■CANOEING
Olympic champion dies
Hungary’s two-time Olympic canoe champion Gyorgy Kolonics died on Tuesday, most likely due to heart failure, during a practice session for the Beijing Games, the Hungarian Kayak-Canoe Federation said. Kolonics, 36, who won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000 and bronze medals in 1996 and 2004, fell unconscious and could not be resuscitated, Etele Barath, the federation’s president told state news agency MTI. “There’s not a whole lot anybody can say for now, everybody who was there is in shock and can’t really tell us what happened,” Gabor Ganczer, a spokesman for the federation said. Kolonics was set to compete in Beijing, his fifth Olympics, in the 500m and 1,000m double events with Gyorgy Kozmann. In an international career spanning over 16 years, Kolonics won 15 world championship titles. He rose to national prominence in Hungary after taking the 500m doubles title in Atlanta with Csaba Horvath.
■SWIMMING
Singaporean looks to shine
A Singaporean swimmer is using NASA-style technology to help the city-state shine at the Olympics. Tao Li is undergoing bright light therapy to adjust her bodyclock to the morning race times at next month’s Games. Five times a week, China-born Tao is given a 15-minute burst of strong light to enable her to peak in the mornings for the finals, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday. The treatment, at a light intensity of 3,600 lux and roughly nine times as strong as a brightly lit office, will last three weeks. Li will be competing in the 100m backstroke as well as the 100m and 200m butterfly events. “This therapy can help Tao Li become more alert both physically and mentally,” Taisuke Kinugasa, a Singapore Sports School doctor, was quoted as saying. Singapore has not won an Olympic medal in nearly half a century. Their sole success came at the 1960 Rome Olympics when Tan Howe-Liang won a silver medal in weightlifting.
■WEIGHTLIFTING
Bribery claim earns ban
An Indian female weightlifter accused of bribing her way to the Beijing Olympics has been dropped and replaced by a teammate, an official said on Wednesday. Shailaja Pujari found herself embroiled in controversy last month when she was named in media reports as offering 500,000 rupees (US$12,500) to a senior official to get picked for the Games. Pujari denied the charge, as did the official, Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) secretary Baldev Raj Gulati. Pujari, who was due to compete in the 75kg category, was replaced by Monika Devi (69kg) in the lone weightlifting berth offered to India after fresh selection trials were ordered by the sports ministry. “Monika won by a clear-cut margin,” Gulati told reporters. “We took into account their performance over the last 12 months and Monika definitely had the better record of the two. Besides, Shailaja’s past history of doping went against her.”
■OPENING CEREMONY
Officials ready to target rain
China may attempt to artificially influence the weather if rain threatens the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games next month, a meteorological official said on Tuesday. “Although it is an emergency measure, the meteorological administration has made serious preparations on artificially influencing the weather,” administration official Chen Zhenlin said. Speaking at a press conference on weather forecasting, Chen said meteorologists had been carrying out experiments on artificial weather modification since 2003, particularly tests on reducing rainfall.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
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