OLYMPICS
IOC boss lauds Sochi
Newly elected International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach said on Thursday last week that Russia was ready to provide “excellent conditions” for athletes at the Winter Olympics in February next year. “We are very pleased with preparations,” Bach told a news conference in Tokyo where he was visiting for the first time since the Japanese capital won the right in September to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. “The athletes will have excellent conditions in Sochi,” said the German, who visited the Black Sea resort last month where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bach said the quality of the Olympic village was good and it was close to competition venues. “Having stayed in quite a number of Olympic villages, I can say I was really, really impressed,” he said.
GOLF
Video replays shunned
Golf took another stand against video evidence on Tuesday by announcing a new decision that it would not penalize a player whose ball moves at rest if the movement is only detected by enhanced pictures. It was the second time in the last two years that the US Golf Association and Royal & Ancient have established new guidelines involving video. The next edition of Decisions on the Rules of Golf effective from Jan. 1 will include three new decisions, the most significant being 18/4. It says that when “enhanced technological evidence” shows that a ball moved, it will not be deemed to have moved if not “reasonably discernible to the naked eye at the time.” Decision 18/4 was an offshoot of Decision 33-7/4.5 in 2011. Under that decision, officials can waive disqualification for an incorrect scorecard if a player was unaware of a rules violation.
SOCCER
Germany player killed
It has been confirmed that former Germany youth international Burak Karan, 25, died during an air raid on the Syrian town of Azaz last month, after allegedly traveling there to assist anti-Assad forces. Tributes from his teammates and managers have been pouring in. Kevin-Prince Boateng, the former Tottenham and Milan midfielder, wrote on Twitter: “RIP my brother Burak. K!! I will never forget our time together, you were a true friend. Burak was a close friend of mine in my youth. What happened afterwards I don’t know, nor can I influence it!!!” A video of Karan posted on YouTube fueled speculation that the player became radicalized after retiring from sport. It shows him wearing a turban and carrying a machine gun. Text below the video claimed that “he left home to fight fisabilillah [for the sake of Allah] against [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad’s injustice.” Karan’s elder brother Mustafa claims he had traveled to the Turkish-Syrian border mainly to collect donations and guarantee their fair distribution.
RUGBY
Ban for dangeous tackle
Australia center Tevita Kuridrani has received a five-week suspension for a dangerous tackle on Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony in Australia’s 32-15 victory in Dublin on Saturday. Kuridrani received a straight red card for the tackle in the 72nd minute and appeared at an International Rugby Board disciplinary hearing on Tuesday. The suspension ruled Kuridrani out of Australia’s final two games on their end of season tour against Scotland and Wales, placing greater pressure on coach Ewen McKenzie’s playing stocks. McKenzie suspended six players from their game against Scotland after they breached team protocols in the lead-up to the Ireland Test.
West Ham United on Monday advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out win against Brentford, who paid the price for Dango Ouattara’s spot-kick blunder. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side twice blew the lead as Jarrod Bowen’s double was canceled out by an Igor Thiago brace to force extra-time in the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium, but in the shoot-out, Brentford winger Ouattara attempted a chipped Panenka penalty, but his woeful effort was straight at West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. It was an awful mistake by the Burkina Faso international and West Ham took full advantage. Bowen, Valentin Castellanos, Callum
MEDVEDEV AWAITS: The world No. 1 Spainiard said that he is ‘finding the right shots’ as he pushed his record so far this year to 16 victories and no losses Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday extended his unbeaten season and got revenge over Cameron Norrie to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a fifth straight year. The world No. 1 from Spain emerged from a see-saw battle with 29th-ranked Norrie with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. In the semis tomorrow, he faces Russian Daniil Medvedev, who pushed his own ATP winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over defending champion Jack Draper. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner powered past Learner Tien 6-1, 6-2 to line up a semi-final with fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, a 6-2, 6-3 winner over Arthur Fils. Alcaraz, 22, became
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Thanks to Italy beating Mexico on Wednesday, the US get another chance in the World Baseball Classic (WBC). What looked like a potentially disastrous early exit for US manager Mark DeRosa and his team turned out to be nothing more than substantial worry and significant embarrassment for about 24 hours. It remains to be seen whether the US really want to win badly enough for the reprieve to matter, as if it is just a switch they can flick, but there is little reason for their fans to be optimistic. The team’s attitude and behavior have been all over the place when
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