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How Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai Changed China’s Sports Landscape

the Nitto ATP Finals has been a landmark event on the ATP Tour’s calendar. Tennis’ greatest champions have competed in the tournament, which has rotated through 14 different cities. In 2002 in Shanghai, the tournament became the most-viewed international sporting event ever staged in China at that time. The city began hosting an event in 1996 — that tournament later became known as the Heineken Open — which intrigued the local government. “This is amazing. We want more of this kind of thing,” Charles Humphrey Smith, the Managing Director/International of Juss Event, remembers an official telling him at the time. Juss Events, China’s largest sports and events management company, was then allowed by the government to bid for what was then called the Tennis Masters Cup. The state-owned organization was successful and in 2002, the tournament was held in Shanghai for the first time. “It’s very seldom that an event acts as a pivot-point in the sport,” Smith said. “For us in Asia, and obviously for the globe, hosting the Tennis Masters Cup in 2002 under the global tennis world’s watchful eye was a defining moment in tennis, and has led the way to some…

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Lionel Messi Beats Cristiano Ronaldo In Top 50 Athletes List

The two lead the field globally, ahead of NBA star LeBron James and India cricket captain Virat Kohli, but it’s a shock to see the Barcelona player placed ahead of his rival at Juventus. CR7 has often been listed as the world’s most marketable athlete and is the planet’s most followed person on Instagram (238 million compared to Messi’s 167 million). But Messi is the reigning Ballon d’Or winner and SportsPro’s study allowed for factors such as “social following, content engagement, fanbase growth over time, media value, and the performance of branded versus organic content.” There is an argument that because Ronaldo is seen to work with a greater number of sponsors and brands than Messi, the Argentine might be perceived as therefore more valuable to those he does choose to endorse. SportsPro admitted it was “narrow” between the pair, who are undoubtedly the two most high-profile sportspeople on the planet. And there can be little argument with their putting the face of the NBA James in third, while Kohli – a sporting idol across India – is in fourth. The top five is rounded out by the highest-placed female athlete: Canadian tennis player Bianca…

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FOUR MYTHS (AND ONE TRUTH) ABOUT THE 2020 NHL DRAFT LOTTERY

Regardless of how you feel about the way things went down in the NHL draft lottery Friday night, you’ve got to be happy for the long-suffering fans of Team E. Those plucky underdogs are always taking a backseat to Teams A, B, C and D and it’s about time they caught a break. (Unless, of course, Team E ends up being the Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs or Edmonton Oilers, in which case this scheme is the dumbest thing in the history of dumb things.) The Detroit Red Wings, who actually didn’t have to work all that hard at being really bad this season, dropped to the No. 4 position overall. Take heart, Red Wings fans. The Colorado Avalanche did exactly the same thing three years ago and ended up with Cale Makar. The only person in Detroit who didn’t seem at all surprised by the turn of events was GM Steve Yzerman. He’s no math major, but he’s been around long enough to know these things rarely turn out as planned. Which brings us to the purpose of this piece. There are a lot of myths surrounding this draft lottery, a few of which…

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These insanely fast racing drones capture golf shots as you’ve never seen them

We may have reached a new frontier in golf video content, thanks mostly to racing drones and one helluva pilot. A Seattle drone pilot named Ross Beck recently released an incredible video of golf shots, up close and personal, from tee to green, all shot via a drone that can fly 85 mph. Beck and the production company Motion State spent an afternoon at Avalon Links (just north of Seattle) flying a racing drone alongside approach shots into a par-3. The results are mesmerizing. Real-life footage that mimics the type of tracking shots only seen in video games. Check it out for yourself. Beck does this type of drone work in all kinds of places (not just golf courses), but a number of golf- and drone-loving followers flooded his account Wednesday. By the time it was afternoon on the West Coast, his following had doubled to the north of 4,500. As he detailed in his Instagram story, the drone Beck uses can top out at a speed of 85 miles per hour and is custom-built by a company called HOVER. “I averaged about 60 [mph] on the approach for the shot and then right when…

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The man laughed as he repeatedly beat disabled man, 62, with a pool cue in Accrington pub

A man has been jailed after he smashed a disabled pub-goer over the head with a glass last June. Michael Maughan, 21, of Hurstwood Avenue, Blackburn, was jailed today (February 10) for a “brutal” attack in which he used two pool cues and a glass on a disabled man who lay unconscious on the floor. The sustained attack took place in the Railway Pub, Accrington, and saw a drunk Maughan punch the man before wielding the pool cue like a baseball bat and smashing him over the head, hitting him so hard that it broke the cue in half. As the pub-goer lay unconscious on the floor, Maughan retrieved a second pool cue and beat him repeatedly before smashing a glass over his head, laughing throughout the assault. He then told the pub landlord: “Am I barred? Because if I am I will finish him off,” he also threatened to deal out violence to anyone who called the police. The 21-year-old will spend nine years behind bars for the assault and was classed as a “dangerous offender” by the judge. Sentencing, Judge Richard Gioserano said: “It was a brutal and sickening attack and you showed…

