Jamie Vardy has urged his Leicester teammates to honour the memory of Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha as they prepare to return to action following their owner’s shocking death in a helicopter crash.

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet for the 47th time Saturday with a place in the Paris Masters final at stake.

Despite the threat of rain throughout the day, the MotoGP™ riders were able to get two full dry sessions done and dusted in Malaysia, and it was the Suzuki leading the way as the chequered flag came out at the end of FP2. Rins was the man at the summit thanks to his late FP2 time, with Dovi failing to improve on his FP1 time in the afternoon session – P7 for the Italian in FP2. Marquez, meanwhile, finished the second session in P2, but the World Champion had an eventful day. In typical Marquez fashion, the number 93 had to save the front of his RC213V numerous times across the two sessions.

There were no such close shaves for fourth place overall and sixth fastest in FP2 Valentino Rossi though, as ‘The Doctor’ had a strong Friday to end the day so close to the top. Just behind him and fifth on the combined times was Jack Miller on board his Alma Pramac Racing Ducati, the Australian setting a quickest time of 1:59.771 to end FP2 in P3, and Miller was also the first rider to dip into the 1:59s in FP2. Meanwhile, Australian GP winner Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completes the day P6 on the overall times, the Spaniard going fourth fastest in FP2 to end the day less than two tenths off P1.

Just 0.009 behind him at the end of Friday’s proceedings sits Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Racing), P7 overall for the Italian thanks to his FP2 time, with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) improving by over half a second in the second session to end Friday in P8. Completing the provisional automatic Q2 places were Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in P9 and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro in P10 – the latter struggling with grip in the afternoon.

Returning from injury, Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) endured a tough opening day. The five-time World Champion finished bottom of the timesheets and over three seconds adrift of the fastest time, and will further assess his fitness on Saturday.

So it’s Alex Rins on fire on Friday in Sepang; a top turnaround after one of his bikes was on up in flames in pitlane on Thursday. The times are super close with 0.203 covering the top six, but FP3 gives the premier class riders the last chance to improve to see if they can cement an automatic place in Q2. Tune in for that at 10:55 local time (GMT +8), with qualifying beginning at 15:10 local time.

ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced the main event of ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM, set for Saturday, 17 November at the Stadium Istora in Jakarta.

Once again, the world’s largest martial arts organization will showcase the absolute best in local and international martial arts talent. In the main event, Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam of Sweden takes on Tyler McGuire of the United States for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship. In addition, a series of compelling matchups are scheduled to take place.

Former PXC Welterweight Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam started training in Muay Thai when he was 12 years old and later embarked on a highly successful professional career in the sport. Soon he explored other disciplines as he trained at the Pancrase Gym in Stockholm, and also traveled to the Philippines to sharpen his skills at the Legacy Gym in Boracay under famed martial artist Ole Laursen. Though he was unsuccessful in a bid for the welterweight title against former champion Ben Askren, Kadestam does own two high-profile victories over top contenders Luis Santos and Agilan Thani. His latest performance against Thani saw Kadestam exhibit his incredible striking skills to finish the young Malaysian by TKO. Up next, Kadestam takes on Tyler McGuire for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship.

Undefeated American mixed martial artist Tyler McGuire of Washington, USA, is a submission specialist who trains out of Sik-Jitsu Fighting Systems in Spokane. With an unblemished 11-0 professional record, McGuire owns seven victories by way of submission. Known for his ability to display creative grappling techniques, McGuire finds himself travelling halfway across the globe to Asia, where he plans to showcase his skills on the global stage of martial arts competition. In his most recent outing, McGuire took on the dangerous Luis Santos in a tough three-round battle to win via unanimous decision. The performance was impressive enough to earn McGuire a title shot, as he takes on Zebaztian Kadestam in Jakarta for the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship.

Multiple-time Kickboxing World Champion Nieky Holzken knew from a very young age that he wanted to become a professional martial artist. He competed extensively, compiling over 100 wins across multiple martial arts disciplines including boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai, on his way to Dutch and European championships before claiming several World Titles. A sensational striker, Holzken’s entertaining style has already seen him secure almost 50 knockouts in kickboxing and an additional 11 in the boxing ring. Known around the world as “The Natural,” Holzken is intent on making his mark in ONE Super Series. He makes his debut against Cosmo Alexandre in a kickboxing contest.

