Indonesian shuttlers in open-top bus ride
JAKARTA • Indonesian Olympic gold medal winners Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir were given a hero's welcome yesterday by hundreds of flag-waving fans as the badminton champions returned home.
After arriving at Jakarta airport they travelled through the capital in an open-top, double-decker bus.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
President's anger at Olympic medal flop
ASHGABAT • The leader of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has criticised the country's sports officials and athletes after the Central Asian nation failed to win a medal at the Rio Olympics.
"It's disappointing that even with all the facilities provided, you could not justify the trust of the motherland," Berdymukhamedov told the sports committee chief, Kaakbay Seiidov, in an angry encounter on TV.
Turkmenistan's neighbours Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan each had a standout campaign, winning a record 17 and 13 medals respectively.
THE GUARDIAN
Security stepped up by Bayern Munich
BERLIN • Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have tightened security measures at their stadium, banning spectators from carrying big bags and bottles, ahead of Friday's home match - the first of the new German football league season.
Germany's league champions have stepped up measures for the 2016-17 season as they prepare to host Werder Bremen, with a sell-out crowd of around 70,000 expected at Munich's Allianz Arena in a high-profile match.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Howzat! Cricket is tops for Australians
CANBERRA • The rise in popularity of the Big Bash Twenty20 tournament and the growing interest in the women's game has propelled cricket to become Australia's most popular participation sport.
Cricket Australia said yesterday that 1,311,184 people played cricket across Australia in 2015-16, an 8.5 per cent increase on 2014-15, while female participation rates increased by 9 per cent to 314,936 players.
XINHUA
