Pius Suter scores two goals for the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL. And the Yellow Cup of Swiss handball players is canceled. The most important sports news at a glance.
Soccer: Kawabe to Wolverhampton and probably back to GC
(sda) GC is handing over its Japanese midfielder Hayao Kawabe to the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The 26-year-old should return to Zurich on loan for the second half of the season.
Kawabe should introduce himself with a few weeks of training in Wolverhampton before he “most likely” returns, said the Grasshoppers after the deal with partner club Wolverhampton. Like GC, the English belong to the Chinese holding company Fosun. Kawabe looks back on a strong first half of the season. The international, who came last summer, played 16 times in the Super League, scored four goals and prepared two.
Soccer: Eriksen is aiming for a comeback
Christian Eriksen is still without a club – but he definitely wants to continue his football career.
(dpa) The Danish national soccer player Christian Eriksen wants to go back to the big soccer stage. «My goal is to be at the World Cup in Qatar. I want to play, ”said Eriksen in his first interview after his collapse at the European Championship last summer. «It’s a goal, a dream. Whether I will then be nominated is another matter. But it’s my dream to come back, “said the 29-year-old in an interview published on Tuesday by the Danish TV channel DR1.
The midfielder collapsed on the pitch in Copenhagen on June 12, 2021 during the European Championship group game against Finland and had to be resuscitated. He is sure that his comeback could work: «Because I don’t feel any different. Physically I’m in top form again. ” He really wanted to go back to the national team and show that his collapse was only a one-time thing and will not happen again. “My heart is not an obstacle,” emphasized Eriksen. Whether he comes back is now up to the coaches.
At the same time, Eriksen thanked him for the worldwide sympathy. “It was unbelievable that so many people felt the need to write to me or give me flowers. It touched so many people – and they wanted to show my family and me that. That makes me happy, “said the father of two. “It was strange because I didn’t expect people to send me flowers because I was dead for five minutes,” said Eriksen, who was implanted with a defibrillator. This recognizes cardiac arrhythmias and triggers shocks in an emergency.
Ice Hockey: Big appearance by Pius Suter with two goals
Pius Suter has now scored 20 NHL goals in his career.
(sda) Pius Suter is the standout player in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-2 home win over the San Jose Sharks. The Zurich striker scored two goals in one game for the second time in the NHL.
In the middle third, Suter had his decisive actions. In the 23rd minute he managed a shorthander, the first from Detroit after exactly 100 games without a hit in a minority: Suter took the puck from San Jose’s defensive sword Brent Burns on his own blue line, pulled alone on the opposing goal and scored a shot under the crossbar to make it 2-0.
What Detroit hadn’t succeeded in the NHL for almost two years, succeeded twice within 37 seconds. After Suter, Tyler Bertuzzi also hit with a shorthander, while a teammate served a five-minute penalty.
Suter, who also scored 4-1 in the 30th minute, is now in his still young NHL career with 20 goals. For the second time, he met more than once in a game on Tuesday evening. Almost a year ago he even scored three goals with the Chicago Blackhawks against Detroit.
Another Zurich native also experienced a remarkable NHL evening with Dean Kukan – despite the 2: 7 home defeat of his Columbus Blue Jackets against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The defender returned with a cured wrist after a 24-game injury break and scored his third NHL goal 37 seconds after the first break.
In the middle third, Suter even manages a shorthander.
Handball: Yellow Cup in Winterthur canceled
(sda) The Yellow Cup for handball players in Winterthur will not take place this year either. Corona cases had occurred in both the Montenegrin team and the Portuguese team, the organizers of the four-country tournament announced on Wednesday night.
Because two teams could not arrive at the same time, it is also not an option to hold a three-country tournament. In addition to the countries mentioned and Switzerland, Ukraine will also take part in the tournament. It would have taken place from January 7th to 9th and will now be postponed to the turn of the year 2022/2023.
Last year, the organizers of the traditional tournament had postponed the 49th edition planned for the beginning of January – at that time because of the audience restrictions in view of the corona pandemic.
