Police in Spain are looking into the disappearance of four members of Cameroon’s women’s handball team, who have allegedly gone missing during an ongoing tournament.
Their sport’s world championships started on December 1 in Valencia and will run until Sunday next week.
Cameroon’s women were drawn into Group B with the Russian Handball Federation, Serbia and Poland, and lost all three games against their opposition.
Readying to return to their homeland, however, four members of the team have allegedly absconded from their hotel.
Amelie Sevani Mwua, Apollene Michel Abena Ekobena, Yasmine Yotchum and Jodelle Clarice Majufang reportedly did not show up for a Covid test at the accommodation scheduled for 7:30 am.
They haven’t been seen since Wednesday evening, when they got into a taxi outside the building, but officials have revealed their reasons for concluding that the disappearance was on their own terms.
“It seems the women left of their own accord,” said a police spokesman.
Elsewhere, it was added that the incident is not being treated as suspicious “as the players took all their belongings.”
“In principle, there is nothing that would allow us to say that this is an enforced disappearance,” it added.
Athletes often use sporting spectacles abroad to escape poor living or training conditions in their homeland and seek asylum.
During this year’s Olympics, 20-year-old Ugandan weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko also fled his hotel, leaving a note that said he didn’t want to go home and wished to find work in the host country.
Four days later, he was found in central Japan unharmed and with his ID, before being arrested at Entebbe Airport upon re-arrival in Africa.
At the 2012 Olympics in London, seven Cameroonians – five male boxers, a female footballer, and a male swimmer – disappeared from the Olympic Village and were believed to be searching for “greener pastures”.
Broadcaster Sky Sports has been forced to pull a ‘disrespectful’ TV advert which wished F1 fans a “Merry Christmas” while showing footage of Max Verstappen’s shocking crash at the British Grand Prix earlier this season.
Red Bull racer Verstappen and Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton are gearing up for a thrilling finale this weekend as they head into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix level on points.
The build-up to the race has been tense with challenger Verstappen accused of reckless driving last time round in Saudi Arabia, where Hamilton took the checkered flag to move onto 369.5 points alongside the Dutchman.
The pair have clashed frequently throughout their title battle this season – including at Silverstone back in July, when a collision resulted in Verstappen plowing into the trackside barriers.
The Dutchman reportedly lost consciousness in the impact and was airlifted to hospital for precautionary checks before being cleared.
Predictably, there was outrage among some F1 fans when Sky Sports used the incident in an advert aired during a practice session at Abu Dhabi on Friday.
After a slow-motion reply of the crash, a “Merry Christmas” message appeared on screen, making clear Sky’s loyalties to British star Hamilton as he seeks to win a record eighth world title.
Who thought of this?? Who edited this?? WHO APPROVED OF THIS??? @SkySportsF1 this is so disrespectful to use a crash as a Christmas greeting?? pic.twitter.com/O1nzlSq8wm
“Who thought of this? Who edited this? Who approved of this? This is so disrespectful to use a crash as a Christmas greeting,” tweeted one angry fan who shared the ad.
Red Bull officials are said to have complained to the broadcaster, which pulled the ad from its coverage.
“A 51G crash where the driver was airlifted to hospital being used as a Merry Christmas message is very poor taste indeed,” a team spokesperson told Racing News 365.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has already accused rivals Mercedes of waging a smear campaign against the 24-year-old Verstappen in a bid to portray him as a reckless racer and face more scrutiny from stewards.
“Of course it’s been a concerted campaign by Mercedes. Totally,” said Horner.
“It’s been part of a narrative to put as much pressure on the stewards to act differently from any other race.
“This is a campaign that’s been driven covertly to put the spotlight on Max, give him a tag-line, portray him as this mad, irresponsible driver, put as much pressure as you can on him, on the team, and ultimately on the governing body.
“We saw in Brazil, the comments about the penalties being laughable, or Lewis being persecuted. Mercedes have got one of the smartest media arms in the paddock and they use every tool they can.”