A Lion Fight Super Middleweight World Champion and it’s Showtime 77MAX World Champion, Cosmo Alexandre began his athletic career as a footballer but gave it all up at the age of 19 to pursue Muay Thai. Alexandre has since put together a phenomenal professional martial arts career, winning numerous world titles in both Muay Thai and kickboxing. Known as one of the best strikers Brazil has ever produced, Alexandre has faced some of the biggest names in the striking arena, including the likes of John Wayne Parr, Sakmongkol Sithchuchok, Yodsanklai Fairtex, and Giorgio Petrosyan. He returns to ONE Super Series now to face Nieky Holzken in kickboxing.

Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol began training in wushu at the age of 17, after taking up an opportunity to compete for the Indonesian national team. She was highly successful in this regard, capturing both an Indonesian National Wushu Championship and a local boxing title. She even won a bronze medal in wushu at the Southeast Asian Games, with her striking success spurring her towards a career in mixed martial arts. Today, Lumban Gaol has made a name for herself as one of the top female talents in ONE Championship. She is set to face Angelie Sabanal in her next outing.

Solid martial arts prospect Angelie Sabanal of Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines is a Muay Thai practitioner now making the rounds as a professional mixed martial artist in ONE Championship. She made her impressive cage debut in March of 2018, defeating the highly-regarded Rika Ishige by three-round unanimous decision. A national Muay Thai silver medalist, Sabanal looks to climb up the ranks in ONE Championship as she seeks to become a world champion. The Filipina is set to make her next appearance in the promotion when she takes on Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol.

Chiang Mai Muay Thai Champion Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit hails from the North East of Thailand and was raised in humble surroundings. After repeated encounters with childhood bullying, Mitsatit decided to pick up Muay Thai to learn how to protect himself. Through his hard work and talent, he soon ran up an impressive 72-17 record, and even won a Muay Thai championship in the process. Mitsatit then made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2014, and has since rapidly emerged as one of Thailand’s most exciting talents. Mitsatit already holds an impressive professional record, including several TKO wins in ONE Championship. Now training at the prestigious Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Mitstatit will see action against Hayato Suzuki in Jakarta.

Japanese stalwart Hayato Suzuki of Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan, is a veteran mixed martial artist with an impressive professional record of 19-1-2. Spending the majority of his career competing in his native Japan, Suzuki is known as a highly-skilled competitor with the ability to finish his foes with heavy knockout power and technical grappling skills. Out of 19 wins, Suzuki has finished 14 of his opponents impressively, including nine by submission and five by knockout. A former Grachan Flyweight Champion, Suzuki will now face Pongsiri Mitsatit in his next contest.

Multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion Lerdsila is originally from a small town in Thailand’s northern Isan region. He first began training in Muay Thai at the age of seven under his father’s tutelage, and had his first bout that same year. Lerdsila has competed countless times at the famed Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Stadiums, and was a Rajadamnern Muay Thai World Champion in three different weight classes. At his peak, he had an incredible streak of 100 consecutive victories. He now steps onto the biggest global stage of competition to face Sok Thy in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bout.

National Kun Khmer Champion Sok Thy is from the Banteay Meanchey province in Cambodia, an area which shares a border with Thailand and is known for producing top Kun Khmer talent. A phenomenally hard worker, Thy already has hundreds of bouts under his belt despite being just 20 years of age. He even competed for a Muay Thai title in Thailand’s famed Lumpinee Stadium in 2017 and is the first Cambodian to ever do so. Today, Thy trains at Cambodian Top Team under head coach Chan Reach and legendary Kun Khmer competitor San Saoyan. Thy will take on the legendary Lerdsila Phuket Top Team in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.

A Maui Fighting Championships Featherweight Champion, Zach Zane was born into a martial arts family in Indonesia, with his grandfather being a kung fu grandmaster. Soon after his family relocated to Hawaii, he expanded on his kung fu background by training in taekwondo, boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Stepping into the world of mixed martial arts, he competed mostly in the United States, but has travelled as far afield as Northern Ireland to compete. Zane’s exciting style has resulted in all of his wins coming via stoppage to date, and earned him a featherweight title in the process. He makes his ONE Championship debut against Jimmy Yabo.

