Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Black Sticks stalwart Ella Gunson is calling time on her international career announcing her retirement after 10 years with the national hockey team.

The defender was a double Olympian, competing at London and Tokyo and also won a silver medal at the Delhi Commonwealth Games and gold in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

She represented New Zealand 232 times on the world stage.

"My career has been a 10 year roller coaster. But I truly loved, and will always treasure, my time in the team. It was challenging, competitive, rewarding, and so much fun," she said.  

Gunson debuted for New Zealand in 2009 but withdrew from the side in 2013/2014 to take up a hockey scholarship at Boston University

Tall Blacks score big win

An understrength Tall Blacks were too good for India in their Basketball World Cup qualifier in Manila last night, winning 101-46.

Tom Vodanovich was the top scorer for New Zealand with 21 points, while Rob Loe produced a double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Coach Pero Cameron was missing several of his top players who are plying their trades in professional leagues outside of New Zealand and Australia, but his side was still outclassed India in their Group A qualifier.

The Tall Blacks now have a day off after Korea made the decision not to attend the event, with New Zealand's next game against hosts the Philippines on Sunday night.

Worker makes history in one-day competition

George Worker has become the first man from any team to score four Ford Trophy centuries in a single summer, after his second big hundred in the space of three days.

The Auckland opener scored an unbeaten 139* off 144 balls (11 boundaries, three sixes) to guide his side home by three wickets in a last-over victory against the Central Stags.

It was top qualifier the Stags' first loss of the campaign as the Aces continued their barnstorming run though the back end of the one-day competition and the two teams now fly to Queenstown for a big rematch in Saturday's Grand Final with the ledger standing at one-all this season, after the Aces' first-round loss in Palmerston North.

Worker's century was the 18th in his overall List A one-day career (comprising four for the Aces, 10 for the Central Stags, two for Canterbury, and two for New Zealand A).

Central Stags allrounder Doug Bracewell meanwhile picked up his 100th List A wicket when he bowled Glenn Phillips for five.

The Ford Trophy Final is set for 11am this Saturday at John Davies Oval, Queenstown.

The Shark bites back at PGA

Australian golf legend Greg Norman has fired off an open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, accusing him of "bullying" and asserting that he cannot legally ban players if they join a rival league.

The two-time major winner and CEO of LIV Golf scolded Monahan in the strongly worded letter that ended with this: "This is just the beginning. It certainly is not the end."

Norman is fronting the Super Golf League, a Saudi-backed breakaway tour that reportedly is throwing large sums of money to the world's top golfers in an effort to lure them to playing its select schedule.

But Monahan has repeatedly stated that any PGA Tour golfer who chooses to play in the SGL would receive a lifetime ban from the PGA Tour.

Norman called Monahan out on that in his letter as a likely violation of labor laws.

"Surely you jest," Norman started the letter. "And surely, your lawyers at the PGA Tour must be holding their breath."

Norman said players are independent contractors.

-Reuters

Djokovic beaten in Dubai

World number one Novak Djokovic suffered a shock loss to qualifier Jiri Vesely at the Dubai Tennis Championships, falling to a 6-4 7-6 loss in the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 event.

The Serbian's defeat meant that U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev -- who is currently competing in Acapulco -- will move to the top of the world rankings next week.

Playing in his first event since being deported from Australia ahead of the year's first Grand Slam tournament, an off-colour Djokovic lost serve in the opening game as Vesely matched him stroke for stroke.

The 20-times major winner started strongly in the second set but Vesely maintained his high level, racing into an early lead in the tiebreak to clinch his second career victory over Djokovic.

-Reuters

Elder named Chiefs captain

Black Ferns captain Les Elder has been named to captain the Chiefs Manawa side in the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki competition.

Elder will continue her role as captain after leading the side to the historic 39 - 12 win against the Blues Women last year.

The 35-year-old loose forward was born in Taumarunui and has obtained 22 caps for the Black Ferns.

She was first named as Black Ferns captain in 2019 and is known for her leadership skills along with her power and resilience as a loose forward.

Elder took time off rugby in 2020 with the birth of her first child, returning in 2021 to captain both the Chiefs Women and Black Ferns.

"It's a huge privilege to be able to lead any side and just looking at the calibre of the women in our team, any one of those other ladies could have done the job and I would have happily gone in and supported them," she said.

Super Rugby Aupiki is scheduled to start on March 5.

India thump Sri Lanka

India maintained their red-hot form after their top order fired to secure a 62-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 International in Lucknow.

On a high after blanking West Indies 6-0 in one-dayers and T20 Internationals, the hosts racked up 199-2 riding blistering half-centuries by opener Ishan Kishan and number three batsman Shreyas Iyer.

They returned to restrict Sri Lanka to 137-6, completing a comprehensive victory despite resting Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant and missing Suryakumar Yadav through injury.

Dhamarsala hosts the next two matches on Saturday and Sunday.

-Reuters

Leicester fan gets four months in jail for assault on Forest players

A Leicester City supporter who assaulted three Nottingham Forest players during the sides' FA Cup fourth-round match has been sentenced to four months in prison and banned from attending soccer games for 10 years.

Cameron Toner, 19, ran onto the pitch and attacked Forest players while they were celebrating their third goal in a shock 4-1 win over the holders at the City Ground on Feb. 6.

Toner, who was charged with three counts of common assault and going onto a playing area at a football match, pleaded guilty to the charges.

The court ruled that Toner had been drinking before the game, adding that it was "a determined attack" on Forest players.

-Reuters

Poland, Sweden and Czech Republic oppose World Cup qualifiers in Russia

Russia should not be allowed to host football World Cup qualifiers next month after its invasion of Ukraine, the football associations of Poland, Sweden and the Czech Republic have said.

Russia is currently due to host Poland in the semi-finals of its strand of the World Cup playoffs on March 24 and, if its team advances, is scheduled to host either Sweden or the Czech Republic on March 29 in the Path B final.

"The military escalation that we are observing entails serious consequences and considerably lower safety for our national football teams and official delegations," the joint statement said.

The associations said they expected FIFA and UEFA to react immediately and to come up with alternate venues.

Russia is also set to lose the Champions League final this year with UEFA calling for an extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee on Friday to move the match from St Petersburg.

-Reuters

Full field for NY marathon

The New York City Marathon will return to full capacity with an estimated 50,000 runners set to participate in early November.

The race, one of the most prestigious events on the global running calendar, was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and returned last year with a reduced field of 30,000 runners amid a number of safety protocols.

Organisers said this year's marathon, scheduled for Nov. 6, will require runners to be fully vaccinated.

The 42.16 km run through the city's five boroughs typically draws hundreds of thousands of people along the race course in a city-wide celebration.

-Reuters