COVID19

Djokovic this week doubled down on his decision to stay unvaccinated. The No. 1-ranked tennis player said he would skip the French Open, Wimbledon and other tournaments if he was required to get a coronavirus vaccine to compete. Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic received a warm welcome in Dubai, where he visited the world’s fair following the global drama around his decision to remain unvaccinated. After being twice detained and deported from Australia ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam Tournament last month,

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee said on Saturday that a total of eight new COVID-19 cases were detected among games-related personnel on Feb. 11. All of the cases were among those already in the "closed loop" bubble that separates all event personnel from the public, five of whom were classified as either an athlete or team official, the notice said. No cases were found among new airport arrivals, according to a notice on the Beijing 2022 official website. Source : Reuters

Lionel Messi has tested negative for Covid-19 and is now back in France and will resume training "in the coming days", Paris Saint-Germain announced on Wednesday. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner tested positive for the virus while in his native Argentina last week but flew back to Paris on Wednesday. He missed PSG's 4-0 French Cup win against Vannes on Monday. The club did not say if Messi would be available for their first Ligue 1 match since the winter break, at Lyon

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

LaLiga leaders Real Madrid will play at home to Cadiz on Sunday while fighting a COVID-19 outbreak with seven positive cases already confirmed from the first team - six players and a coach. After Luka Modric and Marcelo tested positive on Wednesday, the club said on Thursday that Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Andriy Lunin and Rodrygo plus assistant coach Davide Ancelotti - manager Carlo Ancelotti's son - had also got the virus. Since all seven are vaccinated they must quarantine until they test

Argentina have selected three Premier League players for October's World Cup qualifiers despite the country remaining on the UK's travel red list. Last month, most English clubs refused to release players called up by South American countries for qualifiers. Since Friday, Argentine nationals do not need to quarantine after arrival in the country from overseas, if they are vaccinated and test negative for Covid. But anyone arriving in the UK from Argentina must quarantine for 10 days. Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and

REUTERS India's cricket board chief Sourav Ganguly said their players refused to play the fifth and final test against England due to COVID-19 concerns and denied that the upcoming Indian Premier League had played any part in the decision. The Old Trafford test was cancelled last Friday barely two hours before its scheduled start as the tourists, who were leading the series 2-1, failed to field a side after their physiotherapist tested positive for COVID-19. "The players refused to play but you can't

This season's Japanese Grand Prix, planned for 8-10 October, has been cancelled because of a rise in Covid cases in the country. "The decision has been taken by the Japanese government to cancel the race this season due to ongoing complexities of the pandemic," said Formula 1. "Formula 1 is working on the details of the revised calendar and will announce the final details in the coming weeks." Japan was due to be the 17th of 23 rounds in this season's circuit. Races

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will not have any spectators as the Covid-19 situation in Japan remains serious, according to organizers. The announcement was made on Monday, following a remote meeting of four Paralympic and Japanese government groups responsible for the Games. "In light of the current emergency declaration issued for Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba Prefectures, another declaration of the state of emergency being requested by Shizuoka prefecture and the current infection situation broadly, more stringent measures will be taken for competitions to be

Seven-times Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton said he suspects he has long COVID, after suffering dizziness and fatigue in the aftermath of a hard-fought Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. "Everything got a bit blurry on the podium," said the 36-year-old, who had to be looked over by his Mercedes team doctor after a flat-out charge from last to third around the twisting Hungaroring. "I've been fighting all year, really, with staying healthy after what happened at the end of last year. "It’s

LONDON: Manchester City have cancelled a pre-season friendly in France against Troyes due to British quarantine requirements, the Premier League champions said on Wednesday. Anyone arriving in Britain from France must quarantine at home or in other accommodation for five to 10 days, under British government rules. "Both clubs explored all avenues to be able to play the game, but the recent UK government changes to quarantine rules for travellers returning from France has made the required restrictions too difficult to overcome," City

WASHINGTON: American teen tennis star Coco Gauff will miss the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19, she announced on Sunday (Jul 18). Gauff, coming off a run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, tweeted her sadness at missing out on "a dream come true" at age 17. "I am so disappointed to share the news that I have tested positive for COVID and won't be able to play in the Olympic Games in Tokyo," Gauff tweeted. "It has always been a dream

LONDON: Canada's Bianca Andreescu has decided not to compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former US Open champion said on Monday (Jul 12). Andreescu is the latest big-name player to opt out of the Jul 23-Aug 8 Games. Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams and Simona Halep have already announced their decisions to skip the pandemic-delayed Olympics. "I have been dreaming of representing Canada at the Olympics since I was a little girl," world

SINGAPORE: This year's Southeast Asian Games due to take place in Vietnam has been postponed to 2022. "The SEA Games Federation working committee met today and it was decided that the SEA Games will not be held this year," said the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) on Thursday (Jul 8). The biennial event was due to take place in Hanoi and 11 other locations from Nov 21 to Dec 2. Vietnam's national Olympic committee will explore new dates for consideration, added SNOC. "The

TOKYO: Japan is set to declare a state of emergency for Tokyo through Aug 22 to contain a new wave of COVID-19 infections, a key minister said on Thursday (Jul 8), as the organisers consider banning all spectators from the Olympics starting in about two weeks. Medical advisers to the government have said for weeks that having no spectators at the Games would be the least risky option amid widespread public concern that the influx of thousands of athletes and officials will fuel

A new England squad will be named as initial team forced to isolate due to three players and four backroom staff testing positive for Covid-19; Ben Stokes will return to England side as captain; England play Pakistan in the first ODI in Cardiff on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Cricket England have been forced to select a new team for the Pakistan ODI series after seven positive Covid-19 tests pushed the entire squad into isolation. Three England players and four backroom staff have

Some of England's 11 IPL players are already on their way home following the indefinite suspension of the tournament. It is understood Sam Billings, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow have managed to secure flights back to the UK earlier than initially expected. It had been anticipated that all IPL players would be required to self-isolate in India and test negative before leaving the country. The players will still have to quarantine for 10 days at a government-approved hotel upon arrival in UK, as

LONDON: India batting great Sachin Tendulkar has donated 10 million rupees (approximately US$135,000) to a fundraising campaign that is helping hospitals treating COVID-19 patients procure oxygen concentrators. Mission Oxygen, which describes itself as a non-for-profit, charitable initiative, said it has placed an order for 1,365 concentrators from China and thanked Tendulkar for his donation. "His donation of rupees 1 crore to Mission Oxygen in its endeavour to procure and provide life-saving oxygen concentrators to hospitals across the nation in this time of need

TOKYO: Hundreds of Japanese towns and cities have been forced to rethink plans to host Olympic teams because the coronavirus will prevent public appearances and require costly safety measures. The western town of Okuizumo spent more than US$5 million preparing to welcome India's hockey team for a pre-Games training camp, only to scrap the visit because of COVID-19. After sinking money into upgrading sports facilities, Okuizomo balked when it became clear it would have to provide bubble-like biosecurity measures with regular virus tests

The India Open Super 500 tournament, one of the last three qualifying events for the Tokyo Olympics, was on Monday postponed due to raging COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The USD 400,000 India Open was scheduled to be held behind closed doors in the national capital from May 11 to 16. "Considering the current challenges, BAI is left with no option but to announce the postponement of the tournament for the time being," Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary Ajay Singhania said