Shorn of glitz, Tokyo Olympics begin in shadow of pandemic

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Saudi Arabia's delegation enters the Olympic Stadium during Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games opening ceremony's parade of athletes, in Tokyo on July 23, 2021. (AFP)
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Updated 24 July 2021
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Shorn of glitz, Tokyo Olympics begin in shadow of pandemic

  • Rower Husein Alireza, sprinter Yasmine Al-Dabbagh carry Saudi flag at inauguration
  • Just a few hundred officials and dignitaries were in the stands of the 68,000-seat venue

TOKYO: Japan’s global superstar Naomi Osaka on Friday lit the Olympic cauldron to mark the start of Tokyo 2020, in an opening ceremony shorn of glitz and overshadowed by a pandemic but defined by hope, tradition and gestures of diversity. Postponed by a year due to the coronavirus, the Games are being held without spectators in a city under a COVID-induced state of emergency, as many other parts of the globe also still struggle with a resurgence of cases.

Athletes, the vast majority wearing masks, paraded through an eerily silent National Stadium.

Just a few hundred officials and dignitaries were in the stands of the 68,000-seat venue, including French President Emmanuel Macron, US First Lady Jill Biden, and Japan's Emperor Naruhito, who will declare the Games open.

Saudi rower Husein Alireza and 100-meter sprinter Yasmine Al-Dabbagh carried the Kingdom’s flag at the opening ceremony.

The Olympics have faced opposition in Japan over fears the global gathering of 11,000 athletes could trigger a super-spreader event, and is taking place under strict virus measures.
Overseas fans are banned for the first time in the history of the Games, and domestic spectators can only watch events at a handful of venues.

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Saudi rower Husein Alireza and 100 meter sprinter Yasmine Al-Dabbagh were chosen to carry the Kingdom’s flag at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo on Friday. More here.

Masked athletes

Athletes, support staff and media are subject to strict COVID-19 protocols, including regular testing and daily health checks.
The restrictions made for an opening ceremony that was far from the usual exuberant celebration.

Every athlete entered the stadium wearing a mask, and the national delegations of athletes marching around the stadium were far smaller than usual, ranging from just a handful of people to a few dozen.

The ceremony wove together references to both Japan's traditional crafts and its globally adored video games, with athletes entering to theme music from famed titles.
“Today is a moment of hope. Yes, it is very different from what all of us had imagined,” IOC President Thomas Bach said. “But let us cherish this moment because finally we are all here together.”
“This feeling of togetherness — this is the light at the end of the dark tunnel of the pandemic,” Bach declared.

Biggest Saudi delegation
This is the first time in Olympic Games history that participating nations could nominate a male and a female athlete to carry their flags.
Karate star Tarek Hamdi will be the flag bearer during the closing ceremony on Aug. 8.
Saudi Arabia has sent its largest-ever Olympic delegation to the games in Japan. 




Saudi Arabia's delegation enters the Olympic Stadium during Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games opening ceremony's parade of athletes, in Tokyo on July 23, 2021. (AFP)

It includes 11 individual athletes plus the country’s under-23 football team. They will compete in nine sports, surpassing the country’s record of six at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Mostly masked athletes waved enthusiastically to thousands of empty seats and to a world hungry to watch them compete but surely wondering what to make of it all. 
Some athletes marched socially distanced, while others clustered in ways utterly contrary to organizers’ hopes. The Czech Republic entered with other countries even though its delegation has had several positive COVID tests since arriving.

