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With the Games just months away, the regime’s sports ministry says it wants to protect athletes from the ‘global health crisis’. North Korea’s sports ministry said on Tuesday that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics this year to protect its athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was made at a meeting of North Korea’s Olympic committee, including its sports minister Kim Il guk, on 25 March the ministry said on its website, called Joson Sports. “The committee decided not to join the

After a year’s delay, the Tokyo Olympics are set to begin in July, with the Paralympics scheduled to start in August. Years of planning — and billions in television dollars at stake — mean Olympic organizers are keen to hold the event without postponing again. But polling in Japan has trended strongly against the Games, as Motoko Rich and Hikari Hida report in The Times. Thousands of athletes and other participants will be heading to Tokyo, and less than 1 percent of Japan’s population has been

Atletico Madrid went back to the top of La Liga, by only one point, after labouring to a draw against Real Betis. Defending champions Real Madrid had gone top on Saturday after beating third-placed Barcelona 2-1. Yannick Carrasco put Atletico ahead when he latched onto a loose ball and tapped home but Cristian Tello levelled with a cushioned finish. Veteran keeper Claudio Bravo made two fantastic saves in injury time to deny Angel Correa a winner for Atletico. Diego Simeone's Atletico - who

Doha: The Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) yesterday announced that it will host the General Congress of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) for the year 2021 on June 5.  QSA President Khaleel Al Jaber (pictured) in a statement said getting the hosting of the General Congress underlines Qatar’s top billing in hosting major FINA events. The assembly will witness the election of a new  FINA board of directors.  The event will be held under strict coronavirus protocols to ensure safety and health of all

The Pakistan Super League will resume on 1 June with the final on 20 June after it was postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak. The Twenty20 tournament was halted on 4 March after seven cases were reported. A June restart was initially proposed subject to a Pakistan Cricket Board-commissioned independent report into how Covid-19 protocols were breached. Those plans have now been finalised with enhanced safety measures based on the commission's findings. "The board of governors endorsed all recommendations of the fact-finding panel,

If the 74 unforced errors were not incriminating enough, Paire's latest post-mortem on tennis in a world of Covid-19 was as explosive as ever. Benoit Paire brought his tennis horror show to mainland Europe on Sunday with a predictable first round exit at the Monte Carlo Masters followed by a signature, foul-mouthed rant at the current state of a sport which has brought him $9 million in prize money. The 31-year-old lost 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5) in three hours to Australia's Jordan

Ishikawa, who is president of an IT company, has attended every Summer Olympics since then, becoming famous as an unofficial 'International Olympic Cheerleader'. She relishes joining in with fans from everywhere to cheer for their athletes. Tokyo: Kyoko Ishikawa was a back-packing Japanese student in Barcelona in 1992 when she says a “miracle happened.” She managed to buy a ticket to the opening ceremony of Spain's historic Olympics. She said she had only “pocket money” with her — maybe $50 — when some

Hideki Matsuyama held off the field to win the Masters by one stroke at Augusta National and become the first Japanese man to claim a major title. Matsuyama had a four-shot lead heading into the final day and, despite some nervy moments on Sunday, shot a one-over 73 to win on 10 under par. American debutant Will Zalatoris was his closest challenger on nine under. England's Justin Rose, who led for two rounds, faded in the final 18 holes with a two-over 74

Real Madrid climbed to the top of La Liga on Saturday after Karim Benzema's flicked finish helped them claim a thrilling 2-1 victory over Barcelona in a wild Clasico at Valdebebas. Benzema's superb piece of skill and a deflected Toni Kroos free-kick put Madrid in charge and while Oscar Mingueza pulled one back for Barca, they fell to defeat in what could be Lionel Messi's final appearance in this fixture. Victory means Real Madrid go level on points with Atletico, with the top

Chennai Super Kings has started off this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on a wrong note. CSK captain MS Dhoni has been fined Rs 12 lakh for slow over-rate

