Valencia appoints Neville as coach
MADRID: Valencia says it has appointed Gary Neville as coach for the rest of this season after Nuno Espirito Santo left by mutual agreement. A club statement says Neville will “officially take charge of the first team” on Sunday ahead of its Champions league match against lyon. The club statement on Wednesday says Valencia is “delighted” to have secured Neville on short notice. Former Manchester United and England defender Phil Neville, Gary’s brother, joined Valencia as an assistant coach in July. England’s Football Association says Gary Neville will also continue working alongside national coach Roy Hodgson as its squad prepares for Euro 2016 in France. Neville says he’s “absolutely thrilled” about his Valencia appointment.
Four Indians reach 2nd round
Malang (Indonesia): Indian shuttlers had a good day at Indonesia Masters as four of them, including P V Sindhu and K Srikanth, reached the second round of the $120,000 Grand Prix Gold tournament here on Wednesday. Top seed Sindhu, who clinched the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold last week, opened her campaign on a positive note, defeating Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska 21-16, 19-21, 21-12 in a women’s singles match. In the men’s singles, top seed Srikanth spanked Indonesia’s Wibowo Setyaldi Putra 21-6, 21-12, while eighth seed R M V Gurusaidutt beat another Indonesian Muhammad Ahdial Octa Khairulloh 21-10, 21-3 in another match. Third seed H S Prannoy, who had won the Indonesia Masters title last year when it was hosted by Jakabaring Sport City, Palembang, saw off Indonesia’s Panji Ahmad Maulana 21-16, 21-16.
Joshna, Dipika enter Round of 16
Hong Kong: India’s leading squash players Saurav Ghosal, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa have advanced to the Round of 16 at the Hong Kong Open, a PSA World Series event. Joshna, who is now India’s highest-ranked player at 13, took 25 minutes to beat qualifier Megan Craig of New Zealand 11-8, 11-9, 11-6. Dipika, ranked 16th, too faced little difficulty in her opener on Wednesday, getting past Habiba Mohamed of Egypt 11-9, 11-2, 11-2.