RUGBY UNION
Man prosecuted for abuse
World Rugby hailed “a landmark outcome” after a man in Australia was prosecuted for sending threatening and abusive messages online to a match official and his wife during last year’s World Cup in France. The man, identified by Australian media as Aaron Isaia, a 22-year-old youth worker from Brisbane, on Monday pleaded guilty to an online harassment charge and was handed a A$1,000 (US$662) good behavior bond. He would also be banned from all World Rugby events. “World Rugby welcomes this landmark outcome,” chief executive Alan Gilpin said in a statement. “The vile and toxic abuse is an all-too-common occurrence for many sports men and women and public figures. We hope that this sends a very strong message to online trolls that such behavior is totally unacceptable and that the sport and the authorities are prepared to take action.”
TENNIS
Djokovic oldest ranked No. 1
Novak Djokovic has surpassed another tennis record once held by Roger Federer, becoming the oldest man to be ranked No. 1 in the ATP Tour’s computerized rankings. Djokovic, who turns 37 next month, is now older than Federer was on his last day atop the rankings in June 2018. Monday gives Djokovic 420 total weeks at that spot, extending another mark Federer (who was there for 310 weeks) had at one time before Djokovic broke it.
ATHLETICS
NAIA restricts trans women
The US National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) on Monday banned transgender women from competing in women’s sports, taking a more hardline stance than other athletic bodies that allow trans athletes to compete based on testosterone levels. The NAIA, representing mostly small colleges, is less influential than the larger National Collegiate Athletic Association, but its decision carries political weight in the wider US debate about transgender rights. “Only NAIA student-athletes whose biological sex is female may participate in NAIA-sponsored female sports,” the association said in its policy. Female athletes who have begun masculinizing hormone therapy may participate in internal workouts, practices and team activities, but are banned from external competition. Any eligible athlete may participate in men’s sports, it said. Meanwhile, World Netball banned transgender players from international competition with immediate effect under a new participation and inclusion policy issued on Monday. The global governing body of what has traditionally been, and remains at an international level, a women’s sport said it had undergone a lengthy consultation before issuing the policy.
OLYMPICS
Eiffel Tower to bear rings
The Olympic rings are to be displayed on the Eiffel Tower during the Paris Games, the company that manages the monument and the organizing committee of the Games said on Monday. The five rings representing the five continents and the universal nature of sport are to be installed in the next few weeks on the side of the tower that faces the river Seine, said Jean-Francois Martins, the head of the tower’s managing company Sete. Le Parisien said the rings would be situated between the first and second levels.
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
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