Sport

Roeiseland romps to third gold, Odermatt bags giant slalom win

Published

4 years ago

February 13, 2022

Another near-perfect shooting performance gave Marte Olsbu Roieseland of Norway her third gold medal of the Beijing Olympics when she cruised to victory in the women’s 10 km pursuit race on Sunday.

Swedish prodigy Elvira Oeberg took her second Olympic silver medal in 48 hours with Roieseland’s team mate Tiril Eckhoff taking the bronze.

A thick layer of fresh snow covered much of the man-made course as the race got underway, making the going heavy and punishing those who missed shots and had to endure a penalty loop of 150 metres.

A miss by Oeberg allowed Dorothea Wierer to slide into second place early on but the Italian was unable to exploit a miss by the Norwegian leader at the third shoot, missing two of her own five shots to fall more than a minute-and-a-half behind during the fourth lap.

With her biggest rivals struggling, Roieseland flashed off her last five shots in perfect fashion before skiing away from the range, safe in the knowledge that only a broken pole or ski might keep her from gold.

Behind her the battle for silver gathered pace as the rest of the pack followed Wierer on to the range, with the 22-year-old Oeberg making a stunning comeback to retake second place ahead of the final lap.

Norway’s Ingrid Tandrevold was hot on her heels as the two exited the final shoot, but Oeberg quickly dropped her to secure the silver medal, her second at the Games after second place in Friday’s (February 11) sprint.

Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt won the gold medal in the men’s giant slalom, holding his nerve to fend off a superb effort from Zan Kranjec of Slovenia.

Odermatt finished with a combined time of 2:09:35, putting him 0.19 seconds ahead of runner-up Kranjec with France’s Mathieu Faivre taking bronze.

The first run had taken place in driving snow with poor visibility but the decision to delay the second run by 75 minutes paid off, with better conditions producing a thrilling battle.

Kranjec produced a magnificent second run – the fastest of the field – to put himself top of the podium and then stood and watched as several challengers slipped out of contention.

Odermatt had to keep his cool on the second run and he did just that with his smooth, classic technique delivering a time of 1:06:42, which was 0.59 slower than Kranjec’s second effort but just enough to secure him his first Olympic medal.

The team representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) made the most of a big lead built up in the first half of the race to storm to victory in a punishing men’s 4×10 km relay.

The ROC team finished one minute 7.2 seconds ahead of the Norwegian team, with France picked up a superb bronze medal after a dogged display, 9.2 seconds after Norway.

Just as their victorious women’s team did on Saturday (February 12), the Russians made an early break as lead man Alexey Chervotkin accelerated in the middle of his second lap, building up a lead of more than 12 seconds to the chasing pack by the halfway point of his leg.

By the time he handed over to Alexander Bolshunov, who won gold in last week’s skiathlon and silver in the 15-km classic, the race was all but over and Bolshunov continued to set a searing pace as the ROC team eased to victory.

Kaillie Humphries of the United States led at the halfway mark of the Olympic’s first ever monobob event, with the two-time gold medallist opening up a yawning 1.04 second gap between her and Canada’s Christine de Bruin in second.

Monobob is one of seven new events at the Beijing Games and the only one exclusively for women, with drivers pushing a 130-kg (286 lb) sled as fast as they can before jumping in and barrelling down an icetrack at speeds up to 120 kph (75 mph).

As the reigning World Cup champion in both the monobob and two-woman bobsleigh events, she was favourite going into the race.

Germany’s Laura Nolte was 1.22 seconds behind the leader in third, still in with a chance of making it seven sliding golds out of seven for her country.

The Swiss women’s curling team improved to a 5-0 record in the round robin phase of the tournament following an 8-4 victory over Canada.

Switzerland sit top ahead of Japan, while Great Britain sit tied for third with three wins from five matches following their 7-2 win against Denmark.

In the men’s tournament, Sweden maintained their 100% record after five matches after claiming a tight 6-4 win over Norway, while Canada saw off North American rivals the United States 10-5.

Related Topics:Beijing Winter Games featured Winter Olympics

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Sport

ILT20: Nissanka fires Gulf Giants to four-wicket win over Dubai Capitals

Azmatullah Omarzai dented the innings at crucial moments, finishing with 3/46 and tightening his grip on the White Belt for leading wicket-taker.

Published

7 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Ariana News

Pathum Nissanka produced his second consecutive half-century of the season on Saturday to guide Gulf Giants to a convincing four-wicket victory over Dubai Capitals, taking them to the top of the DP World ILT20 Season 4 standings.

