Other Sports
FASANOC works closely with sporting organisations
FIJI Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee chief executive officer Lorrain Mar says they are working closely with national federations in the country as to how they might adapt to training during the COVID-19...
Delayed Tokyo Olympics likely to open in July 2021
TOKYO (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese organisers are in final stages of talks to set the opening date for the Tokyo Games in July next year, Japanese media said. The Tokyo event, postponed last week due to the coronavirus pandemic, will most likely have its opening ceremony in 2021 on July...
England players set for pay cuts due to coronavirus crisis
(Reuters) – England’s cricket players must “realise the bigger picture” and will be expected to take a pay cut as the country’s cricket governing body (ECB) tries to deal with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, The Times here reported on Sunday. More than 662,700 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus across the world...
RFU ends season in England: except Premiership
LONDON (Reuters) – England’s Rugby Football Union (RFU) on Friday confirmed the end of the 2019-20 season for all league, cup and county rugby in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic but the Premiership has been excluded. The RFU earlier this week suspended all rugby activity until April 14 while the Premiership halted the...
Reports: Bucs, DT Suh agree to one-year contract
Five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year, $8 million contract, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday. Suh recorded 41 tackles, a career-low 2.5 sacks and four fumble recoveries in 16 games in 2019 during his first season with the Buccaneers. He also scored two touchdowns, the...
Motor racing: Self isolation makes training easier for Ricciardo
(Reuters) – Australian Daniel Ricciardo reckons self-isolation makes for a perfect training camp — although it helps to be on the family farm in western Australia with a swimming pool and some machinery to play with. Speaking in a live Instagram Q+A organized by his Renault Formula One team, the Australian talked about what he...
Davis Love III, wife escape fire that destroys home
(Reuters) – American golfer Davis Love III’s home was destroyed by an early morning fire in Georgia on Friday but the 21-time PGA Tour winner said he and his wife were not injured in the early morning blaze. “While everyone in our family is saddened at the loss of our home that was filled with...
29th March
Report: Almost ‘100 percent’ chance NBA resumes without fans
If the NBA regular season resumes, it is almost “100 percent” the games will be played without fans present, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported Friday. Windhorst said the NBA will very likely mimic the plan being used in China for a potential end to the current hiatus, which began March 12. In China, ground zero for...
Athletics: Iran Olympic discus trailblazer Hadadi has coronavirus
(Reuters) – Ehsan Hadadi, Iran’s first Olympic track and field medalist, has tested positive for coronavirus, World Athletics reported on Saturday. Hadadi, the Asian discus champion who became a national hero when he won silver at the 2012 Olympics in London, has an athletics base in the U.S. but was at home in Tehran when...
Tennis stars rally in fight against coronavirus
Novak Djokovic and his wife, Jelena, are donating 1 million Euros — about $1.1 million — to buy ventilators and other equipment for hospitals in their native Serbia to assist in the fight against the coronavirus. “The fight is not easy, numbers are not pleasant, but I am convinced that we will manage to make...
‘Challenge’ to decide who covers cost of postponing Tokyo Games: Mori
(Reuters) – Tokyo 2020 Olympics organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori has told international federations that deciding who foots the bill for postponing the Games to 2021 will be a “major challenge”, Olympic news website insidethegames here reported on Saturday. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Japanese organizers this week postponed the July 24-Aug. 9 event...
Dybala says coronavirus left him struggling for breath
(Reuters) – Juventus forward Paulo Dybala, one of the highest-profile players to be infected with the coronavirus, has started training again after recovering from the illness which he said left him struggling for breath. Dybala is one of three players at Juventus who have tested positive for the virus alongside defender Daniele Rugani and midfielder...
Coronavirus will not be opportunity for drug cheats says WADA chief
(Reuters) – World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chief Witold Banka had a message on Friday for any athlete thinking they could take advantage of the gap in drug-testing created by the coronavirus outbreak — “we will catch you” and “eliminate you”. WADA acknowledged last week that the coronavirus pandemic had created challenges for drug-testers with countries...
Team USA weighing roster alternatives in event of spring Olympics
USA Basketball is weighing alternative roster options in the event of a potential conflict between the delayed Tokyo Olympics and the NBA season. If the postponed Games are moved from a July 2020 start to March or April of 2021, NBA players would not be eligible to participate. The NBA regular season typically ends in...
28th March
NHL players discuss possible playoff formats
With the NHL season on an indefinite hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, players have plenty of time to ponder the potential return of the sport. With it looking increasingly likely that a full 82-game regular season won’t be completed, attention is turning to how the playoffs might look. In a Friday conference call involving...
