Sports
A defeat for the remade women's national team in New Caledonia
“Next year in the same tournament we’ll be the team to beat.”The French national women’s cricket team slipped into last place by the slimmest of margins at their home tournament in the Pacific Ocean territory of New Caledonia, their fate sealed by two wide balls bowled by Kamea Moingoto.As FRANCE 24 reported in April last year, […]


“Next year in the same tournament we’ll be the team to beat.”The French national women’s cricket team slipped into last place by the slimmest of margins at their home tournament in the Pacific Ocean territory of New Caledonia, their fate sealed by two wide balls bowled by Kamea Moingoto.As FRANCE 24 reported in April last year, the French women‘s national team was disbanded after they called for an investigation into allegations that France Cricket was faking women’s matches to get more funding from the International Cricket Council (ICC). One participant, who requested anonymity, recounted how one team turned up to their semi-final with only two players and had to borrow players from their opponent. Another team did not show up at all. The source said that one of the squads playing in the final included minors, despite it being an adult league. No France Cricket officials were in attendance, the person added, and trophies had to be handed out by the umpires.France Cricket was also looking to build a new squad made up of players from New Caledonia, where a traditional form of cricket is popular among women of the indigenous Kanak community. But it’s anyone’s guess as to how the Nouméa tournament – and the future performance of the overhauled Les Bleues team – might help in that mission. Read moreFrench women’s cricket team disbands after probe into fake matchesFrance Cricket only has government approval – and therefore the ability to field national teams – because of an agreement with the French baseball and softball federation that is set to expire this year.Initial team sheets published by cricket websites appeared to name the former squad in error, prompting Poppy McGeown, who played 27 matches for France, to take to social media with a dig at the French national cricket body.But coming to New Caledonia has more immediate benefits for France Cricket, too. Read moreAllegations of fake matches, murky finances plague cricket in FranceAn agreement signed a year ago between France Cricket and the New Caledonian cricket committee requires the latter to ensure all of its members sign up with France Cricket. Categories used by the ICC to decide how much funding to grant associate members like France include the number of women and men signed up to play.Out of 27 matches officially recorded by France Cricket last season, 10 were declared invalid. Five were missing teams, four had improper paperwork and one had no pitch available.“We can see the French team getting better,” he said ahead of the final Super Over.But no matter how rosy the numbers may appear on paper, women’s cricket is still struggling in France.
Missing teams, invalid matches
And the newly overhauled team is just that. Marie-Hélène Konhu, secretary-general of the National Cricket Committee of New Caledonia, told local media ahead of this week’s tournament that the new French squad was “entirely made up of Caledonian players”.The defeat by Fiji means France has lost each of its matches in the inaugural Pacific France Women’s T20I Championship, which also featured Samoa and Vanuatu.The final deliveries of the match came in a second “Super Over”, an extremely rare occurrence that only happens when a game ends in a tie and the resulting tie-breaker also ends in a tie.With an average of just 53 runs per match, it might look like a resounding failure for the French. Yet speaking to local public television – which broadcast the match live – France Cricket chairman Prebagarane Balane focused on the positives.It was a thrilling finish at N’Du Stadium in Nouméa on Friday.Cricket is said to have been introduced to New Caledonia by English missionaries in the 19th century, with its Kanak form evolving from there. It diverges significantly from regular cricket, with a different bat, ball and stumps. Women overwhelmingly practice the traditional format in the archipelago, so players recruited for the French national team must convert to a new sport and face off against sides already well versed in it.To avoid losing official recognition, and potentially its ICC associate member status, France Cricket is seeking to become a federation in its own right.The New Caledonian committee reports around 2,800 total cricketers on its books, slightly more than France Cricket says it has. If they all receive France Cricket licences, it could mean a funding bonanza. If France starts to win matches in ICC-recognised tournaments such as this one, they will climb the international rankings and could access more prestigious and lucrative tournaments – with the ultimate goal being the Olympic Games, where cricket is being reintroduced for LA 2028. “They already have 90 percent [of the skills],” Balane told French television. “What remains is the last 10 percent.”“Our traditional cricket is the soul of our committee and of those passionate about this sport,” Konhu said in her interview. “Traditional cricket is the talent pool, and international cricket is an added value.”These were not, however, the same players that cricket fans are used to seeing in French colours. France Cricket did not respond to a request for comment on these irregularities by press time.In September last year, the France Cricket website claimed it had registered upwards of 278 women. Now it says there are more than 881 – more than triple the previous number.“Thank you for this opportunity [France Cricket]!! You truly promote women’s cricket with fairness and ethics,” she wrote.The sport is facing yet another threat in France, this one existential.
