Fireworks boomed in the sky to celebrate Sochi's selection as the site of the 2014 Olympics, and Russians' hearts filled with pride, confident their long-beleaguered land has finally overcome its troubles.
"It means that Russia has reached the level of Europe, and we can be proud of our country," said Marina Matveyeva, a 23-year-old bank employee who was one of more than an estimated 15,000 people who jammed a central square yesterday for the pre-dawn announcement.
Officials praised Sochi's victory as a boost to Russia's prestige on the international arena -- a much needed push for a country that has faced increased criticism of its democracy and human-rights record.
"Sochi's election as the capital of the 2014 Olympic Games is another proof of our country's authority in the world, of a country which is stable, predictable and in this context sportive," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin told the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Russia, which hosted the 1980 Moscow Games, has never held a Winter Olympics.
Two previous tries by Sochi failed. A bid for the 1998 games was withdrawn early in the decade amid the economic deterioration during the last months of the Soviet Union's existence. Its try for the 2002 games didn't make the final round, due to concerns about the almost-total absence of facilities.
Sochi still must build nearly every venue new. But this time, bid promoters pushed that as an asset, saying the construction would mean the Olympic movement would get its most modern games ever.
Taiwan’s top male badminton player, Chou Tien-chen, on Saturday bowed out in the men’s singles semi-finals at the Thailand Open after losing in straight games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, lost to the world No. 2 Thai 21-7, 21-19 in 53 minutes. The victory improved Vitidsarn’s head-to-head record against Chou to 3-5. Chou, 36, trailed throughout the opening game after the score was tied 2-2. His relatively passive approach allowed the 25-year-old Thai to capitalize on Chou’s defensive clears with powerful smashes while committing few unforced errors. The Taiwanese
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
Jannik Sinner has his eyes on a first Roland Garros title after winning the Italian Open on Sunday to claim a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 tournament victory. World No. 1 Sinner beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to complete the “Golden Masters” by winning all of the ATP’s top-ranked events, in the process becoming the first Italian men’s champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago. Only Novak Djokovic had previously won all nine Masters 1000 events before Sunday, but there was little doubt about Sinner triumphing over the past 10 days. Sinner heads to Roland Garros, which starts at the weekend,
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