Both players have been told to stop talking to the media before their appearance next week at a doping tribunal.
China on Sunday successfully placed 20 micro satellites into space using its latest carrier rocket powered by pollution-free fuels, boosting the Communist giant's competitiveness in the global satellite launch sector, state media reported.
Following badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei's provisional ban, Rediff.com brings you ten top sports persons who gave in to drugs - one of the mighty perils that has affected modern sporting culture.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation may allow domestic airlines to permit passengers to use mobile phones and access mail on PDAs in-flight.
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra's obsessive pursuit of excellence and a new-found sprint sensation in Hima Das gave Indian athletics audacious Olympic hopes but familiar dope shame kept things in perspective in an eventful 2018.
'If you have an IQ higher than room temperature you should stop (using it). There is a test for it and you'll be bounced' 'The monitoring of substances is undertaken by WADA, and so tennis was not aware of the prevalence of meldonium use in 2015 (or before), prior to its addition to the Prohibited List'
The BBC report said a third of medals in endurance events at the Olympics and world championships between 2001 and 2012 were won by athletes who have recorded "suspicious tests".
The suspense over wrestler Narsingh Yadav's Olympic participation was on Thursday prolonged further after the National Anti-Doping Agency deferred its final verdict on the doping scandal surrounding him to Saturday or Monday at the end of a two-day hearing in New Delhi. A day after Narsingh and his lawyers presented their case on the failed dope test, which according to them, was a conspiracy against the grappler, NADA's legal team gave its arguments against the sabotage theory before the disciplinary committee. "Hearing has been concluded today (Thursday). The judgement will come out either on Saturday or Monday," NADA's lawyer Gaurang Kanth told reporters at the end of the hearing.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Frida
Australia has backed a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recommendation that Russia be banned from international athletics, including the 2016 Olympics, after a report alleged systemic state-backed cheating.
India's national security strategy needs to be revised periodically since the global and regional geopolitical situation is dynamic, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Russia said on Friday it is ready to do everything from a legal point of view to defend Russian athletes if they are banned from taking part in the Rio Olympics over doping allegations.
The court said no hearing date had been fixed yet and no further information would be provided for the moment.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
The annual Routes event attracts top representatives from a wide variety of organisations, including airlines and airports, who meet, plan and conduct business for new global routes.
Former world number one Maria Sharapova has been invited to play at the Madrid Open in May, which takes place less than two weeks after her 15-month doping ban expires, tournament organisers said on Wednesday.
The reason: Vitaly Mutko has delivered victories on the sports field for the past decade and a half to match Putin's ambition of restoring national pride, and the Russian leader stands by the people who give him loyal service.
China's National Health Commission on Thursday said the country reported only four new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, taking the total number to 82,862, while no death due to the disease was registered. The virus has claimed 4,633 lives in the country.
The Wuhan lockdown was lifted even as epidemiologists warned that it is not the time to completely lower the guard and ease on full-scale restrictions, considering the looming asymptomatic patients and possible rebound in infections, the official media reported.
Five-times grand slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova hit out at some media accounts of her doping case that she termed "wrong" in an open letter to her fans on Facebook on Friday. Sharapova, who tested positive for the banned drug meldonium at the Australian Open in January, is facing a suspension of up to four years by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and has already lost numerous sponsorships in the aftermath. The former world number one thanked her fans for their "tremendous outpouring of support" before launching into a critique of what she believed were some inaccurate reports. "A report said that I had been warned five times about the upcoming ban on the medicine I was taking. That is not true and it never happened," Sharapova wrote. The 28-year-old Russian said she was making no excuses for not knowing about the ban that went into effect on Jan. 1, but said that after the first announcement, other notices were "buried in newsletters, websites, or handouts." "Again, no excuses, but it's wrong to say I was warned five times," said Sharapova, who has said she took the drug for 10 years due to a family history of heart issues and diabetes.
'It was probably one of the most difficult decisions to take in my career so far. But I thought that it was time for me to take on a fresh and new challenge'
The doping suspension of Croatian tennis player Marin Cilic has reportedly been reduced from nine months to four months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), making him eligible to return to playing from October 26 this year.
'We are going ahead with the trials assuming what we have is the vaccine.' 'There is also a chance that what you have is not the vaccine. Then, you have to go back to the drawing board again.' 'So far, there has been no success in developing a good vaccine against coronaviruses.' 'That's why there are hundreds of trials going on at different stages in different parts of the world.'
Sanctions against North Korea following its H-bomb test could have serious repercussions and may prove disastrous for all the players involved, says Debalina Ghoshal.
Chengdu Airlines said the ARJ21 has a lower cost per seat than similar models of Airbus and Boeing models.
CEO Rahul Johri and acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary sparred over e-mails with regards to the board's first-ever e-auction for the media rights
The accident occurred at 7:45 pm while the pilot was attempting to land the B737 Air India Express from Dubai at the tabletop runway of the Karipur International Airport.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
The WADA report also identified "systematic failures" at the IAAF, athletics' world governing body, which has been rocked by a French judicial investigation into fraud involving its former chief Lamine Diack and other senior officials.
Calls grow for global athletics probe after widespread doping allegations.
World athletics president Sebastian Coe said he reacted with "shock, anger and sadness" to this week's allegations of bribery, extortion and doping cover-ups and said the sport faces a "long road to redemption".
The newly chalked Futures Tours Programme (FTP) and the hefty compensation of Rs 850 crore to now-defunct Indian Premier League franchise Kochi Tuskers Kerala will be discussed extensively when Board of Control for Cricket in India's Special General Meeting is held in New Delhi on Monday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
'Despite much hype of optimism, everyone went home empty-handed without a clear picture where they are heading in the future,' notes Dr Rajaram Panda.
The administration has acquired the passport and other documents of Saurabh.
'What we are actually missing in India is a platform wherein the government engages with cybersecurity experts, gets them employed and then utilises their capability to deter such attacks.'
Maria Sharapova's reduced suspension for a doping violation is set to provide a healthy boost to her bank balance with corporate sponsors reaffirming their commitment to the Russian player. The 29-year-old can return to the court next April after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her two-year ban by nine months on Tuesday. Sharapova's stunning admission in March that she had tested positive for meldonium at the Australian Open, and her subsequent ban by the International Tennis Federation, saw a number of sponsors distance themselves from her.
The government kept its nerve in the face of a massive shock. It chose not to resort to a massive fiscal stimulus. It focused instead on providing liquidity support and easing restrictions on movement in stages, observes T T Ram Mohan.
The ruling by the CAS, sport's highest tribunal, will be taken into consideration by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as it ponders whether to impose a blanket ban on Russia from all sports.
