LIVIGNO: Wang Xindi took gold in freestyle skiing men’s aerials at the Winter Olympics on Friday to strengthen China’s dominance in the discipline.

The 30-year-old took over the crown from compatriot and five-time Olympian Qi Guangpu, who came sixth and last in the final.

It was Wang’s first podium after three Winter Games. At Beijing 2022, China won gold in men’s and women’s aerials and silver in the mixed team and in these Olympics, Xu Mengtao defended her women’s aerials title on Wednesday.

In Friday’s men’s aerials, current world champion Noe Roth of Switzerland won silver, while another Chinese freeskier, Olympic first-timer Li Tianma, got bronze.

Wang took top spot with a remarkable score of 132.60, out of a maximum of 150. Roth was close behind on 131.58, while Li got 123.93.

China’s four athletes all made it into the final, held in snowy, overcast conditions in the Alpine resort of Livigno.

They squared off against Roth and fellow Swiss Pirmin Werner. Chinese supremacy over aerials could be extended further on Satur­day, when a mixed teams final is due to take place on the penultimate day of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

In the men’s biathlon 15-km mass start, Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway hit a perfect 20 for 20 on the shooting range to storm to victory and give made his country record-holders for most golds at a Winter Games.

Norway’s 17 gold medals so far at Milano-Cortina surpasses their own previous record for a single nation of 16 at Beijing 2022.

Dale-Skjevdal’s compatriot Sturla Holm Laegreid took the silver, 10.5 seconds behind, with Quentin Fillon Maillet of France storming past Germany’s Philipp Horn on the last lap to secure bronze.

Dale-Skjevdal was the only biathlete in the 30-man field not to miss a shot on the day, and it paved the way for gold for the hugely talented but often erratic 28-year-old.

“There’s a lot of feelings. Olympic champion. Damn, it’s sick, it’s a dream … I have no words,” Dale-Skjevdal told Norwegian TV.

Meanwhile on Friday, the paralympic committees of Ukraine and the Czech Rep­u­blic announced that they will boycott the opening ceremony at the Paralympic Gam­es over the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The Ukrainian team, who­se country has been battling a Russian invasion since Feb­ruary 2022, anno­unced a boycott of the March 6 ceremony in Verona late on Thursday.

The protest follows the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC) decision to allow Russian and Belar­usian athletes to compete under their national flags.

LIU DAZZLES

On Thursday, Alysa Liu delivered a dazzling performance to win the gold as she capped a remarkable comeback journey to snap a 20-year Olympic medal drought for Americans in the women’s figure skating event.

Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto took silver, finishing ahead of her 17-year-old team-mate Ami Nakai, who claimed bronze.

Skating with joyful confidence, Liu nailed jump after jump in her Donna Summer disco-themed free skate to bring the sold-out crowd to their feet.

“When I was skating, hearing the cheers, I felt so connected with the audience. I want to be out there again,” she said. “The way I felt out there was calm, happy and confident. I’ve been having fun. This experience is really cool.”

Liu stunned the skating world when she retired from the sport aged just 16 after the Beijing Games in 2022, citing burnout and the desire to pursue other interests.

The Californian returned two years later with a new perspective — and more creative control — taking charge of her music choices, programmes and costumes. That reset helped spark a resurgence that included a world title in Boston last year.

US SEAL HOCKEY GLORY

It was double delight for Americans as their women ice hockey team delivered another gold, pipping rivals Canada 2-1.

The US tasted revenge sweeter than maple syrup as they came from behind to win gold in an overtime thriller.

Megan Keller netted the winner to dethrone their arch rivals in an instant classic, sealing a spine-tingling affair and bringing a roar of Ame­rican joy that echoed throu­ghout Santagiulia Arena.

The US looked headed for more disappointment after losing to their hated foes four years ago, as they were kept off the scoreboard and trailing late in the third period.

But captain Hilary Knight played the hero one more time in her fifth and final Olympics, tying it to take the tight-checking Games deci­der to three-on-three sudden death hockey, where Keller went around defender Claire Thompson and slipped the puck past the Canadian goa­lie to clinch a third Olympic gold for the US women.

The game gave fans yet another classic chapter in the sport’s greatest rivalry, and the packed stands offered duelling chants of “Canada!” and “USA!” from puck drop.

“I was just trying to make a move, take a chance. I was trying to win, not play to not lose. That’s what we talked about in the locker room,” said Keller. “In my view, this is the best hockey team the world has ever seen.”

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2026

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KANDY: England still have “fire” burning in th­em ahead of the T20 Wor­ld Cup Super Eights, Jacob Bethell said on Friday, admitting that Harry Brook’s side had been below par during a lacklustre group campaign.

One of the pre-tournament fancies behind hot favourites India, England stumbled through their group matches.

The 2022 champions lost comfortably to the only Test-playing side they faced, the West Indies and were unconvincing in wins against associate nations Nepal, Scotland and Italy.

“I think there’s definitely a little fire in all of us to kind of really go out there and push the players to the top of their performances,” Bethell told reporters.

