Sport

Thứ Bảy, 13 tháng 8, 2016

Namibian boxer arrested on suspicion of sexual assault

Jonas Junias carries the Namibia flag during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Namibian boxer Jonas Junius has been arrested on suspicion of a sexual assault in the Olympic Village, Rio police have confirmed.

Junius, a light-welterweight who was due to fight Hassan Amzile in the first round on Thursday, has been detained after allegedly attempting to grab and kiss a maid

The alleged incident took place on Monday night and Junius, Namibia's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday night, was taken to the nearest police station in Recreio for questioning.

A statement on the Rio civil police's official website said: "Recreio police said yesterday, August 7, that Jonas Junius was arrested.

"Jonas tried to grab and kiss a maid who managed to extricate herself. The incident occurred on the 11th floor of the hall in building two of the Olympic Village."

Junias Jonas won sliver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

The International Boxing Association (AIBA), amateur boxing's world governing body, is aware of the incident.

A spokesman for AIBA said: "AIBA has taken note of the serious allegations towards a Namibian boxer who was due to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

"We understand that the situation is being dealt with by the local Brazilian authorities and have complete confidence that they will handle the matter appropriately."

If charged, the suspect will be detained in Bangu prison, where Moroccan Hassan Saada has been held since Friday.

Saada was charged with attempted rape after he was alleged to have propositioned two Olympic Village cleaners, grabbing one of them, on Wednesday.

Resource: skysports.com

Thứ Sáu, 12 tháng 8, 2016

Team GB welterweight Josh Kelly beats Walid Mohamed in Rio debut

Josh Kelly made an impressive Olympic debut by out-classing Egypt's Walid Sedik Mohamed to cruise to a unanimous decision.

The Sunderland welterweight was in control from the start and although his opponent's crude approach and wild punches threatened to cause problems, the 23-year-old strolled to a 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 success.

Kelly, ranked seventh in the world, showed why in the opening round, picking his shots perfectly whenever Mohamed came charging in. The straight right was the key to his control but as soon as he started adding the left hook to the body, his class started to show.

Kelly showed his pace and precision to move into the Round of 16

Kelly started the second ducking under a wide and wild right and responding with two lefts and even when he briefly switched to the southpaw stance midway through, he still beat his man to the punch, the left to the ribs again leading the way.

Mohamed's crude style led to some unsightly clashes but Kelly showed his footwork off by punching as he moved back out of range, avoiding the threat of a cut, and catching the Egyptian more often than not.

Josh Kelly was the comfortable winner in the welterweight Round of 32

Even when he was swamped though, Kelly proved he can work inside as well, a lovely right uppercut showing the watching welterweight class, he has a variety of shots and uses them with precision and certainly more power in the closing stages.

He might well need them in the next round on Thursday, when he takes on the Olympics number two seed and world's number one, Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan.Resource: skysports.com

Anthony Fowler knocked down by Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in Rio

Anthony Fowler was knocked down in the second round

Anthony Fowler's Olympic dream was shattered in Rio as he was floored in the second and lost all three rounds to middleweight beast Zhanibek Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan.

The Liverpool cousin of footballing legend Robbie Fowler gave it everything, but right at the start of the second round a vicious left hook had him in trouble, before a repeat shot sent him to the canvas.

Fowler got back to his feet but even with the Olympic format not guaranteeing a knockdown earning a 10-8 score, it set up a major disappointment when the Team GB star lost a unanimous decision after nine brutal minutes, 30-27, 30-26, 30-26.

It was tough before the first bell had even sounded as he was up against the world championship gold medallist from 2013, when a hand injury prevented the Brit from taking him on in the final and was forced to settle for bronze.

Fowler looked ready to make the most of his second chance in the opening round, his right to the body and the odd combination keeping him opponent in cautious mode.

Kazakhstan's Zhanibek Alimkhanuly beat Anthony Fowler with a unanimous decision

It didn't take long though for Alimkhanuly to show his class with a lovely left-right double and despite an encouraging start, the second-round knockdown was ultimately the beginning of the end.

Fowler did try and fight back but Alimkhanuly continued to land powerful left hooks and even in the third, when he knew he needed a knockdown to at least plant some seeds of doubt into the judges' minds, he was caught again, inside and at range several times.

The unanimous decision meant that Fowler was the first Team GB fighter to bid farewell after his opening bout and the second to exit the Rio tournament after Galal Yafai's close points loss at light-flyweight.

Resource: skysports.com

Lawrence Okolie bows out to classy Erislandy Savon

Lawrence Okolie came up short against Erislandy Savon of Cuba in their heavyweight contest

Heavyweight Lawrence Okolie bowed out after a comprehensive points defeat to wily Cuban Erislandy Savon.

Okolie was unable to avenge a first-round defeat to Savon from three months ago, but he did at least go the distance as his fearsome foe claimed an emphatic points win.

The 23-year-old Okolie was floored inside eight seconds and dropped twice more en route to a defeat against the nephew of three-time Olympic champion Felix Savon at the World Series of Boxing final in Tashkent.

