Digest

SOCCER

PSG permanently signs Icardi in discount deal

Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday announced the completion of the permanent signing of former Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi.

The Argentina international forward, who arrived at Parc des Princes on loan in the summer of 2019, penned a four-year contract which will keep him at the Ligue 1 champion until 2024. The transfer fee is reportedly 50 million euros ($56 million) plus 7 million euros in bonuses.

"Paris Saint-Germain are delighted to announce the signing of Mauro Icardi on a permanent deal, following the striker's loan from Inter Milan during the 2019-2020 season," read a PSG statement.

Icardi contributed 20 goals and four assists in 31 appearances for PSG in the 2019-2020 season, which was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic on April 30.

French and Italian media reported that, due to the current economic situation, PSG succeeded in negotiating a significant reduction in the 70 million euros that Inter initially requested.

Superb Sancho keeps Dortmund hopes alive

England winger Jadon Sancho scored a hat-trick and revealed a "Justice for George Floyd" protest message in Borussia Dortmund's 6-1 rout of bottom side Paderborn on Sunday.

The victory saw second-place Dortmund trim Bayern Munich's lead at the top of the Bundesliga to seven points with five games to play.

The 20-year-old Sancho, who has 17 goals and 17 assists in the league this term, joined a host of protests in Germany over the death of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis, which has triggered civil unrest across the United States.

"Delighted to get my first career hat-trick, a bittersweet moment personally as there are more important things going on in the world today that we must address and help make a change," Sancho later wrote on Instagram.

Moroccan Achraf Hakimi also lifted his jersey to deliver the same message as Sancho after scoring Dortmund's fourth goal.

TAEKWONDO

Chief hopeful Asian qualifiers held this year

World Taekwondo president Choue Chung-won expressed hope on Saturday that Asian and European athletes will be able to secure their berths for the postponed Tokyo Olympics this year.

"To our athletes in Asia and Europe, we hope that you will have your chance to qualify this year," Choue said in a message celebrating the 47th anniversary of the founding of World Taekwondo.

Three out of the five continental qualifiers have been completed, with the Asian and European tournaments postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tokyo Games have been delayed until summer 2021.

"We are constantly monitoring the global situation to ensure everyone's safety and well-being and also to ensure fair play," said Choue. "I wish you the very best for your training in whatever safe form you can manage as directed by your coaches and government advice."

BASKETBALL

NBA's Smith beats up alleged truck vandal

Former Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith is seen in a video published by TMZ Sports on Sunday beating up a man that Smith said damaged his truck during Los Angeles protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Smith can be seen violently kicking the man when he is on the ground and punching him when he rises, before the man runs away.

Smith posted his own video online, saying the unidentified man had broken the window of his truck, which Smith said was parked in a residential area and not near any shops where looting took place during the protests.

"I chased him down and whupped his ass," Smith said in a video posted on The Neighborhood Talk Twitter feed. The 34-year-old Smith is a 14-year NBA veteran who played 11 games for the Cavs last season but hasn't been with a team in this campaign, which is currently suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

TENNIS

US Open considers limits on spectators

US Open organizers are considering holding the Grand Slam in front of limited or possibly no fans, local media reported on Saturday.

With the tournament still on schedule, the United States Tennis Association said holding this year's US Open with limited fans or without fans remains a possibility.

"The USTA continues to model many different scenarios regarding the 2020 US Open," said Chris Widmaier, the USTA's head of communications.

"Our top goal is to conduct the US Open in New York in our scheduled dates. To that end, we are modeling many potential scenarios which include both limited fans and potentially no fans on site for the event."

The tournament is scheduled to run from Aug 24 to Sept 13 at Flushing Meadows, and Widmaier says there is a deadline of mid-June to make a decision on whether or how to hold the event.

ICE HOCKEY

NHL planning daily coronavirus tests

With the COVID-19 crisis showing no signs of easing in the United States, the NHL confirmed on Sunday that it will test all the players for the coronavirus on a daily basis if games resume.

"We will have a rigorous daily testing protocol where players are tested every evening and those results are obtained before they would leave their hotel rooms the next morning, so we'll know if we have a positive test and whether the player has to self-quarantine himself as a result of that positive test," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said on Sunday.

"It's expensive, but we think it's really a foundational element of what we're trying to accomplish."

TRACK AND FIELD

Mihambo to team up with legend Lewis

Germany's reigning world long-jump champion Malaika Mihambo plans to move to the United States to be trained by athletics legends Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell.

"I want to develop as an athlete and as a person," Mihambo said on Sunday. "I have the feeling that now is the right time for such a big step.

"Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell, who will be my sprint coach, were among the best in the world for years. I can learn a lot from them, that's irreplaceable."

Mihambo won world gold in Doha in October with a personal best leap of 7.30 meters and was voted her country's athlete of the year in 2019. Only former East German legend Heike Drechsler, who managed 7.48m in 1988, has jumped further for Germany.

Xinhua - Agencies