COMMONWEALTHS
England incorrectly listed
A 130-page program for the Commonwealth Games has accidentally listed England as an African country. The program, which includes profiles on the 71 Games nations, labels England’s capital as “Banjul” with a population of 2 million. Banjul is the capital city of The Gambia. A spokeswoman for Goldoc, the company responsible for running this year’s Games, has apologized for a formatting error in the official program. “Goldoc is aware of a formatting error in the England team overview section of the official GC2018 program. The formatting error occurred when The Gambia was reinstated back in to the Commonwealth and subsequently the Games only a few weeks ago,” the company said.
COMMONWEALTHS
Games hit by assault case
The Commonwealth Games were yesterday hit by an indecent assault case as Australian police investigated a Mauritian athlete’s complaint of “inappropriate touching” by a team official. Queensland state police said they had launched a criminal probe after a complaint was made overnight. Mauritian media said chef de mission Kaysee Teeroovengadum had been accused of the offense and had stepped down, but that he remained on the Gold Coast, the Games’ host city. “The Queensland Police Service is currently investigating a complaint in relation to an allegation of assault of an aggravated nature involving an athlete and an official from the Mauritius team,” Deputy Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski told reporters.
RUGBY UNION
Folau post sparks outrage
Australia outside back Israel Folau has sparked outrage with a comment on social media suggesting that gay people would be condemned to “hell” unless they “repent” for their sins. Folau’s post was deleted, but the screen-grab was shared on social media. Folau made the comment on Instagram in reply to another user who asked what was “gods plan” for gay people. “HELL... Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God,” Folau wrote. The comment triggered a torrent of criticism from social media users on his account, though he was also supported for his stance by some.
CRICKET
South Africa to tour Sri Lanka
Cricket South Africa (CSA) have confirmed a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in July along with five one-day Internationals (ODI) that would provide preparation for next year’s World Cup in England and Wales. The first Test will be played in Galle and the second in Colombo, followed by the five ODIs that start on July 29 in Dambulla. There is also to be a single Twenty20 International played in Colombo on Aug. 14. The original tour schedule reportedly had involved three Tests, but Sri Lanka Cricket asked for one of these to be replaced by an extended limited overs series that is more commercially viable. “This will be a very important tour for us,” CSA acting chief executive Thabang Moroe said in a statement. “We have a lot of exciting, young players coming into our side in all three formats and, with so much of our international cricket being played on the sub-continent these days it is important they get used to those conditions as soon as possible.”
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS