Sports News Roundup: Golf: McIlroy defends players' right to compete in Saudi Arabia; Athletics-Carter handed four-year ban for second doping violation and more

Seven-times world champion Hamilton, 36, has closed the gap to his 24-year-old rival to eight points in their clash of the generations after resounding back-to-back wins in Brazil and Qatar. Soccer: Carrick dismisses 'myth' that Ronaldo can't press Michael Carrick said it is a "myth" that Cristiano Ronaldo is not suited to a high-pressing style of play and backed the Portuguese forward to thrive under Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick.


Reuters | Updated: 02-12-2021 10:32 IST | Created: 02-12-2021 10:29 IST
Sports News Roundup: Golf: McIlroy defends players' right to compete in Saudi Arabia; Athletics-Carter handed four-year ban for second doping violation and more
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Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Golf: McIlroy defends players' right to compete in Saudi Arabia

Rory McIlroy said he viewed golfers as "independent contractors" and that the PGA and European tours should allow players to compete in the Saudi International in February. The Saudi International, which will be on the Asian Tour schedule in 2022, has released a list https://www.golfsaudi.com/en-us/golf-saudi/news/2022-player-field of confirmed golfers, including high-profile names such as Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson.

Athletics-Carter handed four-year ban for second doping violation

Retired sprinter Nesta Carter avoided the maximum punishment for a second doping violation on Wednesday when Jamaica's Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel handed him a four-year ban for the use of the banned drug Clomiphene. Carter, who won four world championship relay medals for Jamaica before retiring earlier this year, faced an eight-year ban after testing positive for the testosterone-boosting substance in an out-of-competition test in March this year.

Alpine skiing: Bad weather, Omicron threaten to disrupt World Cup calendar

Bad weather and the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant threatened to wreak havoc with the World Cup ski calendar on Wednesday as the top women skiers were left wondering where and when they might race again. After heavy snowfalls and high temperatures wiped out two-of-three men's World Cup races last week at the bucolic Lake Louise resort in the Canadian Rockies, the first speed events on the women's schedule were disrupted when training was canceled.

Athletics-Thompson-Herah, Warholm named athletes of the year

Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah and Norway's Karsten Warholm have crowned world athletes of the year on Wednesday after both produced astonishing, ground-breaking performances at the Olympic Games and beyond. Thompson-Herah became the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic sprint doubles when she retained her 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo and capped a memorable Games with gold in the 4x100m relay. Her 100m time of 10.61 seconds and her 200m time of 21.53 were both the second-fastest in history.

Tennis-Inspired Djokovic powers Serbia into Davis Cup semi-finals

Imperious Novak Djokovic sent Serbia into a Davis Cup semi-final against Croatia as the world number one inspired a comeback victory over Kazakhstan in Madrid on Wednesday. Serbia had their backs to the wall when Kazakh veteran Mikhail Kukushkin beat debutant Miomir Kecmanovic in a three-hour epic in the first singles rubber.

Motor racing-Hamilton chasing hat-trick to set up last-race showdown

Red Bull's Max Verstappen has his first shot at winning the Formula One title in Sunday's inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix but Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton is chasing a hat-trick of wins to take the battle down to the wire in Abu Dhabi. Seven-times world champion Hamilton, 36, has closed the gap to his 24-year-old rival to eight points in their clash of the generations after resounding back-to-back wins in Brazil and Qatar.

Soccer: Carrick dismisses 'myth' that Ronaldo can't press

Michael Carrick said it is a "myth" that Cristiano Ronaldo is not suited to a high-pressing style of play and backed the Portuguese forward to thrive under Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick. German coach Rangnick, who will take charge after receiving a work visa, is a proponent of 'gegenpressing' -- a style of football in which teams press with high energy to win the ball back as soon as possible, rather than falling back to regroup.

Tennis-WTA suspends tournaments in China over Peng concerns

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on Wednesday announced the immediate suspension of all tournaments in China due to concerns about the well-being of former doubles world number one Peng Shuai and the safety of other players. The U.S.-headquartered tour's decision to walk away from one of its biggest markets was applauded by many leading figures in the tennis world but could cost the WTA hundreds of millions of dollars in broadcasting and sponsorship revenue.

Tennis-Federer must prepare mentally for final match, says Berdych

Roger Federer has nothing left to prove as he sets his sights on a comeback next year but the 40-year-old must be mentally prepared for playing his final match, according to one of his former rivals Tomas Berdych. Swiss maestro Federer has not played since losing in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July and underwent a third knee operation in the summer, saying last month that he was looking at mid-2022 as a likely return date.

Soccer-Liverpool win derby as top trio break clear in title race

Liverpool won the Merseyside derby with a 4-1 victory at Everton on Wednesday while Premier League leaders Chelsea fought for a 2-1 win at Watford and Manchester City enjoyed a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa. With fourth-placed West Ham held to a 1-1 draw at Brighton they are now seven points behind third-placed Liverpool who, along with Chelsea and Manchester City, look set for a three-horse race for the title.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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