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Photo of the Day Short-track Olympic champ Ahn retires

MOSCOW: Six-time short-track Olympic champion Viktor Ahn announced Monday he is retiring due to repeated injuries. Ahn, 34, was born in South Korea but became a naturalised Russian before the 2014 Sochi Olympics where he won three gold medals. In a letter published by RIA Novosti news agency he said permanent knee pain and other injuries were behind his decision stop competing. “It has become harder and harder to stay in shape, which is why I decided that it was time to stop the sport.” Ahn is the most successful competitor in the discipline. Competing for South Korea as Ahn Hyun-Soo, he won three gold medals at the Turin Olympics in 2006 and bronze in the 500m. Ahn was unable to participate at the 2010 Vancou- ver Games undergoing several knee operations, and, following disagreements with his team, became a nat- uralised Russian. His success on the rink and camaraderie with Russian President Vladimir Putin meant he was one of the faces of the Sochi Games in 2014. Ahn was not named on a list of athletes eligible to compete at the 2018 Pyongyang Games, after the World Anti-Doping Agency alleged a state-sponsored doping program in Russia. He described his exclusion as “scandalous”, saying SOCHI: Egor Posokhin performs at Rosa Khutor Peak in Sochi, Russia. — Photo taken from www.redbullcontentpool.com there was “no concrete reason” that he not be al- lowed to compete in his native country. — AFP Australia’s NRL heavily fines four players for quarantine breaches Beaumont v/s Pichot as World Rugby chairman election kicks off

SYDNEY: Australia’s National Rugby Aus$30,000 suspended, while Roberts- without crowds and under strict isolation League heavily fined four players for Davis and Cleary were ordered to pay restrictions. Australian authorities still breaching coronavirus lockdown rules Aus$10,000, with Aus$6,000 suspended. need to approve the plan, and the latest yesterday, underlining the disciplinary dif- All will be suspended at least one social distancing breaches, on top of ficulties facing the sport as it seeks to re- match for any repeat offences. The NRL rugby league’s long history of off-field sume play next month. fines far exceeded the standard scandals and discipline problems, could The NRL said the punishments, which Aus$1,000 police fine for violating social easily derail the restart attempt. come with the threat of suspensions for distancing rules. Mitchell and Addo-Carr “It’s bad timing,” Australian Rugby further breaches, sent a strong mes- League Commission chairman Peter sage to players who are hoping to V’landys admitted to reporters be- gather soon in Sydney to begin fore the fines were issued. “On the training under tight restrictions. surface of it it’s very disappointing, I It said the offenders showed “bla- don’t want to pre-judge it but they’ve tant disregard for public health or- got a lot of explaining to do.” ders” and significantly damaged the It’s bad Meanwhile, Voting for World NRL’s reputation ahead of the Rugby’s next chairman opened on planned restart. timing Monday with incumbent 68-year-old “We are focused on resuming the former England captain Bill Beau- competition on May 28, something mont facing competition from ex-Ar- our fans and stakeholders are ex- gentina skipper Agustin Pichot. cited about,” NRL action chief ex- Beaumont or Pichot, 45, must KYOTO: File photo taken on May 10, 2017 shows World Rugby chairman Bill ecutive Andrew Abdo said in a claim a majority of the 51 votes to be Beaumont (L) and deputy chairman Agustin Pichot pose during a press con- statement. “Players who do not comply were also hit with that fine. elected on a four-year term with results ference following the Rugby World Cup Japan 2019 pool draw in Kyoto. Beau- with community and NRL protocols will In addition, police said yesterday that set to be announced on May 12. Beau- mont, the outgoing president, is facing his former ally Pichot in the vote for the face sanction.” Three of the players — officers in Taree had charged two men mont, who retired 12 years before the presidency of World Rugby. — AFP Latrell Mitchell from South Sydney Rab- with firearms offences. National broad- sport turned professional in 1995 has bitohs, Melbourne Storm’s Josh Addo- caster ABC identified the two as Mitchell campaigned with the promise to open up Carr and Newcastle Knight Tyronne and Addo-Carr. The NRL season was sus- the sport. Tier One male sides. “I will start the dis- Kean from the world body’s council after Roberts-Davis — went on a camping trip pended on March 24 after just two rounds Current vice-chairman Pichot, who cussions with the Nations Championship accusations of “rampant homophobia”. at Taree in rural New South Wales with amid government shutdowns of all non- hung up his boots in 2009 after a club ca- blueprint, but I’m not sure if that will be Beaumont’s bid was seconded by the friends over the weekend. essential gatherings in a bid to stem the reer in France, would like to see the body the outcome,” he told AFP earlier this FRU but World Rugby stressed the for- They were caught after footage of spread of coronavirus. modernised and has used the hashtag month. “It will talk about the emerging na- mer lock’s nomination came from the Addo-Carr shooting rifles and Mitchell The cash-strapped league is desperate #GlobalGame on social media. The pair tions, more money for the women’s game,” FRU, rather than from Kean. Fijian sup- riding trailbikes was posted on social to resume its season and meet commit- were behind scrapped plans for a Nations he added. Beaumont has overseen a $100 port for Beaumont is seen as a counter- media. Another high-profile player, ments to the broadcasters who bankroll Championship as countries were worried million relief package for the game during balance to Pichot, who is believed to Nathan Cleary of the Penrith Panthers, the game. Scenarios for resuming the about potential relegation from the top the coronavirus pandemic while Pichot have strong support among other sec- apologised after photographs were pub- competition as reported in local media in- level of the global game. “Going forward sees the outbreak as a chance for the ond-tier nations. Continental body lished of him ignoring social distancing clude having all 16 teams, including the I’m sure there will be a variant of that,” sport to restart. Rugby Europe, who have two votes, said rules to party in a room full of women. New Zealand Warriors, base themselves Beaumont told AFP last week. The election process has been over- earlier in the day they have supported Mitchell and Addo-Carr were each and play their games in Sydney. Organis- Pichot said he would bring in different shadowed by last Tuesday’s resignation of Beaumont in an electronic ballot process fined Aus$50,000 (US$32,000), with ers say the competition would be played aspects to the competition other than the Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) chairman Francis wich runs until Thursday. — AFP

