Sports News Roundup: Tennis-'Surprised? Not really': Confident Basilashvili reaches Indian Wells semis; Polish FA chief to ask FIFA to act after "false" racism allegations and more
Poland had previously said their players did not racially abuse England defender Kyle Walker during the fracas, which took place during a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw in Warsaw in September. NHL roundup: Kraken edge Predators for first-ever win Brandon Tanev scored twice and Alex Wennberg and Jared McCann each had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken won for the first time in franchise history, defeating the host Nashville Predators 4-3 Thursday night.
Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Tennis-'Surprised? Not really': Confident Basilashvili reaches Indian Wells semis
Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili stunned world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas at Indian Wells on Friday, 6-4 2-6 6-4, to reach his first-ever Masters 1000 semi-final - surprising everyone, perhaps, but himself. The 36th-ranked Basilashvili was the clear underdog against the French Open finalist but mounted a stout defense to send the Greek packing, saving six of 10 breakpoints after picking up a pair of ATP titles in Qatar and at the Bavarian Championships earlier this year.
Tennis-U.S. Open champion Medvedev pulls out of Kremlin Cup
U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev has withdrawn from next week's Kremlin Cup in Moscow in order to focus on the remainder of the season, the Russian said in a statement on Friday. Medvedev, who beat Novak Djokovic in last month's Flushing Meadows final to claim his maiden Grand Slam title, crashed out in the fourth round at Indian Wells this week, losing to Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.
Polish FA chief to ask FIFA to act after "false" racism allegations
Poland will ask FIFA to take action against people who made what it says are false accusations of racism against defender Kamil Glik after a heated mass scuffle during a game against England, the head of the country's football association said on Friday. Poland had previously said their players did not racially abuse England defender Kyle Walker during the fracas, which took place during a 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw in Warsaw in September.
NHL roundup: Kraken edge Predators for first-ever win
Brandon Tanev scored twice and Alex Wennberg and Jared McCann each had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken won for the first time in franchise history, defeating the host Nashville Predators 4-3 Thursday night. Wennberg netted the go-ahead goal at 9:54 of the second period, breaking a 2-2 tie. Tanev scored an empty-net goal at 18:39 of the third to give Seattle a 4-2 lead. Granlund scored on a rebound with 39.9 seconds left, but the Predators couldn't get the equalizer.
Texas House votes to keep transgender girls out of female sports
The Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that bans transgender women and girls from participating in female school sports after three previous attempts failed, all but assuring Republican Governor Greg Abbott will sign it into law. Texas is now poised to join seven other states that passed similar laws this year, part of a national campaign in which Republican legislators introduced such bills in 32 states.
Athletics-Olympic champion Warner seeks entry to elite decathlon club
Damian Warner may have won decathlon gold at the Tokyo Olympics in record-setting fashion but the Canadian is far from satisfied and is already plotting a course he hopes will land him in an elite club of repeat champions. Warner took over two months off since his Tokyo triumph and resumes training on Friday to mark the start of a journey to the 2024 Paris Games where he hopes to become only the fourth man to successfully defend an Olympic decathlon title.
Athletics-De Grasse ready to dominate sprints, says Bolt
Lamont Marcell Jacobs may be the 100 meters Olympic champion but Andre De Grasse is the man to watch and runner most likely to put his stamp on the men's sprints, says the world's fastest man Usain Bolt. De Grasse took silver behind the Italian in Tokyo but the Canadian's consistency makes him the frontrunner to dominate the sprint scene, including next year's world championships which will be staged in the United States for the first time.
Alpine skiing-A season of big dreams ahead for Shiffrin
When it comes to alpine ski racing and the Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin describes herself has not much of a gambler as the American all-rounder prefers Lady Luck to play no part in her results. But as ski racing is exposed to the elements and whims of Mother Nature, a race can be decided on something as simple as the luck of the draw.
Soccer-FIFA says it helped evacuate 100 players, family members from Afghanistan
World soccer's governing body FIFA said on Friday it had worked with the Qatari government to evacuate almost 100 football players and their families from Afghanistan. The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Aug. 15 and announced a new government last month after U.S.-led foreign forces withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed.
Tennis-'Today was just not my day': Zverev regrets shock defeat to Fritz
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev admitted he blew the chance to win the Indian Wells tournament after Friday's shock quarter-final defeat by American Taylor Fritz and said he just wants to return home. Zverev, who was aiming to win his third ATP Masters 1000 title of the season, lost 4-6 6-3 7-6(3) after Fritz fought back from 2-5 down in the final set and saved two match points to stun the German in the California desert.
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