Polls have consistently shown Japanese people are opposed to holding the Games during the pandemic, but hundreds of people still gathered outside the stadium and cheered as the fireworks exploded overhead.
Mako Fukuhara arrived six hours before the ceremony to grab a spot.
"Until now it didn't feel like the Olympics, but now we are by the stadium, it feels like the Olympics," she told AFP as people snapped selfies nearby.
Inside, fewer than 1,000 dignitaries and officials were in the stands, and in a sign of how divisive the Games remain, several top sponsors including Toyota and Panasonic did not attend the ceremony.
Small groups of protesters demonstrated against the Games outside the stadium as the ceremony began, but their chants were drowned out as the music started.
Tokyo is battling a surge in virus cases, and is under emergency measures that means bars and restaurants must shut by 8:00 pm and cannot sell alcohol.
Olympic officials have put a brave face on the unusual circumstances, with IOC chief Thomas Bach insisting cancelling the Games was never on the table.
There are also hefty financial incentives in play. Insiders estimate the IOC would have been on the hook for around $1.5 billion in lost broadcasting revenues if the Games had been cancelled.
The pandemic has not been the only hiccup in preparations though, with scandals ranging from corruption during the bidding process to plagiarism allegations over the design of the Tokyo 2020 logo.
The controversies kept coming right up to the eve of the Games, with the opening ceremony's director sacked on Thursday for making a joke referencing the Holocaust in a video more than two decades ago.
When the full programme of sport begins on Saturday, a new generation of Olympic stars are looking to shine after a decade dominated by the likes of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.
US swimmer Caeleb Dressel could target seven gold medals, and in track and field, 400 metre hurdlers Karsten Warholm of Norway and the USA's Sydney McLaughlin are among those hoping to emerge as household names.
In gymnastics, Simone Biles will attempt to crown her dazzling career by equalling Larisa Latynina's record of nine Olympic gold medals.
New Olympic sports will also be on display in Tokyo, with surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and karate all making their debut.

(With AFP)

 


Ariya Jutanugarn maintains group lead over Nelly Korda at T-Mobile Match Play

Updated 8 sec ago
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Ariya Jutanugarn maintains group lead over Nelly Korda at T-Mobile Match Play

  • Jutanugarn, of Thailand, won 2 and 1 against Altomare to continue to lead Group 1, though she will face Korda in the final leg of the round robin Friday
  • Angel Yin (1-0-1) leads Group 10, and Russia’s Nataliya Guseva (1-0-1) is on top in Group 15

LAS VEGAS: World No. 1 Nelly Korda avoided a second straight collapse, but Ariya Jutanugarn maintained her advantage in Group 1 play Thursday at the T-Mobile Match Play in North Las Vegas, Nevada

Korda built a lead and held on to finish 1 up on Jennifer Kupcho, who fell to 0-2 in the event. That marked an improvement from Wednesday for Korda, when the defending champion settled for halving her match after losing a late lead to Brittany Altomare.

“Golf doesn’t necessarily bring out (head-to-head competitiveness) unless you’re in a playoff or whatnot,” Korda said. “(It) just makes you a little bit more aggressive of a player.”

Jutanugarn, of Thailand, won 2 and 1 against Altomare to continue to lead Group 1, though she will face Korda in the final leg of the round robin Friday. A win there would give either player the group.

The 64-player field is divided into 16 four-player groups competing in three days of round-robin matches. A win earns one point, a tie earns a half-point and a loss is zero points. The winner of each group moves on to a 16-player, single-elimination bracket beginning Saturday. In the event of a tie for first place in a group, a playoff will determine which player advances. The quarterfinals will be played on Saturday, with the semifinals and final on Sunday.

Overall, 12 golfers are 2-0 through two days of play at Shadow Creek Golf Course, putting each in a strong position to win her group and advance to the 16-person field Saturday.

Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul defeated Mexico’s Gaby Lopes 2 and 1 to get to 2-0 in Group 2. South Korea’s Sei Young Kim upended Japan’s Yuna Nishimura 4 and 2 to advance to 2-0 in Group 4.

Group 5 features Australia’s Stephanie Kyriacou leading the way at 2-0 after her 4-and-2 victory over Japan’s Ayaka Furue.

The only group with a pair of 2-0 golfers is Group 9, as South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim and Sweden’s Maja Stark are still perfect and face off Friday.

Other 2-0 golfers after two days include Japan’s Mao Saigo in Group 7 (the only debut golfer at 2-0), Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson in Group 8 (having played only playing 27 holes — the fewest in the field), France’s Celine Boutier in Group 11, South Korea’s A Lim Kim in Group 12, Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom in Group 14 and South Korea’s Narin An in Group 16.

Group 3 and 13 each have a four-way tie for first place at 1-1-0, while England’s Charley Hull and South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai co-lead in Group 6 at 1-0-1.

“I love this format and it’s been a lot of fun,” New Zealand’s Lydia Ko said after winning her Thursday match 6 and 5 over Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels to get into that four-way tie in Group 3. “Yesterday I came off the day not feeling like defeated. I still had a great time.”

