All posts by 234Radio

Eleanor Cardwell said Manchester Thunder “concentrated on having fun” as they comfortably beat London Mavericks 69-59 in round two of the Netball Super League.

Both sides were targeting their first win of the season after losing their openers and Thunder made the most of home advantage at the Belle Vue Arena.

“I think we really concentrated on having fun,” said player of the match Cardwell. “I think we were a bit uptight last week against Pulse.

“You could see we were all enjoying it and playing with a bit more freedom.”

Thunder took control early on as they opened up a 19-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter and extended their lead to 35-25 at half-time.

They led 52-40 after the third quarter and kept the Mavericks at bay on the way to victory.

“We’re still not perfect,” said Thunder head coach Karen Greig. “I’m going to keep asking more and more of these girls but we definitely looked more connected out there.

On Saturday, Loughborough Lightning overcame a “tough” opening to beat Leeds Rhinos 70-43.

The win at Canon Medical Arena, in Sheffield, puts the visitors top of the early standings with six points from their opening games.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Lightning coach Vic Burgess, said: “I’m really happy with the scoreline, really pleased with the win today.

“It’s been great to see such a solid team performance. Everybody that took the court did exactly what we asked of them.”

From 24-23 behind, Lightning went on a scoring streak to lead 37-24 at the midway point and never looked back.

“The first quarter was tough, I’m really pleased with all of the girls’ performances,” Burgess said.

Lightning co-captain Nat Panagarry, a three-time title winner with the team, made her 200th appearance in the NSL.

Leading 42-33 at the end of the third quarter, Pulse extended their advantage to 11 part-way through the fourth.

But the Welsh side, who finished bottom of the revamped NSL last year after winning only two of their 14 games, exerted increasing pressure in the final six minutes, led by player of the match Jacqui Newton.

BBC Sport will show one game per week during the regular season.

These are the games you can watch live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer:

7 March: Manchester Thunder 69-59 London Mavericks

15 March: Nottingham Forest v Leeds Rhinos (16:00 GMT)

22 March: London Pulse v Nottingham Forest (18:00 GMT)

28 March: Loughborough Lightning v Birmingham Panthers (18:30 GMT)

4 April: London Pulse v Birmingham Panthers (17:00 BST)

11 April: Dragons v Birmingham Panthers (16:00 BST)

18 April: Loughborough Lightning v London Mavericks (18:00 BST)

Loughborough Lightning overcame a “tough” opening to strike down Leeds Rhinos 70-43 in round two of the Netball Super League season.

The win at Canon Medical Arena, in Sheffield, puts the visitors top of the early standings with six points from their opening games.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Lightning coach Vic Burgess, said: “I’m really happy with the scoreline, really pleased with the win today.

“It’s been great to see such a solid team performance. Everybody that took the court did exactly what we asked of them.”

From 24-23 behind, Lightning went on a scoring streak to lead 37-24 at the midway point and never looked back.

“The first quarter was tough, I’m really pleased with all of the girls’ performances,” Burgess said.

Lightning co-captain Nat Panagarry, a three-time title winner with the team, made her 200th appearance in the NSL.

Leading 42-33 at the end of the third quarter, Pulse extended their advantage to 11 part-way through the fourth.

But the Welsh side, who finished bottom of the revamped NSL last year after winning only two of their 14 games, exerted increasing pressure in the final six minutes, led by player of the match Jacqui Newton.

BBC Sport will show one game per week during the regular season.

These are the games you can watch live on the BBC Sport website and iPlayer:

7 March: Manchester Thunder v London Mavericks (17:00 GMT)

15 March: Nottingham Forest v Leeds Rhinos (16:00 GMT)

22 March: London Pulse v Nottingham Forest (18:00 GMT)

28 March: Loughborough Lightning v Birmingham Panthers (18:30 GMT)

4 April: London Pulse v Birmingham Panthers (17:00 BST)

11 April: Dragons v Birmingham Panthers (16:00 BST)

18 April: Loughborough Lightning v London Mavericks (18:00 BST)

Emma Raducanu made an impressive start to her Indian Wells campaign by recording a comprehensive straight-set victory over Russian Anastasia Zakharova.

British number one Raducanu was all smiles as she waved to the crowd after completing a 6-1 6-3 win at the prestigious WTA 1,000 event in California.

The 23-year-old, who received a first-round bye as the 25th seed, will face world number six Amanda Anisimova in the third round if the American can overcome Russian Anna Blinkova.

“I think my game was in a really good place,” Raducanu told BBC Sport.

