Williams has no official ranking after spending a year off court, which means she cannot be seeded for WTA events.

However, she can gain entry to eight tournaments in 12 months – including two Grand Slams – with her protected world number one ranking.

Halep said she thought Williams “should have been ranked as she left”.

Speaking after her fourth-round win over China’s Wang Qiang, Halep said: “To give birth is the best thing in the world. It’s more than a sport.

“I think she should have been actually number one seed in this tournament because she left as number one in the world.”

The Romanian was in the stands for the Williams sisters’ third-round match in California, which Venus won 6-3 6-4.

Halep’s coach, Darren Cahill, tweeted during a conversation with former world number one Chris Evert that returning female tennis players “should not be penalised for giving birth by starting from zero.”

Victoria Azarenka made her return to tennis at the Mallorca Open in June 2017 as a wildcard after the birth of her son.

She used her protected ranking to play at Wimbledon in the same year.

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Source: BBC

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Hanson joins the Board with over 20 years experience in playing rugby.

He played schoolboy rugby at Clifton College in the UK and three more years at Gloucester Rugby Academy until the age of 21.

Mr Herbert Mensah, President and Board Chairman of Ghana Rugby, spearheaded the appointment of Hanson who had previously served on the Board of the GRFU.

According to Mensah, Ghana Rugby adopted a new Constitution in 2017 that for the first time in 17 years allowed the Board to appoint Directors in addition to those elected by the Union’s General Meeting.

“The appointment of Ernest Hanson is the first step in a vision I had since taking over as President in 2014,” Mensah said.

Herbert Mensah further stated, “Rugby, as most sporting disciplines, is a business that requires exceptional challenges regarding governance and it is essential to bring resources with a business background into the fold to assist with biggest challenge we face, namely to place the Union on a sustainable funding platform.”

Hanson is currently the MD of Beaufort Properties, a Ghana-based real estate firm. He is passionate about the growth of the game in Ghana and wants others to experience the personal growth and development that comes from playing the sport.

He is also a Level 1 World Rugby Coach and has also played senior rugby for London Nigerians RFC.

Ghana Rugby has a challenging year ahead with three international tournaments planned for May, September and October.

The international circuit kicks off in May when Ghana will be hosting the Rugby Africa Bronze Cup against Lesotho, Mauritius and Rwanda. A win in this competition will see Ghana’s promotion to the Silver Cup and a step closer to Mensah’s mission to take Ghana Rugby to the World Cup.

In September Ghana Rugby plans to organise a Ghana International Sevens tournament against seven other Rugby playing Unions in preparation of the scheduled Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens Tournament in October.

Mr Ernest Hanson (left) with the President and Board Chairman of Ghana Rugby, Mr Herbert Mensah, at the finals of the 2017/18 Ghana Rugby Club Championship.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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In the Women’s Sevens section, Dansoman Hurricanes Ladies and Conquerors Ladies, secured a spot in the final by beating Cosmos Buffalos Ladies and Griffons Ladies respectively.

The losing teams will face each other in the third place playoffs prior to the final matches with Dennis Foundation RFC facing Lions RFC in the men’s 15s section, while Cosmos Buffalos Ladies and Griffons Ladies will tackle each other in the women’s sevens section.

The President and Board Chairman of Ghana Rugby, Mr. Herbert Mensah, said that he was fully briefed while en route from Europe to Accra on the day’s matches, and is both very satisfied with the outcome and very sad about the display of indiscipline.

“Ghana Rugby has come an enormous way from when my administration and I took over in June 2014, and the fact that we could host a domestic league that included both a ten team men’s fifteens, and four team women’s sevens section is remarkable and probably ground-breaking at the same time,” Mensah said.

Mensah also referred to the fact that two players were sent from the field for transgressions of World Rugby’s Regulation 17 on foul play, and said that the GRFU will refer the incidents to its Judicial Officer, Mr. Chester Anie, for investigation and adjudication.

“Foul play is not on the list of Ghana Rugby’s values, and offenders if found guilty, will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the laws and regulations of Rugby,” Mensah said.

The Match Commissioner for the semi finals, Mr. Abdul-Aziz Issah, said that the quality of play from all the clubs has dramatically improved. He attributed this partly to the fact that the GRFU ensures that clubs, players and all adhere strictly to World Rugby rules and regulations.

Mr. Rob Oram, head coach of Accra Rugby Club, said that they were delighted to reach the finals of the GRCC for the first time in the history of the Club.

Conquerors SC will be in the finals of the GRCC for the third consecutive year, after having won the domestic league in both 2016 and 2017.

Head Coach of Conquerors SC and of the Ghana national Rugby team, the Ghana Eagles, Mr. Lovemore ‘Dallars’ Kuzorera, said that they worked hard to reach the finals again.

