BASKETBALL
Russia ban remains
Russia is to remain banned from international competition with its men’s national team prohibited from participating in this year’s pre-Olympic qualification tournaments, the FIBA Executive Committee announced on Tuesday. The committee said it was following the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee in banning Russia and Belarus over the war in Ukraine.
ATHLETICS
Runner uses vehicle in race
A Scottish runner has been stripped of third place in an ultramarathon after data showed she had used a vehicle for part of the route, the race director said. Data from the tracking system at the GB Ultras Manchester to Liverpool 80km race on April 7 showed that Joasia Zakrzewski, who represented Scotland in the marathon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, used a car for a 4km stretch of the race, the BBC reported. Race director Wayne Drinkwater said he had received information that a runner had gained an “unsporting, competitive advantage during a section of the event.” Zakrzewski has not commented publicly on the incident, but the BBC quoted a running friend of hers as saying she had felt sick and wanted to drop out. “She has cooperated fully with the race organizers’ investigations, giving them a full account of what happened,” Adrian Stott said. “She genuinely feels sorry for any upset caused.”
SOCCER
Maradona trial to continue
An Argentine appeals court on Tuesday confirmed that eight medical professionals accused of responsibility in the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona would stand trial. Neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov and six others had appealed a decision issued last year to put them on trial for homicide with potential aggravating circumstances. Maradona died in November 2020 aged 60 while recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot, and after decades of battles with cocaine and alcohol addictions. Prosecutors accused the medical professionals of being involved in “reckless” and “deficient” home treatment of a patient.
TENNIS
Sabalenka speaks out
Aryna Sabalenka on Tuesday said she cannot control what Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says about her and that while his comments might make her even more unpopular on the WTA she would “stop the war” in Ukraine if she could. The world No. 2 spoke last month about the “hate” she encountered in the locker room amid strained relations between some players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was supported by Belarus. Lukashenko celebrated Sabalenka’s Australian Open victory in January and said more recently that people knew which country she hailed from even if she was playing under a neutral flag. “I’m pretty sure that it’s not helping,” Sabalenka told reporters in Stuttgart when asked about Lukashenko’s comments. “I don’t know what to say because he can comment [on] my game, he can comment whatever he wants to. I have nothing to do with politics ... If Ukrainians will hate me more after his speech, then what can I do? If they feel better by hating me, I’m happy to help them with that. They can do that.”
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS