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Triathlon-Races to go ahead on Wednesday as Seine passes water quality tests

The decision to postpone the men’s race at the last minute on Tuesday had triggered anger among some athletes, Reuters reported.

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Organisers cleared the Olympic women's and men's triathlons to go ahead on Wednesday after the latest Seine river water tests showed lower levels of bacteria, ending days of uncertainty over whether the central Paris swim was viable after heavy rains, Reuters reported.

The men's triathlon had been scheduled to take place on Tuesday but was postponed until Wednesday after the river failed water quality tests.

News that the races would go ahead on Wednesday came as a relief for teams and athletes, as well as for Paris authorities who have promised residents a swimmable Seine as a long-term legacy of the Games, with the triathlon a very public test.

"It is with great joy that we received this news," Benjamin Maze, technical director for France's triathlon federation, told Reuters. "Now that we know we will race, we can mentally switch fully into competition mode."

Fifty-five women representing 34 countries will kick off the contest at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT), with France's Cassandre Beaugrand and Britain's Beth Potter, two of the top contenders for gold, set to dive into the river side by side, read the report.

The men's event will take place at 10:45 a.m., immediately after the women's race.

"The results of the latest water analyses, received at 3.20 a.m., have been assessed as compliant by World Triathlon allowing for the triathlon competitions to take place," Paris 2024 and World Triathlon said in a statement.

Paris has spent 1.4 billion euros ($1.52 billion) of public money on wastewater infrastructure to contain sewage and minimise spillage into the river, and Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip earlier this month in a bid to convince doubters that the water will not make them ill.

The decision to postpone the men's race at the last minute on Tuesday had triggered anger among some athletes, Reuters reported.

"If the priority was the health of the athletes this event would have been moved to another location a long time ago," Belgium's Marten Van Riel wrote on World Triathlon's Instagram page.

"We are just puppets in a puppet show."

The gamble that the river would be clean enough for the triathlon was never guaranteed to pay off as water quality varies widely day-to-day, with rainfall causing concentrations of infection-causing bacteria like E. coli to rise.

Wednesday's races were given the green light despite rain overnight and forecasts for showers around midday which could hit towards the end of the men's event.

Organisers make the call based on analysis of river samples taken the previous day at 5 a.m. combined with a discussion between experts on overnight weather, according to Paris 2024.

 

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Afghanistan raring to go ahead of Futsal World Cup match against Angola

Twenty-four teams will take part in the tournament, with Afghanistan, Tajikistan, New Zealand and France making their debut

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September 15, 2024

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Afghanistan will meet Angola later Sunday, September 15, in their first FIFA Futsal World Cup match in Uzbekistan.

The match will kick off at 4.30pm and will be broadcast live on Ariana Television. 

Players have spent the past week in practise, preparing for their matches, and said Saturday they are well prepared for their debut at this year’s Futsal World Cup. 

The World Cup got underway on Saturday, September 14, in Uzbekistan. 

Twenty-four teams will take part in the tournament, with Afghanistan, Tajikistan, New Zealand and France making their debut and Portugal defending the title they won three years ago in Lithuania.

The first-ever FIFA tournament in Central Asia kicked off on 14 September in Bukhara and the capital, Tashkent. The eastern city of Andijan will complete the trio of venues for the 24-team competition. 

The 2024 edition will be the tenth in the history of the FIFA Futsal World Cup and will run until October 6.

Uzbekistan will be joined in the competition by four former champions - Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and Spain - and four debutantes: Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan. 

Angola, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Guatemala, Iran, Kazakhstan, Libya, Morocco, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Thailand, Ukraine and Venezuela complete the line-up after successfully completing the 121-team qualifying process.

 

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Rashid returns as Afghanistan call up fresh faces for South Africa ODIs

Gulbadin Naib, and Mohammad Nabi also feature in an heavily experienced squad. However, injuries to a couple of known faces has paved a way for the addition of two young contenders.

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September 13, 2024

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Afghanistan have announced a 17-member squad for three-game ODI series against South Africa.

Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead Afghanistan in their historic bilateral ODI series against South Africa, while Rahmat Shah will be his deputy. The side also sees the return of Rashid Khan, who missed their previous ODI series against Ireland because of an injury.

Gulbadin Naib, and Mohammad Nabi also feature in an heavily experienced squad. However, injuries to a couple of known faces has paved a way for the addition of two young contenders.

Afghanistan will be without the services of Ibrahim Zadran, who was ruled out due to an ankle sprain, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is yet to recover from a right phalanx sprain. This opens up doors for Abdul Malik, the talented right-handed top-order batter who recently impressed in the domestic List A competition, and Darwish Rasooli, another top-order option with the experience of seven T20Is to his name.

Afghanistan Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

“Hosting South Africa for the first time in our cricketing history is a huge milestone for Afghanistan Cricket," ACB CEO Mr. Naseeb Khan said. "They are a top-quality side, and playing against them in an ODI series is something we are all excited about.

"Our team has shown great performances in ICC events over the past two-three years, and we are focused on making our team equally competitive in bilateral cricket."

This ODI series will be the first meeting between Afghanistan and South Africa outside of ICC tournaments, with all three games set to be hosted by ACB at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

The teams last met at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, where the Proteas overcame Afghanistan in the semi-finals with ease.

 

ODI Series Schedule:

 

Wednesday, 18 September

1st ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE

 

Friday, 20 September

2nd ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE

 

Sunday, 22 September

3rd ODI, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE

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Afghanistan v NZ test abandoned without a ball bowled

Afghanistan will play their first of the three-match ODI series against South Africa on Wednesday.

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2 days ago

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September 13, 2024

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Afghanistan's one-off test against New Zealand became just the eighth match in the format's history to be abandoned without a ball being bowled after rain washed out the fifth and final day in India's Greater Noida region on Friday.

The first ever test scheduled between the sides looked doomed from the start due to steady rain for over two weeks in the region. It was also the first test to be scheduled at the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sport Complex near Delhi.

Afghanistan will play their first of the three-match ODI series against South Africa on Wednesday.

New Zealand will fly to Sri Lanka on Saturday for a two-test series in Galle from the same day.

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