Digest

SOCCER

Maradona still sedated and in intensive care

Argentine legend Diego Maradona remains sedated and under observation by a team of more than 10 doctors following brain surgery, according to his lawyer.

The 60-year-old has been in intensive care since undergoing a procedure to remove a subdural hematoma－an accumulation of blood between a membrane and his brain－at the Olivos clinic north of Buenos Aires last Tuesday.

"I just saw Diego, he is still sedated and resting," Matias Morla told reporters over the weekend. "There is a medical team, made up of more than 10 professionals that is in constant contact with everyone."

Morla said doctors had given no indication of when his client might be discharged from hospital." There's a lot of uncertainty. It's very ugly. I hope he continues to recover," he said.

Solskjaer blames 'joke' early kickoff for injuries

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer described the scheduling of Manchester United's match against Everton on Saturday as an "absolute joke".

United eased the pressure on under-fire manager Solskjaer with a 3-1 win in the early kickoff at Goodison Park but the Norwegian vented his fury at league chiefs after picking up fresh injuries.

United only returned from its embarrassing Champions League loss against Istanbul Basaksehir in the early hours of Thursday yet had to kick off at Everton at 12:30 pm on Saturday.

Solskjaer blamed the quick turnaround for injuries to Luke Shaw (hamstring), Victor Lindelof (back) and Marcus Rashford (shoulder).

"How can you expect players to perform to the best of their ability when you send them out at 12:30? Absolute joke," he said. "Our players were set up to fail today with the schedule. I pushed my club to really fight the kickoff time on this one to give us at least half a chance but it was quashed."

BASKETBALL

Franklin lets loose to sink slumping Ducks

Jamaal Franklin had a triple-double of 51 points, 12 rebounds and 18 assists to lead the Shanxi Loongs to a 109-97 CBA victory over the Beijing Ducks in Zhuji, Zhejiang province, on Saturday.

Shanxi's Ren Junwei contributed 18 points and eight rebounds, while Yan Pengfei added 13 points. Beijing's Fang Shuo scored 21 points and had six assists for the struggling Ducks, who have won just three of their opening eight games.

"We didn't have a complete training session in the morning and we have a new coach (Simone Pianigiani)," said Beijing captain Zhai Xiaochuan. "We didn't adjust in time but we will pinpoint the problems."

Earlier, defending champions the Guangdong Southern Tigers beat the Sichuan Blue Whales 121-90.

Guangdong led 66-51 at the break before stretching its advantage to 30 points to put the game beyond Shanxi's reach. Zhao Jinyang contributed 19 points for Guangdong, which improved to 8-1 for the season. Sichuan's Zhu Songwei scored 18 points, while Li Yuanyu added 17.

TABLE TENNIS

Chen, Sun lead field as tour action returns

World No 1 Chen Meng and compatriot Sun Yingsha lead a 21-player field at the ITTF Women's World Cup, which started in Weihai, Shandong province, on Sunday.

After an eight-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour has launched a #RESTART event series, including the Women's and Men's World Cups and the ITTF Finals, in China this November.

Chen and Sun, replacing reigning world champions Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling respectively, are making their debuts at the tournament and have been given a bye to the knockout stage, thereby avoiding Sunday's group-stage action.

The Chinese stars are expected to face stiff competition from Japan's Mima Ito and Kasumi Ishikawa, Cheng I-ching of Chinese Taipei, and Singapore veteran Feng Tianwei. A total prize pool of $250,000 is up for grabs.

FORMULA 1

No fans permitted at Bahrain Grand Prix

Formula 1's forthcoming races in Bahrain will be held predominantly without spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic, race organizers said on Saturday.

A small number of grandstand seats will be allocated for health workers and their families who have helped to fight the pandemic.

"This decision has been made as a result of the current status of the global COVID-19 pandemic, following extensive discussions between the circuit and the government of Bahrain," race organizers said in a statement.

"The Kingdom remains focused on protecting the health of citizens and residents, maintaining one of the highest rates of testing per capita of anywhere in the world."

The Bahrain GP will be held Nov 29 on the 5.4-kilometer Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. The second race on Dec 6－the Sakhir GP－will take place on the circuit's smaller 3.5-kilometer outer track.

TENNIS

'Lonely' Kyrgios reveals depression struggles

Nick Kyrgios on Sunday admitted to be being in a "lonely, dark place" in recent years as he battled depression sparked by the relentless grind of the tennis tour.

The Australian is one of the sport's biggest draws but has also faced intense criticism for his combustible antics on court.

His list of misdemeanors includes an expletive-ridden meltdown at last year's Cincinnati Masters that saw him put on probation by the ATP and ordered to seek professional help.

"I don't think people understand how lonely tennis can be," the 25-year-old told Sydney's Sunday Telegraph.

"You're out there on the court on your own. You can't really talk to anyone. You have to figure things out for yourself. I did struggle with that. I remember waking up in Shanghai one year and it was 4 pm and I was still in bed, curtains closed. I didn't want to see the light of day."

Xinhua - Agencies