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India, Sri Lanka eye Asia crown for World Cup momentum

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India, Sri Lanka eye Asia crown for World Cup momentum

 Rohit Sharma’s India face underdogs Sri Lanka in Sunday’s Asia Cup final, a crucial momentum-builder heading into next month’s ODI World Cup.

The cricketing giants have 13 Asian titles between them and Sri Lanka have a history of sneaking into the tournament’s final — to the consternation of fans keen for any showdown between arch-rivals India and Pakistan.

Bangladesh ended India’s unbeaten run in the 50-over tournament after edging them out by six runs in Friday’s last Super Four match. Shubman Gill hit 121 but his knock went in vain after India faltered in their chase of 266 in Colombo, where Sunday’s final will also be held.

“I don’t think it has broken our momentum,” Gill told reporters after the narrow defeat. “We have played good cricket. Sometimes it happens on these wickets. I was set and should have finished off the game.”

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Gill said clinching India’s eighth Asia Cup title would give them “confidence” ahead of the World Cup starting back home on October 5. India began with a washed-out match in Pallekele against Pakistan, whose fast bowlers rattled their top order and bowled them out for 266 in the only innings possible due to rain.

Big guns Virat Kohli and returning batsman KL Rahul hit back with centuries in their next outing against Babar Azam’s team to rack up 356-2 and crush Pakistan by 228 runs. India then prevented a gutsy Sri Lankan chase to book their place in the final, but Gill said their opponents were still a threat.

“We will have to pull up our socks and be at our 100 percent to beat them,” he said.

Sri Lanka, who won the previous edition of the Asia Cup played in the T20 format, came in as underdogs and snuck into the Super Fours with a dramatic win over Afghanistan.

They soon got into their groove on home soil and, despite going down to India, edged out Pakistan in a knockout match for their 11th Asia Cup final. “We came without our key players, but still we managed to make the finals,” skipper Dasun Shanaka said.

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Injuries sidelined Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga, but others stood up at crucial junctures. Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka both hit match-winning knocks to take the team over the line in a rain-shortened match and push a much-favoured Pakistan out of the tournament.

Up-and-coming fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana and left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage have impressed and lead the tournament’s bowling chart with 11 and 10 wickets respectively. Wellalage rattled India’s batting with five wickets including the prized scalps of Kohli and Rohit in their Super Four match.

Twice before in the Asia Cup Sri Lanka have lost to India in the Super Four stage only to beat them in the finals, in 2004 and 2008.

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World champion Brecel excited by new ‘golden ball’ format

World champion Brecel excited by new ‘golden ball’ format

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World champion Brecel excited by new 'golden ball' format

World champion Luca Brecel is excited to be among those looking to complete the first ever 167 break after the new golden ball was introduced at Saudi Arabia’s first professional snooker event this week.

The opening season of the Riyadh World Masters of Snooker offers players the chance to win a prize of $500,000 if they can complete a maximum 147 and then pot the golden ball.

The golden ball, worth 20 points, sits on the top cushion during the frame for as long as a player can still complete a maximum and is removed when the chance is gone.

The event, which runs until Wednesday, features players such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams and Ding Junhui.

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“Yeah, it’s exciting the golden ball. Obviously it’s a big prize and well, it’s going to be very difficult. It’s a nice challenge and I’d love to have a go at it. Even if I don’t make it I would just like to have a try,” Brecel told Reuters on Tuesday.

“The 147 in itself is really difficult but now you need to be perfect on the black as well to go to the golden ball which is even more difficult.” Former world champion Judd Trump is also enjoying the challenge.

“It’s something cool. I think it’s always good to kind of push new ideas and I think the challenge of making a different break, a 167 here, would be very special,” Trump said.

“I think the 167 is just that little bit harder now and with that comes a bigger prize. So, I think that 167 is very special for the first time.”

Following the announcement last month of the creation of a Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters which will become the ‘fourth major’, Brecel said it was good to see the sport expanding into new countries.

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“(It’s) very good for us and for snooker. It’s nice to be able to come to these countries and hopefully maybe Qatar and Dubai will follow and in the future maybe go up to the U.S. as well and make snooker really, really big in all the countries in the world,” he said.

With a 10-year deal agreed, the tournament’s first edition will take place in Riyadh from Aug. 31 to Sept. 7. It will be a ranking event open to all tour players, plus six local wild cards. 

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Scaled-back opening ceremony for Paris Olympics to offer 326,000 tickets

Scaled-back opening ceremony for Paris Olympics to offer 326,000 tickets

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Scaled-back opening ceremony for Paris Olympics to offer 326,000 tickets

A total of 326,000 tickets are set to be sold or given away for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on the River Seine, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Tuesday, giving the exact number for the first time. Security fears have seen the size of the waterborne parade dramatically reduced.

“We will have 104,000 spectators on the lower bank who have paid for a ticket,” Darmanin told a hearing in the Sénat. “Then you have 222,000 people on the higher banks (with free tickets).”

Darmanin estimated that another 200,000 people would watch the event along the river from buildings that overlook the Seine, with an additional 50,000 in fan-zones in the capital.

Resistance from French security services and worries about potential terror attacks saw the number of spectators downgraded from as many as two million people.

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However the event is still set to break records in terms of its size, with all previous opening ceremonies taking place in an athletics’ stadium.

The open-air ceremony on boats is in keeping with promises to make the Paris Olympics “iconic”, with the local organising committee keen to break from past traditions in the way it stages the world’s biggest sporting event.

A total of 180 boats are set to sail around six kilometres down the Seine, of which 94 will contain athletes, the top security official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, told the same hearing.

Darmanin added: “No country has informed us that they do not want to take part … They have confidence in our organisation.”

Special security

The executive in charge of planning and risk management at the Paris organising committee told AFP last week that special security measures would be considered for high-risk delegations such as those from the US or Israel.

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“Every delegation has its own unique circumstances, and we’ll look at solutions that are adapted to the risk,” Lambis Konstantinidis said.

The Olympics have been targeted with attacks in the past, notably Munich in 1972 and Atlanta in 1996.

France was placed on its highest alert for terror attacks in October after a suspected Islamist burst into a school in northern France and stabbed a teacher to death.

The country has been consistently targeted by Islamic extremists over the last decade, particularly from the Islamic State group, while Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is seen as exacerbating domestic tensions.

Around a million people are set to be screened in advance by French security forces for possible security risks, including the athletes, journalists, private security guards and people who live close to key infrastructure. 

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Sinisterra signs long-term deal with Bournemouth

Sinisterra signs long-term deal with Bournemouth

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Sinisterra signs long-term deal with Bournemouth

Luis Sinisterra has made his move to AFC Bournemouth from Leeds United permanent, signing a long-term deal with the Premier League team on Friday.

Bournemouth reportedly agreed to a £20 million fee with Championship (second-tier) side Leeds.

The 24-year-old Colombian had been impressive since joining Bournemouth in September on a loan spell from Leeds United, with three goals and three assists in his 17 appearances.

“I’m really happy to make this move. I’m excited to play for Bournemouth for the long term,” Sinisterra said. “I feel really comfortable here and the fans are really nice. When I meet them in the streets, they show the love.”

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Andoni Iraola’s team are 12th in the table on 27 points, but are winless in their last four games. They play Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday. 

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