Sports
Frank highlights final day of NCAA Championships
EUGENE, Ore. – The Texas Tech women’s track and field team wrapped up its season scoring 22 points Saturday evening at Hayward Field. The women end the year 12th overall in the team standings. In the first event of the day, the discus throw, Shelby Frank finished a career-high at the meet third place throwing […]

EUGENE, Ore. – The Texas Tech women’s track and field team wrapped up its season scoring 22 points Saturday evening at Hayward Field. The women end the year 12th overall in the team standings.
In the first event of the day, the discus throw, Shelby Frank finished a career-high at the meet third place throwing a PB 63.37m (207-11) – new PB by just over four feet. Over two days, Frank scored 14 points for the Red Raiders – second in the hammer throw Thursday. She finishes her career in the discus with three-straight First Team All-America honors.
In the high jump, Temitope Adeshina placed fifth clearing 1.87m (6-1 ½). Meanwhile in the triple jump, Victoria Gorlova finished fifth bounding 13.53m (44-4 ¾).
Notables
· Zoe Burleson finished 13th in the discus
· Tamiah Washington finished 10th in the triple jump
Sports
Concord Monitor – Boys’ volleyball: Coe-Brown wins program’s first championship, completes perfect season
NASHUA – With the top seed and an undefeated record, the Coe-Brown Northwood Academy boys’ volleyball team consistently showed it was the best in the state. On Saturday, the Bears finished the job. Coe-Brown (19-0) was able to neutralize Hollis-Brookline’s Ethan Norris, arguably the best player in the state, and dropped a set for only the […]

NASHUA – With the top seed and an undefeated record, the Coe-Brown Northwood Academy boys’ volleyball team consistently showed it was the best in the state. On Saturday, the Bears finished the job.
Coe-Brown (19-0) was able to neutralize Hollis-Brookline’s Ethan Norris, arguably the best player in the state, and dropped a set for only the second time this season, but responded to defeat the Cavaliers (16-3) in four sets, 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, to win the program’s first championship.
The result halted Hollis-Brookline’s bid for a fourth consecutive state championship, but not before the Cavaliers handed Coe-Brown its third dropped set all season and pushed the unbeaten Bears deeper than most opponents had managed all year.
The only other time Coe-Brown dropped sets was in a 3-2 victory over Dover on May 8.
“We played with a lot of heart and intensity,” said Cavaliers head coach Jake Balfour. “Taking a set from Coe-Brown, which has only happened once this season, I couldn’t be prouder. It just wasn’t our day.”
The first set was evenly matched through the opening points, with both teams tied at 8-8. Coe-Brown pulled ahead following a pair of Hollis-Brookline attack errors and an ace from senior Carter Brown. That short surge forced a timeout from Balfour, but the Bears kept applying pressure. Senior Bruce Marshall delivered two straight kills to give Coe-Brown a 16-12 advantage.
Hollis-Brookline responded with a block from senior Mateo Morel to trim the deficit to 17-16, but Coe-Brown regained control late as junior Tyler Fuller closed the set with three kills in the final stretch, powering the Bears to a 25-17 win.
Coe-Brown carried that momentum into the second set, opening on a 4-0 run that included two aces from junior Oliver Ford. Hollis-Brookline never fully recovered, allowing three separate 5-0 scoring runs in the frame. Struggling to gain traction, the Cavaliers dropped the second set 25-18 and found themselves facing a two-set deficit.
“They changed their offense, and we weren’t ready,” Balfour said. “Once we figured out how to get them out of system, we started gaining momentum.”
That turning point came in the third set, led by the play of senior captain Ethan Norris. Norris recorded four straight kills to give Hollis-Brookline a 10-9 lead, energizing both the team and the fans in the stands. Morel added another timely block, and Norris continued to dominate at the net, ripping four more kills and combining for three shared blocks to stretch the lead to 18-13. That run prompted Coe-Brown to burn their first timeout of the match.
