Iran’s Hossein Vafaei on Sunday said that the Crucible Theatre venue for the World Snooker Championship “smells really bad,” and the tournament could learn from China where players are “treated like stars.”
Vafaei lost his first-round clash 10-5 to former champion Judd Trump and lashed out at the conditions at the arena in Sheffield, England, which has hosted the event since 1977.
“Everything’s so bad — if you ask me if I want to come back here, I would tell you no way,” Vafaei said.
Photo: AFP
“Forget the history, you want to go somewhere really nice as a player. You walk round the Crucible and it smells really bad. You go to other countries and everything is shiny, but here it’s completely different,” he said.
“The practice room — do you see anything special? I feel like I’m practicing in a garage,” Vafaei added.
World No. 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan has already suggested the world championship should be moved to Saudi Arabia or China when the existing deal expires in 2027.
“Look at the China venues, how fantastic they treat the players, a red carpet and an opening ceremony,” Vafaei said. “The players are treated like stars, but here no one looks after the players, before and after the match no one cares who you are.”
The World Snooker Tour said in a statement that “the Crucible is a historic venue and there are limitations given the size of the backstage areas.”
“We work with the Crucible to make it as welcoming as possible for players,” it said.
Taiwan’s participation in the Olympic Games has been a story of politics as much as sports, with the name it has competed under since 1984 — Chinese Taipei — drawing as much attention as its athletes. However, with the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad set to begin in Paris on Friday, the exploits of Taiwan’s athletes past and present who have won 36 medals since the country’s debut in Melbourne in 1956 deserve a nod. Many of Taiwan’s medal winners have gained considerable name recognition, but only two have achieved legendary status — Maysang Kalimud and Chi Cheng, the only medal winners
Shohei Ohtani on Sunday hit a 473-foot (144m) home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers went deep six times in a 9-6 victory over the Boston Red Sox. Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Gavin Lux, Austin Barnes and Jason Heyward also connected as Los Angeles swept the three-game series. “Going into the break, we weren’t playing good baseball, and then to come out fresh against a really good ball club and to play the way we did — the offense came to life,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was the 25th time the Dodgers launched at least six homers in a game
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the
Conventional wisdom dictates that the average retirement age for elite female players in the intense and physically demanding sport of badminton is well under 30 years old. Five female shuttlers are set to turn that on its head when they make their fourth Olympic appearances at the Paris Games, a feat never accomplished before. Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying, 30, Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, 29, Belgium’s Lianne Tan, 33, and Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Canada’s Michelle Li, both 32, are to compete for Olympic glory at Porte de La Chapelle Arena from Saturday to Aug. 5. “These achievements get missed because they’re women,” said