Iran lifts ban on U.S. wrestlers
Iran has lifted a ban on U.S. wrestlers, allowing them to take part in the Freestyle World Cup later this month in the city of Kermanshah, Iranian media reported.
The Sunday report by state TV quotes Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying that the ban was lifted after the “discriminative restrictions” on Iranian nationals traveling to the U.S. was suspended by a U.S. federal judge.
The wrestlers were originally banned Friday from the Feb. 16-17 competition after President Trump temporarily suspended travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. The Trump administration is now appealing to reinstate the travel ban. On Sunday a judge in San Francisco rejected the government’s request for an immediate reinstatement. Formal arguments in the case begin Monday.
Regardless of tensions between their governments, American and Iranian wrestlers have frequently hosted each other in competitions and have a working relationship that goes back decades.
Cameroon rose again after years of underachievement to win the African Cup of Nations title in Libreville, Gabon, with a fabulous goal in the 89th minute of the final for a 2-1 come-from-behind victory against Egypt.
As the final whistle got nearer, substitute Vincent Aboubakar controlled the ball just outside the area, clipped it over a defender, and then shot past the goalkeeper to clinch Cameroon’s fifth African title and first since 2002.
Egypt’s 44-year-old goalkeeper, Essam elHadary, watched the tournament-winning shot slide past him right at the end to deny the Egyptians a record-extending eighth title and El-Hadary a fifth triumph 19 years after his first.
Egypt led through Mohamed el-Neny’s goal in the 22nd minute but Cameroon’s substitutes came to the rescue at Stade de l’Amitie as defender Nicolas Nkoulou, off the bench early after an injury to Adolphe Teikeu, equalized with a header in the 60th minute.
Aboubakar completed the rally. Cameroon, already chosen to host the next Cup of Nations, will be defending champion for the 2019 tournament.
Andrew McCutchen is on the move, but not out of Pittsburgh.
Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle announced that McCutchen is moving from center field to right field this season. Gregory Polanco will flip from right field to left, with Starling Marte sliding over from left to center.
McCutchen, a five-time All-Star and the 2013 National League most valuable player, won a Gold Glove in center in 2012 but has seen a dip in his defensive performance recently, according to advanced metrics. Pittsburgh explored trading McCutchen earlier in the off-season, but he is expected to be with the team when the Pirates report for spring training this month.
In a startling turn, Canada lost the decisive match to Britain in the first round of the Davis Cup in Ottawa when a player, disappointed by his shot, launched a spare ball that hit the chair umpire in the left eye.
Britain advanced to the World Group quarterfinals on Kyle Edmund’s 6-3, 6-4, 2-1 victory over Denis Shapovalov in the fifth match.
Play came to a sudden end in the third set after the 17-year-old Shapovalov was defaulted. He had just been broken by Edmund when he took a ball out of his pocket and hit it in frustration. The ball struck umpire Arnaud Gabas of France in the face, and the contact resulted in a default. Gabas put ice on his eye as swelling began. Shapovalov appeared to be devastated with the turn of events, holding his head in a towel.
“Obviously, this is unacceptable behavior from me,” Shapovalov said. “I just feel awful for letting my team down, for letting my country down, for acting a way that I would never want to act.”
Britain will play France in the quarters.
Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson won their singles matches to complete the United States’ second consecutive Davis Cup sweep of Switzerland.
Querrey defeated Adrien Bossel, 6-3, 7-5. Then Johnson, who clinched the Americans’ victory Saturday in doubles with Jack Sock, won his Davis Cup singles debut over Antoine Bellier, 6-4, 6-3.
The U.S. won 5-0 and will travel to play Australia for the World Group quarterfinals April 7-9. The U.S. is 26-20 all-time against Australia in a rivalry that dates to 1905, winning their last meeting, 3-1, in Australia in the 2016 World Group first round.
Switzerland was without the country’s two top players, 18-time Grand Slam event champion Roger Federer and three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka.