Digest

OLYMPICS

HYX renews uniform contract with IOC

Chinese textile company Hengyuanxiang (HYX) will once again be the official supplier of formal uniforms to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members and administration at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina.

The announcement was made on Thursday in Gangwon-do, South Korea, at a meeting attended by Thomas Bach, lOC president, Liu Ruiqi, founder of HYX and Chen Zhongwei, president of HYX.

Hengyuanxiang Group, which was founded in 1927 in Shanghai, is one of the most noted textile companies in China. The group was a supplier to the IOC from 2019 to 2022 and sponsored the Beijing 2008 Olympics and 2022 Winter Olympics. It was a partner of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) from 2009 to 2012, and then a sponsor of the COC from 2013 to 2016.

"We are pleased to be working with HYX and we had a very good experience in Tokyo 2020 and in Beijing 2022. We look forward to wearing the formal uniforms with pride in Paris this year and in Milano Cortina in 2026," said Bach.

"To have the opportunity to provide the formal uniforms to the lOC is a great honor for HYX," said company founder Liu. "We are happy to renew this partnership with the IOC and hope that such cooperation will continue as long as possible."

GOLF

Langer to make final Masters start in April

Twice champion Bernhard Langer will make his final Masters start this April, the German said in an interview on the Golf Channel, which aired on Wednesday.

The 66-year-old, who missed the cut at each of the last three Masters, made his announcement in Hawaii where the PGA Tour Champions season begins this week.

"It's going to be my last Masters this year, I've already decided on that," Langer said in the interview. "And it probably will be my last US Open, too, unless some miracle happens."

Langer has made 40 Masters appearances, and his two triumphs at Augusta National Golf Club highlight a World Golf Hall of Fame career that also includes 10 European Ryder Cup teams and over 60 wins worldwide.

"It's exciting," Langer said of his final Masters start.

"At the same time, I am aware that I'm going to be hitting 3-irons and 2-hybrids when the guys are hitting 9-irons into the green, and that's tough to compete against. But it's a challenge, and I usually don't shy away from challenges."

Langer won his first Green Jacket in 1985.

BASKETBALL

Raptors' Siakam traded to the Pacers

Pascal Siakam is being traded to the Indiana Pacers, a person with knowledge of the agreement told AP on Wednesday. The trade ends Siakam's run of nearly eight years with the Toronto Raptors, during which he was a two-time All-NBA selection, two-time All-Star and part of the team that won the 2019 NBA title.

Siakam is going to Indiana in exchange for three future first-round draft picks and a pair of players with NBA championship rings — guard Bruce Brown and forward Jordan Nwora — said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade is still pending league approval.

The deal is a huge move for Indiana, the NBA's highest-scoring team this season. The Pacers entered Wednesday No 6 in the Eastern Conference and will soon get to pair Siakam alongside All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who is currently out with a hamstring issue.

Siakam is averaging 22.2 points this season, and he has averaged 17.4 points and 6.5 rebounds in his career. He was an All-Star in 2020 and 2023 and was the last starter from Toronto's title team still with the franchise.

SOCCER

Everton, Forest power through off-field woes

Nottingham Forest and Everton shrugged off the threat of a potential Premier League points deduction as they battled into the FA Cup fourth round on Wednesday.

Forest survived a scare to beat third-tier Blackpool 3-2 after extra-time, while Everton was a 1-0 winner against Crystal Palace in another of the night's third-round replays.

It was a welcome tonic for Forest and Everton, who were both referred to an independent commission by the Premier League on Monday after admitting to breaches of financial rules.

The alleged breaches of the league's profitability and sustainability rules relate to the 2022-23 season and could carry a points penalty as punishment.

With Everton and Forest currently embroiled in a relegation battle, that would plunge their top-flight status into severe doubt.

Everton has already been deducted 10 points this season for exceeding the allowable loss thresholds at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Kelce says no decision on retirement yet

Philadelphia's star center Jason Kelce said Wednesday that reports he planned to call time on his 13-year NFL career were premature.

Multiple US media outlets reported on Tuesday that Kelce told teammates in the locker room that he planned to retire, after the Eagles' once-promising season ended in a 32-9 drubbing by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs.

Kelce, the older brother of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, appeared emotional on the field and, unusually for him, declined to speak to reporters after the game.

But in his weekly "New Heights "podcast with his brother, Kelce said the aftermath of such a defeat was not the time to make that kind of decision.

"I just don't think you're in a position after a game like that to really make that decision. I just don't," Kelce said in an episode of the podcast released on Wednesday. "There's too much emotion in the moment. There's too much going down in the moment to really fully grasp that decision."

Agencies