Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen leads the Honda LPGA Thailand 2022 Championship by one shot going into the final round at the Siam Country Club Old Course, Pattaya, today.
Abogey-free third round of 6-under gives the 27-year-old a one-shot cushion over her nearest rivals, China’s Xiyu Lin and Celine Boutier, who was born to Thai parents in France. Xiyu also carded a third round of 66, while Boutier shot a five-under 67.
Gaby Lopez of Mexico, Canadian Brooke M Henderson and joint overnight leader Nasa Hataoka of Japan are tied for fourth on 18-under, while Americans Alison Lee and Jennifer Kupcho are a shot back in joint seventh.
“It’s exciting,” said Nanna Madsen of her position for today’s final round. “You have to stay patient and try to make a lot of the birdies but you can’t force them, just stay patient and see if the putt drops.”
Said Xiyu Lin:”I guess everybody will be attacking and then we just hope for the best.”
Speaking of a hole-in-one, which she achieved six years ago at the 10th Anniversary of the Honda LPGA Thailand, Xiyu Lin said: “Oh, I hope I can recreate it. I mean, of course. Why not? But that hole (No 16) – it’s pretty hard to get a hole-in-one.”
The Thai challenge is led by teenage star Atthaya Thitikul after six birdies, an eagle plus three bogeys saw her shoot 66 for 13-under, eight behind the leader. Patty Tavatanakit shot 68 for 11 under, one stroke ahead of rookie pro Jaravee Boonchant.
Pajaree Anannarukarn and veteran Jasmine Suwannapura tee off today at 8-under, one stroke ahead of teenage qualifier Chanettee Wannasaen of Chiang Mai.
The tournament marks the 15th anniversary of the Honda LPGA Thailand Championship which will reward the winner with prize money of US$240,000, while the runner-up will receive US$148,877 and third place US$108,000.
Golf fans around the world can tune in to live broadcasts and streaming of the final round on PPTV HD 36 and their digital platform: www.pptvhd36.com, Facebook, YouTube and the PPTVHD36 application.
Thailand’s super duo of Dechapol “Bass” Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree “Popor” Taerattanachai are through to the final of the German Open mixed doubles after beating Adam Hall and Julie Macpherson of Scotland 21-11, 21-17 in 34 minutes on Saturday.
The Thai stars will be seeking their sixth title when they go up against Ou Xuan Yi and Huang Ya Qiong from China in the final.
In the men’s singles, Kunlavut “View” Vitidsarn beat Lee Zii Jia from Malaysia 21-13, 21-12 and will face Viktor Axelsen from Denmark or Lakshya Sen from India in the final.
Meanwhile, Jongkolphan “Gift” Kititharakul and Rawinda “View” Prajongjai lost 21-17, 21-12 to Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan in the women’s doubles.
The Yonex Gainward German Open 2022 offers total prize money of US$180,000 or Bt5.85 million.
Television coverage of the English Premier League in China resumed on Thursday following a boycott last weekend as the league showed its support for Ukraine.
Chinese rights holder iQiyi pulled their planned live broadcast of last week’s games in an apparent protest against the decision to display the Ukraine flag on big screens at stadiums.
China has declined to condemn the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, its ally.
There was no show of solidarity during Thursday’s matches, offering Chinese viewers hope that the £120-million deal to broadcast the Premier League for the next four years in China can be salvaged.
However, Premier League clubs have so far pledged £1 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine and may use future match-rounds to show support, which could lead to a further backlash from China and jeopardise the TV deal.
Clubs will be free to continue showing solidarity with Ukraine but there will be no coordinated approach such as a minute’s applause or players wearing armbands in the colours of Ukraine’s flag.
China has been a problematic TV market in recent years despite its huge population of 1.4 billion people.
The streaming service PPTV missed two EPL rights payments worth £157 million during the 2019-20 season, which triggered legal action and cancellation of the contract with two seasons left.
Tencent picked up the rights in a one-year deal covering the 2020-21 season before iQiyi Sports secured a four-year contract from 2021-22.
Top-two match Siam Country Club 36-hole tournament record at 16-under
PATTAYA – March 11, 2022 – Overnight leaders Nasa Hataoka of Japan and Australian Su Oh retained their one-shot cushion at the halfway stage of the Honda LPGA Thailand 2022 Championship at the Siam Country Club Old Course, Pattaya, Chonburi province today (Friday) when matching the tournament’s 36-hole record 16-under-par.
On the second day of the 15th anniversary event, where the majority of the world’s leading women’s players and sponsors’ exemptions are also battling it out for the all-new Honda HR-V e:HEV hole-in-one prize, Hataoka and Su Oh carded second round seven-under-par 65s, to go with their opening day 63s, for a two-day 128 total.
France’s Celine Boutier and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen shot the low rounds of the day, posting efforts of eight-under 64s, to finish the day joint third on 15-under 129, while China’s Xiyu Lin had a six-under 66 for a 14-under 130 total and solo fifth place. American Jennifer Kupcho and Canadian Brooke Henderson, one of the pre-tournament favourites, both carded five-under 67s for a tie of sixth place on 12-unde-pare 132, while Australia’s Minjee Lee shot a 64 to join Carlota Ciganda and Alison Lee in a tie for eighth place on 11-under 133.
A confident Su Oh said after her round: “Actually the impact of my ball striking wasn’t very good today. I was just kind of scrambling really well out there. But I was like, come on, you want to hit some good shots before going into tomorrow. (About the eagle-three on the last hole of the round) there were just some things that I’d been working on in my swing and I think it was just more the will of hitting the ball solid. I also kind of had really good yardage to that back pin. It didn’t matter how hard I hit my 3-wood, it wouldn’t have carried on top, so I think that helped. I knew it was going to cover the front and then I knew I would have to get lucky, but it was a pretty good number so I was like, Come on. Just hit the ball solid – and it worked out really well.”
Nanna Koerstz Madsen said: “I played really good on the front nine, played decent on the back nine too. Didn’t have as many birdie opportunities, I mean, but it was still birdie, but longer putts. It was a steady round. On the back nine I hit a couple of loose iron shots that didn’t get a birdie chance. But overall I hit a lot of good drives and I was in play all the time, so that makes it easier.”
Looking back on her round, Minjee Lee said: “I just think I hit it a little bit better, a little bit closer, gave myself a few more birdie putts today than yesterday. I think that was probably the biggest thing. I think just finishing well last week gave me a little bit of confidence coming into this week. You know, we can go pretty low around this golf course, it’s pretty soft, so I think there are a lot of birdie opportunities out there – the scoring is going to be pretty low I think this week.”
Speaking of the soft conditions, made even more damp by an hour-and-a-half delay because of afternoon rain, Minjee said: “I think sort of being here a few times now I sort of figured out like what the contour of the greens are doing and things like that. So I think I’m a little bit more aggressive on some of the pins that I can be on and I just think it’s just playing a little softer so we can be much more aggressive than previous years.” With six birdies and an eagle on her card, Minjee added: “I think I gave myself a lot more opportunities for birdie than yesterday. I think I hit it much more solid and I think I could capitalise a little bit more on the par-5s. I gave myself I think three eagle putts, so that was nice.”
This year’s tournament is the 15th edition of the Honda LPGA Thailand and of the US$1.6 million prize money on offer US$240,000 will go to the winner. The event, which ends in the Land of Smiles on Sunday and has an audience of only a limited number of invited guests with no tickets sold on site, is being played in a safe environment, adhering to the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Department of Disease Control. But the world’s golf fans may not miss a minute of the action, as they can tune in to live broadcasts and streaming of the event on the Official Broadcast Host PPTV HD 36 and their digital platforms: http://www.pptvhd36.com, Facebook, YouTube and the PPTVHD36 application over the four days of the tournament.
Muay Thai warrior Capitan Petchyindee Academy is looking to finish his ONE X world title defence in spectacular style on March 26.
Capitan will defend his ONE Bantamweight title in Singapore against Hiroki Akimoto from Japan, currently ranked No 4 featherweight in the world by Combat Press.
