Jeremy Doku says he is “not against” the journalist who criticised his plan to leave the Belgium camp during the World Cup to attend the birth of his first child.

Doku’s wife Shireen was due to give birth during the second week of July and he told Reuters, external before the start of the tournament he intended to leave the camp to be at the birth even if his side were still in contention.

But it brought fierce criticism from L’Equipe channel presenter France Pierron, who labelled a father “completely useless” at the time of their child’s birth.

L’Equipe later apologised and said Pierron’s comments were “very far removed” from its values. The presenter also apologised but was taken off air until the end of the season of her show.

Doku eventually missed Belgium’s 0-0 draw against Iran in the group stage to fly back to the UK for the birth of his son, Praise.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, external, Doku said he understood why some people questioned the timing of events.

“There was a lot of noise of course,” the Manchester City winger said.

“I can understand why people felt like maybe this was orchestrated because it was too perfect.

“I also saw the journalist speak about me and the situation and all the people getting at her. But I just wanted to use this video as well to really… pray over her.

“I don’t want to come at her in a way that most people did. I don’t want people to be too harsh on her. We don’t know what she has experienced. It’s her opinion.

“She got fired and all these things. I never want this for a person. I’m not against her. I’m not angry at her or anything. She just said her opinion.”

Doku played 86 minutes of Belgium’s opening 1-1 draw with Egypt in Group G of the World Cup before missing their next game, with his absence explained as illness.

A Belgium statement later said, external that the 24-year-old travelled to London to be with his wife “with the approval of and accompanied by one of our team doctors”.

Romell Glave emerged from winning the 100m final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham wearing a gold costume crown and declared “now is my time to dominate”.

The 26-year-old Jamaica-born sprinter, who moved to Croydon as a teen and fractured his back twice in the last six years, spending “the whole of 2022” in a brace, made it a British one-two with Welshman Jeremiah Azu taking silver on the second night of the championships.

Like compatriot Amy Hunt, who won the women’s 100m on opening night, Glave was a prodigal teen – nine years ago even holding the honour of being the world’s fastest 17-year-old and it took 10.09 seconds to silence any of his remaining doubters.

“At the start of the season my main objective was to be the king of Europe,” said Glave, the bronze medallist at the last European championships in 2024.

“I’m a different athlete now, my mindset is to that elite level. I wanted to win this European championship. I was able to do that today, so it’s an amazing feeling.

“I wouldn’t say (I felt) counted out because sometimes we feel like it should be our time, but everything doesn’t happen in your time. It happened when it’s supposed to happen.

“Standing right here, this is my moment, and I’m able to enjoy this moment myself. Other people came before me, but now it’s my time to dominate.”

Azu was seven hundredths of a second slower and Germany’s Owen Ansah took bronze.

A potential British clean-sweep of the podium was not possible after Louie Hinchliffe was forced to withdraw from the final due to an injury sustained during the semi-finals.

Former Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs was the big name on the start line for the final but the Italian – plagued by injuries since his success in Tokyo – limped over the line in seventh.

Glave, who also grew up playing cricket and football, moved to South Norwood in London to join his builder father “for a better opportunity to help me in life in general”.

Unsurprisingly, he grew up idolising Usain Bolt and joined local club Croydon Harriers, and earned the world’s fastest 17-year-old honours in 2017, before the injury woes set in.

“I was so determined to make it,” he said. “I know I have the ability to be one of the best. ‘Delayed but not denied’, that quote, but also a living testimony to be patient. Don’t look at other people’s journeys. Everyone’s journey is unique.”

Earlier, local favourite Matthew Hudson-Smith made it through to Wednesday night’s 400m final, but perhaps not in the dominant fashion the home favourite would have hoped for.

There were concerns the Olympic silver medallist, who has a stand named after him at the Alexander Stadium for the duration of these championships, might have sustained an injury after finishing second in his semi-final, where he appeared to grimace with about 50m remaining.

He later confirmed he had simply “misjudged” the race and its winner, Dutchman Jonas Phijffers, who set a personal-best 44.63 seconds, 15 hundredths of a second faster than Hudson-Smith.

Fellow Briton Charlie Dobson did not advance.

Suzuki Shinichi —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Team North sets out to defend its Junior PGT Elite Finals title against Team South in a week, and newly crowned men’s National Match Play champion Shinichi Suzuki and Lisa Sarines will lead a squad that will try to do the trick on enemy territory.

Suzuki is the most seasoned player from either side, and the 18-year-old is raring to meet the challenge head-on—home course disadvantage notwithstanding.

