Former tennis world number one Rafael Nadal has admitted he does not know when he will return to action after injury.
The 35-year-old Spaniard last featured in August at the Citi Open in Washington when he had to take a break to recover from a persistent foot injury.
He missed the Tokyo Olympics as a result, and there is no sign of a comeback as the end of the season comes into view.Speaking in his hometown of Mallorca, Nadal said that he is not rushing his rehabilitation because he wants to recover properly.
“I want to recover from this injury in good condition,” he explained.“I don’t know when I will play again, I work a lot every day, I follow a specific plan with a marked roadmap and with very clear objectives.“I will not say what those objectives are, because there are always things that I can’t control one hundred percent, but inside my head I’m clear on what my objectives are and I trust that things will follow a positive course.“I am in a process of recovery, of work, with a progressive increase in loads and the sensations are not measured daily.“You have to be a little cautious, look a little in the medium term.”Nadal is not due to return this season, and has just two, relatively minor titles to his name for 2021 – the Barcelona Open and Rome Masters.
Carbon emissions are rebounding strongly and are rising across the world’s 20 richest nations, according to a new study.
The Climate Transparency Report says that CO2 will go up by 4% across the G20 group this year, having dropped 6% in 2020 due to the pandemic.
China, India and Argentina are set to exceed their 2019 emissions levels.
The authors say that the continued use of fossil fuels is undermining efforts to rein in temperatures.
With just two weeks left until the critical COP26 climate conference opens in Glasgow, the task facing negotiators is stark.
One of the key goals of the gathering is to take steps to keep the important 1.5C temperature threshold alive and within reach.
With the world currently around 1.1C warmer than pre-industrial times, limiting future incremental increases is extremely challenging.
If Glasgow is going to succeed on this question, then the countries that create the most carbon will have to put ambitious policies into place.
The evidence from this new report is that it isn’t happening fast enough.
The G20 group is responsible for around 75% of global emissions, which fell significantly last year as economies were closed down in response to Covid-19.
But this year’s rebound is being powered by fossil fuel, especially coal.
According to the report, compiled by 16 research organisations and environmental campaign groups, coal use across the G20 is projected to rise by 5% this year.
This is mainly due to China who are responsible for around 60% of the rise, but increases in coal are also taking place in the US and India.
Coal use in China has surged with the country experiencing increased demand for energy as the global economy has recovered.
Coal prices are up nearly 200% from a year ago.
This in turn has seen power cuts as it became uneconomical for coal-fired electricity plants generate electricity in recent months.
With the Chinese government announcing a change in policy this week to allow these power plants to charge market rates for their energy, the expectation is that this will spur even more coal use this year.
When it comes to gas, the Climate Transparency Report finds that use is up by 12% across the G20 in the 2015-2020 period.
The 2021 Handball Premier League will commence on October 20 and run till November 4 at the Indoor Sports Hall, Package B of the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
The top-tier league in Nigeria, in its 4th edition, will feature 22 teams (12 male, 10 female) that will compete on round-robin basis for a chance to win the competition.
There will be live streaming of matches on HFN TV or Facebook and the Handball Federation of Nigeria YouTube channel.
Secretary-General of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) Alhaji Maigidansanma Mohammed has emphasised the need for teams to conclude registration before the weekend.
“It’s going to be a better competition than last season and that is why I urge participating teams to ensure that they complete their transfer registrations so that there won’t be any hitches ahead of the commencement of the league,” Alhaji Maigidansanma said.
Returning President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) Mr. Samuel Ocheho has assured that this year’s edition will be used to improve on talent discovery and development.
“The Prudent Energy Handball Premier League 2021 will be better than the previous season and for us as a federation, we thank Prudent Energy And Services for keeping faith with us for the past four years,” Ocheho said.
“This will afford us the opportunity to continue to discover new talents with great potentials and help them to maximize it. We will not relent until we do so,” Ocheho concluded.
Promoted teams in the male category are Tojemarine of Lagos, champions of the National Division One League which was held in Benin City, Edo State and Police Machine while in the female category, Bayelsa Queens and Confluence Queens will join the league after their promotion from the National Division One League.
At least 13,243 Boko Haram terrorists and their family members have so far surrendered to troops at different locations in the Northeast, the Nigerian military said on Thursday.
The military said the feat achieved is as a result of the series of operations conducted across the North East theatre which reduced the operational capabilities of the insurgents; an indication that the Nigerian troop is winning the war against terrorism.
Bernard Onyeuko (Brigadier General), the acting director, Defence Media operations (DMO) who made this known in Abuja while giving a breakdown of the activities of troops between 1st and 14th October, said those who surrendered comprised 3,243 adult males, 3,868 adult females and 6,234 children.
He added that within the period, 38 assorted weapons and 968 rounds of assorted ammunition as well as 48 rustled livestock among several other items were said to have been recovered in the region by troops of Operation Hadin Kai.
Chelsea Football Club are set to re-sign their former player Eden Hazard from Real Madrid following a spate of injuries the club battles with.
Chelsea’s Sporting Director, Marina Granovskaia has made it clear that the club will not re-sign the player for any fee above £34million.
