Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 26 July 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# All eyes are on the Olympic Games: The Paris Games will officially be launched at exactly 8.24 this evening – 20.24 on a 24-hour clock. The opening ceremony along the River Seine will start at 7.30, and will only end at 11pm. Local bars have been given permission to stay open all night for the historic occasion. Famous singers Celine Dion and Lady Gaga will perform a duet during the ceremony, while actress Salma Hayek and rapper Snoop Dogg will be among the final torch bearers.

The Springbok Sevens are through to the semifinals in Paris after beating finalists at the previous Games in Tokyo, New Zealand, 14-7 in the quarterfinals. The Blitzboks raced into a 14-nil first-half lead, courtesy of captain Selvyn Davids’s and Tristan Leyds’s tries. New Zealand hit back just before the break. The second half saw a wave of New Zealand attack, but the Blitzboks’ defence held firm. South Africa will face France in the medal semifinals tomorrow. Coach Philip Snyman praised his team’s performance:

South African women’s hockey player, Kayla Swart, says the team is confident and believes a medal is possible in Paris. The squad features six players that played at the Tokyo Games. South Africa will open their campaign against Australia in Pool B on Sunday. They will also face Argentina, Great Britain, Spain, and the US in the group stage. Swart, who is Olympian Wayde van Niekerk’s sister, says they will leave it all out on the playing field:

World number one Iga Swiatek of Poland will begin her Paris campaign with a first-round clash against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu tomorrow. Second seeded American Coco Gauff takes on Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. Former world number ones Angelique Kerber of Germany and Naomi Osaka of Japan will face each other in the first round. Kerber, the 2016 Rio silver medalist, is set to retire after the Olympics. The tennis event in Paris will be held at Roland Garros.

# And finally, cricket: The Proteas will quickly have to adapt to Test cricket when they travel to the Caribbean for two matches against the West Indies early next month. Most players last saw Test-match action against India in December, while a weakened squad played two-Tests in New Zealand in February because contracted players had to play in the SA20. Test coach Shukri Conrad ascribes the lack of Test opportunities to the reality of the modern game dominated by white-ball cricket: