01-11-2020, 05:24 AM
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Olympic badminton gold medallist Lee Yong-dae and fellow-South Korean Kim Ki-jung have been handed one year suspensions by the sports world governing body for missing doping tests. In a statement this week, the Malaysian-based Badminton World Federation said as part of its testing program of international level players, "Kim and Lee were required to provide whereabouts information for the BWF to conduct out-of-competition testing. In 2013, both athletes accumulated three whereabouts failures in connection with this administrative process." Lee won gold in the mixed doubles at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and took a bronze in the mens doubles at London in 2012. Lee and Kim appeared earlier this month before a three-member BWF Doping Hearing Panel, which found there were extenuating circumstances to only sanction the players for one year instead of the maximum two years because the Badminton Korea Association failed to "make diligent efforts to keep the BWF informed about the players whereabouts." The pair are banned from participating in any sanctioned competition from Jan. 23, 2014 to midnight on Jan. 23, 2015. They have the right to appeal their bans to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by Feb. 17. South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that Badminton Korea Association executive director Kim Jung-soo insisted the two athletes only violated administrative procedures and havent failed doping tests. "They have never taken any banned substances," Kim said. "They have never refused any test or tried to avoid being tested. They have passed all of the doping tests at multiple international competitions." Cheap Shoes Fake . According to Dave Stubbs of The Montreal Gazette, preliminary talks have begun between Markov - an unrestricted free agent this summer - and general manager Marc Bergevin. Cheap Shoes For Sale .com) - The Buffalo Bills will return to the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday when they welcome the upstart Cleveland Browns to town. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/ . -- Jane Kish stopped all 25 shots she faced as the Weyburn Gold Wings blanked the Sudbury Lady Wolves 3-0 on Friday to advance to the gold-medal game at the Esso Cup. Cheap Shoes Website . You can watch coverage on TSN, TSN2 and CTV beginning today at 3pm et/Noon pt. The championships will feature approximately 250 of Canadas best figure skaters in senior, junior and novice as they vie for spots on the national team, international assignments and will act as the final step in the 2014 Olympic qualification process. Cheap Shoes 2020 .Best moustache: How can we not give this to Lanny McDonald? Check out the duster for yourself.SOCHI, Russia -- IOC President Thomas Bach paid tribute Tuesday to the victims of the recent suicide bombings in southern Russia that killed 34 people and heightened security concerns for the Sochi Olympics. Bach spoke at a ceremony in the athletes village to urge compliance with the "Olympic Truce," a symbolic resolution urging warring parties to cease hostilities during the games. "We remember and grieve for the innocent victims of conflict, and especially the recent victims in Volgograd," Bach said. "Our presence here today is a rebuke to those whose motives and goals stand in sharp contrast to the spirit of harmony and global solidarity at these games." An Islamic militant group from the North Caucasus region claimed responsibility for the back-to-back bombings in late December in Volgograd, about 640 kilometres (400 miles) east of Sochi, and threatened to strike the Olympics. Russia has mounted a massive security operation to guard the games, which open Friday and run through Feb. 23. Tens of thousands of military and police personnel have been deployed, along with warships, drone aircraft and anti-missile batteries. The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in November calling for a global truce during the Sochi Games. Similar resolutions have been passed going back to the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. "We are not naive," Bach said. "We know our limits." The IOC leader said the Olympic Village is a symbol of peace. "Men and women from different backgrounds, different cultures, different religions and different perspectives live side-by-side in harmony," he said. Bachs use of the term "different perspectives" could be seen as a reference to sexual orientation. The buildup to Sochi has been overshadowed by an international outcry against a Russian law banning gay "propaganda" among minors. Activists and some politicians called for a boycott of the games over the issue. "We must never let politics or other outside forces spoil this spirit," Bach said. Among those attending the ceremony was Russian pole vault star Yelena Isinbayeva, who is serving as the "mayor" of the Olymmpic Village in the coastal cluster of venues.dddddddddddd Isinbayeva made headlines in August at the world athletics championships when she condemned homosexuality, saying Russians have "normal" heterosexual relations. The next day, she said her comments in English may have been misunderstood and that she is against any discrimination. Isinbayeva declined further comment Tuesday on the Russian laws butSvetlana Zhurova, mayor of one of the other two athletes villages in the mountains above Sochi, said the issue had been overblown, was unfairly clouding the buildup to the games and she was fed up with fielding questions about it. Zhurova, the 2006 Olympic speedskating gold medallist , urged activists not to use the Winter Games as a platform for protests. "For the spectators it is more important who wins than whether he or she is homosexual or not," she said. "This doesnt matter. Im sure there will be no problems." Tuesdays ceremony began in embarrassing fashion for the hosts. As Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak prepared to speak, the plastic lectern collapsed onto the ground. Bach drew laughs when he said: "We can see that sport can break down walls this morning." Members of the IOCs executive board toured the Olympic Village, which will accommodate about 2,200 athletes along the Black Sea coast. Two other smaller villages are located in the mountain cluster above Sochi. Bach chatted with athletes, grabbed some lunch in the cafeteria and played table tennis in the recreation room. "The village is really magnificent," he said. "What the athletes appreciate is the proximity to the competition venues. I just spoke to a female American speedskater and Russian ice hockey player and the first thing they say is, We can walk from here to our training sessions." Bach has his own room in the village, keeping a tradition started by his predecessor, Jacques Rogge, though he also stays in a luxury hotel nearby during IOC meetings. "One of the greatest privileges of an IOC president is you can ask for a room in the Olympic Village," Bach said. "Its here where the Olympic spirit lives." ' ' '