Weekly Digest (May 4 - 10): From Bundesliga's return to French Open's uncertain future

From Germany resuming football action with Bundesliga to Australian Open's possible cancellation, here are the top headlines from the week gone by.

Published : May 10, 2020 22:13 IST

Following the green light from German government, the German Football League (DFL) set a date to resume Bundesliga action on May 17.
Following the green light from German government, the German Football League (DFL) set a date to resume Bundesliga action on May 17.
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Following the green light from German government, the German Football League (DFL) set a date to resume Bundesliga action on May 17.

Here's a wrap-up of sports news and updates from across the world. From football returning to action with South Korea's K League to players returning to training ground in La-Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga, there was positive news for sports fans in the week gone by.

CRICKET

Feroze-Shah-Kotla
DDCA Ombudsman Justice (Retd) Deepak Verma in an interim order suspended the office bearers.
 

Indian cricket may adopt an innovative measure to make up for lost time in the post-pandemic world by making India’s white-ball and red-ball squads feature in an international game simultaneously. It may sound outrageous but among the different options being considered to make up for “lost time” upon resumption of sport, is playing multiple internationals on the same day. ( REPORT )

Without a president and its secretary in jail, the controversy and corruption-ridden Delhi and Districts Cricket Association is set to be directly governed by the BCCI through an ad-hoc committee.

( REPORT )

The suspension of all cricketing action because of the COVID-19 pandemic has created problems aplenty for the administrators of the game. While Cricket Australia is in deep financial crisis, the England and Wales Cricket Board is also fearing heavy financial loss this season. BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal admits that the Indian Board will “also be in a difficult position” if cricket does not resume fast.

( REPORT )

English cricket could lose as much as 380 million pounds if the entire season is wiped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ECB chief executive Tom Harrison has claimed. ( REPORT )

 

FOOTBALL

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Lionel Messi returned to individual training withe Barcelona as La Liga plans to resume by June 20.
 

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) said this week it will allow teams to use five substitutes when the seasons restart around the world to protect players’ health after an unexpected halt to proceedings. ( REPORT )

German Bundesliga will restart the suspended 2019-20 season on May 16 after receiving the go-ahead from the government. ( REPORT )

South Korea’s K League season began behind closed doors on Friday, with Jeonbuk Motors beating Suwon Bluewings 1-0 in the first match upon return. ( REPORT )

Football clubs in Italy and Spain returned to training this week with their respective federations aiming to restart the seasons in June.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min earned a military accolade after completing three weeks of compulsory military training on Friday. ( REPORT )

The Football Players’ Association of India (FPAI) is planning to approach the AIFF seeking its intervention after East Bengal's investors Quess Corp controversially terminated the players’ contract in wake of COVID-19 pandemic. ( REPORT )

CHESS

China won the inaugural $180,000 FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup following a 2-2 draw against USA on Sunday. India, led by Viswanathan Anand, finished fifth in the standings with five points from ten rounds. ( REPORT )

TENNIS

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Representative Image: The French Open 2020 has been postponed to September 20-October 4.
 

French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli has kept open the possibility of Roland Garros being staged behind closed doors. ( REPORT )

Tennis Australia has conceded that next year’s Australian Open faces cancellation under a worst-case scenario. ( REPORT )

The governing bodies of tennis plan are launching a fund of more than $6 million to lessen the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic for about 800 singles and doubles players. ( REPORT )

 

HOCKEY

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Jeroen Hertzberger of Netherlands trains on Wednesday at the Wegener Stadium in Amsterdam.

Netherlands and Belgium were among the first national teams to restart hockey training as the respective governments began to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions. ( REPORT )

The Indian women’s hockey team raised Rs. 20 lakhs through an 18-day online challenge to crowd-fund support for poor and migrant workers. ( REPORT )

Narinder Batra’s term as FIH president was extended as the world body’s Congress has been postponed to May next year due to the coronavirus pandemic. ( REPORT )

Hockey India will hold an online Special Congress to discuss national teams' return to training and future of National Championships on May 13. ( REPORT )

Hockey India invited state associations, institutional members and academies to express their interest in hosting the 2021 national championships. ( REPORT )

 

SHOOTING

Tokyo Olympics quota holder Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Maharashtra's teen prodigy Rudrankksh Patil walked away with the top honours in the 10m air pistol and 10m air rifle finals of the third edition of the Online Shooting Championship on Saturday. ( REPORT )

 

TABLE TENNIS

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The speciality of the robot, according to G. Sathiyan, is that it can serve and return the ball at different speeds, trajectory, frequency and spin.
 

What’s on ace Indian paddler G. Sathiyan’s current wish list? Winning an Olympic medal, breaking into the world’s top-10, and beating a top Chinese player. ( REPORT )

Table tennis coach Muralidhara Rao has a medal-winning mantra - put kids in sports when they’re young. ( REPORT )

Eight members of the Greece national team resumed training, for the first time since mid-March, at the Stadium of Peace and Friendship on Thursday. ( REPORT )

 

MOTORSPORT

Formula-1
The first ten races of the 2020 F1 season have all been cancelled or postponed.

Formula One owner Liberty Media saw its revenues from the sport collapse by more than $200 million in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic. ( REPORT )

MotoGP organisers Dorna Sports are hopeful of seeing a calendar of up to 16 races in the 2020 season after plans for a Spanish double-header were confirmed. ( REPORT )

 

BADMINTON

Confined to their homes without access to courts due to the lockdown, India’s young shuttlers are an “irritated” and “frustrated” lot, says chief junior national coach Sanjay Mishra, who feels more like a counsellor these days. (REPORT)

The Sports Authority of India organised a webinar for para badminton players as part of an online development programme. (REPORT)

Badminton will be back in action “as soon as possible” after the coronavirus crisis, BWF chief Thomas Lund said, adding that international travel restrictions were complicating the picture. (REPORT)

 

BOXING 

Boxers fighting in Britain would be required to wear masks during ring walks and would be banned from using a spit bucket under proposals to allow for a resumption of the sport. Boxing authorities are reportedly gearing up for a July re-start following the coronavirus shutdown. (REPORT)

Floyd Mayweather Jr has no interest in boxing again but is open to the idea of more fights that give him a chance to "entertain and have a little fun". (REPORT)

 

SWIMMING

Swimming
The European swimming championships have been postponed a year until May 2021 . (Representative Image)
 

The swimming world championships were due to be held in Fukuoka next year from July 16-August 1 but will instead take place from May 13-29 in 2022. (REPORT)

The European swimming championships have been postponed a year until May 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the European Swimming League (LEN) announced. (REPORT)
 

ATHLETICS

The Sports Authority of India has formed a six-member committee to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure for phased resumption of training across sporting disciplines at all its centres once the lockdown is lifted. ( REPORT )

In the post-covid world, union sports minister Kiren Rijiju wants to ensure that sports remain sustainable without fans in the stadium in the near future. ( REPORT )

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