Legendary sprinter Milkha Singh's daughter and ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh's elder sister has been running a "marathon" in New York -- not on a track but at a hospital, battling the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the world.
Mona Milkha Singh is a doctor at the Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York, attending to emergency patients of coronavirus, which has so far claimed more than 40,000 lives in the US alone while causing over 1.5 lakh deaths worldwide.
"She is basically an ER (Emergency Room) doctor in Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York city. So, when someone comes with the coronavirus symptoms, she has to treat them," Jeev, a four-time European Tour champion, told PTI.
"She checks the patients, stabilises them, performs intubation (insertion of artificial ventilation tube into a patient) before they are sent to special wards to quarantine the COVID-19 patients," he added.
The 54-year-old Mona passed out of Patiala Medical College before moving to the USA in the '90s. ..

Milkha Singh's daughter fights COVID-19 pandemic from frontline in NY hospital

PTI Automatic

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire believes the Red Devils are on the right track towards contending for the Premier League title again.
United have not won the league since Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013 and were a mammoth 37 points behind leaders Liverpool when the Premier League season was put on hold due to coronavirus last month.
However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men were on an 11-match unbeaten run before the shutdown with Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka beginning to repay the lavish sums spent on them last summer and January signing Bruno Fernandes making an immediate impact.
"I knew when I first came to Manchester United that Ole said to me loads and loads it's a building process but we'll be where we want to be." Maguire told Sky Sports.
"There are plenty of aspects we need to improve to get to the top of where we want to be. We don't want to be challenging for this Champions League spot, we want to be challenging for titles.
"We know there's still a lot of ...

Maguire confident Man Utd on course to compete for titles again

Having fought cancer four years ago, former India batsman and Bengal coach Arun Lal knows a thing or two about conquering a dreadful disease and as the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic, he feels both immunity and optimism need to be kept high.
The former player was detected with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare type of salivary glands cancer, but he overcame the disease and gained abundant hope in the process.
"It's a disease after all. You have to believe that you can fight it. You have no other choice. You have to be prepared for the worst. Hope for the best," Lal, under whom Bengal made their first Ranji final after 13 years this season, told PTI in an interaction.
"You have to keep your immunity level high. You have to fight it. You have to stay positive, and believe in yourself. Eat well, sleep well, keep your immunity level high."
Lal was slated for a fortnight's holiday in Europe from April 15, but the COVID-19 pandemic put paid to all his plans and he's now confined at ...

You've to believe you can fight it: cancer survivor Arun Lal on COVID-19

With the country under lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday started online fitness tests for its centrally contracted players.
The PCB went ahead with the online tests despite batsman Sohaib Maqsood suffering a leg injury during a similar exercise last week.
A PCB statement said that fitness assessments of Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Abbas, Asad Shafiq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan were conducted on Monday while remaining players will appear for their tests on Tuesday.
The board also started taking fitness tests of its contracted domestic players last week, where Maqsood sustained the leg injury.
The PCB said strength and conditioning coach of the national team, Yasir Malik had designed the online tests and was supervising them with head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq.
"Yasir is in touch with the players through internet and video streaming and is also supervising their fitness tests individually," a PCB ...

PCB starts online fitness tests for its cricketers

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been using some of his spare time in lockdown to teach British kids how to speak Spanish.
The Argentina international has been signed up by the BBC as part of its home-schooling initiative while educational establishments are closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Aguero is teaching kids how to count in Spanish. His lessons became available on a day kids in Britain would have usually returned to school after the Easter holidays.
Aguero says it's a tough time for children at the moment, and also for parents trying to keep them focused on their education from home.
Aguero hasn't played a competitive match since March 8 because soccer is shut down in England and across most of the world during the outbreak.

Aguero teaching British kids to count in Spanish

The president of the German soccer federation says resuming league play will not mean taking resources away from healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Fritz Keller writes in Kicker magazine we guarantee that resuming play ... will not cause a burden for the healthcare system.
He adds that there will be no use by sportspeople of testing capacity which would be missed elsewhere. No top league games have been played since March 11.
The German league has been more bullish than other major European competitions about the chances of resuming in May or June with widespread coronavirus tests for players. That push is partly driven by fears that several clubs face financial collapse without TV and sponsorship money.
German state and local officials could potentially veto games in their areas. Keller says unified rules for soccer around the country would help clubs quickly and without bureaucracy.