The Blues will try to re-sign their former talisman in the January or summer transfer windows.
Meanwhile, Hazard who left Chelsea in 2019 has struggled with injuries since joining Real Madrid.
While Real Madrid hoped the Belgian international would be a suitable replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, Hazard has only managed to score 4 goals in 37 matches.
Ghana’s navy has foiled an attack on a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Guinea, a statement from the armed forces said.
It took place about 170km (105 miles) from the Ghanaian coast where pirates in two speedboats attempted to board a tuna fishing boat.
The navy patrol successfully intervened and there were no casualties, the authorities said.
In the statement, the armed forces also said that the navy had decided to deploy armed personnel on fishing vessels that operate off its coast in an effort to curb piracy.
The idea is aimed at “ensuring a safe and secure maritime environment for the smooth operations of fishing and commercial vessels”, it said.
The navy has also recently doubled its patrols to deal with a growing number of pirate attacks.
Authorities in Nigeria have announced that government workers who have not received Covid-19 jabs will not be allowed into their offices from December despite resistance and outrage from Nigerians.
This effectively makes covid vaccines mandatory for federal civil servants across the country – a policy The government has been considering for several months.
Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 Boss Mustapha said proof of a negative Covid test done within 72 hours will be the only other option for government employees.
This is despite proven calls by medical scientists that the vaccines have made people more vulnerable to the variants recently discovered.
Many anti-vaxers have raised alarm over the side effects encountered by the jabs. Recently a bank worker is said to have died from the jab in Delta state south south Nigeria raising concerns and questions why government is insistent on forcing workers to take the jab.
Reigning US Open champion Daniil Medvedev joined the growing list of top-seed casualties at the ATP/WTA Indian Wells on Wednesday, losing in the fourth round to world No. 28 Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Medvedev, who won his first Grand Slam title last month at Flushing Meadows, had not lost a set heading into the fourth round but dropped eight straight games, and had his serve broken six times against Dimitrov, en route to a stunning early exit for the top seed.
“I don’t remember myself losing three service games, even four service games ever on hard courts,” Medvedev said.
“That shows how slow this court is and the conditions, more like clay, which I don’t like. To lose four times the serve is just unacceptable. That’s why I lost the (second) set.”
World No. 2 Medvedev did not take a break after his emotional US Open victory and said his busy schedule may have finally caught up with him.
“I did feel exhausted in this tournament. Now I can say it. I couldn’t say it before my matches. There are a few physical things that have come up,” said Medvedev, who is hoping to eventually overtake world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Medvedev won the first set, was up 4-1 in the second and appeared to be cruising to another easy victory when the wheels came off: his unforced errors mounted and service game fell flat.
Medvedev had no answers for the way Dimitrov was playing and predicted the Bulgarian would likely go on to capture the title.
“If he plays like this, like the way he played me from 4-1, then he is going to win the tournament,” Medvedev said.
“He played the second half of the match better than anyone did against me at the US Open. It is not like I gave him the match.”
The match turned in the sixth game of the second set as Dimitrov broke Medvedev’s serve for the second time in the set to cut the Russian’s lead to 4-2.
Dimitrov held serve in the next game and then broke Medvedev’s serve twice more to take the set and lay the foundation for a dominating performance in the third.
The Bulgarian closed out the match on the first match point, when Medvedev blasted a forehand long.
“Been watching quite a bit of his matches,” Dimitrov said of Medvedev. “I really wanted to play this match to be completely honest. What he has been able to accomplish this past year and a half is pretty amazing. I think it really pushes me also to do better.”
Dimitrov will face Polish eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who rolled over Russian Aslan Karatsev 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday in the quarter-finals.
Minor setback The 25-year-old Medvedev beat Djokovic in the US Open final last month to prevent the Serbian star from becoming the first man since the legendary Rod Laver in the 1960s to win all four Grand Slams in the same year.
On Wednesday, Medvedev made six double faults in the two hour, 15 minute match in the main stadium.
Medvedev, who has won 50 matches in 2021, described this as a minor setback because this event is not a Grand Slam.
“I don’t see this as the end of the world. I don’t think this would happen in a Grand Slam,” he said.
This is the second time Dimitrov has beaten Medvedev in five career meetings. The last time was a three-set win in their first encounter in 2017 in London.
In other men’s fourth-round matches on Wednesday, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Australian Alex De Minaur 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 and third-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany overpowered France’s Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-3 in just 61 minutes.
In the women’s draw, two-time winner Victoria Azarenka punched her ticket to the semi-finals with a straight-sets win — 6-4, 6-2 — over Jessica Pegula.
Azarenka, who is the only player left in the women’s and men’s fields to have won in Indian Wells, captured the title in 2012 and 2016.
The 32-year-old from Belarus needed 94 minutes to end the run of American Pegula and reach the final four of this event for the fourth time in her career.
“I really played well in the crucial moments,” Azarenka said. “I felt like I stepped up to the occasion a lot. That’s what I’m really happy with today.”
Azarenka will next face Jelena Ostapenko for a spot in the women’s final.
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