A confident Capitan said that after two months of training for the fight he had forged a solid plan to dismantle the karate specialist. He vowed to bring the title back to Thailand.
ONE X kicks off at Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 26 to celebrate ONE Championship’s 10th anniversary.
Capitan said he was 70 per cent prepared but would be 100 per cent ready when he meets his challenger in the ONE cage. The Thai added that his daily training regime consists of a punishing eight sets of target kicking and five sets of power-punching. Helping him sharpen his reflexes and strike resistance are sparring partners including his trainer, former boxer Kongpipop Petchyindee, and several pro boxers.
Capitan revealed his plan for Akimoto was to attack hard and heavy with punches while sapping the Japanese fighter’s mobility with leg kicks. The aim was to knock out his opponent, said the Thai. But he admitted that his carelessness in previous fights had brought him close to disaster, so high levels of concentration would be needed against the dangerous Akimoto.
The Japanese likes to come forward and smother his opponents with relentless kickboxing attacks. However, his focus is on scoring and his punches lack power, said Capitan.
There is no doubting the power of the Thai fighter’s striking, after he knocked out Petchtanong Banchamek in six seconds with the first punch of their fight in September 2020 – a record to this day.
The Thai said he will aim to keep Akimoto on the back foot and execute his plan to win by knockout.
He added that he was being careful to avoid Covid-19 derailing the clash, helped by daily testing and prevention measures at the gym.
Aside from winning by KO in his latest ONE fight, Capitan also aims to return to Muay Thai and add more titles to his glittering career.
Also in ONE X clashes, Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex will challenge Canada’s Angela Lee for her ONE atomweight world title. Meanwhile, ONE Flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes takes on Japanese knockout artist Yuya Wakamatsu. And Thailand’s ONE Flyweight Muay Thai world champion Jitmuangnon Rodtang goes up against “the greatest mixed martial artist of all time”, Demetrious Johnson.
Roman Abramovich has lost his race to sell Chelsea Football Club after his assets were frozen by the British government.
Abramovich was joined by six other Russian oligarchs hit by British sanctions imposed over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, including Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian oil company Rosneft.
All suffered asset freezes and travel bans due to their alleged close links with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The move follows criticism that Britain has acted too slowly to penalise Putin’s cronies. Abramovich denies he has ties with Putin.
The action also puts on ice Abramovich’s plans to sell his club, effectively placing it under government control. The team can carry on playing but the UK government said it was open to selling the club so long as Abramovich did not benefit.
“There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
“We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.”
“If the club is sold, Abramovich will not benefit,” sports minister Nadine Dorries said. The government has issued a special licence to allow Chelsea to play fixtures and pay staff but will limit the sale of tickets and merchandise.
Chelsea released a statement that said: “We will fulfil our men’s and women’s team fixtures today [Thursday] against Norwich and West Ham, respectively, and intend to engage in discussions with the UK government regarding the scope of the licence.”
“This will include seeking permission for the licence to be amended in order to allow the Club to operate as normal as possible. We will also be seeking guidance from the UK Government on the impact of these measures on the Chelsea Foundation and its important work in our communities.”
Last week, Abramovich announced he would sell Chelsea and donate money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine. However, Johnson’s spokesman said the government was open to selling the club but it would require another licence.
Hometown favourite and defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn struggles in the opening round at Siam Country Club Pattaya
(PATTAYA – March 10, 2022) – The Honda LPGA Thailand 2022 Championship got off to a blistering start with three players tied for the lead on 63. Australian Su Oh, Nasa Hataoka of Japan and German Esther Henseleit all shot nine-under-par rounds, which gave them a one-stroke cushion over China’s Xiyu Lin, on an opening day when the big names generally struggled on Siam Country Club Pattaya’s Old Course.