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Kabaddi: Lobby rule to be altered, World Cup likely in 2020, says IKF technical director EP Rao

The Pro Kabaddi League has definitely changed the sport in more ways than one. But the most telling alterations were the subtle tweaks to the rules that made the game faster and appealing to the viewers. Reducing the raid duration to 30 seconds, the addition of the bonus line, do-or-die raids, and super tackles helped the game to be more eventful, at the same time offering teams more chances to get back into the contest and maintain the balance of the game. While most rules have made a positive impact on the game, few rules have left the fans scratching their heads. One such rule is penalizing the defenders that follow the raider into the lobbies without a struggle or a touch. Lobbies are the yellow strips on the sides of a Pro Kabaddi playing area that only come into play once a touch has been initiated. A player is deemed out of bounds if he steps into that area before a raider initiates the touch. The lobbies are meant to give the raiders extra space to maneuver after making a touch while escaping back to the mid-line. However, teams have started using loopholes in…

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From Pawan Sehrawat to Naveen Kumar, top five raiders in Pro Kabaddi 2019

The Pro Kabaddi 2019 has entered its twilight stage, with the grand final to be played between Dabang Delhi and Bengal Warriors on Friday (October 19). Interestingly, PKL will have a new winner whatever be the result, with both teams playing their first final in Pro Kabaddi history. The final will be played at Eka Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad and the PKL final will start at 8:00 pm. The final itself is a testimony to the competitive nature of season seven that saw favorites stumble while young stars scripted new records. Three-time champions Patna Pirates failed to reach the playoff stages despite another stellar season for Pardeep Narwal while pre-season favorites Tamil Thalaivas’ poor run reminded everyone how Kabaddi is a team sport and not just about a group of talented individuals. Though Pawan Sehrawat was able to take his team, Bengaluru Bulls, to the playoffs but a combined effort by Dabang Delhi stopped defending champions surge. Pawan’s one man heroics was stopped with some brilliant tactical move while Naveen Kumar managed to score his 21st Super 10 and registered his name in the record book Here are the top five raiders in Pro…

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Sports hall plan is a blow to Blackpool netball community

Blackpool Council is set to borrow £325,000 to change indoor court space at Blackpool Sports Centre into a soft play area for under-eights. The move will halve the space at the sports hall on West Park Drive, meaning the loss of one netball court and five badminton courts. The Fylde Netball League – which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year – has been forced to find new venues around the town for its indoor winter season. But fixtures have been disrupted, some courts are of a lower standard and some teams have been told they cannot play because not enough replacement courts are available. Now netball chiefs have hit out at the council for sacrificing sports facilities for a play area. Fylde Netball League secretary Barbara Graham said: “We have ended up with non-standard netball facilities and have had to turn teams away because we cannot accommodate the numbers anymore due to a lack of facilities. “This has also meant that the revenue we would have ordinarily spent during the winter season, around £11,000 for only a handful of hours use per week, will now go to local academies and will no longer benefit council…

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Hamilton’s home of netball Minogue Park set for a major upgrade

Hamilton’s home of netball will receive a new rubberised surface for its playing courts as it begins a $3 million upgrade later this month. The work, set to begin on October 21, will also increase the number of courts at Minogue Park in Forest Lake from 18 to 21. New drainage will also be installed and the courts will be ready for use in March. The project is a partnership involving Hamilton City Council, through its 10-year plan renewals programme, Hamilton City Netball Centre and Trust Waikato. During the playing season, the Hamilton City Netball Centre hosts 270 games per week played by more than 5000 participants. Other work included in the project will be the creation of a storage area for equipment, plus the refurbishment of toilets and changing rooms. The council’s parks and recreation manager Maria Barrie said the project was the result of two years of planning and discussions between council staff and Hamilton City Netball Centre representatives. “For projects of this kind, working with our stakeholders is vital,” she said. “The Council has a key role to play in providing sports facilities for our community and being able to liaise directly…

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MEDIA RELEASE: LAUNCH OF UNIFY NETBALL

On Friday 4 October 2019, Unify Netball, an innovative and unique national netball brand, was launched at Cup and Cook, Kyle Bay. The brand, with offices in Hurstville, was founded by local Connells Point businesswoman Alison Lovat and her business partner, Hong Kong-based, Chris Reynolds. The launch introduced attendees to Unify Netball, founded to disrupt the Australian Netball performance and equipment sector. Unify Netball is focused on online ordering, customer experience, specifically design netball products and removing the administration from clubs and teams in netball, allowing them to concentrate on developing the sport. Attendees included local club presidents, association heads and netball administrators who took part in a panel-based discussion centering on the status of Netball in Australia and how the sport will continue to grow. Unify Netball brand ambassador, current Australian Diamonds and Collingwood Magpies defender, April Brandley, was in attendance to help launch Unify. April has provided valuable insight into product development and player requirements. Founder and Director, Alison Lovat, explained why she started Unify Netball, “I have been playing netball in the local area for over 20 years and have seen all sides of Netball from high-end competition to how clubs and…

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