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In the world of football, Lionel Messi, who sat out an Inter Miami pre-season friendly in Hong Kong due to a hamstring injury, defended himself before wanting to return to the East Asian country to play next time. Ashleigh Barty said that there is no comparison between motherhood and winning trophies. Olympic and World Champion Neeraj Chopra shared a picture of a badminton racquet and a shuttle on his Instagram handle.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Sevilla asks La Liga to take action after fan appeared to have touched Lucas Ocampos inappropriately
During their 2-1 away win at Rayo Vallecano, the Sevilla winger Lucas Ocampos appeared to have been poked by a fan in his backside while he was preparing to take a throw-in, which led to the player reporting the incident to the referee before continuing to play on. After Lucas Ocampos spoke about keeping calm in the situation, Sevilla’s statement about it read, “We would like to place on record our disgust at the incident. Lucas Ocampos was subjected to an obscene and completely inappropriate act by a home fan. We hope that the appropriate measures outlined in the regulations will be taken to prevent such behaviour from happening again on a football field, and we have expressed this to La Liga directly.”
Lionel Messi defends himself after sitting on bench in pre-season friendly for Inter Miami in Hong Kong
The Argentine footballing superstar Lionel Messi sat on the bench due to a hamstring problem in a pre-season friendly for Inter Miami, which saw them beat League XI by 4-1 in Hong Kong. With the fans left disappointed due to Lionel Messi’s lack of minutes on the football pitch, he defended himself by saying, “I always want to play, especially in these games where we travel so far and people want to see our games. Unfortunately, this happens in football. In any game, it can happen that you can't play. I hope we can return and play a game in Hong Kong.”
Mauricio Pochettino not at risk of getting sacked as Chelsea manager currently: Reports
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly not at risk of getting sacked currently, despite the difficult season for the West London club, as per the Telegraph. It has been revealed that while Chelsea is not planning to do a mid-season change at the helm, Mauricio Pochettino is under pressure to improve the form and results from now till the end of the ongoing season.
Manchester United could ask for £40-50 million fee for outcast English winger Jadon Sancho: Reports
Manchester United are reportedly looking forward to asking a £40-50 million fee for the outcast English winger Jadon Sancho, who is currently on loan to Borussia Dortmund. According to the Football Insider report, the Sporting Director Sebastian Kehl of the German club stated that it would be very difficult for them to negotiate a full-time return for Jadon Sancho in the next season.
Some major results in football are as under:
Premier League 2023-24
Brentford 1-3 Manchester City
La Liga 2023-24
Rayo Vallecano 1-2 Sevilla
Serie A 2023-24
Roma 4-0 Cagliari
Tennis
Novak Djokovic’s coach clears claims after Serb’s Australian Open 2024 defeat
Novak Djokovic’s coach cleared up claims that the World Number 1 player was unwell when he was knocked out of the Australian Open 2024. Goran Ivanisevic cleared up rumours and said that Djokovic was healthy during the defeat and was happy that it was Jannik Sinner who ended his run at the year’s first Grand Slam. Ivanisevic said, “Sooner or later he had to lose, we were all aware of that. “It's just a shame that it happened this way, but against Sinner, if you're not 100 per cent, you have nothing to ask for. And even when you're at 100 per cent, you can still lose. However, the whole Australian Open was somehow not right for Novak, from the first round onwards. Well, let's move on, it's nothing so tragic.”
Not even a comparison: Ashleigh Barty on comparing motherhood with trophies
Former world number 1 player Ashleigh Barty said that there is no comparison between motherhood and winning trophies, and that motherhood is more rewarding. Barty was asked if motherhood is better than winning any trophy or even the Australian Open win. She said, “Without a doubt, not even a comparison. Absolutely. There were plenty of times throughout my career when I thought training was hard or I had some tough days, but it just goes to a whole new level when you become a mum.”
Bianca Andreescu expresses take on Australian Open 2024 champions
Bianca Andreescu shared her take on the Australian Open 2024 champions Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner. The Canadian said, "It's not fun watching other players play and you can't play that specific tournament, but it was nice watching the Australian Open. It was nice to get back into the groove of things. A lot of the matches were crazy. On the girls side, I wasn't surprised by Sabalenka, but on the guys side, Sinner, I mean, he's amazing, but I didn't think it would come so soon. He's had amazing results, (and) I'm definitely happy for him.”
Athletics
Neeraj Chopra posts badminton racquet picture; deletes later
World Champion Neeraj Chopra shared a picture of a badminton racquet and a shuttle on his Instagram handle. Chopra’s post came after two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu posted a picture of javelin on her social media. Neeraj captioned the picture, “What could this mean? What do you think?” PV Sindhu, on the other hand, had accompanied the javelin picture with the caption, “How did this come to me? Any wild guesses?” However, Chopra deleted the picture a few hours later. The unexpected crossover drew attention from fans and sparked meme-fest on several social media channels.
Badminton
Chou Tien-Chen opens up on battle with cancer after Thailand Masters win
Former world number 2 shuttler Chou Tien Chen opened up about his battle with cancer after registering a win at the Thailand Masters. In the post-match interview, the 34-year-old revealed that he had been diagnosed with early-stage colorectal cancer in 2023. The shuttler found out about cancer when he decided to undergo a routine physical at the beginning of the year. The diagnosis led to surgery with the cancerous part of his colon being removed. It required cutting more of his large intestine removed. The shuttler resumed competing overseas just after a day of the operation. The shuttler suffered because of the surgery as his ranking also dropped from number 5 to number 14. With his win at the Thailand Masters. Chou aims to share his story publicly to inspire others.
