Port Louis, April 11 (IANS) Australian golfer Scott Hend will be among the star names at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open to be held from May 12 to 15, it was announced on Monday.
Hend, one of the most successful international players on the Asian Tour, will be joined by Chiragh Kumar of India, Danthai Boonma of Thailand and Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat at the Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius at Anahita.
“I am excited to play at the Mauritius Open again. Mauritius is one of the most beautiful places that I have visited. I enjoyed the challenging course last year and I am looking forward to playing the course at Four Seasons Golf Club Mauritius,” the 42-year-old Hend said in an Asian Tour release.
Hend will be aiming to improve on his tied fifth result last year as he hopes to break into the top-50 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). Hend, who won his eighth Asian Tour title in Thailand in March, is currently ranked 85th in the world.
“Winning in Thailand last month was great and I would love to try and kick on now and get another win,” said the big-hitting Hend.
Ryan Dodds, chairman of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open Organising Committee, said: “We look forward to Hend returning as one of our headline players at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
“He put on a great performance last year and he is playing great golf currently. We have no doubt that he will be one of the top players to watch next month.”
Neymar’s contract with Barcelona revealed to be $56.3 mn
Lisbon, April 11 (IANS) FC Barcelona’s Neymar has a 49.5 million euros ($56.3 million) deal for five years with the Spanish football giants, according to the Football Leaks website, which published on Monday a copy of the Brazilian striker’s contract.
The contract was signed in 2013 by Neymar, alongwith his father cum agent Neymar Senior and Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and vice president Josep Maria Bartomeu. The contract states that the player’s fixed salary would be 5 million euros ($5.70 million) a season, reports Efe.
The leaked documents also show that the 24-year-old received 8.5 million euros ($9.68 million) as a signing bonus.
The contract has a clause stating that Neymar will receive 425,000 euros ($484,000) if he wins the footballer of the year award during his time at Barcelona.
Football Leaks is a website, created in Portugal, which defends the leaking of confidential documents to promote transparency in the sport.
Naldo says Wolfsburg have nothing to lose against Real Madrid
Berlin, April 11 (IANS) Wolfsburg defender Naldo on Monday said the German football club has nothing to lose against Real Madrid in the second leg of the European Champions League quarter-finals in the Spanish capital on Tuesday.
“We can achieve something sensational in Madrid. We have nothing to lose,” Naldo, whose team won 2-0 over Real Madrid in the first leg of the tournament’s quarter-finals on Wednesday, told German Kicker magazine.
Naldo acknowledged that everyone believes that Madrid can score three or four goals, but pointed out that his team’s defence can make this very difficult at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, reports Efe.
The Brazilian defender played in the first leg against Real Madrid after his recovery from a shoulder injury which sidelined him for five weeks.
