Jing Wen 4th in relay at the NCAA c'ships
Singapore swimmer Quah Jing Wen was part of the Texas A&M University 200-yard medley relay team that missed out on a medal at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division Swimming and Diving Championships yesterday.
The quartet clocked 1:35.57 to finish fourth, behind Indiana (1:33.89). Stanford won gold in 1:33.11 while California took silver in 1:33.85. Jing Wen, 17, swam the butterfly stroke in the third leg, clocking 23.34sec.
De Grasse pulls out of the C'wealth Games
LONDON • Canadian three-time Olympic sprint medallist Andre De Grasse has withdrawn from next month's Commonwealth Games to concentrate on his fitness for the outdoor season, he said on Friday.
The quadrennial multi-sport event will be held on the Gold Coast from April 4-15.
The 23-year-old won silver in the 200m at the 2016 Rio Games, and also clinched the bronze in the 100m and 4x100m relay, but had to pull out of last year's world championships with a hamstring injury.
REUTERS
Arsenal fans assured of safety by Russia
LONDON • Russia has issued a security guarantee to Arsenal fans who will visit the Russian capital for a Europa League clash with CSKA Moscow in the heat of a diplomatic crisis over a former Russian double agent's poisoning.
Arsenal fans have been alarmed about the prospects of playing CSKA on April 12 for the second leg of their quarter-final following a political tit-for-tat in which both Britain and Russia have expelled 23 diplomats each.
The club reposted on their website a Foreign Office travel advisory, warning of possible "anti-British sentiment or harassment", but Russia's World Cup organising committee chief Alexei Sorokin has assured Arsenal fans that they have nothing to fear.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
AFC gives thumbs up to lifting of Iraq ban
KUALA LUMPUR • The Asian Football Confederation yesterday welcomed the Fifa council's decision to lift a ban on Iraq, allowing the country to host competitive games in the cities of Arbil, Basra and Karbala.
Iraq has been starved of full international matches on home soil since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, although the country has held a handful of friendlies. The war-torn country will host a friendly tournament with Qatar and Syria in Basra on Wednesday.
REUTERS
Pietersen calls time on playing career
LONDON • Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen yesterday announced his decision to step away from cricket in a series of messages on social media.
The South Africa-born 37-year-old, who briefly captained England in 2008-09, played 104 Tests for England, and former team-mates Michael Vaughan and Darren Gough paid tribute to him on Twitter.
REUTERS
