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#Rio2016: Team China sweeps all table tennis medals in male singles

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8 years ago

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Raising high a heart-shaped gesture with both hands, Ma Long celebrated his first Olympic gold medal in a quiet but unique style.

The world No. 1 completed his Grand Slam request and came out the fifth male paddler to do so in table tennis after winning an All-Chinese final over defending champion Zhang Jike here on Thursday at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

“To win a gold medal at Olympic Games has long been my dream ever since I started my career as a table tennis player,” said Ma after the 37-minute final.

“Today I live up to my dream,” he added. “But most importantly, Jike and I played a high-level game and showed the very best of table tennis. I think that’s more important than winning a medal, in sake of the sport and its future.”

Ma made short work of teammate Zhang 14-12, 11-5, 11-4, 11-4. It has been Team China’s 11th gold at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, while Zhang added a silver.

The victory puts the reigning world champion, 27, in the same league of such legendary players as his coach Liu Guoliang, China’s women’s national coach Kong Linghui, Sweden’s Jan-Ove Waldner and his opponent of the final Zhang Jike.

“There’s a very long list for me to thank, and I’d like to put Jike’s name on it,” said Ma. “He’s been one of the best paddlers in the world for the past few years and I regard him as a rival, a friend and a model to chase after.”

“I’ve been very motivated with Zhang competing against and playing alongside with me,” he added.

Already a Grand Slam winner four years ago after being crowned at the world championships, world cup and Olympic Games in just 15 months, Zhang made too many unforced errors and failed to perform his trademark backhand Thursday evening to easily surrender.

The first set was his best chance, though the 28-year-old suffered a slow start as usual to trail 8-4 after opening it in style.

Coming back to his normal level of play, Zhang pulled five points in a row to take the lead 9-8, but the Qingdao native again stumbled before losing it 14-12 with two unforced errors in the end.

The following games thus went in favor of Ma, who led 6-2, 10-4 in the second set with fast and perfect reaction and kept it that way.

“I’m happy that I well carried out my task of defeating all none-Chinese players to set up a final with my teammate Ma,” proclaimed Zhang.

“No regrets, nor surprise for me, though I failed to defend the title. This is life and this is what competitive sports look like. It’s cruel but exciting,” he said.

“There’s any kind of match and any kind of result. You can’t win every single time. And being unpredictable is what made a competitive match perfect,” he added.

Earlier in the evening, Jun Mizutani won the first ever Olympic men’s as well as singles medal of table tennis for Japan after beating 40-year-old Belarus veteran Vladimir Samsonov 4-1 in the third-place play-off.

“I’m huge exciting and obviously happy about it,” said Mizutani, talking about the history he’s just made. “It proved the level of us in terms of Japanese team’s improvement.”

“Running up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Game, we’ll keep it in our mind that we want to be the strongest in the world. And we’ll be training very hard for this to the very end.”

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Juventus ordered to pay Ronaldo €9.7m unpaid salaries

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22 hours ago

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April 18, 2024 10:01 am

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Juventus must pay Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages for the 2020-21 season, the Italian courts announced on Wednesday.

The Court of Arbitration, to which Ronaldo appealed, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it stated in its decision.

The sum equates to the difference between the salary actually received by Ronaldo and that which he should have received after tax and other deductions.

Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before joining Manchester United (2021-22) and then the Saudi club Al Nassr, was claiming 19.5 million euros but the arbitration panel reduced that by 50 per cent.

Contacted by AFP, Juventus declined to comment, but said it would be issuing a statement “shortly”.

According to the rankings drawn up by the American business magazine Forbes, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with $136 million, including $46 million in wages.

Juventus, who are listed on the stock exchange, recorded losses of 123.7 million euros in the 2022-23 financial year, which ran to the end of June, it announced in October.

No provision has been made in the accounts of Italian football’s most successful club, currently third in Serie A, for the payment of this wages backlog.

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EPL to adopt semi-automated offside technology next season

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6 days ago

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April 13, 2024 12:19 pm

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The English Premier League (EPL) says semi-automated offside technology will be used in matches from next season.

The league announced the decision in a statement on its website on Thursday.

The decision was made after a unanimous agreement by all the clubs at a Premier League Shareholders’ meeting.

The technology will be ready for use from the 2024/25 season after the autumn international breaks.

“The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks,” the statement reads.

“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.”

The first usage of the semi-automated offside technology in top-level football was at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The offside rule has been subjected to change in recent years, with the video assistant referee (VAR) technology also deployed to assist the on-field officials in checking for offside calls leading to a goal.

The EPL further updated its offside rule in the summer of 2023 to include that “a player who is clearly offside should not become onside on every occasion when an opponent moves and touches the ball.”

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Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya sets to break Guinness World Record

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6 days ago

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April 13, 2024 12:17 pm

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Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya has revealed plans to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.

Onakoya who made the plan known on his X account on Friday said that he is “doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education.”

He added that the attempt will hold on April 17th at the New York City’s Times Square and he is to play chess for 58 hours without a single defeat.

He wrote, “On the 17th of April 2024, I will attempt to break the Guiness World record for the longest Chess marathon in the heart of Times Square New York City for 58 hours without losing a game. Doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education.”

Onakoya disclosed that the attempt will start at 10am and would be available for all to stream on YouTube.

He appealed to Nigerians residing in New York, urging them to come forward and provide their enthusiastic support as he strives to establish a new world record.

Tunde Onakoya is renowned for his philanthropic efforts, notably utilizing chess as a tool to offer opportunities for young people residing in the marginalized areas, often referred to as ‘slums,’ within the country.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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