In the event that neither Hamilton nor Verstappen finishes Sunday’s grand finale at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina circuit, it would be the Dutchman who claims a maiden championship as he has won more races throughout the season.
Perhaps in anticipation of some heated racing, governing body the FIA has emphasized that rules are in place for points to be deducted from drivers in the event of “unsportsmanlike” racing or actions which are “contrary to sporting ethics.”
“I think with all the controversies we had in the last few races, it is very good that the FIA have come out with a reminder of what the ISC [international sporting code] stands for,” said Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Hamilton, 36, is targeting a fifth world title in a row and an unprecedented eighth overall, which would move him ahead of German legend Michael Schumacher at the top of the all-time list.
Prominent figures from Russian chess have reacted with shock to the news that one of their countrymen helped to prepare Magnus Carlsen for his world title match against Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Carlsen wrapped up a dominant defense of his crown by beating Nepomniachtchi in Game 11 of their best-of-14 series in Dubai on Friday.
That gave the Norwegian an unassailable 7.5-3.5 lead as he emerged victorious in a fifth world title match to cement his legacy as one of the greatest ever to play the game.
Nepomniachtchi – known as ‘Nepo’ – had held Carlsen to five draws to open their showdown before cracking in a marathon Game 6.
The Russian never fully recovered and made several big blunders on his way to defeat, including a reckless attack on Carlsen’s rook with his 23rd move on Friday, paving the way for his resignation.
While the result was on the cards, there was shock afterwards when an online clip revealed the team who had helped Carlsen prepare for his meeting with Nepomniachtchi.
Among them was Russia’s Daniil Dubov, the 2018 world rapid chess champion.
“It’s kind of important for [Carlsen] to actually like the guys,” Dubov, 25, says in the clip as Carlsen introduces his team.
“For instance, the Russian team it’s exactly the opposite. Normally they would bring all the biggest guns in, it doesn’t matter if they’re fighting or they are friends, or whatever. You just use all the power.
“Here it’s a European approach, mostly you care about the atmosphere and so on, and only then you need people to work well.
“Still, sometimes I feel like I’m responsible for the chess part. All these guys are nice guys, and I’m not a nice guy, but someone has to work. It’s a kind of a problem, otherwise I would never be in the team. I’m joking of course, in general I think [Carlsen] kind of likes us and tends to trust us.”
The news stunned some fans online, with one replying: “Dubov is a big surprise to me.”
There was disappointment among some in the Russian chess community that Dubov had aided a foreigner for such a vital showdown with one of their own.
“Oh, Danya, Danya… Why? How much for? Why could you not take a break for one match or commentate on it on any internet stream – brightly and talentedly!”wrote Russian grandmaster Sergey Shipov on his Telegram account.
“And now the seeds of discord have been sown in the Russian team. It’s turned into a classic situation of a ‘stranger among his own’. PS. I think that now Dubov won’t play for the Russian team. And that’s correct,” he added.
Russian chess star Sergey Karjakin, 31, was similarly dubious about Dubov’s actions.
“The idea wouldn’t even come to my head. I wouldn’t even consider it, just as I would not try to entice any of the Norwegians [to my team],”said Karjakin, whose own world title defeat against Carlsen was settled by rapid tiebreaks in New York in 2016.
“I would never do that in my life, but let it be on his conscience. Danya is a strong grandmaster, but I don’t understand his actions.
“It’s hard to say how much this affected Carlsen’s victory – he has a large team. But Dubov was on the team, he made a contribution – that’s for sure.”
Former Russian Chess Federation president Ilya Levitov said he had struggled to digest the news.
“Yesterday evening it became known that Daniil Dubov helped Magnus. To be honest, first of all I didn’t believe it, but it turned out to be true,” Levitov wrote.
“I can’t get this idea into my head. Daniil loves to say how proud he is to represent Russia, that we are a great chess superpower and that we should always win.”
However, speaking to Championat, Dubov himself played down the row.
“The fact that someone might not like it isn’t news,” he said.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve encountered this. I take this relatively calmly.