“I hadn’t necessarily felt so good for the last month, so I’m really pleased with the work we did for the last week and just for it to transfer on the match court like that. It gives you huge confidence that you are doing the right thing.

“Today’s match was a great display for myself of how I want to be playing, of what I want to be feeling like when I’m on the court.”

Following Raducanu’s second-round exit at the Australian Open in January, the 2021 US Open champion reached only the second final of her career in Cluj but then failed to win a match in Doha or Dubai.

In a dominant first-set display against Zakharova, she won 80% of points behind her first serve and conceded just six points across four service games.

Raducanu appeared in control throughout as she married clean ball striking with aggressive baseline play to close in on victory.

She was forced to withstand Zakharova’s late resistance, losing serve for the first time when she served for the match, but responded by sealing victory on her opponent’s serve in the next game.

The Briton’s team in California included Mark Petchey, who is a former coach to Andy Murray and previously joined Raducanu’s team last March when she reached the Miami Open quarter-finals.

Raducanu told BBC Sport this week that she will be “tapping into a few people” for coaching advice going forward, after parting company with Francisco Roig.

The Briton remains open to recruiting another full-time coach – Spaniard Roig was the seventh she has worked with on such a basis – but on the condition that they do not seek to dictate the way she should play.

This was just the way Raducanu wants to play: with freedom, aggression and strong defensive foundations when required.

There will be many tougher challenges ahead.

Zakharova is only just inside the world’s top 100 but had won three matches to get to this stage and was clubbing the ball powerfully from the baseline.

Raducanu may not have made a full-time appointment to replace coach Francisco Roig, but her support box was sold out.

Athletes from Russia and Belarus marched behind their nations’ flags at the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics as the 50th anniversary edition of the Games officially got under way.

The furore surrounding the inclusion of six Russians and four Belarusians at these Games has dominated the build-up, with teams from seven nations – including Ukraine – opting to boycott the ceremony in Verona in protest.

These Games mark the first time that athletes from Russia and Belarus have been allowed to compete under their nations’ flags at a Paralympics since bans were imposed following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Russian flag has not been flown at a Paralympic Games since Sochi 2014, firstly because of the country’s state-sponsored doping scandal, before the Ukraine war led to further sanctions.

Despite the Ukrainian delegation not being in attendance at Friday’s ceremony, they received one of the loudest cheers of the night as the country’s flag was carried into the arena by a volunteer.

“These Paralympic Winter Games will honour our past, celebrate our present, and shape a more inclusive future, and we need a future now more than ever before,” said Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee.

“Four years ago I said I was horrified at what was happening in the world. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved.

“In a world where some countries are better known by the names of their leaders, I prefer to know the countries by the name of their athletes.

Earlier on Friday, it was announced Iran would no longer compete in the Games because its sole athlete, cross-country skier Aboulfazl Khatibi Mianaei, could not travel safely to Italy because of ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

On Saturday, 28 February, joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran targeted the country’s missile infrastructure, military sites and leadership. Tehran, in response, has launched strikes across the Middle East region, including on Israel.

Giovanni Malago, president of the Milan-Cortina 2026 organising committee, said: “We cannot ignore that these Games take place in a deeply divided world, torn apart by wars, grief and suffering at one of the most dramatic turning points of our time.

The opening ceremony took place at the Arena di Verona, a 2,000-year-old amphitheatre and Unesco world heritage site, despite no competitions taking place in the city.

More than 660 athletes from 56 countries will feature in six sports at the Games, which run until 15 March, with Great Britain sending a 25-strong team to compete.

No GB athletes were present at Friday’s ceremony, because of logistical reasons rather than political, with many of the team in competitive action across the Dolomites on Saturday morning.

In total, only 28 of the 55 nations competing at Milan-Cortina had athletes marching in person during the parade.

For those who were not there, and were not protesting, pre-recorded videos of the flagbearers and their team-mates were played, accompanied by a loud music soundtrack from Italian house artists Meduza.

The ceremony featured a nod to Verona’s reputation as the City of Love, thanks to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet being set in the city, and culminated with the simultaneous lighting of two Paralympic cauldrons in Milan and Cortina.

“Paralympians are ready to redefine possibility, push the boundaries of human ability and show what humans can achieve when respected and provided with chances to succeed,” said Parsons.

“In the coming days, a record number of athletes and nations will showcase the very best of Paralympic winter sport. Through their exceptional sporting performances, Paralympians will remind the world that disability is not itself a limitation, but an incredible dimension of human diversity.