German soccer wouldn't harm healthcare workers

Australia's top rugby players will demand a greater say in the future of the sport after reaching agreement Monday on pay cuts designed to allow the game to weather the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some players reportedly will give up as much as 60 percent of their income in the short term as Australian rugby faces uncertainty with major competitions shut down, perhaps for the rest of the year.
The Rugby Union Players' Association announced the agreement with Rugby Australia but stressed it was heavily conditional on players being given greater influence in the sport, which was already under financial strain before the virus outbreak.
Australia's professional players will play a central role in the short term preservation of the game by accepting a significant reduction in pay in order for necessary transformation to begin, RUPA said in a statement.
RUPA's members understand their part in the game's immediate future and the responsibility that goes with it. The ...

Rugby Australia, players agree pay cuts after lengthy talks

Flamboyant India batsman KL Rahul is auctioning the bat he used during the World Cup last year and other memorabilia to raise funds for vulnerable children.
In a video message posted on Twitter on his birthday, Rahul said all proceeds from the auction will go to the Aware Foundation, that works to provide dispossessed, disadvantaged and vulnerable children in India the right to education.
"I have decided to donate my cricket pads, my gloves, helmets and some of my jerseys to our collaboration partner Bharat Army. They are going to auction these things out and the funds will go towards the Aware Foundation," Rahul said.
"It's a foundation that look towards helping children. It is very special and I couldn't pick a better day to do this."
The items up for auction, which started on Monday, includes Rahul's signed 2019 World Cup bat, Test, ODI and T20 jersey along with his batting gloves, helmet and pads.
"Go on check out the auction and show some love for me and the children and let's ...

Rahul auctions World Cup bat to raise funds for vulnerable children

Chinese star Wu Lei hailed the selfless actions of medical staff on Monday after the Espanyol forward was diagnosed with coronavirus last month in Spain.
China's football association said on March 21 that the country's best player was infected but the 28-year-old said he had only light symptoms which quickly disappeared.
"Personally, from my experience of being infected by the virus, I cannot describe the respect I have for doctors and nurses who sacrifice their time and own safety to help patients recover," said Wu, according to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) website.
"I must thank them for taking such good care of me as well as to those who continue to help people affected by COVID-19."
Wu, who isolated at home in Barcelona after his positive test, urged people to follow the advice of medical experts and the World Health Organization to help stop the spread of the pandemic.
"The medical frontliners have and will always be heroes so please do not let their efforts go to ...

China's Wu Lei thanks medical staff after coronavirus

South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka in June was on Monday postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which is still not under control.
South Africa were set to play three ODI and three T20 Internationals during their short trip of the island nation in the first half of June, Cricket South Africa stated.
"Our Proteas would not have been able to prepare properly taking our own lockdown situation into account and, more importantly, health considerations for our players, which are always paramount, were the over-riding factor," CSA's Acting Chief Executive Dr. Jacques Faul said.
The ODI leg would have been South Africa's first commitment in the ICC's new one-day league.
"It is very sad that we have been forced to take this step and we will re-schedule the tour as soon as cricket returns to a sense of normality and our international fixture list allows," Faul said.
He admitted that the postponement of the tour will hamper South Africa's preparations for the T20 World Cup to be held in ...

COVID-19 impact: South Africa's June tour of Sri Lanka postponed

Todd Greenberg has resigned as chief executive of Australia's National Rugby League, days after the governing body was attacked for wasteful spending by its main broadcast partner.
The NRL is in a battle for survival amid the coronavirus pandemic, desperately trying to find a way to restart its 2020 season.
The head of broadcaster Channel Nine recently accused NRL management of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars it had paid in broadcast rights, which should have been shared among clubs.
Nine head Hugh Marks blamed a "bloated head office" for denying clubs the funding they need to negotiation the current shutdown of the league.
In a statement Monday Greenberg said he was resigning by mutal agreement, after "reflecting on the needs of the game."
"It has been my great honor and privilege to be the CEO of the NRL for the last four years," Greenberg said.
"Despite the variety of challenges and pressures I have loved every single minute of the journey."
Greenberg was recently excluded .

