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Indonesian gymnast dies after training accident in Russia

JAKARTA: A 19-year-old Indonesian gymnast and Olympic hopeful died in Russia nearly two weeks after suffering an accident during training, the local federation said. Naufal Takdir Al Bari had been training in the western city of Penza since early September to prepare for the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta next month. Naufal suffered a serious neck injury after falling awkwardly into a foam-filled pit while performing a bar exercise, Oleg Minkarsky, director of the sports hall in Penza, told Russian news agency TASS. The gymnast spent 12 days in intensive care but died this week. “Indonesian gymnastics has lost one of its finest sons. This is a deep blow and sorrow for us,” Ita Yuliati, chairperson of Indonesia’s gymnastics federation, said in a statement Friday. “We are currently communicating with his family...

Sinner survives to sink qualifier as Swiatek launches Beijing bid

BEIJING: Jannik Sinner survived a scare to sink French qualifier Terence Atmane 6-4, 7-5, 6-0 at the China Open on Saturday as Iga Swiatek launched her title bid. The world number two Italian Sinner will face 57th-ranked Fabian Marozsan of Hungary in the Beijing quarter-finals. “It was a very tough match today,” four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner said. “I felt like he was serving great.” Sinner said that he lost a bit of concentration during the second set but quickly recovered to steamroll past the 68th-ranked Atmane in the deciding set. “I started off very well in the third set then I saw (Atmane) struggling a bit physically. “It’s not how you want to win a match but very happy to be again in the next round.” Atmane declared it would be a fight with two aces in the first game and made Sinner work for the first set. Atmane sent down six more aces in the second and broke the 24-year-old Sinner to force a deciding set. With the Frenchman flagging, Sinner raced to victory. In the women’s draw, Swiatek breezed past home player Yuan Yue, cruising into round three with a 6-0, 6-3 victory. The world number two from Poland next faces Colombia’s Camila Osorio, ranked 83rd. Swiatek broke early to set the tone for an ultimately one-sided match against Yuan, winning the first set without dropping a game when the wildcard from China fired long. Cheered on by her home crowd, the world no.

Barca’s Flick backs ‘fantastic’ Szczesny, confirms Yamal return

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said Saturday he has faith in veteran goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after first choice stopper Joan Garcia suffered a knee injury. Garcia will have surgery because of a meniscus injury and will miss between between four and six weeks, including Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain. Garcia was hurt at the end of Thursday’s win at Real Oviedo which left the champions two points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid. “It’s not good to not have Joan because he did a fantastic job. It was the last situation in the match against Oviedo.

Sponsor urges Israel Premier Tech cycling team to change their name in face of protests

MADRID: Israel Premier Tech cycling team have been urged by their title sponsor to change their name in the face of pro-Palestinian protests. Riders were targeted at the recent Spanish Vuelta, causing disruption to the Grand Tour event. Spain’s government estimated that more than 100,000 people were on the streets in Madrid during the final stage when protesters criticized the presence of Israel Premier Tech. In a statement reported by Radio Canada, Premier Tech said “the current situation regarding the team’s name is no longer sustainable to achieve our goal.” Premier Tech is a multinational company based in Quebec, Canada. It is the title sponsor of the cycling team co-owned by Israeli Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams. The Spanish Vuelta, which concluded this month, turned into a diplomatic battleground.

European soccer body UEFA moves toward vote to suspend Israel

GENEVA: European soccer body UEFA is moving toward a vote to suspend its member federation Israel over the war in Gaza, people familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Thursday. A majority of UEFA’s 20-member executive committee is expected to support any vote in favor of suspending Israeli teams from international play, two sources told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. The move comes two weeks before the Israel men’s team is due to resume its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with away games against Norway and Italy. It is unclear whether world soccer body FIFA will support excluding Israel given the close relations between FIFA’s leader, Gianni Infantino, and President Donald Trump.

Alcaraz survives injury scare and rain delay to win Tokyo opener

TOKYO: World number one Carlos Alcaraz shrugged off an ankle injury to beat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in a gritty start to his Japan Open campaign. US Open champion Alcaraz crumpled to the ground chasing a shot in the fifth game of the opening set in Tokyo and sat on the court grimacing for several minutes. The Spaniard had his left ankle heavily strapped during a medical timeout before gingerly returning. He soon began to move comfortably and broke world number 41 Baez to take a 5-4 lead. The match was delayed for a further half an hour as organizers closed the stadium roof with rain falling. Alcaraz returned strongly and closed out the first set before breezing past Baez in the second. “I have to see later if the outcome is going to be good,” Alcaraz said of his injury after the match. Alcaraz is playing at the Japan Open for the first time and the crowd gave him a warm cheer as he emerged in a burgundy sleeveless outfit with platinum blond hair. But their applause soon turned to concern when he went down injured halfway through the first set, with his reaction suggesting he may be unable to continue. Alcaraz somehow found a way to carry on and went on to dominate the match, winning in 1 hour and 30 minutes when Baez hit a return long. Number two seed Taylor Fritz of the US survived a tough opening test against Canada’s Gabriel Diallo to go through 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). Fritz, the world number five, beat Alcaraz at the Laver Cup in San Francisco last week. Norway’s number four seed Casper Ruud also advanced, with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki. Number five seed Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic went out after losing 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro.

Justin Rose open to Donald Trump presenting trophy if Europe retain Ryder Cup

Justin Rose says he would be happy for Donald Trump to present Europe with the Ryder Cup on Sunday evening.

Djokovic to return at Shanghai Masters

Novak Djokovic will return to action in Shanghai next month in his first tournament since his U.S. Open semi-final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz, organisers of the Masters tournament said.

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Indonesian gymnast dies after training accident in Russia

Sinner survives to sink qualifier as Swiatek launches Beijing bid

Barca’s Flick backs ‘fantastic’ Szczesny, confirms Yamal return

Sponsor urges Israel Premier Tech cycling team to change their name in face of protests

European soccer body UEFA moves toward vote to suspend Israel

Alcaraz survives injury scare and rain delay to win Tokyo opener

Justin Rose open to Donald Trump presenting trophy if Europe retain Ryder Cup

Djokovic to return at Shanghai Masters