China Masters, Dutch Open badminton tournaments cancelled
Kuala Lumpur: The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday announced the cancellations of the China Masters and Dutch Open from its revamped calendar for the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.”Two BWF Tour Super 100 tournaments have been cancelled from the revamped BWF Tournament Calendar for the year — the Lingshui China Masters 2020 and YONEX Dutch Open 2020,” said the BWF in its statement.”The Lingshui China Masters 2020 was rescheduled twice previously from its original slot at the start of the year (25 February – 1 March) due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was initially postponed until May and then moved again to 25-30 August 2020. “Badminton Netherlands announced the cancellation of their flagship tournament citing continued risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.”The YONEX Dutch Open was due to take place 6-11 October in Almere, Netherlands.”Last month, the 2020 Swiss Open and the 2020 European Championships were both cancelled due to unavailability of dates for the two tournaments.(IANS)
NHL set to restart on August 1
Washington: The National Hockey League (NHL) has announced that it is targeting an August 1 return to the season, which was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in March.”As part of the tentative agreement, the following dates have been established: July 13 – Start of formal training camps; July 26 – clubs travel to hub cities; August 1 – Start of Qualifying Round,” the NHL said in a statement on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency.Local media reported that teams should arrive at their own facilities for training camps for a couple of weeks before traveling to one of two hub cities, Edmonton and Toronto, both in Canada.(IANS)
Tambe 1st Indian to play in CPL
St. Johns: Wrist spinner Pravin Tambe is set to become the first Indian to play in the Carribean Premier League as he has been signed by Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) — the franchise co-owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan — for the upcoming edition of the tournament.The 48-year-old has played for Rajasthan Royals, Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Tambe was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2020 IPL season, but was later disqualified by IPL’s Governing Council for featuring in the T10 League in the UAE.Meanwhile, TKR have also brought back Australian leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed who was part of their Championship winning team in 2018. They have signed New Zealand wicket keeper Tim Seifert and Zimbabwean batsman Sikandar Raza. he draft for the tournament, scheduled to take place from August 18 to September 10, was carried out remotely and the six teams have successfully filled out their rosters with both Caribbean and overseas players with Rashid Khan, Marcus Stoinis, Ross Taylor, Tambe and Carlos Brathwaite all being signed up.(IANS)
BMX world c’ships cancelled
Aigle: The International Cycling Union (UCI) says this year’s BMX world championships have been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.The event was scheduled to be held in Houston in May and was at first postponed. The UCI says no new host was found “despite its best efforts to come up with an alternative.” The next BMX worlds are scheduled to start in Papendal, Netherlands, in August 2021. That is one week after the Tokyo Olympics is scheduled. Four BMX medal events are on the Olympic program as well. The UCI also says that the 2020 season in BMX Freestyle Park and Flatland World Cup will not happen because of the overall impact caused by COVID-19 pandemic. (AP)