30 Sep 2020

Today's sports news: What you need to know

11:28 am on 30 September 2020

Latest - Sailors Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox have been named in the New Zealand Team for next year's Tokyo Olympic Games, where they will compete in the men's 470.

Sailors Paul Snow-Hansen and Dan Willcox have been named in the New Zealand Team for next year's Tokyo Olympic Games, where they will compete in the men's 470.

The pair are the first athletes selected to the New Zealand Team since Covid-19 forced the postponement of this year's Olympics.

Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox will compete in the 470 class in Tokyo next year.

Paul Snow-Hansen and Daniel Willcox will compete in the 470 class in Tokyo next year. Photo: Photosport

The Games now scheduled to take place from July 23rd to August 8th next year.

Snow-Hansen has competed at two previous Olymics while Toky will be Willcox's second.

"In a year with so much uncertainty, it's awesome to have that confirmation which will allow us to focus on the Games and our goal of winning a medal for New Zealand," Snow-Hansen said.

Snow-Hansen was fifth in the men's 470 at the 2012 London Olympics with Jason Saunders before teaming up with Willcox in 2013 and going on to finish 10th in Rio in 2016.

The pair are presently fourth in the men's 470 world rankings and are former 470 world championship silver medallists and last year won the World Cup Series regatta in Genoa.

Williamson in IPL form

The return of Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson has helped the Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first win in the Indian Premier League.

Kane Williamson (c) of Sunrisers Hyderabad during match 8 of the Vivo Indian Premier League Season 12, 2019 between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Rajasthan Royals held at the  Rajiv Gandhi Intl. Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on the 29th  March 2019

Photo by: Faheem Hussain /SPORTZPICS for BCCI

Photo: Photosport Ltd 2019

Williamson, who has missed the start of the season in the UAE because of injury, scored 41 as they beat the Delhi Capitals by 15 runs.

Hyderabad scored 147 for 7 with Jonny Bairstow top scoring with 53.

In reply Rashid Khan took three wickets for 14 runs as Delhi were restricted to 147 for 7.

It is Delhi's first loss from three games.

Sitak beaten in first round

Artem Sitak's hopes for a deep run at the French tennis Open have evaporated in the first round in Paris.

The New Zealand doubles player and his Slovakian partner Igor Zelenay have been beaten in three sets by the unseeded Argentine pair of Federico Coria and Diego Schwartzman.

Marcus Daniell and his Austrian partner Philipp Oswald get their campaign underway on Thursday morning against 7th seeds and US Open champions Croatian Mate Pavic and Brazil's Bruno Soares.

Michael Venus is the third New Zealander in the doubles and he and Australian John Peers, the 11th seeds, are due to play on Friday morning.

NZ cyclist in action again

No rest for New Zealand cyclists Mikayla Harvey and Niamh Fisher-Black in Europe.

Having just completed the Giro Rosa Tour of Italy and the World Road Championships, the pair will lineup for their Swiss team Equipe Paule Ka in the first of a series of one day races tonight.

The pair will compete in the 124km ride in the Ardennes in Belgium.

World champion Anna van der Breggen of the Netherlands is favourite for the series.

La Flèche Wallonne is the oldest of the three one-day races that form the women's Ardennes Classics triple crown.

Perry to miss rest of series against White Ferns

Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry has been ruled out of the remaining limited overs series against New Zealand after re-injuring her hamstring.

Australia's Ellyse Perry celebrates her century.

Australia's Ellyse Perry celebrates her century. Photo: Photosport

Perry, who tore her right hamstring during the Women's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia earlier this year, had hoped to resume against New Zealand but aggravated the injury during training.

Australia won the opening two T20s at Allan Border Field in Brisbane and will look to sweep the three-match series today.

Australia captain Meg Lanning said Perry would also miss the three ODIs against New Zealand starting on Saturday but hoped she would be fit for the domestic Women's Big Bash League, which starts in late-October.

"Unfortunately she had some hamstring awareness and has got a low grade strain, so she won't be available for the rest of this series," Lanning said.

"It's really important to get it right and take the time before we do put her out on the field. Hopefully it's sooner rather than later, but we'll just have to see how it pans out."

-Reuters

Schumacher to practice with Alfa Romeo

Mick Schumacher will take part in first Friday practice with Alfa Romeo at the Nuerburgring next week as Ferrari seek to give their three leading junior drivers Formula One race weekend experience.

Mick Schumacher

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Britain's Callum Ilott will take part in the same session with the Ferrari-powered Haas team while Russian Robert Shwartzman will get his chance on the final Friday of the season in Abu Dhabi with Haas or Alfa.

Schumacher, son of Ferrari great and seven-times world champion Michael, is leading the Formula Two standings ahead of the Eifel Grand Prix weekend at the German circuit.

Ferrari-powered Alfa Romeo and Haas both have potential vacancies for 2021.

Mick Schumacher has won two races in F2 this season and leads Ilott by 22 points. Shwartzman, a rookie in the series, is fifth in the standings but has won three races.

-Reuters

Kearney joins Force

Former Ireland and Leinster rugby fullback Rob Kearney has joined the Western Force on a one-year contract.

The 34-year-old played 15 seasons for Leinster during which he won four European Champions Cups, one Challenge Cup and six Pro14 titles.

Kearney made the last of his 219 Leinster appearances in the Pro14 victory over Ulster at the Aviva Stadium in August.

The Western Force lost each of their eight matches in Super Rugby AU, the competition organised to fill the void left by the abandonment of this year's Super Rugby championship.

-Reuters