Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Afghan basketball star makes debut in Spain after leaving Kabul

The captain of the Afghan women’s wheelchair basketball team made her debut for her new Spanish side on Saturday to cheers and applause just over a month after fleeing Kabul when the Taliban came to power. Nilofar Bayat, 28, and her husband Ramesh Naik Zai, 27, were offered the chance to play for Bidaideak Bilbao BSR, a wheelchair basketball team in the northern city of Bilbao.

Tennis-Sabalenka tests positive for COVID-19, out of Indian Wells

World number two Aryna Sabalenka will not play at the Indian Wells tournament after testing positive for COVID-19, the 23-year-old said. Sabalenka, who lost to Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez in the U.S. Open semifinal last month, was the top seed in the women’s draw at the Indian Wells after world number one Ash Barty pulled out from the WTA 1000 event near Los Angeles.

Soccer-Southgate urges Grealish to start scoring for England

Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish faces a “big challenge” to find his debut goal for England, coach Gareth Southgate said ahead of their forthcoming World Cup qualifiers. Southgate was happy with Grealish’s start to life at the new club Manchester City, where he has bagged two goals and two assists in all competitions after his British record transfer from Aston Villa.

MLB roundup: Angels put crimp in Mariners’ playoff hopes

Luis Quijada came on in relief with runners at the corners and no outs in the seventh inning and struck out the next three hitters as the visiting Los Angeles Angels damaged the Seattle Mariners’ playoff hopes with a 2-1 victory Friday. Brandon Marsh hit a two-run double in the third inning as the Angels won for just the fourth time in their past 14 games.

Soccer-Liverpool boss Klopp compares vaccine refusal to drink-driving

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp likened refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine to drink-driving, saying such people endanger others. Klopp said he took the vaccine to protect not just himself but “all the people around me”. The 54-year-old also said that 99% of his Liverpool players are vaccinated and that he did not have to convince anyone to do so.

Baseball-Wildcard race bringing MLB season to a crazy end

After six months and 161 games Major League Baseball will need all 162 contests to bring the postseason picture into focus with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners chasing two American League wildcard spots. It will be all to play for on Sunday with the Yankees (91-70) and Red Sox (91-70) holding a one game advantage on the Blue Jays (90-71) and perhaps the Mariners (89-71) who take on the Los Angeles Angels later on Saturday.

Cycling-Deignan makes history by winning first women’s Paris Roubaix

Britain’s Lizzie Deignan rode to a landmark victory in the inaugural Paris Roubaix Femmes as rain, mud and crashes made it a memorable debut for the world’s best female riders over the infamous cobbled course on Saturday. The former world champion produced a dominant ride over the 115.6km course and held off a powerful late surge by Dutch great Marianne Vos to win by one minute and 17 seconds.

Soccer-Keno scores late as Atletico beat Internacional 1-0

Keno scored late in the second half for Atletico Mineiro to give the Belo Horizonte side a 1-0 win over Internacional and help them extend their lead at the top of Brazil’s Serie A to 11 points. Just four days after they were knocked out the Copa Libertadores at the semi-final stage, Atletico bounced back with substitute Keno’s 78th minute goal the difference between the sides.

Padres’ collapse could lead to dismissal of manager Jayce Tingler

The late-season collapse of the San Diego Padres is expected to mark the end of Jayce Tingler’s two-year stint as manager. Major League Baseball Network reported Saturday that Tingler “will be relieved of his managerial duties.” It is known that San Diego general manager A.J. Preller is considering a change.

WTA roundup: Alison Van Uytvanck wins Nur-Sultan title

No. 2 seed Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium rallied for a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win Saturday over top seed and home favorite Yulia Putintseva in the Astana Open final in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Van Uytvanck improved to 5-0 in her career in WTA finals and defeated Putintseva for the first time in their five head-to-head meetings. It was her first title since Tashkent in 2019.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)