COVID-19

The Paris Olympics 2024 has been a platform for incredible athletic feats and personal triumphs, but it has also underscored the challenges athletes face beyond the track. In a surprising revelation, Noah Lyles, the American sprinter who clinched the bronze medal in the 200 meters, announced that he had been battling COVID-19 during the competition. This disclosure has added a layer of complexity to his achievement and sparked discussions about the resilience and determination of athletes in the face of adversity. A Remarkable

The stringent COVID-19 countermeasures, established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Beijing 2022 Organising Committee, have ensured the safe and successful organisation of the Olympic Games, protecting all the Games participants and the local communities. Out of 1,741,000 million airport and screening tests conducted since 23 January, when the closed-loop system came into effect officially, only 436 people have been found positive: 265 confirmed positives out of 13,628 airport tests171 confirmed positives out of 1,727,472 screening tests98 athletes confirmed positive86 team

A COVID-19 outbreak hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday as three main players -- senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer -- tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series. Four other persons, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, have also tested positive for COVID-19. Saini is also on standby list. The remaining three who tested positive for the virus are non-playing members -- fielding coach T Dilip,

Formula One will make it mandatory for all personnel working in its paddock to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, without exemption, starting this season, a spokesperson for the sport's commercial arm said on Monday. The mandate, which was first reported by the Times newspaper and the BBC, will apply to anyone entering the paddock -- an exclusive area in which teams and drivers set up shop for a race weekend. "F1 will require all travelling personnel to be fully vaxxed and will not

MELBOURNE (Australia): Former Australia captain Ian Chappell labelled Pat Cummins as the most inspirational leader and he termed Joe Root the leader as "poor". Pat Cummins replaced Tim Paine as Australia Test skipper earlier this month. Paine had stepped down following a sexting scandal and then he took some time off to look after his mental health. "He is also by far the most inspirational player in the Australia side, and even when he was replaced as captain this week, the team still

Argentina were without Lionel Messi but goals from Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez gave the visitors all three points against Chile in a World Cup qualifier on January 27. Argentina, who have already qualified for Qatar, opted to rest Messi after his COVID-19 infection but his Paris Saint Germain team mate Di Maria stepped up to give them the lead with a trademark curling shot from outside the box after 10 minutes. Chile’s English-born striker Ben Brereton equalised just over 10 minutes

Paris St Germain forward Lionel Messi and three other players have tested positive for COVID-19, the French Ligue 1 club said on Sunday. Argentina international Messi joined PSG from boyhood club Barcelona in August and the 34-year-old has scored six goals in 16 games in all competitions for the Parisian side. Defender Juan Bernat, back-up goalkeeper Sergio Rico and midfielder Nathan Bitumazala were the other players who returned positive tests. PSG said the four players were in isolation and subject to the appropriate

BBC The fifth Test between England and India is set to go ahead on Friday after no further positive Covid-19 tests were returned by the tourists. India cancelled an optional training session earlier on Thursday in Manchester after another of their coaching staff was found to have Covid. Head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive during India's fourth Test win. Negative results were returned after fresh tests on Thursday, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed. Earlier in the day, India players had been

TOKYO: Japan is set to outline how it will lift its "state of emergency" curbs while keeping some restrictions, including spectator numbers at big events, amid fears that next month's Olympics could trigger a new wave of COVID-19 infections. Media reports say the government is considering allowing up to 10,000 spectators into stadiums during the Games, in line with a plan endorsed by health experts on Wednesday (Jun 16) for local events. Later on Thursday, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is due to announce

A petition calling for the cancellation of the Tokyo Olympics which garnered 350,000 signatures in nine days was submitted to organisers on Friday, reflecting growing public opposition to the event as a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections sweeps Japan. "Stop Tokyo Olympics" campaign organiser Kenji Utsunomiya said the global festival of sport - already postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic - should take place only when Japan can welcome visitors and athletes wholeheartedly. "We are not in that situation and therefore

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Open Badminton tournament will be cancelled, it was announced by organisers Singapore Badminton Association (SBA) and the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday (May 12). The tournament, which was due to be held from Jun 1 to 6, will not be rescheduled. In a joint statement, the SBA and BWF said that the decision was made on the grounds of health and safety. "All attempts were made by the organisers and BWF to provide a safe tournament environment for all

LONDON: The Premier League has welcomed the British government's announcement on the easing of lockdown restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Chief Executive Richard Masters said on Monday it is their priority to have full stadiums next season. The government said in February that under the third stage of its four-stage "roadmap", stadiums would - if all conditions are met - from May 17 be allowed to hold up to 50 per cent of their capacity, or 4,000 people, whichever is lower. A

TOKYO: International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach has been forced to postpone a visit to Japan, organisers said Monday (May 10), after a COVID-19 state of emergency was extended less than three months before the Tokyo Games. Bach's trip was scheduled for May 17-18 but organisers "decided to postpone it based on various situations including the (government's) extension of a virus state of emergency". It is just the latest coronavirus disruption for the postponed 2020 Games, which have seen several test events cancelled,

Japan's Naomi Osaka said on Sunday that while she has spent her entire life waiting to compete at the Olympics, the risks of holding the Tokyo Games amid the raging COVID-19 pandemic should continue to be carefully discussed. Opinion surveys have shown that most Japanese oppose holding the Games this summer due to worries about the coronavirus, and Tokyo itself is currently under a state of emergency to tame a rise in infections. Osaka, the world number two women's tennis player and one

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt's induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame will be deferred by a year due to COVID-19 travel restrictions from Australia to the United States, the Hall of Fame said on Thursday. Australian great Hewitt, who won two Grand Slam titles during his career, was named to the Class of 2021 in February and was to be honoured at a July 17 induction ceremony at the Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall of Fame. "Unfortunately due to the circumstances

NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket board faces losing about US$270 million in revenue after its lucrative and star-studded Indian Premier League (IPL) was halted by the COVID-19 crisis in the country, a senior official told Reuters on Wednesday. The world's richest Twenty20 league was approaching its halfway stage before it was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday following bubble breaches in two venues. "The ballpark figure for revenue loss would be to the tune of 2000 crore rupees (20 billion)," Arun Singh Dhumal, treasurer of

TOKYO: The world's oldest person, a 118-year-old Japanese woman, has decided not to take part in the torch relay for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics over COVID-19 fears, an official at her nursing home said on Wednesday (May 5). Kane Tanaka, who was awarded a Guinness World Record, was slated participate in the relay leg in Fukuoka in southern Japan, which will start on May 11, said the official. "We received an email from her family which said she wanted to withdraw from the

The Spanish Grand Prix will allow 1,000 circuit members to attend Sunday's Formula One race after local COVID-19 regulations are eased, organisers said on Monday. The May 9 race is the fourth round of the season and a home grand prix for Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Alpine's double world champion Fernando Alonso. Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya announced last month that the race would be behind closed doors due to the pandemic, but said on Monday that outdoor events in the region will now

The Canadian GP has been cancelled for the second successive year due to Covid-19 and will be replaced in its June slot by Turkey. F1 says that international travel restrictions in Canada meant it "became impossible for Formula 1 to enter the country without a mandatory 14-day quarantine" for the Montreal event. The Turkish GP at Istanbul Park will instead take over the June 11-13 slot Turkey proved a popular addition to last year's revamped schedule after a nine-year absence from the sport

World number eight Tyrrell Hatton became the fourth player to withdraw from this week's Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, after receiving a positive test for COVID-19, the PGA Tour said on Tuesday. The Englishman, who finished in a share of eighth place at last week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, was among the top players in this week's field at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead course. "Hatton will have the PGA Tour's full support throughout his