Jimmy Yabo of Cebu City, Philippines holds a third-degree black belt in taekwondo, and is a veteran of the Philippines martial arts scene, having been one of its early pioneers. Nicknamed “The Silencer” due to his quiet demeanor that hides explosive firepower, all of Yabo’s wins to date have come by way of knockout, which is testament to his fearsome punching power. He is a patient fighter who likes to counterpunch, and is as dangerous at the end of every bout as he is at the beginning, as shown by his performances. He signed for ONE Championship in 2015, and has already put on several thrilling performances. Most famously, Yabo scored a spectacular one-punch knockout of Bashir Ahmad, finishing the Pakistani star in just 21 seconds. Now he finds himself back in action, this time against Zach Zane.

Former Indonesian National Wrestling Champion Elipitua Siregar came from humble beginnings, having been born to a family struggling to make ends meet in Indonesia’s North Sumatra region. His family sent him to live with his uncle in Jakarta in order to learn discipline. That would come in the form of enforced wrestling training, which would not just reform the young Siregar, but change his life forever. The young Indonesian competed in wrestling throughout his academic career, and racked up numerous medals at the national level. After such a long run of domestic success, he turned his attention to international glory in the cage, and joined ONE Championship. Determined to become one of Indonesia’s most elite martial artists, Siregar will now face Muhammad Imran.

Muhammad “The Spider” Imran of Punjab, Pakistan is a mixed martial artist and former PFC Strawweight Champion who specializes in budokai karate and grappling. Imran looked to make a solid impact in ONE Championship when he joined the promotion in early 2018, but a unanimous decision setback to Indonesian star Stefer Rahardian sent him back to the drawing board. Now determined to score one in the win column, Imran returns to action looking to make a statement. This time he faces Elipitua Siregar.

Egi Rozten is a professional mixed martial artist and former regional boxing champion from Jakarta, Indonesia. He made his ONE Championship debut in January 2018 against countryman Riski Umar, in what was an action-packed one round affair that kept fans on the edge of their seats. Displaying incredible toughness and resolve, Rozten proved to the world that he has the willpower to hang with the best talents in Asia. He faces countryman Eddey Kalai in his next assignment.

Two-time SEA Games Boxing Bronze Medalist Eddey Kalai comes from a long line of boxers. After several years spent on the regional boxing circuit, Kalai became intrigued at the prospect of competing in mixed martial arts. He first took part in a national amateur tournament in 2013, and although he lost, he was instantly hooked. Kalai then decided to dedicate himself to training in all disciplines, and is constantly adding new tools to his strong boxing base. After 10 wins as an amateur with eight stoppages, Kalai turned professional, and now finds himself among the world’s best martial artists in ONE Championship. He is set to face Egi Rozten in his next appearance.

Chinese Sanda Champion Zhao Zhi Kang is from the desert region of Inner Mongolia, where he began training in martial arts at the age of 15, inspired by heroes such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li. Zhao later made his professional debut in 2012, amassing an excellent record by competing all across China, which brought him to the bright lights of ONE Championship. Driven by the competitive spirit of martial arts, Zhao aims to achieve glory on the global stage. In his next outing, Zhao returns to action to face Dae Hwan Kim.

South Korean martial arts star and former KAMMA Bantamweight Champion, Dae Hwan Kim is one of the top talents to emerge at bantamweight. He joined the promotion in 2013, posting victories over Thanh Vu and Kevin Belingon in his first two bouts in ONE Championship. In 2014, Kim challenged Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Bantamweight World Championship. With incredible striking prowess and solid grappling ability, Kim is one of the top contenders in his division, and will look for victory in his next bout against Zhao Zhi Kang.

Flyweight standout Eugene Toquero is a former celebrity martial arts and fitness coach from Manila, Philippines. He offers solid striking skills combined with sufficient grappling knowledge to put together a unique style that can end bouts instantly. The Filipino stalwart has a knack for executing highlight-reel stoppages and is highly unpredictable, operating at a pace opponents find difficult to keep up with. Toquero is looking to get back to his winning ways, and he will get the opportunity to do so when he meets Tatsumitsu Wada in Jakarta.

A DEEP Flyweight Champion, Tatsumitsu Wada is originally from the Yamanashi prefecture of Japan, but moved to Tokyo after high school to further his martial arts career. He originally started his training with karate, and later added judo to his growing skill set. Nicknamed “The Sweeper,” Wada has gone on an incredible run in his career thus far, and twice captured the flyweight belt in DEEP. He is set to face the exciting Eugene Toquero in his next appearance in ONE Championship.

