Audi Formula E suspend Danier Abt for cheating in esport event
Berlin: The Audi Formula E Team suspended Daniel Abt for cheating in a charity esports event. Abt was disqualified from the online race and fined 10,000 Euros after it was found that he had used a professional gamer to race under his name. “Daniel Abt did not drive his car in qualifying and the race at the fifth event of the Race at Home Challenge on May 23 himself, but let a professional sim-racer do so,” Audi said in a statement. “He directly apologised for this on the following day and accepted the disqualification. “Integrity, transparency and consistent compliance with applicable rules are top priorities for Audi — this applies to all activities the brand is involved in without exception. For this reason, Audi Sport has decided to suspend Daniel Abt with immediate effect.” Abt issued an apology later. “I did not take it as seriously as I should have,” he said. Pro gamer Lorenz Hoerzing, who raced in his place has been disqualified from all future rounds of the separate Challenge Grid competition. The official Formula E season is suspended since March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (IANS)
Considered retiring due to injury issues: Douglas Costa
Turin: Brazil and Juventus forward Douglas Costa said that he had considered retiring due to his frequent injury troubles and has hired a mental coach to help him deal with the side-effects of his fitness issues. “There are times when I think: ‘Can I still play?'” he told The Players’ Tribune. “[That’s] because I go out on the pitch and get injured again. Then, when I watch it on TV, I remember this is my passion and that I can still play at a high level. “This is what keeps me alive, I know football comes easy to me. It has nothing to do with money or being famous. “The point is to do what you enjoy and have fun doing it. That’s my objective. I joke with Alex Sandro that I’ve had more scans than I’ve played games.” Costa has missed 17 games in three spells for the Serie A leaders this season alone, and has particularly struggled with hamstring and calf issues during his career. The injury problems have also led to him making just over 30 appearances for Brazil. (IANS)
Italian Paralympic marathon runner Carlo Durante passes away
Rome: Italian Paralympic gold medalist Carlo Durante, a blind marathon runner, has passed away at the age of 73. Born in Volpago del Montello, Durante was a star distance runner, with his top discpline being the marathon. Competing in the vision impaired category, the Italian won gold at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona and captured silver at Atlanta 1996 and bronze at Sydney 2000. Durante’s talents were noticed when he claimed first place at the 1994 World Championships in Berlin in addition to the gold medals at the European Championships in 1991, 1993 and 1997. Durante attended more than 70 marathons worldwide. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP) have paid tributes to the star distance runner who passed away on Sunday. (IANS)
Lockdown Knockout recurve archery event to be held in June
Lausanne: World Archery has announced that it will continue its Lockdown Knockout remote international event with recurve competitions to be staged in June. Eight world-class recurve archers will be invited to compete in the tournament, which will start its qualification on June 5-8 with matches following on June 13-21. Four men and the four women archers will be placed in separate brackets, which means the final will be between a man and a woman. The concept was launched in May with a compound competition. It generated more than 4.5 million impressions on social media and record engagement. It was also featured on national television news in countries including Colombia, the Netherlands and Japan. Colombia’s Sara Lopez had defeated Anders Faugstad of Norway in the final of the compound competition, marking an important milestone in mixed-gender matchplay. Lopez had previously competed into two exhibition matches against men. This was her first victory. (IANS)