IPL 2021: Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw went for their big shots with impunity on all sides of the Wankhede Stadium, as Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 2, of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2021 season. Highlights Suresh Raina scored a half-century for CSKShikhar Dhawan slammed 85 runs off 54 balls for DCRishabh Pant hit the winning four for DC Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw pummelled Chennai Super Kings into submission with their explosive batting as Delhi Capitals romped to a seven-wicket

Britain's Adam Yates finished fourth overall in the Itzulia Basque Country, as Primoz Roglic won brilliantly. Ineos Grenadiers' Yates had a strong race but could not haul back the leaders, including Jumbo-Visma's Roglic following his commanding break away. Other race favourite UAE-Team Emirates' Tadej Pogacar was third overall after trying to chase down Roglic with Yates. Groupama-FDJ's David Gaudu won Saturday's 112km stage from Ondarroa to Arrate, with Roglic second. Britain's Hugh Carthy, 26, was 12th in the general classification for EF Education-Nippo

Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan hit an unbeaten 74 as Pakistan chased 189 with a ball to spare to beat South Africa in the Twenty20 series opener. Pakistan required 11 from the last over, and three from two balls, with an overthrow sealing a four-wicket win. Rizwan, who hit nine fours and two sixes, shared 41 with Babar Azam, 45 with Fakhar Zaman and 48 Faheem Ashraf. Earlier South Africa made 188-6 with opener Aiden Markram making 51 and captain Heinrich Klaasen 50. Left-arm spinner

Rachael Blackmore made sporting history by becoming the first female jockey to win the Grand National with victory on Minella Times at Aintree.

Australia completed a clean sweep over New Zealand with a 21-run victory in a rain-affected final one-day international of the series. The match was reduced to 25 overs a side after rain in Tauranga. Australia posted 149-7, with White Ferns off-spinner Leigh Kasperek taking three wickets in five balls to disrupt their progress. However, New Zealand once again struggled for impetus with the bat, finishing on 128-9. Alysaa Healy top-scored for Australia with 46 but she, Ashleigh Gardner and Rachael Haynes all fell

Tributes will be paid across the sporting weekend to Prince Philip, who died on Friday aged 99. Aintree will hold a two-minute silence before the Grand National (17:15 BST), with jockeys wearing black armbands and flags flown at half-mast. There will be periods of silence before all Premier League and English Football League matches, with players and officials wearing black armbands. England's game against Italy in the Women's Six Nations also saw tributes. The English flag was flown at half-mast for Saturday's match

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting's rousing speech during his first interaction with the squad earlier this week became a huge hit on social media, with fans drawing up comparisons between him and Kabir Khan -- a fictional character played by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in 2007 sports drama 'Chak De India'. While comparing the two motivational speeches, fans also pointed out that both Ponting and Shah Rukh Khan had a stubble addressing their respective sides. However, ahead of their opening match against Chennai Super Kings

Manchester City suffered just a fourth Premier League defeat of the season as 10-man Leeds United shocked the runaway leaders thanks to Stuart Dallas' double in a 2-1 win at the Etihad on Saturday. Dallas opened the scoring three minutes before half-time, but hope of a famous win for Marcelo Bielsa's men seemed to have disappeared when captain Liam Cooper was shown a straight red card in first-half stoppage time. The visitors withstood a City bombardment until Ferran Torres equalised 14 minutes from time. But Leeds still

Roma Khanna on Saturday stepped down as the tournament director of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and AFC Women's Asian Cup, to be held in India in 2022, citing personal reasons. Khanna had spearheaded the bid for the U-17 World Cup back in 2019, and was later appointed as the tournament director for the local organising committee. She also successfully led the bid for AFC Women's Asian Cup, which India is set to host next year in January. "I would like to thank AIFF

Sam Darnold’s departure from New York was not a decision made lightly but the hardest part came at the end, when Jets general manager Joe Douglas had to make the call and tell his young quarterback that he would be heading to Carolina to start a new journey with the Panthers.  In an interview with Sports Illustrated published on Thursday, Douglas recalled the tough conversation he had with Darnold, saying it was difficult to break the news to someone who was so convinced that he would be the guy