Alpine skiing: Vlhova wins the Zagreb slalom, Holdener just off the podium
Petra Vlhova copes best with the difficult conditions in Zagreb.
(sda) Wendy Holdener just missed another podium in the World Cup slalom in Zagreb. The Schwyzerin is fourth. For the third time in a row at Sljeme, the winner was Petra Vlhova. The Slovak won the duel against Mikaela Shiffrin with half a second advantage. The American was back at the start after a break due to the coronavirus infection.
Holdener was 25 hundredths short of 3rd place, which she had taken after the first run. Third place went to world champion Katharina Liensberger from Vorarlberg. Michelle Gisin finished tenth in difficult conditions. The high temperatures hit the slopes. In addition, there was a strong wind blowing leaves from the surrounding trees onto the slope.
Only Elena Stoffel and Selina Egloff belonged to the decimated Swiss team. The Valais and Grisons missed the qualification for the second run. Camille Rast, Aline Danioth and Mélanie Meillard had to do without the start due to a corona illness.
Soccer: Thorsten Fink becomes a trainer in Riga
(sda) Thorsten Fink, the former coach of FC Basel and Grasshoppers, will train in Latvia this year. The long-time Bayern Munich midfielder signed a contract with FC Riga, which after three consecutive titles only finished fourth in the championship.
Fink had led FC Basel to two championship titles and one cup win in two seasons. Then he moved to Hamburger SV. Most recently he worked for Vissel Kobe in Japan.
Soccer: Djibril Diani leaves GC
Djibril Diani is no longer playing for the Grasshoppers.
(sda) The French midfielder Djibril Diani leaves the Grasshoppers for his home country. The 23-year-old signs a contract with second division team Caen. Diani has played 71 games for GC in the past three and a half years, scoring three goals. In the current season he was in the starting line-up nine times in the Super League.
Nordic skiing: no jumping in Innsbruck
(sda) The Four Hills Tournament becomes a Three Hills Tournament with four competitions. The foehn in Tyrol prevented jumping in Innsbruck on Tuesday.
On Wednesday and Thursday the winner of the 70th Four Hills Tournament will be chosen in two events in Bischofshofen. The Japanese Ryoyu Kobayashi will tackle the competitions from pole position. The Japanese won in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. As the first jumper, he could make the Grand Slam a second time.
The shift had become apparent early on. Because of the strong wind, the trial run could not be carried out. Conditions hardly improved. In order to do a safe jump, the hair dryer would have had to wear off a lot. But even then, a fair competition would not have been possible because the wind was whirling in the Bergisel basin. Sometimes there was an updraft, sometimes a tailwind.
It was not the first time that the entourage left Innsbruck without a competition. 2008 had to be canceled on the Bergisel for the same reason, then two competitions were held in Bischofshofen.
Improvisation may still be needed. The weather forecast predicts heavy precipitation for Bischofshofen on Wednesday.
Tennis: Exemption for Djokovic in Australia
A panel of experts gives Novak Djokovic permission to enter Australia.
(dpa) The 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner Novak Djokovic will compete at the Australian Open with a special permit. The world number one announced this on Tuesday.
Almost two weeks before the start of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, the months of speculation about the participation of the top star come to an end. The Australian Open in Melbourne starts on January 17th. Only players who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus or who have received a medical exemption are allowed to take part.
The organizers announced that the exemption had been granted after a strict review, in which two independent expert panels were involved. There were fair and strict rules for applications for medical exemptions, so that the Australian Open is “safe and enjoyable for everyone,” said tournament director Craig Tiley. The central point is that the decisions were made by independent experts.
With his announcement, Djokovic raises new questions: Why is he an exception? Why do the organizers give him the chance to defend his title – apparently also as a possibly unvaccinated person? “We would love to see Novak here, but he knows that he has to be vaccinated to play,” tournament director Tiley said in November.
Ice hockey: No games in the National League on Tuesday
(sda) The last remaining National League game on Tuesday also has to be postponed at short notice. Due to further quarantine orders, Geneva / Servette cannot play for the home game against Ambri-Piotta.