“It was a tough match. Conquerors started off well with high intensity and put pressure on the Lions, forcing them into making mistakes and we capitalized by scoring early tries.”

He added that Conquerors will carry the momentum into the finals.

Ms. Rafatu Inusah, Ghana Rugby’s Women’s Representative on the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Board, said that it was indeed a historic occasion for Ghana Rugby and maybe for World Rugby.

“The CEO of World Rugby, Mr. Brett Gosper, very recently backed calls for all sevens global tournaments to follow the lead of the Sydney Sevens with incentives for countries that combine mens and womens events. I am not sure about this, but I believe that Ghana is the only World Rugby Union that plays both its men’s and women’s domestic competitions within one tournament structure and on the same days and venues,” Ms. Inusah said.

The 2017/18 GRCC finals will be held at the Accra Sports Stadium on either 10th or 17th February 2018. A final decision on this will be announced in the next week.

Results

Men’s 15s

Dennis Foundation RFC 0 – 44 Accra Rugby Club (Red Card Dennis Foundation player)

Conquerors Sporting Club 40 – (5) Lions RFC (Red Card Conquerors Player)

Women’s 7s

Cosmos Buffalos RFC (5) – 10 Dansoman Hurricanes RFC

Conquerors Sporting Club 7 – 5 Griffons

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Source: Ghana Rugby Football Union

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Buchanan, 27, posted an image on Instagram of herself in hospital with a bloodied face and wearing a neck brace.

She wrote that she had a broken nose and sternum and a collapsed lung.

Local media reported the accident involved a single vehicle and happened in New South Wales, but further details were not yet clear.

“I wouldn’t say 2017 ended quite as planned. It’s been a rough couple of days in ICU after a vehicle roll,” Buchanan said in her caption.

“I just moved to a private room and everything is moving in a positive recovery direction.”

She wished her followers a happy new year and said “off season just got a little more tough!!”, in a post that has drawn thousands of comments.

Buchanan has three BMX and five mountain bike world titles, and competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

Most recently she took out the mountain bike 4-cross world title in August and was named Canberra’s female athlete of the year in November.

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Source: BBC

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Mensah celebrated his birthday on 26 December, climaxing in a year when Ghana Rugby achieved a string of accolades that included Full Membership of World Rugby, hosting and winning the Rugby Africa Regional Challenge – West 1, getting ranked on the Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens table for the first time and getting promoted to host the Rugby Africa Bronze Cup.

[contextly_sidebar id=”f0Emz7B9RKR4QyG6A2DGmRqN9XCFewyD”]Herbert Mensah took over Ghana Rugby on 5th June 2014 when he was elected unopposed as President of the Union at its Electoral Congress in Accra, Ghana.

As an astute businessman and sports administrator, he ordered an in-depth audit of the state of Rugby in Ghana and concluded that most of the fundamental requirements to be considered for Full Membership of World Rugby were not in place.

Between 2014 and 2017 Mensah brought  in a series of changes that included the development of governing strategies and plans, the establishment of a Ghana Rugby Secretariat, the introduction of a rugby management system (scrumIT), the institution of a financial management system (Sage One), the reconstitution of the Regional Associations and Clubs, the introduction of a ten team domestic competition, the initiation of the World Rugby youth development programme (“Get Into Rugby”) and the resuscitation of women’s rugby.

Besides for the abovementioned achievements of 2017, the year also saw the introduction for the first time of a Women’s Sevens division to the annual domestic league, the Ghana Rugby Club Championship, a development area that was close to the President’s heart from the word go.

Mensah also narrowed the gender gap through the appointment of women to both the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) Board and the boards of its Regional Associations.

Mensah’s ultimate mission is to lead Ghana’s national teams, the Ghana Eagles, to participate in World Rugby and other global competitions such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Even though Ghana Rugby has achieved much in a short space of time with a lot to look forward to, Mensah’s biggest challenge will undoubtedly be to put the Union on a sound and sustainable financial footing, something that is currently absent from the sports management recipe.

Mr Adama Bakhoum, Rugby Africa Training Manager, warned the Ghana Rugby family as far back as 2016 that the funding of the GRFU by the President alone is not sustainable and that the neglect by the management of the Union to do something about the situation will place Ghana Rugby at serious risk.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Maame Biney, of Reston, Virginia, secured her spot on the team after she made history winning the 500-meter races at the U.S. Olympic Short Track Trials on Dec. 16. The bubbly skater flew past the competition and then fell as she celebrated.

Of course, she got right back up.

Biney says she owes her determination to her Ghana-born father. She is grateful for how much he has sacrificed and the amount of work he put into her success, she said.

