The Hungarian Grand Prix on August 2 will be staged without fans in response to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers announced on Friday.
The race at the Hungaroring is following the example set by the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and the truncated F1 season's new curtain-raiser in Austria as likely to go ahead but in front of empty grandstands.
"It has now become clear that we cannot hold the 35th Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix in front of spectators despite all our efforts," a statement from race organisers announced.
The statement added that this decision was necessary to protect the health of fans and circuit staff alike.
Their hand was forced after the Hungarian government banned any event involving more than 500 spectators until August 15.
"It became clear yesterday (Thursday) that all this is only possible behind closed gates.
"We will continue to work with the international promoter to find the best possible solution," the statement added.
On Monday Formula One boss Chase 

Fans barred from Hungarian Grand Prix - organisers

PTI Automatic

Climbers to Mount Everest from the Chinese side can now enjoy high-speed 5G coverage after the world's highest-altitude base station started operation on the remote Himalayan region of Tibet, the state media reported on Friday.
Built at an altitude of 6,500 metres, the base station which became operational on Thursday, is located at the advance base camp of Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, according to state-run telecom giant China Mobile.
The base station, along with another two that were previously built at altitudes of 5,300 metres and 5,800 metres respectively, realises the full coverage of 5G signal of Mount Everest on the north ridge as well as the summit, Xinhua news agency reported.
Located at the China-Nepal border, Mount Everest has an altitude of more than 8,840 metres, with its north part located in Xigaze prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region.
5G is the fifth generation of wireless communication technologies. In addition to faster speeds, 5G offers greater ...

5G signal now available on Mount Everest peak

Reclaiming the top spot in Test cricket has brought smiles back on their faces but Australia coach Justin Langer says beating India in their own den remains the ultimate test and their numero uno status will be put to test when they clash with the Virat Kohli-led team.
After a tumultuous transition phase post the ball-tampering scandal, Australia on Friday displaced India as number one side in Test format but Langer is aware that it does not take long for situation to change.
"We recognise how fluid these rankings are, but at this time it was certainly nice to put a smile on our faces," Langer told Cricket Australia website.
"We've got lots of work to do to get to be the team that we want to be, but hopefully over the last couple of years not only have we performed well on the field, but also off the field," Langer added.
The former left-handed opener underlined what he felt will be the ultimate test of character.
"Certainly a goal for us has been the World Test Championship ... but ..

Ultimate goal is to beat India in their backyard: Langer after Australia reclaim top rank

Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq says Hardik Pandya is nowhere near the league of Kapil Dev and needs to work harder to become a world-class cricketer.
Speaking to PTI, Razzaq also clarified that his "baby bowler" comment against lead India pacer Jasprit Bumrah was misconstrued.
One of the most prolific all-rounders to have come out of Pakistan, the 40-year-old also said India will continue to enjoy an unbeaten record against his team at the World Cup, as Indians handle the pressure of the big game much better.
Talking about Pandya, who has been battling fitness issues of late, Razzaq feels the 26-year-old doesn't seem to be working hard enough.
"Pandya is a good player but he can be a much better all-rounder. It is all about hard work. When you don't give enough time to the game, it drifts away from you," Razzaq told PTI.
"He has to prepare better mentally as well as physically. As you have seen, he has been getting injured a lot of late (underwent back surgery last year). ...

Pandya nowhere near league of Kapil paaji, Bumrah on way to becoming world-class: Razzaq

India lost the top spot in the ICC Test rankings to Australia on Friday, dropping to third after their stupendous 2016-17 record was eliminated from the annual update as per rules.
India yielded the top spot in Test rankings for the first time since October 2016 but continue to lead the ICC World Test Championship, a league comprising six series played by each of the top nine sides.
India dropped in the ladder largely because the record of 12 Tests victories and just one Test defeat in 2016-17 was removed in the latest chart, the ICC said in a statement.
Virat Kohli's men had won all five series during that period including against Australia and England. On the other hand, Australia had lost to South Africa as well as to India in the same period.
The latest update rates all the matches played since May 2019 at 100 per cent and those of the previous two years at 50 per cent.
Australia not only moved to the top of the Test rankings but also grabbed the no.1 spot in the T20I list for the 

