Don’t flinch! From viral clips to the big stage, slap fighting arrives in Saudi Arabia

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Power Slap 11 in Riyadh was more than just another sporting event — it was a statement. (Supplied/UFC Enterprise)
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Updated 31 January 2025
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Don’t flinch! From viral clips to the big stage, slap fighting arrives in Saudi Arabia

  • Power Slap makes its mark in Riyadh with knockout moments and championship glory

RIYADH: What happens when you mix raw power, iron chins, and the thrill of combat sports? You get Power Slap 11, which made its electrifying debut in Riyadh’s anb Arena on Jan. 30.

The night was a wild ride of jaw-dropping slaps, knockout victories, and pure competitive grit — because in this sport, there is no dodging, just taking it straight to the face.

In the evening’s most anticipated clash, Vasilii “Dumpling” Kamotskii faced off against Koa “Da Crazy Hawaiian” Viernes in a heavyweight rematch. The last time these two titans met, the clash ended in a draw. This time, Kamotskii made sure there was no question about who hits harder, securing a unanimous decision victory and the World Super Heavyweight Championship.

Ron “Wolverine” Bata wasted no time proving why he is at the top of the lightweight division. One thunderous slap was all it took to send Vern “The Mechanic” Cathey to the floor in round one, handing Bata a spectacular knockout win and the World Light Heavyweight Championship.

If the main card was a fireworks show, the prelims were the fuse that set it all off. Fighters came in swinging — literally — with these standout moments: Luke “Lethal Strike” Simonds knocked out Garrett “Flaco” Blakesslee in round two, Wes “Boom” Mena took out Devin “Big Jinxx” Jenkins via TKO in round one, Darren “The Tarantula” Godfrey delivered a first-round knockout against Merlis “Action” Muusikus, and Ke’ali’i “The Chief” Kanekoa secured a third-round knockout over Brandon “The Ripper” Rhodes.




Power Slap 11 in Riyadh was more than just another sporting event — it was a statement. (Supplied/UFC Enterprise)

The main card continued the action, proving that Power Slap is not just about brute force, but also about precision, endurance, and pure willpower. Kalani “Toko” Vakameilalo outlasted Danie “The Pitbull” Van Heerden, winning by unanimous decision, while Sheena “The Hungarian Hurricane” Bathory showed her dominance in the women’s featherweight division, earning a unanimous decision victory over Jackie “The Hybrid” Cataline.

Believe it or not, slap fighting’s roots go way back. It started as a test of toughness among Russian strongmen — just two competitors trading open-handed slaps until someone backed down. What began as underground showdowns soon exploded into viral internet fame, with millions watching these fierce and sometimes brutal exchanges.

Fast forward to 2022, and UFC President Dana White saw the potential to take slap fighting mainstream. Enter Power Slap, an official league with rules, weight classes, and a global stage. In just a couple of years, what was once a backyard challenge has turned into an international event with championship belts on the line.

Power Slap 11 in Riyadh was more than just another sporting event — it was a statement. The energy, the rivalries, and the sheer spectacle proved that slap fighting is carving out its place in the combat sports world.

Many Saudis were seeing Power Slap live for the first time. Asked by Arab News whether the event will inspire young Saudis to become future “slappers,” White said: “I do, because when you think about even the UFC, when we first started the UFC, there were only a couple of camps that existed, and as it started to get bigger and better, I mean, look at those camps all over the world, there are champions from all over the world. There are contenders from all over the world.”

The sport still faces its share of controversy, with concerns over safety and long-term effects on health, but one thing is clear: Fans cannot get enough. The hits are getting harder, the competition is getting fiercer, and the road ahead for Power Slap looks as thrilling as ever.

Love it or hate it, Power Slap is here to stay.


India’s Virat Kohli reaches 14,000 ODI runs

Updated 23 February 2025
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India’s Virat Kohli reaches 14,000 ODI runs

  • Kohli entered Champions Trophy match against Pakistan with 13,985 runs and reached the landmark with flowing punch through covers off Haris Rauf
  • The former Indian captain is behind only Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs) and India’s cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 runs)

DUBAI: India’s Virat Kohli on Sunday became only the third batsman in one-day international history to go past 14,000 runs in a key Champions Trophy clash against Pakistan.
Kohli, 36, entered the group match in Dubai with 13,985 runs in 298 ODIs and reached the landmark with a flowing punch through the covers off pace bowler Haris Rauf.
India are chasing Pakistan’s total of 241 all out.
Known as “King Kohli” for his prolific run-scoring, the former captain is behind only Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (14,234 runs) and India’s cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar (18,426 runs).
Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma retired from T20 internationals after India’s World Cup triumph last year.
The two have been struggling to find their best form in both Test and 50-over format due to inconsistent run-scoring, with speculation growing that they may soon retire.


