RUGBY UNION
Wallabies’ pay restored
The Wallabies marked their first day in isolation in New Zealand with news that they would return to full pay for the rest of the year according to an agreement between Rugby Australia (RA) and the Rugby Players Union Association. Dave Rennie’s team arrived in New Zealand on Friday and were immediately placed in isolation for 14 days ahead of their Bledisloe Cup Tests with the All Blacks next month. RA was forced to enact pay cuts earlier this year due to financial uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, with players in April accepting a 60 percent pay cut. They had their salaries reinstated to 70 percent in July and would return to 100 percent on Oct. 1 ahead of their international program, which also includes the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship. Super Rugby players’ salaries would remain at 70 percent, RA and the union said in a statement yesterday. “We are obviously not alone in the financial challenges that we are facing, but our playing group have stood up and acknowledged their role to play in securing the game’s future in Australia,” RA interim chief executive Rob Clarke said.
BADMINTON
Tour’s Asian leg moved
The Asian leg of the Badminton World Tour scheduled for November has been moved to next year in Bangkok, officials said on Friday, in the latest disruption to the sport due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sport has seen international matches called off throughout the year as authorities around the world restrict movement and public gatherings in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus. The Badminton World Federation said three tournaments under the tour were now scheduled to be played back-to-back in the middle of January, with the finals at the end of the month. The Asian leg of the games originally planned for November were no longer “viable” and the Asian leg of the tour would be played in Thailand, it said. “The January dates provide BWF with the best possible opportunity to resume and complete the HSBC BWF World Tour for 2020 as part of our return to international badminton,” it said in a statement.
OLYMPICS
Suga vows Games success
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga yesterday said that he is determined to host the Tokyo Olympic Games next summer as “proof that humanity has defeated the pandemic.” The Games were postponed as COVID-19 spread worldwide and there has been widespread doubt about their future. Suga said in a prerecorded speech at the UN General Assembly that he would “spare no effort in order to welcome you to Games that are safe and secure.”
ATHLETICS
Russia granted extension
Russia’s suspended athletics federation (RusAF) has been granted a six-month extension to finalize its reinstatement plan before World Athletics decides on potential fresh sanctions or even expulsion, the sport’s global governing body said yesterday. RusAF was suspended in 2015 after a report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found evidence of mass doping among track and field athletes. The World Athletics Council said it had approved a recommendation from its Russia Taskforce to extend the deadline for the federation to produce an appropriate reinstatement plan by March 1 next year. The taskforce said that the missed deadline “appears to be due not to a lack of willingness, but rather a lack of know-how and resources.”
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe
AGING WELL: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, 22, was sent packing after being dispatched by world No. 97, Laura Siegemund, the second-oldest player in the draw at 36 Novak Djokovic yesterday created a slice of Grand Slam history on his way into the Australian Open third round, but last year’s women’s finalist Zheng Qinwen was knocked out in the biggest shock so far. Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, in-form Coco Gauff, two-time Melbourne winner Naomi Osaka and a rampant Carlos Alcaraz were all victors on a rainy day four. Play was suspended on the outside courts for a couple of hours in the early evening because of the wet weather. That led to the rescheduling of a women’s doubles match between wild-cards Tsao Chia-yi of Taiwan and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech and 11th
RSS