WORLD OF SPORT
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Most grounded ambitions of the day British athletes are hoping for their best Winter Olympics medal haul in Pyeongchang next February after matching their past record of four in Sochi in the previous edition. Team GB chef de mission Mike Hay said that a medal target was unlikely to be set in stone before December or early January but the signs were promising. “I have to say that I’m pretty excited about the talent that we do have in our team, across a number of sports and disciplines,” he said. Team GB expect to take around 60 athletes to Pyeongchang, compared to their previous biggest squad of 56 in Sochi, with 10 curlers already selected. “UK Sport have confidence in the winter sports being able to produce,” said Hay, while warning that the top talent was spread thinly and always vulnerable to injury in sports that are more dangerous than many on the summer schedule. “For them to get to the Games healthy is key for us,” he said. ▷▷▷
Best retraction of the day Singapore’s Olympic champion Joseph Schooling has apologised to Malaysians for saying he was going to teach their swimmers a lesson at the South East Asian Games, which opened yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. Schooling, 22, who won the city state’s first Olympic gold in the 100 metres butterfly in Rio last year, had told local media it would be “nice to go to Malaysia’s backyard and teach them a thing or two” in the build-up to the competition. “If I offended anyone, I do apologise ... that wasn’t my intention,” Schooling said yesterday. “I’m really sorry for my comments and I definitely didn’t mean it that way.” Schooling won nine gold medals at the last Games in Singapore two years ago but will race in fewer events this year. “I’ll do my best in all of them. I’m just going to do my best and let the outcome speak for itself. We have two days to prepare so hopefully we’ll put on a good performance in the Games,” he said. ▷▷▷ Best achievement of the day Albert Pujols hit the 609th home run of his career on Friday which tied him with Sammy Sosa for the most homers by a foreign-born player in Major League Baseball. Dominican Republic-born Pujols, who plays for the Los Angeles Angels, hit his drive during the first inning against Baltimore Orioles on a ball that narrowly cleared the left-field fence. Pujols and Sosa are now tied for eighth on the all-time home run list. The latest homer was the 18th of the season for Pujols, 37, but it was not enough for the Angels to end the evening victorious as the Orioles prevailed 9-7.