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Sports FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017 MOTOR RACING ‘Insulted’ Varnish mulling legal action against cycling chiefs LONDON: British track cyclist Jess Shane Sutton led to the Cycling Times. “In a way I’m glad they have board had been ‘inept’ and ‘sanitised’ Varnish could take legal action against Independent Review (CIR) being set up used this language because it shows an in-house enquiry into Varnish’s alle- the sport’s domestic body British under the leadership of British Rowing what the people are like in there gations were not present in the final Cycling after an independent review chair Annamarie Phelps. (British Cycling). account. Their finding in the draft labelled the elite programme as Phelps, though, had to defend the “Anyone who knows me knows I am report that Varnish had been removed engendering a ‘culture of fear’. final version being seven pages shorter not a troublemaker or ringleader. No form the team as ‘an act of retribution’ The 26-year-old—a European Team and with some damning criticisms one has ever been removed from the for her criticisms of thw coaching Sprint world champion in 2011 — told removed compared to the draft report programme the way I was.” Phelps and regime had also been removed. ‘The Times’ she felt insulted at being leaked to the ‘Daily Mail’ in March this the five member panel criticised British Phelps, though, denied the report labelled a ‘troublemaker’ and a ‘ring- year. Varnish, whom Sutton told to ‘get Cycling for lacking ‘good governance’ was a whitewash and explained they leader’ in the review which was pub- on with having a baby’ after she was and regretted findings in a 2012 report had utilised a process known as lished on Wednesday. Varnish’s com- cut from the team last year, said the had not been acted upon because of ‘Maxwellisation’ which allows those plaints in April 2016 about the sexist characterisations of her in the report them prioritising winning medals at named and shamed in the draft report remarks and bullying by the pro- would not ring true with those who the London Olympics. However, obser- the right to reply and to defend them- gramme’s Australian technical director knew her. “I am insulted,” she told The vations in the draft report that the selves. — AFP ICE HOCKEY Swiss phenomenon sign of country’s belated rise GENEVA: Switzerland’s passion for ice hock- ey appears to have been born around 1898, when a Canadian who had brought used equipment to Europe organised the first games in Davos and St Moritz. About 120 years later, the country may have finally pro- duced its first international star. On June 23 in Chicago the National Hockey League will hold its annual entry draft, where the world’s top amateurs are selected by the NHL’s 30 teams. The first or second player chosen will be Switzerland’s Nico Hischier, according to consensus projections from hockey experts, who have unanimously described the 18-year-old from Valais canton as his country’s finest-ever prospect. With Hischier virtually certain to become the top Swiss selection in NHL draft history, the wealthy Alpine nation is now seen as a ris- ing hockey power. The question is: what took it so long? A FAILING RECORD? Switzerland has been hooked on hockey from the start. When the sport’s initial envoy to Europe, Canadian George Alfred Meagher, crossed the Atlantic in the 1890s, his stops other than Switzerland included Paris, London, Glasgow and Brussels, according to “On the Origins of Hockey”, an authoritative book about the sport’s early years compiled by three hockey historians. But unlike Britain, France and Belgium, hockey in Switzerland fast became a national obsession. Roughly 15,000 matches are played here each year, while the top professional league, known as National League A, has one of the highest attendance rates in Europe, according CALGARY: This file photo taken on February 17, 2016 shows Switzerland’s Nino Niederreiter (L) of the Minnesota Wild shooting on the to sports ministry figures. “Ice hockey is very net of Jonas Hiller (R) of the Calgary Flames during an NHL game at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Niederreiter, big in Swiss culture... about the same as a widely considered to be Switzerland’s greatest player, began his professional career in the Swiss league, but his skills ultimately pro- football,” said Franco Baffa of the Society for pelled him to the NHL. He was the fifth player chosen in the 2010 entry draft, the highest selection ever for a Swiss player. —AFP International Hockey Research, who called it Elite talents from other European countries career in the Swiss league, but his skills ulti- ist Nashville Predators, the historian said. the country’s true “national sport”, noting the have flocked to the NHL, craving the hefty mately propelled him to the NHL. Hischier made the rare decision to leave passion for even tiny local clubs. salaries, training and top-level exposure that He was the fifth player chosen in the 2010 home as a teenager to play for the Halifax But, when it comes to international North America offers, while Swiss players entry draft, the highest selection ever for a Mooseheads of the Canadian Hockey League, achievement, Switzerland may best described often preferred to stay home. “My dream was Swiss player. Asked how he felt about being the world’s top amateur development league, as a hockey failure. always playing in Switzerland,” said one of the displaced from that honour by Hischier next boosting his draft prospects. Baffa and Sweden and Finland-equally hockey-mad country’s few successful exports, Nino week, Niederreiter said he was resigned. Niederreiter also noted that improved coach- nations with similar populations to Niederreiter, a forward with the Minnesota “At the end of the day, number five is not ing and a pivot away from the cautious defen- Switzerland-have collectively won multiple Wild. Niederreiter, widely considered to be number one or two.” sive hockey towards a more aggressive offen- Olympic medals, world championships and Switzerland’s greatest player, told AFP that sive style of play has also raised the produced dozens of first-rate global talents while growing up he never thought of playing GREAT STRIDES Switzerland’s international profile and helped who have led championship NHL teams. for iconic franchises like the New York Baffa agreed that “the NHL is not necessar- it generate more dynamic prospects. Swiss hockey can claim no such honours. Rangers or Montreal Canadiens. His horizon ily the goal of a young (Swiss) player”, with And the NHL has noticed. “Over the last 10 stopped at ECH Chur, his local club that plays many preferring the comfortable life offered years, the country that has made the greatest ‘SLEEP IN YOUR OWN BED’ in a quiet Alpine city of 33,000 people. by the domestic league. strides, no question in my mind, is Switzerland,” The reasons for Switzerland’s meagre Swiss players figured they could “make But things are changing partly due to play- Brian Burke, a leading hockey executive and for- international record are varied, players and great money and sleep in their own bed”, ers like Niederreiter and Roman Josi, a mer NHL vice president told Canada’s The Fan experts said, although one factor stood out. Niederreiter said. He began his professional defenceman with the 2017 Stanley Cup final- radio station last month. —AFP.

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