Two-time European Kickboxing Champion Brown Pinas has come a long way from his early days getting into trouble on the streets of Rotterdam. After a neighbor introduced him to kickboxing at the age of 19, he fell in love with the sport immediately, and matured quickly through training and competing. He has since become a Dutch National Champion and two-time European Champion, with his sights set on even loftier goals. He comes into his next assignment looking for victory against Yohann Fairtex Drai in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai contest.

Yohann Fairtex Drai grew up near the ocean, spending much of his time windsurfing and diving. At 15 years old, Drai took up sambo, and began entering local competitions. He then took up boxing at the age of 19. Drai went on to compete in boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai, compiling an impressive winning record. Driven by the desire to experience real Muay Thai training and competition, he relocated to Thailand when he was 22 years old, and has lived there ever since, training out of the world-famous Fairtex camp in Pattaya. Today, Drai is one of the top talents in ONE Super Series, and will take on Brown Pinas next in a Muay Thai bout.

Top Chinese featherweight Xie Chao is originally from Qingzhou, in the Shandong province north of Shanghai. At the age of 20, he started training in Jeet Kune Do — a famed martial arts discipline developed and founded by the legendary Bruce Lee — and began preparing to compete in mixed martial arts just four years later. He showcased his burgeoning grappling skills in his very first professional bout, which he won via first-round armbar. Xie made sure to leave a lasting impression in his first appearance in ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI, where he submitted a game Marc Marcellinus via kimura armlock in just 90 seconds. Next up, he takes on Bruno Pucci.

Two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu No Gi World Champion Bruno Pucci of Brazil was 13 years old when he took his first BJJ lesson, and from then on, he would train every single day. In 2009, he reached the pinnacle of his grappling career when he won gold at the No Gi Grappling World Championship, and defended his crown the very next year. Pucci went on to earn a black belt in BJJ, and in 2011, he made his professional cage debut. With an inherent ability to source high-level submission maneuvers from any position in the cage, Pucci is looking for victory in his next outing. This time he faces Xie Chao.

Football superstar David Beckham will arrive in Bangkok on Saturday to conduct a coaching clinic for Thai children.

Promising striker Supachai Jaided believes he can cope with the fans’ rising expectations in the AFF Suzuki Cup, which starts next week.

With a blazing back-nine 31, So Yeon Ryu surged to the top of the leaderboard at 7-under 65 and holds the lead after the first round of the 2018 TOTO Japan Classic. Ryu strung together birdies at holes 11-13 and added in back-to-back birdies over the closing two holes to round out her bogey-free round.

United in sorrow following the death of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, grief-stricken Leicester will make an emotional return to action at Cardiff on Saturday.

The form book, firsts and motivation are the key talking points in Malaysia

It’s almost time for the penultimate race weekend of the season in the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix and before battle commences on Friday, the pre-event Press Conference gathered reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), two-in-a-row Sepang winner Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Phillip Island winner Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team), Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and home hero Hafizh Syahrin (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) together to talk about the weekend ahead – and debrief Phillip Island a little.

First to speak was Marquez, who failed to finish in Australia after an incident with Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), and he began talking about that – and his bad luck at Phillip Island, which always seems to hit after a title win at Motegi…

“If it’s a coincidence after I win the title in Motegi, then it’s ok to continue like this! I would rather win the title. Phillip Island was a shame but we can feel lucky, me and Johann. It was a strange crash but sometimes it happens with the slipstream, he didn’t stop the bike and I was a little bit wide. I didn’t expect him to be there. He apologised but it was a racing incident, now it’s time to think about Malaysia.

“We’ll try to continue in the same way, in Phillip Island we struggled a bit then in the race we were in good shape so we’ll try and keep our performance here. The preseason was good here, race pace, but now it’s completely different; different bikes and different setups, so we forget that and concentrate on the weekend. We start from FP1, try to work hard, then we’ll see if we can fight for the podium, the top five or the victory.”

The victory is something that’s belong to Dovizioso for the past two years, and he’s eager to repeat it. The Italian first talked about some good omens from Phillip Island.

“We’ve proved our improvement this year in the second half of the Championship and the confirmation was in Phillip Island,” says ‘DesmoDovi’. “It was very important to understand that, but I think it’s not enough. The bike is better because every practice, and on Saturday with a lot of wind, we were stronger than last year but we also still couldn’t fight for the victory. But I think from my side I have to improve some things, I am better at some tracks but I think I have margin to improve with my riding style and position on the bike at tracks like that.”