Su Oh, the 25-year-old South Korea-born Australian golfer, was bogey-free in her 63 which had five birdies on the back nine and four on the front. After her round she said: “That’s a great way to start a tournament – it was really nice. I don’t think I’ve ever shot 9-under before. But I’m very happy with how I played. I chipped in today as well, which was nice. I putted really well today and I think my ball striking was actually better last week, but I had like 10 less putts this week – like today. I had 32 putts last week, but had 23 putts today. With obviously a chip-in it is maybe like 24, 25 putts, but still like eight shots better. And I didn’t hit it that much closer. I think I hit it closer last week, but just didn’t hole anything. So I’m glad I holed some putts today. It feels really nice.”
Twenty-three year-old Nasa Hataoka, a five-time LPGA Tour winner, said she too enjoyed her opening round and could not have asked for anything better. “I hit 14 fairways and 18 greens, so that’s a solid round,” she said. “I have not shot that good a round – not so much – only a couple of times. I really focused on one shot at a time, so my course management was good. I believe that’s the reason behind today’s performance.”
Esther Henseleit, the 23-year-old who resides in Hamburg, Germany and has two wins on the Ladies European Tour, said of her first day 63: “I just didn’t make any big mistakes I think. My irons were good. On my first nine I had many tap-in birdies – on the back nine I holed two longer putts. It was just stress-free golf and it was definitely nice to get a few birdies. I really like the (Siam Country Club) course. I think it’s definitely a low scoring course. You can be aggressive and there are just many holes you can attack with either your drive or par-5 with the second. I think it’s a really fun golf course.”
Xiyu Lin, the 26-year-old player from China who has two wins on the Ladies European Tour, said: “I’m very happy with the bogey-free first round because that is always a bonus. It’s a good sign of solid play and I think if I remember correctly, I also hit 18 greens, which is another really big accomplishment for me. Yeah, I mean, I know this course is definitely very doable and has lots of opportunities, and then today the conditions are pretty good. It didn’t get really, really hot. And I had a good pairing – playing with Yu Liu, I haven’t played with her for a long time. I also know on this course, you can go low and you probably have to go low in this tournament, so I just keep telling myself, you know, when I have an opportunity I need to go for it. The par-5s are especially attackable and so you have to be really aggressive on it. I’m pretty happy with how today turned out.”
Canada’s world number 11 Brooke Henderson was tied with Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Alison Lee, Lindsey Weaver-Wright, Celine Boutier and Jennifer Kupcho on seven-under-par for fifth place, while three-time Honda LPGA Thailand winner Amy Yang, world number five Danielle Kang, Jeongeun Lee, Carlota Ciganda, Yu Liu and Lizette Salas were joint 11th place, one stroke back on six-under.
World number four, Australian Min Lee, Hinako Shibuno, Lucy Li, Perrine Delacour, A Lim Kim and Stacy Lewis were a shot further adrift on five-under-par. Thailand’s defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn battled to a two-over 74, struggling first with direction off the tee-box and then her short-game. But the former world number one can still make a comeback if she can pull her game together in time.
This is the 15th edition of the Honda LPGA Thailand and it carries prize money of US$1.6 million, of which the winner will receive $240,000. There are 70 of the world’s leading women’s players and invitees in the field, who will also be eager to win the all-new Honda HR-V e:HEV variant for a hole in-one on the 16th hole at Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course, Pattaya Chonburi province. The tournament ends on Sunday and is featuring an audience of only a limited number of invited guests with no tickets sold on site. To ensure a safe environment, the Honda LPGA Thailand 2022 is adhering to the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Department of Disease Control. Golf fans can tune in to live broadcasts and streaming of the event on the Official Broadcast Host PPTV HD 36 and their digital platforms: www.pptvhd36.com, Facebook, YouTube and the PPTVHD36 application over the four days of the tournament.
One Championship held an open workout featuring two mixed martial artists – Stamp Fairtex and Rodtang Jitmuangnon – at Fairtex Training Centre in Pattaya, Chonburi.
Stamp, who will compete with champion Angela Lee from Singapore for the One Women’s Atomweight title, said she was excited about the match because Lee was the mixed martial artist who inspired her.