The Olympian’s father, Kweku Biney, moved with her to the U.S. in 2005 in an effort to give his daughter a better future.

They had to leave behind other family members to begin their new life.

“My journey was never easy. It was hard, but I made it,” Kweku Biney said

Although Biney credits her father for her many accomplishments, he refuses to take it. “God saw me through it,” he said. “He planned it all. I was just the facilitator. That’s all I can say,” he continued.

Perhaps there was some destiny involved. During an interview with News4, Kweku held out a business card that his daughter had never seen. Maame grabbed it, looked and laughed.

It was a reminder card for her first group skating lesson, her dad said, that was scheduled for Dec. 17, 2005. Exactly 12 years and one day later, she would qualify for the Olympics.

Biney’s icy ride began at six years old. When her father saw a “learn to skate” sign at SkateQuest in Reston, he initially signed Biney up for figure skating.

A few months into the lessons, Biney’s coach noticed she skated too fast for figure skating and mentioned she should try speedskating. Her coach was onto something.

Twelve years later, the high school senior is part of history and the Olympic team

Although originally from Ghana, Biney wants to represent the U.S. because of the country’s diversity.

“This is what this country is. It’s diverse and different, and that’s exactly why I’m representing the U.S. Because we’re different.”

As Biney prepares for her first Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, she believes the sacrifices she’s made for speedskating were worth it.

“Even with all the hard work, all the crying, all the tears, I would do it again because I had double the laughter.”

Biney is the second African-American speedskater to represent Team USA at the Olympics, following in the footsteps of Shani Davis. Davis has since made three more Olympic teams and earned four medals, including two golds.

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Source: nbcwashington

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The schools with rugby teams ended the term with a touch rugby competition among the boys and girls.

It is the third time the program has been held at the Kanda Cluster of schools.

Participating schools included the Islamic Training Institute, Al-Waleed Comprehensive Islamic Basic school, Kanda 3&5 JHS, Kanda ‘1’ Basic, Kanda A.M.A JHS and Aggrey Memorial International School.

Each school presented two teams – one each for the boys and girls – with 12 players in each side making up a total of 96 participants in the event.

The first round match was between the Islamic training Institute against Al-Waleed.

In Group B Kanda 3&5 JHS played against Kanda ‘1’ Basic boys and girls. the girls’ group was won eventually by Kanda 3&5 JHS with the second position going to Islamic Training Institute.

Kanda ‘1’ Basic finished third while  Al-waleed Comprehensive Islamic Basic school placed fourth.

The winner in the Boys group was the Islamic Training Institute with Kanda ‘1’ Basic second, Kanda 3&5 JHS third and Al-Waleed Comprehensive Islamic Basic school in fourth.

Ghana Rugby Board Development Officer, Rafatu Inusah, said she saw a massive improvement in most of the players from all the schools.

“Both boys and girls performed very well, and it was an achievement for not only me but for Ghana Rugby as a whole,” Inusah said.

The event was also covered by AFP (Agence France Presse) who interviewed some of the students from various schools.

Memunatu from Kanda 3&5 JHS, for instance, said she loves to play rugby because it is a friendly and exciting game which could be enjoyed by both boys and girls.

Development Officers who took part in the festival included Ms Rafatu Inusah, Ms Kadija Adams, Mr Francis Donkor, Mr Emmanuel Kalos, Mr Philip Asomani and some players from Conquerors Sporting Club.

The event was also captured by Ghana Rugby’s photographer, Mr Chika Israel. Ms Inusah enouraged the students to always get united as one big rugby family.

She again emphasised the values of rugby of respect, integrity, solidarity, discipline and passion to them. Inusah also cautioned the students to take good care of themselves as they are going for the Christmas holidays and to welcome the new year with a renewed energy.

“I am grateful to God for a successful program and also want to thank all who supported the event, especially the President and Board Chairman, Mr Herbert Mensah.”

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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In the announcement letter to the President and Board Chairman of Ghana Rugby, Herbert Mensah,  the President of Rugby Afrique, Abdelaziz Bougja, stated that, the request for promotion by the Ghana Rugby Football Union (GRFU) had been positively received.

[contextly_sidebar id=”S8YHvjn4nESQS1gIvDqVqiYegg03f5ac”]Bougja said the promotion came as a result of the good performance of Ghana Rugby in the Regional Challenge 2017, and the new status of Ghana Rugby Union as a full member of World Rugby.

He also revealed that, the contributing factors for the promotion were the suspensions of both the Cameroon and Nigeria Rugby Unions, and the unlikelihood of a final of the Regional Challenge between Lesotho and Ghana Rugby Africa.

