Novak Djokovic will continue his bid for the Golden Grand Slam after the world No 1 confirmed he will compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
After defending his Wimbledon title last week, Djokovic said his chances of playing at the Olympics were "50-50" following the introduction of new restrictions that would limit athletes' movements around the Olympic Village and restrict the number of people he could have in his team.
However, in a social media post on Thursday night, Djokovic revealed that he is bound for Tokyo as he attempts to keep alive a feat only previously achieved by German great Steffi Graf. The 34-year-old Serb has won the first three majors of the season following titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros. If he wins Olympic gold and the US Open, he will become the first man to win the Golden Grand Slam.
"I am very proud to pack for Tokyo and join our national team in the fight for the brightest medals on the Olympic arenas," tweeted Djokovic, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.
"For me, the game for Serbia has always been a special joy and motivation and I will do my best to make us all happy! Let's go."
Some of tennis' biggest names, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Stan Wawrinka and Simona Halep have already announced their decision to skip the Games, which has been delayed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic
De Minaur out of Games after positive test
Australia's Alex De Minaur is the latest to join that list of absentees after he tested positive for the coronavirus. With the Games set to commence in less than a week, the world No 17 - Australia's top-ranked male - will not have enough time to recover.
The Australian Olympic team’s chef de mission Ian Chesterman told media in Tokyo on Friday that De Minaur was “shattered” over the news.
“We are very disappointed for Alex,” Chesterman said. “It has been his dream to represent Australia at the Olympic Games since he was a child.” De Minaur, Australia’s top-ranked men’s player at No. 17, was scheduled to play both singles and doubles. It was unclear if de Minaur’s doubles partner John Pearce would maintain his spot on the team.
“Alex undertook both the 96-hour and 72-hour PCR test as required by the Japanese authorities and unfortunately both returned a positive result,” the Australian Olympic Committee said in a statement from Sydney. “He was due to fly to Tokyo on July 18 from his base in Spain.
"Alex has not been in contact with other members of the Australian Olympic team since returning a negative test on July 5.”
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Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Company%20profile
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