Roger Federer, the former world number one in men’s tennis, will play singles at the ATP Basel indoor tournament in October, despite being afflicted by repeated knee ailments for the past two years, according to organisers. Federer, who hasn’t competed since falling to Pole Hubert Hurkacz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals last July, replied to the … Read more
Germany have dominated the sliding sports at the Beijing Olympics. The secret of their success is that they have been using materials “basically similar to Formula One” to build their sledges, revealed one of the men who build them. Going into the final weekend of the Games, the Germans have won 12 of the 24 … Read more
Patrizia Kummer, an unvaccinated Swiss snowboarder who competed in the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday after three weeks of quarantine, said she had “no difficulty” and didn’t “care what people thought” of her. Athletes who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 enter the “closed loop” bubble system immediately at the Beijing Games, but those who have not … Read more
South Korea’s sports organisation announced Tuesday that it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over “unfair” officiating in short track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics, after two medal hopefuls were disqualified. After finishing first and second in their heats, South Koreans Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified from … Read more
Russian teenage star Kamila Valieva made figure skating history Monday, becoming the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics — and not content with one, she landed two. The 15-year-old landed the quadruple leaps – when a skater rotates four times in the air – as she crushed the competition in Beijing’s … Read more
BEIJING: One of China’s longest coronavirus lockdowns since the start of the pandemic came to an end on Monday as authorities announced the lifting of most restrictions in the northern megacity of Xi’an. The historic city’s 13 million residents had been confined to their homes since December 22 after the discovery of a Covid-19 cluster … Read more
Mallak Faisal is Pakistan’s first figure skater. She is motivated to make history by being the first Pakistani woman to compete in the Winter Olympics. That day isn’t far away, given her outstanding achievement in Hunza’s 5-day winter sports. The Dubai-based Pakistani genius has wowed the world and won numerous honors for her skating prowess. … Read more
Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit China from February 3-5 for attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Speaking at a weekly news briefing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed stated that during the prime minister’s visit, officials from Islamabad and Beijing would discuss the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), among other things. … Read more
TOKYO: Japan said Friday it will not send government representatives to February’s Beijing Olympics as it called on China to respect human rights and the rule of law. Government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno did not describe the move as a diplomatic boycott — already announced by the US and others — but said there were “no plans” … Read more
PARIS: Rules concerning new generation athletics shoes will be tightened after the Paris 2024 Olympics, World Athletics said on Thursday. The move comes at a time where carbon and foam soles in athletics shoes appears to be improving performances. Read More: Warholm and Thompson-Herah named World Athletes of the Year “A long-term sustainable and implementable solution for athletic shoes which balances … Read more
BEIJING: February’s Beijing Winter Olympics look set to be the strictest mass sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic. AFP Sport looks at what measures athletes and others can expect to face in the “bubble” and how that compares to last summer’s virus-delayed Tokyo Games. What is the ‘closed loop’? China, where the virus emerged towards the end … Read more
France is still considering along with other EU countries its position on joining a diplomatic boycott by Western allies of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, an official said Thursday, after a minister indicated French officials would be present. Asked about a boycott announced by the United States, Australia, Britain and Canada, Education and Sports Minister Jean-Michel … Read more
China warned Western nations on Thursday that they would “pay the price” for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Washington unveiled its decision not to send a diplomatic delegation earlier in the week, saying it was prompted by widespread rights abuses by China and what it sees as a “genocide” against the Muslim … Read more
Britain on Wednesday joined Australia and the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February, prompted by what the Western allies argue are widespread rights abuses by China. The UK will not send ministers to the Winter Games in the Chinese capital Beijing, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament, as discord over … Read more
Norwegian downhill and super-G specialist Kjetil Jansrud declared his season done on Wednesday after injuring a knee ligament in a fall at Beaver Creek, the Norwegian Ski Federation announced Wednesday. “The season is over as far as I’m concerned, but I’m motivated to do what needs to be done to come back,” said the 36-year-old … Read more
Canada said Wednesday it will join the United States and other countries in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February. “As many (of our) partners around the world, we are extremely concerned by the repeated human rights violations by the Chinese government,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference. “That is why we … Read more
China’s men’s ice hockey team will compete at their home Winter Olympics at Beijing 2022, the sport’s governing body confirmed Tuesday, having once threatened exclusion over the hosts’ “insufficient sporting standard”. China have an automatic place at February’s Games as hosts, but there are fears that they could face embarrassment with matches in their group against … Read more
Australia will not send officials to the upcoming winter Olympics in Beijing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Wednesday, joining a US diplomatic boycott of the event. Canberra’s decision comes amid “disagreement” with China over a number of issues, including Australia’s foreign interference laws and a recent decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Morrison said. “Australia will not … Read more
The Kremlin on Tuesday criticised the United States for announcing a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, saying the Games should be “free of politics”. US President Joe Biden’s administration announced Monday that it will not send any US diplomatic or official governmental representatives to the Games kicking off in February in a rebuke … Read more
China warned on Tuesday the United States would “pay the price” for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics over human rights concerns. The US move — which stopped short of preventing athletes from attending — comes after Washington spent months wrangling over what position to take on the Games, beginning in February next year, … Read more
France said Tuesday it would seek a coordinated EU response after the United States announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The decision, which stopped short of preventing athletes from attending, comes after Washington spent months wrangling over what position to take on the Games, which begin in February. The decision was taken … Read more
Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group’s role as a “worldwide partner” of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has sparked a behind-the-scenes battle to prevent it from hosting and accessing sensitive data. “There is a fight,” Guillaume Poupard, director general of the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI) said earlier, before adding that it was … Read more
Figure skating’s Grand Prix Final will no longer take place in Japan next week over a ban on new foreign arrivals to the country prompted by the Omicron variant, organisers said Thursday. Separately, Kazakh boxer Gennady Golovkin’s world title fight against Ryota Murata in Japan is now in doubt, with promoters telling AFP they do not … Read more
World Athletics announced on Wednesday that Glasgow will host the world indoor championships in 2024, months before the Paris Olympics. The Scottish city held the European indoor championships in 2019 and will likely host the global competition in the March before the Games in France start in July 2024. “This will underline Scotland’s global reputation as the … Read more
Norwegian 400m hurdler Karsten Warholm and Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah were named the World Athletes of the Year on Wednesday. Warholm received the award for smashing the 29-year-old world record in winning the Tokyo Olympics final in a sensational time of 45.94sec. His performance is widely considered one of the greatest Olympic track performances of … Read more
BEIJING: Manufacturing activity in China edged up in November on the back of an easing in power shortages and a drop in some raw material costs, official data showed on Tuesday. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) — a key gauge of manufacturing activity — in the world’s second-biggest economy rose to 50.1, returning above the … Read more
Winter Olympics bid city Sapporo has slashed its projected costs for hosting the 2030 Games by about a quarter, or $795 million, the city’s mayor said on Monday. The northern Japanese city, considered one of the frontrunners to host the Games, made the move amid fears of a public backlash after the ballooning cost of this … Read more
Russian youngster Kamila Valieva became the first woman to break the 270-point barrier as she underlined her status as favourite for the Winter Olympics with a comfortable success at the Rostelecom Cup on Saturday. The 15-year-old, who was also the first female figure skater to post a total score of more than 250 points, was … Read more
