Reuters Sports News Summary

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

WADA chief says Valieva case highlights low trust in Russian anti-doping

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Tuesday that trust in Russia's anti-doping system remained low, citing the handling of the doping case of Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva. Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021 as a 15-year-old. The result of her test, however, was only made known on Feb. 8, 2022, a day after she helped her team win a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

NHL roundup: Avs beat Habs, lose Artturi Lehkonen (finger)

Artturi Lehkonen scored two of Colorado's four first-period goals, and added an assist before leaving with a broken finger against his former team as the visiting Avalanche won 8-4 over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night. Valeri Nichushkin had a goal and two assists while Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon both recorded one of each for the Avalanche, who moved past the idle Winnipeg Jets for third place in the Central Division. Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 15 saves for the win.

Cricket-Bangladesh beat England in final T20 to complete clean sweep

England crashed to a 3-0 series defeat against Bangladesh in their Twenty20 series as a half-century by Litton Das and some tight bowling helped the hosts secure a 16-run victory in the final match in Mirpur on Tuesday. Chasing 159 to win thanks to a 57-ball 73 by Das and an unbeaten 47 by Najmul Hossain Shanto, England lost Phil Salt for a first-ball duck in debutant Tanvir Islam's opening over before Dawid Malan (53) and Jos Buttler (40) steadied the ship.

Tennis-Swiatek battles past Andreescu to set up Raducanu clash

Iga Swiatek overcame former U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-3 7-6(1) to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells on Monday and set up a meeting with Emma Raducanu, who scored her biggest win since her own run to the Flushing Meadows title.

Top seed Swiatek has been in superb form on hardcourts since the Australian Open, capturing the Doha title and reaching the final in Dubai, and the Polish player looked set for another comfortable win after cruising through the opening set.

NBA roundup: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks handle Kings

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 46 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks used a 14-5 run late in the fourth quarter to defeat the host Sacramento Kings 133-124 on Monday. Khris Middleton scored a season-high 31 points and dished out nine assists for the NBA-leading Bucks, who won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Golf-R&A and USGA take steps to limit golf ball distances

Golf's longest hitters could be reeled in under new proposals to limit the distance balls struck by elite players can travel. Average driving distances are around 300 metres on the PGA Tour but many players are well in excess of that, meaning some courses are in danger of becoming obsolete.

Soccer-Liverpool to raise season ticket prices, fans cry foul

Liverpool will nudge up the price of its season tickets next season for the first time in eight years due to rising costs, the Premier League side said on Tuesday, in a decision the club's Supporters Board called "cruel and unjust". The club will continue to freeze prices for juniors and the local general sale, which will remain at nine pounds ($11) per ticket, and it said no more than 17 pounds will be added to the price of season tickets.

Soccer-FIFA says 2026 World Cup will have record 104 matches

The 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games due to the expanded format with 48 teams taking part, global soccer governing body FIFA said on Tuesday. The 2026 edition, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be the first edition of the quadrennial tournament where 48 teams are taking part.

Paris mayor vows to keep Russian, Belarusian athletes out of Olympics

The Mayor of Paris said it was unthinkable that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to take part in the 2024 Summer Olympics under their national flags, adding she would do everything she could to prevent it. Ukraine has spearheaded a call to ban athletes from Russia and its close ally Belarus from the Paris Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in January said it was open to including them as neutrals.

Tennis-Swiatek quiets the chaos to advance at Indian Wells

World number one Iga Swiatek said she is still prone to moments of chaos during matches but is pleased with the way she is able to overcome them following her hard-fought victory over Bianca Andreescu to reach the fourth round at Indian Wells. Swiatek rallied from 2-4 down in the second set and staved off a late comeback attempt from the Canadian former champion to seal a 6-3 7-6(1) win and set up a meeting with Briton Emma Raducanu.