SPORTS IMPHAL SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2014 'Pacman' Pacquiao expected to gobble up Algieri India's new league making a big splash MACAU, Nov 21 A rejuvenated Manny Pacquiao will look to make short work of Chris Algieri Sunday to defend his World Boxing Organisation welterweight belt and raise his chances of a showdown with Floyd Mayweather. Few believe the eightweight world champion, oozing confidence and surrounded by a 300-plus entourage in Macau, will be seriously troubled by Algieri. The 30-year-old American (20-0) is a capable and likeable former kickboxer from Long Island with a master's degree and an ambition to be a doctor. In June, he got up from the canvas twice in the first round to shock Russia's formidable light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov and take the WBO belt on a split decision. Now he says he wants to pull off an almighty upset and end the fabled career of the 36-year-old Filipino icon and congressman from Sarangani province. The last man to make such a bold prediction was another American, Brandon Rios, at the same venue a year ago. Rios instead received a lesson in boxing, speed, agility and power from "Pacman". Pacquiao, who once described Algieri as just an "okay" fighter, remains dismissive of his challenge. "I know my opponent is excited to win, but I won't let that happen," he said at the Venetian Macau venue. Pacquiao, whose record FIFA ethics chiefs agree next step for 2018/2022 report ZURICH, Nov 21: FIFA ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert and investigator Michael Garcia met on Thursday and agreed on the next step for their probe into the bidding process for the 2018/2022 soccer World Cups. They decided that Garcia's report on his investigation would be sent to the chairman of FIFA's audit and compliance committee, Domenico Scala, who would in turn decide how much of the report would be sent to the FIFA executive committee. Eckert, head of the ethics committee's adjudicatory chamber, said in a 42-page statement last week there were no grounds to reopen the bidding process which led to Russia and Qatar getting the tournaments run by FIFA, world soccer's governing body. But FIFA was plunged into chaos when Garcia said Eckert's statement on his 430-page report contained misrepresentations and that he would appeal to FIFA's appeal committee. Eckert and Garcia said in Thursday's joint statement: "Both chairmen agreed that it is of major importance that the FIFA Executive Committee has the information necessary to evaluate which steps are required based on the work done by the FIFA Ethics Committee. "The chairmen also offered to answer any questions the chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee and the Executive Committee might have." The statement confirmed that "the investigatory chamber has already opened a number of formal cases against individuals as a result of that inquiry." It said those cases would not be affected by Thursday's development, nor by the recent referral of the reports to the Swiss Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office. Switzerland's attorney general last week confirmed the receipt of a complaint submitted by FIFA along with a copy of the Garcia report. "Both chairmen stressed the vital role of the FIFA Ethics Committee in ensuring the highest standards of ethics and governance at FIFA. "Irrespective of the independence of the two chambers, the two chairmen regard good communication as key to fulfilling that role." —Reuters stands 56-5-2 with 38 KOs, had a questionable build-up in which he made his professional basketball debut in the Filipino league last month. But he says his fight preparations have helped him regain the aggression and power that put away worldclass adversaries such as Oscar de La Hoya, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley in his younger days. "I'm very happy with my training camp because it was a new birth. It was like back to the old days -- my speed and power and determination are back," Pacquiao said. Only by stopping Algieri will Pacquiao prove the fearsome "fighter of the decade" in the 2000s is back, two weeks before his 36th birthday. If he does -- and his Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach has predicted a firstround knockout -- then a potential $1 billion megafight with "Money" Mayweather may become closer to reality next year. Pacquiao and Algieri will fight for the WBO welterweight (147lb) title at a catchweight limit of 144lb. A host of celebrities will be ringside as promoter Bob Arum aims to show Saturday night pay-per-view audiences in the United States that Chinese territory Macau is growing to rival Las Vegas as a fight venue. Hollywood superstars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have already confirmed they will be there. On the undercard they will see another screen star. Chinese double Olympic gold medallist flyweight Zou Shiming (5-0, 1 KO) had a cameo role in the recent "Transformers 4" blockbuster movie and he will take on Thailand's Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym (27-0, 12 KOs) in a final eliminator for a world title shot. Kwanpichit is an uncanny Pacquiao look-alike -- dubbed 'mini-Manny' by the media -and Zou will be hoping that the similarity applies only to the Thai's looks and not his punching power. Two other world title fights complete the pay-per-view card. WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO) and WBA super lightweight champion Jessie Vargas (25-0, 9 KOs) will defend their titles against Thailand's Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (52-1, 33 KOs) and Mexico's Antonio DeMarco (31-3-1, 23 KOs) respectively. NEW DELHI, Nov 21: The spectators are streaming in, the foreign players are sparkling on the pitch and the organizers are striking the right notes. The Indian Super League seems to have added the zing that football needed in this country of 1.2 billion people, which Fifa chief Sepp Blatter once called "a sleeping giant." But while the new eightteam league featuring