India lose top spot in ICC Test rankings to Australia

Jordan Spieth's return to tournament golf on Thursday was underscored by the three-time major winner falling victim to new safety measures put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Spieth played in a group with retired NFL star Tony Romo as he and other PGA Tour pros teed it up in a no-spectator invitational charity event in Dallas.
Spieth was denied a hole-in-one on the par-three 110-yard 17th after his tee shot flew straight into the cup only to have it hit a plastic insert and bounce out and roll into a water hazard.
The ball didn't stick because organizers of the Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational inserted social distancing plastic slats into each cup for protection so players wouldn't have to bend so far down to retrieve their ball.
Spieth told ESPN.com he can't remember the exact date of his last hole in one.
"It never left the flag," Spieth said. "I knew it was going to land somewhere around the hole. It's my first one in probably three or four years. I kind of had a ..

Spieth denied ace because of COVID-19 safety measures

Veteran batsman Ross Taylor bagged the prestigious New Zealand Cricketer of the Year award on Friday, winning the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for the third time for excelling across formats.
In what has been a season of milestones, Taylor leapfrogged Stephen Fleming as New Zealand's leading run-scorer in Test matches and became the first cricketer from any country to play 100 international matches in all three formats.
He scored 1389 runs in the last season in all formats and was an integral member of the New Zealand team which reached the World Cup final in July.
"It's been full of ups and downs. A World Cup final, losing that final. The Boxing Day test which was such a proud moment to be part of and to have so many Kiwis there supporting us was something I'll never forget," Taylor told reporters as the three-day virtual awards ceremony concluded.
"The biggest thing, I think, is the hunger and the mental motivation to keep getting better, if that's still there then age is just a ...

Taylor bags New Zealand Cricketer of the year award

In a startling revelation, former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi has claimed that banned Test batsman Umar Akmal suffers from epilepsy for which he had refused to take treatment.
Umar was recently slapped with a three-year ban for not reporting corrupt approaches before the start of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Sethi, who was Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman and Head of Executive Committee between 2013 and 2018, said when he took over the reins of the cricket body, the first problem he faced concerned Umar.
"We had medical reports that confirmed he suffered from epilepsy fits and we called him back from the West Indies. When I met him I told him it was a serious problem and he needed to take a break and get proper treatment. But he was not willing to accept this. He was mentally not there," Sethi told a TV Channel.
"Anyway I stopped him from playing for two months but later on we sent the medical reports to the selectors and left it to them because I didn't like to interfere in ...

Umar suffers from epilepsy, plays for himself: Najam Sethi

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wants to see soccer competitions start back up again soon despite the country's high number of coronavirus cases, arguing that players are less likely to die from COVID-19 because of their physical fitness.
Bolsonaro is one of the few world leaders that still downplays the risks brought by the coronavirus, which he has likened to "little flu."
Most soccer tournaments in Brazil were suspended on March 15.
The Brazilian championship was scheduled to begin in May, but that looks unlikely as the country has become Latin America's coronavirus epicenter with more than 5,900 deaths. Doctors say the peak of the pandemic is expected to hit within two weeks.
"There is a lot of people in soccer that are favorable to a return because unemployment is knocking on clubs' doors too," Bolsonaro said in an interview with Radio Guaiba on Thursday.
"Footballers, if infected with the virus, have a small chance of dying. That's because of their physical state, because ...

Brazil's president wants soccer to return amid pandemic

England's Rugby Football League have been given a 16 million ($20 million) emergency loan to help deal with the financial fall-out from the coronavirus.
The British Government have sanctioned the cash injection as the Super League and lower division seasons remain suspended with no return date due to the on-going pandemic.
Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport admitted the loan was vital to save Rugby League teams from financial meltdown.
"This is a massive shot in the arm to secure the survival of rugby league," Dowden said.
"We recognise that many RFL clubs operate on very tight financial margins.
"Without their ability to stage matches with spectators and despite the Government's extensive economic package, the professional game has come very close to collapsing.
"Sports across the board are facing unprecedented pressures, and we are supporting them through wider Government measures.
"In this case we are intervening as an exception, not to save an .

England's Rugby League clubs given 16m emergency loan

Portugal's government says the country's soccer league will be allowed to resume on May 30 following a stoppage forced by the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Antnio Costa included the announcement in Thursday's presentation of his government's plan to roll back lockdown measures.
Costa said the resumption still depends on health authorities approving measures to make stadiums meet hygiene conditions.
The games will be played without fans.
Porto leads Benfica by one point at the top of the standings.

