Sports News Roundup: Barcelona to begin LaLiga title defence at Getafe; Suarez struggling with knee problem, says Gremio president and more

Six-times MotoGP champion Marquez signed a four-year extension in 2020 that will keep him with Honda until 2024, but he has struggled to match his title-winning performances due to injuries and a machine that is unable to compete with Ducati. Olympics-International Boxing Association is stripped of its recognition-IOC The International Boxing Association's (IBA) recognition as the global body for the sport was stripped on Thursday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to its failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Alcaraz sails into Queen's Club quarters, Fritz knocked out

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club Championships after he beat Jiri Lehecka 6-2 6-3 on Thursday but third seed Taylor Fritz was knocked out by Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz is playing on grass for the first time this week since his fourth-round exit at Wimbledon last year and he is slowly getting to grips with the unfamiliar, faster surface.

Cycling-Refreshed Pogacar ready for another tilt at Tour de France after injury

Tadej Pogacar remains confident about his fitness before next month's Tour de France following a wrist injury that has kept him out of competition for almost two months as he returns to action at the Slovenian National Championships on Thursday. Pogacar, 24, earned an impressive run of victories at the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallonne and was the overwhelming favourite to win Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April but crashed out of that race and fractured his wrist.

Doping-CAS to hear Russian figure skater Valieva's case in September

Kamila Valieva's doping case hearing involving the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), International Skating Union (ISU) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will be held from Sept. 26-29, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Thursday. Russian Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021 but the result was only made known on Feb. 8, 2022 a day after she helped her team win gold at the Beijing Olympics.

Motorcycling-Marquez says commitment to Honda is 'maximum' amid exit rumours

Honda rider Marc Marquez said he is committed to the Japanese manufacturer and already has an eye on next year's project after a disappointing season. Six-times MotoGP champion Marquez signed a four-year extension in 2020 that will keep him with Honda until 2024, but he has struggled to match his title-winning performances due to injuries and a machine that is unable to compete with Ducati.

Olympics-International Boxing Association is stripped of its recognition-IOC

The International Boxing Association's (IBA) recognition as the global body for the sport was stripped on Thursday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to its failure to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues. The IOC's extraordinary session, held online on Thursday, rubber-stamped an executive board recommendation by 69 votes to one to withdraw the IBA's recognition.

Soccer-Barcelona to begin LaLiga title defence at Getafe

Barcelona will begin their Spanish league title defence away to Getafe on Aug. 13 while Real Madrid visit Athletic Bilbao the same weekend, the Spanish FA (RFEF) said on Thursday.

With the renovation of Barcelona's Camp Nou already under way, the Catalan giants will host the first Clasico of the season against bitter rivals Real Madrid on matchday 11 (Oct. 29) at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium. Both teams will meet again at Santiago Bernabeu on matchday 32, on the weekend of April 21, 2024.

Soccer-Suarez struggling with knee problem, says Gremio president

Uruguay and Gremio striker Luis Suarez, who suffers from osteoarthrosis in his right knee, is struggling to extend his playing career, according to his Brazilian club's president Alberto Guerra. The former Barcelona player is considering retirement, Brazilian media reported, as he suffers from severe pain that forces him to take injections to play.

Soccer-Longo prepared to play with pain for New Zealand's World Cup campaign

Midfielder Annalie Longo is in a race to recover from a serious knee injury and make New Zealand's Women's World Cup squad, but will gladly endure pain to play in front of home fans if selectors back her. The 31-year-old tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial ligaments in her left knee against Mexico last September but has returned to training with Jitka Klimkova's Football Ferns to push for a fourth World Cup appearance.

Soccer-Wrexham host MK Dons in fourth-tier opener, Saints at Wednesday in Championship

National League champions Wrexham will begin their League Two campaign at home to MK Dons when the new season starts on Aug. 5 after the English Football League (EFL) released its fixtures for the 2023-24 season. Wrexham, owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, scripted a fairytale return to the EFL when they won the National League with a record 111 points last season.

Olympics-Ukrainian athletes should have chance to qualify for Paris Games-IOC

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday appealed to Ukraine to give their athletes the chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics despite a partial ban on competing against Russian and Belarusian athletes. IOC President Thomas Bach said the Olympic body would support "every Ukrainian athlete" who wanted to take part in Olympic qualifying events in their respective sport.