In a statement from Mensah in London, he said that he was grateful to the Exco of Rugby Afrique for recognizing the achievements and efforts of Ghana Rugby to help with the development of the game in Ghana, and indeed in the rest of Africa and the World.

In April-May 2017, Ghana successfully hosted and won the Rugby Afrique Regional Challenge West 1 between Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Togo, in what was a memorable year for the country in the sport.

Immediately after the tournament, World Rugby awarded Ghana Rugby Full Membership that meant that the Union could for the first time apply for investment funds for development, and more importantly, be considered for tournaments that will lead to eventual qualifiers for World Rugby and other global competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

In October 2017, Ghana was drawn to compete in the 2017 Africa Men’s Sevens Tournament in Kampala, and managed to get ranked for the first time on Rugby Afrique’s log.

The promotion to the Rugby Afrique Bronze Cup came on the eve of the opening matches of the 2017/18 Ghana Rugby Club Championship (GRCC), in October 2017 in Cape Coast.

Mensah also expressed his appreciation to everybody who played a vital role in the memorable achievements of 2017.

“It is always a difficult task to say, thank you. Everybody who took part in Rugby in Ghana must be acknowledged and congratulated. First of all, my appreciation goes to the players, coaches, match officials and administrators who all sacrificed in many ways to make the last three years memorable.”

Mensah also acknowledged that the many volunteers and supporters who made contributions in kind or otherwise, are vital cogs in the machinery of Ghana Rugby. He also invited them to get even more involved in the years to come.

He said, “particular word of thanks must go to our sponsors who have made contributions in the spirit of unwavering faith that Ghana Rugby will make them and the country proud.”

“There are too many to mention, but I will neglect my duty if I don’t mention the following companies and individuals: World Rugby and Rugby Afrique, Olympic Solidarity and the Ghana Olympic Committee, Hayssam Fakhry of Interplast and Inesfly, Tim Callaghan of the Panafrican Group, Paul Kavanagh of the Golden Tulip Accra Hotel, the Gino Brands, eVerpure, Accra Breweries Limited, Paloma Hotel, our many media partners, and the individuals who made contributions from scarce resources in our many fundraising challenges.”

Mensah said that the memorable achievements would require even more support and more resources as Ghana Rugby intends to put in bids to host the continental 15s and 7s tournaments in 2018.

“Ghana Rugby’s achievements on international levels are Ghana’s achievements. We are representing the country, and we hope and pray that our governing bodies will also come forward and meet its commitments and promises to support us, and indeed other minority sports in 2018.”

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Samir won their much-awaited clash via a 7th round knockout to spark celebrations among his fans, and lefe fans of Bukom Banku stunned.

On Monday, Banku said in an interview with Accra-based Kasapa FM that he wanted a rematch with Samir on the 6th of March, 2018 and in a response given on Citi FM’s Traffic Avenue, Samir said a rematch would be very possible.

“I heard that he said he wanted a rematch. I am ready and I will give him that, but he will be given three months to rest. I am planning to fight in December to wrap the year up.

I want to make a mark and get a world title by the end of 2018. So, if Banku wants a rematch, I am ready for that.”

Samir revealed that, the knockdown was not the main focus of the fight plan put together by his coach, Ofori Asare, but he was open to the opportunity of flooring his long-time rival.

“My coach and I trained and prepared very well. I was ready if the bout traveled the distance and I was also ready to take the chance if a knockout presented itself.”

The victory was Samir’s 16th of his professional career with a solitary draw being the only dent.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Cavs defend the land

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated a motivated Boston Celtics squad 102-99, which initially looked rattled after losing forward Gordon Hayward to and injury just over five minutes into the game. LeBron James was one assist short of a triple-double with 29 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists, Kevin Love had a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double, Derrick Rose had 14 points and four rebounds, and Jae Crowder 11 points and five rebounds.

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 25 points and six rebounds, Kyrie Irving had a 22-point, 10-assist double-double, rookie Jayson Tatum also had a double-double in his maiden regular season NBA game with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Marcus Smart had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Rockets strike Warriors

The defending champions Golden State Warriors were beaten by the Houston Rockets in a closely contested game that ended 122-121. James Harden had a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double, Eric Gordon had 24 points, PJ Tucker had 20 points and six rebounds, Cameroonian forward Luc Mbah a Moute 14 points and four rebounds, Congolese/Angolan-Swiss center Clint Capela put up 12 points and grabbed four boards, while Ryan Anderson finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

The Warriors were led by Nick Young with 23 points, Stephen Curry had 22 points, five rebounds and four assists, Kevin Durant had 20 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four blocks, Klay Thompson had 16 points and six rebounds, and Draymond Green was a point short of a triple double with nine points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.

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Source: NBA

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