Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Infantino meets Premier League players over calendar changes; Cricket-Australia to launch World Cup defence against New Zealand and more

Psaki said President Joe Biden's decision not to send a diplomatic delegation to Beijing was not based on safety concerns but rather human rights and China's treatment of the Uighur community. Tennis-Badosa triumphs in baseline shootout with Kostyuk Paula Badosa fended off a Marta Kostyuk comeback in an engrossing baseline battle to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory on Friday.


Reuters | Updated: 21-01-2022 10:38 IST | Created: 21-01-2022 10:34 IST
Sports News Roundup: Soccer-Infantino meets Premier League players over calendar changes; Cricket-Australia to launch World Cup defence against New Zealand and more
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (file image) Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Infantino meets Premier League players over calendar changes

FIFA president Gianni Infantino held talks with Premier League players, including Manchester United's Paul Pogba, on Thursday over changes to the international match calendar and player workload. Infantino and FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, met with members of the players union, the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) which represents players at all levels in the English game.

Cricket-Australia to launch World Cup defence against New Zealand

Australia will begin the defence of their Twenty20 World Cup title against New Zealand in Sydney on Oct. 22 in a re-run of last year's final. The Australians will be hosting the tournament, which begins on Oct. 16 and runs until Nov. 13, for the first time.

Tennis-Krejcikova fights back to book 4th round berth at Australian Open

French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova fought back from going a set behind to hand Jelena Ostapenko a 2-6 6-4 6-4 defeat and advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday. The Czech, seeded number four, clawed her way back from a set and a breakdown midway through the second set to see off the 2017 French Open winner.

Soccer-Jota at the double as Liverpool beat Arsenal to reach League Cup final

Diogo Jota's double earned Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 win at Arsenal in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final on Thursday, setting up a Wembley showdown against Chelsea. Arsenal chiselled out a 0-0 draw at Anfield last week despite playing most of the first lead with 10 men after Granit Xhaka's early red card, but all that sweat and toil ultimately counted for nothing.

U.S. would work with U.S. Olympic Committee if athlete safety becomes concern -White House

The United States would work with the U.S. Olympic Committee to address any concerns about the safety of athletes participating in the Beijing Olympics next month, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told Fox News Channel on Thursday. Psaki said President Joe Biden's decision not to send a diplomatic delegation to Beijing was not based on safety concerns but rather human rights and China's treatment of the Uighur community.

Tennis-Badosa triumphs in baseline shootout with Kostyuk

Paula Badosa fended off a Marta Kostyuk comeback in an engrossing baseline battle to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 victory on Friday. The in-form world number six looked to be cruising at a set and break up on Margaret Court Arena when her talented 19-year-old Ukrainian opponent found her range and clawed her way back into the contest.

Tennis-Barty, Osaka one win away from fourth-round showdown

World number one Ash Barty and defending champion Naomi Osaka could set up a tantalising fourth-round showdown at the Australian Open with victories at Melbourne Park on Friday. Barty, whose stunning form has seen her drop just three games so far, takes on 30th seed Camila Giorgi in the third round, while Osaka faces Amanda Anisimova, who won the Melbourne Summer Set 2 tournament in the lead-up.

Olympics-Some athletes advised to use burner phones in Beijing

National Olympic Committees in some Western countries are advising their athletes to leave personal devices at home or use temporary phones due to cybersecurity concerns at next month's Winter Games in Beijing. Many NOCs said they will provide their athletes and staff with temporary devices to avert security risks and combat any surveillance during the Games taking place from Feb. 4-20 in China.

Baseball-MLB rejects Tampa Bay Rays' split-city plan with Montreal

The Tampa Bay Rays said on Thursday their proposed plan to split their home games between Florida and Montreal has been rejected by Major League Baseball's executive council. The Rays, who regularly rank near the bottom of attendance in MLB, were granted permission in 2019 to explore a two-city structure they felt was the most feasible for saving baseball in the Tampa Bay area.

Brazil's Pele released from hospital after tumor treatment

Brazilian soccer great Pele was discharged from hospital on Thursday after undergoing two days of treatment for cancer, the Sao Paulo clinic that treated him said. Pele, who had a colon tumor removed last year, has been undergoing chemotherapy in the months since.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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