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| - AFP Sports Agenda for Thursday, March 12 (all times GMT): Twitter: @AFP_Sport Instagram: @afpsport + World Athletics meets over Russia + Europa League last 16 first legs + First India v South Africa ODI + McIlroy starts Players Championship title defence + Golden State host Brooklyn in NBA behind closed doors ATHLETICS -- World Athletics will decide in Monaco whether to start the procedure of reinstating the new-look Russian athletics federation after repeated doping scandals. Coverage by Luke Phillips (ATHLETICS-WORLD-DOPING-RUS) FOOTBALL -- UEFA Europa League last 16 first legs: LASK v Manchester United, Eintracht Frankfurt v Basel, Istanbul Basaksehir v FC Copenhagen (all 1755), Wolfsburg v Shakhtar Donetsk, Rangers v Bayer Leverkusen, Olympiakos v Wolverhampton Wanderers (all 2000). Picture (FBL-EUR-C3) CRICKET -- India face South Africa at Dharamsala in 1st ODI of three-match series (0800). Picture (CRICKET-IND-RSA) CYCLING -- Maximilian Schachmann leads going into stage five of Paris-Nice, a flat 227km ride from Gannat to La Cote-Saint-Andre. Picture (CYCLING-FRA-PARISNICE) GOLF -- Opening round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, with Rory McIlroy bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the title at golf's 'fifth major'. Picture (GOLF-USPGA-USA) -- Also EPGA Kenya Open (GLF-EPGA-KEN) RACING -- St Patrick's Day will be celebrated on day three at horse racing's Cheltenham Festival, featuring seven races. Coverage by Pirate Irwin (RACING-ENG-CHELTENHAM) RALLYING -- The World Rally Championship arrives in Mexico with two short stages in Guanajuato. Picture (AUTO-RALLY-WORLD-MEX) FORMULA ONE -- Build-up ahead of the new Formula One season which gets underway in Australia on Sunday (AUTO-PRIX-AUS) BASKETBALL -- NBA (five games): Chicago at Orlando (2300), Boston at Milwaukee (0000 Friday), Memphis at Portland (0200), Brooklyn at Golden State, Houston at Los Angeles Lakers (0230). Picture (BASKET-NBA) afp
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