MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin has staked Russia’s prestige — and his own reputation — on sporting achievements but a possible ban from the Winter Olympics after claims of state-run doping threatens to wipe out any successes.
Observers say it was the Kremlin’s desire for victory that fueled the cheating that spectacularly backfired, with the country losing its top ranking in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics after being stripped of 11 medals for doping.
More penalties are expected in the coming days as the International Olympic Committee meets on Tuesday to rule on whether to ban Russia from competing in the Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February as punishment for cheating at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
“Sport is a huge media and political resource and Sochi was very important for the country’s image,” said political commentator Sergei Medvedev, adding Russia had resorted to mass-scale doping to guarantee victory in the Sochi games.
“It turns out they overplayed their hand and the largest scandal in the history of the Olympic movement ensued,” the professor at the Moscow-based Higher School of Economics told AFP.
“It is a huge blow to Russian sport.”
Russia may not be barred from the world’s most prestigious sporting event altogether but IOC officials are likely to ban Russian emblems including its flag and anthem from the games.
An explosive 2016 report by the World Anti-Doping Agency detailing the “state-dictated” system to hide drug test failures said it was put in place after a dismal showing at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Moscow has consistently denied running a state-orchestrated doping program, seeking to pin all the blame on sporting officials.
In September, a Russian court issued an arrest warrant for whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, who has fled to the United States and spoken out about Moscow’s doping cover-up.
Medvedev of the Higher School of Economics said the possible ban against Russia would only reinforce the Kremlin’s rhetoric which maintains the West is out to get Russia, in Ukraine, Syria and now in sport.
“What is happening now is just one more piece of evidence for the Kremlin that Russia is at war with the outside world,” he said.
Putin said this month that doping allegations against Russian athletes had been invented by the United States to influence a March presidential election he is widely expected to contest and win.
Tatyana Stanovaya, a Paris-based analyst for the Center of Political Technologies in Moscow, said the Kremlin is sure that performance-based substances are used by athletes everywhere but the West singles out Russia to punish it for its increasingly assertive political stance.
“The question is, why some sportsmen get exposed and others don’t,” she told AFP. “Putin believes that it is not about doping but about bias against Russia.”
Ironically, the punishment of Russian athletes may play into the Kremlin’s hands ahead of the March vote and prompt ordinary Russians to rally behind Putin, just like many did after Western sanctions following Moscow’s takeover of Crimea in 2014.
The Kremlin has pumped more than $50 billion into hosting the Sochi games — some say to the detriment of health care, science and education — and is pulling out all the stops to hold the football World Cup in 2018.
Russia’s state television and radio holding company VGTRK has already said it would not broadcast the Winter Olympics in South Korea if Russian athletes are not allowed to compete in it.
But even anti-Kremlin observers admit Olympic officials may be going too far in their desire to punish Russia.
“A poisonous political atmosphere affects the decisions,” said Anton Orekh, an observer with the liberal Echo of Moscow radio.
Yevgeny Slyusarenko, deputy editor of Russian sports website Championat.com, was more blunt.
“There are doubts that Russian sport and Russian athletes have the right to a fair trial today,” he told AFP.
Some are even wondering whether Russia should pull out of the Olympics altogether.
Dmitry Ponomarenko, a columnist for Sovietsky Sport newspaper, said he personally knew many athletes and how hard they worked, adding he was tired of seeing them painted as villains.
“Professional sport in my mind is now closely associated with political games, fraud, mudslinging, lies and other nastiness,” he wrote.
“Why do we need the Olympic Games? Are they uniting anyone these days? Do they promote peace in the world?”
Putin’s thirst for victory backfires with possible Olympic ban
Putin’s thirst for victory backfires with possible Olympic ban
FIA President Ben Sulayem welcomes Trump to Miami Grand Prix
- The former US president witnessed maiden Formula 1 win for McLaren’s Lando Norris
MIAMI: Former US president Donald Trump was welcomed to the Miami Grand Prix by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, where he saw McLaren’s Lando Norris notch up his first Formula 1 victory.
Sunday’s race saw British driver Norris take the checkered flag from three-time world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull Racing car. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc came third.
Trump, along with a number of famous athletes and other celebrities, delighted the audience by engaging with fans and attendees. He was also invited behind the scenes to tour the McLaren pit garage accompanied by the team’s CEO, American Zak Brown.
A spokesman for the Miami Grand Prix said the race weekend had sold out, with more than 275,000 fans in attendance to witness the high-octane atmosphere and exciting result.
Sandhagen to face Nurmagomedov at UFC fight night in Abu Dhabi
- The event will take place at the Etihad Arena on Aug 3
ABU DHABI: UFC has announced that its return to Abu Dhabi will see No. 2 ranked bantamweight Cory Sandhagen face No. 9 ranked Umar Nurmagomedov on Saturday, Aug. 3 at Etihad Arena.
Tickets for the event, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi go on sale from on Tuesday, May 7
Sandhagen, with a record of 17-4 and fighting out of Aurora, Colorado, returns to the UAE capital to cement his status as top contender in the bantamweight division. The Colorado native boasts wins over Rob Font, Chito Vera, and soon-to-be UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar. He now hopes for a convincing win over rising star Nurmagomedov to make his case for a title shot.
Nurmagomedov, 17-0, fighting out of Chelyabinsk, Russia, looks to put the division on notice by taking out a top-ranked opponent and making his first Octagon appearance in Abu Dhabi. He made his mark in the division after delivering dominant performances over Raoni Barcelos, Brian Kelleher and Sergey Morozov.