Then, the Ducati rider was asked about his first premier class podium taken at Sepang, and reminisced for a minute: “I’m happy about that, I remember it well that weekend and race. I had a strong race with Nicky (Hayden), it was my first year in MotoGP and until the last corner we were braking very hard and I was able to arrive in front. It was nice, it was a good moment. This track is good for me but in the past if we look at the results we didn’t take a lot of good results in the dry. The last two years we won in the wet but it will be interesting to see what our speed would be in the dry.”

On Sunday, time will tell. Until then it remains Viñales who’s the most recent winner; back on the top step in Australia for the first time since Le Mans 2017.

“It’s been nice,” says the Spaniard. “We enjoyed it a lot with the team and it’s been a long time since we enjoyed a dinner like that! I think now we can do even better because we’re more relaxed and let’s see if that can help us to improve, and help Yamaha.”

Any specific goals for Malaysia? As could be expected, the Spaniard wouldn’t be drawn: “I want to try to be competitive and be in front and try and finish the season well in the standings. It’s important to not lose this momentum now.”

Next up was Andrea Iannone, who is on a roll and took second in Phillip Island – after a more difficult time at times.

“Sometimes we lose motivation when it’s difficult, but step by step and with hard work we’ve recovered and got very close to the top manufacturers and top riders. I’ve recovered my motivation well and I want to continue like this. From the second part of the race I think we’ve come back really strong and really close. From Japan on we’ve been really close, with the team and the bike and I want to continue like this.

“Sepang is a really good track, every year is different. When I arrived in MotoGP with Ducati it was a difficult moment, in 2015 I don’t remember my result but not on the podium for sure! In 2016 I fought with Andrea and Vale for the podium and in the end I lost the front at Turn 9…we will see. Last year was a difficult race in wet conditions but we’ll see, and try and improve my result.”

Lorenzo, meanwhile, isn’t expecting quite the same. He was on top in testing at Sepang and second last season, but he’s coming back from injury this year and he’s not setting a target as yet – just getting through the weekend better than Japan.

“I feel better than in Motegi some weeks ago, that’s for sure, the operation went well and I feel stronger and more powerful,” explains the Ducati rider. “Obviously I only had the operation a few days ago and took the cast off yesterday, I didn’t move it a lot so the mobility isn’t very good so in two or three days we need to speed up the recovery of the mobility. I’m gonna try, I’m better than in Japan so let’s see if I can race for the whole weekend.”

Asked about why he’s so eager to come back so soon, Lorenzo says it’s more than just time you lose when you’re not riding.

“I want to get back on the bike, it’s been a long time and for sure you’re losing practice, skills, everything. It’s not only about fractures but also your general physical condition. This time I don’t think I will be able to fight for anything big but at least I can get used to the bike again and I think that will help me to prepare for my last chance to get a big result for Ducati at Valencia.”

Finally, the floor hushed to hang on the every word of home hero Syahrin. He talked about Australia, which had big positives as well as the more obvious negatives –  and said he’s learned even more coming into his home race.

“First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone, it’s my first time here with these guys! Then yeah, in Phillip Island I expected I wouldn’t be able to do a good result there because for many years in Moto2 I’ve struggled. I’m from Asia and arriving in cold weather in Australia, I’m scared with the weather and wind, and I’ve always been slow in Moto2. But when I moved to MotoGP, the mechanics told me it’s different to Moto2 and when I went out in FP1 I surprised myself I could do well. Then in FP2 I was P11 but – it was a pity and get well soon to him, Cal Crutchlow was injured – so I went to Q2. In FP3 I tried 10km/h quicker than Friday and I lost the front, I thought my hand was broken because when I tried to move it there was a lot of pain so I thought I didn’t want to ride in FP4 and the qualifying, but my motivation is very strong and I tried. After two or three laps I wanted to go back in the box but I kept trying. Then it was the best qualifying or me, and it’s a shame about the race but I learned something from these guys in front of me, I made good lines and improved my braking. I need to work on myself.

“After Aragon we found something in the setup and we’ve improved on braking and turning and we started to gain on Morbidelli but in Phillip Island he made a big gap when I couldn’t finish.”

That battle for Rookie of the Year is still wide open, the fight for second and third overall is wide open and the Constructors’ crown isn’t decided yet either – tune in for the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend for another Sepang stunner!

Novak Djokovic described his return to the world number one ranking as a “phenomenal achievement” on Thursday as he and old rival Roger Federer coasted into the Paris Masters quarter-finals.