Sports News Roundup: Pavel Francouz's shutout gives Avs 7th straight win; Stadium stampede kills eight in Africa Cup of Nations soccer match and more

Taiwan competes in most sporting events including the Olympics as "Chinese Taipei" at the insistence of Beijing, which sees democratically governed Taiwan as part of "one China" and inviolable Chinese territory. Soccer-Feyenoord great Jansen dies at 75 Former Netherlands international Wim Jansen, who was part of the Dutch squad that reached consecutive finals in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, before going on to manage Feyenoord and Celtic, has died at the age of 75, the Eredivisie club said on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Australian Open day nine

Highlights of the ninth day of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday: * Barty breezes past Pegula into Australian Open semis

Stadium stampede kills eight in Africa Cup of Nations soccer match

At least eight people died and 38 were injured in a stampede when fans stormed a stadium hosting an Africa Cup of Nations soccer match in Cameroon's capital on Monday, the government said. Images shared on social media, which Reuters could not immediately authenticate, showed a panicked crowd trying to squeeze through a narrow entrance gate at the newly built Olembe stadium in Yaounde that was hosting a round of 16 game between Cameroon and Comoros.

China's Xi meets with IOC's Bach in Beijing ahead of Games

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Tuesday, just over a week before the start of the Winter Games, in a rare in-person encounter with a foreign visitor during the pandemic. Xi, who has not left China since COVID-19 first emerged, wore a white mask with a red Chinese flag in the corner as he stood next to a masked Bach at a government guesthouse in Beijing, according to images on state television.

NHL roundup: Pavel Francouz's shutout gives Avs 7th straight win

Pavel Francouz had 24 saves for his second shutout in as many starts and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 in Denver on Monday night. Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored goals for the Avalanche, who have won 16 in a row at home and seven straight overall.

Olympics-Taiwan says no officials will go to Beijing Winter Games

Taiwan will not send any officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics but its athletes will attend as normal, the government said on Tuesday, adding a call for China not to use politics to "interfere" with the event or "belittle" the island. Taiwan competes in most sporting events including the Olympics as "Chinese Taipei" at the insistence of Beijing, which sees democratically governed Taiwan as part of "one China" and inviolable Chinese territory.

Soccer-Feyenoord great Jansen dies at 75

Former Netherlands international Wim Jansen, who was part of the Dutch squad that reached consecutive finals in the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, before going on to manage Feyenoord and Celtic, has died at the age of 75, the Eredivisie club said on Tuesday. Jansen won the Eredivisie on four occasions with Feyenoord as a player, as well as the European Cup in 1970. He returned to manage the Rotterdam-based club in 1991, leading them to two KNVB Cups.

NBA roundup: Suns down Jazz for 7th straight win

Devin Booker scored 33 points while Chris Paul added 27 points and 14 assists to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 115-109 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Paul poured in 15 points in the fourth quarter as Phoenix came back from a five-point deficit early in the period. He also had nine rebounds in the game plus an uncharacteristic seven turnovers.

Tennis-Berrettini survives Monfils comeback to set up semis date with Nadal

Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini found a higher gear in the face of a heroic fightback from France's Gael Monfils to script a 6-4 6-4 3-6 3-6 6-2 win on Tuesday and become the first Italian man to reach the Australian Open semi-finals. The match was a repeat of the quarter-final clash from the 2019 U.S. Open, which Berrettini won in a final-set tiebreak to reach his first major semi-final.

Tennis-Monfils trusts his time will come to claim Grand Slam title

Gael Monfils believes he still stands a chance of winning a Grand Slam before ending his career, the Frenchman said after losing to seventh seed Matteo Berrettini in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday. Former world number six Monfils enjoyed an excellent buildup to the Australian Open, not dropping a set en route to his 11th tour title in a tune-up event in Adelaide.

Olympics-At Beijing Games, hugs discouraged but condoms available

Beijing Olympics organisers are keeping up with the tradition of making condoms available to athletes, despite detailed social distancing guidelines intended to curb the spread of COVID-19 within the "closed loop" in which the Games will take place. "All Olympic-related units will provide appropriate quantities of condoms for free at the appropriate time to people who've checked in to stay inside the loop," organisers told Reuters by email on Tuesday.

(With inputs from agencies.)