Digest

OLYMPICS

Games going ahead, insist Tokyo organizers

A spokesman for the Japanese government on Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee and local organizers are going ahead as planned with the Tokyo Olympics despite the threat of the spreading coronavirus.

The comments from spokesman Yoshihide Suga follow the assertion by veteran IOC member Richard Pound that organizers face a three-month window to decide the fate of the Games.

The Olympics are set to open on July 24 with 11,000 athletes due to compete. The Paralympics open Aug 25 with 4,400 participating.

Pound said that the fast-spreading virus could cancel the Olympics. Suga says Pound's opinion does not reflect the official view of the IOC, which has repeatedly said there are no plans to cancel or postpone the Tokyo Games.

"With regard to this member's comments, the IOC has responded that this is not their official position, and that the IOC is proceeding with preparations as scheduled," Suga said, speaking in Japanese at his daily news conference.

Pound is a former IOC vice-president and a member since 1978, and was the founding president of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Pound said the IOC has a three-month window to decide, and suggested other options like moving events or postponing seemed less likely.

SOCCER

Lampard: Bayern gave Blues 'reality check'

Frank Lampard admitted Chelsea were given a "reality check" by Bayern Munich as the Germans pushed the Blues to the brink of Champions League elimination with a 3-0 victory in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday.

Serge Gnabry scored twice in three minutes early in the second half and Robert Lewandowski bagged Bayern's third goal to complete a masterful display from Hansi Flick's side at Stamford Bridge.

Bayern is odds-on to finish off Chelsea in the second leg in Munich on March 18 after inflicting the Blues' heaviest European home defeat.

Lampard conceded Chelsea had been outclassed from start to finish and urged his players to learn from the chastening experience.

"That's football at this level, the levels of Bayern were fantastic. It was a harsh lesson for the players. It's the reality of the Champions League," Lampard said.

"If you give people of that quality enough chances they will score goals. There is a lot to their team, players that have been there a long time. We have to respect that."

SURFING

Plans unveiled for largest artificial wave

Kelly Slater is planning to build the world's largest man-made wave in the Californian desert. Plans for Coral Mountain, announced on Tuesday, feature the largest ride-able open-barrel human-made wave in the world with technology from Kelly Slater Wave Company, a division of the World Surf League.

The 11-time world champion surfer is teaming with Meriwether Companies and Big Sky Wave Developments.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2021 with the opening slated sometime in 2022. The land was previously approved for 750 homes and an 18-hole golf course. The new proposal maintains the same density and will require less water than the previously approved golf course.

The wave basin will be part of a 400-acre site in La Quinta, California, set at the base of Coral Mountain.

GOLF

Lindberg to play men at New Zealand Open

Major winner Pernilla Lindberg will become the first female golfer to compete at the New Zealand Open on Thursday, ensuring her place in the 101-year-old tournament's history regardless of results.

The Swede, who won the 2018 ANA Inspiration, was invited to compete with the men after organizers learned she already had plans to visit Queenstown.

Lindberg, ranked 178th in the women's game, jumped at the chance to play in the picturesque South Island resort town where she married husband Daniel 12 months ago.

"The opportunity to celebrate our first anniversary and combine it with a professional golf event was just too good to miss," the 33-year-old said.

Tournament director Michael Glading said Lindberg's presence was a bid to introduce "new ideas" to the event. "The fact that Pernilla is happy to come and compete in what is traditionally a men's event makes this a very special addition to the tournament."

TENNIS

Struggling Kenin feels 'completely out of it'

Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin says she is frustrated by her inability to rediscover the rhythm that secured her a maiden Grand Slam title at Melbourne Park after the American crashed out of the Qatar Open.

The 21-year-old suffered a 6-3, 7-6(4) second-round defeat to Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. Last week, Kenin fell at the first hurdle against Elena Rybakina at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

"Honestly, it's just finding my rhythm again. I feel like I'm completely out of it. It's really frustrating," Kenin said.

"Obviously coming off of Melbourne, where I felt I was playing the best tennis of my life, coming down to playing, not the worst, but not playing the tennis that I want to be playing."

ATHLETICS

Van Niekerk returns after two-year absence

Olympic champion Wayde van Niekerk is competing again after more than two years out with a career-threatening knee injury and is facing a race against time to be ready to defend his title at the Tokyo Games.

The Olympics are five months away and the world-record holder in the 400 meters still hasn't run a major race since the 2017 world championships in London.

Van Niekerk competed at two low-level meets over the last week in Bloemfontein, the South African city where he lives and trains. He came through his three runs without any problems, although they were 100m and 200m races.

That's still a major boost for the 27-year-old van Niekerk, whose planned return to the track last year was delayed because of setbacks with his recovery. Van Niekerk ran the 100m at a university event last week, and ran the 100 and 200 at another meet in Bloemfontein.

Xinhua - Agencies