Curling: Women's world champs kick off in Beijing
China vs Canada at the 2017 Women's Curling World Championship, in Beijing on March 18, 2017. /CFP
The World Women’s Curling Championship got underway in Beijing on Saturday. In all, 12 teams, including defending champions Switzerland, are competing in the week-long tournament. A year ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, China has high hopes for its female curlers, with Wang Bingyu and Zhou Yan, both part of the 2009 world championship winning team, returning to the national side. Last month, they already led China to gold at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan. China however got off to a poor start in Beijing, losing its first three games.
Tennis: Federer in historic Indian Wells win
Roger Federer of Switzerland serves to Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during the men's final of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 19, 2017 in Indian Wells, California. /CFP Photo
Tennis star Roger Federer showed his top form after a six-month injury break last year was nowhere near waning on Sunday, winning in Indian Wells, two months after he grabbed his 18th Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open. Federer beat Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss final 6-4, 7-5 and at 35, became the oldest player to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, his 25th. On the women’s side, Russia’s Elena Vesnina beat compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 in a three-hour marathon final in the Californian desert, to win her biggest title yet.
Alpine skiing: Hirscher, Shiffrin reign supreme in World Cup
Marcel Hirscher of Austria and Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States celebrate with the crystal globes for overall season men's and ladies' champion at the 2017 Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals in Aspen, Colorado on March 19, 2017. /CFP Photo
The alpine skiing World Cup season came to a close on Sunday after a week of final races in Aspen, Colorado. Austrian ski star Marcel Hirscher and US slalom princess Mikaela Shiffrin crushed the competition to finish top of the overall World Cup rankings. This was the first overall crystal globe for 22-year-old Olympic champion Shiffrin and a record sixth straight for Hirscher. The two aces also took the crystal globes in slalom - and Hirscher added the giant slalom trophy to that - to match their world championship gold medals from last month.
Badminton: China to host major events in 2018, 2019
Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-ying at the 2016 BWF Super Series Finals women's singles finals in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on December 18, 2016. /CFP Photo
Chinese badminton fans will get to see top-level competitions up close as major events will be held in Chinese cities over the next two years. Nanjing will host next year’s World Championships, while the southern city of Nanning will get to stage the 2019 Sudirman Cup, the Badminton World Federation announced on Saturday. The BWF also unveiled Sunday a new tour series in an effort to boost the sport’s popularity and attract more TV coverage. Starting next year, it will feature six levels of events and US$1 million in prize money in the top-tier. The end-of-season finale will be played in China, the BWF said.
Special Olympics: Athletes with disabilities in spotlight
The delegation of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco arrive during the opening ceremony of the "Special Olympics World Winter Games 2017" in Schladming, Austria, on March 18, 2017. /CFP Photo
The 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games kicked off in the Austrian alpine resort of Schladming on Tuesday. Over 100 teams from Algeria to Chile, Tajikistan, Bangladesh and Namibia are taking part in the two-week competition, which brings together some 2,600 athletes with intellectual disabilities, competing in snowboarding, snowshoeing, figure skating and floor hockey, among other disciplines. China has sent a 109-member delegation, including 69 athletes who will compete in five sports at the Special Olympics.