Although the Bears responded with back-to-back kills from junior Luke Corriveau to cut the margin to 19-17, the Cavaliers held firm. Norris tallied three more kills down the stretch to seal the set 25-22. The victory marked just the third time all season that Coe-Brown had dropped a set, and Hollis-Brookline became only the second team to do so.
With a spark ignited, Hollis-Brookline came out firing in the fourth set. Norris picked up where he left off, delivering three of the team’s first five kills as the Cavaliers grabbed a 6-4 lead. An ace from senior Jamil Patel extended the advantage to 9-6. Coe-Brown answered behind Marshall and Fuller, who helped even the score at 9-9.
From there, the teams traded points up to 12-12 before Corriveau sparked a decisive Coe-Brown push. He recorded two kills and an ace during a 5-0 run that gave the Bears a 17-12 cushion. Hollis-Brookline made one final rally, cutting the lead to 18-16 after a kill from Morel, but it was not enough. Marshall and junior Istvan Miko combined for five of Coe-Brown’s final six kills as they closed out the match 25-19 to claim the Division I state title.
Corriveau led the Bears with 15 kills and four blocks. Norris finished with 25 kills, three blocks, and an ace, while Morel contributed seven kills and five blocks to lead the Cavaliers.
“Great game. We knew it was going to be a grind,” said Coe-Brown head coach Ryan Smith. “After the third set, we got in our heads a little. Coming into the fourth, we told the kids to be confident, get swings on the ball, and play connected.
“We have five senior leaders who are experienced, but it was a team effort – all 15 players contributed at some point. Ten years ago, we were 0-16, and now we’re champions. These kids deserve it.”
(Dan Attorri contributed to this report.)
Sports
Jada Joseph Earns Honorable Mention All-America at NCAA Championships
EUGENE, Ore. – Brown track and field senior Jada Joseph competed at the NCAA National Championships in the triple jump on Saturday. She finished 20th with a leap of 12.58 meters and earned Honorable Mention All-American as a result. Joseph returned to Eugene for the second consecutive year after she earned Honorable Mention All-American in the same […]

Joseph returned to Eugene for the second consecutive year after she earned Honorable Mention All-American in the same event a season ago.
In her final outdoor season, she tied the second best marks in Brown history in the triple jump (13.15m) and long jump (6.29m). She ends her career as a two-time All-American.
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Sports
Singapore’s artistic swimmers gear up for home World C’ships with bronze in World Cup series
SINGAPORE – In their final international outing ahead of the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Republic’s artistic swimmers earned a confidence-boosting overall bronze medal at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi’an, China. Debbie Soh, 27, Yvette Chong, 17, and Kiera Lee, 16, won the bronze in […]

SINGAPORE – In their final international outing ahead of the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Republic’s artistic swimmers earned a confidence-boosting overall bronze medal at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi’an, China.
Debbie Soh, 27, Yvette Chong, 17, and Kiera Lee, 16, won the bronze in the duet category of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Series, which also came with US$10,000 (S$12,800) in prize money.
Soh and Lee scored 183.6818 during their duet free routine at the Super Final in China on June 14, which placed them eighth out of 11 pairs in China.
Chinese twins Lin Yanjun and Yanhan won the gold medal with 266.1442 points to finish ahead of duets from Spain and Japan.
But Spain took the overall gold and US$15,000, while Kazakhstan bagged a silver as well as US$12,000 in the duet category of the World Cup Series.
Chong said: “It is a huge confidence boost ahead of the World Aquatics Championships. It reassures us that we’re on the right track and gives us momentum for a strong showing as the host country.”
For Soh, it is a milestone in a long campaign.
“It felt like our season began in December 2024, right after the exam period. Since then, we’ve been training six days a week, for about five to 10 hours a day, and have gone through multiple intensive training camps. It’s been a challenging and hectic few months, but we stayed focused and motivated to rise above the challenges we faced along the way,” said Soh.
The youngest of the trio, Lee added: “We feel very fulfilled that our efforts were rewarded. It wasn’t in our expectations at all. We were more focused on hitting personal bests at every stop of the World Cup series, so we were taken aback by the final world ranking.”