NRL chief executive Greenberg resigns amid shutdown fallout

Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie has used the extra time in hand amid the COIVD-19 pandemic by providing a virtual batting lesson, which included tips on how to play spin in India.
Balbirnie took a 45 minute interactive session with 19 members from the men's senior side and emerging squads of an academy along with a few coaches.
"I felt if I could help them by providing an insight into what my thinking was in certain scenarios, that might be of value," Balbirnie was quoted as saying by the BBC.
"I haven't done too many 'virtual' sessions, but it was very interesting," he added.
The 29-year-old, who leads the national team in all three formats, touched upon a number of topics including how to navigate though the difficult spin conditions in the subcontinent.
"Playing in subcontinent conditions is a big part of any international cricketer's career, so we talked about how to go about setting up an innings, particularly in testing conditions like India where spin plays such a huge ...

Ireland captain Balbirnie delivers virtual batting class

Playing to empty stadiums, Taiwan has managed to keep its baseball league running during the coronavirus pandemic -- but social distancing went out of the window on Sunday when a game descended into an on-field brawl.
The island has been held up as a model for how to battle the virus outbreak.
Despite its close proximity and economic links with China, it has just 422 confirmed cases and six deaths.
As a measure of its success, Taiwan has one of the few professional sports leagues in the world still operating, and a new international audience starved of games back home.
But on Sunday night, fans following on TV watched as the Rakuten Monkeys against Fubon Guardians erupted in a bench-clearing brawl.
The melee broke out after Fubon pitcher Henry Sosa hit in-fielder Kuo Yen-wen in the hip with an inside ball, the fourth inside pitch at Kuo.
"There are some tempers exploding out there right now," an English-speaking commentator said on Eleven Sports Taiwan, which has started broadcasting .

Social distancing takes a hit as Taiwan baseball teams brawl

The unprecedented health crisis, triggered by COVID-19, is perhaps a stark reminder that man should now learn to respect nature and not tinker with it, says Indian shuttler Sameer Verma.
In India, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 500 people and infected over 17,000, forcing the government to lockdown the country till May 3 to contain the deadly disease.
The global situation is worse as 1,65,174 deaths have been recorded so far and more than 24 lakh positive cases reported.
"We have been running after materialistic things for so many years now and this lockdown period, whatever is happening globally at the moment, it has taught us a lot that we shouldn't tinker with nature," Sameer told PTI.
"I hope after the crisis is over, it will change people's outlook towards things. We should not do anything that harms nature," added Sameer, who is spending so much time at home after about 14 years.
The shuttler also felt that the coronavirus-forced break is an opportunity to fix ...

COVID-19 has taught us that we should not tinker with nature: Sameer

Novak Djokovic has said he would be against a compulsory coronavirus vaccination if it became a requirement for tennis players to travel to tournaments.
"Personally I'm against vaccination. I wouldn't like that someone forces me to get a vaccine in order to be able to travel," the world number one said late Sunday.
The Serbian star was speaking from Spain, where he is in lockdown with his family, in a video conference held on his Facebook for Orthodox Easter.
"We (players) will have to travel. I think it will be the number one challenge," the 32-year said.
"If it (vaccination) will become compulsory what will happen? I will have to take a decision," on whether to get a vaccine or not, he said.
"This is my opinion at the moment. Whether it will change I don't know."
There is currently no vaccine for the virus that has claimed some 165,000 lives around the globe, though labs around the world are racing to develop a treatment.
Like the rest of the sporting world, tennis has been on pause 

Djokovic against compulsory coronavirus vaccination

Bowlers using saliva to shine the ball is common sight in cricket but in a post COVID-19 world, they might have to reconsider the practice, making their lives tougher in what, many believe, has already become a batsman's game.
In the wake of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, the scrutiny on ball maintenance has only increased but using sweat and saliva on it remains legal.
Given the worsening COVID-19 situation, it is unlikely that cricket will resume anytime soon and when it finally does, former players, including Venkatesh Prasad, Praveen Kumar and Jason Gillespie, feel the game's custodians might have to suspend the use of saliva.
"When the action resumes, they should use only sweat for some time as safety of the players is paramount," former pacer Prasad, who played 33 Tests and 161 ODIs for India, told PTI.
He reckons it will be tough for the bowlers to stop using saliva to work up the ball but it is the need of the hour.
"When you are in the thick of things, you tend to forget ...

