CYCLING
Race brings back metal
A lightweight wooden medal proved an inadequate reward for the thousands of amateur cyclists who completed the RideLondon mass participation event last year so organizers have bowed to pressure and are to reinstate metal medallions instead. Eco-friendly wooden medals have become more common for sporting events, but they have not been to everyone’s liking. Finishers in next year’s race, which takes riders from central London out to the countryside of Essex and back, would be decorated with medals made from recycled zinc alloy. “We listened to the feedback from riders and the strong preference for a metal finisher’s medal,” RideLondon route director Kevin Nash said in a statement. Zinc alloy is said to be more recyclable than aluminum alternatives, and any leftovers are to be melted down and made into new products, organizers said.
ICE HOCKEY
Wild fire Dean Evason
The Minnesota Wild on Monday fired coach Dean Evason and replaced him with John Hynes after losing seven straight games and 14 of their first 19 to start to the NHL season. General manager Bill Guerin announced the moves, including the firing of assistant Bob Woods. Hynes, the former New Jersey and Nashville coach, is to take over. Evason, 59, had three full seasons in charge of the Wild, who gave him his first head coaching job in the NHL on Feb. 14, 2020, when Bruce Boudreau was fired and he was promoted from his assistant role. He went 147-77-27 in 251 regular season games and 8-15 in the post-season without winning any series.
ATHLETICS
Athletes train for combat
Hundreds of athletes as young as seven are undergoing military training in Shanghai designed to instill discipline and “good fighting ability,” the city said. The athletes are to “deeply study” the Chinese military’s “sense of standards and combat spirit,” the Shanghai Sports Bureau said. Chinese soccer teams have previously undergone similar training, which is largely performative and part of a wider campaign to promote Chinese Communist Party values. He Youxiao, head coach of a men’s gymnastics team participating in the training this week, said that the age range of his athletes spanned from seven to 25. “No matter how old or young, everybody deeply cherishes this opportunity,” a sports bureau news report quoted He as saying. The training started on Monday and is scheduled to last until Tuesday next week. It involves 932 athletes from 11 sports centers across the city.
TENNIS
No penalty for Russia event
The WTA said that while it does not support an exhibition event in Russia this weekend, players who compete in it would not be sanctioned. The second edition of the Northern Palmyra Trophies tournament, sponsored by Russian energy giant Gazprom, is to be held from Friday to Sunday in St Petersburg, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. Among the WTA players participating are former French and US Open quarter-finalist Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, Russian world No. 28 Anastasia Potapova and former Roland Garros quarter-finalist Veronika Kudermetova, also from Russia. ATP players include world No. 15 Karen Khachanov of Russia, Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and France’s Adrian Mannarino, the event’s Web site shows.
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
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
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
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