Angel Yin (1-0-1) leads Group 10, and Russia’s Nataliya Guseva (1-0-1) is on top in Group 15.


Stephen Curry scores 37 points as Warriors beat Lakers in potential first-round playoff preview

Updated 6 min 3 sec ago
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Stephen Curry scores 37 points as Warriors beat Lakers in potential first-round playoff preview

  • The Golden State Warriors score their fourth win in a row
  • Curry was coming off a 52-point effort, including 12 3-pointers, at Memphis on Tuesday

LOS ANGELES: Stephen Curry scored 37 points, Brandin Podziemski added 28 and the Golden State Warriors defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 123-116 on Thursday night for their fourth win in a row in a potential first-round playoff preview.
Podziemski had a career-high eight 3-pointers on a night when Curry was 4 of 11 from long range. Curry was coming off a 52-point effort, including 12 3-pointers, at Memphis on Tuesday.
LeBron James had 33 points and nine assists to lead the Lakers. Austin Reaves added 31 points, including nine 3-pointers, Rui Hachimura had 24 points and Luke Doncic had 19 points, missing all six of his 3-point attempts.
Doncic’s basket got the Lakers to 105-99 in the closing minutes. Curry and Podziemski hit back-to-back 3-pointers and James and Reaves answered with ones of their own, leaving the Lakers down by seven.
James and Curry traded scoring runs in the third, when the Lakers closed within eight after trailing by 16 in the second quarter. James had 12 of 14 points for his team early on. Curry ran off 13 in a row and then made three free throws to send the Warriors into the fourth leading 88-77.
Jonathan Kuminga added 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench for Golden State, which beat the Lakers for the first time in four games this season. The Warriors’ last win in LA came a year ago.
Takeaways
Warriors: They closed a six-game trip — tied for longest of the season — with a 4-2 mark. They remain in a tight battle to hold onto a top-six seed and avoid the play-in tournament with six games left.
Lakers: James went over 11,000 points as a Laker on a 3-pointer in the second quarter, becoming the 10th player in franchise history to do so.
Key moment
Reaves made a 3-pointer coming out of a timeout to leave the Lakers trailing 121-116 in the closing seconds. But Doncic fouled Curry, who made both.
Key stat
The Warriors won without needing Jimmy Butler, who had 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He’d been averaging 17.3 and had 27 against Memphis.
Up next
Both teams complete back-to-backs on Saturday. The Warriors host Denver and the Lakers host New Orleans.


Trump hopeful of ‘great’ PGA-LIV golf merger

Updated 04 April 2025
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Trump hopeful of ‘great’ PGA-LIV golf merger

  • Trump: You’ve got the PGA Tour, you’ve got the LIV tour. And I think having them merge would be a great thing
  • PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said earlier this month that Trump’s intervention in ongoing negotiations had “significantly bolstered” hopes of reunifying the sport

MIAMI: President Donald Trump said Thursday he is optimistic of an eventual merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf following a new report of a stalemate in negotiations to reunify the game.

Speaking on Air Force One as he traveled to Florida ahead of this weekend’s LIV Golf Miami event at Trump National Doral, the US leader said he believed a merger was inevitable.

“Ultimately, hopefully the two tours are going to merge,” Trump told reporters. “That’ll be good. I’m involved in that, too, but hopefully we’re going to get the two tours to merge.

“You’ve got the PGA Tour, you’ve got the LIV tour. And I think having them merge would be a great thing.”

Trump, a keen golfer, has hosted two rounds of recent talks at the White House between leaders of the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabia-financed LIV as the sport attempts to move on after LIV’s entry in 2021.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said earlier this month that Trump’s intervention in ongoing negotiations had “significantly bolstered” hopes of reunifying the sport.

However, a report in Britain’s The Guardian newspaper on Thursday said negotiations had reached an impasse after the PGA Tour failed to deliver “serious concessions” in exchange for a $1.5 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund which bankrolls LIV.

The Guardian report citing unidentified sources said PIF had sought assurances from the PGA Tour that the LIV circuit would continue following any deal, and that the fund’s governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, would be appointed as co-chairman of PGA Tour Enterprises.

However, the PGA Tour rejected both of those requests in a response to LIV sent on Monday, according to The Guardian.

News of the deadlock comes ahead of the first major of the year at next week’s Masters at Augusta National, where 12 players from LIV Golf will tee off against top rivals from the PGA Tour.

