Here are the top stories of April 9, 2020.
In Thursday's top Sports News (April 9, 2020), countries around the globe continue to be under lockdown due to the outbreak of coronavirus. All sporting events have yet begun as many tournaments have been postponed to a future date like the Olympics 2020.
As for India, sports personalities have started donating to the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) Fund to help curb the spread of coronavirus.
Let's take a look at the top five Sports news in detail below:
1. Former Italian Olympian Donato Sabia passes away due to COVID-19
Donato Sabia, twice Olympic 800 metres finalist died from COVID-19 at the age of 56, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said on Wednesday.
Sabia had been in the intensive care unit of the San Carlo hospital on Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, for "a few days," CONI said in a statement.
2. 'Chatty, being pretty average people': Umpire Ian Gould on Australian team's behaviour before ball-tampering incident
When talks about the Australia cricket team, the one thing that comes to mind is the on-field banter and sledging that take place. The players were known to be vocal on the field.
However, post the ball-tampering incident in South Africa, things changed. Former ICC Elite Panel umpire Ian Gould recalled the 2018 sandpaper scandal and said that the Australian team was out of control two-three years before the incident took place.
3. 'Shoaib Akhtar's statement is comic': Rajeev Shukla on having India-Pakistan series for raising funds to fight COVID-19
Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajeev Shukla commented on former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar's proposal of conducting a series between India and Pakistan to raise funds for the fight against coronavirus pandemic.
Rajeev Shukla on Thursday termed the pacer's statement as 'comic'.
4. 'Who was going easy on Virat Kohli? We wanted to win for Australia': Tim Paine responds to Michael Clarke's remarks
After former Australian captain, Michael Clarke stated that the team did not want to provoke Virat Kohli, current Test skipper Tim Paine on Thursday rejected the claim. According to Paine, provoking the Indian captain produces the best out of him.
"I certainly didn't notice too many people being that nice to Virat or not trying to get him out or anything like that. I thought everyone who had the ball in their hand or when we were batting were trying their absolute best to win the game for Australia," ESPNcricinfo quoted Paine.
5. PCB to conduct fitness tests including push-ups, sprints, ‘Yo-Yo’ test via video link
With everyone under lockdown due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Pakistan Cricket Board said they will conduct fitness tests for over 200 of its players via video link. The drills will include push-ups, sprints, burpees and the ‘Yo-Yo’ test.
The tests will be to keep the contracted players in peak physical condition in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The test will be conducted on April 20 and 21, ESPNCricinfo reported.
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 "Top sports news of the day | April 9")
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