COVID-19

MUMBAI - Holding Grand Slams in costly bio-bubbles may not be sustainable for a second season despite the financial edge the majors enjoy over other tournaments, ATP chief Andrea Gaudenzi has told. The sport’s big four tournaments have not been immune to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since World War II last year and the most recent editions of the other three held in bio-secure environments. “Most of them run a federation as well so

LONDON: Badminton world No 1 Kento Momota made a winning return to international action at the COVID-19-affected All England Open on Wednesday (Mar 17), while Indonesia's team were forced to withdraw after a passenger on their flight to Britain tested positive for the coronavirus. The 26-year-old from Japan defeated India's Kashyap Parupalli 21-13, 22-20 in a first-round match played without fans in Birmingham. Momota, who made a successful return to domestic Badminton by winning the All-Japan Championship in December, was playing his first

After a long hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, organised sports action resumed with golfers teeing off at Prestige Golfshire here on Thursday. Around 45 golfers savoured the picturesque Nandi Hills backdrop while hitting their drives and putts, marking among the first scenes of sports in the country since the lockdown came into effect. Adequate precautionary measures were followed to ensure safety. Golfers — comprising mostly of club members — wore masks and maintained social distancing. Every golfer was given a cart for

LONDON: The three remaining Twenty20 matches between India and England in Ahmedabad will be held behind closed doors due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Gujarat, the state's cricket association (GCA) said on Monday (Mar 15). A sizeable crowd attended the world's biggest cricket stadium for the first two matches of the series, with most fans in the stands not wearing masks. The series is tied at 1-1 and the final three games of the five-match series will be played on Tuesday,

Participants of the MotoGP family visiting Doha can receive the Covid-19 vaccine. In 2021, the country greatly increased its Covid-19 vaccination schedule, and as a result of this development, it is now able to provide the vaccine to all traveling participants of the MotoGP paddock. Qatar will host all pre-season practice for all classes of the championship and the first two Grands Prix, this season, with the entire MotoGP family in attendance for up to five weeks. The Qatar government has provided MotoGP

The PGA Tour will continue testing players for COVID-19 for the "foreseeable future" and until a high percentage of competitors are vaccinated, Commissioner Jay Monahan said on Tuesday. Speaking at a news conference ahead of this week's Players Championship in Florida, Monahan felt there was light at the end of the tunnel regarding pandemic-related protocols but the PGA Tour was not about to let its guard down. "We will continue to provide testing for the foreseeable future and, hopefully, as we get to a high percentage of

Sania Mirza, a former world number one in doubles, said she felt fine on the court on Wednesday. Sania and her Slovenian partner Andreja Klepac defeated Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Anna Blinkova of Russia 6-2, 6-0 in the Qatar Total Open doubles' semifinals Wednesday. The two 34-year-olds also advanced to the six-day tournament's semifinals. Sania claimed that she is no longer infected with COVID-19, which kept her isolated for two months. Sania said she had only light preparation when the COVID-19 pandemic

MELBOURNE: Athletes are being encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics but it will not be compulsory, IOC Vice President John Coates said on Thursday (Feb 25). "Not compulsory, we can't do that," Coates, head of the IOC's Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Games, told reporters in Brisbane. "But it is certainly being encouraged and the IOC has an agreement with COVAX where it's helping to facilitate the distribution of vaccines." COVAX is the World Health Organization's global vaccine-sharing

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Thursday that The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup, the redesigned Fed Cup which was scheduled to be held from April 13-18 in Budapest, has been deferred once more due to COVID-19 guidelines in Hungary. The opening ceremony 12-nation finals was at first scheduled to take place in March last year before the COVID-19 outbreak obligated authorities to put it back a year. The ITF and the Hungarian National Sports Agency (NSA) said that the

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says the Premier League should be worried about a potential rise in coronavirus cases because of next month's international break. City are away to Everton on Wednesday in a game that was postponed on 28 December, four hours before kick-off. It came during a period when City, Newcastle, Fulham and Aston Villa were forced to call matches off and shut their training grounds after a surge in positive tests, which sparked fears the season would have to be paused.

