Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor testified that he had consensual sex with a woman suing him for sexual assault and said she fabricated her story. "Everything is a lie", McGregor said in the High Court in Dublin on Wednesday. "It is a full blown lie among many lies." The alleged victim said McGregor brutally raped and battered her in a penthouse at a Dublin hotel on Dec. 9, 2018. Also Read: "I am not going to lose. Did you hear what I said?": Mike Tyson on fight with Jake Paul The woman testified last week that she was heavily bruised and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after McGregor pinned her to a bed, put her in a headlock and threatened to kill her during their encounter after partying. Police investigated but didn't bring charges against McGregor. The defense said the woman never told investigators McGregor threatened her life. They showed surveillance video in court that they said appeared to show the woman kiss McGregor's arm and hug him after they left the hotel room. McGregor denied the woman's testimony that while she was in a headlock he said now you know how I felt in the octagon, referring to the Ultimate Fighting Championship ring surrounded by chain-link fencing. "How anyone could believe that me, as a prideful person, would highlight my shortcomings," McGregor said. McGregor said he didn't force the woman to do anything against her will and that while the sex was vigorous, it wasn't rough. He called her claims a fantasy and said her bruises were from taking a swan dive into a bath while they were partying. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
14 November,2024 02:54 PM IST | Dublin | APMike Tyson was not in the mood to talk in the press conference before he takes on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Mike Tyson had concise answers at the press conference, two nights before locking horns with Jake Paul, who is 31 years younger, at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. The issue of Tyson's health didn't come up in a small concert venue about 20 miles from AT&T Stadium. A bout originally scheduled for July 20 was postponed to Friday night after Tyson had to be treated for a stomach ulcer when he fell ill on a flight. Mike Tyson in a documentary, promoting the fight said that he lost 26 pounds in the recovery process, but Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder with Paul of Most Valuable Promotions, said Tyson had been cleared medically for weeks. Bidarian also said Tyson was going through the same regular medical checkups as any sanctioned pro-fight in Texas. Also Read: From Rags to Riches: Rinku Singh buys new house worth Rs. 3.5 crore, WATCH VIDEO Not many states were ready to permit the bout, but Texas agreed to a fight consisting of eight rounds instead of 10 or 12. Also, the rounds should be of two minutes instead of three and the gloves should be heavier to lower the power of punches. "I've said everything I had to say", Tyson said in one of several attempts to get him to say more. "I'm just looking forward to fighting." "It's cute", Paul said of the terse Tyson. "I fear no man, so I want him to be that old savage Mike." Paul couldn't even get Tyson to respond by wearing what the 27-year-old said was a diamond-spiked ear cover. It was Paul's jab at Tyson over the Hall of Famer infamously biting the ear of Evander Holyfield in a 1997 fight. Tyson did get briefly riled up when somebody asked twice what he would do if he lost. His last sanctioned bout was in 2005. Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition four years ago. "I am not going to lose", Mike Tyson said, his voice rising the second time it was asked. "Did you hear what I said?" Tyson was 50-6 with 44 knockouts before retiring 19 years ago. Paul is 10-1 with seven knockouts in less than five years as a pro, facing mostly mixed martial artists and journeymen boxers. The fight will be the first combat sports event which will be streamed on Netflix and will be available at no additional cost to more than 280 million Netflix subscribers globally. Jake Paul is a minus-200 betting favourite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. That means the payout for a Paul victory would be about half the amount of any bet. The co-main event is a rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano for the undisputed super welterweight title. Taylor won a split decision that many questioned in a slugfest at sold-out Madison Square Garden in 2022 in the first women's fight to headline at the famous venue. Taylor and Serrano sat behind Mike Tyson and Paul on the stage, with the 10 fighters from the undercards on either side of Tyson and Paul. (With AP Inputs)
14 November,2024 02:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentJannik Sinner hit the accelerator at the end of each set as he cruised past Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday to close in on a semi-final spot at the ATP Finals in Turin. In September, Sinner had to overcome raucous home support to win his last meeting with the American as he claimed victory in the final of the US Open. This time, the Turin crowd was nosily behind the Italian. “The crowd is helping me a lot,” said Sinner on the court. Early pressure from Fritz The hard-hitting Fritz, ranked No. 5, put pressure on Sinner’s serve early in the first set. The American had the first break point of the match in the 14-minute seventh game but could not take his chance. Sinner responded at once, but wasted three break points in the next game before breaking to 15 in the 10th game to take the set. “I was struggling to return his serve but I am happy with how I handled the situation,” said Sinner. Also Read: Gurpreet: Qualification is ‘minimum target’ Carlos Alcaraz during his win over Andrey Rublev yesterday The second set also went with serve until the 10th game when Fritz double-faulted on Sinner’s first match point. