Winner jeopardy tournament of champions

Thai weightlifter Witsanu Chantri on his way to winning gold in the men's 67kg division at the 31st SEA Games. (Reuters photo) Thailand reached the halfway mark in their attempt to sweep four gold medals in football at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam when they won the men's futsal title on Friday. Hot favourites Thailand beat Vietnam 2-0 in their last round-robin game thanks to strikes by Muhammad Osamanmusa and Peerapat Kaewwilai, who became the tournament's joint top scorer with four goals. Thailand ended the contest with three wins and one draw, with Indonesia taking silver and Vietnam bronze. The Thai women's futsal team were crowned champions after beating Vietnam in the final on Thursday. The Football Association of Thailand (FAT) are aiming to bag all four golds in the men's and women's football and futsal events. The men's and women's football teams will both meet Vietnam in the title matches. Chaba Kaew coach Miyo Okamoto rated Vietnam as the favourites to win the … [Read more...] about Football’s clean sweep dream is on

Listen to this article The Ferrari driver and pre-event championship leader picked up his form from FP1 by also running to the top in the second of the hour-long Friday practice sessions at Barcelona. Leclerc ran clear on his soft Pirelli C3 tyre qualifying run to 1m19.670s. That found 0.16s over his benchmark effort from FP1, plus closed to within 0.6s of Hamilton's pre-season test-topping time at the venue in late February set on the fastest C5 compound rubber. That moved Leclerc 0.117s clear of Russell, the Mercedes driver having set the pace during FP2 last time out for the inaugural Miami Grand Prix. Hamilton was a late adopter of the soft tyre and ran particularly well in the final part of the second sector to land the third-fastest effort - albeit a further 0.09s shy of his teammate. Meanwhile, ahead of his home race, Carlos Sainz guided the second Ferrari F1-75 to fourth ahead of defending champion Max Verstappen . Alexander Albon, Mick Schumacher … [Read more...] about Spanish GP: Leclerc tops FP2 as Mercedes shows promise

The turbulent 1982 season took another tragic turn 30 years ago today. Young Italian racer Riccardo Paletti, making only his second F1 start, was killed when he crashed into Didier Pironi’s Ferrari at the start of the Canadian Grand Prix. The recovery effort was hampered by an inferno which erupted moments after the crash. Paletti later succumbed to the injuries he suffered in the initial impact. After the race was restarted, Nelson Piquet scored the first win for BMW’s turbo engine. But the second F1 fatality in consecutive months plunged the sport deeper into gloom. “It won’t be the same without Gilles” The circuit on the Isle Notre Dame was held the Canadian Grand Prix for the fifth time in 1982. But it was missing the crowd’s local hero. Following the death of Gilles Villeneuve at Zolder a few weeks earlier, the track had been renamed after him. Race organiser Normand Legault did not attempt to disguise the effect Villeneuve’s death would have on the race. “Let’s … [Read more...] about 1982 Canadian GP: Paletti killed in startline crash – F1 Fanatic

Listen to this article "I have a new rival now." Those were the words uttered by then six-time world champion Sebastien Loeb in 2010 after losing a hard-fought Rally Portugal duel to Sebastien Ogier - as the young pretender to the World Rally Championship throne claimed a breakthrough maiden victory. It was a premonition as accurate as Loeb's precision behind the wheel that would help the Frenchman record a career nine world titles and 80 rally wins to date. Portugal 2010 marked the emergence of a new world order and challenger for Loeb. It was the precursor for several intense and sometimes controversial duels, until Loeb decided to bow out as a full-time WRC driver following his ninth title-winning campaign in 2012. Twelve years and a few battle scars later, Loeb and Ogier remain perhaps the two most revered names in the WRC. Ogier picked up the WRC baton previously held by Loeb at the end of 2012 to ensure the Sebastien dominance continued, winning eight of the … [Read more...] about The epic Loeb battle that ignited Ogier’s WRC career