The Fiji Times

LeBron James lifts Lakers to NBA Finals

LeBron James is going to a 10th NBA Finals – and for the first time in a decade, so are the Los Angeles Lakers. James punctuated his 27th post-season triple-double with a big fourth quarter, powering the Lakers to a 117-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night (Sunday NZT) to win the Western...

Squash Business House League round two

Sixteen teams will contest for the Squash Business House League title which enters its second round today. Eight teams in group one will take part in today’s round with group two to contest on Wednesday. McDonald’s Fiji are the current champions. Monday night draws: Victoria Club 6pm: Sisters & Farmers vs PWC, Kooline vs BSP...

‘Demolition of the year’: Dana White labels Adesanya the next big superstar of UFC

So much is changing in the sporting landscape of 2020, but in the UFC two things are staying very much the same. Israel Adesanya keeps winning and UFC president Dana White continues to talk up his middleweight champion as being on the way to becoming the face of the world’s biggest MMA promotion. Adesanya, who fights out of famed...

Suva volleyball gains momentum

The Suva Volleyball Association continued its third round of friendly games as a build-up continued to its first knockout tournament next month. Games commissioner Iliesa Raketekete said competition was running smoothly as teams tested each other and looked for game time. “We have a lot of youth teams, and competition has been great,” Raketekete said....

‘Fight for survival’

In the past two weeks, Fiji’s ‘Golden Boy’ Sakaraia Ve reminisced on his heydays, especially in one of his biggest and toughest fights. It was against Jone Mataitini on March 2, 1978 in Suva. They fought for the Commonwealth (British Empire) Welterweight belt. Ve said this was one of his toughest fights. There were busloads...

Pineapple Cup to crown new men’s singles champion

A new Pineapple Cup men’s singles champion will be crowned at the Suva Bowling Club at this year’s tournament. Defending champion and Pacific Games gold medalist Semesa Naiseruvati lost to Curtis Mar earlier today knocking him out of the tournament. In the ladies singles category defending champion Sheryl Edwards looked set to defend her title...

Coates to announce framework for Tokyo 2020 following virtual meeting of IOC Coordination Commission

TOKYO, 25 SEPTEMBER 2020 (INSIDE THE GAMES)—International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission chair John Coates is expected to announce the framework for next year’s Olympics and Paralympic Games in Tokyo following virtual meetings tomorrow and Friday (September 25). As reported by Japan Times, the IOC vice-president is due to set out the new framework for...

U.S. sports figures decry ruling in Breonna Taylor shooting

(Reuters) – Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James headlined those from the sporting world who spoke out on Wednesday after police officers were cleared of criminal charges in the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker killed in her Louisville apartment. Two white policemen who fired into the apartment in March will not be prosecuted...

Japan to require COVID tests for athletes, but may not mandate quarantine

TOKYO (Reuters) – Organisers of next year’s delayed Tokyo Olympics will require coronavirus tests of foreign athletes upon their arrival in Japan, but may not mandate a two-week quarantine period, according to draft measures released on Wednesday. Japanese athletes and other participants living in Japan would face similar requirements when travelling to training camps and...

Former Olympian becomes a winner on the sidelines

Injury cut short two-time Olympian Kim Mickle’s footy career in Freemantle but a switch to coaching in Christchurch made her an instant winner. The former Olympic javelin thrower became the first female head coach of the Christchurch Bulldogs men’s Australian Football League (AFL) team when she joined the side in serendipitous circumstances. The Bulldogs won...

Woods to defend Zozo Championship title next month

(Reuters) – Tiger Woods will defend his Zozo Championship title next month at Sherwood Country Club in California, the PGA Tour said on Wednesday. The 78-player tournament, which will be held Oct. 22-25, was relocated to California this year from Japan due to logistical issues caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. “It is disappointing that we...

Pineapple Cup to enter 92nd year of competition

The esteemed Pineapple Cup bowling tournament enters its 92-year of competition this weekend. A competition that was first played in 1928, committee member Phillip Lacey said they were looking forward to a great two days of bowling at the Suva Bowling Club. “We usually have two full greens going and a lot of people show...

Tour de France team under investigation over alleged doping

A day after the end of the three-week Tour in Paris, Arkea-Samsic said in a statement that the team itself, the manager and staff have not been accused of wrongdoing after sports newspaper L’Equipe said gendarmes from the OCLAESP led a search on Thursday in Meribel, in the Savoie region, at the team hotel. The squad confirmed...

Special kids day out

Special Olympics Fiji hosted its first event of the year after a post COVID-19 tournament with their Traditional and Unified Netball and Football tournament at the FMF Gymnasium in Suva yesterday. Hosting 14 teams from around the country, Special Olympics Fiji football coordinator Nischal Karan said winning was not key at this year’s tournament, but...

Lauren Bruce nails national record in hammer, closes in on Olympics spot

It takes a lot to impress athletics super coach Dale Stevenson who tracks the progress of Kiwi shot put great Tom Walsh on a daily basis. But Lauren Bruce achieved that in a performance that puts the young Cantab within touching distance of the Tokyo Olympics. Bruce produced the standout showing of Athletics New Zealand’s...

Halep to meet Pliskova in Italian Open title clash

ROME (Reuters) – Top seed Simona Halep overcame Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 6-3 4-6 6-4 on Sunday to reach the Italian Open final and stay on course for her third straight WTA title. Halep, who skipped the U.S. Open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, won the Dubai title before the Tour was suspended and lifted the Prague...

Five players out of French Open qualifying due to COVID-19

(Reuters) – Five players have been withdrawn from the French Open qualifying tournament after two players and a coach tested positive for COVID-19, organisers have said. The qualifiers will begin later on Monday, with the main draw set to commence on Sept. 27. “The Roland Garros tournament directors can confirm that two players competing in...

Other Sports

Naiseruvati loses, new winner of Pineapple Cup