big names like Nicolas Anelka, Alessandro Del Piero, Robert Pires and Luis Garcia has lifted the game to a level not seen here before, some football observers wonder whether it will be enough to help grow the sport in the long run. The league, which began in October and finishes in December, has big money and sponsors behind it - it was organized by IMG-Reliance in collaboration with Rupert Murdoch's Star India group and the All India Football Federation. And interest among fans has been high through the first half of the tournament, with attendance averaging 22,639 Blind and Falcao injury blows for Man United LONDON, Nov 21: Manchester United suffered a double blow on Thursday with Daley Blind ruled out for a "long" spell due to a knee problem and Radamel Falcao receiving a "new injury" that will keep him out for at least two more weeks. "Blind is not ready, he has a brace on his knee. He needs 10 days' rest. Then we'll have another scan and say more about his injury," manager Louis van Gaal was quoted as saying on the club website (www.manutd.com). "It's not as bad as the doctors thought after the match. It shall be a long story, I believe, but not six months or something." Midfielder Blind limped off in the Netherlands' 6-0 win over Latvia in a Euro 2016 qualifier on Nov. 16. Earlier on Thursday, United said on their Twitter account that Blind "could be out for six months". On-loan striker Falcao, who has not featured since United drew 2-2 at West Bromwich Albion on Oct. 20, has injured his calf and is at least two weeks away from returning to fitness. Radamel Falcao (L) and Daley Blind (R) pose with manager Louis Van Gaal during a photocall "It takes time," Van Gaal said. "Next week he shall train...and then he needs two weeks and maybe a game." The Colombia international dismissed media reports he was struggling to get over the serious knee injury he suffered last season. "It detracts from the credibility of the media that there is so much speculation and that so many falsehoods have been written," Falcao said. "I did take a small injury to my calf, which is something that I need to be careful with, but there are a lot of stories circulating that are pure speculation." United had doubts about 12 players for this Saturday's Premier League match at Arsenal in the wake of the international break but Van Gaal was hopeful winger Angel Di Maria, keeper David De Gea, full back Luke Shaw and midfielder Michael Carrick would be fit. "It's difficult to say if anyone is back because we have to wait for Friday's training session to decide if they're back," the manager said. "Di Maria has trained today normally so I don't think that is a question mark but Shaw is. De Gea is good, no problem. I think I have to wait for the reactions tomorrow in training with Carrick but I also expect he's ready to play." United are seventh in the table, one point and one place behind Arsenal after 11 games with both teams struggling to put together a consistent run of form. per match, the highest for a football league in Asia and fifth-highest globally after the Bundesliga, English Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. "Indian football has never been packaged so well before," said Sukhvinder Singh, managing director of the football marketing consultancy Libero Sports. "It's reached even people who do not follow football and some 70 million watched it on the first day. I feel it's already the second best sports property here after cricket's Indian Premier League." Part of the reason for its success has been the use of cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as well as a handful of Indian film stars, to market the league across the country. But despite the added glamour, some critics believe Indian football will not benefit greatly if the country's top domestic league, the I-League, is left to rot. Brazilian great Zico, who helped lead the transformation of domestic football in Japan, said the existence of two separate leagues could be an impediment to the sport's growth. "In Japan, the difference was that everyone was playing in one league only and not two leagues like in India," said Zico, who is coaching the Goa club in the ISL. "Here, some of the very good players are not playing in ISL." Top football officials such as Fifa secretary Jerome Valcke and AIFF president Praful Patel insist the I-League remains India's only league and the ISL is merely a tournament. India has a good tradition in tennis: Venus BENGALURU, Nov 21: Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams feels that the success of Vijay Amritraj, Leander Paes and Sania Mirza at the international stage proves that India has a "good tradition" in the sport. Citing examples of some of the great Indian tennis stars, Venus said she expects the tradition to continue in future. "India has a very good tradition in tennis. You have (Vijay) Amritraj, Leander Paes, (Sania) Mirza. I don't see why that tradition can't continue," the American told PTI in an interview here today. Besides seven singles title, Venus also boasts of 13 Grand Slam titles in women's doubles along with her sister Serena. Venus and Serena, famously known as 'the William sisters', once made up for the most lethal women's doubles combination having won 13 Grand Slam titles together. The siblings have also won three Olympic gold medals in doubles and have expressed their desire to play in the 2016 Rio Games. Venus, a former world number one player, attributes her and Serena's success in doubles to mutual respect for each other. "I think we both play well together and we also have good relationship. In doubles, you have to get along with your partner and respect him or her. If it it not there, then quite often the relationship deteriorates," she said ahead of the Champions Tennis League tie between Bangalore Raptors and Hyderabad Aces. Even though she is satisfied with her performance in 2014, Venus was eyeing to rectify the mistakes she committed in this year. "Year 2014 is a great year for me. I had a lot of success. You keep on learning, you never