Kavika vows not to repeat mistakes
WORLD Boxing Foundation Australasian heavyweight champion James Singh and Jonasa Kavika will square off for the title of Fiji heavyweight champion later this year. “I wont make the same mistakes again,” said Kavika. The two last met for the World Boxing Foundation Australasian title in November last year where Singh stopped Kavika in a seventh...
Olympic qualification process and late season being studied: Coe
(Reuters) – World Athletics is working to restart a shuttered athletics season and studying any changes that may be needed in the qualifying process for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, president Seb Coe said on Friday. The governing body is hoping to offer a series of meetings that may begin in August and run to October...
Cricket: ICC postpones World Cup qualifiers due to coronavirus
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday that all qualifying events for the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup and 50-overs version in 2023 that were scheduled to be held before June 30 have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The flu-like virus has infected more than 470,800 people around the world...
Athletes qualified for Tokyo 2020 to keep spots in 2021
Athletes already qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics before the Games were postponed will get to keep their spots in the rescheduled 2021 competition. About 6,200 of the 11,000 scheduled participants had already secured their positions before the global coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement, which was made official Tuesday. Sebastian Coe, president of the International...
27th March
Nemani welcomes postponement decision
THE permanent secretary for the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Maritino Nemani has welcomed the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics Games in Japan. “I believe it was the right decision which everyone should support,” the former national football captain said. “In light of the devastation COVID-19 has brought globally, it makes sense...
Moana disappointed with cancellation of Olympics
FIJI Swimming athlete Moana Wind is saddened by the news of the Olympics Games being cancelled because of the effects of COVID-19. The Fiji Sportswoman of the Year who is aiming for a spot in the Swimming Fiji team to the Olympics and is currently in New Zealand training as part of her buildup for...
LeBron talks about virus’ impact on NBA in podcast
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James shed light on a variety of topics facing the NBA should it attempt to resume the 2019-20 season later this year. Appearing on the Road Trippin’ podcast, James expressed concerns for NBA players competing against someone who was diagnosed with the coronavirus. “So what happens when a guy who...
Weeks of anguish and a ‘black box’: Inside Tokyo’s decision to delay the Olympics
TOKYO/LAUSANNE (Reuters) – Officials in charge of staging Tokyo’s Olympic Games crowded around a low table inside Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s residence late Tuesday, wincing as they spoke by phone with the head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Minutes later, Abe emerged to inform a gaggle of reporters that he had just spoken with...
IOC working toward July-August Olympics in 2021: Yomiuri
TOKYO (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is working with sports bodies to arrange a July-August window for the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and hopes to confirm the schedule within a month, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported on Thursday. John Coates, the IOC’s Coordination Commission chief for Tokyo, told the Yomiuri the Games would...
26th March
Fiji’s Olympic title defence postponed for a year
SUVA, 26 MARCH 2020 (RUGBY PASS) – Fiji will have to wait an extra year to defend their Olympic Sevens title after Tokyo Games officials decided to postpone the event until summer 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Fijians charged to glory in the Rio heat when the 2016 Olympics were held in Brazil,...
Federer donates one million Swiss Francs to vulnerable families
(Reuters) – Roger Federer has joined the list of sports stars helping out the needy during the coronavirus pandemic, with the former world number one and his wife donating one million Swiss Francs ($1.02 million) to vulnerable families in his native Switzerland. Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had each donated...
O’Connor and Baber support IOC decision
Fiji Rugby CEO John O’Connor together with Fiji Airways Fijian 7s head coach Gareth Baber have supported the decision made by the International Olympic Committee to postpone the 2020 Olympic Games in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic. O’Connor says with World Rugby also putting their hands behind IOC, the decision has been made to...
Nemani welcomes postponement of 2020 Summer Olympics
Ministry of Youth and Sports permanent secretary Nemani Maritino has welcomed the news regarding the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics Games. Nemani said he believed it was the right decision by the organisers to postpone the games. The former national football captain said while he was sad to hear of the postponement,...
76ers/Devils owner changes mind, won’t cut salaries
A day after announcing a pay cut for employees, the owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils changed his mind Tuesday under public pressure. Billionaire Josh Harris issued a press release, announcing the reversal. On Monday, Harris’ company, Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, had notified employees that they would be hit with temporary...
World champion Lyles guards his health in ‘scary’ times
(Reuters) – With allergies and asthma, world 200 metres champion Noah Lyles believes he is “kind of a risk factor” as the coronavirus pandemic spreads. The American sprinter is keeping a close eye on his diet and washing his hands constantly, he told a teleconference on Tuesday. “It is kind of a little bit scary...
