Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/709569
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 31 JULY 2016 49 HAVING already had two quota places removed for previous dop- ing violations, the IWF ruled that the remaining eight Rus- sians would also not be allowed to compete in Rio following the reanalysis of samples from the Beijing and London Games. Aside from athletics, where all bar Florida-based Darya Klishina have been banned from compet- ing at Rio, weightlifting is the only other sport to exclude all Russians after each individual governing body was asked to make a call on a sport-by-sport basis. "The integrity of the weightlift- ing sport has been seriously dam- aged on multiple times and levels by the Russians, therefore an ap- propriate sanction was applied in order to preserve the status of the sport," said an IWF statement. The decision has been made less than 10 days before the weight- lifting commences in Rio and the IWF insist they adopted their strong stance following a series of suspicious test results which emerged from the previous two Games. "We would like to highlight the extremely shocking and disap- pointing statistics regarding the Russian weightlifters," they said. "As of today there are seven con- firmed AAFs (adverse analytical findings) for Russian weightlift- ers from the combined reanalysis process of London and Beijing, while the second wave of Beijing reanalysis is not yet in a stage when the names and countries in- volved can be publicly disclosed." Team GB will have two weight- lifters in Rio, 17-year-old Rebekah Tiler and Sonny Webster, and the latter insisted on Friday that anyone who has tested positive in the past should not be allowed to compete at the Olympics. Speaking just hours before the IWF's decision was announced, he said: "My personal opinion is if anyone has served a drug ban in any sport, they shouldn't have the right to be able to compete in the greatest show on earth. "It's a real privilege to be able to call yourself an Olympian and represent your country. They shouldn't be allowed. "The sport in total is getting cleaner, they're catching people and in 10 years' time hopefully we'll have a clean, level playing field. "I've won medals because peo- ple have been banned and I know some people after the recent tests have been moved from fourth to gold. I feel sorry for those people that haven't had that chance to hear their national anthem and be on that podium where they be- long, deserve to be. "I just hope the sport will clean up and people will be able to enjoy that moment they deserve because it's a lot of hard work." Russians hoping to compete in the boxing, golf, gymnastics, handball and taekwondo are still waiting to hear from the respec- tive federations on whether they will be banned or not. However, three table-tennis players from the country, Polina Mikhailova, Maria Dolgikh and Alexander Shibaev, have now been told they can participate by the The International Table Ten- nis Federation. And though 11 Russian box- ers could be allowed to compete alongside the dozen-strong Brit- ish team out in Brazil, Nicola Ad- ams and others are not allowing the uncertainty to disrupt their preparations. "The AIBA and the IOC are do- ing their job to make sure anybody participating will be clean," she said. "They are doing their job and it's important I stick to mine, fo- cus on getting ready and winning those gold medals. Sport OLYMPICS TENNIS Join a Full-Time ITS Course! A streamlined path A streamlined path to a professional qualification to a professional qualification Theory & Hands-On Tuition Hands-On Tuition Theory & Hands-On Tuition Theory & Learn from industry Learn from industry professionals professionals Benefit from Benefit from Local & International internships Local & International internships At the Institute of Tourism Studies you will embark on a study path that allows you to become a qualified professional in the tourism and hospitality industry of tomorrow. This is what our partners in the industry are looking for and what will allow you to make of your passion a career. Hand in hand with local and international industry leaders you have the opportunity to excel. f \instituteoftourismstudies INSTITUTE OF TOURISM STUDIES registrar.its@gov.mt +356 23793 231/232 (Malta) + 356 22507 800 (Gozo) SCAN HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PROSPECTUS 16/17 Application forms can be submitted as follows: Monday 25th July 2016 to Friday 5th August 2016 Dates: ITS Main Campus, St George's Bay, St Julians, Malta ITS Gozo Campus, Triq l-Isqof Buttigieg, Qala, Gozo Venues: 08:00 to 13:00 (Mon to Fri Only) EXTENDED HOURS: 08:00 to 15:00 (Thursday 28th July & Friday 5th August) Times: : www.its.edu.mt Russian weightlifters banned Russian weightlifters will not be allowed to compete at the Olympics after the International Weightlifting Federation elected to ban them from the upcoming Games Monfils beats Raonic in Toronto, Djokovic wins FRENCHMAN Gael Monfils maintained his run of bril- liant form when he nullified Milos Raonic's big serve to eliminate the local favourite from the Rogers Cup in To- ronto on Friday. Monfils displayed his re- nowned athleticism in a high- quality quarter-final, relying on his lightning-fast court coverage to manufacture a 6-4 6-4 victory over the losing Wimbledon finalist. The 10th seed set up a semi- final against top seed Novak Djokovic, who overcame poor serving and 33 unforced er- rors to beat Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6(6) 6-4 in an er- ror-riddled match. Second seed Stan Wawrinka and third seed Kei Nishikori will meet in Saturday's other semi-final. Five days after ending a drought of more than two years by winning an ATP event in Washington, Monfils took his hot form with him north of the border. The capacity evening crowd did their best to lift power- ful Canadian Raonic, but Monfils, whose attitude has often been questioned, did not buckle against the fourth seed. Earlier, Djokovic staved off three set points in a first set tiebreak before improving his career record against Berdych to 25-2. The Serbian admitted he was lucky to advance after saving seven of eight break points. "Bit fortunate I must say," he said in an on-court interview. "My serve just wasn't right today. I just completely lost my rhythm, and he was tak- ing over control of my second serve, attacking it. "On a quick surface like this you need a good serve. To- day it wasn't to be but I won in straight sets. I must be pleased with the way I hung in there. That's all." In the afternoon session, Swiss Wawrinka advanced with a comprehensive 6-1 6-3 victory over big-serving South African Kevin Anderson. "I started really well from the first game," said Waw- rinka, a two-times grand slam champion who is seeking his 15th ATP World Tour title. "It showed me that I was ready, aggressive, moving really well. "It's one of the best matches of the year I played, I think. I was calm. Serving really good. Mixing a lot. I was reading the game well, good in defence and found a way to come back and attack." Next up for Wawrinka is Nishikori, who battled past unseeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 3-6 6-2. The Japanese player, who reached the final in Miami and the last four in both Ma- drid and Rome in ATP Mas- ters 1000 events earlier this season, emerged victorious in a see-sawing encounter that lasted a little more than two hours.