■CANOEING
Olympic champion dies
Hungary’s two-time Olympic canoe champion Gyorgy Kolonics died on Tuesday, most likely due to heart failure, during a practice session for the Beijing Games, the Hungarian Kayak-Canoe Federation said. Kolonics, 36, who won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000 and bronze medals in 1996 and 2004, fell unconscious and could not be resuscitated, Etele Barath, the federation’s president told state news agency MTI. “There’s not a whole lot anybody can say for now, everybody who was there is in shock and can’t really tell us what happened,” Gabor Ganczer, a spokesman for the federation said. Kolonics was set to compete in Beijing, his fifth Olympics, in the 500m and 1,000m double events with Gyorgy Kozmann. In an international career spanning over 16 years, Kolonics won 15 world championship titles. He rose to national prominence in Hungary after taking the 500m doubles title in Atlanta with Csaba Horvath.
■SWIMMING
Singaporean looks to shine
A Singaporean swimmer is using NASA-style technology to help the city-state shine at the Olympics. Tao Li is undergoing bright light therapy to adjust her bodyclock to the morning race times at next month’s Games. Five times a week, China-born Tao is given a 15-minute burst of strong light to enable her to peak in the mornings for the finals, the Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday. The treatment, at a light intensity of 3,600 lux and roughly nine times as strong as a brightly lit office, will last three weeks. Li will be competing in the 100m backstroke as well as the 100m and 200m butterfly events. “This therapy can help Tao Li become more alert both physically and mentally,” Taisuke Kinugasa, a Singapore Sports School doctor, was quoted as saying. Singapore has not won an Olympic medal in nearly half a century. Their sole success came at the 1960 Rome Olympics when Tan Howe-Liang won a silver medal in weightlifting.
■WEIGHTLIFTING
Bribery claim earns ban
An Indian female weightlifter accused of bribing her way to the Beijing Olympics has been dropped and replaced by a teammate, an official said on Wednesday. Shailaja Pujari found herself embroiled in controversy last month when she was named in media reports as offering 500,000 rupees (US$12,500) to a senior official to get picked for the Games. Pujari denied the charge, as did the official, Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) secretary Baldev Raj Gulati. Pujari, who was due to compete in the 75kg category, was replaced by Monika Devi (69kg) in the lone weightlifting berth offered to India after fresh selection trials were ordered by the sports ministry. “Monika won by a clear-cut margin,” Gulati told reporters. “We took into account their performance over the last 12 months and Monika definitely had the better record of the two. Besides, Shailaja’s past history of doping went against her.”
■OPENING CEREMONY
Officials ready to target rain
China may attempt to artificially influence the weather if rain threatens the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games next month, a meteorological official said on Tuesday. “Although it is an emergency measure, the meteorological administration has made serious preparations on artificially influencing the weather,” administration official Chen Zhenlin said. Speaking at a press conference on weather forecasting, Chen said meteorologists had been carrying out experiments on artificial weather modification since 2003, particularly tests on reducing rainfall.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
SHORT-HANDED: Reigning champions the Boston Celtics were without stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but they still downed the Timberwolves Oklahoma City on Thursday stretched the NBA’s best winning streak to 13 games with a home victory, while reigning champions the Boston Celtics held on for a last-shot triumph at Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 29 points and eight assists to spark the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98, improving the Western Conference leaders to 28-5. The Thunder’s winning streak is the longest since the team relocated from Seattle after the 2007-2008 season. “It’s just being present, going day by day, working on ourselves, and I think we’re doing a good job on that,” said Isaiah Hartenstein, who added 11
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