WORLD OF SPORT
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‘No regrets’ from Carlos over US Olympic protest More than 50 years after they were kicked off the US team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics for their protest against racial discrimination, Tommie Smith and John Carlos received a long-awaited moment of redemption. The former sprinters, once rebuked as unpatriotic for using the Olympic platform to make a political statement, received the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s highest honor as they were inducted onto the organisation’s Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs on Friday. Smith and Carlos finished first and third, respectively, in the 200 meters final and then stood with heads bowed and black-gloved fists raised skyward after eceiving their medals. “Let me say this loud and clear: No regrets whatsoever,” said Carlos, 74. “We sacrificed our careers but we helped so many others.”
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Young rider dies after Asia Talent Cup crash Indonesian rider Afridza Munandar died after a crash in the Idemitsu Asia Talent Cup (IATC) race at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday. The incident occurred when Munandar went down at Turn 10 on the first lap, before the race was stopped and then cancelled. After receiving medical attention by the side of the track, the 20-year-old was transferred to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital where he died from his injuries. Munandar was one of the championship contenders heading into this weekend’s finale of the 2019 IATC, having recorded two wins and four podium finishes. Following a vote btween the riders, today’s Race 2 will take place as planned today, with a minute’s silence tasking place beforehand.
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Halep: I deserved to be called a disgrace Simona Halep said she deserved a dressingdown from coach Darren Cahill after he branded the Romanian “a disgrace” during her 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 defeat by Karolina Pliskova at the WTA Finals on Friday. Halep lost a seesaw battle with the Czech to exit the end-of-season championship in China after the group phase, while Pliskova will meet Australia’s world No 1 Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals on Saturday. “It was a little bit of an impact for me,” said Halep, who recently resumed working with Australian Cahill after the pair split late last year. “But I’m pretty sure that I deserved it because I was not calm. I changed something in my attitude. Everyone knows that I’m working on that. But I need a holiday. I need a holiday to just forget about everything, then I’ll be ready for the off-season.”