Final rankings are calculated based on the score from the Super Final and the top two scores from the rest of the series. To be ranked in the world series, teams must participate in at least two out of its three legs, plus the Super Final.
The first three legs were in Paris, France (Feb 28-March 2), Somabay, Egypt (April 11-13) and Markham, Canada (May 1-3) before the June 13-15 Super Final in Xi’an.
The artistic swimming national team’s performance director Anastasia Goutseva said that the bronze was an “incredible recognition for the athletes and the hard work they have put in throughout the year”.
She added: “The third-place overall ranking came as a bit of a surprise, but it shows that you have to dream big. It is a historic result for Singapore, and we are very happy that the team’s effort has paid off.”
Goutseva said that the duet (technical) score in Paris, the duet (free) in Egypt and their performances in the Super Final in Xi’an earned them the bronze.
In Egypt, Chong and Soh had combined for 184.8755 points in the duet free to place 14th out of 23 and in Paris they scored 238.3992 to finish sixth out of 21 in the duet technical.
Meanwhile, on the final day of competition on June 15, Rachel Thean scored 195.3688 to finish eighth out of 10 competitors in the women solo free, while Singapore finished eighth out of nine teams in the team acrobatic event with a score of 144.2251.
On the artistic swimmers’ performance in the series, Goutseva said: “Overall, we are very satisfied. There has been clear improvement from one world series to the next. After each competition, we make the necessary changes and modifications to our routines based on feedback from the judges and technical controllers.
“We had set specific goals for this year, and we can definitely see the progress here in Xi’an.”
Ranked second only to the Olympics in prestige for water sports, the world championships will see over 2,500 athletes from more than 190 countries and territories compete in six aquatic disciplines – swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving – across various venues in Singapore.
As they make their final preparations ahead of the home showcase, Goutseva said: “Singapore is committed to raising the level of artistic swimming, and while there is still a lot of work to be done, we are positive and motivated. Our focus is to push the team as far as we can and help them achieve their fullest potential on home soil.”
- Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports journalist at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news.
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Sports
Gators Finish Track and Field Season at NCAA Outdoor Championships
EUGENE, Ore. – Florida Gators Track and Field concluded the 2025 season on Saturday, the final day of competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The fourth day of the championship meet saw six Gator entries, combining for 14 more team points to round out the team scoring. Highlights Throws Alida […]

The fourth day of the championship meet saw six Gator entries, combining for 14 more team points to round out the team scoring.
Highlights
Throws
Alida van Daalen, after two consecutive third-place finishes in the NCAA Discus event, managed a second-place finish in her junior season. Her 64.94m [213′ 1″] fifth attempt stands as the best Discus mark by a Florida Gator in the History of the NCAA Championship meet.
Her runner-up finish is the best finish in the Discus by a Gator athlete, man or woman, in Florida’s program history.
Sprints
Florida’s evening session was quickly derailed, as in the 4x100m Relay, Freshman and anchor leg Habiba Harris pulled up with around 80 meters to go, resulting in a DNF.
Harris, the collegiate leader in the 100m Hurdles event, was unable to take to the line for the hurdles final later in the session. Her ills drew her season to an untimely ending, though she will enter next season as one of the most promising young stars in the collegiate ranks.
Anthaya Charlton, who lit up the preliminary round of the 100m dash with her collegiate-leading 10.87, Faced a difficult headwind in the 100m final on Saturday. She managed to cross the line in 11.19 despite the adverse conditions, earning a fourth-place finish.
Charlton’s finish is the best by a Gator in the 100m since 2008, when Lakecia Ealey finished third.
Gabrielle Matthews picked up First-team All-America Honors for her eighth-place finish in the 200m final. Matthews, running out of the treacherous lane 1, managed to score after sneaking into the event final with the last time qualifying spot.
Jumps
Asia Phillips reached her first NCAA Championship event final, ultimately finishing ninth in the Triple Jump field. With her 13.13m [43′ 1″] effort, she becomes a two-time Second-team All-American, having picked up her first honor this past indoor season.
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships – Florida Gators Results
Saturday, June 14
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