Now, he sets his sights on securing the biggest win of his career by getting his hand raised against Sandhagen.
Al-Itttihad fined $37,000 for King’s Cup misconduct
- The reigning Saudi Pro League champions lost 2-1 to Al-Hilal last week in the semifinals of the Kingdom’s renowned competition
RIYADH: Al-Ittihad Football Club have been fined $37,000 (SR140,000) for misconduct by players and fans in its recent 2-1 defeat by Al-Hilal in the semi-final of the King’s Cup.
A statement issued by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation’s disciplinary and ethics committee said Abderrazak Hamdallah and Saad Al-Mousa were each fined around $5,300 for not fulfilling their post-match media duties.
The committee also imposed a fine of $27,000 on the Jeddah club after fans threw bottles at opposition players from the stands. Nobody was harmed as a result of the incidents.
The authorities stressed that the three decisions are not subject to appeal.
Mitchell rallies Cavs for series-clinching Game 7 win over Magic
- Cavs move on to second round a year after a stinging first-round loss to the New York Knicks
- The Celtics will host Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday
LOS ANGELES: Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers silenced the young guns of Orlando, beating the Magic 106-94 in Game 7 of their NBA playoffs first-round series Sunday to book a meeting with Eastern Conference top seeds Boston.
It was another magisterial performance from Mitchell, who scored 39 points two days after pouring in 50 in the Cavs’ Game 6 defeat.
This time he had plenty of scoring support from teammates as the Cavs erased an 18-point second-quarter deficit to clinch a series in which the home team won every game.
Caris LeVert scored 15 points off the bench and Max Strus scored 11 of his 13 points in the third quarter, when the Cavs outscored the Magic 33-15 to take charge.
Evan Mobley scored 11 points with 16 rebounds and five blocked shots and Darius Garland chipped in 12 points to help Cleveland withstand a 38-point performance from Paolo Banchero.
The Cavs, with starting center Jarrett Allen sidelined a third straight game with bruised ribs, moved on to the second round a year after a stinging first-round loss to the New York Knicks.
“I didn’t want to go home,” Mitchell said of the mindset that saw him score 17 points in the third quarter as he virtually willed Cleveland to the lead.
The Magic delivered a strong first punch, Banchero scoring 10 points in the first period as Orlando grabbed a 24-18.
In the face of Orlando’s suffocating defense the Cavs connected on just six of 22 shots in the first quarter and didn’t make a three-pointer until Sam Merrill drilled one midway through the second quarter.
The Magic pushed their lead to as many as 18 points in the second quarter before the Cavs clawed back to cut the lead to single digits.
Banchero’s layup in the closing seconds of the first half saw Orlando take a 10-point lead into the break, but momentum was on Cleveland’s side and they overwhelmed the Magic in the third.
“I didn’t feel our confidence waver much, even when we had 18 points in the first quarter,” Mitchell said.
“They came out and jumped on us,” he added, saying the key was for the Cavs “to respond the way we did, keep plugging, just keep chipping away.”
Mitchell, again relentless in the paint, tied it at 64-64 with a floater and LeVert drained a pair of free throws to give the Cavs their first lead since the first quarter.
Strus hit back-to-back three-pointers as Cleveland built a 76-68 lead going into the final period.
The Cavs pushed their advantage to 14 points in the final frame, fans chanting “We want Boston” as the final minutes ticked off.
The Celtics will host Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday, and Mitchell vowed the Cavaliers will be ready for the team that posted the best record in the regular season.
“We didn’t make the group we made just to win the first round,” he said. “We accomplished one goal. Now we have to do it again.”
It was a crushing end to a strong season for the Magic, collectively the second-youngest team in the playoffs behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Wendell Carter Jr. scored 13 points and Jalen Suggs added 10 for the Magic, but Franz Wagner was held to just six as Orlando remained in search of a first playoff series victory since 2010.
Mitchell heaped praise 21-year-old Banchero, the top pick in the 2022 draft.
Banchero himself said the Magic’s fight back from 0-2 down in the series to force game seven “just shows where we’re headed.”
Sporting Lisbon win Portuguese league after Benfica stumble
- Last season’s victors stumbled 2-0 at Famalicao to complete Sporting’s triumph after Ruben Amorim’s triumphant side thrashed Portimonense 3-0 on Saturday
- Sporting will face Porto in the Portuguese Cup final on May 26, aiming to secure a double
LISBON: Sporting Lisbon were crowned champions of Portugal for only the second time in 21 years on Sunday after second-placed Benfica lost.
Last season’s victors stumbled 2-0 at Famalicao to complete Sporting’s triumph after Ruben Amorim’s triumphant side thrashed Portimonense 3-0 on Saturday.
Sporting, the division’s top scorers by far with 92 goals in 32 matches, are eight points clear of Benfica with just two games remaining.
Amorim’s side have lost just two times this season on the way to securing the club’s 20th league title, trailing Porto on 30 and record winners Benfica on 38.
Swedish forward Viktor Gyokeres’ goals have powered Sporting’s title success and he netted his 27th of the campaign on Saturday to wrap up their victory.
The striker signed from Coventry City last summer for a club record fee of 20 million euros ($21.5 million) plus add-ons.
It is the second league trophy brought to the club by former Benfica player Amorim, who led Sporting to glory in the 2020/21 season.
Sporting will face Porto in the Portuguese Cup final on May 26, aiming to secure a double.
