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BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter Malaysia have been drawn in Group A of the 2018 AFF Cup, alongside Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, in the draw event that was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday. Coincidentally, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar were also in Malaysia’s group in the previous edition in 2016, which saw Malaysia fail to progress into the knockout stage. Group B meanwhile sees the involvement of Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and the play-off winners between Brunei and East Timor....

It was Affan Yousuf’s double strike in the 29th and 30th minute that not only ensured his team earned five points from this match but he also became the leading goal scorer in the Coal India Hockey India League 2017 thus far. Playing against the home team, who celebrated an incredible 10-4 win against Jaypee Punjab Warriors in their previous game, Delhi Waveriders opened the game patiently, rotating the ball between themselves waiting for an opening into the hosts’ defence....

The cease-fire is planned to start Wednesday or Thursday, the Taliban said, as Afghanistan has experienced heightened violence. Hours after the Taliban announced a cease-fire, 11 bus passengers died in a roadside bombing. Responsibility for the attack has not yet been claimed. Taliban fighters have been directed to halt all attacks in the meantime “to provide a peaceful and secure atmosphere to our compatriots … so that they may celebrate this joyous occasion with a greater peace of mind,” Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the group, told the Associated Press....

Earlier, two-time World champions West Indies have already qualified for the 2019 edition as the top team. Rashid Khan performed splendidly with figures of of 3 for 40 as Afghanistan restricted Ireland to 209 for seven before reaching the target in 49.1 overs. Having already earned Test status, this will be Afghanistan’s second successive ODI World Cup after they also featured in the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand, famously defeating Scotland by one wicket in Dunedin....

The 31-year-old has not played for his country since July 2016 amid knee injury problems, but he was among the 15-man selection named last month for the tournament in England and Wales. And the World Cup now seems certain to spell the end of his involvement in 50-over cricket at the highest level. “Probably this is going to be my last World Cup for my country. I may stop playing ODI cricket after this tournament,” he said in an interview with the Afghanistan Cricket Board....

This serves as a major signing for the company, as Jericho can be a valuable asset to the organization and a wrestler whom the company can build its future stars around. Jericho can virtually work with anyone and can still go in the ring. In case you didn’t know… Fresh off the heels of dropping the IWGP Intercontinental Championship at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom XIII to Tetsuya Naito, many have speculated that Jericho would be seeking a future IWGP World Championship match against Hiroshi Tanahashi....

Jungle Boy was coming off a big win over Anthony Bowens on Dynamite when the former NXT tag team champion attacked him. Christian Cage and Luchasaurus made the save, but Bobby Fish had done the damage already. Adam Cole and the Young Bucks celebrated the attack backstage, and Bobby Fish joined in. Cole heaped praise on his former Undisputed Era stablemate. He then revealed that Bobby Fish would face Jungle Boy on this week’s AEW Rampage....

In case you didn’t know… Jim Ross was the voice of Monday Night Raw for many years in the WWE. Several members of the WWE Universe have grown up with JR. His Texas voice and ability to call matches set him apart from the rest of peers. Together with Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler, they entertained WWE fans over many years. Jim Ross was also a key figure behind the scenes as the head of talent relations in addition to his commentary duties....

During the conversation, MJF had some harsh words for the former WWE Champion. In case you didn’t know… At AEW’s debut show Double or Nothing, former WWE Superstar Jon Moxley fka Dean Ambrose shocked the Pro Wrestling world when he made his first appearance since his WWE departure. Upon his debut for AEW, Moxley brutally assaulted Chris Jericho and also put a beating on former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kenny Omega....

The ROH promotion celebrated its 20th birthday last week, and had previously gone on hiatus in late 2021 with plans for a full-on restructuring of the brand after the pandemic caused several live event cancellations and a return date for April of this year at the Supercard of Honor PPV event. The deal with Sinclair Broadcast Group, ROH’s previous owners, pertains in particular to ROH’s production tech, intellectual property and perhaps most importantly, its entire programming library, which, when combined with AEW’s own litany of wrestling content, could put Khan’s company on the fast track to a big-time streaming deal and help to expand its industrial footprint on both a national and global scale....

During the BTEMailbag segment on the latest episode of Being The Elite, Nick Jackson confirmed that there will be an AEW video game. Further details on the AEW video game are unavailable at this time, and it’s unclear just how far along the game is in development. It’s possible that the AEW video game doesn’t even have a studio working on it yet. Maybe AEW is in talks to sell its license to a company, or maybe talks haven’t even started....

After the draw, national team head coach Stephen Constantine stated that India can “qualify to the knock-out stage” of the continental championship. “I think it’s a group from where we can qualify to the knock-out stage. I won’t say it’s an easy group but we have the ability to win against some of these teams and on our day, we can beat most of them,” said Constantine who was in the audience during the draw alongside Assistant Coach Shanmugham Venkatesh....

In this edition of the quadrennial tournament, 24 teams will take part and they were divided into six groups during the draw. Top two teams from each group and four best third-placed teams will make it to the round of 16 stage. India was the first team to be picked from Pot 3 and hence were slotted in Group A alongside hosts UAE. Thailand and Bahrain were drawn from Pot 2 and 4 respectively....

They kept alive their chances of qualifying for the next round, thanks to their 31-year-old midfielder Adrian Mierzejewski. The Polish midfielder had a brilliant game on the night. Sydney took the lead in the 23rd minute through Milos Ninkovic who ghosted in behind the defenders and chipped a delightful ball from Mierzejewski over the goalkeeper. He would go on to score a goal in the 79th minute besides from providing another assist....

Johor dominated the reigning champions and deservedly took the lead after 69 minutes, when Syafiq Ahmad’s mazy dribble took him through on goal where he curled the ball beyond Kashima goalkeeper Kwoun Sun-tae from an awkward angle. The result left Go Oiwa’s side in need of a win when they face Shandong Luneng in their final Group E match on May 22 to make sure of their place in the knockout phase....

On his debut, he kept a clean-sheet against DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC in Bengaluru. Had he not made those crucial saves, the Blues would have found themselves at least three or four goals down. In the away leg, not only did he saved a spot-kick but also denied the opposition on several occasions. Against Tajikistan’s reigning champions, FC Istiklol, the pressure was mounted by the home side. Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev, who had played against India in the AFC Challenge Cup and Nehru Cup in the past, was the chief orchestrator....

GROUP A: Al Jazeera 4-0 Al Suwaiq (Al Souliman 39’ Al Jafal 41’ Al Essawi 45+3’ Tannous 85') UAE’s Al Jazeera stormed to the top of Group A with a 4-0 romp over Oman’s Al Suwaiq on Tuesday. Mohannad Al Souliman headed in Yazan Al Arab’s volleyed cross in the 39th minute to give Al Jazeera the lead before Oday Al Jafal doubled the lead two minutes later. He converted Abdullah Al Attar’s cross from the right flank....

GROUP D (Central Zone): FC Istiklol 1-0 FC Alay (Fatkhulloev 48') Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol maintained their dominance atop Group D with a 1-0 win over FC Alay on Wednesday. At Hisor Central Stadium, FC Istiklol were dominant right from start as FC Alay barely held on. However, they could not force an opening and had to wait till the 48th minute to score the opeing goal. Sheriddin Boboev was fouled inside the area and Fatkhulloev stroked the penalty home....