BITS AND PIECES

Bits and Pieces

Amir Khan-Pacquiao fight called off

LOS ANGELES, California: A potentially money-spinning bout between Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao and Britain’s Amir Khan has collapsed, The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.

Pacquiao’s long-time promoter Bob Arum told the newspaper that the proposed $38 million fight staged by the United Arab Emirates in April had proven to be “pie in the sky.”

“When they contacted me, I told them it was pie in the sky, that this is crazy, it’s not going to happen,” Arum said.

“Manny wanted to roll the dice. He rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. If something is too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.”

Arum still held out the possibility of a fight between Pacquiao and Khan later this year, for “realistic numbers”, stating that the suggested purse for the UAE fight had never been likely.

In the meantime, welterweight champion Pacquiao was likely to revert to an original plan to fight Australia’s Jeff Horn at a venue to be determined, the Times reported.

Both Pacquiao and Khan had announced their fight within minutes of each other on Twitter last month.

“My team and I have agreed terms with Manny Pacquiao and his team for a super fight #pacquiaokhan #April23rd”,” Khan tweeted on February 26. Khan, 30, has not fought since being knocked out by Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez last May.

Pacquiao, 38, announced a brief retirement last year but made a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas in November, saying he still felt like a youngster.

Pacquiao had said he was retiring to focus on his new role as Philippine senator, after winning elections last year on the back of his sporting fame.

Chapecoense savor win on international return

MARACAIBO, Venezuela: Brazilian football team Chapecoense on Wednesday promised more surprises after an emotional 2-1 victory in their first international match since a plane crash wiped out their squad.

The side’s new team, rebuilt with 22 new signings since last November’s crash, surprised the crowds with their quality in beating Zulia FC of Venezuela in the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday night.

The scorer of the winning goal, midfielder Luiz Antonio, 25, promised Wednesday there was more to come after their winning start to their campaign in the group stage of Latin America’s top club competition.

“I have a dream of helping Chapecoense to go far, and we will get there bit by bit,” the ex-Flamengo player told reporters. “We are going to surprise a lot of people.”

The side had to rebuild virtually from scratch after the crash killed 19 of their players and staff in November, turning a fairytale rise into a nightmare.

The disaster destroyed a team that had surged in seven years from Brazil’s fourth division to the final of the Copa Sudamericana regional tournament.

Tuesday night’s away match in the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo was an emotional release for the team scarcely three months after they buried their teammates.

“The pressure was great, but we managed an important win,” said Antonio.

Winger Reinaldo, 27, scored Chapecoense’s first goal in front of a crowd of 36,000 in Maracaibo’s Pachencho Romero stadium.

Bennett outmuscles sprint stars in Paris-Nice race

CHALON-SUR-SAONE, France: Ireland’s Sam Bennett stunned the top sprinters to win the third stage of the Paris-Nice race on Tuesday for the biggest victory of his career.

The 26-year-old Bora rider held off Norway’s Alexander Kristoff and German pair John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel in the dash to the line at the end of the 190km stage from Chablis to Chalon-sur-Saone.

“It’s my first victory at this level and I’m very proud,” said Bennett, whose father Michael was a professional footballer.

“As a sprinter I think I’ve got the speed but I don’t have the greatest amount of power,” he added.

“Usually I’m more at home on a lumpy stage (where pure sprinters might struggle).”

France’s Arnaud Demare came in sixth and held on to the leader’s yellow jersey.

A breakaway group comprising French pair Romain Combaud and Pierre Latour, alongside American Ben King, came agonisingly close to battling out the victory.

But having escaped inside the first kilometre, they were caught in the very last one by a charging peloton led by the sprinters’ teams.

Demare is not expecting to keep the yellow jersey.

“I’ve got better at time-trials but the final climb doesn’t suit me,” he said. “In any case, I’ll give it everything, you have to honour the yellow jersey.”

WAPDA, Police record wins in Gold Cup Volleyball

By our correspondent

KARACHI: WAPDA and Police were off to flying starts when they won their first round fixtures of the First IG Police Punjab Gold Cup Volleyball tournament at the WAPDA Sports Complex, Lahore, on Wednesday.

In their Group A fixture, WAPDA defeated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the set scores of 25-11, 28-26 and 25-21.

In a Group B encounter, Police overwhelmed Punjab 3-0 with the set scores of 25-10, 25-12, 25-22.

In the event, seven outfits are competing which have been bracketed in two groups. WAPDA, KP and Army are in Group A, while Group B consists of Navy, Police, Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The two leading sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, to be held on March 10 and 11.

On March 12 the losing semi-finalists will clash in the bronze medal encounter. The final will be held on March 13. Today’s fixtures: Army vs KP, Navy vs Punjab, Police vs AJK

ICC announces Women’s World Cup schedule

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday revealed the schedule for this summer’s ICC Women’s World Cup in England and Wales.

The tournament will get underway on June 24 and 28 matches will be held over 21 days, including four weekends, meaning more opportunities for fans to attend.

A round-robin between the world’s eight best teams will lead to the semi-finals at Bristol and Derby before the final at Lord’s on July 23.

Hosts England face India on the opening day in Derby. New Zealand face qualifiers Sri Lanka in Bristol on the same day.

India and Pakistan will clash in Derby on July 2.

Leicester will be the home venue for Pakistan with five of their seven matches being staged at Grace Road, including matches against England on June 27 and Australia on July 5.

England will take on the six-time and reigning champions Australia in Bristol on July 9.

The big-hitting West Indies team, runner-up in the 2013 ICC Women’s World Cup, will play three matches in Taunton.

France rout US women to lift She Believes Cup

WASHINGTON: Camille Abily scored twice as France stunned world champions the United States 3-0 to win the She Believes Cup four-nation tournament on Tuesday.

Needing only a draw to win the round-robin competition, France got off to a dream start when Abily stroked her first goal home from the penalty spot at RFK Stadium after only eight minutes.

The French women then doubled their lead barely a minute later when a speculative long ball forward caused all sorts of panic in the US defensive ranks.

Eugenie Le Sommer latched onto the pass and tied US defender Allie Long in knots before picking her spot to tuck away a low finish.

That double salvo rocked the US women, who struggled to gain a foothold in the contest against a skillful French outfit, who had already drawn with Germany and beaten England earlier in the tournament.

Abily applied the coup de grace on 63 minutes for France, sidefooting home Eve Perisset’s low cross from the right flank to make it 3-0.

The victory capped a fine tournament for France as they build toward’s this year’s Women’s Euro in the Netherlands, where they will be among the favourites.