Chronicle

Our basketball players took revenge on Slovenia

In the second guest test match with Slovenia, the current European champion, the Russian team, which is preparing for the September continental championship in Poland, won with a score of 70:66, taking revenge for the defeat in the previous sparring (62:78).

For the Russians, the most productive players of the meeting were Sergei Monya (21 points), Viktor Khryapa (14) and Andrey Vorontsevich (14). Vitaly Fridzon, Dmitry Sokolov, Sergei Bykov, Victor Keyru and naturalized American Kelly McCarthy also took to the stage. The Slovenians scored CSKA player Erazem Lorbek, who scored 24 points. The match took place in the city of Novo Mesto, where the opponents moved from Ljubljana.

Schumacher Sr. will not return to Formula 1

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion, German Michael Schumacher, has informed Ferrari President Luca de Montezemolo that he will not be able to replace the injured Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain, which will take place on August 23. The reason is pain in the neck, which is a consequence of a motorcycle accident in February.

Thus, Schumacher’s sensational return to Formula 1 will either not take place at all or will be postponed indefinitely. Michael recently took part in tests, his old injury worsened, and, according to Schumacher, he is not yet physically ready to bear the stress associated with performing at the Royal Races. “I am extremely disappointed,” Schumacher is quoted as saying on his official website. — Motorsport fans were waiting for my return; I really wanted to help my team, which found itself in a difficult situation. But, alas, the circumstances are beyond me.”

Stuczynski will not fly to Berlin

The silver medalist of the 2008 Olympic Games in the pole vault, the owner of the third best result of the season in the world (4.81 m), American Jennifer Stuczynski, will not compete at the World Athletics Championships, which will be held on August 15-23 in Berlin. The reason for the refusal was a recurrence of an old Achilles tendon injury. Thus, Chelsea Johnson, the 2000 Olympic champion, the 1999 and 2001 world champion Stacy Dragila and Gillian Schwartz, who was previously listed as a reserve, are declared for the US team in the women's pole vault.

Let us remind you that earlier, due to health problems, Russian jumper Svetlana Feofanova also refused to participate in the World Championships.

The IAAF demanded that the Russians return their medals

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) demands the return of the medals of Russian athletes Elena Soboleva, Daria Pishchalnikova and Yulia Fomenko, won at the 2007 World Championships and 2008 World Indoor Championships. At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Soboleva and Pishchalnikova became silver medalists. Soboleva also won gold at the 2008 World Indoor Championships, and Fomenko came second there.

Let us remind you that on the eve of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the International Court of Arbitration for Sports disqualified seven Russian athletes - Elena Soboleva, Daria Pishchalnikova, Yulia Fomenko, Gulfiya Khanafeeva, Tatyana Tomasheva, Svetlana Cherkasova and Olga Egorova for substituting doping samples. On this basis, the IAAF demanded that the athletes return the awards.

Wladimir Klitschko plans to fight Chambers

WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko plans to make a mandatory defense of his WBO title against American Eddie Chambers, and then meet IBF challenger Russian Alexander Povetkin.

Povetkin received the right to a title fight last year, but due to an injury, his fight with Klitschko, scheduled for December last year, did not take place. In this regard, many assumed that the Russian would become the champion’s next opponent, and then it would be Chambers’ turn, who won the position of mandatory challenger only in July of this year. The exact reasons for this rearrangement of mandatory defenses are not disclosed, however, according to informed sources, the WBO, unlike the IBF, gave the champion less time to organize a fight against the mandatory challenger.

Clijsters won the opening match

Former world number one Kim Clijsters won her opening match at the tournament in Cincinnati. In two sets, the Belgian defeated the strong Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli - 6:4, 6:3. Let us remember that this was the first match for the tennis player from Belgium after a two-year break due to the birth of a child.

In the Russian derby, Anna Chakvetadze - Elena Vesnina was the first to win - 7:5, 6:3. This fight was interrupted due to rain and then resumed, but this circumstance did not dampen Chakvetadze’s mood. Another Russian woman had an unsuccessful start in the USA - Ekaterina Makarova, losing in the first round to Belarusian Olga Govortsova -1:6, 3:6.

At the men's Masters tournament in Montreal, several Russian tennis players were forced to cover their rackets after the opening round. Marat Safin, who demonstrated beautiful tennis, ultimately failed to prevail over the Frenchman Gal Monfils - 2:6, 6:3, 2:6. After the match, Safin said that he would never win another tournament. “I'm a realist. And I understand that I will not win another tournament. I have no chance. With each tournament it becomes more and more difficult to play. In the third set of the match with Monfils, victory slipped out of my hands. I was too nervous. I no longer have enough strength to play together at the end of matches,” Reuters quotes Safin.

Igor Andreev, due to Dmitry Tursunov’s refusal, advanced further in the tournament bracket. After 36 min. After the start of this match with the score 5:5, Tursunov cited pain in his ankle and was unable to complete the match. Mikhail Youzhny, in a tense match that lasted two and a half hours, beat Croatian Marin Cilic - 4:6, 7:6 (7:4), 6:1. Igor Kunitsyn lost to Canadian Frederic Niemeyer - 7:5, 6:1. The next opponent of the owner of the court will be the first racket of the world, Swiss Roger Federer.

Prepared by Olga ERMOLINA and Ilya TRISVIATSKY