Brook’s side have retu­rned to their happy hunting ground in Kandy after playing all their group matches in India, at Mumbai and Kolkata.

On Sunday England will kick off their Super Eights campaign against co-hosts Sri Lanka at the venue where they swept a T20 series 3-0 this month.

“We’re coming back to conditions that were foreign a few weeks ago, we then got to know him over three games here,” said the left-handed Bethell. “We beat them 3-0, so I think we’re definitely coming back to this part of the world with a lot of confidence.”

Bethell said he had watched a lot of matches on TV during the event and had been impressed by Sri Lanka’s Pathum Nissanka.

The opening batsman scored the first century of this T20 World Cup as Sri Lanka beat Australia.

“I thought Nissanka pla­y­ed unbelievably,” said Bet­hell. “You know, he actually got off to a few flyers against us. But that really showed what he could do.” The 22-year-old said it was impo­r­tant not to dwell on Engl­and’s stuttering group stage campaign and move on.

“I think everyone had the same mindset of, all right, the main thing is just to get through to Super Eights,” said Bethell.

Effectively a new mini-tournament now begins, with Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand to face. Only two will progress to the semi-finals.

“So now we’re here, then this is where the proper competition starts,” said Bethell.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2026

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COLOMBO: The struggles of stalwarts Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have come under the spotlight as Pakistan eye a winning start to their T20 World Cup Super Eight campaign against New Zealand at the R. Premadasa Stadium here on Saturday.

While Babar failed to deliver in his newly-assumed number four role — barring a decent outing against the USA — during the group stage, Shaheen has emerged as one of Pakistan’s weaker links throughout the tournament so far.

The duo may well take a back seat against the BlackCaps, with the less experienced yet promising Khawaja Nafay and Salman Mirza expected to be entrusted with middle-order batting and new-ball bowling duties, respectively.

On the eve of the fixture, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson laid bare Babar’s vulnerabilities with the bat and hinted the former skipper could contribute only in a specific role, providing context as to why he was not sent in during the last group game against Namibia.

“We think he’s a fine player through the middle, if required, in terms of if we’re in a little bit of trouble, or as we saw against the USA, once he gets himself set, he can increase his strike rate at that point,” said the coach.

“So, we brought Babar back in for a specific role post the Asia Cup. We wanted some batsmanship through the middle, and he certainly brings that for us.

“And he did in many games thro­ughout the last 10. So, the other day we got to the 12th over mark and at that point, Babar Azam is not the best person to come in.”

Instead of Babar, Nafay was promoted to bat at four. Although the right-hander did not shine on his World Cup debut, it signalled that Pakistan had made significant adjustments to their initial plans.

“We’ve got plenty of other opti­ons who can come in and perform that role towards the end,” Hesson said.

For Shaheen, who was rushed back into the side following an injury two months ago, the T20 World Cup has been unforgiving. The left-armer, who once struck fear into opening batters, has conceded 11.22 runs per over during the showpiece, having bowled only nine overs in total.

Salman, in contrast, has conceded six runs per over in the two matches he has bowled. The left-arm medium-pacer was dropped after a decent showing against the Netherlands, and missed the following two matches before replacing Shaheen in the Namibia fixture.

The former, however, is likely to be Pakistan’s first choice in the upcoming games.

“We made a call that Salman Mirza was coming in for Shaheen,” Hesson said. “He bowled incredibly well. To be fair, he was probably really unlucky not to be playing the second and third games.

“His record since he started playing for Pakistan is exceptional.”

Hesson said Pakistan would continue to back their spin-heavy strategy, at least in Colombo, even if that meant fielding a side packed with all-rounders.

“[Mohammad] Nawaz is one of the best performing spinners in the world in T20 cricket,” said the New Zealander. “Since Shadab Khan came back, his figures have been exceptional.

“Saim Ayub is already in the side and obviously has the ability to bowl the carrom ball. The fact that Usman Tariq has been able to bowl the tough overs through the middle and at the death has been a real advantage for us.”

For New Zealand, meanwhile, the Super Eight stage will test their adaptability, with the side having played all their group matches in India.

Pace, bounce and spin in Colo­mbo are likely to differ markedly from conditions in Chennai and Ahm­edabad, but batter Mark Chap­man said the players were well aware of the variations in pitches.

“I think guys understand what they need to do on slower wickets after playing in India where pitches were batting friendly,” said the middle-order player. “So, we’re pretty confident that we’ll face up to whatever conditions are in front of us.

“A lot of the guys have played a lot of cricket here before.”

Pakistan have played all four of their matches in Sri Lanka and possess a potent spin attack.

Chapman was confident New Zealand could cope with Pakistan’s spinners, including the unorthodox Usman, who pauses in his delivery stride and employs deceptive variations, including side-arm releases.

“Obviously, Tariq has a pretty unique action with the way that he stops at the crease and that’s something to factor in,” Chapman said. “But each of the Pakistan spinners poses their own threat.”

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2026

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