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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday February 19, 2016
Keino urges Kenya government to act urgently
(REUTERS) - The chairman of Kenya’s national Olympic committee has urged the country’s government to act urgently to stave off the threat of an Olympic ban because of its doping record. International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) president Sebastian Coe warned Kenya yesterday that it faced a ban from the Games if the World Anti-Doping Agency was to declare it non-compliant.
More than 40 Kenyan athletes have been banned for doping in the past three years, casting a shadow over its achievements in track and field events. But Kip Keino, the former Olympic gold medallist who heads Kenya’s Olympic committee, says the nation’s athletes need the government to create the legislative framework to enable Kenyan sport to clean up its act. “It is (for) the gov-
Head of Kenya’s Olympics committee, Kipchoge Keino
ernment to act and see what they can do regarding this matter,” he told reporters. “This is the IAAF Ethics Commission work. They reckon we are too slow. We will do our best. We will put our heads together with the government and (anti-doping agency) ADAK and AK (Athletics Kenya). “But government must do the donkey work. (It) must take the draft bill to cabinet and be enacted. We are too slow.”
Pacquiao still looks set to win senatorship
(REUTERS) - For all the criticism over his anti-gay comment and the loss of a lucrative endorsement deal with Nike Inc., Philippines world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao still looks set to win election to the country’s senate in May, according to political analysts. Nike, the world’s largest sportswear maker, cancelled its contract on Wednesday with the 37-year-old boxer-turned-politician, who has been the world champion in eight different weight divisions, after he described gays as “worse than animals”. But voters in the mostly
Manny Pacquiao (R) of the Philippines fights Antonio Margarito of Mexico.
Malinga, Mathews return to Sri Lanka squad for World T20
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga has recovered from a knee injury and will lead the defending champions at next month’s World Twenty20 in India, the country’s cricket board said yesterday. Regular T20 captain Malinga sustained the injury during Sri Lanka’s home series against West Indies last year and missed the team’s tour of New Zealand and India, where Dinesh Chandimal deputised as skipper. Also returning to the 15-man squad, which will also take part in the
Lasith Malinga upcoming Asia Cup tournament before the March 8-April 3 World Twenty20, was all-rounder Angelo Mathews. Malinga and Mathews, who was suffering from a groin strain, missed their
recent three-match T20 series in India. Experienced seamer Nuwan Kulasekara and wily left-arm spinner Rangana Herath were also named in the squad after missing the series against
India, whom Sri Lanka defeated in the final to win the World Twenty20 in 2014. Sri Lanka are in Group 1 in the Super10 stage of the biennial event along with England, South Africa, West Indies and a yet-to-be-determined qualifier. Squad: Lasith Malinga (captain), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Niroshan Dickwella, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milinda Siriwardana, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dushmantha Chameera, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Jeffrey Vandersay.
Catholic Philippines appear unready to abandon support for the country’s biggest sporting hero, who is running for one of 12 vacant senatorial seats up for grabs in the May 9 election. The fighter has apologised for the comments, and analysts reckoned the controversy has caused limited damage to his campaign. “Pacquiao has clearly offended the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community with his comments on same-sex marriage, but this group represents a minority and this will not affect the boxer’s popularity among the voters,” Benito Lim, political science professor at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, told Reuters. “He may still win in the elections.” Many ordinary Filipinos believe Pacquiao made a mistake in his remarks on same-sex marriage because he hurt some sensibilities. Many are more interested in what happens in April, when Pacquiao tries to win back the WBO welterweight title he lost last year to Floyd Mayweather. Billed as his final fight, Pacquiao is going up against American Timothy Bradley. “The criticism against Pacquiao has no effect on us,” said Annabelle Magsipoc, a government employee, told Reuters Television, adding that the boxer retains popular support in the community. “Actually, many people
really wanted to say what Pacquiao said about samesex marriage, but some people are trying to make this an election issue,” she said. Independent opinion polls showed Pacquiao, a two-term congressman, consistently ranked eighth with 35 percent support in a field of four dozen candidates vying for one of the 12 vacant seats in the upper house of Congress. Gay and lesbian groups have called on Filipinos not to vote for the boxing icon for his television comment on same-sex marriage, almost a repeat of what had happened in 2012 when he quoted from the Bible to warn against homosexual activities. Same-sex marriage is not allowed in the Philippines where more than 80 percent of the 100 million population are Roman Catholic. Pacquiao has converted from being a Roman Catholic to a more conservative evangelical Protestant, voting against bills in the lower house of Congress on divorce, same-sex marriage and birth control through use of artificial contraceptives. Ramon Casiple of the Institute of Political and Electoral Reforms said it is too early to say if the latest controversy will hamper Pacquiao’s chances of becoming a senator. “He stirred up a hornet’s nest, so there’s danger that he could lose support, but, so far, we don’t see any indication of that.”