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz opened his account here on Wednesday with a ing 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) win over Andrey Rublev. World No. 3 Alcaraz comfortably defeated Rublev to lift himself off the bottom of the John Newcombe Group and looked in much better form despite struggling with fatigue and illness in the lead-up to the match. There had been some doubt as to whether Alcaraz would continue in Turin after quickly ending his training session on Tuesday, with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero saying that he had trouble breathing. But the Spaniard, cruised to the first set in 38 minutes, breaking Rublev in game seven. And although he had a harder time of it in the second set, Alcaraz delighted fans in Turin with a series of spectacular shots which suggested he might be approaching his best form. Bopanna-Ebden suffer second straight loss Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden’s hopes of making the semi-finals at the ATP Finals here are all but over following their second straight defeat here on Wednesday. The sixth-seeded Indo-Aussie duo went down 5-7, 3-6 to the top-seeded pair of Marcelo Arevalo from El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia, placing them at the bottom of the standings in the Bob Bryan group. Bopanna and Ebden as a team will be concluding their two-year partnership soon. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 07:52 AM IST | Turin | AFPOlympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Sanjeeta Das combined to give India a gold medal in the 10m air rifle mixed team event at the World University Shooting Championship on Wednesday. Also Read: Nodirbek leads, Carlsen joint 2nd Aishwary, following the disappointment of finishing fifth in the men’s 10m air rifle and having to settle for silver in 50m rifle 3-positions, finally won gold, combining with Sanjeeta, to beat South Koreans Kim Hyobeen and Lee Junhwan 17-15. Poland’s Julia Piotrowska and Maciej Kowalewicz beat India’s Manini Kaushik and Umamahesh Maddineni 16-0 to win bronze. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 07:40 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesUzbekistan’s young GM Abdusattorov Nodirbek was the sole leader in the open section of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid tournament on Wednesday. Also Read: India eye more goals v Thailand He scored 2.5 points out of three, securing wins over German Vincent Keymer in Round 2 and India’s R Praggnanandhaa in Round 3, after drawing his opener with Daniil Dubov. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen drew his first two games v India’s Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin before beating Vidit Gujrathi, placing him in joint second position (two points) with SL Narayanan. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 07:38 AM IST | Kolkata | AgenciesBuoyed by back-to-back wins, India will look for more goals against minnows Thailand in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey here on Thursday. Also Read: "He’s a very thinking cricketer as well": Ravichandran Ashwin on this Australian player India and Olympic silver medallists China are unbeaten so far in two games, but the hosts have an inferior goal difference. China are on top of the points table with a goal difference of 20, while India have a goal difference of five. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 07:36 AM IST | Rajgir | AgenciesPV Sindhu won her first-round clash while Lakshya Sen crashed out of the men’s singles draw as India had a mixed day in the Kumamoto Japan Masters, a BWF World Tour Super 500 series badminton event, here on Wednesday. Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu, who is hoping to make up for a disappointing season by winning the women’s singles title in this event, defeated eighth seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand 21-12, 21-8 in 52 minutes. Lakshya Sen, the Paris Olympic Games semi-finalist, ran into Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao and crashed out in three games, losing 22-20, 17-21, 16-21 in a 74-minute battle of attrition. India’s top women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand had lost in the first round on Tuesday. Also Read: BCCI opens warm-up game to public but Australian media report claims India wanted 'closed-door' sessions Seeking to win her first title since the Singapore Open in 2022 and end a 24-month drought, Sindhu did not have a good start as Ongbamrungphan opened up a 5-1 lead. But the Indian, ranked 20th in BWF Rankings, fought back into the game and led 11-10. Sindhu, 29, then took total control of the game, winning seven points in succession to clinch the first game. She continued at the same tempo in the second game and took a 4-0 lead before the Thai girl won her first point. Ongbamrungphan tried to fight back in the second game, but Sindhu was in good rhythm and won 11 of the last 12 points to seal the win. She will face Canada’s Michelle Li in the second round. Michelle Li beat Japan’s Natsuki Nidaira in straight games in her opener. Meanwhile, Sen started on a positive note against Leong Jun Hao, coming back from a 13-16 deficit to win Game One 22-20. In the second game, he fought back from 1-4 down to level scores at 6-6, but the Malaysian opened up a 11-7 gap. Leong took control from 14-14 and went on to win 21-17. Sen held a slight advantage in the decider, but the Malaysian shuttler kept snapping at his heels and finally won the final five points from 17-16 to win the third game and with it, the match. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
