The Fiji Times

Ministry to improve service and sports

The Ministry of Youth and Sport unveiled a new logo on Friday at the home of former national 7s captain, Paula Dranisinukula at Navuniivi Village in Ra with Minister Parveen Kumar saying it was an historic event. “Until such time the ministry will be there and we won’t be there, but those who will be...

Boost for Fiji judo

The Fiji Judo Association is set to receive a timely boost from one of its partners, Ryutsu Keizai University in Japan which has gifted judo equipment to help the sport. “Ryutsu Keizai University judo head coach Iwasaki Takashi has been developing and helping coach Fiji judokas for about 30 years,” Fiji Judo Association general secretary...

Mercedes’ Valterri Bottas wins chaotic F1 opener

Valtteri Bottas insisted before the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix that he has what it takes to win the Formula One world championship. That’s a tall order with six-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton as his teammate at Mercedes. Especially as Hamilton needs one more title to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of seven. But Bottas showed impressive...

Signs of life in Andy Ruiz Jr’s heavyweight comeback

There are finally some positive signs in the talked-up comeback of former world heavyweight boxing champion Andy Ruiz Jr. The Mexican-American is back in the gym and is “falling back in love with his job”. That’s according to noted trainer and cut man Jorge Capetillo, a close friend of the burly heavyweight who has him...

Tiafoe tests positive for COVID-19, withdraws from Atlanta event

(Reuters) – Frances Tiafoe has tested positive for COVID-19 and been forced to withdraw from the All-American Team Cup exhibition tournament in Atlanta, the American said on Saturday. Tiafoe played in the first session on Friday and beat Sam Querrey in straight sets at the event in which the top eight American players are participating....

Golfers in for a treat

The ever popular two-men stroke Ambrose event sponsored by Ambient Edge Pte Ltd on Saturday will see a new format for the first time at the Lautoka golf course. The 18 holes stroke event will see each of the team members taking 9 compulsory tee-shots, compared with six each in previous events. The top three...

America’s Cup: Team NZ bemoan kangaroo court

Team New Zealand have hit back at “a highly orchestrated attack on our integrity” they say has resulted in a kangaroo court in the public arena. Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton again emphasised there had been no misappropriation of public money. This comes as the New Zealand government suspends funding on the event while...

Spark Sport in box seat for England cricket rights

Cricket-starved New Zealand viewers must brace for platform ping-pong as soon as next week, with Spark Sport in the box seat to live stream international cricket’s return. England hosts West Indies at Southampton in the first of three tests starting on Wednesday (10pm NZT) with no New Zealand broadcast rightsholder as yet confirmed to screen...

Blistering finish earns Redman share of lead in Detroit

(Reuters) – Doc Redman collected seven birdies in his last eight holes to grab a share of the first-round lead with Scott Stallings and Kevin Kisner at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit on Thursday. Redman, runner-up at last year’s Mortgage Classic and still chasing a first PGA Tour win, made a quiet start at...

England’s Curran self isolating after undergoing COVID-19 test

(Reuters) – England all-rounder Sam Curran is self isolating in his room at the Ageas Bowl after undergoing a COVID-19 test, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday. The ECB said in a statement that Curran, 22, experienced sickness and diarrhoea on Wednesday night and would sit out the remainder of England’s...

Ono-i-Lau cricket receives playing gear

The Ono-i-Lau cricket team received cricket gear worth about $3000 from staff members of the Office of the Prime Minister. The gear were supposed to be used by the Ono-i-Lau cricket team during the Easter competition which has been cancelled because of the current Covid-19 restrictions. The gear were requested through Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama...

America’s Cup funding halted amid investigation

Government agency MBIE says it will not make further payments to America’s Cup Events Limited as it investigates claims in relation to the Auckland event’s organisation. In a statement, a spokesperson for Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said: “While Crown and Council work through this process regarding the claims made relating to the organisation...

Slammin’ Sam stands up for Bulls

Franklin Bulls big man Sam Timmins has delivered an MVP performance to lead his side to a 85-79 victory over the Otago Nuggets. The Tall Black centre was all energy and passion at Trusts Arena on Thursday night in the Sal’s NBL Showdown but found another level, at both ends of the court, when it counted with an inspired...

‘He’s actually choking him’: Leon Henry to only miss one game for throat grab

Auckland Huskies star Leon Henry has escaped with just a one-game ban for grabbing a rival player by the throat for a prolonged period. Henry latched onto the throat of Taranaki Mountain Airs guard Derone Raukawa in an ugly incident during the Huskies 109-93 victory over the Mountain Airs at Auckland’s Trusts Arena on Tuesday...

Baseball: You’re out, minor league season canceled by coronavirus

(Reuters) – Minor League Baseball (MiLB) canceled its 2020 season on Tuesday, as Major League Baseball continued to push ahead with plans to begin play next month even as cases of the novel coronavirus continue to spike in regions across the United States. “These are unprecedented times for our country and our organization as this...

NBA to stop season if virus spreads

Spread of the coronavirus would prompt the NBA to stop the 2019-20 season, commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday. Speaking on the TIME 100 Talks, Silver said the league is “reasonably confident” about its plan to restart the season in Orlando on the Disney World campus in July. But if the virus spreads among players and...

Lautoka golfers conclude fifth and final round

The easing of the COVID-19 restrictions gave the chance for the Lautoka Golf Club to conclude its fifth and final round of the NHP Electrical Products-sponsored 18 holes two men stroke Ambrose event at the golf course on Saturday. The club reported professional rep and schoolteacher Roneel Prakash teamed up with FNPF IT security engineer...

High jumper motivated by cold Christchurch mornings

Christchurch in the middle of winter has proven a real challenge for high jumper Hamish Kerr but he’s trying to make the most of it. Like many athletes Kerr had expected to be in the northern hemisphere at this time of the year preparing for the Tokyo Olympics. However the coronavirus pandemic forced the International...

Captaining England would be ‘huge honour’, says Stokes

LONDON (Reuters) – England’s talisman Ben Stokes says captaining his country even just once in his career would be a “huge honour” but admits it was never a massive ambition. The all-rounder is poised to lead the team in the first test against West Indies on July 8 with captain Joe Root likely to miss...

French Olympic Committee denounces racist graffiti outside Sport Institute

PARIS (Reuters) – The French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) has denounced racist graffiti that was found on Black athletes’ posters in front of the National Institute of Sport (INSEP) at the weekend. The CNOSF said it was filing a complaint to the police against the unknown perpetrators. One of the athletes on the posters is double...

No major financial impact from Wimbledon cancellation, say organisers

(Reuters) – Wimbledon’s cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year will have no major financial impact on British tennis, outgoing All England club Chief Executive Richard Lewis has said. The grasscourt Grand Slam was scheduled to start on Monday but was cancelled for the first time since World War Two in April. The All...

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6th July

Financial help for surfers