New Zealand’s talismanic captain Kane Williamson has hailed India’s “truly remarkable” triumph in Australia, coming in the backdrop of a disastrous Test series opener and injuries to innumerable players. Shot out for a record low 36 in the second innings of the first Test, which they lost in two and half days, India staged an incredible turnaround to clinch the four-match rubber 2-1 for one of their biggest wins of all time. The cricket fraternity took note of India’s achievement and Williamson, a giant of

The positive test shouldn't have any immediate impact on Charles Leclerc's prospects for the coming season, which doesn't start until the Bahrain GP on March 28. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc announced on Thursday that he had tested positive for Covid-19, two days after Formula One was forced to postpone two of next season's Grands Prix. "I want to let you know that I have tested positive for Covid-19," the Monegasque driver said on Twitter. "I learned that I have been in contact with a positive case

After eight months without international table tennis events, the time has finally come to #RESTART! This is the moment that the players, fans and entire table tennis community are reunited with the sport they love. On Sunday 8 November 2020, table tennis will become one of the first sports to hold international activity since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The #RESART series will see a long list of world-class players returning to the global stage at three prestigious events taking place over the

The AFC Champions League – West Zone matches, which were recently held in Qatar from 14 September to 3 October, marked the successful return of football in Asia following its suspension in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifteen teams from Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan competed over 36 matches for a spot in the final of the continent’s most prestigious club competition. The matches were played across four venues, three of which will be used during the

Highlanders assistant coach Jamil test positive undergoing treatment in Goa hospital Indian Super League side NorthEast United's assistant coach Khalid Jamil tested positive for coronavirus and is currently undergoing treatment for the same in a hospital in Goa, the club announced on Thursday. Jamil arrived in Goa along with along with a few players to begin the club's pre-season just like all the other ISL clubs. After keeping the positive test under wraps for more than a week the Highlanders have finally announced

The three were among several PSG stars who travelled to the Spanish Mediterranean island of Ibiza last week for a holiday. Three Paris Saint-Germain players have tested positive for coronavirus, the French club announced on Wednesday, in a setback to their preparations for the scheduled start of their Ligue 1 campaign next week. French sports daily L’Equipe reported the players in question were Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, but PSG did not reveal any names.ADVERTISEMENT “Three Paris Saint-Germain players have confirmed

Splicing clips of animated fans on the edge of their living room couch with on-field action during live telecast will be one of IPL’s major innovations as BCCI, like others around the world, prepares to come to terms with the eerie silence of empty stands and life post COVID-19 lockdown. While the European football leagues flirt with the idea of CGI fans and cardboard cut-outs to liven up games played behind closed doors, Star wants to keep it real in case IPL Season 13 takes

A former Red Devil believes Klopp's side must be declared champions as they were never going to be caught Liverpool should be awarded the Premier League title if the season cannot be completed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to former Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool had opened up a 25-point lead atop the table, winning 27 of 29 games, when the campaign was suspended last month. It remains to be seen when, and if, the season will resume, leading to debate over what

The Gunners have told their stars that the financial situation at the club will be grave should the season be cancelled or resumed behind closed doors Arsenal's players have rejected the latest proposal aimed at slashing the club’s wage bill during the ongoing coronavirus crisis. Executives and players have been attempting to secure some sort of agreement during talks over the past fortnight, which would allow the north London club to lessen their financial outlay while football is suspended in the country. Several

Players in the Premier League have started a campaign called #PlayersTogether to help raise and distribute money for Britain's National Health Service (NHS) as the coronavirus spreads throughout the globe. "This is a critical time for our country and for our NHS, and we are determined to help in any way we can," read a statement posted to multiple players' social media accounts on Wednesday. "We can confirm that after extensive conversations between a huge number of players from all Premier League clubs,