“I really like our chances,” Suzuki told the Inquirer during a break in practice at Manila Southwoods, just three days removed from winning his first national title. “It will be a very exciting match this year, and our players are definitely just as strong as the other team.”

Team South was routed last year, 26.5-21.5, as the Northerners made the most out of their familiarity with The Country Club in Laguna. This time, Pueblo de Oro in Cagayan de Oro will be the venue, and Sarines is one of those who hasn’t seen the layout yet.

“Course familiarity will be a big factor, because I heard it is kind of a tough course if you don’t know it [well],” Sarines said in a separate interview. “I haven’t seen it yet, so I am excited to see how it looks and [figure out] how I am going to play it.”

Suzuki and Sarines are in the 15-18 boys’ and girls’ teams of the North, with both coming off successful national title quests as Lisa ruled the Strokeplay Championship two weeks ago with a 15-shot win over Tashanah Balangauan at Pradera Verde’s Pinatubo course.

“The playing field will be pretty even,” the 14-year-old Sarines answered when pressed which team she feels is more talented. “But they (Southerners) do have the upper hand when it comes to course knowledge.”

Ralph Batican, who placed third behind Suzuki and Rolando Bregente at Luisita last week, headlines the South’s 15-18 boys’ squad, while Precious Zaragosa, who was second to Grace Quintanilla in the ladies Match Play, leads the South’s girls team.

“The South will definitely have an advantage because of course familiarity,” Suzuki went on. “They’re familiar with the environment and the course. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to whoever handles the pressure and plays their best game.”

Tournament format calls for Four-ball play on the first day on Aug. 18, before the Foursomes the following day and the deciding Singles on Aug. 20.

Squads in the boys’ and girls’ 7-10 and 11-14 will also play all three rounds, and the South is looking to better a bum start last year that had them trailing by five points entering the Singles. INQ

Next weekend, Rolando Romero makes a first defence of his WBA welterweight world title as he takes on Teofimo Lopez in an intriguing all-American clash in Las Vegas. Now, former unified champion of the division Keith Thurman has shared his thoughts on the fight.

Romero has been inconsistent in his career, losing by knockout to both Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz but also showing elite power and disciplined performances, becoming a two-division world champion and boasting a win over Ryan Garcia in his most recent outing, 15 months ago.

Meanwhile, Lopez has proved that he is capable of beating the very best in the world, capturing world honours at both lightweight and super-lightweight with legendary wins over Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, respectively.

Now, after losing his super-lightweight crown to Shakur Stevenson at the beginning of the year, Lopez is stepping up to welterweight, hoping to become a three-division world champion.

Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Thurman declared his belief that Lopez will bounce back and dethrone Romero. 

“Rolly is interesting because he is somebody who is tough, but he is definitely a beatable character. He is definitely beatable, he comes at you in spurts, he has had some good says and he has had some bad days in that ring on fight night.

“I am more interested in what kind of Rolly we are going to see and how eager Teo is to make a statement at 147lbs. I favour Teo though, I think that he has what it takes.

“I think he has what it takes to move up and I think that this is a good match-up for him.”

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Romero-Lopez takes place at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, August 22, and will be available to watch live on DAZN pay-per-view.

Romell Glave declared “total domination” for Great Britain after leading team-mate Jeremiah Azu to a sensational European 100m one-two for the hosts, 24 hours after Amy Hunt’s triumph in the women’s event.

Glave made an international podium for the first time by winning 100m bronze at these championships in Rome two years ago, but the 26-year-old upgraded to gold with a dominant victory in 10.09 seconds in Birmingham.

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Raising a finger to the sky in celebration, he became the sixth British man to win the European 100m title – and third in the past six editions after Zharnel Hughes (2018) and James Dasaolu (2014).

Azu, the world and European champion over 60m indoors in 2025, improved on his 2022 bronze as he followed his team-mate over the line in 10.16 to the delight of the home crowd at Alexander Stadium.

German Owen Ansah completed the podium after Italy’s two-time defending champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs pulled up with an injury at halfway.

Three British men had qualified for the final, but Louie Hinchliffe did not contest the medal race.

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“Upgrading from a bronze medal from 2024 is an amazing feeling,” Glave told BBC Sport.

“The aim was to get [British] one, two, and three, but we got one-two, which is also amazing.

“I was ready for this occasion. The last week or so has been up and down with my body, but I was able to come out here regardless of how I was feeling.

On Great Britain’s 100m performances, he added: “It is domination. Total domination.”

Glave has made significant progress this season, breaking the 10-second barrier for the first time in legal conditions to win his first British title in June.

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He has run sub-10 on six separate occasions, in all conditions, this season – including when he defeated the in-form Jacobs, a surprise Olympic champion five years ago, on his home turf in Italy.

