Digest

SOCCER

Tottenham and England great Greaves in hospital

Tottenham Hotspur and England great Jimmy Greaves is being treated in hospital, the Premier League club said on Tuesday.

But there was no mention in Spurs' brief statement of whether the former striker was suffering from the coronavirus, or indeed the exact nature of the 80-year-old's condition.

"We can confirm that our record goal scorer Jimmy Greaves is currently being treated in hospital," said a statement. "We are in touch with his family and will provide further updates in due course. Everybody at the club sends their best wishes to Jimmy and his family."

Greaves is understood to have been in poor health since suffering a stroke nearly five years ago. A prolific scorer throughout his career, Greaves also played for Chelsea and West Ham, but his greatest success came at Tottenham during a golden era for the north London side that saw him score a club-record 266 goals in 379 matches from 1961-70.

Qatar denies 'baseless' bribery allegations

Qatar on Tuesday called allegations it bribed FIFA officials for the right to host the 2022 World Cup "baseless" and said they "will be fiercely contested".

According to US Justice Department documents released on Monday, FIFA officials received bribes to vote in favor of awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar. The Kremlin has also refuted the allegations. Qatar said it "strongly denies the allegations contained within the court papers".

The scheduling of the showpiece, due to be held in November and December of 2022, remains unchanged by the coronavirus pandemic which has forced the postponement of the European soccer championships and the Tokyo Olympics until 2021.

The allegations are linked to a wide-ranging 2015 corruption scandal that left FIFA in turmoil and led to the downfall of then-president Sepp Blatter. In the ensuing years, the US government has accused 45 people and various sports companies of more than 90 crimes and of paying or accepting over $200 million in bribes.

BASKETBALL

Arizona ace Mannion declares for NBA draft

Arizona point guard Nico Mannion has joined fellow freshman teammate Zeke Nnaji in declaring for the NBA draft.

"I have decided to declare for the 2020 NBA draft," Mannion posted on Tuesday on Twitter. "I want to thank everyone who has truly helped me throughout my journey, you know who you are, including coach (Sean) Miller for giving me the opportunity to play in front of the best fans in the country."

Mannion arrived in Tucson as the highest-rated recruit in a class that included Nnaji and Josh Green.

Mannion averaged 14 points and was second in the Pac-12 with 5.3 assists per game during his lone season at Arizona. The 6-foot-3 guard from Phoenix earned second-team all-Pac-12 honors.

Mannion was born in Italy, where his father, Pace, played professionally after being an NBA draft pick in 1983. A heady guard and creative passer, he's projected to be a first-round pick in 2020.

MOTOR SPORTS

Canadian Grand Prix joins F1 postponed list

The June 14 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal joined a growing list of Formula One races postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, with the 2020 season yet to get on the starting grid.

The race is the ninth to be affected by the virus, with the March 15 season-opening Australian Grand Prix canceled along with May's showcase Monaco Grand Prix.

Commercial-rights holder Liberty Media hopes to get the championship started in the European summer with a reduced and greatly rearranged schedule of between 15 and 18 races that could run into the New Year.

"At the moment it is crucial that all of our energies be put together to overcome COVID-19. We will welcome you with open arms at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve as soon as it is safe to do so," said Canadian Grand Prix CEO Francois Dumontier.

No new date has been suggested for the Canadian race. Organizers said the decision to postpone was not taken lightly. The British Grand Prix at Silverstone has set an April deadline to decide whether it can go ahead.

ATHLETICS

Cheruiyot praying for 'return to normalcy'

Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot says the COVID-19 pandemic has decimated her training regime as she is now restricted to one session a day.

The 36-year-old distance great had been set to anchor Kenya's women's marathon team at the Tokyo Olympics alongside world-record holder Brigid Kosgei and world champion Ruth Chepngetich.

However, with the Games postponed until next year and athletics shut down amid the virus outbreak, Cheruiyot is now trying to focus on family as her training takes a back seat.

"For now we need to keep on praying hard for the coronavirus spread to be under control or to go away, then other things will follow," said Cheruiyot, who would not confirm if she plans to run at next year's Games.

"Currently, I am doing well with my family. My prayer is to get back to normalcy. This coronavirus has hit us hard," she added.

TABLE TENNIS

ITTF postpones team worlds for second time

The World Team Table Tennis Championships due to take place in the South Korean city of Busan were postponed for a second time on Tuesday over the coronavirus pandemic.

South Korea was among the earliest countries to be hit outside China－where coronavirus cases were first recorded－and for a time had the world's second-largest outbreak before it was largely brought under control through a widespread testing drive.

In February, the rapid surge in the number of infections prompted officials to postpone the championships from their original March 22-29 dates to late June.

But since then the COVID-19 outbreak has spread to almost all parts of the world, claiming more than 82,000 victims, and has led to a historic decision to postpone the Summer Olympics by one year.

All International Table Tennis Federation events have been suspended until the end of June, and the ITTF said on Tuesday that new provisional dates for the championships had been set for Sept 27 to Oct 4.

Xinhua - Agencies