(ATR) Manny Pacquiao could well make his Olympic debut in Rio this summer.
The eight-time world champion boxer was the flag bearer for his native Philippines at the Beijing Games but has never competed in the Olympics.
The 37-year-old says that he has been personally invited to fight in Rio by C. K. Wu, the president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
Pacquiao, in a statement to AFP, says"It would be my honor to represent the country in the Olympics.If I would be asked to represent boxing, why not? I would do everything for my country."
Pacquiao is currently training for what he has said is his last professional fight. He faces a rematch against Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas on Apr. 9.
AIBA isplanning an extraordinary congress this May "to agree on the new rules that would open up Olympic Games eligibility for all boxers. "
FIS World Junior Alpine Championships in Sochi
Jasmina Suter, 20, of Switzerland won a giant slalom race on Wednesday as the FIS World Junior Alpine Ski Championships continue in Sochi.
The championships mark the first time that a major international alpine ski event has been contested on the slopes of Rosa Khutor since the Sochi 2014 Games.
Medal events began on Saturday Feb. 27, with Erik Arvidsson of the United States and Valerie Grenier of Canada winning the opening downhill races.
The eight-day competition schedule was altered as super-G events on Feb. 28 were postponed due to rain and poor visibility on the course. The two races were moved to Feb. 29, which previously had been an off day in the schedule.
Slovenian Aline Danioth, a Youth Olympic Games gold medalist in Lillehammer, continued her winning ways in Sochi claiming the alpine combined on Tuesday.
The GS races on Wednesday and Thursday, were previously scheduled for March 4th and 5th, but moved up in the program, with the Nations's team event now closing competition on Saturday.
Oman pulls out as host for 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships
World Sailing is looking for another venue for the 2016 Youth Sailing World Championships scheduled for this December.
Oman has withdrawn as host after refusing to sign off on recently revised regulations introduced by World Sailing.
The change in regulations, which now calls for a guarantee of full and equal participation for all, was in response to the treatment of two Israeli windsurfers, who withdrew from the 2015 world championships in Malaysia after the Malaysian government introduced discriminatory conditions for them to participate.
World Sailing told the Associated Press that any bid to host a world championship has to include an explicit acceptance of the regulations.
World Sailing said in a statement that with the exception of Oman, all venues that have already been selected and confirmed for forthcoming World Sailing championships have agreed to the anti-discrimination guidelines.
UCI's new women's cycling tour launches this weekend
The International Cycling Union (UCI) is unveiling a new circuit aimed at growing women’s cycling throughout the world.
The UCI Women’s WorldTour will be launched this Saturday, Mar. 5 with the Strade Bianche in Italy.
The WorldTour replaces the former UCI Women's Road World Cup, which had been in existence since 1998. The new circuit will span six months and include 35 days of racing. That’s a 60% increase in the number of competition days. The 17 events across Europe, the United States and China represent nearly twice as many races as the UCI Women's Road World Cup.
UCI President Brian Cookson says the UCI Women’s WorldTour "will provide the perfect platform not just to grow women’s cycling around the world, but also to boost the profile of women’s cycling. I am convinced that the new structure we now have in place is an important milestone in the evolution of women’s cycling."
ASOIF Passes Tougher Governance Guidelines
Scandal-hit FIFA and the IAAF are being asked to comply with a new set of best-practice governance principles.
The ASOIF Council, umbrella body of the 28 summer sports federations, approved governance principles and indicators for IFs at its meeting in Lausanne on Friday.
Written by Kevin Nutley and Gerard Farek
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