OLYMPICS
‘Dozens’ face Rio ban: IOC
International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach yesterday said that “dozens” of athletes could be banned from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after new tests on samples from previous Games. The IOC has decided to re-examine samples from the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the London Games in 2012 “using the most recent scientific methods,” Bach said in an opinion piece in French daily Le Monde. “This decisive action will probably prevent dozens of athletes who have doped from competing in the Rio Olympic Games in 2016,” Bach added. The re-examination is part of widespread measures taken by sporting bodies after a wave of new doping scandals to hit international sport, with Russia at the center. The IOC is to apply a policy of “zero tolerance,” Bach told Le Monde. The committee on Tuesday added that up to 31 athletes from 12 nations could face bans from the Rio event after new tests from the 2008 Games in Beijing. These athletes were caught in new tests on 454 Beijing samples. About 4,000 tests were carried out in total during those games, meaning the number of retroactive failures might increase.
ATHLETICS
US probes doping claims
US prosecutors are investigating claims that dozens of top Russian athletes participated in a sophisticated state-sponsored doping program, the New York Times reported. Two unidentified sources confirmed the investigation to the Times, requesting anonymity because they did not have authorization to speak publicly. The report said the probe is being run out of the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn and looking at athletes, Russian government officials, anti-doping authorities and people who might have benefited from the doping scheme. There was no immediate response to messages left with the Brooklyn office and the FBI’s New York office.
SOCCER
Chelsea, Tottenham fined
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been fined £375,000 (US$540,000) and £225,000 respectively for failing to control their players during a feisty 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge earlier this month. The tempestuous London derby boiled over as Chelsea came from two goals down to secure a point that ended Tottenham’s hopes of winning the English Premier League. Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele was handed a six-match ban after gouging Chelsea striker Diego Costa’s eye during one of several ugly mass brawls. Referee Mark Clattenburg did not punish Dembele for his actions, but television replays caught the Belgium international attacking Costa. There were 12 yellow cards in total and Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino at one stage rushed onto the pitch to separate Tottenham’s Danny Rose and Chelsea’s Willian. The feuding continued after the final whistle when Rose was involved in another incident that prompted a brawl involving players and staff from both clubs and featured Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink being pushed to the floor.
BOXING
Film premieres at Cannes
Oscar winner Robert de Niro premiered his latest movie, boxing drama Hands of Stone, at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, walking the glamorous red carpet on the French Riviera. The movie looks at the life of famed Panamanian fighter Roberto Duran, portrayed by Edgar Ramirez, and his trainer Ray Arcel, played by De Niro.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but