STARS TURN OUT FOR NEYMAR’S B’DAY
PARIS: Former Brazil great Ronaldo turned up alongside a host of PSG stars and international team-mates to celebrate Neymar’s birthday on Sunday. Edinson Cavani and PSG coach Unai Emery were among the 150 guests in attendance. Marseille’s Luiz Gustavo and Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus too attended it. PYEONGCHANG: Freezing weather at the Winter Olympics may force some athletes and staff to pull out of Friday’s opening ceremony as Pyeongchang shivers in temperatures plunging to minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Italy are among the countries fearing the dangerous effects of the big chill and are advising their competitors to ensure they are moving at all times during the traditional curtain raiser.
Doctors with the Italian team have ordered coaches and staff with heart problems or diabetes to keep in the warm instead — the stadium for the opening ceremony is open to the elements with no roof.
New Zealand are taking no chances and Peter Wardell, their chef de mission in South Korea, admitted on Monday: “We are a little trepidatious about the opening ceremony, which is going to be at night, and how we are all going to keep warm if it’s going to be these sorts of temperatures. “They tell us it’s likely to be minus eight, minus 10, which is actually quite warm in comparison (to today).
“But it’s still a big ask to have athletes standing outside and then sitting for at least an hour and a half in the cold.”
He added: “Quite a few (Kiwi athletes) may decide they don’t want to march, particularly those competing really soon after.” The Pyeongchang Games are threatening to be one of the coldest Olympics ever. The mercury dipped to minus 11 degrees Celsius (12F) on Monday afternoon and was set to go as low as minus 20 overnight. Winter athletes are used to being exposed to the cold, but even some of them say they are feeling the brutal effects with the wind making for a punishing climate.
Andrew Musgrave, the British cross-country skier, tweeted: “It’s only about -5 degrees, but the wind makes if feel absolutely Baltic. CHANDIGARH ELECTRICITY DEPARTMENT e — TENDER NOTICE PYEONGCHANG: Fifteen Russian athletes and staff who controversially had their life bans for doping lifted last week will not be invited to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said on Monday.
The decision was taken after a special panel “unanimously recommended that the IOC not extend an invitation to the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 to the 15 individuals”, a statement said.
“The OAR IG (Olympic Athlete from Russia Implementation Group) confirmed that no additional invitations will be extended to these 15 individuals,” the IOC said.
The 15 were among a group of 28 Russians who had been banned for life from the Olympics for doping, but whose suspensions were overturned at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday. They included 13 athletes and two ex-athletes now working as support staff. The other members of the 28 have either retired or are unavailable for undisclosed reasons. The IOC has barred Russia from the Pyeongchang Olympics, which open on Friday, over a widespread doping conspiracy. But 169 Russians who have passed strict anti-doping protocols will compete under a neutral flag.
The IOC announcement comes after the body’s president, Thomas Bach, slammed the CAS decision as “extremely disappointing and surprising” and called for reforms to the independent sports tribunal. CENTURION: Former South Africa coach Ray Jennings feels that India captain Virat Kohli can be “intimidating in the dressing room” and it would be great if he gets a good guide, who can maximise his potential as a leader.
Jennings has witnessed Kohli progress from his days as an Under-19 cricketer as he was associated as a coach with Royal Challengers Bangalore. “As captain, I think, he is still not at his best. The Indian cricket system has to feed off Virat Kohli. Going from MS Dhoni to Kohli has been a drastic change. Dhoni is so calm and Kohli is the complete opposite. He can be intimidating the dressing room and sometimes his teammates can wonder who Kohli really is,” Jennings said during an interaction. Kohli can instill “fear” in youngsters, is Jennings’ observation and that’s why a calm mentor is need of the hour. “There can be a fear factor in the dressing room and you don’t want that with so many youngsters coming into the side. Indian cricket, thus, has to find people who can help and influence Kohli into ways of improving and becoming an even better leader,” Jennings said. But Jennings insisted that Kohli will get better with age.
“With age, Kohli will get better and calm down a lot naturally. He will not be so aggressive and in your face all the time. But in certain situations, when things are not so calm or even just to take that fear factor away from the dressing room, who will teach Kohli to become a better version of himself ?
“He is smart enough and passionate enough to want to change. He wants to be the best, and he does have skills to be the best player in the world, yet he needs some assistance,” he added. Kohli scored his 33rd ODI hundred in the first match at Durban and followed it up with 46 not out in the second match at Centurion.
He has scored 3 hundreds in his last 5 ODIS as well as finished the top run-getter in the three-test series against South Africa. “At this age, he already has 33 ODI hundreds and he is in touching distance of the best-ever seen in ODI cricket (Sachin Tendulkar). He has another 10 years left in him, at least, so there’s no reason why in 3-4 years he cannot get better and better.”