players like the Kiwoom Heroes’ pitcher Jake passion of its fans, who sing and cheer relent- NHL’s Blackhawks Virus gives Brigham a chance to shine. lessly no matter the score “from the first pitch “I’m 32 years old,” he told AFP. “I definitely to the last pitch”, as Brigham put it. have more baseball behind me than in front of Empty stadiums will be a marked contrast, axe veteran team baseball exiles a me but to get that exposure would be nice.” he adds. “To not have them (fans) here is re- After a decade in the minors, Brigham was fi- ally really gonna hurt everyday games.” In chief McDonough chance to shine nally called up by the Atlanta Braves in 2015, Taiwan professional baseball restarted earlier but pitched only 16.2 innings, with an abysmal this month with cardboard cut-outs of spec- LOS ANGELES: Chicago Blackhawks president and chief executive earned run average of 8.64. tators filling the stands, but livestreams have John McDonough was sacked on Monday, with team management SEOUL: Years after giving up on their He sought refuge in Japan before being drawn US fans despite them having to wake saying they wanted to use the coronavirus shutdown to set a new dreams of Major League stardom, the coron- scouted by his Seoul-based team and has up in the middle of the night to watch. course for the National Hockey League franchise. avirus pandemic is offering journeymen US spent three seasons as their starting pitcher, Other restrictions have been imposed by McDonough, a pillar of sports in Chicago who had spent 25 years baseball players in South Korea a moment in racking up 34 wins and becoming their the KBO: players must have their temperature with the Chicago Cubs baseball team before joining the Blackhawks the spotlight. Korea Baseball Organization biggest foreign star — his 2020 contract is checked twice before the games, and umpires in 2007, was widely credited with helping transform the NHL outfit. (KBO) clubs have more than 20 Americans on worth nearly a million dollars. are required to wear facemasks. And while the Under McDonough the Blackhawks won Stanley Cups in 2010, their books who were only ever marginal He never really had an opportunity to players are allowed to have their faces uncov- 2013 and 2015, comfortably the most successful era in the team’s his- “stick year after year” in a big league, he said, MLB players, or never made it to the big time ered while on the field or in the dugout, they tory. However, in a statement on Monday Blackhawks chairman Rocky but the KBO had proved a “great” opportu- are banned from spitting — a rule that out- at all. Wirtz said the suspension of the NHL season had prompted a rethink. nity. With US coronavirus cases approaching raged Heroes infielder Taylor Motter. But soon they will be among only a few “Thirteen years ago, I recruited John to the Blackhawks because of one million and the entire MLB season under “Asking us not to spit on the field is (like) professional athletes in competitive action his leadership, direction and vision,” Wirtz said. “John brought all of threat, former teammates were “jealous” of his asking us not to chew our food before we that to the table and more. His contributions went well beyond leading anywhere in the world, with almost all sport- chance to play, he added. swallow,” he said. Motter played for the the team to three Stanley Cup Championships. He rebuilt the front ing leagues on hold in the face of the virus. “The thought of having no baseball season Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners and Min- office and helped guide the organization toward a winning vision. South Korea once had the largest outbreak back home is hard to even comprehend... but nesota Twins in a three-year MLB career from “As difficult as this is, we believe it was the right decision for the outside China, where the disease first that’s the situation we are in right now.” 2016, hitting 10 home runs with a batting av- future of the organization and its fans.” McDonough was also instru- emerged, but appears to have brought it erage of 0.191. mental in turning the Blackhawks into a commercial juggernaut. The under control with an extensive “trace, test SPITTING MAD Never quite good enough to secure regular team had sold out a record 531 consecutive home games prior to the and treat” programme. The KBO is made up of 10 professional starts, his search for action has taken him to COVID-19 shutdown. Wirtz said the coronavirus crisis and the league And the delayed baseball season — the clubs, all of them named for the conglomer- Venezuela, Mexico and the Dominican Re- suspension had prompted a review of the team’s management. “While country’s most popular spectator sport, after ates that own them rather than their home public as well as South Korea. “I am not say- we can reassure our fans there will be hockey again, no one knows being brought to the peninsula by US mis- cities. The Heroes are an exception, founded ing I was a star over there by any means what that will look like,” Wirtz said. sionaries — will start next Tuesday, albeit be- by businessman Lee Chang-suk — who was cause I wasn’t,” he said of his time in the MLB. “What we do know is that it will take a new mindset to successfully hind closed doors. jailed for embezzlement in 2018 but remains “I was a bench player who came off the transition the organization to win both on and off the ice.” Wirtz’s son In a world where sports fans are starved of the largest shareholder — and changing their bench to play. I came here to kind of get Danny Wirtz, 43, will serve as interim team president as the hunt for live action, sports channel ESPN is in negoti- name according to their main sponsor. back to be that player that I thought I could McDonough’s replacement gets under way, a statement said. — AFP ations for broadcasting rights. That could give South Korean baseball is renowned for the have been.” — AFP