Pakistan win toss, bat against India in key Champions Trophy clash

Updated 23 February 2025
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Pakistan win toss, bat against India in key Champions Trophy clash

  • Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to bat in a blockbuster Champions Trophy clash against India on Sunday as his side looks to stay alive in the tournament

DUBAI: Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to bat in a blockbuster Champions Trophy clash against India on Sunday as his side looks to stay alive in the tournament.
A full house was expected for the eagerly awaited Group A match at the 25,000-capacity Dubai International Stadium, India’s home for the 50-over tournament after they refused to tour Pakistan due to political tensions.
Defending champions Pakistan lost the tournament opener to New Zealand and another defeat will virtually end their chances of making the semifinals.
Imam-ul-Haq comes into the Pakistan side for Fakhar Zaman, who was injured in the opening match and is out of the tournament.
India had a hard-fought win in their first match against Bangladesh and come into the key clash unchanged.
India captain Rohit Sharma said it “doesn’t really matter, they (Pakistan) won the toss, so we’ll bowl first.”
The top two teams from the two groups will make the semifinals.
Teams
India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.
Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), Salman Agha, Tayyab Tahir, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed.
Umpires: Paul Reiffel (AUS), Richard Illingworth (ENG)
TV Umpire: Michael Gough (ENG)
Match Referee: David Boon (AUS)


Indian Hindu fans pray for victory over Pakistan in Champions Trophy clash

Updated 23 February 2025
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Indian Hindu fans pray for victory over Pakistan in Champions Trophy clash

  • Fans offer ‘yajna’ and ‘aarti’ Hindu prayers in Indian cities of Kolkata and Prayagraj on Saturday 
  • India and Pakistan enjoy one of fiercest rivalries in sports due to bitter history, political tensions 

Islamabad: Indian Hindu fans were seen offering special prayers as their national cricket team locks horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in a blockbuster Champions Trophy 2025 clash in Dubai today, Sunday. 

India and Pakistan enjoy one of the fiercest rivalries in sports. The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars since 1947 ever since they gained independence from the British, fueling passion and emotion in millions on both sides of the border every time the two teams meet on the cricket field. 

India’s Hindu fans were seen offering special prayers in the eastern Kolkata and northern Prayagraj cities on Saturday for their cricket team’s success against Pakistan. 

“India and Pakistan are going to play against each other, and we have prayed to mother Triveni (confluence of three rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Saraswati) and mother Ganga (river Ganga) that tomorrow’s match turns out to be in favor of India,” Hindu devotee Pradeep Pandey told Reuters in Prayagraj on Saturday.

In Prayagraj, on the sidelines of Maha Kumbh Mela (The Great Pitcher Festival), fans and devotees performed ‘Aarti’ (flame ritually waved to deities) at the shore of the Ganges, praying for the Indian cricket team’s win. 

In Kolkata, fans and devotees were seen performing ‘yajna’ (offering to the God in front of a sacred fire) in the name of Goddess Kali.

India, who refused to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy citing government advice, will be playing all their matches in Dubai. They kicked off their Group A campaign with a comfortable six-wicket victory against Bangladesh earlier this week. Pakistan’s title defense, meanwhile, looks in disarray after their comprehensive defeat to New Zealand.

India have won seven of the eight completed ODIs in the last decade against their rivals they play only in multi-team events because of a strained political relationship between the two countries.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the Champions Trophy tournament. The green shirts, under the leadership of former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, beat India in 2017 in the final by 180 runs to win the tournament. 


 


Doncic dominates as Lakers rout Nuggets, Suns gore Bulls

Updated 23 February 2025
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Doncic dominates as Lakers rout Nuggets, Suns gore Bulls

  • The Slovenian superstar was the standout performer for the Lakers
  • Doncic finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists

LOS ANGELES, United States: Luka Doncic delivered a dominant 32-point performance as the Los Angeles Lakers snapped the Denver Nuggets’ nine-game winning streak on Saturday with an impressive 123-100 victory on the road in Colorado.
Doncic, playing only his fourth game for the Lakers since his blockbuster trade from Dallas, was in scintillating form as the Lakers conjured a statement wire-to-wire win over their Western Conference rivals.
The Slovenian superstar was the standout performer on a night when the Lakers saw four players finish with 20 points or more for the first time this season.
Doncic finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while LeBron James backed him with 25 points. Austin Reaves added 23 points and Rui Hachimura 21.
“I’m starting to feel a little bit more like myself — that’s why I was smiling the whole game,” Doncic told ESPN afterward.
“There’s still a lot of room for improvement and this is only my fourth game. Chemistry takes time. But you saw today that things are getting better.”
Doncic had signalled he was in the mood for a stellar performance early in the first quarter, arrowing a couple of superb passes to James and Jaxson Hayes to help the Lakers take an 8-3 lead.
A sublime three-pointer from Doncic put the Lakers into a 31-18 lead as the visitors remained firmly on top.
Doncic finished the first quarter with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists and was soon back into the groove in the second quarter.
A delicate lobbed assist to James for an alley-oop dunk made it 60-52 before Doncic unfurled a 24-foot three-pointer to put the Lakers 11 points up.
The Nuggets closed the deficit to 63-54 at the half, but the Lakers remained in control for much of the third quarter, taking a nine-point advantage into the final frame.
The Lakers continued to keep the scoreboard ticking over in the fourth, and Doncic put Los Angeles into a 20-point lead at 117-97 with just over four minutes remaining after another Denver turnover to effectively ice the game.
The Lakers improved to 34-21 with the win and remain fifth in the West. The Nuggets fell to 37-20 with the defeat.
In other NBA action on Saturday, the Phoenix Suns halted their four-game losing streak with a 121-117 road victory over the Chicago Bulls.
Devin Booker finished with 29 points while Kevin Durant added 27 and Bradley Beal 25 as Phoenix fought back from an early 13-point deficit to claim a win that lifts them to 27-29 in the Western Conference.
Australian international Josh Giddey led the Bulls’ scorers with 24 points.
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia 76ers problems continued with a seventh straight defeat as they slumped to an agonizing 105-103 home loss against the Brooklyn Nets.
Sixers ace Tyrese Maxey leveled it for Philadelphia with a three-pointer with 23 seconds remaining.
But Nic Claxton’s tip layup at the buzzer snatched victory for Brooklyn, who improved to 21-35 with the win.
Cameron Johnson led Brooklyn’s scorers with 23 points, while Maxey’s 31-point haul went in vain for Philadelphia.
Sixers star Joel Embiid had another frustrating outing, finishing with only 14 points from 4-of-13 shooting and being benched for the fourth quarter.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse defended Embiid’s contribution as he continues to struggle with a niggling knee problem.
“He’s giving us what he can,” Nurse said of Embiid. “He’s not himself, we all know that. He’s not, certainly, the guy that we’re used to seeing play at a super high level.
“But I commend him for giving us what he can.”


