“There should be no politicization and narrow-mindedness to treat this matter, sportsmanship must come first.”
The Chinese public on Monday gushed over teen heroes Su Yiming and Eileen Gu after their much anticipated appearances on the Olympic slopes as a prominent pundit urged the country’s netizens to stop panning foreign-born figure skater Zhu Yi.
The name of 17-year-old Su, a former child actor, was the most viewed topic on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform. The term “1800” — referring to his completion of one of the toughest snowboarding tricks — was a close second.
Su took silver in the men’s snowboarding slopestyle event behind Max Parrot of Canada. His Chinese fans, however, questioned why he was not given a higher score for what they called a “perfect” performance.
“You are the king of snowboarding in our hearts,” state broadcaster CCTV posted alongside a video clip of Su receiving his medal.
In contrast, the public continued to mock U.S.-born Chinese figure skater Zhu Yi for crying after she flopped in the figure skating on Sunday.
The 19-year-old fell on the ice and finished last, triggering a fierce backlash nL4N2UH00Z on Chinese social media that critiqued her performance and raised questions about her selection for the Olympic team.
Some members of the Chinese public urged sympathy.
“As long as she represents China, or no matter which country she represents, even though she fell down, we have to be tolerant,” a man who gave his surname as Hu, told Reuters in Beijing while waiting at a bus station near the Olympic tower.
“There should be no politicization and narrow-mindedness to treat this matter, sportsmanship must come first.”
Hu Xijin, a prolific commentator who recently retired as editor-in-chief of the nationalist Global Times tabloid, said on his official Weibo account that the attacks on Zhu were speculative and “too much”.
“I hope that some people will stop humiliating themselves and our country without any bottom line,” he said, defending the decision by Zhu, who was born and raised in the United States in a Chinese immigrant family, to represent China.
“This sports driven reverse immigration is a new product of the times,” Hu said.
China has staffed some Olympic sports with foreign-born players, such as its ice hockey teams for the Beijing Games.
Freestyle skier Gu, whose Chinese name is Ailing and who is one of Team China’s most popular athletes, was also born and raised in the U.S. Her decision to compete for China has been criticized by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
“Chinese netizens generally like Gu Ailing but their rebuke of Zhu Yi is rude and uncalled for,” Hu said. “I want to say that we should all be more open-minded than Fox and more civilised.”
Gu also trended heavily on Weibo on Monday after participating in the Big Air qualifier.
Her reaction to losing her skis during her second jump was described as “cute”. Gu later managed to get through to the final after nailing her third jump.
“Anyway, she’s able to flip in the air whereas I find it difficult just to turn myself around at home,” said one user, Zhurenyiwen Qi. (Reporting by Brenda Goh and Yin Xiaoyu; Editing by Ken Ferris)
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
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AP cricket:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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