Kolkata, India | AFP | When England and Scotland play rugby each year, the winner hoists the Calcutta Cup — a relic of the sport’s roots in India, and a nod to the city where it is still thriving to this day. In the 1870s, when the Calcutta Rugby Football Club …
Read More »Sultans of spin: the Japanese breakdancers busting Olympic moves
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | For Japanese breakdancer Shigeyuki Nakarai, the prospect of winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics has become something of an obsession. The proposal by Paris organisers in February to include the street dance lit a fire under the 17-year-old, aka Shigekix, who took bronze …
Read More »Klopp says City showdown won’t influence Liverpool’s title bid
Edinburgh, United Kingdom | AFP | Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool’s Community Shield clash with Manchester City on Sunday will have no bearing on their battle for the Premier League title. The two sides will renew the rivalry that saw them take the title race to a tense final day last season. …
Read More »Hurting Draxler hopes ‘egos’ can fire PSG in Europe
Suzhou, China | AFP | Midfielder Julian Draxler said Monday that the single-minded “egos” of Neymar and Paris Saint-Germain’s other star forwards did not always make it easy for the team. And the German World Cup winner told AFP in an interview in China that he was still hurting from …
Read More »Show me the money: S. Korean soccer fans to sue over Ronaldo benching
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | More than 2,000 South Korean soccer fans will sue a sports agency after superstar Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench when his Juventus side played a friendly in Seoul last week, a law firm said Monday. The star Portuguese striker did not play a single second of the match …
Read More »Brazil police end Neymar rape probe over lack of evidence
Sao Paulo, Brazil | AFP | Police in Brazil probing rape allegations against football superstar Neymar have closed the case due to a lack of evidence, the Sao Paulo attorney general’s office said Monday. The police decision will be sent to prosecutors on Tuesday, who will have 15 days to evaluate …
Read More »Kenya makes strides on doping, but hurdles remain
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya suffered international embarrassment in 2016 when a string of doping scandals brought the country famed for its distance runners within a whisker of disqualification from the Rio Olympics. “It was a time when Kenya faced an enormous challenge in terms of the very integrity of …
Read More »Swimming Australia denies cover-up of Jack failed drug test
Melbourne, Australia | AFP | Swimming Australia insisted Sunday it followed the rules in dealing with a failed drug test by relay world-record holder Shayna Jack, rejecting claims it wasn’t transparent about the “embarrassing” result. The 20-year-old, part of Australia’s 4x100m freestyle team that set a world record at last year’s …
Read More »Uganda cranes stop Somalia in 2020 CHAN qualifier
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Cranes picked a vital 3-1 win over Somalia in the first leg of the 2020 Total Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier. Patrick Henry Kaddu gave Uganda Cranes the lead when he converted a penalty seconds to the end of first half at the Al …
Read More »Inter edge Neymar-less PSG on penalties
Macau, China | AFP | Portuguese midfielder Joao Mario scored the final spot-kick as Inter Milan beat Neymar-less Paris Saint-Germain on penalties in Macau on Saturday. With their want-away Brazilian superstar left out of the trip to the former Portuguese colony, PSG were seconds from victory before Samuele Longo’s injury-time equaliser …
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