“It’s not a problem for me. I don’t think [it’s a problem] for Ian either.
“I don’t know where the idea comes from that a Russian should not help a foreigner prepare for a title match with a Russian. Not from a great mind, perhaps.”
“There are some imperial ambitions – everyone is against us, everyone is enemies. Especially if something doesn’t work out for us.”
“In general, logically, you can look at all this differently. From the point of view of the Russian national team: one of the best Russian chess players, relatively young, worked with the best chess player in history – he gained experience that will help in his career.
“For example, after my previous collaboration with Magnus, I won the World Rapid Chess Championship. This is also how you can look at the situation. Or you can see it in the context of ‘your own and strangers’.”
Carlsen bagged 60% of the €2 million ($2.26 million) prize money for his victory and said he was “satisfied” with his performance.
“It’s hard to feel that great joy when the situation was so comfortable to begin with, but I’m happy with a very good performance overall,” said the 31-year-old.
“You can point to things you could have done differently in every game of course, but overall I’m happy with my play, very proud of my effort in the sixth game, and that sort of laid the foundation for everything.”
Nepomniachtchi, 31, rued a missed opportunity but said he would learn from the experience.
“These things which happened here, they have never happened to me at basically any events… In my career I lost quite some stupid games but not as many in such a [short] time,” said the Russian.
Five-time Grand Slam doubles champion Pierre-Hugues Herbert has revealed he will not be playing at the Australian Open in January, partly because he is unvaccinated. The tournament will only allow fully jabbed players to compete.
“Personally, I am not vaccinated and the trip to Australia was not an option for me,” Herbert told French media outlet L’Alsace.
World doubles number eight Herbert and partner Nicolas Mahut won the title in Melbourne in 2018 – one of five they have scooped at Grand Slams. They also claimed the ATP Finals title in Italy in November.
They will not have a shot at the season-opening major in Melbourne after organizers ruled that only fully vaccinated players could compete.
Herbert, 30, said that the decision was also partly down to his ranking in the singles, which has slumped to 100, meaning he would likely have had to emerge through qualifying at Melbourne Park.
“I do what I can. But because of my singles ranking, it may have been a bad thing (to go to Australia) for a good start,” he said.
It’s unclear whether doubles partner Mahut will make the trip to Australia as he is believed to have received only one dose of a Covid vaccine, having already tested positive for the virus.
Speaking earlier this year on his vaccine status, Herbert said it was a “personal choice.”
“I don’t know how long it will last. I don’t know if it’s feasible today to be a tennis player without being vaccinated,” said the Frenchman.
“There is not only Australia. Today, there are the United States, Austria… it is a rather complex topic.”
Herbert is believed to be the first star to pull out of the event due to his vaccination status, although the biggest speculation surrounds men’s world number one Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic has refused to publicly state whether or not he has had or will have the Covid jab.
Tennis Australia recently doubled down after suggestions that loopholes could be used as a way for nine-time champion Djokovic to appear, saying that “all players, participants and staff at the Australian Open have to be vaccinated.”
“Any suggestion that Tennis Australia is seeking ‘loopholes’ within this process is simply untrue. Adjudicating on medical exemptions is the domain of independent medical experts. We are not in a position to influence this process and nor would we,” it added.
Suggestions that Djokovic, 34, could yet defend his title in Melbourne were fueled when his name was included in the tournament draw and also on the teamsheet for Serbia for the ATP Cup in Sydney in January.
If the 20-time Grand Slam winner wants to appear at that tournament, he would need an exemption from the New South Wales government and also complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine on arriving in Sydney.
Fresh off the back of Simone Biles’ laughable Athlete of the Year award from Time Magazine, here are some alternatives elsewhere in sport far more deserving of the gong.
The famous publication quite rightly dubbed Biles the GOAT in her chosen profession, gymnastics.
But at Tokyo 2020, the American let the side down with minutes to spare before their team event eventually won by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
Biles then pulled out of another four events, citing mental health concerns, before returning for the beam where she scooped bronze.