stop. I expect 2015 to be another year for learning. I want to get better. Every time you lose you learn from it and after every win you look to building on the tempo," she said. After playing the game for more than two decades, the question of retirement is bound to creep up in any sportsperson's mind, but Venus wants to continue as long as the desire for the game is still there. MessichasesrecordamidstiroverBarcelonaexit Ebola-ravaged Guinea overcome odds to reach Nations Cup BARCELONA, Nov 21: Lionel Messi will chase the Spanish league scoring record on Saturday amid a state of near panic at Camp Nou caused by his comments that his future at Barcelona may not be secure. Barcelona hosts a strong Sevilla side on Saturday while trailing leader Real Madrid by two points. Madrid visits promoted club Eibar on the same day. Messi has been stuck on 250 league goals for the past three games, leaving him one shy of matching Telmo Zarra's all-time record. But many will surely be wondering about Messi's future after he hinted that he may be rethinking his once steadfast commitment to the club he has played for since he was 13. "While I always said that I would like to stay there (Barcelona) forever, sometimes not everything happens the way you want," Messi said. Messi's father and agent downplayed the stir by saying that people "exaggerated" his son's comment, insisting that the four-time player of the year was "happy" at Barcelona. Here are some other things to know about this weekend's games: MOYES DEBUTS David Moyes said he had come to Spain to test his coaching talents against the Lionel Messi: Chasing record best teams in the world, no doubt referring to European champion Real Madrid, league champion Atletico Madrid and, of course, Barcelona. Moyes will get an easier first taste of the Spanish league, however, with a trip to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. The former Manchester United and Everton manager takes over a Sociedad side that has underperformed and finds itself level on points with Deportivo in a pack of five teams only three points out of last place. Sociedad forward Chory Castro said Moyes is looking to gradually mold the team to his liking. "What he has most emphasized is that we pressure every time we lose the ball," Castro said. "He doesn't want to change everything at once. He has told us that he will introduce new concepts little by little." MADRID'S A MACHINE Madrid has erased its bumpy start to the season and coach Carlo Ancelotti has his players scoring more consistently than at any time in the last 15 years. Madrid is the only team to score in all 11 matches, the first time it has done so since the start of the 1999-2000 campaign. Cristiano Ronaldo has powered Madrid's scoring burst with a league-leading 18 goals and has scored in all 10 league matches he has played. Madrid will miss Luka Modric, out with a leg injury. Either Francisco "Isco" Alarcon or Sami Khedira will likely take his place in the starting lineup. EXPORTING EIBAR Eibar will welcome Madrid to its Ipurua Stadium, which has a capacity of only 6,000 spectators, for the first time. And Eibar is not letting the international exposure go to waste. The small Basque club has sold advertising to a Chinese car parts manufacturer that will appear on the back of its player's shorts just for the Madrid game. Through 10 matches, Eibar had established the best start to a season by a debutante in the league. It arrives from a 2-1 loss at Malaga last match. KEEPING PACE Valencia, Atletico and Sevilla all need to bounce back after dropping points last time out. Valencia is in third place, three points behind Madrid, before its city derby at Levante on Sunday. Atletico and Sevilla are another point back in fourth and fifth place. Atletico hosts a surging Malaga side on a five-game winning streak on Sunday. Sevilla will head to Barcelona led by two of Barcelona's promising talents in Gerard Deulofeu and Denis Suarez, who are playing on loan this season. JOHANNESBURG, Nov 21: Ebola-ravaged Guinea overcame considerable odds to book an African Nations Cup finals place, but must still deal with logistical difficulties and prejudice as they look ahead to the tournament in January. Guinea is one of the African countries hit hardest by the ravages of the deadly haemorrhagic fever, which has claimed more than 1,100 lives there. Their national team have had to play homes games at a neutral venue after the Confederation of African Football banned the hosting of international matches in Guinea. Their players have also come under pressure to avoid the competition. Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Ibrahima Traore, who scored for Guinea in their decisive tie against Uganda on Wednesday to secure qualification, was threatened with isolation from his Bundesliga team mates when he returned. "We have had to go around in a very strange context," coach Michel Dussuyer said this week, “with health checks and fleeting glances." Morocco allowed them to play their ‘home’ games in Casablanca, but the players had to undergo temperature checks twice daily. "There have been some measures we’ve felt have been discriminatory and when you have your temperature taken twice a day it can get annoying. But everything really is in the attitude of people you meet and the strange responses we get," Dussuyer added. The coach has stayed in Guinea's capital Conakry even though almost all of his players fly in and out of Africa from their clubs in Europe. "We ourselves have been very attentive to what is hap- pening within the squad. We are not irresponsible. We are prudent, it’s a logical approach and it is accepted,” Dussuyer said. The coach, however, also thanked Morocco, who allowed them to play their qualifiers in Casablanca, and Benin, where they held training camps. Guinea now need to find a training venue for two weeks in January, before the Nations Cup kicks off. “There is great satisfaction in being able to qualify and to silence our detractors,” Dussuyer added, after Guinea finished second in their group behind Ghana.