TRACK AND FIELD

Shi says Tokyo delay could work in his favor

Shi Yuhao

Chinese long jumper Shi Yuhao believes the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics could work to his benefit.

The 21-year-old has been struggling to rediscover his best form since returning from injury at the start of the year.

The Tokyo Games have been delayed until next summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Shi said: "It could be a good thing for me because I need more time to adjust. Now I need to focus on my new skills."

Shi was badly injured in 2018's Shanghai Diamond League event. He underwent surgeries on his left foot and spent more than six months in rehabilitation.

Since then, he has been attempting to switch his take-off to his right leg.

"I am still not used to it. After all, I had been taking off with my left leg for a decade," he said.

"My running speed is at 90 percent of my previous best but the level of jumping-related indexes is not good enough. I hope I can return to competition as soon as possible."

Shi, who burst onto the scene by winning the 2018 Asian indoor title, is aiming high in Tokyo. He recently posted a video clip of himself on social media accompanied by the message: "Hopefully I will sing the song of victory in Tokyo."

SNOOKER

Trump turns it on as table action returns

Judd Trump

World No 1 Judd Trump won three consecutive matches to seal his place atop Group 2 in the Championship League as live snooker returned to action on Monday.

Elite sports events were allowed to resume behind closed doors in Britain on Monday and snooker came back with the non-ranking event held at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, near London, after being suspended for 11 weeks.

All of the 64 players, as well as all on-site staff, are being tested for COVID-19 the day before they are scheduled to play, with all results so far coming back negative.

World champion Trump beat David Grace 3-0, Elliot Slessor 3-1 and Daniel Wells 3-1 to win his group, while David Gilbert qualified for the second round with two wins and one draw in his first-round group matches.

China's Chen Feilong and Liang Wenbo were due to begin their campaigns on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

SOCCER

16 Vasco players test positive for COVID-19

Sixteen Vasco da Gama players have tested positive for the novel coronavirus amid ongoing debate about whether soccer should return in Brazil.

Vasco said the infected players were asymptomatic and are now isolated under medical supervision. The identities of the players were not disclosed.

"They will be given medical attention and will continue to undergo regular tests until we're sure that they can no longer pass on the virus to others," Vasco team doctor Marcos Teixeira said.

The results came after the Rio de Janeiro club tested around 350 people, including players, staff and their family members.

Vasco and cross-city rival Flamengo has spearheaded efforts to restart soccer in Brazil, which has been suspended since mid-March.

BASKETBALL

Guangdong coach Du denies pay-cut rumors

Du Feng

Guangdong Southern Tigers head coach Du Feng has denied reports that the club is planning to halve its players' salaries.

The CBA powerhouse was rumored to be set to impose 50 percent pay cuts on its players, including that of star forward and Team China international Yi Jianlian, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However Du said: "It's not true. All clubs are facing financial pressure, including us, so the club decided to pay half of the salary initially. When the situation improves, the club will make plans to pay the remaining part of the salary to the players."

Du and his squad are busy preparing for the possible restart of the 2019-2020 CBA season which has been halted since late January.

The defending champion is sitting atop the standings with a 28-2 win-loss record.

MOTOR CYCLING

Japan race canceled as series looks to Europe

The Japanese MotoGP was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic on Monday as organizers said they would concentrate on holding as many races as possible in Europe this year.

The scrapping of the Oct 16-18 race in Motegi follows the axing of the Australian MotoGP, which was due to be held a week later.

"The situations in Japan and Europe are unpredictable," said Kaoru Tanaka, president of Mobilityland, which owns the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.

"As a result of our discussions with Dorna, the managerial body of the series, we agreed that we have no choice but to cancel the Japanese GP in order to complete the season."

The first 11 races of the MotoGP season have been either postponed or canceled, and there have been discussions about how to preserve as much as possible of the European calendar.

At the moment, the sport hopes to resume with back-to-back races at Jerez, Spain.

Xinhua - Agencies