts star Gurdarshan “Saint Lion” Mangat made a statement in his ONE Championship debut, defeating former ONE World Title challenger Toni “Dynamite” Tauru of Finland by knockout. Mangat and Tauru went strike-for-strike in the first two rounds, making for an exciting back-and-forth contest. In the final round, Mangat went for the finish, as he dropped Tauru with a swift left hook before finishing things off with a jumping knee and some ground-and-pound.

Muay Thai legend Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy of Thailand turned in a spectacular performance, dominating opponent Kenta Yamada of Japan in a ONE Super Series Kickboxing bout. For three full rounds, Petchmorakot unloaded a bevy of powerful striking combinations, which featured a torrent of left high kicks and straight punches. Yamada played defense for the majority of the contest. In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Petchmorakot to win by unanimous decision.

Four-time Chin State Wrestling Champion Tial “The Dragon Leg” Thang of Myanmar was dominant in his mixed martial arts debut as he outpointed Rin Saroth of Cambodia to score a unanimous decision victory. Tial Thang put on a show in front of his home country as he dictated the pace in the striking department and showed off his elite-level grappling with a number of masterful takedowns. After three exciting rounds, Tial Thang was declared the winner in front of a raucous crowd in Yangon.

Striking superstars Liam Nolan of England and Enriko “The Hurricane” Kehl of Germany made their ONE Super Series debuts in a fiery Kickboxing contest. The two martial artists traded their best strikes for the majority of the bout right at the center of the ONE cage. In the second round, Kehl connected on a thudding body shot to force Nolan to take a knee. After action resumed, Kehl put the finishing touches with a fierce combination against the cage. Nolan failed to beat the 10 count and Kehl was awarded the knockout victory.

In an exciting ONE Super Series Kickboxing contest, light heavyweight behemoths Andrei Stoica of Romania and Tarik Khbabez of Morocco went back and forth, trading powerful striking combinations from the sound of the opening bell. For three full rounds, both Stoica and Khbabez stood right in the pocket, exchanging their biggest shots, but it was Khbabez who landed with more power and frequency. In the end, all three judges scored in favor of Khbabez to win by unanimous decision.

“MMA Sister” Lin Heqin of China was spectacular in her ONE Championship debut as she submitted Filipina star Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres in the first round. The rangey Lin imposed her will in striking early but found herself getting taken down late in the first round. The takedown proved to be detrimental for Torres however, as Lin locked in a deep triangle choke that left the Filipina with no alternative but to tap out.

“The Ghost” Chen Rui of China remained undefeated in his professional mixed martial arts career after defeating Guam’s Roman “Boom” Alvarez via technical knockout in just two rounds. Chen and Alvarez put on a striking battle in the first round as the two traded combinations in the exciting first five minutes of action. Chen dropped Alvarez with a well-placed uppercut to the head midway through the second round and followed up with a storm of punches to claim the stoppage victory.

Female atomweight competitors Bozhena “Toto” Antoniyar of Myanmar and Audreylaura “Ice Comet” Boniface of Malaysia figured in a thrilling two-round encounter. Hometown hero Antoniyar put together an electric performance to the delight of the packed Thuwunna Indoor Stadium crowd, lighting up Boniface with a plethora of dynamic striking combinations. In the second round, Boniface succumbed to the constant pressure as Antoniyar claimed the technical knockout victory due to strikes.

Flyweight competitors Rui Botelho of Portugal and Yuta Watanabe of Japan figured in a spirited ONE Super Series Kickboxing contest. Watanabe utilized his length to keep Botelho constantly out of range in the early going. Botelho battled back late, scoring big on a pair of knockdowns in the third round. In the end, all three judges scored in favor of Botelho to win by unanimous decision.

Kicking off the action at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR was a ONE Super Series Kickboxing contest betweenKohei “Momotaro” Kodera of Japan and Kenny “The Pitbull” Tse of Australia. Kodera, a karate black belt, was the sharper of the two athletes and was constantly a step ahead of his opponent for three full rounds. At the end of the contest, all three judges scored in favor of Kodera to win by unanimous decision.

Official results for ONE: REIGN OF VALOR

ONE Welterweight World Championship bout: Zebaztian Kadestam defeats Georgiy Kichigin by TKO (Corner Stoppage) at 5:00 minutes of round 2

Featherweight bout: Phoe Thaw defeats Yohan Mulia Legowo by TKO (Strikes) at 4:56 minutes of round 1

Heavyweight bout: Mauro Cerilli defeats Alain Ngalani by TKO (Strikes) at 1:41 minutes of round 1

Flyweight bout: Rene Catalan defeats Yoshitaka Naito by TKO (Strikes) at 4:32 minutes of round 1

Flyweight bout: Gurdarshan Mangat defeats Toni Tauru by Knockout (KO) at 1:23 minutes of round 3

ONE Super Series Kickboxing Featherweight bout: Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy defeats Kenta Yamada by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Catch Weight (68.0 KG) bout: Tial Thang defeats Rin Saroth by Unanimous Decision (UD) at after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Kickboxing Featherweight bout: Enriko Kehl defeats Liam Nolan by Knockout (KO) at 2:12 minutes of round 2

ONE Super Series Kickboxing Light Heavyweight bout: Tarik Khbabez defeats Andrei Stoica by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Women’s Atomweight bout: Lin Heqin defeats Jomary Torres by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 4:12 minutes of round 1

Catch Weight (67.0 KG) bout: Chen Rui defeats Roman Alvarez by TKO (Strikes) at 2:48 minutes of round 2

Women’s Atomweight bout: Bozhena Antoniyar defeats Audreylaura Boniface by TKO (Strikes) at 1:31 minutes of round 2

ONE Super Series Kickboxing Flyweight bout: Rui Botelho defeats Yuta Watanabe by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

ONE Super Series Kickboxing Flyweight bout: Kohei Kodera defeats Kenny Tse by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Sopita Tanasan

The Thailand Amateur Weightlifting Association (Tawa) has decided not to send anyone to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after eight Thai competitors, including the Kingdom’s only two reigning Olympic champions, tested positive for drugs at last year’s World Championships.

The decision has been met with dismay by the Sports Authority of Thailand.

Among those who returned positive A samples in Turkmenistan last November and again in extra tests in Cologne, Germany, were reigning Olympic gold medallists from Rio 2016, Sopita Tanasan (48kg) and Sukanya Srisurat (58kg).

Tawa released a statement on Friday, saying they had been working closely with the Doping Control Agency of Thailand under the auspices of the National Doping Control Centre and had never found anything wrong with their own athletes’ tests.

In order to take responsibility, however, the sport’s ruling body announced it would not field any weightlifters in international competitions, including the World Championships in Pattaya, in September, until the case is resolved.

Tawa’s action has been taken before results of B samples, which will be revealed later this year by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). According to IWF rules, any nation having three or more athletes with confired positive tests in a calendar year faces a ban of up to four years.

Nevertheless Tawa has taken preemptive action, confirming it will not send anyone to Tokyo 2020 or to any of its qualifying tournaments.

It made clear, however, that it still intends to host the World Championships from September 18 to 27.

The decision to withdraw the weightlifting team from Tokyo will cause a huge impact on Thailand’s performance in the quadrennial sport extravaganza. Weightlifting has always offered among the country’s best prospects of gold medals, having yielded five out of Thailand’s nine Olympic champions since it first took part in the Helsinki Games in 1952.

In the 2016 Rio Games, Sopita and Sukunya were the only two Thais to bring home gold medals.

Sports Authority of Thailand deputy governor Nattavuth Ruengves urged Tawa to discuss the issue with the Olympic Committee of Thailand immediately to find a solution because he thought it unfair for all weightlifters to be barred from the chance to compete at the Olympics.

“Weightlifting offers our biggest chance of medals. The Sports Authority of Thailand is willing to help if we can raise a petition to the IWF,” Nattavuth said.

The Thai Olympic team’s Chef de Mission, Thana Chaiprasit, believes, however, that Tawa’s decision is final and he urged all sports associations to warn their athletes to be extra-careful with any supplementary products and medicines they take.

“It’s very unfortunate that Thailand’s medal chances in 2020 Olympics will be affected,” said Thana. “From now on athletes must take doctor’s advice first before using any medicines or supplements.”

Udorn Duangdecha

The 35-year-old from Ratchaburi, who just had his first son “Sky” three months ago, was joint leader with 48-year-old Udorn on eight under-par-136, a stroke ahead of a chasing pack that included four former champions – Prom Meesawat (1999), Prayad Marksaeng (2000, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2015-16), Poom Saksansin (2014) and Panuphol Pittayarat (2017).

“I had a good game plan, thanks to my caddie Prajak Kaoprathum for his advice,” said Sattaya looking for his first win on the All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT).

“On firm greens like this you have to hit to an area where it is easier to putt rather than aim for the flag.”

The one-time Asian Development Tour winner admitted he has had to divide his time being a father with golf and had to learn to manage his training as effectively as possible.

“I can’t be as relaxed as I was in the past,” he said. “I have limited time for practice and have to go back to help change the nappies, prepare milk and feed the baby. I really miss him as he is still too young to come with me.”

Sattaya will have to remain focused over the next two days if he wants to claim his first title since his ADT triumph in Malaysia five years ago.

He was the halfway leader at the King’s Cup, Pattaya, three years ago but came short in the end.

“With help from my caddie, who used to carry [the bags] for Kiradech [Aphibarnrat], I now feel relaxed,” he added. “He told me to play to my potential and not care how others do. So I have no expectations other than to hit my shots.”

Udorn, the 2016 ATGT No 1, hit a 68 to join Sattaya at the top of leaderboard.

Six players were in a tie for third on 137 each. Apart from the four ex-winners, the other two were Piya Sawangarunporn and Pavit Tangkamolprasert who shot a week-low of 63.