Maybe she should receive an accolade elsewhere for raising awareness, but this isn’t the one – of which the American was far more deserving after Rio 2016 when she scooped four gold medals.
It seems they are now handing out prizes for wokeness, and Biles’ win is basically an insult to sport.
To that end, here is a list of just a few candidates who are far more deserving.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez
Fighting men since he was 15, the Mexican became boxing’s first undisputed super-middleweight champion by stopping the unbeaten Caleb Plant in Las Vegas last month.
In 11 months, he fought four times and took each remaining piece of the 168lb crown from unbeaten brawlers in Plant, Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders.
Next year, he also plans to challenge 200lb WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu to become a five-weight king, which is even more incredible considering he started his career as a 140-lb light welterweight.
Rather than being ready to call it a day at 24, as Biles is tipped, Canelo is still looking for the biggest tests possible at 31.
Tom Brady
Arguably the toughest athlete that sport has ever seen mentally speaking, the New England Patriots legend now at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, unlike Biles, simply doesn’t know when to quit.
This is best communicated not only by the comeback victories that his teams seem to mount most weekends and on the biggest of stages, but also by the fact that he is still playing at 44.
At the beginning of the year, he settled the quarterback GOAT debate for once and for all by bagging a seventh Super Bowl ring with his new outfit, which also proved he is not a one-trick system pony under former coach Bill Belichick.
Novak Djokovic
Coming close to being the first tennis player since Rod Laver to do the full Grand Slam of all the top trophies in 2021, the Serbian was evidently exhausted in the US Open final when facing Daniil Medvedev.
Novak Djokovic in 2021: 20 slams 37 masters 7th YE No 1 354 weeks at no 1 Another GOAT year! pic.twitter.com/pHuvxyGGtl
Rather than throw in the towel in a huff akin to Biles, however, he soldiered on and lost with grace and dignity to the Russian despite missing out on the landmark achievement.
Aside from equaling Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in all-time Grand Slam wins (20), the world number 1 continues to demonstrate that he is his own man.
Djokovic maintains his firm stance on freedom of choice over the Covid vaccine, even if ostracized by wider society and with his involvement in the upcoming Australian Open in doubt.
Emma Raducanu
Sticking with the tennis world, the 18-year-old had to go through three rounds of qualifying jet-lagged after arriving in New York just to get the chance to feature at the US Open.
It turns out that winning the US Open in your first try will earn you WTA Newcomer of the Year.
Playing in just her second-ever Grand Slam tournament, she claimed top honors at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set amid what she has described as “obstacles”.
Also strong-minded in the same vein as Djokovic, she has said that people having opinions and expectations of her “doesn’t matter”.
Marta Martyanova
In one of sport’s best examples of refusing to give in, the little-known Russian fencer Martyanova hurt her ankle early in the foil team final at Tokyo 2020 and had reason enough to back out.
Instead she soldiered on, and played her part in the Russian Olympic Committee winning a further 14 points to take home gold as they beat France 45-34.
Wheelchaired to the podium and then helped onto it by her teammates, Martyanova admitted that “emotionally it was very hard” and that “she didn’t know what to do”.
“I had to just stand up and do everything,” she added.
Take note.
Sifan Hassan
The Harper’s Bazaar Woman of the Year won Olympic gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters in the Japanese capital and bronze in the 1,500 meters, making her the first athlete in history to clinch a medal in all three events at the same games.
Before touching down in Asia, she also set a new world record in the 10,000 meters. What sets her apart, though, is that she literally fell in qualifying for the 1,500 meters final in Tokyo, but got up again to continue and go on to achieve her impressive feats across the tournament with six races in eight days in grueling summer heat.
Furthermore, the 1,500 and 10,000 finals were back-to-back on consecutive days.
“In my head there was no room for discussion. I knew I had to get up and keep walking. I didn’t know if I would make it, but I had to at least try. My goal was to get gold in three distances,” she said.
“That’s why getting up was so important to me. If I had stayed down I would have given up and I don’t want to. I do not give up.”
By Tom Sanderson
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