To spit or not: Bowlers face 'saliva' conundrum in post COVID-19 scenario

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean striker Son Heung-min began his three-week military training at a marines boot camp on Monday, a report said, with the Premier League on hold over the coronavirus pandemic.
All able-bodied South Korean men are obliged to serve in the military for nearly two years, making up the bulk of Seoul's 600,000-strong forces -- who face off against North Korea's army of 1.3 million.
But Son was among the South Korean footballers who earned an exemption by winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.
The 27-year-old's Premier League season ended even before the coronavirus outbreak spread to Europe when he broke his arm against Aston Villa on February 16, and Spurs said he returned to South Korea for "personal reasons".
Son reported to a marines camp on the southern island of Jeju for his three-week basic training, Yonhap news agency reported.
A Yonhap photo showed Son walking past a military truck and soldiers, wearing a green sweatshirt, a black cap and a 

Spurs' Son begins three-week military training: report

The wealthy owners of Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande will build two stadiums with capacities of 80,000 each, in addition to the club's new 100,000-seat home.
Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs are building or renovating a clutch of stadiums with the country set to host the newly expanded 2021 FIFA Club World Cup and AFC Asian Cup in 2023.
But the rush on new arenas will also heighten speculation that China is gearing up for a bid to host the World Cup, possibly in 2030.
Evergrande Group, a major property developer, has asked fans to pick their favourite designs for two more new stadiums.
"Evergrande plans to build two additional 80,000-seat football fields and invites everyone to recommend two of the six preliminary plans," Guangzhou Evergrande's owners said on social media.
The statement did not give any further information such as where in China or when the stadiums would be built.
CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande, coached by Italian World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro, began ..

Evergrande to build two more 80,000-seat stadiums in China

Australia's John Millman has questioned a multi-million dollar plan floated by Novak Djokovic to help struggling tennis players during the coronavirus shutdown, asking why it hadn't been done before.
Novak Djokovic said on Saturday that the 'Big Three' -- himself, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal -- were organising aid for lower-ranked players who have no income while the sport is suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The majority of the players who are ranked between 200, 250 in the world, and the 700th or 1,000th do not have federation support, do not have sponsors. They are completely independent and left alone," Djokovic said in an Instagram chat with friend and rival Stan Wawrinka.
"Guys who are ranked between 200-250, especially to 700... are thinking of leaving tennis right now." But world number 43 Millman said lower-ranked players should have been paid better in the past.
"If the concern is to help players ranked 250-700 in the world why has it taken a global pandemic 

Why wait for a pandemic? - Djokovic plan for low-ranked players queried

The head of Australia's National Rugby League stepped down with immediate effect Monday, as the top-level competition continues to reel from the COVID-19 crisis.
The NRL said "it has been mutually agreed" that chief executive officer Todd Greenberg would step down Monday "after reflecting on the needs of the game".
The cash-strapped league, which pitches itself as part of Australia's social fabric, has floated a series of unsuccessful schemes to get play restarted quickly -- including isolating players on an island.
After vowing to play on through the crisis, rhe season was suspended on March 24 after just two rounds as the government shut down all non-essential gatherings in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus.
That has caused TV revenues to dry up and could threaten the existence of several teams and the financial viability of the league.
The NRL is planning to resume on May 28 but it is far from clear if that will be possible, with the government warning that travel ...

Australia rugby league chief quits as virus crisis deepens

Hockey India (HI) on Monday announced the launch of online interactive sessions for its umpires and technical officials to update them of the latest game rules and improve their fitness levels.
Hockey India is carrying out the sessions across six WhatsApp groups, three for technical officials and three for umpires.
over 100 registered officials are taking part in the initiative six days a week, HI said in a press release.
Experienced tournament directors and umpire managers who are conducting the sessions include Moghul Mohammed Muneer, Claudius de Sales and H S Sokhi.
G S Sangha, Javed Shaikh and G Harsha Vardhan are conducting the sessions for umpires.
Through the interactive sessions, the officials will be improving their knowledge of FIH rules and regulations and will have the opportunity to clear any queries or doubts.
"Officials are as important as players in any sport and we believe that during this lockdown period, that officials can further improve their knowledge of FIH ...

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