Nissanka smashed 67 off just 31 deliveries in a dominant display that included six fours and five sixes. His 97-run stand with James Vince (50* off 45) proved decisive in the Giants’ chase of 161, which they completed with seven balls to spare at Dubai International Stadium.

Earlier, the Capitals posted 160/6 thanks to useful contributions from Sediqullah Atal (35), David Willey (29) and Jordan Cox (31). Captain Dasun Shanaka added late impetus with an unbeaten 23 off 9 balls, including two sixes in the final over.

But Azmatullah Omarzai dented the innings at crucial moments, finishing with 3/46 and tightening his grip on the White Belt for leading wicket-taker.

The Giants’ reply wobbled briefly after the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (9) but Nissanka took charge, hammering James Neesham for three sixes in the fourth over as the Giants cruised to 60/1 by the end of the powerplay. He reached his half-century in just 23 balls.

Mustafizur Rahman and Shanaka struck in back-to-back overs to remove Nissanka and Moeen Ali, but Vince held the chase together with a composed knock. Cameos from Omarzai (14 off 12) and Tom Moores (13 off 8) ensured the required rate never spiralled out of reach, and Vince sealed victory with a well-paced fifty.

In the first innings, after Omarzai removed Shayan Jahangir early, Atal and Willey stabilised the Capitals with a 61-run partnership. But the middle overs proved costly, producing only 18 runs between the 10th and 14th overs as wickets fell to Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson and Aayan Afzal Khan. Cox and Neesham revived the innings before Omarzai returned to snuff out the momentum by dismissing Cox and Rovman Powell in the 18th over.

Speaking after the match, Giants captain Moeen Ali praised his side’s all-round display: “Getting the points while knowing we can still play better is a good sign. We squeezed them well in the middle with the ball. Nissanka is a brilliant player, and Vince controlled the chase perfectly.”

Dubai Capitals skipper Dasun Shanaka admitted his team lost control through the middle overs: “Nissanka is in the form of his life — small guy, massive hitting. We lacked intent in the middle period. We waited too long to rotate strike. Powell and I probably should have gone earlier.”

Brief Scores:

Gulf Giants beat Dubai Capitals by 4 wickets

Dubai Capitals 160/6 (20 overs): Sediqullah Atal 35, Jordan Cox 31, David Willey 29, Dasun Shanaka 23*; Azmatullah Omarzai 3/46, Aayan Afzal Khan 1/3, Moeen Ali 1/23

Gulf Giants 161/6 (18.5 overs): Pathum Nissanka 67, James Vince 50*, Azmatullah Omarzai 14; Dasun Shanaka 2/16, Mustafizur Rahman 2/26

Player of the Match: Pathum Nissanka

Sport

Sorkh Poshan Khafi and Sarafan Herat edge out 1-0 wins in ACL

Published

24 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Ariana News

In the 27th match of the fifth season of the Afghanistan Champions League, Sorkh Poshan Khafi edged out Arman FC 1-0 in a tightly contested clash.

On Saturday, Sarafan Herat secured a 1-0 victory over Ettifaq Khanzadah, keeping the league race intense and unpredictable.

Looking ahead to Monday, Sarsabz Yashlar will face Sorkh Poshan Khafi at 2:00 p.m., promising another thrilling showdown for fans.

All matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television, allowing football enthusiasts across Afghanistan to follow the action and enjoy the excitement of the Champions League season.

Sport

FIFA confirms all 12 groups for 2026 World Cup

Published

1 day ago

December 6, 2025

Ariana News

The groups and match-ups for the FIFA World Cup 2026, set to be the biggest sporting event in history, were unveiled on Friday during a high-profile Final Draw ceremony held in the United States capital, Washington DC.

In front of nearly 2,000 international guests and millions of viewers worldwide, FIFA revealed the 12 groups of four teams for the expanded 23rd edition of the tournament. The draw marks a major milestone as excitement continues to build across the three host nations — the United States, Canada, and Mexico — and the 16 host cities preparing for the event.

FIFA announced that the full schedule, including match venues and kick-off times for the tournament’s 104 games, will be released during a live global broadcast on Saturday, 6 December.

With nearly two million tickets already sold, FIFA says anticipation for the 2026 World Cup is rapidly rising.

There are 48 teams in next year’s World Cup — an expansion from the 32 teams of previous tournaments.