World Sports News in Brief

Esports-Albon denies penalised Leclerc a virtual F1 hat-trick

Alexander Albon won a virtual Formula One thriller, against a field that included England cricketers Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad, around Brazil’s Interlagos circuit on Sunday (May 3) to deny Charles Leclerc an esports hat-trick.

Formula One F1 - Pre Season Testing - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - Feb 27, 2020. Red Bull's Alexander Albon during testing. (Photo: Reuters)
Formula One F1 - Pre Season Testing - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain - Feb 27, 2020. Red Bull's Alexander Albon during testing. (Photo: Reuters)

Leclerc, winner of the last two virtual races in China and Vietnam, traded the lead on almost every lap but opted for the hard tyres at his pitstop while the Red Bull driver came in later for mediums.

* American tennis player Taylor Fritz and his doubles partner, Tik Tok personality Addison Rae, won the virtual Stay At Home Slam on Sunday as real-life tennis remains on hold because of the coronavirus crisis. The likes of the Williams sisters, Japanese stars Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori and the recently retired Maria Sharapova competed as their favourite characters from the world of Nintendo to raise money for charity.

* The Harding Park golf course which is scheduled to host the PGA Championship in August will reopen on Monday. The course closed seven weeks ago due to a local "shelter in place" order in San Francisco over coronavirus concerns.

* Former Olympic pole vault champion Renaud Lavillenie of France and Sweden's world record holder Mondo Duplantis shared the spoils in the Ultimate Garden Clash, despite competing in locations 8,000km apart during the COVID-19 lockdown. Along with American Sam Kendricks, the trio attempted to vault 5m as many times as they could in 30 minutes in a format they devised together, connected via a live video link streamed to fans on the social media channels of World Athletics.

* Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman was admitted to hospital with a heart problem on Sunday, the daily De Telegraaf reported on its website. The 57-year-old was taken from his home by ambulance but after surgical intervention was in a stable condition, his wife Bartina told the newspaper.

* Serie A teams will be able to start individual training sessions as of Monday amid the COVID-19 crisis, according to a letter sent by the Italian interior ministry to local authorities. Prime minister Giuseppe Conte said last Sunday that individual training could start on May 4 and team training on May 18, only for sports minister Vincenzo Spadafora to say that athletes in individual sports could start training from May 4 and those in team sports must wait until May 18.

* Players will need at least four weeks to regain match fitness once coronavirus lockdown measures are lifted and they are able to resume training, Partizan Belgrade coach Savo Milosevic said on Sunday. The 46-year old former Yugoslavia striker, who scored 37 goals in 102 internationals and won the 1996 English League Cup with Aston Villa, pointed out that a return to normal training would be gradual.

* German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Sunday backed a possible restart for the Bundesliga season this month without spectators as the government prepares for a key meeting next week. Although Bundesliga clubs have returned to training in small groups, the league has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic and the government is to decide next week on a potential resumption of sports activities.

* United World Wrestling has confirmed China, Morocco and Hungary will remain the hosts of continental qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games which have been postponed until next year. It came after the International Olympic Committee approved the updated wrestling qualification system for the Games.

Reuters, Xinhua