Five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, one of the highest-profile players to defect to LIV Golf, admitted this week that he was disappointed that the Saudi-funded circuit had not progressed further in its four seasons.

“I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that’s no secret,” he said. “But they’re making progress and it seems to be going in the right direction.”


Enzo Fernandez grabs winner as Chelsea beats Tottenham to climb to 4th in Premier League

Updated 04 April 2025
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Enzo Fernandez grabs winner as Chelsea beats Tottenham to climb to 4th in Premier League

  • Chelsea climbed above Newcastle and Manchester City into fourth place in the Premier League

Enzo Fernandez sent Chelsea back into the Champions League qualification positions with a second-half header that secured a 1-0 win over Tottenham in a typically feisty Premier League derby between the London rivals on Thursday.
The Argentina midfielder got in between defenders to nod home Cole Palmer’s cross in the 50th minute at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea climbed above Newcastle and Manchester City into fourth place in the Premier League, which should have five spots in next season’s Champions League. There are eight rounds left in the league.
This fixture has been wild and chaotic in recent years and while the latest edition was hardly a classic, there were 10 yellow cards and a melee to go with two goals disallowed after video review — one for each side.
Moises Caicedo thought he had put Chelsea 2-0 ahead in the 56th when he volleyed home sweetly after a free kick was only partially cleared, but the goal was ruled out for offside against Levi Colwill in the buildup after long VAR check that frustrated fans.
Tottenham substitute Pape Sarr then had a long-range strike scrubbed off because he fouled Caicedo before surging forward to take his shot. In the end, Sarr lost his goal and was booked for his challenge.
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min had a chance saved by Robert Sanchez before 12 minutes of stoppage time.
“If we want to become an important team, we need to win in a dirty way, ugly way,” Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said, “and (I’m) quite happy.”
Tottenham stayed in 14th place, with its priority now clearly the Europa League after reaching the quarterfinals. This was another below-par league performance that will pile the pressure on its under-fire manager, Ange Postecoglou, who was unhappy at Sarr’s goal being disallowed and faced some criticism from fans for his substitutions during the second half.
“My subs have been booed, it’s not the first time,” Postecoglou said. “They are allowed to boo.”
The match saw the return from injury of Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson after two months out.


Pakistan assumes Asian Cricket Council presidency, vows to accelerate sport’s global influence

Updated 03 April 2025
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Pakistan assumes Asian Cricket Council presidency, vows to accelerate sport’s global influence

  • Defending champions India are scheduled to host Asia Cup later this year in T20 format
  • ACC, governing body for cricket in Asia, includes Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday assumed the presidency of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the board confirmed, vowing to enhance the sport’s global influence. 

The ACC is the governing body for cricket in Asia, established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport across the continent. It organizes major tournaments like the Asia Cup and works to improve cricket standards, provide financial support and strengthen ties between member countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka held ACC’s presidency before Pakistan officially took over the post from it on Apr. 3, according to the PCB.

“In accordance with the decision of the Asian Cricket Council, Pakistan has officially taken over the presidency from Sri Lanka Cricket,” the PCB said in a statement. 

“Effective immediately, Pakistan will lead the council in its mission to promote and expand cricket across the Asian continent.”

It added that the ACC was “poised to strengthen and expand” cricket’s presence across Asia by fostering growth and unity within the sport.

Meanwhile, in a press release, the ACC quoted Naqvi as saying that he was honored to assume the regional cricketing body’s presidency.

“Asia remains the heartbeat of world cricket and I am committed to working with all member boards to accelerate the game’s growth and global influence,” he said.

“Together, we will unlock new opportunities, foster greater collaboration and take Asian cricket to unprecedented heights.”

The PCB chief also extended his sincere wishes to outgoing ACC president Shammi Silva from Sri Lanka for his leadership and contributions during his tenure. 

India will host the next edition of the Men’s Asia Cup cricket tournament in the T20 format in 2025 as a precursor to the T20 World Cup scheduled in the country in 2026. 

The 2023 edition, hosted by the PCB, was held in a “hybrid model” as India refused to travel to Pakistan and played their matches in Sri Lanka.

India are the defending Asia Cup champions, and have won three of the last four editions of the tournament. They beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the final of last year’s 50-overs edition in Colombo.