“I hope to win even though it will be tough,” Stamp said. “I believe Angela Lee, who gave birth last year, might not be 100 per cent ready even if she trained hard.
“I admit there is pressure from many people who are hoping I win, so I must train hard to get the title from Angela Lee. If I win, my next goal is to compete for Muay Thai and kickboxing titles,” Stamp said.
The match comes as One X celebrates the tenth anniversary of its One Championship.
The match will be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 26.
There will be altogether three matches, including the one between Stamp and Lee. The other two are a Muay Thai-MMA match between Rodtang Jitmuangnon and Demetrious Johnson, and the One Flyweight Championship match between Adriano Moraes and Yuya Wakamatsu.
Manchester United and Liverpool representatives inspected Rajamangala National Stadium on Tuesday in preparation for The Match Bangkok Century Cup 2022.
Fresh Air Festival CEO Vinij Lertratanachai and chairman MR Rujayapha Abhakara welcomed Ray Haughan, Liverpool FC’s general manager, First Team Operations, and Christoffer Komen, Manchester United’s director of Tours & Friendlies, on their visit to the stadium.
A press conference is scheduled to be held around the end of March and further details will soon be announced.
Both football clubs have reaffirmed the exhibition match will take place on July 12.
Fresh Air Festival had announced that ticket prices would range from 5,000 baht to 25,000 baht for the game.
FIFA’s stance on the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has reached tangible consequences, as the football governing body officially announced that Russia is disqualified from World Cup qualification.
Football’s global governing body has taken a firm position on Russian football in recent weeks, with a combined decision, alongside UEFA, to expel Russian teams from all relevant club competitions.
The initial message of restricting Russia to playing a neutral venues was met with frustration and it subsequently ramped up to full ban, with their expulsion from the tournament in Qatar set to remain in place in 2022. While it was announced last week that Russia would be left out, the elimination of Russia is official now that FIFA announced Poland advances directly to the mini-bracket final.
In addition, FIFA announced that Ukraine’s mini-bracket semifinal against Scotland is postponed until the June international window, accepting a request submitted by the besieged nation. Ukraine is not subject to any ban from FIFA, but the decision has been made on security grounds and a lack of player availability.
Russia eliminated from 2022 FIFA World Cup contention While it had been previously announced that Russia would be banned from all international competitions indefinitely, no announcement specific to World Cup qualifying had been given as UEFA and FIFA decide how to proceed with the format after Russia’s ban.
On Tuesday, that decision was made as Poland was officially advanced past its match against Russia and into the mini-bracket final.
That leaves Russia officially disqualified from contention, with no way back. The decision could be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but that would have to be done quite soon with the matches in less than a month’s time.
Postponement of Scotland v. Ukraine in Path A
On 3 March 2022, the Ukrainian Association of Football wrote to FIFA requesting that its qualification match(es) be rescheduled owing to the impossibility of organising both the travel and training of a team under the current circumstances.
Following consultation with UEFA and the four participating member associations in Path A of the European qualifying play-offs, it was unanimously agreed in the spirit of solidarity to accept this request. The match between Scotland and Ukraine, initially scheduled for 24 March 2022, will now be postponed to the existing June window, and consequently, the match between the winners of Scotland v. Ukraine and Wales v. Austria will also be postponed to the same window.
It was further agreed that the match between Wales and Austria will remain as scheduled on 24 March 2022, owing to the need to limit the disruption to the competitive matches already scheduled for the June window in what is an already congested calendar.
Alternative fixtures for affected teams in the March window are being explored by the relevant parties. Similarly, the details of the rescheduled fixtures will be announced in due course and the international match calendar window of June will be adapted as necessary for the teams concerned once these details have been finalised.
Poland bye to the final in Path B
In addition, subsequent to the decision of 28 February 2022 taken jointly with the UEFA Executive Committee to suspend all Russian teams from participation in both FIFA and UEFA competitions until further notice, the Bureau of the FIFA Organising Committee decided that Poland will receive a bye to the final of Path B due to take place on 29 March 2022, in which they will face the winners of the match between Sweden and the Czech Republic.
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