Portuguese league to resume on May 30 after virus stoppage

Commissioner Gary Bettman is eager for the NHL to resume playing games after the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, but only if the players are physically fit.
"We don't want them playing games until they're back in game shape," Bettman told the NHL Network on Thursday.
Bettman also said the end of the current season, whenever that happens, could push back the beginning of the 2020-21 season to December.
"This isn't a race to be the first back," he said adding there is no definite timetable for a restart.
"We're going to try to make good, prudent, careful judgments. When we come back, we want it to be at the right time, for the right reasons, under the right circumstances.
"We have a great deal of flexibility in terms of when we can start. There's no magic for next season of starting in October as we traditionally do. If we have to start in November or December, that's something that will be under consideration."
The regular season was originally set to end on April 

Commissioner says NHL return hinges on players' fitness levels

US stock car auto racing, a closed-cockpit style that is America's most popular motorsport series, will end its coronavirus shutdown in May with four oval races over 11 days.
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced Thursday it will return on May 17 at Darlington Raceway, joining UFC mixed martial arts among the next live US sports offerings in the wake of the deadly virus that has shut down sports.
All NASCAR Cup races will be staged without spectators, including May 17 over 400 miles and May 20 over 500km at Darlington near Florence, South Carolina, and May 24 over 600 miles and May 27 over 500km at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.
Empty tracks will also host events in NASCAR's second-tier auto series as well as truck racing in the first on-track NASCAR events since March 8 at Phoenix.
Charlotte's first race is one of NASCAR's major events, the Coca-Cola 600, in its traditional Memorial Day weekend spot for a 60th consecutive season.
No ...

US NASCAR auto racing returns in May on empty ovals

The PGA Tour is changing its qualification guidelines for next season by allowing more golfers to retain their eligibility status even if they had an off season in 2019-20.
Normally golfers who don't finish in the top 125 of the FedEx Cup standings will lose their PGA spots for the next season.
But because of the shortening of the 2019-20 season due to the Covid-19 outbreak, organizers are now allowing exempt players to retain their playing status for 2020-21 regardless of where they finish.
The Tour has revised its schedule and is due to resume play on June 11 with an invitational event in Fort Worth, Texas.
"This eligibility update, contingent upon the planned restart of the season at the Charles Schwab Challenge the week of June 8, was deemed the best and most equitable solution for the membership," a Tour spokesman said in a news release on Thursday.
The Tour also decided to not have the top players from the development Korn Ferry Tour earn promotions to the PGA. Their positions ..

PGA alters playing status guidelines due to coronavirus

The online technical officials' seminar, conducted jointly by South Asian Athletics Federation and Athletics Federation of India, ended on Thursday.
Attended by over 900 participants each day, the six-day seminar updated the knowledge of the technical officials in the region's eight countries, the AFI said in a release.
The participating technical experts -- Luis Saladie (Spain), Chris Cohen (UK), Pierce O'Callaghan (Ireland), Luca Verrascina (Italy), Judit Krisztina Horvath (Hungary), Yukio Seki (Japan) and Kwan Kee (Hong Kong) -- praised the initiative as a means to use technology to enhance knowledge.
Cohen, who is the Competition Director (Athletics) for Tokyo Olympics, was the keynote speaker on the final day of seminar. He cited examples from major championships concerning the International Technical Officials.
Sports Authority of India Director-General Sandip Pradhan, the guest of honour in the valedictory session, appreciated AFI's efforts in helping technical officials stay ..

Online training programme of South Asian technical officials ends

There will be no handshakes, line judges, ball boys or spectators allowed, but tennis fans can get their fix from Friday when a series of exhibition matches will be streamed live from a rural German venue.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ATP and WTA Tours are suspended until July 13 at the earliest.
However, tennis fans can enjoy live coverage of an eight-man tournament at the Base Tennis Academy in the tiny town of Hoehr-Grenzhausen, near Koblenz.
Germany's Dustin Brown, who famously beat Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon in 2015, is the best known name in the field, none of whom are ranked in world's top 100.
Compatriot Yannick Hanfmann, 28, will be the highest ranked player at 143.
"I'm really excited about it," Hanfmann told AFP subsidiary SID.
The academy's courts are already equipped with cameras and the matches will be streamed worldwide.
Due to coronavirus, only the two players and chair umpire will be allowed on the clay courts at any one time.
Digital ...