Inspired Andreeva, 17, bags Dubai title, makes WTA history

Updated 23 February 2025
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Inspired Andreeva, 17, bags Dubai title, makes WTA history

  • It was a performance that didn’t just earn Andreeva a maiden WTA 1000 trophy, but also secured her top-10 debut with the Russian expected to rise to No. 9 when the new rankings are released on Monday
  • Besides the 1,000 ranking points she received for winning the Dubai crown, Andreeva pocketed $597,000 in prize money, which she says she will hand over to her father

DUBAI: Inspired by LeBron James and Roger Federer, Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva wrapped up a fairytale week in Dubai by becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion with victory over Clara Tauson on Saturday.

After ousting three Grand Slam winners, including second-seeded Iga Swiatek, en route to the final, Andreeva ended Tauson’s own dream run at the tournament with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 victory against the Dane.

It was a performance that didn’t just earn Andreeva a maiden WTA 1000 trophy, but also secured her top-10 debut with the Russian expected to rise to No. 9 when the new rankings are released on Monday.

Andreeva admitted she did not feel her best on court during the final, but drew inspiration from interviews she watched of NBA legend James talking about how champions can find ways to win even without their A-game.

“I just told myself, ‘You can either let that negativity come into your head and kill you, or you can choose to be 100 percent mentally and fight for every point and if something doesn’t go your way, well okay fine, you forget about it and you play one point at a time’,” said Andreeva.

“I’ve been listening to a lot of LeBron James interviews, and he said that, ‘It’s easy to be confident and to play good when everything goes your way, but what makes you a champion is when you’re giving your best when you don’t feel great’. So that’s what I tried to do today.”

Andreeva also revealed she has been watching highlights from Roger Federer’s 2017 Australian Open final victory over Rafael Nadal before her matches this week, taking cues from the Swiss great.

“I was watching some highlights. I was like, ‘Damn, how can he play like this? This is something extraordinary’,” she said.

Tauson had been a giant-slayer herself in Dubai, knocking out world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on her way to the biggest final of her career.

The 22-year-old entered the clash with Andreeva leading the tour with 15 match-wins so far this season.

She was looking to add a second title to her tally in 2025, and fourth overall, but Andreeva had other ideas, as she overcame her big-hitting opponent in one hour and 46 minutes of all-court prowess.

In the youngest WTA 1000 final since the category was introduced in 2009, Andreeva played a near-perfect opening-set tiebreak to take the lead after 60 minutes of play.

She upped the ante in the second set, breaking twice for a 5-1 advantage and served out the win at the first time of asking.

On Monday, Andreeva will become the first 17-year-old to be ranked in the top 10 since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007.

During the trophy ceremony, Andreeva congratulated Tauson and thanked her coach Conchita Martinez and her family for their support. The affable teenager then surprised the crowd by paying credit to herself.

“Last but not least, I would like to thank me. I know what I have been dealing with so I want to thank me for always believing in me, I want to thank me for never quitting and always dealing with the pressure,” said Andreeva.

“Today it was not easy but I chose to be there 100 percent, so I thank myself for that.”

Besides the 1,000 ranking points she received for winning the Dubai crown, Andreeva pocketed $597,000 in prize money, which she says she will hand over to her father, given she is still 17 and doesn’t manage her own finances.

The Russian had set a goal for herself before the start of the season to finish the year ranked in the top 10 — a target she has now checked off her list in just the second month of her campaign.

Tauson confessed she ran out of steam at the end of a taxing week, and revealed she had been spending almost three hours each day with the tournament physios to deal with various physical issues.

“I can’t tell you where it doesn’t hurt right now,” said the Dane.