14 November,2024 07:25 AM IST | Kumamoto | IANSRussian star Daniil Medvedev produced a measured performance to outdo Australian Alex de Minaur at the ongoing ATP Finals men's singles competition on Tuesday. The fourth-seed defeated Medvedev by 6-2, 6-4 in the group stage match. The 2020 ATP Finals champion had all answers to Alex's shots and improved his tally against him to seven wins and three losses. In his clash against De Minaur, he did not face any break point and struck 24 winners as compared to his opponent's 10. "I went into this match blocking the noise, even from myself," said Medvedev, accordint to ATP website. "I really did not care what was happening on the court, I just tried to play, and it was a good feeling. Sometimes it is good to block it [the noise], and I did that well today." "After the last match (a loss to Taylor Fritz), I was too tired mentally to fight the way I usually do. So I went into the match, just trying to hit some shots, even thinking about next year. What is going to work well today and what is not. It worked well, so I am okay with it," he concluded. Also Read: Jannik Sinner celebrates with World No. 1 trophy The loss gives a huge blow to De Minaur's hopes of reaching the knockouts on his debut at the ATP Finals. The 25-year-old will be facing Fritz in his final group-stage match and has lost both of his matches so far. German Alexander Zverev started off his pursuit for a third ATP Finals trophy as he kickstarted his campaign in Turin, defeating Andrey Rublev on Tuesday morning. The second-seed defeated Rublev 6-4, 6-4 to open his account in the season-concluding tournament at Turin in the John Newcombe Group. This is also his tour-leading 67th win of 2024. Zverev is a 2018 and 2021 champion and he stood firm in face of some fine tennis played by Rublev to get his win in 72 minutes. "I thought it was a very solid match from my end," said Zverev as quoted by ATP website, who improved to 15-9 at the ATP Finals. "Against anyone here, you have to play your best to have a chance, you have to be solid and mentally strong. I feel like I did that today, I felt like I used my chances quite well and I am obviously happy with this win," he added. Djokovic became the first player to beat the 'Big Three', Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the ATP Finals 2019. The 2024 season marks the first time since 2001 that none of these aforementioned legends are playing the tournament. "I think the attention went to Carlos [Alcaraz] and Jannik [Sinner] all year long," Zverev said. "They deserve it, they won two Grand Slams each." "It is normal in sports, at some point everybody retires, new players come along. We have a great group of guys leading with Jannik and Carlos. I think they had a better year, even though I'm No. 2 in the world. The benchmark is those two guys," he concluded his point. After improving his Head-to-Head record with Rublev to seven wins and three losses, Zverev will continue his trophy hunt against Casper Ruud, who had early defeated third-seed and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in an upset in the John Newcombe Group. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 November,2024 04:32 PM IST | Turin (Italy) | ANIThe Devindar Walmiki-led Hockey Maharashtra willl face last year’s runners-up Hockey Haryana in the second quarter-final of the 14th Hockey India Senior National Championship at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday. Also Read: Hockey India League: Complete squads of all eight teams In the first quarter-final, Hockey Punjab will face Manipur Hockey. The third quarter-final will see Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu face Uttar Pradesh Hockey, while the fourth match will have Odisha taking on Hockey Karnataka. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 November,2024 07:08 AM IST | Chennai | AgenciesYoung Indian skeet shooter Bhavtegh Singh Gill added a second gold to the country’s tally, taking the top-podium finish with superb marksmanship in the World University Shooting Championship here on Tuesday. Also Read: Palak-Amit duo hits the bullseye for mixed team gold at World University Championship The air pistol mixed team of Palak Gulia and Amit Sharma had struck the first gold on Sunday. Gill, 21, a budding skeet marksman in the junior category, shot 58 in the final to take the top podium spot. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 November,2024 07:05 AM IST | New Delhi | AgenciesThe Indian pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand was knocked out in the opening round of the Kumamoto Japan Masters, losing in straight games to their Chinese Taipei opponents on Tuesday. Also Read: Treesa-Gayatri end campaign in semis The World No. 20 Indian pair lost 16-21, 16-21 by Hsu Yin-Hui and Lin Yin-Hui, ranked 24, in just 36 minutes in their women’s doubles round of 32 clash at the Super 500 tournament. This is the first time that Yin-Hui and Yin-Hui have beaten the Indian pair, who still lead the head-to-head 2-1. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
13 November,2024 07:04 AM IST | Kumamoto (Japan) | AgenciesADVERTISEMENT