And he was put on the canvas in the first round again on Monday night, although it may have been a push following a glancing blow that forced Okolie to the floor after 50 seconds. Nevertheless he was given a standing eight count.

He recovered well in the second round and a solid one-two gained Savon's respect but the 26-year-old showed his experience by staying one step ahead of the Briton to take a 30-27 win on all three judges' scorecards.

Resource: skysports.com

Thứ Năm, 11 tháng 8, 2016

Blow for Yorkshire as Travis Head called up by Australia

Travis Head of Yorkshire bats during the NatWest T20 Blast

Yorkshire's treble aspirations have taken a blow as Travis Head has been called up by Australia for the one-day international series with Sri Lanka.

The 22-year-old, who has been in great form for the Tykes since arriving in July, has been added to his country's squad for the five-match series which begins on August 21.

Head will travel to Colombo immediately and join up with the Test team ahead of Saturday's final game of a series Australia have already lost, but the batsman will not play a part.

Head joined Yorkshire in July and scored 113 runs in four NatWest T20 Blast appearances and 277 in as many Royal London One-Day Cup games to help Yorkshire reach the quarter-finals of both competitions.

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The latter included a staggering 175 off 139 balls during their 191-run thrashing of Leicestershire on July 24, while he also posted a half-century in his only first-class appearance.

Australia coach Darren Lehmann said in quotes reported on cricket.com.au: "He's a young player who has the attributes we think are quite important here.

"We've been impressed with him. That's why he has come in a bit early."

Resource: skysports.com

Australian spin bowler Stephen O’Keefe fined over conduct

Stephen O'Keefe and Australia have been aided by Muttiah Muralitharan

Australian spinner Stephen O’Keefe has been fined £5,850 after an incident at a hotel in Manly on Saturday night.

O'Keefe was charged by Cricket Australia for "conduct unbecoming of a player" and will now undergo counselling and education as part of his sanction.

The 31-year-old said: "I know I failed to uphold the high standards expected of a NSW and Australian cricketer and apologise to all concerned.

"I take full responsibility for my actions and accept the sanction handed to me by Cricket Australia."

It follows a testing couple of weeks for O'Keefe who had to return home after the first Test defeat against Sri Lanka in Pallekele with a pulled hamstring, paving the way for Jon Holland to make his debut in Galle.

Despite the world's top-ranked side hiring the legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan as a consultant for the tour, Australia's spinners have struggled to adapt, losing the first two Tests of the three-match series.

Nathan Lyon, who bagged just nine wickets in those four innings and was criticised by coach Darren Lehmann and skipper Steve Smith, admitted he and debutant Holland had been below par.

Sri Lanka demolition

Perera steers Sri Lanka to stunning triumph

Speaking ahead of the final Test which starts on Saturday in Colombo, Lyon said: "They've totally outplayed us. There's a lot of room for improvement, especially from myself I dare say.

"It's now up to us to say no excuses, full stop, and go out there and get better and put in a good performance come the third Test. We need to keep hitting the stumps.

"I don't think 'Dutch' (Holland) and myself probably did that to the best of our ability. I think your mindset needs to change over here. It's a hard place to play cricket. But I am learning to bowl better in the sub-continent.

"If we can keep improving, keep learning from our mistakes in the first two Test matches then we're going the right way."

Resource: skysports.com

Four South African cricketers banned for match-fixing

Thami Tsolekile has been banned for 12 years

Four South African cricketers, including former Test wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile, have been banned for between seven and 12 years for match-fixing.

Tsolekile - who played against England at Port Elizabeth in December 2004 - received a 12-year ban for "contriving to fix a match or matches" in the 2015 Twenty20 domestic competition, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said.

Pumelela Matshikwe, Ethy Mbhalati and Jean Symes were also banned after accepting money from ex-international Goolam Bodi, - who was banned for 20 years in January - to manipulate matches

Bodi, who had attempted to fix matches in the 2015 Ram Slam T20 series, acted as an intermediary for international betting syndicates, approaching players with a view to getting them to help fix matches.

Matshikwe and Mbhalati have both been banned for 10 years with Symes been banned for 7 years.

In a statement, CSA Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: "It is our stated position that any form of corruption in the game will be dealt with severely. We will leave no stone unturned and we will do everything in our power to protect the integrity of the game.

"Corruption is a very serious matter and for this reason we have devoted extensive time and resources to fully investigate every shred of evidence. We are still finalizing certain aspects of the investigation.

"Whilst there has been no evidence to suggest that an actual fix in any match was carried out, these players all participated in material discussions about match fixing.

"Our attitude towards any form of corruption is clear and hence why we have imposed such firm sanctions.

"To their credit, all of these players eventually admitted their misconduct and co-operated with the investigators. They have also shown remorse for their actions. Importantly, each of them has indicated a willingness to engage in anti-corruption education to assist us to prevent this kind of conduct in the future. "

The four players, who have all publicly apologised, have accepted the bans which will come into effect on 1 August 2016.

Resource: skysports.com