Non-goalkeeper wins J1 League monthly best save award
By Lee Seng Foo2 months ago
(Cerezo Osaka)
Cerezo Osaka defender Ayumu Ohata won the J1 100 Year Vision League’s Save of the Month WEST award for the month of February.
The 24-year-old was recognised for his remarkable goal-line clearance during Cerezo Osaka’s 2-1 defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
In the 22nd minute of the February 22 clash, Ohata produced an acrobatic effort to deny what looked like a certain goal and keep his side in the contest.
Despite the award traditionally being reserved for goalkeepers, his save stood out enough to earn official recognition.
“I’m honoured to have been selected for February’s Best Save Award. It means a lot, especially as I understand this is the first time an outfield player has received this recognition in the J1 League,” he said.
“We’ll continue to give everything we’ve got, so we truly appreciate your continued passionate support.”
Former Weekly Soccer Magazine editor-in-chief Satoshi Hojo described it as “an extraordinary save with massive impact”, while retired footballer Ryohei Hayashi added that he had never seen a scorpion-style block like it.
Rafael Nadal dismissed reports linking him with a future bid to become president of Real Madrid.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion, a lifelong supporter of the Spanish giants, took to social media on Wednesday to clarify his position amid growing speculation surrounding the club’s upcoming presidential elections.
“I have read reports that link me to possible candidacies for the presidency of Real Madrid. I would like to clarify that these reports are not true,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
His statement came a day after current president Florentino Pérez officially confirmed that elections would be held at the club.
He leído informaciones que me relacionan con posibles candidaturas a la presidencia del Real Madrid. Me gustaría aclarar que estas informaciones no son ciertas.
Despite distancing himself from the rumours, Nadal has never hidden his interest in leading Real Madrid one day, although he has consistently voiced support for Pérez’s leadership.
"Yes, I would like to be president of Real Madrid," Nadal said in 2023.
"But at the moment there's nothing to say, because we have the best possible president. Afterwards, life takes many turns and you have to consider whether you are capable of certain things."
Since stepping away from professional tennis in 2024, Nadal has increasingly expanded his involvement in various sporting and business ventures, including the E1 Series powerboat championship and padel.
Jannik Sinner’s rise from elite contender to near-unstoppable force has transformed the ATP Tour into a weekly battle for survival.
Since the start of the 2024 season, the four-time Grand Slam champion has built an aura few players outside the peak years of the Big Three have managed to replicate. His consistency, relentless baseline pressure and composure under the biggest moments have turned him into the benchmark of men’s tennis.
With a 7-3 record across their last 10 meetings, Carlos Alcaraz has been the one player consistently capable of matching the Italian blow for blow. But with the Spaniard currently out injured, the rest of the ATP field has often looked helpless against Sinner’s dominance.
Following the 2026 Madrid Open, here are the last 10 players not named Carlos Alcaraz to beat Jannik Sinner on the ATP Tour.
The Czech produced one of the biggest wins of his young career in Doha, snapping Sinner’s 22-match winning streak with a 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 victory. Although Menšík later lost to Arthur Fils in the semi-finals, the win over Sinner firmly established him as one of the ATP Tour’s most dangerous rising stars.
Djokovic rolled back the years in Melbourne, proving experience and tactical precision can still trouble the world No. 1. The Serbian recovered from a set down twice to secure a dramatic 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory, ending his four-match losing streak against Sinner and reminding the tour of his enduring threat at the majors.
Tallon Griekspoor (2025 Shanghai Masters Round of 32)
Griekspoor’s victory came under unfortunate circumstances after Sinner retired midway through the match due to physical discomfort. Still, the Dutchman deserved credit for matching Sinner’s intensity early on and applying consistent pressure from the baseline before the Italian was forced to stop.
Sinner entered Halle riding a 66-match winning streak against players ranked outside the world’s top 20 and appeared on course for another routine victory after taking the opening set. But Bublik flipped the match and stormed back to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 before eventually capturing his second Halle title.
Andrey Rublev (2024 Montreal Masters quarter-finals)
Rublev produced one of his cleanest attacking displays of the season to overpower Sinner in Canada. The Russian’s 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 victory also snapped a five-match losing streak against the Italian in their head-to-head rivalry.
Medvedev’s tactical discipline and defensive resilience frustrated Sinner across a gruelling five-set battle on Centre Court. The Russian absorbed pace superbly and forced the Italian into uncomfortable exchanges en route to a 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 victory that denied Sinner a maiden Wimbledon semi-final appearance.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (2024 Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals)
Tsitsipas rediscovered some of his best clay-court form during his run to a third Monte Carlo title. His 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 semi-final win over Sinner proved the toughest match of his tournament and was also the only set he dropped all week.
Players to defeat Jannik Sinner in 2024:
🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz
🇬🇷 Stefanos Tsitsipas
End of list. pic.twitter.com/FRjs8cTvtT
— Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (@ROLEXMCMASTERS) April 13, 2024
Novak Djokovic (2023 ATP Finals)
After losing to Sinner during the group stage in Turin, Djokovic responded emphatically in the final. The Serbian delivered a clinical 6-3, 6-3 victory to secure a record seventh ATP Finals crown, once again showcasing his unmatched ability to adapt tactically over the course of a tournament.
Shelton’s explosive left-handed game overwhelmed Sinner in one of the defining wins of the American’s breakout season. After dropping the opening set, Shelton roared back to claim a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory.
Zverev survived a gruelling late-night battle against Sinner under the lights at Flushing Meadows. Relying heavily on his serve and backhand consistency, the German outlasted the Italian 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in a match lasting nearly five hours. In hindsight, it now looks like one of the final stretches before Sinner evolved into the ATP Tour’s dominant force.
The 2026 MotoGP season remains deep in its European stretch this week as the paddock heads to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Catalan Grand Prix, one of the calendar’s most technically demanding rounds and the second Spanish circuit of the season.
Ahead of all the exciting high-speed action, live on SPOTV NOW, here are five key facts to know.
Home sweet home
While Jerez is widely regarded as the de facto home circuit for Spanish riders, Montmelo is the true backyard round for several riders who were born in Catalonia. The Marquez brothers are from nearby Cervera, Maverick Vinales hails from Figueres and Alex Rins was born in Barcelona itself, making the Catalan Grand Prix one of the most personal weekends of the season for the local contingent.
Marc Marquez will miss the Catalan Grand Prix for the third time in his premier-class career following his heavy crash at Le Mans. The six-time MotoGP world champion previously sat out the 2020 and 2022 editions while recovering from arm surgeries, with Stefan Bradl replacing him on both occasions.
While no confirmation yet, Ducati are expected to call upon veteran test rider Michele Pirro, who already made a substitute appearance earlier this season when he replaced Fermin Aldeguer at BK8 Gresini Racing during the Thailand opener.
When Alex Marquez took the chequered flag in 2025, he not only secured his first MotoGP victory at Montmelo but also became the only rider in the modern era to win the Catalan Grand Prix in all three classes. The Spaniard previously triumphed in Moto3 in 2014 before adding Moto2 victories in 2017 and 2019.
When Alex converted pole position into victory last year, he became just the fourth rider in the past 20 years to achieve the feat at the Catalan Grand Prix. The statistic highlights how unpredictable races at Montmelo can be, where tyre preservation, race pace and slipstream battles into Turn 1 often prove more decisive than outright qualifying speed.
Football meets MotoGP
Few MotoGP weekends blend football and motorsport quite like the Catalan Grand Prix. Players and personalities linked to FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol have become regular visitors in the paddock over the years. Recent editions have also featured the likes of Carles Puyol, Joan Garcia and Marcos Alonso taking part in chequered-flag duties.
Marc Marquez’s latest crash at the 2026 French Grand Prix has added another chapter to one of the most injury-interrupted careers in modern MotoGP.
The Ducati rider suffered a fractured foot and aggravated shoulder damage during the sprint race at Le Mans, ruling him out of at least the French and Catalan rounds.
While Marquez remains one of MotoGP’s defining riders with six premier-class world titles, much of the latter half of his career has been shaped by repeated injuries and recovery battles.
From his debut in 2013 through the opening round of the pandemic-affected 2020 season, the Spaniard remarkably did not miss a single premier-class race despite numerous heavy crashes, compiling a streak of 129 consecutive starts.
That streak ended with his career-altering crash at Jerez in 2020, where he fractured his right humerus. The injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season and triggered years of complications, including multiple surgeries, recurring diplopia episodes, fractures and persistent shoulder problems.
Between 2020 and 2023, Marquez missed 30 Grands Prix as he battled through repeated recovery attempts and physical setbacks. Questions increasingly emerged over whether he could return to competing consistently at the front of the field.
A turning point came in 2024 following his move to Gresini Racing after ending his long association with Repsol Honda. Riding a year-old Ducati, Marquez contested every round for the first time since 2019 and re-established himself as a regular podium contender and race winner.
The resurgence earned him a promotion to Ducati’s factory team for 2025, immediately placing him back into championship contention. But injuries again interrupted his momentum after shoulder damage sustained at the Indonesian Grand Prix ruled him out of the final four rounds of the season.
Now, his latest absence in 2026 marks the second major injury interruption since reviving his career aboard Ducati machinery, and raises doubts about whether Marquez can complete a full championship campaign consistently in the closing phase of his career.
Even so, writing off Marquez has rarely proven wise. His resilience continues to shape his legacy as much as his six premier-class titles. Few riders in modern MotoGP have repeatedly returned from career-threatening injuries to win races and contend for championships again.
As Marquez recovers from his latest setback, below is a season-by-season breakdown of his MotoGP injury history, including the races he missed and the injuries sustained throughout his career.
Season
Races Missed
Reason
2013
0/18
—
2014
0/18
—
2015
0/18
—
2016
0/18
—
2017
0/18
—
2018
0/18
—
2019
0/19
—
2020
13/14
Suffered a right humerus fracture at the Spanish GP, followed by multiple surgeries and complications.
2021
4/18
Continued recovery from arm surgeries before later being sidelined by diplopia.
2022
8/20
Suffered a relapse of diplopia at the Indonesian GP before undergoing a fourth surgery on his right arm.
2023
5/20
Fractured his right thumb at the Portuguese GP and then his left thumb at the German GP.
2024
0/20
—
2025
4/22
Suffered a shoulder injury at the Indonesian GP.
2026 (ongoing)
2/22
Fractured his foot at the French GP and later underwent shoulder surgery.