No handshakes, no fans as German tennis academy hosts televised exhibition

France's football league declared the season over on Thursday, with Paris Saint-Germain named as Ligue 1 champions.
PSG led the table by 12 points from Marseille when the season was suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak, which has gone on to kill more than 24,000 people in France.
The announcement by the LFP comes after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that "professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart" because of the risks linked to the pandemic.
"There is no ambiguity about this declaration. We needed to make a final decision about this season. We acknowledge that the 2019-20 season is over," said LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour, in a conference call with reporters.
Ruling out any possibility of following the lead of the Netherlands, who decided to void their season without a champion, relegation or promotion, the LFP said a final table was arranged on the basis of average points per game.
Ten rounds of matches remained when 

French football season declared over, PSG awarded title

La Liga is planning to start testing players for the coronavirus next week as president Javier Tebas bids to restart the season, a league source told AFP on Thursday.
"These tests must begin next week" the source told AFP, as the Spanish league's protocol governing return to competition includes COVID-19 screening for players and coaching staff.
Daily sports newspaper AS and Marca report La Liga is planning to carry out the tests between Tuesday and Thursday next week, after which they would then be able to resume individual training programmes within 48 hours.
The process contains four stages which progressively take players from individual sessions to team training and according to Tebas can last "around a month".
"I hope that we can start playing in June. We have until June 28," Tebas said to television channel Movistar on Tuesday, after the Spanish government gave the green light for professional players to return to individual training.

La Liga preparing to test players for virus: source

Serie A "will comply" with the Italian government's decision should it choose to end the current season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league's president said on Thursday.
Italy's top flight, a majority of its clubs and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have repeatedly insisted that they want to finish the 2019-20 campaign but on Wednesday Minister of Sport Vincenzo Spadafora said the chances of restarting were "increasingly narrow".
And Paolo Dal Pino in a statement said that Serie A would maintain a "constructive and collaborative" dialogue with the government after weeks of hostility.
"If it's possible to do it (restart) while respecting health legislation, great," Dal Pino said.
"Otherwise we will rigorously comply, as we have always done, with the government's decision. The (sports) ministry can be sure of our constructive and collaborative spirit."
Serie A, which has been suspended since March 9 due to a pandemic that has killed around 28,000 people in Italy, will ...

Serie A will comply should government end season, says chief

He awed the fans with his football and cricketing skills in a distinguished career but Chuni Goswami also loved tennis and to the extent that he would often bunk office work to catch some action at the Calcutta South Club.
Goswami worked as a manager at the State bank of India's Chowranghee branch where his East Bengal counterpart Sukumar Samajpati was posted as an accountant.
During the summer of late 1970s when it was time for load-shedding, Goswami would quietly make a move to Calcutta South Club after lunch, leaving Samajpati at the mercy of hundreds of livid customers.
"Everything was dark and we would work with candles as there was no generator. The work was badly hampered. But he would swiftly go and catch up on tennis," 80-year-old Samajpati fondly recalled, in an interaction with PTI.
Having made his Bengal debut in the 1960 Santosh Trophy final under Goswami, Samajpati would usually stay quiet but one day he confronted him.
And what happened ?
" 'Am I accountable to you?' ...

When 'Chuni da' would bunk office to watch tennis

Premier League clubs will meet on Friday to discuss whether it is realistic to complete the season during the coronavirus crisis or whether they will have to brace for a devastating financial hit.
The Dutch season has already been called off, Belgium looks set to go the same way and French clubs met Thursday to decide whether to declare their season over.
But with the English top-flight facing an eye-watering estimated loss of ?1 billion ($1.25 billion) if no more football is played, there is a huge incentive to play the 92 remaining games if feasible.
The Premier League also appears to have the support of the government in Britain, which now has the third-highest death toll in the world from COVID-19.
Speaking in parliament last week, Oliver Dowden, Britain's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, said he had been in talks with league chiefs over getting football up and running again.
Liverpool fans will be the keenest for the season to restart, with Jurgen Klopp's side on the .

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