That confidence was evident as Glave dominated his semi-final earlier in the evening, and he executed to perfection when it mattered most.

A talented junior, Glave was the fastest 17-year-old in the world in 2017 after he recorded a time of 10.21.

His progress has been disrupted by injury setbacks since, including a fracture in his back.

But, able to remain consistent with his training this year, Glave captured the gold medal he believed he was capable of winning two years ago.

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The foundations of Glave’s recent progress has come from a focus on sharpening the first 40 metres of his race.

After hitting the front by the 30-metre mark, he never looked back – and continued running far beyond the finish line in celebration.

After a golden 2025 season, Azu had finished fourth and fifth respectively at this year’s World Indoor Championships and Commonwealth Games, with a season’s best of 10.00 in Glasgow two weeks ago not proving to be enough.

While it was not gold in Birmingham, the 25-year-old was delighted to secure his return to an international podium following what he described as a “tough year”.

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“The most irregular [season] in terms of races, quite inconsistent,” Azu said.

“When it comes to championships, I know I find my best. We always say times are irrelevant at this point. You want to go out there and race for medals.

“I want to put in my best performance in the final and I felt like I did that today. You always want to be on the podium. In the 100m there are over 100 guys that are competitive, so it is always tough.”

There was a fifth-place finish for Hannah Nuttall in the women’s 5,000m, as Italy’s Nadia Battocletti retained her title.

Matthew Hudson-Smith, who has a stand named after him at the stadium where he trained as a junior for the duration of the championships, qualified for Wednesday’s men’s 400m final – although he had to settle for second place in his heat.

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“I misjudged it a little bit. I thought I was clear,” Hudson-Smith said.

“I was looking at the screen and I saw the guy try and surge. But he ran a PB, so he’s messed up with the final ahead.”

Elsewhere, Nadine Visser clinched the women’s 100m hurdles by one thousandth of a second, with a photo finish required to separate the Dutch athlete and Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska.

First Published: Aug 11 2026 | 10:42 AM IST

Justin Arana (No. 15) reaches for the rebound. —PBA IMAGES

ANTIPOLO—Converge won a game for the first time in over three weeks, not only restoring lost confidence but also keeping its grip on one of the four quarterfinal berths in Group A of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

“This team went through a really rough stretch,” coach Delta Pineda said in Filipino after the FiberXers snapped a four-game skid with a 120-103 rout of the Terrafirma Dyip on Tuesday at the Ynares Center here.

The victory enabled Converge to regain solo hold of the fourth spot at 4-4 while sending Terrafirma down to 3-5. It was also the first win of the FiberXers since thrashing the guest team Macau Giant Pandas by 25 points before their downward spiral began.

Losses at the hands of San Miguel Beer, TNT, NLEX, and again to San Miguel in succession prompted frustration and multiple import changes, from original choice Jalen Hudson to returning Jamaal Franklin to another former import in Cameron Clark.

Clark made his debut against the Dyip, posting 22 points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and the FiberXers are hoping that he turns out to be the right mix.

Pineda also hopes that a recent team meeting to delve into what has gone wrong would translate into something positive.

“The morale of the team was really low because of the string of losses,” Pineda said. “That’s why we had a heart-to-heart talk after our recent loss [against San Miguel] to discuss the things that we need to change, what we need to adjust or if the players are playing for the team or for their individual statistics.

“We agreed that we consider the team as like our family and they need to sacrifice for their team, their family,” he added.

Terrafirma lost a game it sorely needed to win after tying Converge last week by handing NLEX its first loss.

But the Dyip never got themselves in the groove right from the beginning, with Calvin Abueva and surprise starter Jaydee Tungcab leading the charge for the FiberXers.

Terrafirma import Justin Strings had 28 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals, but figured in an ugly postgame incident where he tried to confront either Abueva or Alec Stockton after the game, as witnessed by several fans.

Those who saw the incident also said that Strings even rushed towards the FiberXers dugout through the backdoor, only to be stopped by cooler heads from both teams and from the PBA staff.

Meanwhile, action continues Wednesday in this city, with San Miguel favored to dominate Titan Ultra in the opener at 5:15 p.m. while Group B coleader Phoenix faces streaking Magnolia at 7:30 p.m.

San Miguel was coming off a 52-point rout of Macau in Rodriguez, Rizal, to go 6-2 in Group A, while Titan Ultra got clobbered by 34 on the same day by TNT.

Phoenix, on the other hand, looks to get its bearings before the break after being handed a loss by Blackwater to fall in a tie with Rain or Shine at 4-2, even as Magnolia, with a 3-3 slate, goes for a third consecutive triumph. INQ